As the dance pulled them apart, Robellia’s gaze lingered on him. When they came close again, brushing past each other, she pouted and mumbled an apology. 

“Sorry.” 

“No, not at all. Your Highness has done nothing wrong. It’s just… the Crown Prince…”

The two stretched out their arms, their fingertips barely touching as they followed the rhythm of the dance. The distance between them caused Akan’s murmured words to fade before reaching Robellia’s ears. What on earth were they doing? Robellia’s thoughts were a whirlwind, making it impossible to concentrate on the conversation.

When Robellia stopped abruptly mid-step, Akan gave her a puzzled look. His expression, as if he feared she might walk away at any moment, softened something deep in her heart. She was already struggling to keep her emotions in check, and that look completely unravelled her.

Robellia tightened her grip on Akan’s hand.

“Just come here.”

The music hadn’t finished yet, but that didn’t matter. No one else was dancing anyway. Pulling Akan’s hand, she walked purposefully to the edge of the hall, practically dragging him with her.

The music, which had stopped briefly in apparent surprise, quickly changed to another tune. The onlookers, who had been engrossed in their entertainment, suddenly scrambled into pairs and filled the centre of the hall. There was no question – the Crown Prince had given the signal.

Her brother probably held his head in his hands and sighed deeply. Though she couldn’t see or hear him, Robellia could easily imagine it. Of course, it wasn’t her brother’s distant sigh that reached her ears, but the faint, almost airy laugh that came from Akan just behind her.

Robellia turned abruptly, a look of indignation on her face.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Because you’re cute…”

Robellia froze, as if she had been struck by a blade. Naive as she was, she had no idea how to react in such a situation. Unfortunately, having spent ten years of her youth clinging to her first love, her only experiences existed in her imagination.

If that had been the end of it, it might have been bearable. But then she noticed Akan’s neck, flushed with embarrassment, and the realisation hit her like a thunderbolt. At that moment, a rush of heat spread to her own face, turning it bright red. Robellia, completely forgetting her dignity as a princess, stammered as she tried to speak, completely at a loss for what to do.

“Don’t say such nonsense!”

“I’m sorry…”

Akan lowered his head awkwardly, clearly embarrassed and unsure of himself.

Their reunion, which Robellia had imagined to be full of emotion and romance, was instead filled with tension and self-recrimination. Robellia found the situation unbearably uncomfortable – she felt like hitting herself on the head and passing out just to escape.

The princess, in her clumsy attempt to hide her embarrassment, suddenly lashed out.

“Never mind that! What were you saying before?”

“What?”

“I said, you were talking about my brother earlier, weren’t you?”

“Oh, yes.”

The flow of their conversation was strangely stilted and awkward. Dreams were dreams, after all; in reality, the two of them were nothing more than adults whose only connection was a fleeting encounter in their youth.

Akan’s face was stiff and serious. Robellia was deeply upset that the mood wasn’t what she had hoped for, leaving her disappointed and frustrated.

As a servant carried in their drinks, they looked briefly at the two people standing face to face. Realising that the woman was the princess, they were startled and quickly bowed their heads. The spot where Robellia had stopped while dragging Akan happened to be in the way of the servants.

“Your Highness, please wait a moment.”

This time it was Akan who was dragging Robellia towards one of the walls. Robellia’s face was sullen, she let herself be dragged without resistance.

Akan led her to the side of the platform, near the wall by the entrance where the servants came and went. He leaned Robellia against the wall and stood beside her. The princess’s face was drooping like a flower weighed down by heavy rain.

Rubbing his lips absently, Akan chose his words carefully before tilting his head slightly towards Robellia. Then, in a somewhat hesitant voice, he finally spoke.

“The Crown Prince… he didn’t keep his promise.”

“What… promise?”

Robellia had only asked the question, but Akan hesitated again. When Robellia’s brow furrowed, he quickly continued.

“There was something he told me to do a long time ago, but the conditions he gave…”

Again and again Akan paused, rubbing his jaw in mid-sentence. How important was this matter that he kept hesitating? Robellia nodded impatiently, urging him to speak faster.

Akan took a deep breath, as if to gather his courage, and spoke quickly.

“He said that if I finished it, he would allow me to marry you…”

“What?”

“No, I mean, if Your Highness didn’t object, of course.”

Obviously embarrassed, Akan rubbed the back of his neck with his palm. Robellia’s face also flushed a deep red, as if it might burst from the heat. Neither of them could find the words to speak, remaining silent as if at a loss.

Since someone had to break the unbearable silence, Akan finally spoke again, albeit hesitantly.

“I… I thought Your Highness was waiting for me… but then suddenly there was news of a banquet and…”

“N-No! No! This is the first I’ve heard of it! And besides, you’re the one who stopped writing letters!”

“I thought Your Highness already knew everything about the situation…”

Silence fell again. Then it was all a misunderstanding. What Akan meant was that he had always wanted to marry Robellia as well. Robellia’s head was spinning and she couldn’t calm down. Nervously fidgeting with her fingers, she finally managed to speak, albeit with great difficulty.

“Can I… hold your hand?”

Akan was just as nervous. He nodded awkwardly, then rubbed his hand against his sleeve. Since his hand was damp with sweat, however, it only picked up more dust, making his embarrassment even more obvious.

Without waiting, Robellia reached out and grabbed Akan’s hand. Startled, Akan froze for a moment before adjusting his grip to hold her hand properly. It was as if their hearts had switched places, each feeling the other’s rapid pulse.

Behind them, the banquet continued. But the two of them, standing side by side with their backs to the wall, still couldn’t find the words to speak. When it finally dawned on Robellia that this was all real, she couldn’t help but look at Akan.

His height had grown considerably, but his shimmering silver hair and violet eyes remained unchanged. The radiant boy from Robellia’s memories had returned, just as she had imagined, bringing with him the words she had waited so long to hear.

Robellia bowed her head slightly. More than the extravagant decorations or the beautiful melodies, it was the presence of the person standing beside her that made her heart race. Keeping her eyes on the floor, she spoke again.

“Um… would you like to dance?”

“It would be my pleasure.”

In the end, the banquet ended quietly. The princess, the star of the evening, had danced all night with only one person.

It was a night like a dream.

—

The next day, Raves apologised to Robellia and Akan for what had happened at the banquet.

The truth behind the misunderstanding, which they only learned later, was as follows: The Emperor and Duke Roxas had long foreseen that they would never be able to overcome their children’s stubbornness. If that had been the case, it would have been better just to let them be together.

But at that moment, someone was needed to carry out a covert mission outside the palace, and that role was assigned to Akan. There was even a promise that he would be properly recognised for his work when it was completed – on the condition that the princess’s feelings for him remained unchanged.

Akan believed that Robellia would be waiting for him. But in truth, Robellia, unaware of the circumstances, was left grieving, thinking that Akan had changed his mind.

Raves, meanwhile, came up with a cruel plan: when Robellia, exhausted from waiting, decided to choose someone else, they would simply tell Akan that the princess’s heart had changed.

“Akan!”

Robellia, who had been waiting in the drawing room long before the appointed time, sprang to her feet the moment the door opened. Akan had only come to share a cup of tea, but seeing the princess so elegantly dressed brought a soft smile to his lips.

“Good day, Your Highness.”

“Ah, um, sit down.”