Masquerade - Chapter 7

So Elia didn’t want to tell him either. She raised her chin slightly and crossed her arms.

“You couldn’t figure it out even with all those clues?”

“……”

“Then if I tell you,”

Elia slowly stood up and approached him. Even as she got closer, the man’s body didn’t move at all. He just sat up straight and looked at her with his eyes. A man completely out of place at a masquerade ball full of playful intentions. Even his plain black mask seemed to have been worn just to avoid being recognized.

“What will you do for me?”

Without hesitation, she pulled on his black hood, revealing neatly combed silver hair. Still, he didn’t move. He neither stopped nor avoided Elia’s touch.

He spoke briefly, as though he had given up.

“It doesn’t seem necessary anyway.”

Then he raised his hand and took off his own mask. The black mask was thrown onto the table with a thud.

Seeing him under the moonlight, his aura was a bit different from when they met at the Academia. His features were still handsome, but there were deep shadows under his eyebrows and beside his nose bridge.

“I assume you have no more curiosity. Now I’m the only one who knows nothing.”

Rejun, who spoke calmly, didn’t try to lift Elia’s veil in return. She had expected that. He was a polite and straightlaced gentleman, and rather than carelessly touching her body, he was the type of person who would jump off this balcony instead.

“Are you admitting defeat?”

“…Defeat?”

“Yes. Since I won, give me something.”

Elia held out her hand wide open right in front of his nose.

“A bet? I don’t remember agreeing to that.”

Regardless, Elia changed her posture and stroked her chin with one hand.

“Hmm…. What should it be?”

She slowly circled around the chair he was sitting on.

Observing him from the corner of her eye.

The moonlight resting on his pale eyelashes was pretty. His face wasn’t pretty at all, yet it was. The more she looked, the more inexplicably pleased and unable to take her eyes off him she felt, understanding how the women of Shilom must feel.

She didn’t intend to demand anything grand. Perhaps just to play a little prank because he was too stiff? The full moon had passed, but it was still an autumn sky, and the waning moon was beautiful. What suits such a night on a secluded balcony–,

Shouldn’t Duke Nisendel’s effort in designating this place be worthwhile?

“Alright. Let’s dance.”

Elia stopped in front of him and boldly held out her hand. Eyes devoid of any emotion looked down at her hand. Cold, so cold. It seemed he was about to refuse again.

“That’s…”

Before he could refuse, she quickly retorted.

“Why do you keep saying two things with one mouth? You said you’d do everything I want. But you can’t figure out who I am, and you refuse to dance. What promise are you actually keeping?”

His eyebrows twitched at the provocation. His eyebrows were also fair and handsome. With those brow ridges as high as his nose bridge… No, this isn’t it.

Elia, coming to her senses, solemnly judged.

“Now you have nothing to propose. You have no choice but to follow my words.”

As Rejun remained silent, the harmony of strings from the banquet hall drifted through the balcony window.

It was just the right waltz for dancing.

Elia thrust her outstretched hand even closer to his face. The man, seemingly unable to resist the silent urging, let out a short sigh in resignation.

As he stood up, his shadow stretched endlessly. He untied the knot of his robe and neatly placed it on the chair. The clothes hidden by the robe were also dark casual wear that didn’t care about the banquet at all. But with such a handsome face, it seemed no one would dare comment on whatever he wore.

Elia took a small step back.

“Taking off your robe too. Getting serious, aren’t we?”

“I am Rejun van Disiel.”

It was a plain introduction that made Elia’s joke seem embarrassing. Introducing oneself is a natural etiquette before the dance, but she didn’t expect him to follow the rules even in a place he didn’t want to be. He even politely held out his hand. Elia, who had half-jokingly proposed, hesitated, rather flustered by his unexpectedly serious expression.

As she slowly placed her hand on his, Rejun took a step closer and wrapped his arm around her waist. A calm scent subtly enveloped her. Her nose tickled, causing Elia to wrinkle the tip of her nose.

She also placed her hand on his shoulder and looked up at him.

“I’m Bree.”

Actually, Bree wasn’t an alias. It was her second name. Only her parents called Elia that when she was very young.

When the next movement started, they moved simultaneously.

The balcony wasn’t wide, and with a table in the middle, their movement was limited. Elia tried to move sideways but stumbled as she hit a chair. A large hand steadied her swaying body.

“Sorry.”

Rejun was calm, unlike someone whose foot had been stepped on. They started circling the table again at a moderate pace. But when she stepped on his foot for the second time, he looked down at her questioningly.

“It’s not great, is it? Sorry.”

The only court dance she had ever done was with her father when she was young. Of course, she had learned to dance from the tutor Crensen sent, but this was her first time actually dancing.

“Why did you suggest dancing?”

“Just because. The moon is pretty, and it’s autumn.”

“……”

“I’ll try to do better.”

Then Elia concentrated only on the dance. The banquet dress had a voluminous skirt that made it difficult to gauge the distance, and the space wasn’t adequate. It was fortunate that the veil well concealed her gaze that kept drifting downwards.

“You’re quite unpredictable.”

Elia answered while still focusing on her footwork.

“Unpredictable?”

“I have no idea what you’re trying to achieve by doing this.”

“I’ll let you go after this dance.”

“I don’t understand the meaning of this dance either.”

Elia slightly raised her head.

A man and moonlight, an autumn banquet. With this combination, everyone’s heart should naturally flutter with romance, but she was only nervous about making a mistake in the dance steps. She was so anxious that she felt like she could hear her heartbeat right in her ear.

This isn’t right at all.

Whatever Duke Nisendel wanted, his grand plan must have failed. Probably in the next meeting, he would have to come out himself instead of his son to salvage this situation.

“I’m not sure either. They say autumn is romantic. But I can’t really feel it right now.”

“……”

“Don’t you feel the same?”

Rejun didn’t particularly answer. Elia observed his expressionless face, but she couldn’t tell what he was thinking at all. They let several more beats pass in silence.

Elia opened her mouth as she stepped to the right.

“Since I danced for you, I’ll tell you. You took my handkerchief, right? Take a good look at that. Everything is there.”

“I’ve already examined it. The royal silk and gold… Did you just say handkerchief?”

“Yes. It’s unfinished, but it should be usable. It’s practically complete…”

This time, Rejun missed a beat. How could he when she had been dancing so precisely? Elia glanced up.

“What’s wrong?”

“Could it have been a handkerchief?”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

His handsome eyebrows twitched. A look of bewilderment crossed his face, which had seemed unflappable regardless of what he heard.

“What is it?”

“……”

“You’re not thinking it’s some token of affection or something like that, are you?”

She threw out the question as something occurred to her, but seeing his increasingly serious expression, it seemed she was right. Elia closed her eyes tightly. Even though giving and receiving handkerchiefs as tokens of affection was a tradition, that was only when one imbued it with meaning by carefully embroidering a name with beautiful intentions.

Elia patted his shoulder where her hand had been resting.

“It’s not a token of affection or anything, so don’t misunderstand.”

“This is a first for me.”

“What?”

It seemed true that he didn’t accept any gifts or invitations from social circles.

“It’s the first time this has happened, so I was thinking about how to handle it.”

“How to handle it? Just use it well.”

They missed a beat but belatedly twirled once in place. At the end of the movement, Rejun finally let out a sigh.

“How can you speak so lightly of this?”

“Do you know how many people I’ve given handkerchiefs to? If each one was a token of affection, how many lovers would I have?”

“Many?”

Yes, many.

First of all, all the professors teaching Elia had one each, so that was easily ten. And Marie too, Paul and the guards as well, and almost everyone familiar who frequented the Princess’s Palace had one. Was that all? Unable to handle the overflow of embroidery works, they were used as coasters, wall decorations… Even so, the embroidery drawer was always full.

Recalling all those items, Elia shook her head.

“Consider the giver’s intentions.”

“What were your intentions?”

“I had no particular intention. I just gave it to you to find me. Though you’re still failing at that.”

Elia twirled alone, creating distance between them.

After a few beats, they drew close again, and his face was still serious.