Episode 76
“Lou, how can I wear a fox mask…”
He complained, but when I took his hand and pulled him, he obediently sat in the chair.
I placed the fox mask on the table and tidied his hair.
The texture of the smooth silver hair winding around my fingertips was soft.
I stroked and soothed him for a long time.
“Let’s try it. You’ll undoubtedly be the most handsome fox at the festival.”
Callisteon asked coldly without even looking at me.
“So, my face is fine to waste on something like a fox mask? Is that it?”
Had he heard what I said to Ernst earlier?
‘Jealous like a child.’
It was so unlike him that I burst out laughing.
“No, no, of course not.”
I coaxed and persuaded him, eventually putting the mask on him.
Callisteon’s blue eyes were visible through the gaps in the fox mask.
No mask could ever conceal who this man was.
“How could a fox mask possibly hide you?”
I whispered sincerely, using the excuse of soothing him.
I thought he would avert his gaze by now, but surprisingly not.
He stared at me persistently, as if forgetting to blink the blue eyes hidden behind the mask.
Because of that, it was I who ended up feeling embarrassed.
Feeling awkward, I tried to look back at Phoebe, but he grabbed my wrist firmly.
“Then, will you throw candy at me?”
They said the candy at the New Year’s festival held a meaning of courtship.
‘But when I read the diary, it seemed like just words, more like a playful game where everyone throws candy for fun.’
When I hesitated for a moment, Callisteon took off the fox mask again.
“Or will you only throw it at the Crown Prince, whose beauty is too precious to waste on a mask?”
Only after seeing the subtle twitch at the corner of his mouth did I realize Callisteon was joking.
So I bent down and whispered by his ear.
“I’ll throw the most candy at you, Carl.”
He answered immediately.
“You’ll keep that promise.”
Outside the window, the sunset was already falling.
A reddish halo lingered around the edges of the man’s silver hair as he looked lazily up at me.
‘A man like this could never be hidden by a mask.’
I was convinced once more when Phoebe urged us.
“Well then, we must prepare our hair and outfits to match the masks now! Gentlemen, please clear the room.”
Ernst gave me a slight wink and left the room first.
Then, Callisteon also rose leisurely.
“See you later.”
I smiled, seeing the white fox mask in his hand.
“Yes. See you later.”
The Night of the Festival
Under the roof of the Edessa hotel, the Flavi royal flag and the Brentania imperial flag fluttered mixed together.
—Bang! Bang!
As magical fireworks, which the royal family must have spent a fortune on, lit up the sky, we also left the hotel and slipped into the street festival.
“Come with me, Phoebe.”
I held Phoebe’s hand and happily walked through alleyways fragrant with the scent of sugar.
In every narrow, intertwined alley, white candy poured down like a drizzle, filled with boisterous laughter.
We were soon covered in a white layer of sugar powder.
“Oh my god, I laughed and a candy went into my mouth.”
Munching on the candy and chatting with Phoebe, a gloved palm suddenly touched under my chin.
“Huh?”
Callisteon said grimly.
“Are you going to swallow it, thinking someone threw it for you? Spit it out.”
Spit it out onto his gloved palm?
Flustered, I looked up. Through the nearby fox mask, his blue eyes gleamed sharply.
“Ah.”
“Ah…?”
The moment I dazedly repeated after him, a long finger plucked the candy from my tongue.
I stared in disbelief as Callisteon naturally brought that candy to his own mouth.
“You don’t know who threw it either, so why can you eat it, Cal?”
I finally came to my senses and shouted. He blinked his cool eyes.
But his silver eyelashes, made luxuriantly lovely by the heavily settled sugar powder, slightly diminished his usual authoritative aura.
“There was no suitable place to discard it.”
Callisteon said bluntly, even with that face.
He stood stepping on the candies covering the ground like sand, yet his posture remained impeccable and straight.
Ernst and his secretary, who had gone ahead to find a good spot, waved at us a few steps ahead.
“Over here!”
It seemed they had borrowed a balcony by giving a crate of candy to a house at the intersection.
We stood side-by-side on the balcony, throwing handfuls of candy at everyone passing by.
Phoebe, who had been giggling and enjoying herself, suddenly asked.
“By the way, the candy His Highness Rurik sent is really delicious, isn’t it, Your Highness?”
“Is it?”
Before I could even reach out, two candies simultaneously lined up in front of my lips.
Having no choice, I parted my lips slightly.
Ernst quickly placed one candy in my mouth.
As I considered closing my parted lips, I glanced at Callisteon’s reaction. He pushed the second candy into my mouth.
“Cal…”
I muttered discontentedly, holding one hard candy in each cheek. Callisteon spoke.
“In case you forgot, I’m reminding you. It’s courtship candy.”
Using the candy my brother sent to campaign…
I chuckled wryly, and Ernst, for once, agreed.
“Mine is the same.”
Just then, Phoebe cut in.
“Then mine is the same too!”
And she poured a whole basket of candy over the two men’s heads.
Phoebe laughed heartily and swiftly ran away.
“Phoebe Nilo, you…!”
Ernst was the first to run after her to catch her.
A smile naturally settled on my face as I watched them.
“Are you tired? Shall we sit for a bit?”
I hadn’t even realized I was tired until I heard that question.
Callisteon didn’t wait for my answer; he held me by the waist and sat me down on a nearby tea table.
My legs actually felt heavy, but I answered spiritedly.
“Not tired at all. It’s been a while since I laughed like this.”
My gaze was still fixed on Phoebe running around.
Callisteon leaned against the railing beside me.
The streetlights, brightly lit for the festival, shone yellow, and fireworks still occasionally burst in the sky.
He looked splendid, even draped in a black cloak now entirely stained white and wearing a fox mask typically worn by women.
‘Maybe next year, men wearing fox masks will become a trend at the candy festival.’
Callisteon abruptly spoke.
“In Babenberg, an ice festival is held on the first full moon of the year. Inviting you there has been my wish since I was twelve.”
“…Since you were twelve?”
I wondered for a moment if that was a question ‘Louise’ shouldn’t ask, but he didn’t seem to find it strange.
Callisteon laughed like a small sigh.
“Even back then, my dream was that big. Even though I’d only seen you once, and my life was destined to be that of a knight wandering the borders.”
Through the diary, I had been thoroughly learning about Louise’s first semester.
Back then, Callisteon only flaunted his seniority, and their relationship remained lukewarm.
‘No wonder the two in the diary seemed much more distant than their relationship in the letters.’
It seemed Callisteon had hidden his feelings for a very long time.
Probably because he had no right of succession.
‘What if Carl isn’t the baby’s father?’
A sudden worry struck me.
I had to admit that my defenses crumbled most easily around Callisteon.
But what if the baby’s father was someone else?
‘Could I still choose someone else as I please then?’
If I couldn’t and simply chose the baby’s father, what would happen to this man’s long-held feelings?
‘Unaware of this, I even broke my promise to visit Babenberg Castle during the last monastery trip.’
Thinking about it made me feel suffocated, and I blurted out.
“I want to see the ice festival too.”
Callisteon’s gaze behind the mask wavered.
It was as if I had never seen him so unsettled, even once.
Even so, Callisteon immediately shook his head.
“Don’t push yourself, Lu. There’s plenty of time.”
He was probably saying that for my sake.
I insisted for his sake too.
“I just… want to go. I read in a book that travel is good for the baby too.”
This time, he couldn’t refuse immediately either.
I could almost clearly see his face, troubled behind the mask.
Callisteon answered after a long while.
“…Let’s ask the doctor and decide.”
Then he added slowly.
“Even if we don’t get permission… thank you for saying that. I didn’t mean to burden you.”
I shrugged nonchalantly.
“I’m not saying I’ll go for you, Carl. I just think it would be fun.”
Even if he isn’t the baby’s father, if it’s such a long-held wish, I can grant him that much.
For Callisteon, as he always said, he deserved that much repayment even just as a senior.
‘Of course, it’s the same for all three, not just Carl.’
Thinking that, I recalled the real Louise, who had given all three a chance.
‘I really didn’t want to understand it…’
Would it have been easier if one was missing, if there were only two…?
But these men are each perfect and devoted, making me feel terribly guilty even at the mere thought of daring to choose one among them.
