Chapter 68
Her hair was darker and deeper than the midnight, and her eyes shone a vivid violet.
Leopold raised both hands, as if signaling her to calm down.
“It’s me. Don’t be startled.”
“…Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”
Eleanor’s voice trembled as she called out to him. She was already too shocked for the warning to have any effect.
“Sorry, I startled you quite a bit.”
“Why… are you here?”
“There’s a resting place on this side too.”
Leopold gestured toward a spot within the shrubs while keeping a safe distance.
Eleanor exhaled shakily and cautiously approached him. Leopold stepped slightly aside so she could see inside.
Within the dense foliage was a small pergola, almost hidden under creeping vines.
“I was resting here.”
“….”
“I came before you and Viscount Tess.”
Leopold clarified the sequence of events to prevent misunderstandings.
In fact, he had been sitting here alone and was startled by Eleanor and Sinclair’s approach. But hearing their voices reassured him.
Afterward, when he heard nothing further, he had come out to check.
“I only heard one set of footsteps leave, and since there was no sound from anyone remaining, I came to see if something had happened to you. Were you very frightened?”
Eleanor shook her head, meeting his deeper violet eyes intensified by the night.
“I’m fine, Your Highness.”
Being alone in a dark, empty place had unknowingly made her more fearful than usual. Normally, Eleanor wouldn’t have been this startled.
“You seem tired. Would you like to sit here and rest?”
Leopold offered, noting her weary expression.
Eleanor hesitated. A small lamp inside the pergola made it brighter than outside, the red and yellow light casting a warm glow over the space.
“I hope I’m not disturbing you…”
“It’s fine. After all, aren’t we both fugitives?”
Even as Crown Prince, obligated to greet delegations, he too was a fugitive at the moment.
Leopold shrugged and took a seat on the bench inside the pergola. Eleanor hesitated but eventually sat on the opposite bench.
Seeing Eleanor deliberately sit as far away as possible, Leopold gave a bitter smile.
“You keep your distance in so many ways.”
“….”
With no excuse, Eleanor pressed her lips together.
“You came to the ball as Viscount Tess’ partner today, right?”
Her shoulders stiffened slightly at his low tone.
If even Leopold, who hadn’t fully attended the ball, knew this fact, by tomorrow it would spread throughout Bairn.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Why did your partner leave you in a place like this?”
“It’s not that he deliberately left me…”
Eleanor trailed off, feeling strange despite not believing Sinclair had abandoned her.
‘Is it because I think he chose Lydia over me?’
Feeling ashamed at her own judgment, Eleanor thought about it rationally.
Lydia was the heroine; Eleanor, merely an extra.
Sinclair had taken on her partner and even helped her escape from Illya—an already generous favor.
‘Especially considering it was even the first dance.’
After all, Eleanor had taken the first dance from Sinclair instead of Lydia.
Straightening her resolve, Eleanor gave a formal, elegant smile.
“Viscount Tess didn’t abandon me. He went to meet Lydia.”
Leopold leaned against the wall, regarding Eleanor with his eyes.
With no jewelry except her earrings, Eleanor seemed especially youthful tonight.
Her pale, rounded forehead gleamed in the dim light.
“…This brings back memories.”
“Pardon?”
Eleanor tilted her head at his quiet muttering.
“Why did the Viscount, your partner, go to Lydia?”
Leopold smoothly diverted the question.
“Because he had been with me, away from Lydia. Would you like to see for yourself, Your Highness?”
Eleanor asked innocently, thinking that, like Sinclair, Leopold would want to be with Lydia.
However, Leopold’s reaction was indifferent.
“No? Why would I?”
The casualness in his voice and eyes slightly startled Eleanor.
He was telling her to meet the heroine, yet the male lead himself was unconcerned.
Leopold shrugged, his expression unreadable.
“I like being here.”
His simple answer left Eleanor with nothing to reply.
A silence stretched between them. Eleanor, playing footsie and keeping her gaze lowered, finally glanced up.
‘…That startled me.’
Meeting Leopold’s steady violet eyes, she felt quietly surprised.
“Your Highness…”
“Yes?”
“May I ask about Crown Prince Illya?”
The son of the emperor’s sister.
As his cousin, Leopold would have some awareness of him, despite being from different kingdoms.
Though they weren’t particularly close, given the first day of the ball.
Still, family ties would give Leopold more insight than others.
“The Crown Prince?”
Leopold narrowed his iris, sharp and iris-like an iris flower.
Eleanor assumed his reaction was due to her asking about a prince of an allied nation.
‘Perhaps asking the Crown Prince about Illya was too much.’
Yet Leopold’s thoughts were different.
‘She’s probably just curious, not asking out of personal interest.’
He merely guessed that Eleanor had belated interest in Illya.
But Eleanor’s gaze was not of a love-struck girl; it was analytical, like a soldier gathering intelligence from an enemy.
Leopold relaxed slightly and smiled faintly.
“Ask anything.”
The sharpness of his previous expression had disappeared, replaced by a casual tone.
Eleanor, surprised by the sudden shift, carefully chose a question that wouldn’t cause trouble.
“Why is Crown Prince Illya looking for a princess consort in Tritan?”
Many nobles in Bairn knew that Illya sought a future crown princess, though few displayed it.
Those ambitious acted like the Grace sisters; the unambitious acted like Eleanor.
“So it’s to strengthen alliances between nations.”
Specifically, to maintain Tritan’s influence over Lyrafl.
Currently, there were factions in Lyrafl opposing Tritan influence.
Having a princess consort from Lyrafl’s nobility could empower the opposing factions.
Also, Illya had practical reasons for needing someone from Tritan.
“But… wouldn’t a marriage between a royal and a noble not strengthen the alliance?”
To solidify an alliance via marriage, even a collateral royal would usually be necessary. Yet the Stikov family had no royal blood.
Eleanor, a simple count’s daughter, was not even collateral royalty.
As a minor baron’s daughter, inheriting the Okhlama estate, she was a lowly noble.
“If someone like me, a Tritan noble, were involved, there’d be no advantage.”
“That’s true. The marriage has to be with our collateral to strengthen the alliance.”
“Then why…”
“The balance of power concerns are the same on both sides.”
Leopold spoke casually, arms crossed.
“Perhaps a noble is easier for the anti-Tritan faction to accept than a royal. What matters is that the princess consort is from Tritan.”
Finding a bride among Tritan royals was difficult due to bloodline relations. A Tritan noble girl would face less opposition.
“She’s a decent match in many ways.”
Respected, though lacking power, her marriage would not incite opposition in Tritan or Lyrafl.
“With the Empress and Emperor eagerly wanting a noblewoman to become the Crown Prince’s consort…”
“….”
“Stikov’s daughter is easy to control in the empire and not too defiant in the kingdom, so she’s convenient in many ways.”
Leopold’s violet eyes fixed on Eleanor.
“This is the most disadvantageous position for you.”
Eleanor realized she was caught where political interests and Illya’s personal desires intersected.
Seeing her silent, Leopold spoke softly.
“Don’t worry too much. I’ll make sure nothing happens that you don’t want.”
His voice drifted like the wind. When Eleanor looked up, he had disappeared like dandelion seeds scattered.
Leopold rose and extended his hand to Eleanor.
“It’s time you got up.”
Lingering too long was unwise; someone sharp would notice her absence.
Eleanor hesitated but did not take his hand, rising on her own.
“Go ahead. I’ll stay a little longer.”
Leopold withdrew his hand, feeling the emptiness of the air. He clenched it briefly, then shrugged.
“Worried about seeing Crown Prince Illya again?”
“I suppose so.”
“Then return to the Count’s residence. I’ll handle the aftermath.”
Eleanor was slightly surprised by his unexpected kindness.
Leaving a ball early often sparked rumors. She had planned to linger a little before departing, letting Illya’s attention wander, dancing briefly, then leaving.
“But it’s just the first dance; leaving now feels too soon.”
“Just say something happened after the first dance.”
Leopold’s casual answer left Eleanor troubled.
Even with his help, the temptation of returning home early pressed upon her.
With Leopold conveying messages via Lydia, she could return home safely.
‘I have so many things to consider…’
If the imperial family proposed a Bairn noblewoman as Lyrafl’s future Crown Princess, Eleanor needed to defend her position actively.
“Thank you for your consideration, Your Highness.”
Eleanor lifted her dress slightly and bowed.
She accepted his kindness but clearly marked her boundaries.
Leopold’s eyes flickered with a trace of loneliness but quickly masked it, nodding slightly.
“Go home and rest. I’ll speak to Lydia properly.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Eleanor bowed again and turned to leave the pergola.
“Shall I tell your partner honestly?”
Remembering a question, Leopold asked Eleanor’s retreating figure.
She shook her head, looking down.
“He won’t be coming back anyway. Lydia will handle it.”
“Very well.”
Despite Leopold’s thoughts, Eleanor’s decision prevailed.
Eleanor left the pergola and glanced back toward him. Leopold stood silently, watching her.
Even in the dark, his violet eyes shone vividly, as if branding her with their intensity.
After a moment, Eleanor turned away.
The Stikov family carriage, seeing her return early, was startled. Eleanor used her illness as an excuse, and they obediently drove her home.
Watching the imperial palace fade behind her, Eleanor thought:
‘Tomorrow… I’ll have to act strongly.’
Thinking of Illya, who liked her simple, plain appearance, made her frown.
If he favored her for being modest, showing elegance would make him think she had been deterred.
‘Don’t worry too much.’
Remembering Leopold’s kind words, Eleanor bit her lip and shook her head.
She couldn’t afford false hopes from the male lead whose partner was already set.
Sinclair Tess returned to the rear garden.
He briefly explained the situation to Lydia. Yet he frowned noticing the bench Eleanor had been at was empty.
He hadn’t seen her on the way back.
Inside the ballroom, he didn’t recall seeing her. Where had she gone?
He searched, seeing not even the shadow of an animal.
Sinclair approached the bench Eleanor had been sitting on. Cold and empty, it reminded him of how long it had been since anyone had been there.
He murmured her name softly: “Eleanor.”
Then Leopold appeared in his line of sight.
“Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”
“Viscount.”
They stared at each other silently.
A cool autumn breeze passed through their dark straight hair and golden curls.
“…Eleanor.”
Sinclair asked in a low voice, noticing Leopold’s tilted stance and hands in pockets.
“She went home to the Count’s residence. She looked very tired.”
“I intended to escort her, but you were quicker.”
“Were you late?”
Leopold curled his lips slightly.
