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Chapter – 20
The terrace of the banquet hall was usually a place for lovers, but to Bihan, it was a place of rest. When the curtains were drawn, no one dared to open the terrace door carelessly.
“You seem used to this. Do you hide on the terrace every time?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Thank you for telling me such a good tip.”
“But you must be careful.”
Bihan unfolded the blanket placed beside the terrace sofa and draped it over my shoulders.
“If someone saw a lady enter alone, this would become the most dangerous place in the entire banquet hall.”
My brow furrowed instinctively. Right—there had been an incident like that. On a terrace, Iklert had… Honestly, was there any event this novel’s protagonist hadn’t gone through?
“Mm… I suppose I should bring my brother with me.”
“Are you planning to attend other balls as well, Lady Rosemary?”
“Ah…”
I was left speechless. For me, stories about balls belonged to a time after the novel’s ending.
But it wouldn’t seem that way to Bihan.
“Well, I’m just saying—hypothetically.”
At my distancing words, Bihan let out a sigh.
“Rosemary.”
“Yes, Sir Bihan.”
“That rumor about the Count of Liotium’s daughter being ill.”
“…”
“I know it began when you refused my engagement proposal.”
He was right. It had started accidentally as an excuse to refuse the proposal from the Duke of Kaisers. And I was the one who hadn’t bothered to stop the rumor from spreading.
“…Why didn’t you correct it immediately?”
“…Because I felt there was no need to.”
“I assumed it was because it was the most appropriate way for you to avoid social activities. My assumption—”
I nodded without hesitation.
“That’s right.”
“…I would like to know the reason.”
Bihan bent his knee and sat down, lowering himself to meet my eye level. He truly wanted to understand what he couldn’t comprehend.
Someone who described balls as something exciting wouldn’t understand why I had made such a choice.
“…Sir Bihan, I—”
Just as I was about to continue, there was a click as a terrace door opened. I hurriedly turned my gaze toward the sound. It wasn’t our terrace, but the one right next to us.
Soon, ticklish laughter and embarrassingly intimate sounds drifted over the curtain between the terraces.
“Uh….”
“Ah….”
As our eyes met again, Bihan straightened the knee he had bent, widening the distance between us and turning his gaze away.
“…I’ll go fetch something to drink. Champagne—will that be all right?”
“Ah, yes. That would be fine.”
Only after Bihan left the terrace in such a hurry that he almost seemed flustered did I finally let out a deep breath.
Who cared about the embarrassing sounds next door? I was just grateful he had an excuse to step away. I had no idea what I would have said if he’d stayed.
“…What was I supposed to say….”
That I did it to avoid protagonists like you?
I loosened the strings of the mask I had been wearing. Though it was summer, the night air was chilly. If it hadn’t been for the blanket Bihan gave me, I might have been shivering.
My conscience pricked at me again. That was the problem. This didn’t feel like a world inside a novel. It was too vivid. Just like this was my life, everyone around me was alive too—people I had already come to know.
“….”
I felt like I’d been sighing far too much lately. I buried my face in both hands.
When Bihan returned, I should suggest we leave. That would be a good way to change the subject. I’d greet Evely on the way out, and then… the carriage would be the problem. Such a quiet, cramped space with just the two of us.
I hoped he wouldn’t ask anything out of consideration. But I was afraid he’d make that expression again if I simply said I couldn’t explain….
Click.
I lifted my head at the sound of the terrace door opening again. This time it was closer—so of course it was the door right in front of me. Naturally, I thought it was Bihan.
“Ah, my apologies.”
It wasn’t.
“…No.”
Ah—I’d taken off my mask. I turned my head and covered my face.
“I saw a gentleman leave, so I thought the terrace was empty.”
“It’s fine. That gentleman will be back shortly, so—”
“Ah….”
I hesitated, wondering whether I should put my mask back on, then froze as I realized something.
A drawn terrace curtain meant there was already someone inside. You didn’t open the door carelessly.
The rules of high society were not easily broken—unless there was another intention.
“….”
“My lady?”
“…If you entered by mistake, then you should simply leave again, Sir.”
I slowly turned my head. Was he someone who had entered with ill intent? I wasn’t afraid.
Bihan would be back soon.
The man was wearing a mask. Black hair. A common black tuxedo and a white mask—nothing unusual at a masquerade ball. And behind it—
“….”
Deep violet eyes.
Violet. In this world, someone with eyes that color could never be a meaningless extra. He wasn’t even someone who failed to become a side character.
That was… that man was….
“…Iklert….”
I called his name without thinking. Startled at myself, I covered my mouth.
That was a mistake. How could I explain knowing his name—
At that moment, the man smiled and removed his mask.
“…Lady Rosemary.”
My breath caught in my throat. That the protagonist, Iklert Adrian, knew Rosemary Liotium—who hadn’t even been a named character—
Iklert, how? How do you know me?
No matter how hard I tried to think, my mind went blank, as if all speculation had been erased.
“…Are you surprised?”
“…”
“I hoped you would be surprised. If you weren’t—if you didn’t react when you saw me, even when I called your name—then it would mean you knew nothing.”
“…What do you—”
The Iklert Adrian I knew, and the Iklert Adrian standing before me.
“Lady Rosemary.”
Iklert stepped closer, smiling, and bent his knee to meet my eye level. He took my hand—still covering my mouth—and naturally pressed his lips to the back of it.
There was not a trace of awkwardness in the gesture. It was hard to believe this was someone who had supposedly received no noble etiquette training. I couldn’t believe this was the Iklert of this time.
He looked far more like the Iklert who would later stand at the very center of high society.
“I’ve wanted to meet you.”
“…”
“In this world, you’re the one who knows me best.”
Iklert Adrian knows. He’s different from the other protagonists.
“…Iklert, how much do you….”
My expression was a mess. I couldn’t hide the tremor in my voice. In contrast, Iklert was calm. He had come here on purpose.
Why? What was his goal?
“Everything.”
I swallowed hard. What did “everything” mean to Iklert?
Did he know that in my previous life I’d read his entire story? That he knew his own “narrative”? All the trials laid out before him, even the predetermined ending?
“Then why….”
I couldn’t organize the questions I wanted to ask. Why had I, of all people, read that novel and been reborn in this world?
Why was I the only one who knew his life? Why did no one else know?
If he had known everything from the beginning, then why—
“Then why did you go through all that suffering… things you didn’t have to experience—things it would’ve been better not to experience at all?”
If Iklert had known his future, he should never have entered the Baron Adrian’s household. That was the path that ruined his life.
Even if he had known everything from too young an age to escape, he still could have run from that hell sooner.
He could have lived with less pain.
“…Do you think I’m pathetic?”
“That’s not what I—”
“I know. You’re worried about me.”
“…”
“You’re always like that, Lady Rosemary. The eastern slums… that was you too, wasn’t it?”
Iklert knew far more than I had guessed.
“…Did the Duke—?”
“…Are you asking if the Duke told me? Well… Sir Bihan Kaisers. Edgar Alexion Bientia. Luke Ventus. None of them have ever done anything like this. They’re the same this time as well. The only variable is you, Lady Rosemary.”
Strange. Why couldn’t I feel any emotion toward the other male leads in Iklert’s voice? Iklert Adrian was supposed to genuinely—
“Lately, variables I don’t understand keep appearing, Lady Rosemary.”
“…”
“…And the only thing that’s changed is you.”
“…Iklert.”
“If you truly care about me, then understand this.”
I blinked vacantly.
“This is my story, Lady Rosemary.”
“…”
“I want to see a happy ending.”
“…”
Iklert smiled, lightly kissed my chilled cheek in a familiar manner, and left the terrace.
Still dazed, I followed him out a moment later.
The banquet hall was exactly the same as before. I searched the crowd for Iklert. As he pushed his way through the bustling hall, he collided with someone.
Bihan Kaisers—on his way back toward me with champagne.
Bihan began to apologize, then met Iklert’s eyes. Bihan looked shocked at seeing someone who shouldn’t have been there, while Iklert looked flustered at his soaked tuxedo and being discovered. Words were exchanged, and Bihan’s face filled with discomfort.
I fled back to the terrace.
I knew that masquerade scene. This too was part of the novel.
The terrace door opened again, and Bihan stepped inside.
“Rosemary.”
Before he could say anything, I forced a smile and spoke first.
“Sir Bihan, I think I’d like to talk with Lady Evely a bit more. I’m sorry, but would it be all right if I returned separately? It’s been a while, and I think we might end up talking late.”
Even if it sounded strange and rude, Bihan would have to overlook it. There was someone waiting for him.
“…Then I’ll leave my carriage for you, Rosemary.”
“No, it’s fine. What would you do then? I can ask Lady Evely to arrange a carriage from the Marquis’s estate, so please don’t worry.”
I could see him searching for another solution. I just wanted him to stop thinking and return to the stage.
“…Rosemary, then perhaps I could come back later and escort you—”
“No. I can’t trouble you like that.”
At my firm refusal, Bihan finally bowed politely.
“I’ve brought you here, only to be discourteous in the end.”
“I asked because I wanted to be with my friend. Please don’t worry about it.”
“…I’ll write to you.”
Even as he spoke, Bihan lingered, reluctant to leave, before finally exiting the terrace.
It was inevitable. For the story to move forward, he had no choice but to leave me behind.
If I hadn’t been here, Bihan would have come alone to this ball, and there would have been no need to include such a pointless scene.
A busy Duke.
A Crown Prince unable to leave the palace.
A knight commander who had returned to Delua.
Iklert—unable to meet those he cared for, unable even to go out freely because of the danger surrounding him—grew curious about the masquerade ball and secretly attended it after pleading with his escort knight.
And at that ball, feeling nothing but loneliness and contempt, Iklert fled the banquet hall—only to collide with the Duke of Kaisers, unexpectedly reuniting with him after a long time.
“….”
Iklert was right.
This was a story with Iklert Adrian as its protagonist. And the only dangerous variable capable of shaking its happy ending—
Was me.
Rosemary Liotium.
