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Chapter 21
“Marquis Broke!”
I deliberately called out loudly. At my shout, Tayn glanced over at me. Then, wearing a face like he had just seen the most unpleasant thing in the world, he slipped into the banquet hall.
“Hah, seriously.”
I let out a dry laugh, and the knight beside me flinched in surprise. Leaving the knight behind—who was now drenched in cold sweat out of fear—I entered the banquet hall.
I quickly scanned the people in the main hall. As expected, I recognized only a few faces—but at least this time, it wasn’t completely unfamiliar. Tayn must have noticed my entrance and retreated to a corner.
“Lady Espen, it’s an honor to be invited to such a distinguished event.”
“Oh my, Lady Crescent. Thank you for coming.”
Lady Espen greeted me with a graceful smile. We exchanged some light pleasantries—about how lovely the banquet was, how well-prepared everything seemed, and how it was her first time at such a grand event. After some meaningless compliments, Lady Espen brought over her daughter, Siry.
“My daughter was so delighted to hear that you would be attending.”
“Oh really?”
Lady Espen gave me a kind smile and stepped aside.
“L-Lady Crescent.”
“Lady Espen, it’s nice to see you again.”
Siry looked stiff. But it was easy to tell her demeanor stemmed not from wariness, but shyness. She seemed like she wanted to speak but couldn’t bring herself to do it.
“You look beautiful today, Lady Espen. You could be the star of this banquet.”
“Thank you…”
Siry bowed her head shyly. I could understand her embarrassment, but my compliment was sincere.
Her dark navy hair, braided and adorned with white pearls, resembled stars in the night sky. Her dress, a perfect match for her pink eyes, was stunning at first glance.
“At the tea party, I only saw you from afar… I ended up begging my mother to let me come. I’m sorry.”
“No need to apologize. I’m fond of you too, Lady Espen.”
“R-Really?”
“Of course.”
When I smiled at her, her face turned bright red, like it was about to explode.
Ah, she’s adorable. I didn’t even do anything special, yet she reacted like this. Truly cute.
I didn’t know how I had become the subject of such admiration, but I wasn’t complaining.
We joined a group of Siry’s friends and exchanged greetings. As expected, all of them were sweet and polite.
While chatting casually with girls my age for the first time in a while, someone caught my eye from afar—someone I didn’t want to see.
Tayn was once again pestering a young noble lady. She looked visibly uncomfortable but couldn’t shake him off.
So one punch wasn’t enough. Then again, if he were the kind of man to change after one hit, he wouldn’t have lived that way to begin with.
No one was stepping in. The Broke family might be declining, but they weren’t weak enough to be openly ignored.
Well, no matter how powerful the Broke family might be, they couldn’t compare to our ducal house.
Frankly, the person others in this banquet would find most uncomfortable was me. That meant I had to step in.
What should I do?
I couldn’t use violence like before. This was a place full of nobles—causing a scene wouldn’t do.
I told Siry I’d be back shortly and walked toward Tayn. If no one here could stop him, I would be the shield for all the young ladies.
“Marquis Broke, long time no see.”
“L-Lady Crescent.”
I approached him with a bright smile. He jumped in surprise when he saw me.
“Why did you ignore my greeting in the garden earlier?”
I spoke in a deliberately sullen tone. Tayn took a step back, then quickly turned to flee.
“Where are you going, Marquis?”
I relentlessly followed behind him as he tried to escape.
There were too many people around for either of us to make a scene, so I planned to follow him everywhere and ruin all his attempts to harass others.
“Why are you following me, Lady Crescent?”
“I’m just worried you might lay hands on another noble lady from a good family.”
“Ahem… That’s a harsh accusation.”
After trailing him for a while, Tayn finally stopped walking. He seemed to hesitate, then slowly turned to face me.
“This might sound strange, but… could it be that you…”
His words trailed off as he looked at me with wide eyes. I could guess exactly what he was about to say just by his expression.
“Are you… jealous?”
Wow… Hearing the very words I expected made it ten times more irritating.
Half out of arrogant confidence, half out of genuine hope, he stared at me with eyes filled with twisted anticipation. I could feel my irritation boiling over.
That’s it. I’m going to kill him.
I imagined the mask on my face shattering with a loud crack.
“M-Must’ve been my imagination, then.”
My murderous glare must have reached him—he stopped his nonsense at once.
Was there no real way to deal with him? Should I just crush him socially? I was seriously considering my options when—
“His Highness, Crown Prince Calix Lovrant, is entering!”
The doorkeeper’s announcement turned everyone’s heads—including mine—toward the entrance of the hall.
Two knights stood on either side of the doors, and between them walked someone with a commanding presence that left no doubt who he was.
Beneath jet-black hair, his red eyes gleamed ominously. His black uniform, lined with gold trim, shimmered in the dim light.
Why is he here?
It was rare for either of the two imperial princes to attend banquets. Rushell was too busy, and Calix didn’t care for parties.
Even at the Grandel banquet—which he had no choice but to attend due to family ties—he stayed holed up in the lounge the entire time.
Lady Espen looked just as startled as I was. Calix exchanged a few words with her before beginning to converse with other guests.
As I watched him…
Is he… smiling normally?
I couldn’t believe it.
He’s having normal conversations with people?
My disbelief quickly turned to chills.
What the hell?
Sure, he’s a sub-male lead in the original story, so speaking normally should be expected. But his current demeanor was the complete opposite of what I had seen so far—it felt unsettling.
After mingling briefly with the surrounding nobles, Calix started moving through the hall, offering handshakes and greetings. But the direction he was walking…
No way.
I quickly turned back to face Tayn. He might be trash, but at least he wasn’t that guy.
Then Calix suddenly stepped between Tayn and me, completely ignoring him as if he didn’t exist.
What’s he doing? I stared at him in shock.
“Oh dear, Lady Crescent, am I not welcome?”
He flashed me a warm smile, and I got goosebumps up my arms.
“Your Highness…”
I wanted to scrub my arms furiously, but since people were watching, I simply gave a formal greeting.
“I’m glad to see you looking well. I was worried since you didn’t contact me for over two months.”
Then Calix confidently reached out his hand to me.
He’s lost his mind.
I couldn’t say it out loud, so I simply glared at him. He raised his eyebrows, urging me to take his hand.
Pretending to be close in private was one thing. But doing so in public was another.
Let’s be clear—I was officially on good terms with Rushell.
Calix knew full well we were on bad terms, yet here he was, pulling this stunt!
And if I didn’t take his hand now, people would say I was insulting the imperial family. No matter how much I glared at him, there was no winning this fight due to our status. My head throbbed.
“I’m honored that Your Highness cares so personally for me.”
With no choice, I smiled lightly and took his hand.
“Y-Your Highness…”
A timid voice came from behind Calix.
Calix turned to face Tayn directly, still holding my hand.
“Ah, Marquis Broke. So you were here. Long time no see.”
His tone was blatantly fake, like he had only just noticed him.
“I’ve heard troubling rumors about your family lately. Are you well?”
“As you can see, I’m perfectly fine.”
Typical bully behavior—Tayn was all but bowing.
“Hahaha! That’s quite a shame.”
Calix laughed heartily. To reply with “what a shame” to someone saying they’re healthy… Tayn, sweating bullets, tried to laugh along.
But I was sure I was the only one who saw the bloodthirsty glint in Calix’s red eyes.
“I’d appreciate it if you refrained from lurking around Lady Crescent.”
Actually, now everyone knew.
“I don’t understand why someone who was humiliated once would keep hanging around like a leech.”
His red eyes burned with hostility, his presence overwhelming.
Technically, I had been the one following Tayn around. But there was no way I could correct that right now.
“But, Your Highness—”
“Shall we go?”
Calix cut him off and pulled me away. We weren’t heading toward the main hall. Wherever we were going, I wasn’t going to be able to keep my promise to Siry that I’d be back soon.
