Chapter 29
Reina’s eyes darted around nervously.
These people had clearly been waiting for someone—anyone—to bring up the name Elizabeth Christener.
Unfortunately, the one who had done so was Reina Tersion herself.
It felt as though she had personally dragged Elizabeth into the center of everyone’s scornful stares. The realization made her chest tighten painfully.
“That wasn’t what I meant to do. Really, it wasn’t.”
She wanted to say that she neither wished to criticize Elizabeth nor wanted to hear anyone else do it.
But in a grand ballroom where every finger seemed to point toward Elizabeth, she couldn’t muster the courage to speak up.
So Reina said nothing at all.
At least there was one small mercy—Elizabeth wasn’t in attendance tonight.
Reina clutched at her gown tightly, relieved that Elizabeth wouldn’t have to witness this ugly scene.
She glanced around cautiously. Maybe she should excuse herself for a while—claim she wasn’t feeling well and step outside.
The guilt was sitting heavy on her chest; it felt as if her careless words had dragged the Christener name through gossip yet again.
“Um, excuse me, I think I’ll just—”
Reina began hesitantly, glancing up at her husband beside her.
But just then, the atmosphere in the room shifted.
Something strange rippled through the crowd.
Everyone—her companions, the surrounding nobles—suddenly froze, staring in the same direction with wide, shocked eyes.
Their gaze was fixed on the entrance of the ballroom.
Confused, Reina turned to look.
And then she, too, went still—her expression mirroring everyone else’s.
Two figures stood at the doorway.
The pair who had instantly silenced the entire ballroom gazed back at the crowd calmly, wearing serene smiles.
They looked so alike—two faces carved from the same mold, breathtakingly beautiful—that for a moment, even the brilliant chandeliers seemed to dim in comparison.
It was Michael Christener and Elizabeth Christener—
the brother and sister who had become the center of all attention and speculation in the Kydan Empire’s noble society.
The sharp sound of someone’s breath catching broke the silence, and murmurs quickly spread like ripples across the hall.
“Good heavens, how dare they show their faces here?”
“The audacity…”
Some spoke loudly on purpose, ensuring the siblings could hear.
Others covered their mouths, whispering as they stepped back to keep their distance.
The air filled with open disgust and veiled hostility. Even Reina—who had nothing to do with any of it—felt uneasy under the tension.
Yet, before those glaring eyes, the Christener siblings simply smiled, calm and unbothered.
Perhaps because of their composure—or perhaps because the Christeners were still a family that no one in noble society could afford to offend—no one dared to stop them.
And, of course, their dazzling beauty didn’t help.
Their hair and eyes glowed like molten gold, their features sculpted to perfection—so beautiful it almost hurt to look at them.
In this society, where aesthetics were practically a form of power, beauty was a shield few dared to challenge.
Reina remembered vividly the first time she’d met them as a child—how she’d learned what it truly meant to fall in love at first sight.
It had been at her seventh birthday party. The Christener siblings were guests that day, and the memory of their perfection was still etched in her mind.
They had looked like porcelain dolls crafted by a master… or angels who’d simply descended from the heavens.
When they had smiled and congratulated her, she’d felt happier than she did with any birthday gift she’d ever received.
Sadly, that had been the first and last time they smiled at her like that.
The beautiful Christener siblings had paid her little attention afterward.
At least Michael would occasionally greet her warmly when they crossed paths at social gatherings.
But Elizabeth? Meeting her was nearly impossible.
No matter how many invitations Reina sent—for tea, for balls, even casual visits—Elizabeth ignored them all. She rarely even came to the capital, leaving Reina with no chance to meet her.
That was why Reina had secretly been excited for this ball. She’d hoped—just maybe—Elizabeth would attend.
And now she had.
Only, the atmosphere was nothing like what Reina had imagined.
She hesitated, wondering if she should approach despite the tension filling the hall.
“Oh my, hello, Reina.”
Elizabeth, walking confidently through the nobles who were parting in discomfort to avoid her, spotted Reina and greeted her first.
Following his sister’s gaze, Michael smiled as well.
“It’s been a while, Reina.”
Their radiant smiles made the entire room seem to sparkle.
For a moment, Reina could see no one else—not her husband, not the other nobles.
Grinning brightly, she nearly ran toward them.
“Brother Michael! How have you been?”
“I’m well. I think it’s been some time since I last saw you with your husband at that count’s banquet. Have you been doing well too?”
“Yes, yes, I have! Oh—and thank you so much for the gift you sent for my birthday last year. I absolutely loved it—it made me so happy!”
Her heart was pounding as she spoke, fumbling over her words.
Michael looked even more handsome than she remembered, and it was all she could do not to blush.
Though she was married—her husband had been her fiancé since childhood—standing before her first love, she couldn’t stop her heart from fluttering.
“Reina, I’m here too.”
Elizabeth, who had been quietly observing, reached out and gently took Reina’s hand.
The gesture was so unexpectedly warm—like something between close friends—that Reina blinked in surprise and delight.
“Ah! Liz—hello! It’s been so long. I really missed you.”
“Oh? Are you sure it wasn’t my brother you missed?”
“W-what? N-no! I sent you an invitation to visit my estate last time, remember…?”
“I know. Sorry, I was teasing you. It’s good to see you too.”
Reina was stunned by Elizabeth’s sudden friendliness.
The woman who’d always been cool and distant was now speaking softly, joking even, and wrapping an arm affectionately around her.
It left Reina utterly flustered.
Michael, noticing, reached out and lightly pulled his sister away.
“Give her some space. Don’t infect her with your foolishness.”
“Who’s calling who foolish?”
Infect her?
Oh, right—the illness.
Reina tilted her head slightly as she remembered.
She’d heard rumors that Elizabeth had caught the Red Rat Plague, but both siblings looked as healthy and radiant as ever—no sign of the telltale red blotches anywhere on their skin.
Did she recover completely already?
“Liz, did you get over the Red Rat fever?”
The words slipped out before she could stop herself—Reina had always had the bad habit of speaking whatever she was thinking.
A tense silence immediately fell over the ballroom again.
This time, all eyes turned toward Reina.
She had just asked out loud what everyone had wanted to ask but hadn’t dared to.
How would Elizabeth Christener respond?
Dozens of curious, anxious gazes locked onto her.
“Hm? I’ve never had the Red Rat fever.”
Elizabeth answered casually, smiling as she gave a little shrug.
“You can see that, can’t you?”
Her golden eyes gleamed as she looked around the crowd, as if genuinely puzzled by the question.
Then, with a faintly mocking smile, she swept her gaze across the nobles watching her.
Wherever her eyes met theirs, people flinched guiltily and looked away.
“Come to think of it… she really does look fine.”
“Wasn’t one of the symptoms those red blotches?”
“They say Deonne has everything—maybe she covered them with special cosmetics?”
“But she doesn’t look feverish or sick at all…”
Whispers spread again through the crowd, uncertain and uneasy.
Elizabeth’s calm demeanor and confident response had thrown the entire ballroom into confusion once more.
