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Chapter 4
At the entrance to the banquet hall, Kaillen fastened the buttons of his red military jacket and let out a quiet sigh. After releasing a long breath, he placed a fake smile on his face.
Now, even without looking in a mirror, the smile came naturally.
Kaillen entered the banquet hall. The gazes of the people enjoying the banquet instantly turned toward him.
Familiar gazes.
Kaillen deliberately walked toward the protagonist of the day—the Crown Prince—with a pleasant, friendly smile.
As Kaillen approached, Ferdinan gave a subtle nod. The surrounding nobles immediately dispersed.
“I didn’t expect rats to be living inside the palace.”
“Indeed. It seems we’ll have to clean things up thoroughly.”
Kaillen responded casually, and Ferdinan’s lips twisted.
“Yes. A filthy rat of unknown origin. We should catch it.”
A filthy rat of unknown origin…
A beautiful blonde woman brought from the battlefield by the Emperor. A foreign woman of unknown origin became the Emperor’s mistress. Favored by him, she gave birth to a son a year later.
The imperial prince born from the womb of an unknown foreign woman—Kaillen Liveliden.
Kaillen smiled faintly and stopped a passing attendant. Taking a champagne glass from a tray, he brought it to his lips and said,
“Be careful, Your Highness. Even a rat bites when cornered.”
“So that’s why you spent so long talking with Duke Hernia on the first day of the banquet.”
The Crown Prince laughed mockingly, as if amused.
“Keep that in mind. Enjoy the banquet.”
Ferdinan turned away and resumed his conversation with Highmore Duke, the Empress’s younger brother.
Kaillen quietly watched him and lifted his glass, hiding his expression behind it. Beyond the glass, his face was cold.
Then something familiar entered his view.
Hah.
A breath-like laugh slipped from Kaillen’s lips.
He downed the rest of his drink and walked forward.
Where he went, people parted like the Red Sea.
At the deepest corner of the banquet hall—free of decorations—she had chosen a place where no one would notice her.
But the strand of light brown hair peeking out from behind the pillar betrayed her position.
Kaillen walked over.
Like a child caught doing something wrong, the woman kept her head lowered. Slowly, she looked up—and flinched. Then she began to inch away sideways.
At that moment, music began playing in the hall.
Kaillen, acting on impulse, extended his hand toward the woman trying to escape him.
“May I have this dance?”
The woman frowned slightly and stared at his hand. Then she looked around.
“May I… have this dance?”
Kaillen repeated more clearly, slowly.
Only then did she look up and meet his eyes.
You should take it.
Kaillen smiled faintly at her. The woman’s thin throat moved as she swallowed.
As if possessed, she took his hand. Kaillen did not miss the opportunity and led her toward the center of the hall.
Before the dance began, they bowed to each other. When she lifted her head again, her face was stiff with tension.
No need to frighten her.
No—but even if someone smiles in front of you, you never know what expression they’re hiding behind it.
This woman, trembling in fear now, might change completely if the situation changed.
“Um…”
As they stepped closer to begin the dance, the woman hesitantly spoke. Her voice was too soft to hear.
Kaillen placed his right hand with hers and his left hand at her waist. The woman awkwardly placed her hand on his arm.
Their distance became very close.
“Um, I’m not very good at—”
Before she could finish, Kaillen began moving to the music. Before even completing one step—
“Ugh.”
A short groan escaped Kaillen’s lips.
“I-I’m sorry!”
Before she could even finish apologizing, his other foot was stepped on.
What exactly is this woman?
While dancing, Kaillen tried to lean in and whisper into her ear—asking what she had seen last night.
He intended to threaten her.
To tell her that if she “cleverly” said she would tell no one, he would respond coldly that she would never be able to tell anyone anyway, because she had seen nothing in the first place.
But because his feet were repeatedly being stepped on by her high heels, he could barely speak at all.
Is she doing this on purpose?
For a moment, he even suspected it—but looking at her sweating, apologetic face, it didn’t seem intentional.
After the song ended, Kaillen looked down at his aching foot, stepped on multiple times.
Taking that chance, the woman quickly bowed and fled the banquet hall.
Only then did he realize what she had originally been trying to say. A faint, amused laugh escaped him.
After dealing with several nobles, Kaillen left the banquet at an appropriate time. Returning to his office, he immediately threw off his shoes.
“K-Kaillen-nim!”
Dylan panicked upon seeing Kaillen’s foot and tried to call a physician.
“Enough. Stop making a fuss.”
“W-Who on earth did this to you?!”
Inspecting his bruised foot that would surely swell by tomorrow, Kaillen said,
“Find someone.”
“Pardon?”
“A woman. Around my chest height. Light brown hair and eyes, fair skin. Quite pretty. She danced with me at today’s banquet, so people will be talking about her.”
He ran a hand through his hair roughly, messing up his usually neat appearance. Kaillen’s green eyes darkened as he looked down at his reddened, bruised foot.
My plans had completely fallen apart.
I spent several nights without sleep thinking about what to do next.
With sleep-deprived eyes, I stared at the ceiling I had grown used to, then rolled onto my side.
“I can’t sleep at all.”
Dust floated in the sunlight leaking through the curtains. I let out a small sigh.
Ever since I saw what I shouldn’t have seen, I couldn’t sleep properly.
Why did the male protagonist set the fire? Why did I meet him? Why did he ask me to dance?
I thought about it all night, but nothing made sense.
“Did things already go wrong the moment I got possessed?”
No matter how rational the guess, I couldn’t find an answer. This was still long before the main story began. Maybe this arson wasn’t even an important event in the protagonist’s life.
So many theories—but I was not the author, so I couldn’t know.
I flopped back onto the bed again.
Kaillen’s face appeared in my mind—the way he flinched every time I stepped on his foot.
“I’m doomed…”
I punched my soft pillow. Dust rose up with my sigh.
Several days had passed since I trampled the male lead’s foot mercilessly. And during that time, my peaceful life had changed in several ways.
First, I was bombarded by my mother’s interrogation to the point I feared my ears would bleed.
She was extremely curious why Prince Kaillen had asked me to dance. The word “why!” was always heavily emphasized.
My mother, who loved imagination and fantasy, turned Kaillen and me into a tragic romance overcoming status differences.
I repeatedly had to pour cold water on her fantasies and insist that nothing like that would ever happen.
On top of that, invitations to tea parties arrived at the Rudd estate daily.
I spent my days either pretending ignorance to my mother or refusing invitations.
I also checked newspapers every day.
I searched desperately to see if the male lead had been caught as the arsonist.
But not a single mention of the fire appeared anywhere.
“…Ha.”
I rubbed my throbbing temples when a knock sounded.
“Come in.”
The door opened slightly, and Mia—freckled across her nose—peeked inside.
“My lady. You’re still awake? A letter arrived… would you like to see it?”
I sat up, nodding. If I couldn’t sleep anyway, I might as well write a refusal letter to another invitation.
Mia entered and placed the letter down, glancing around.
“If you’re not sleeping, should I open the curtains?”
“Yes, please.”
As the curtains were drawn open, sunlight poured into the room.
Blinded by the sudden brightness, I frowned and got out of bed, slipping into soft slippers.
“Who is it from?”
I asked as Mia straightened the curtains.
She turned her head slightly and replied,
“It’s from the Hernia Ducal House.”
I stopped mid-step.
