Chapter 64
The Masquerade (4)
Descending from the sofa, Retina picked up her dress that had been strewn across the floor. She pulled the bodice up high to hide any traces left beneath the fabric and straightened her disheveled hair.
As she gathered the long strands cascading down her back, Harold came up behind her and tightened the loosely tied corset. Making sure the knot wouldn’t come undone no matter how fiercely one moved, he secured it firmly, then pressed his lips gently against her exposed nape.
“If you pull back the curtain beside the study, there’s a staircase connecting to the first floor. I’ll leave through the main door—so you go through that passage.”
For some reason, Harold seemed well-acquainted with the secret passage of the banquet hall.
“When I leave here… when will I get to see you again?”
Turning to face him, Retina wrapped her arms around his waist. The thought of parting so soon made her heart ache.
“I’ll do everything I can to see you again as soon as possible.”
Harold placed a long kiss on Retina’s forehead before pulling away. The gesture was as much to reassure her as it was a vow to himself.
Watching the crown prince’s retreating back, Retina stood there for a while before following the passageway he had mentioned. It led her to a secluded area of the banquet hall’s first floor, where even the guests resting in corridors or stairwells couldn’t see her emerge.
Stepping out from behind a cleverly concealed pillar, Retina walked across the hall as if nothing had happened. The ball was now in full swing—more lively, more vibrant. She blended naturally into the crowd, searching for her companions.
“Where have you been! We were looking everywhere for you!”
The moment she picked up a glass of wine, familiar masked young ladies surrounded her. Having found them easily, Retina followed as they eagerly grabbed her arm and dragged her along.
“His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived! Everyone’s flocking to see him since he’s been impossible to find lately—except at swordsmanship tournaments! We were looking for you so we could go together, but you’d vanished! We thought maybe some scoundrel had whisked you away!”
They hurried up to the second floor from which Retina had just descended. Word of the Crown Prince’s presence had drawn such a crowd upstairs that it was even more packed than the first floor.
“Even if half his face is covered, you can still recognize him—the man practically glows.”
Standing on tiptoe, Basilious craned her neck to get a glimpse of him. She wasn’t the only one straining to see even a glimpse of the prince surrounded by admirers.
“He’s so tall you can spot him even from here.”
“Careful, Lady Isabel—your suitor will get jealous.”
“Please. As if he could compare to His Highness.”
They bickered playfully, yet none of them could tear their eyes away from the Crown Prince.
As Retina watched Harold from afar—gracefully engaging with the nobles around him—she suddenly met his gaze.
The moment their eyes locked, the spot on her neck where he had kissed her burned as though marked by fire. Flustered, Retina brushed her hand over her neck, pretending to compose herself. He stood there, looking perfectly composed, no trace of the weariness he’d shown earlier—his attention fixed solely on her, ignoring the young lady chattering beside him.
“I heard the Crown Princess selection is happening in secret. Even if it’s a political marriage, I’d still marry His Highness in a heartbeat.”
“Well, there’s a reason he’s ranked the most desirable bachelor in Ludenheim! That face, that power, that swordsmanship—he’s flawless! He’s supposed to reach the semifinals of the tournament, right?”
“He always loses to Lord Heint in the finals, but this year might be different. His determination to win is unbelievable.”
“Whoever becomes Crown Princess—I’m already jealous.”
Masked nobles whispered their thoughts freely, some remarks making Retina’s face flush. How long had it been since he’d held her close, and yet she already missed his touch.
“Oh my, look at that woman!”
“She must have picked that long train on purpose—so she could ‘accidentally’ fall into His Highness’s arms.”
A murmur spread through the crowd as a young lady pretended to stumble toward the Crown Prince. Catching her effortlessly as if receiving a ball, he steadied her without a hint of emotion. But even that simple act sent the onlookers into a frenzy.
“Whoever she is, she’s in trouble now—Lady Helen’s sure to notice.”
“You mean the rumor? About Lady Marie? They say she tried to win His Highness’s favor with lies, then vanished without a trace! Officially, she followed her ailing mother, the Marchioness, on a journey for her health, but honestly, doesn’t that sound like she just ran away?”
“Exactly! It’s rare for a debutante to leave the capital before half the social season’s over. And they say Lady Helen had something to do with it—people even saw her bullying Lady Marie!”
“Really?!”
“Have I ever shared unreliable gossip before? Lady Helen controls even the Marchioness’s daughter like a puppet—imagine what she could do to anyone else!”
Amid the din, Retina focused on the two women gossiping nearby, both wearing long-beaked bird masks and chirping like sparrows.
“Oh, but there is one young lady even Lady Helen couldn’t touch.”
“True, but apart from partnering with His Highness a few times, she hasn’t done much. If she’d shown even the slightest sign of getting closer to him, she might’ve ended up the same way.”
“Right. After all, she’s the one who took Lady Helen’s place as his dance partner.”
Listening in, Retina felt her stomach tighten. The “one young lady” they were talking about—she was almost certain it was her. Even though no one recognized her through her mask, a cold sweat broke out. Just a few appearances with the Crown Prince at parties, and her name was already making rounds.
Retina had often heard gossip about others, but never about herself. She turned her head slightly, thinking—
Thank goodness I didn’t step forward when the Crown Prince was looking for someone.
She let out a quiet sigh of relief. Still, the feeling wasn’t exactly pleasant. So this was what it meant to be entangled with the most talked-about man in the capital—always under scrutiny, always on people’s tongues. It was hard to believe that someone like that truly loved her.
“Ah, His Highness is leaving now—what a shame.”
Judging that the crowd had been entertained enough, Harold began to push through the sea of people. Wherever he stepped, the crowd parted on both sides as if by instinct, opening a clear path for him.
Swept up in the wave of movement, Retina was separated from her companions and pushed all the way to the end of the staircase. The mass of bobbing heads made it impossible to spot them again. Then someone bumped into her hard, sending her staggering backward.
There must truly be evil spirits in this capital—how else could she so often find herself nearly tumbling down staircases?
Retina glanced behind her. The stairs were packed with people; she couldn’t even grab the railing. If she fell, it could cause a massive accident. Bracing herself, she prepared to leap toward a clear space, even if it meant cracking her head.
“My, that was dangerous.”
Someone caught her just before she could fall. A man in a blue mask gripped the railing with one hand and supported her waist with the other.
“Th–thank you. You saved me from cracking my head open.”
Retina straightened up, steadying her feet on the stairs, and offered a grateful smile. Her heart pounded rapidly from the near fall and the shock.
“Lady Retina?”
The man studied her intently before speaking softly. Hearing her name unexpectedly, Retina lifted her head to look at him. Though his dark hair was hidden beneath a wig and half his face covered by a blue mask, the voice—and the color of the eyes peeking through—were unmistakably familiar.
“You’re wearing… a wig,” she said, realizing it at once.
The man who had caught her was none other than Norden.
“Yes. It felt meaningless to attend a masquerade without one. I see you’re wearing one as well—it suits you perfectly.”
Though Retina had now steadied herself in the middle of the staircase, Norden still hadn’t released her. She noticed the Crown Prince approaching from below, and, worried about how it might look, she quickly pushed Norden away with an awkward smile. As she placed her hand on his arm—
She looked up—
and found herself face-to-face with the Crown Prince, descending the stairs.
