Chapter 37
Due to royal tradition, a member of the imperial family must be the first to dance at any imperial party. So, once the Emperor stepped back, Lespan always had to take the first dance. As the Crown Prince, whose conduct was always scrutinized, his partner had consistently been his aunt, Ashila. He had never once asked a young lady to dance first.
So when he bypassed Arin and asked Melodyan to dance, the hall buzzed in surprise. It was understandable if he chose Arin, since she was a key figure at this event, but Melodyan was another story.
Seeing Lespan’s smug face approach her, Melodyan clenched her fists. His sly grin clearly revealed he wanted to mess with her.
Arin watched the showdown between the two with great interest. They had just exchanged words in not-so-nice tones despite their pleasant appearances, and now they stepped into the center of the hall.
From afar, their waltz looked so elegant that the word graceful naturally came to mind. Once the royal dance began, the nobles also joined the waltz line.
A shadow fell over Arin as someone stepped in front of her. She looked up.
“Let’s go, too.”
Deneb took her hand and gave it a brief kiss. Arin blinked in surprise.
‘That Lespan guy just brushed lips with her…’
She decided to bury the thought deep inside her mind.
Though dancing in public felt awkward at first, Deneb’s skilled lead helped her relax. Arin followed his steps, stepping close and then gracefully drifting away in rhythm.
He looked deeply into her face as she approached without hesitation. With every step she took, her fluttering hair gave off a gentle scent of apricot blossoms.
Though his gaze felt a bit intense, Arin, being someone easily carried by mood, still enjoyed the waltz. She spun elegantly and took Deneb’s hand again.
When her petite hand rested in his palm, he interlaced their fingers firmly. Arin’s bright smile stirred something deep within Deneb.
As the majestic music came to an end, Deneb and Arin bowed to each other.
They left the dance floor and headed toward the sidelines. Arin wanted to observe Melodyan, and Deneb simply disliked being the center of attention.
As he had predicted, many people around them were eagerly eyeing Arin. When a gentle-looking viscount tried to approach her, Deneb’s expression darkened, and the viscount quickly moonwalked away to ask another lady to dance.
“Let’s leave now.”
Arin tilted her head at Deneb’s words.
“We’ve done all we needed to. Let’s go.”
‘What do you mean leave now? I’m just getting started.’
Realizing she wasn’t going to leave, Deneb threw out a final blow.
“Your bunny-like son and Yello are waiting at home.”
Arin choked on her white wine at his remark, which sounded like a husband pleading with his wife who had run off to party.
“Yello’s a leopard, not a bunny…”
“The kid is waiting.”
There he went again with his twisted logic.
Just as Arin was wondering how to deal with him, the sound of a wine glass shattering echoed from afar. When she turned to look, Melodyan was on the floor, her white dress stained with a drink.
“I’m sorry, Lady! I accidentally spilled it on you.”
The heavy emphasis on accidentally made it clear it was no accident.
As Arin’s gaze returned to Melodyan, Deneb frowned in annoyance. With no choice, he watched the fight among the young ladies play out, wondering why Melodyan held Arin’s attention so much.
The young lady standing to Melodyan’s right fluttered her fan and spoke in mock disappointment.
“Oh dear, how unfortunate. Your dress is ruined, so I suppose you’ll have to leave early. What a shame…”
“…”
Melodyan stayed silent, looking heartbroken, and the fan-wielding noble secretly smiled.
The reason they spilled wine on Melodyan and knocked her over was to punish her for daring to flirt with the Crown Prince.
Lespan had only intended to make things awkward by asking her to dance — not to get her caught up in this kind of drama. Just as he was about to step in, Melodyan’s graceful voice gently rang through the hall.
“You should’ve been more careful, Lady. I’m really upset now.”
The unexpected reaction from someone known to be timid caused the girls who spilled the wine to flush red. Since everyone was focused on them, most people heard Melodyan’s voice.
“I think I’ll head home now. Since you said it was an accident, I’ll forgive you.”
With crescent-shaped eyes, Melodyan approached the girl who spilled the wine and leaned in to whisper.
“Wow, your face is so red — I guess you do know how to be embarrassed. You look just like an orange.”
“…”
“Really makes me want to squeeze you.”
“…?”
“Hey, unless you want to burst like juice, you’d better watch yourself.”
Melodyan believed she had whispered quietly enough that only the other girl could hear. But there were three others who caught every word — the only sword users at the party: Lespan, Arin, and Deneb.
Arin, caught off guard, choked and spit out her wine.
“Cough!”
Was that really something Melodyan just said? A laugh rose from deep inside her.
Lespan, laughing just as awkwardly, met Arin’s eyes. Realizing they’d both overheard the same thing, the two stifled laughter with a shared glance. The more they tried not to laugh, the harder it got.
Knowing she’d be seen as crazy if she burst out laughing here, Arin suppressed her giggles, grabbed Deneb’s wrist, and fled the hall.
* * *
Arin gently nudged Deneb’s shoulder.
“You’ve been in a bad mood for a while now. Is something bothering you?”
Deneb leaned back against the carriage seat and closed his eyes — a clear sign he didn’t want to talk.
He didn’t know what to say to Arin, who kept glancing at him for clues. Ever since seeing her laugh with Lespan, he’d felt unusually down, though he couldn’t figure out why.
While trying to swallow his irritation with his eyes shut, something soft landed on his thigh — the shawl he had given Arin.
‘Come to think of it, she never even wore it.’
A vein popped on his forehead. Deneb picked up the shawl and aggressively wrapped it around her.
“Hey! What are you doing?”
“I’m tired of looking. Just cover up.”
Arin was stunned. She had brought it to cover him since he looked tired, and now he was lashing out.
* * *
Meanwhile, back home, Ader was hiding in the wardrobe, hugging Yello and bawling his eyes out.
“I wanted to go to the party too… sniffle.”
Outside the wardrobe, the old butler and a maid had to fight back smiles. Ader’s nasal baby talk was just too adorable.
It was a bit heartbreaking to see him cry, but his mumbling was painfully cute. Though they couldn’t really understand what he was saying, they just nodded and cooed.
Inside the wardrobe, Yello patted the sobbing Ader who had buried his face into the beast’s chest. Yello’s six-pack chest fur brushed gently against the curled-up boy.
[I don’t know what you’re saying, but stop crying. My luxurious chest fur is getting ruined by your tears. Grugh.]
“Sniffle. I wanna see Lesspan too… I wanna see poop too…”
[Graaah, being hugged this long is making my joints ache.]
“Eeegh!”
Yello had understood that last part loud and clear. He sighed, resigning himself to the fact that his chest fur would remain damp for some time. He was still listening to Ader’s mumbles when the sound of horse hooves reached his ears.
[Little one, Arin’s back.]
Yello moved to open the wardrobe, but Ader’s face filled with betrayal. The crack of light from the opened door revealed the boy’s pout, and seeing it, Yello quietly closed the wardrobe again and snuggled back into Ader’s arms like a plushie.
[Aww, my little one’s sulking. Don’t worry, big bro’s staying right here!]
* * *
When Arin returned to the Altair estate, she immediately thought of Ader, who had begged to come along. As soon as she stepped off the carriage, she asked,
“Where’s Ader?”
“Well… um… in the wardrobe.”
“…What?”
Arin was told by a maid that Ader had gone into hiding with Yello inside the wardrobe. Feeling guilty, she ran upstairs in her dress straight to her room.
Inside, the butler and maids were standing around the wardrobe.
“Is Ader in there?”
The one who answered wasn’t the butler or the maids.
“Ader’s not in the wardrobe!”
Arin gently knocked on the wardrobe, her voice full of regret.
“Ader, it’s me. Aren’t you going to show me your face?”
“Ader’s not here.”
“Were you upset I didn’t take you? I wanted to bring you, too, but only those with invitations could go.”
Though Ader was smart enough to understand her, he still felt sad. His tears welled up again, and he sniffled while rubbing his eyes.
Yello, observing Ader’s reaction, tapped the door. With a soft creak, it opened from his gentle kitty punch. Caught off guard, Ader blinked, and his tears dripped down.
As Arin approached, Yello slipped out of the wardrobe like his job was done.
She gently wiped the swollen eyes of Ader.
“If I get invited again, I’ll be sure to ask Prince Lespan to invite you too. Okay?”
Ader, sniffling and fiddling with his fingers, hugged Arin tightly and cried.
“Hiiing, I’m sorry for throwing a tantrum.”
Arin, paying no mind to her dress getting soaked, held Ader tightly in her arms.
