Chapter – 11
For a very short moment, but to Rafine, everything felt slow.
Cedric, who had pushed her, and Elizabeth beside him both looked extremely shocked.
Facing them, she was falling.
“Si-sister!”
“Rafine!”
The voices shouting from above sounded endlessly far away.
Rafine blinked slowly.
Everything passing beside her eyes seemed to move upward.
The blue sky filled her vision along with the hem of her dress fluttering wildly in the strong wind.
She realized she was falling from the tower, but the wind would not obey her will. She had thought she could control her power quite well now, but in this situation it was difficult to use it freely.
Cedric and Elizabeth were becoming smaller and farther away.
Every time she blinked, the scenery passing beside her felt unfamiliar.
Fragments of the past flashed before her eyes.
Ah… Am I going to die like this?
Suddenly, she felt like crying.
She had been abandoned by her family, and finally even by her fiancé. For a moment, she thought perhaps dying would be better.
The memories of the past when Cedric made her heart flutter now felt pitiful.
When was it…?
Why had she started liking Cedric? Why had loving him led her to this point?
Unable to believe it, she blinked again.
She was sixteen, attending her first debutante ball.
In that unfamiliar place where everything was new, there was one man who immediately caught her attention.
He was dressed neatly and looked impressive.
His name was Cedric Playten.
He was taller than most men, with deep black hair and bright green eyes that suited him perfectly. Not only Rafine, but many women were interested in him.
Among unmarried noblemen, he was certainly someone who stood out.
But Rafine, who was shy at that time, did not dare to approach him first.
She only wandered nearby with a blushing face.
Then—
“My lady, would you grant me the honor of sharing the first dance with you?”
He approached her first.
His friendly tone, as if they already knew each other, left a deep impression.
More than the excited squeals of the women around them, the thrilling feeling that he had chosen her seemed to swallow all her senses.
She felt a strange sense of pride, though she pretended otherwise and simply smiled gently.
In an instant, she became the object of everyone’s envy.
Cedric was the illegitimate son of a duke, but with his skill and ability he had secured the position of heir to the Playten family.
He was famous for having exceptional insight.
Sometimes he even predicted things that would happen in the future with surprising accuracy.
Because of this, when the duke named him as his heir despite him being illegitimate, no one dared to object.
With outstanding looks and ability, he was considered the best groom candidate after the Emperor himself.
“Among all the ladies here today, you are the most beautiful.”
How was he so good at saying exactly the things women liked to hear?
It was as if his lips were coated with honey.
Dancing with him felt like flying on the wind.
His elegant movements and composed expression.
Without realizing it, Rafine’s cheeks turned red.
While her breathing became uneven, Cedric calmly supported her.
Perhaps that was why she liked him even more.
At that time, Elizabeth had also come to the debutante ball with Rafine.
Elizabeth was still young and had not officially debuted in society, so normally she should not have been there.
But Elizabeth insisted strongly that she wanted to go, and their father, the Marquis, had no choice but to allow it.
Everyone knew Elizabeth had been sick since childhood, so the nobles pitied her and did not make it a big issue.
Ah… perhaps Elizabeth had fallen for him that very day.
Rafine suddenly thought of that possibility.
The atmosphere that day had been like that.
The ballroom was filled with the excited expectations of young girls.
The sparkling chandeliers shone brightly on countless jewels, making the ballroom even more dazzling.
The colorful dresses and the lively voices of the people all felt joyful.
Cedric had definitely smiled at her.
That day, a new empty space appeared in Rafine’s heart that would never be filled.
How foolish…
What she thought would be only a brief meeting soon turned into an engagement.
“The Playten family has sent a marriage proposal for you.”
Rafine alone had been happy when she heard the news.
Even though her father did not seem pleased despite it being good news for the family, everything still felt wonderful to her.
Perhaps that was why she believed their meeting had been fate.
After remembering those past moments with Cedric, Rafine suddenly wanted to live.
To die here like this—
After witnessing the betrayal of the man she loved—
Without being able to do anything—
That would be too unfair.
That could not happen.
And with that thought, the direction of the wind changed.
Though she could not see it, the wind gathered beneath her like clouds and supported her body.
The speed of her fall suddenly slowed.
Just before she reached the ground—
She felt herself being caught in someone’s arms.
Then she lost consciousness.
For a brief moment, she thought she saw a white mask.
It looked like a feather gently falling from the sky.
The sight was so mysterious it almost seemed unreal.
“Y-Your Majesty!”
When people realized that the one holding the unconscious Rafine was the Emperor, they were all shocked and rushed forward.
Was he not a man who hated others touching him?
Then how could he hold someone like that so casually?
In fact, the Emperor appearing at such a place was already unimaginable.
The nobles did not dare speak loudly in front of him and whispered quietly among themselves.
“Did you see that just now?”
“What happened? It looked like the person stopped falling…”
They were surprised by the Emperor’s actions, but they had clearly seen the wind slowing Rafine’s fall before she hit the ground.
It was far too strange to be considered a natural phenomenon.
Just the fact that she fell from such a tall tower without being seriously hurt proved it was not an illusion.
“Could it be that she awakened a special power…?”
“What? Like the one His Majesty has?”
“Shh, be quiet!”
The appearance of a new ability user would cause a huge disturbance in the current balance of power.
If their guess was correct, then this was something extremely important.
But because the Emperor was present, the nobles could only hold their tongues.
Meanwhile, Emperor Bayern had only one concern in his mind—the condition of Rafine in his arms.
When he saw Rafine falling from the tower, he had thought something terrible was about to happen.
He had only come to help her break her engagement.
He had never imagined seeing her fall from a tower like that.
If he had not been wearing a mask, everyone might have seen the terrifying expression on his face.
Fortunately, he moved faster than anyone else and safely caught her.
The moment he touched her, he immediately realized that Rafine had used a special ability.
Her power had released such a strong energy that he could not possibly miss it.
“But… why did Lady Lobru fall from the tower?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
People soon began guessing the reason.
“Why would she do that?”
“Isn’t it because of Young Master Playten?”
“No way.”
“What if she thought, ‘If you won’t accept my love, I’ll just die’? Something like that.”
Considering Rafine’s behavior until now, it sounded believable.
She had loved Cedric so much that she might have grown resentful when her feelings were not returned.
After all, people had always seen her following him around.
“My goodness… seeking love with her life. Then maybe earlier when she said she wanted to break the engagement, it was just to get attention?”
“They say people in love can do anything.”
The misunderstanding grew larger and larger.
“No matter the reason, she ended up causing trouble.”
“But why did His Majesty…”
However, Bayern could not hear any of the nobles’ whispers.
He had already suspected that Rafine possessed a special ability.
People with abilities could sense each other’s power.
The strange thing was that Rafine’s power sometimes felt extremely faint, almost as if it did not exist.
Because Rafine had never used her power in front of him before, he had never been completely certain.
But right now, what mattered more was whether she was safe.
Her pale face with closed eyes looked terribly weak.
He thought it was probably because she had suddenly used such a large amount of power.
Abilities were powerful, but they often placed great strain on the user’s body.
That was why one had to understand the power before using it.
But Rafine did not know anything about it.
Just then—
“Ha… huh!”
“S-sister!”
Cedric and Elizabeth rushed down from the tower and stood before the Emperor.
“Rafi—!”
Cedric came to check on Rafine, but when he met the Emperor’s eyes while seeing her in his arms, he froze.
“H-ha… Y-Your Majesty… how are you here…?”
Cedric looked completely confused.
Not only had he met someone he should never meet in such a place, but he also felt that something was going terribly wrong.
“Cedric.”
The Emperor quietly called his name.
Cedric stiffened and swallowed nervously before answering.
“…Yes, Your Majesty.”
“I told you to be an example to others, did I not?”
At that moment, everyone’s attention turned toward Cedric.
The Emperor’s tone clearly sounded as if he was questioning his responsibility.
Those gathered there began looking at Cedric as if he had done something wrong.
Even the people who had been whispering about Rafine falling fell silent and stared at him.
Even though the Emperor wore a mask, it felt as if his cold expression could still be seen.
“Why did the fiancée who went to bring you fall from the tower?”
