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A blunt question was met with a rather dissatisfied answer.
“She seems to be suffering from severe dizziness; it happens occasionally.”
“It happened occasionally?”
“Yes, were you unaware? Then again, what could you possibly know properly about Lara.”
“Valentin.”
When I struggled to call his name, his voice sounded a bit softer than before.
“Please wait a moment. I will bring His Highness Ivan.”
Ivan. Just thinking of those sharp eyes made my heart race and brought up a wave of nausea.
“Don’t. Not Ivan. I’d rather you just take me out of here.”
“I cannot.”
A calm explanation followed the firm refusal.
“If I were to escort Your Highness out from among these people, unpleasant and unsightly rumors might spread that could upset you.”
Even though I knew it was purely out of consideration for me, I felt a twist of irritation. Why? Why did I feel this way? Was it simply because I wasn't feeling well?
“I will escort you, Your Highness.”
Igor appeared through my blurring vision. Good grief, why are there so many people?
“I will take responsibility for escorting Your Highness.”
He moved to support me, his gesture suggesting a sense of resolve.
I knew Igor’s goodwill. But then again, was it because of my condition? The other's kindness felt bothersome... and irritating.
“I am not someone you need to take responsibility for.”
Responsibility.
‘Me, the Imperial Princess? Who dares?’
Did I look so pathetic or weak that he would dare be so presumptuous? No, it isn't right to twist someone's favor like this. The 'responsibility' Igor mentioned probably had a more sophisticated meaning.
However, the current situation was too uncomfortable to weigh the gravity of that meaning. My situation... the situation... after dancing with Ivan... Ivan... Yes, Ivan!
“Follow me, Valentin! There is something I must tell you.”
I swallowed hard and lifted my head, which had been hanging low. So that no one would feel the need to take responsibility for me.
“...I'm asking you. It has to be Valentin.”
After that, I simply couldn't endure being in the middle of that stage any longer, and I fled the ballroom as if escaping. ‘Rebels infiltrating...’, ‘Beware of attacks...’ The warnings I had been fed until my ears bled for the past two days echoed in my mind, but whatever—I had to survive first before I could worry about being careful.
I escaped through the gaps of the gazes that were firing at me like arrows.
Outside the window, the moonlight was hidden by clouds, making the sky as bleak and dark as a lakeshore shrouded in dawn mist.
Without the leisure to check behind me, I huddled beneath a wall niche and stared into the void. I couldn't go any further, for the sake of the guards who were likely protecting me from a distance.
First, I calmed my heart, which felt as though it might leap out of my throat.
For these fits, waiting is the only medicine. I wouldn't dare return to the ballroom today, and I felt a sense of shame for having looked so foolish, but...
“It is alright.”
“....”
“Everything is alright. There are things in this world far more important and precious than mere appearances. Ignorantly, I too had forgotten that fact for a moment. As I grow older, my idle thoughts increase, and I feel as though I am always missing what is important.”
Turning my head, a vivid silver hair revealed itself in the darkness. Valentin had come to stay by my side. Seeing every detail of his peaceful expression, it seemed my fit had subsided significantly.
‘Why am I feeling better already? Usually, I have to wait ten minutes or so. This is strange.’
It really was strange. Could it be because of this large, firm hand covering mine?
Do I feel better when Valentin is near? If that's true...
“Valentin.”
“Yes.”
“I think Ivan has joined forces with Duke Libertan. Give me some advice on what I should do.”
As expected, Valentin looked utterly surprised. Facing those eyes, which were wide open for once, I felt as if I had landed a great blow; the gloom that had settled in my mind brightened a bit—no, it was still gloomy.
After a gap of silence, the first words Valentin uttered were:
“The night sky is magnificent. Would you like to walk for a bit?”
Are you serious?
I craned my neck to look at the window, but there wasn't a trace of a 'magnificent night sky.' Did he perhaps not believe me? I glared at Valentin with suspicious eyes.
“Fine. But hold my hand, like you used to.”
Valentin's elegantly curved eyebrows twitched violently. He had a look on his face as if I were asking for something incredibly tedious, yet for some reason, no refusal came. Instead, the moment I stood up, he turned his back to me.
Wait. Did he hate my request so much that he would ignore me so openly? After all those sweet words about how precious I am!
Just as I bit my lip to control my erratic emotions, Valentin, who had stepped a few paces away, put his hands behind his back.
Then, he gave a small flick of his finger toward me.
‘...What is that?’
Memories of five years ago, watching the stables with him, came flooding back. Stupid, idiot Valentin. I'm not a child anymore; I'm a proper lady!
I fought with all my might to keep the corners of my mouth from twitching and stood up. As I grabbed his hand, Valentin led me away, as if he had been waiting, walking in the opposite direction of the ballroom. Toward the long bridge crossing the wide waterway where the daffodils had begun to wither.
I licked my dry lips and cautiously started the conversation.
“Valentin, what do you think of Ivan? You said he's with Horgan or whatever. Haven't you noticed anything suspicious about him?”
Valentin glanced at my face and answered softly.
“I have not. On what basis did Your Highness reach such a conclusion?”
“Evidence... I have none, only a suspicion. A suspicion that absolutely cannot be ignored.”
“I see. Did you feel dizzy in the ballroom because of that?”
When I only stared at him in silence, his long fingers tapped the back of my hand, as if soothing a child.
“How long has this been going on?”
“...Are you talking about the fits? I don't know. Ah, no, that's not what's important right now. Then, have you really never suspected Ivan at all until now? Truly?”
“Yes.”
Is that so. Just as my mind was starting to get complicated again, Valentin suddenly stopped walking, let go of my hand, and spoke.
“That answer was a lie.”
“What?”
I looked at him with disbelief, but he looked down at the dark waterway with an indifferent expression.
“Do you know why I guided Your Highness to this bridge?”
“...Because it's quiet?”
“No. Because it is the optimal place to dispose of a body after blowing Your Highness's head off with a gun.”
“...What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
What on earth did he mean?
Turning his head, Valentin gazed intently at my face and spoke in a flat tone.
“After murdering you, I will return to the ballroom and shout before everyone that Princess Larisa died after being shot by a rebel spy who had secretly infiltrated.”
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