Moonlight Ball

It sounded like he’d take a bad beating from the King, and if he attacked him first, he would die with no dignity. The King’s warning brought the man to a halt. Suddenly, he made a ridiculous irrational decision; he turned his back and ran recklessly over the balcony, flying into the air and Iris jumped back in shock. Don’t tell me he can do flying magic! the onlookers thought.

A terrible scream quickly faded away as he fell to the ground. It couldn’t have been. In terms of aristocracy, the opponent was a hierarchical aristocrat who was very far from the sacred blood relatives. He just chose to fall because he was so scared that he would be killed by the Swordmaster.

“Oh, you’re smart,” Elena In Setang muttered.

This was the third floor. At a distance, the bottom was full of thick grass, so there was a greater chance of him living, rather than dying by the hand of the Swordmaster.

“That coward!” Sidrain yelled, after trying to chase after him.

“Your Highness. Didn’t the duel end anyway? It’s not the winner’s right attitude to go after a man who has forfeited the duel,” said the Duke of Seth.

“Sid, it’s over!” shouted the Count of Portwall. The pro-royal aristocrats tried to cool him down.

“Is that the end of it? That bloody little brat insulted my Queen!” Sidrain growled. He was about to run after the nobleman and kill him.

Rosemary’s not the kind of person to be insulted by another man! thought once more by the bewildered crowd. The whole situation was frustrating for everyone and Portwall was devastated by the fact that his baby brother was going crazy. “Sid, your Queen is like a swordmaster with a sharp tongue!”

There were only a few people who could beat her, even if she was the Queen and attached to the King. She wouldn’t hesitate to press down with her high heels in class, so the only people who could beat her were those who were superior or similar to her at best. They wouldn’t be able to defeat her completely though because her power was beyond imagination. At that moment, Sidrain went off on a tangent and roared, vowing to cut off the nobleman’s throat.

“Your Grace.” A small hand carefully grasped his sleeve. Iris, who had been limping with feet that didn’t hurt, grabbed Sidrain and looked at him directly. She didn’t know why, but this man seemed extremely concerned about her. He was angry at Iris’s bad luck and was trying to make sure that the man paid for it.

Iris realized how quickly he could change his temperament, and warily said, “I’m fine.” Sidrain heard Iris’s low voice and she grinned as their eyes met, “I’m okay now.”

Sidrain’s gaze descended from her face onto her deer-like neck and smooth delicate hands. Her hands were shaking. She wasn’t okay at all. Still, she was pretending to be as brave as she could, for him.

“Come here, my lady,” Sidrain picked Iris up again. She felt too light. He tried to recall the weight of Rosemary, but he’d never picked her up before, so he couldn’t guess her weight. If the soul changes, does everything change this much? He couldn’t stand it because he felt like her body scent, voice, and even her shadow had changed.

Sidrain passed the seat of King and Queen. The band still played cheerful music, and people danced as if nothing had happened, but everyone was looking at the King and Queen. Iris dug into his arms again. She couldn’t bear to look at the people and so she instinctively covered her face. How had she ended up hating people to such a degree? Sidrain wanted to find out. There must be a reason why she hated making eye contact with others. Whatever it was, he wouldn’t let her go, but now he opened the door to the fourth balcony, drenched in the sweetness she dug into him with her firm grasp.

“Sid,” Count Portwall called him quietly, “No way, no way.” He couldn’t believe that Sidrain had pulled a woman from another man’s arms and had then had gone to the balcony next door? No matter how much he said she was his wife, he wondered what this was all about? No way, say no! Even if you’re a king, there’s a custom that people have to follow! He kept his thoughts to himself though.

Sidrain grinned when their eyes met. It was a very manly, yet pleasant smile, unlike his usual cold face. “Have a great evening. I’ll do the same.” Sidrain slammed the balcony door without any hassle, while still holding Iris. As the heavy curtain swayed, she was struck by his silent, no-nonsense attitude.

“Is my Queen afraid of heights?” The King asked, and Iris looked up. The man’s red hair, twinkling in the moonlight, was chilling as if it had blood on it. Maybe it’s because she saw him in a different light a little while ago. Iris shook her head silently. When he’d laughed and gotten angry earlier, he’d looked like he was about to kill a real man or two. But he was very sweet now. The potential murderer, who was likely to cut people off, had disappeared into thin air, and what remained now was a man with only signs of concern.

She still thought he was a scary and strange individual. Iris lowered her eyes, realizing that he was genuinely angry and worried about her though. Except for her teacher, she hadn’t even cared so much about herself. No, not even her teacher had shown such a violent reaction to someone wanting to harm her. She felt strange. Iris blinked for no reason when a strange tickle seemed to be fluttering around her heart.