Chapter 216 - Only The Beginning

Grimacing, I turned away. 'Why is he acting so friendly to me all of a sudden? Anyway…' There was something more important I had to attend to at this moment. The crown prince was giving Lord Elios a death stare—he was like a timebomb waiting to explode at any moment. Although he was wearing a mask, I could tell he was infuriated.

'I should stop him, right?' In the past, I would have been frightened to death by his menacing aura. However, such sentiments were nowhere to be found now. Moving close to him, I greeted, "It is an honor to be able to dance with you, Your Highness."

He finally turned his attention to me and replied with a gentle voice, "Likewise."

Hand-in-hand, we moved to the center of the banquet hall. I curtsied before starting our dance. He also greeted me with flawless etiquette. His left hand overlapped with my right. I grabbed his hand tightly and stared into his eyes—the only feature his mask didn't hide. We made eye contact, and he slightly flinched—although it was unlikely the crowd noticed it. In any case, whatever he thought of me didn't matter anymore… because I knew who he was.

Keeping my body close to his, I gently swayed and surrendered myself to the music. We were not in a confined space like the terrace this time. Rather, this was a large banquet hall where we could dance to our heart's content. Using his hand as my center of mass, I spun in circles before grabbing his hand and attaching myself close to him again. It was something I had done on a whim, but he was supporting my movements without trouble.

The audience exclaimed, admiring the crown prince's elegant gestures. I would have done so as well, except that I already knew how skilled he was as I had danced with him previously. In fact, he was graceful yet swift enough to keep me from falling several times. As our bodies grew closer, I whispered something only he could hear.

"Did you have fun deceiving me all this time?"

* * *

His blood grew cold the moment he heard the lady's question. He told himself he had heard wrong. After all, she was a slow-witted person. There was no way she could have found out about his secret.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he barely managed to feign ignorance.

Opening her coral lips, she called, "Max."

He pledged to himself that he would not show that he was shaken. However, he could not help but tremble once he heard her call his name.

'When did she find out?'

Max glanced at Jubelian. He pulled back slightly when he realized her periwinkle eyes were fixed on him. They shone brightly like jewels under the chandeliers. He avoided her gaze immediately, but she moved her fingers to interlock his hand with hers. It was a weak restraint, but Max could tell she was telling him not to run away. All he felt was fear at this moment.

He wondered what she was thinking. He wanted her to yell at him in anger or start arguing with him. However, she remained expressionless like a doll as she continued to stare at him. Max felt as if he was falling into an endless abyss.

Once he realized he might never see her again, he felt his insides turn upside-down. That was when she whispered again, "I will be at the terrace located on the left side of the hall. Meet me there—there is something I need to tell you."

Her voice was void of emotions. Max lowered his head in despair instead of giving a verbal answer. Perhaps she thought his gesture was an affirmative nod as she instantly let go of his hand and said, "Thank you for granting me the honor, Your Highness."

Max watched her bow as if to engrave her graceful appearance into his mind. Wearing a light blue dress, she was more than beautiful. Realizing this made his heart wrench.

'Is this… the end?' Recalling all the moments he had spent with her, Max clenched his fists. 'No, I can't end it like this,' he decided. He would pretend not to know what she was talking about first. If that didn't work, he would get down on his knees and beg for her forgiveness.

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Hope you enjoyed it,

Love,

Biji ^^,

Jan.1.2024