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Allowing a strange man to see one's bare feet—or rather, a strange man requesting to see them—was a provocative and secret form of courtship found only in pulp novels. ...I believe I read that in the 'Baroness's Guide to Society,' which I had hidden and read in secret from Vasily.
'Why did that suddenly come to mind?'
Because it wouldn't be strange for Valentin to take me away barefoot? As I stood up, squeezing my feet into high-heeled leather shoes, he extended his arm as if to escort me.
I left the rear garden with him. Before entering the building, I didn't forget to gently pat Sergei's arm. Regardless of the outcome he had caused, Sergei had simply stepped forward with a pure desire to protect me.
We passed through the open doors and crossed the veranda that connected the indoor hall to the rear garden. Since the weather was still cold, there were few people on the veranda. Thanks to that, my anxiety grew.
"But is it okay to run away like this? Isn't this more dangerous?"
"Of course it's not, and it is indeed more dangerous. If we go out like this and draw out the spies, the people in the ballroom will be safe... but it would be like giving the spies a way to escape. It cannot be seen as very wise."
"Then why did we come out? What are we running away from?"
Valentin came to a sudden halt. When he turned to look at me, a wind pushing through the spindly winter garden trees shook my veil and vanished. Perhaps because we weren't that close, I couldn't see what expression Valentin was wearing.
At some point, a hand reached out cautiously, grasped the edge of my veil, and lifted it above my forehead. The cold air of late winter rushed against the skin of my face.
His face was still hidden by his veil, but I was now bare-faced. Valentin seemed to be examining my face anew. No, 'contemplating' would be a more fitting expression. I was sure of it, as I felt a tingling sensation on my cheeks.
'What kind of expression am I making right now?'
Are my eyebrows neatly groomed? I didn't even put on makeup properly because of the veil. Do my lips look too pale?
Thinking that Valentin was observing my face brought all sorts of random thoughts to mind. Could even these thoughts be showing on my face? Once my worry reached that point, I had no choice but to snatch the veil from his hand and force it back down.
Perhaps surprised by my sudden action, Valentin, who remained frozen with the veil snatched away, calmly spoke.
"You've grown a lot."
I felt the blood rush to the top of my head. What? Why? Why is my head so hot? Did I catch a cold just from sitting in the garden for a bit?
"Well, I'm now..."
"I was referring to your height. I noticed earlier that your heels are at least 10cm; you've used a petty trick to increase your height. How fitting for Your Highness."
"Petty? You... do you think I wore these because I wanted to? It's hard to get used to heels of this height no matter how much you wear them!"
"I wonder if there is a reason why you went as far as wearing such difficult shoes to disguise your identity."
"..."
"Do you still like me that much?"
For a moment, my mind went blank. However, it soon relaxed, and I was able to answer nonchalantly.
"Of course. Valentin, you are one of my oldest friends."
I unfortunately couldn't finish the sentence: 'one of.'
Bang!
A gunshot rang out nearby. It was clearly a sound that erupted from the rear garden. No sooner had my shoulders trembled in fear than Valentin wrapped his arms around me protectively and turned me around. I looked toward the garden, unable to even breathe.
"Just now..."
Everything was silent. Strangely so. Yes, something was definitely strange.
'Why can't I hear people screaming?'
"The last one has been caught. It's all over now."
"Over?"
With his arm still around my shoulder, Valentin turned back the way we had come. On the veranda near the entrance to the garden, people startled by the sudden gunshot were gathering one by one. I walked almost at a run to keep up with Valentin's wide strides and asked.
"The last one? You don't mean the one who was supposedly following me?"
"Yes, he was hiding in the garden, pretending not to be there while watching Your Highness. And everyone who filled that garden was an operative carrying out the mission. Except for Your Highness and that..."
"Sergei?"
"Yes, except for that cute friend."
I see. That's why I felt something was unnatural.
Ah! A sense of relief washed over me. Of course, because the information was so sudden and Valentin had been by my side the whole time, I didn't have much room to be greatly surprised...
As soon as he and I arrived at the garden, armed soldiers appeared, crossing the ballroom. They pushed back and reassured the ballroom attendees, who had momentarily become chaotic due to the unexpected situation.
"Subversive elements were hiding in the banquet. Please be at ease, as all targets have now been eliminated or captured alive."
"Please remain in the hall until the situation is fully resolved."
In the distance, I saw Sergei running toward me. Ivan was beside him. Valentin's arm, which had been around my shoulder, slowly moved away.
"All that's left is for me to get a lecture from Duchess Illyn. I can see her face looks quite bewildered."
"Using me as bait and taking advantage of the Duchess's ball. A lecture won't be enough."
"If I had known that bait was Her Highness Larisa from the start, I wouldn't have planned such an operation."
I remembered the moment Valentin had called me Tatyana. Does that mean he used me as bait because I was Tatyana? Should I be angry about this, or not?
"Who planned the operation?"
"Who else but me?"
"...Valentin, exactly where did you go to study abroad?"
He didn't answer, but looked at me and spoke softly.
"Please return with Sir Sergei."
"And you?"
"The fact that I was in this place is a state secret. Your Highness must also erase the memory of seeing me in Shaharansk. Simple, right?"
Around then, Valentin touched my veil again. I flinched, wondering if he was going to take it off here, but he simply intended to adjust the position of the veil. Perhaps a few pins had fallen out while moving busily, as the right side of the veil had risen to near my chin.
Having perfectly adjusted the length of the veil, he took a step back from me. Sergei, who had approached after asking the people for their understanding, reached out to me and shouted.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere? How is your health?"
Just before his hand touched me, Valentin whispered.
"I'll see you in Makhachkala."
Without removing his veil, Valentin vanished suddenly into the crowd. I stared blankly at his retreating figure before being led by Sergei's hand to a safe place.
The end of winter and the beginning of spring.
The most confusing March of my life was about to begin.
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