Chapter 72
“Miss Chanel, are you tired?”
“I’m fine. I’m enjoying myself.”
“What is it that you find so amusing?”
“Watching people.”
Good thing I brought her.
Eleusis smiled in relief. He had thought, someday, it would be nice to attend a banquet with Chanellica, but he hadn’t planned on it happening so soon. It was a spontaneous desire to make her happy that brought her here at his side this evening.
It may be a bit early, but not bad.
Eleusis knew very well what it meant for the king to attend his own birthday banquet with a lady companion. Officially, they were nothing to each other, but this could be the first public step in announcing that she was someone to watch for the future.
“If you ever get tired, just say so. We can leave right away.”
Since arriving in the Great Hall, Chanellica hadn’t done anything out of the ordinary. She didn’t laugh brightly like before, nor did she run up to people and chat with them. But she didn’t look unhappy either. She simply sat quietly beside Eleusis, watching the people who came forward to offer congratulations.
“I’m fine. I’m just sitting here anyway.”
Chanellica answered softly, her thoughts running on.
The brilliant music, the dazzling variety of food, the nobles in splendid dress, the breathtakingly beautiful Great Hall.
Yes. This is what people call amusement. They made it legal for me, a hatchling, to exist here in the human world. So, I’ll enjoy this time as much as I can.
Many guests came to offer their congratulations to King Eleusis. And soon, the moment that many had quietly anticipated arrived.
Though the lively sound of instruments still filled the Great Hall, a subtle tension began to gather around the king.
“Happy birthday, brother.”
“Thank you, Lydia.”
Eleusis on his throne. Chanellica sitting diagonally behind him. Princess Lydia offering her greeting. And behind her, her knight, Derwin.
The attendees pretended not to look, but none could turn their eyes away from the strange relationship between the four.
After a few formal words with Eleusis, Lydia stepped aside.
Chanel came out with my brother?!
Wearing white gloves, Lydia pressed her aching temple. Then she noticed Derwin stepping forward.
Uncomfortable.
The princess’s knight did not need to greet the king. But Derwin was also a duke by honor. For a noble with a title to ignore the king’s birthday was unthinkable. Thus, Derwin had no choice but to step forward as Duke Cartel.
“Your Majesty, congratulations on your birthday.”
Derwin’s voice was dry. Eleusis felt a strange sense of alienation, just as he had the last time he met him.
“Thank you, Duke Cartel.”
But Derwin wasn’t what Eleusis was focused on. His concern was Chanellica—whether she would be uncomfortable, whether meeting Derwin would make her condition worsen again. He had known she would inevitably face him tonight, but when the moment came, he couldn’t help but feel restless.
Nothing more to say.
Eleusis turned his gaze away, silently urging Derwin to take his leave.
“Been a while, my lord.”
At that moment, a gentle voice beside him made Eleusis stiffen.
Chanellica had risen and was standing right next to him, staring straight down at the seated Derwin.
“….”
Tension charged the air. Eleusis had no idea what she was thinking, suddenly stepping forward after sitting so quietly.
But at least, her face showed no trace of fear or struggle. Since she had spoken first, Eleusis chose to watch silently.
Derwin rose to meet her eyes. Chanellica gave him a light smile.
“Everyone here keeps sneaking glances at us, though they say nothing. I feel like their eyes could bore a hole through me. Don’t you feel the same, my lord?”
Her tone was calm, almost conversational. Derwin gave no reply.
“They must be curious about what’s between us, don’t you think?”
She shifted her gaze to the people. The music seemed quieter now. Nobody answered, but their faces betrayed curiosity. Chanellica spoke brightly:
“We’re nothing anymore. The engagement was annulled.”
At her words, the corner of Derwin’s brow twitched—so faint only she could have noticed.
A small reaction, but for Chanellica, it brought a measure of relief. Lord had said to “kill time,” meaning he didn’t want major changes in the few months left of her borrowed human life. Her expectation had been right.
“So please, don’t tie us together anymore.”
Derwin’s gaze showed nothing special. It was as if the tiny flicker she’d seen had been her imagination.
But Chanellica didn’t care anymore.
I’ll live my way. You live yours.
Layer by layer, she shed the faint, transparent shells of emptiness she had draped over her fragile heart.
From now on, I’ll treat this life as Chanellica the human as a play. Just like you did.
Her lips curved upward as she turned away.
The guests enjoyed themselves into the late hours, and only then did the king’s birthday banquet come to an end.
Leaving the hall, Chanellica walked with Eleusis toward the royal residence.
“Thank you for being with me today.”
His warm voice filled the night air. Eleusis, who had walked silently the whole way, finally spoke.
“I was glad to go out again. Thank you for inviting me.”
A simple, tidy response.
Silence fell between them again. Eleusis looked at her walking beside him, his eyes complicated.
He had never expected Chanellica to speak up at the banquet. He thought she’d stay quiet. Yet she had declared before everyone that she and Derwin were nothing.
Objectively, it was a good sign. Proof the engagement was truly over. Proof she could say so without flinching.
So why did it leave him uneasy?
He had never asked her why Stern had hurt her so terribly, or what connection that had to Derwin. Not because he didn’t want to know, but because he feared reminding her of Derwin.
But was it really fine now?
Chanellica had faced Derwin head-on today and shown no sign of distress. If anything, her composure seemed unnatural.
“Miss Chanel.”
Eleusis halted, his voice heavy. She turned, her mint-colored eyes clear, as if silently asking what was wrong.
Eleusis hesitated. He wanted to avoid the subject, as always. But if he didn’t ask, this unease would never leave him.
“…Are you all right?”
At last, the words left him. Even as he spoke, he thought himself pathetic—too vague, too timid.
“All right about what?”
Her voice was calm.
“…Your heart, I mean.”
She smiled faintly.
“I’m fine. My heart has healed as much as my body.”
But that’s the strange part.
He felt it again—that something was off. She was not the kind of person who could so easily dismiss the pain he’d seen before.
Eleusis didn’t know what more to ask. Reading another’s heart was never simple.
“Don’t worry. I’ll only get stronger. And I should stop being a burden to Your Majesty.”
Her face was serene. His heart sank like a stone.
“A burden?”
“I can’t stay in the palace forever.”
She cut him off, leaving no room to argue. His face darkened.
“Going out today made me realize—I’m fine now. I’ll stay a little longer, then leave.”
“…Leave? Where will you go?”
“I think I’ll travel abroad. I know the languages. Why not?”
She said it lightly, as if brushing away the past.
Ah. So this was it.
The unease he’d felt all along—the sense that she might fly away—was right. She wasn’t only ending things with Derwin. She was preparing to end every tie, even with him.
She started walking ahead. Eleusis’s heart pounded as he watched her.
She’ll spread her wings and disappear.
Just because she wasn’t with Derwin didn’t mean she’d stay with him. How foolish he had been, thinking she would.
He had thought, if he cared for her, if they lived together in her recovery, her heart would open naturally.
But Chanellica was not so weak. She was the kind of person who had secured food and lodging from a stranger when they first met. The kind of foreigner who carved out a royal translator’s post through her own skill. Beneath her gentle exterior was a fierce determination to use whatever she could to survive.
I can’t let her go. I won’t. I’ve done nothing yet.
His steps quickened. He caught up and blocked her path.
“Miss Chanel.”
The moonlight spilled down on her face as she turned toward him.
“Must you really leave?”
