Chapter 27
The Coincidence Created by Intent
Shainel noticed that Terban’s attention had shifted elsewhere and turned her head curiously to follow his gaze.
At the end of his line of sight stood Ellea. She was now talking to Vandel.
“Hey, Terban.”
Shainel quickly called out to him. He turned his head toward her, breaking his gaze away from the two.
With a casual smile, Shainel asked what she had been wanting to know for a while—pretending to be nonchalant and without any particular intention.
“So, what were you two talking about while you were dancing?”
“With the Princess?”
“Yeah. You looked like you were enjoying yourselves. Ah, if it’s something important, you don’t have to tell me.”
Her comment brought the earlier moment back to Terban’s mind. He hadn’t expected such a slip from Ellea, who always appeared so flawless on the outside.
‘I really didn’t see that coming.’
At first, he thought she was simply showing displeasure, but now he wasn’t sure whether to be relieved that wasn’t the case.
Still, even thinking back on it made him want to laugh.
‘That face again…’
Shainel grew anxious as Terban smiled in a way she couldn’t interpret. What kind of conversation had made him react like that?
“What’s with that look?”
“Nothing. We didn’t talk about anything special.”
“Really?”
Terban chose to keep the moment to himself. He had no interest in exposing someone’s vulnerable side—especially not her flustered and sulky expressions.
Since he insisted it was nothing, Shainel had no choice but to drop the subject, though she couldn’t shake the feeling that she had missed something important.
Meanwhile, Ellea and Vandel seemed to have finished their conversation, and a crowd of people quickly swarmed around her, having been waiting for an opening.
Soon after, Vandel approached Terban, who asked,
“You seem to have gotten close to the Princess already?”
“She was alone for some time, so I simply went over to check in.”
“I see.”
Before Terban could say more, Shainel interjected, clearly eager to ask about what had happened with Ellea.
“What were you talking about? It looked like you two were enjoying yourselves.”
“Nothing special.”
“Is that so?”
As Shainel gauged the relationship between Vandel and Ellea, she noticed Ellea walking alone toward the entrance, away from the crowd—as if to get some fresh air.
After a moment of thought, Shainel leaned in and whispered to Terban as other nobles approached.
“I’ll get going for now. Enjoy your conversation.”
“Sure.”
She smiled at him and slipped into a dim hallway where others wouldn’t notice her easily.
The smile on her face was long gone. One by one, she recalled the earlier encounter with Ellea.
‘Everything about her is irritating.’
Though she had approached Ellea first, it was only to assert her own position.
To say: “I’m not someone you can simply disregard, so you better watch yourself.”
The fact that Ellea was a princess didn’t matter to Shainel anymore.
She already disliked how Ellea was always around Heris—and to top it off, Ellea had even pushed her away.
Shainel was determined to prove that choosing Heris over her had been a foolish mistake.
‘She doesn’t seem to understand her place yet. Then I’ll just have to show her.’
As she had that thought, someone caught her eye. With a secretive smile, she began walking toward him.
“Ah, this is nice.”
Ellea, who had stepped out of the banquet hall filled with stares and attention, took a deep breath.
The tightness in her chest and lingering unease seemed to fade with that breath.
She ventured further into the garden, ensuring she was completely hidden from view, and looked up at the sky. The night sky sparkled with stars.
“The sky’s the same here and in Zebenica. High, wide, and completely out of reach.”
Even as she said that, she reached toward the sky, as if she longed to touch it. Realizing she never could, she lowered her hand again.
While enjoying the silence in the dark, Ellea sensed someone approaching.
Alert, she quickly turned toward the sound.
‘Who is it?’
Just in case, she stayed wary. A man soon emerged into view. She didn’t recognize him, but from his attire, he appeared to be a noble guest at the banquet.
But what made her frown was his unsteady gait.
‘He’s drunk.’
As he came closer, it became obvious—his face was flushed from alcohol.
“Sigh…”
Thinking her quiet time was over, she decided to head back—but the man suddenly grabbed her wrist.
The moment she felt his touch, Ellea harshly shook off his hand and spoke coldly.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
Now up close, the overwhelming stench of alcohol hit her nose.
Deeming him not worth her time, she tried to walk away—but the man stumbled in front of her, blocking her path.
Instead of dodging him, Ellea spoke again. Her eyes showed nothing but disdain.
“I asked what you’re doing.”
“Hey, don’t be so cold. You came out here to be alone with someone, didn’t you?”
‘He’s completely lost it.’
Clearly too drunk to realize who she was, the man grossly misunderstood the situation.
Even if she weren’t royalty, his behavior would still have been unacceptable.
“Watch your words. I came out here to get some air.”
“No need to play dumb. We all know what’s going on here.”
“For your own safety, I suggest you stop there.”
Though her words were a final warning, the man remained oblivious to the tense air. He reached out again.
‘I’ve had enough.’
She grabbed his wrist and twisted it in one swift motion. The man screamed in pain.
“Argh!”
Without a change in expression, Ellea threw him aside as if brushing off filth. He lost his balance and collapsed to the ground.
“You won’t even lay a finger on me.”
“Do you know who I am?!”
“I don’t care. Now are you going to leave quietly or not?”
“You think I’ll let this go?!”
As the man staggered back to his feet, Ellea lost any remaining patience.
She was already under a lot of stress from attending the banquet—and now this.
Thinking this was the perfect opportunity, Ellea removed the hairpin that held her hair in place.
Her neatly tied hair fell loose, but she only stared directly at the man.
“You think that little thing will help you?”
The man laughed mockingly, still too drunk to grasp the situation.
“I don’t even need this, really. But I figured it might hurt more with it.”
Enraged and clueless, the man lunged at her. Ellea didn’t flinch—she merely waited for him to step into range.
Once he did, she stabbed him with the hairpin—avoiding any fatal areas but ensuring pain. Her fury was clear in each strike.
Naturally, he didn’t come close to touching her.
“Ack!”
He backed away from the pain but continued to glare at her, unwilling to give up.
“You think you’ll walk away from this?”
“Now I’m curious. Will you walk away? I’m running out of patience.”
Only anger remained in the man’s eyes.
As he rushed at her again, Ellea prepared for a final blow—but a voice from behind stopped her.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
She instinctively turned toward the voice.
Though startled, the man didn’t seem to hear it, as he continued moving.
But just before he could reach her, someone yanked Ellea back.
A hand pulled her out of the way—and as a result, she found herself right in front of someone, nearly falling into his arms.
Looking up, she met Terban’s blue eyes.
Surprised by the sudden situation, she didn’t immediately move away. Terban remained silent, just staring at her.
‘We meet again…’
From the very beginning, she’d wondered why this man kept showing up in her life.
It seemed the gods had no intention of granting her peace.
Then, the moment of silence was broken by the drunken man’s voice behind them.
“Ah, seriously.”
Terban turned to look and spotted the man staggering.
After glancing between Ellea and the man, he quickly grasped the situation.
“What’s the meaning of this? You do know who she is.”
“Your Majesty, I—this is…”
The man’s voice trembled as he realized he had just assaulted the emperor’s guest.
But Terban’s gaze had already gone cold. If he hadn’t arrived in time, what could have happened?
“I suggest you don’t use ‘I was drunk’ as an excuse.”
“I—I’m sorry. I…”
Terban had no intention of listening. He immediately called for someone.
“You there. Take him away.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
A knight appeared—seemingly from nowhere—and quickly dragged the man away.
Even as he tried to explain himself, he was swiftly removed.
Only after he was gone did silence return.
Ellea, now calm again, stepped back slightly to put distance between her and Terban.
Only then did he release her wrist.
“Thank you, Your Majesty. That was a rather uncomfortable situation.”
‘Though I really didn’t need the help.’
She hid her true thoughts and expressed her gratitude.
“No need to thank me. He’ll pay for what he did. Such rudeness toward the Princess cannot go unpunished.”
With his short reply, silence fell again.
Ellea naturally assumed he’d return to the banquet—but for some reason, Terban remained standing in front of her.
