Chapter 770: Dance [4]

Chapter 770: Dance [4]

The entire hall stood silent.

All eyes were focused on the couple that stood in the middle.

Although neither the two nor the Duke gave an official confirmation, the sight before them was more than enough to reveal who the fiancé truly was.

It was none other than Julien Dacre Evenus of the Evenus Household.

A mere son of a Count.

The news was explosive, but nobody dared to move a single muscle in that moment. The tension held the room in place until the couple in question finally departed. It was only once the two were gone that the place truly exploded.

“What?!”

“…H-how can this be?”

“The son of a Count?”

“I…”

At first came the shock.

Everyone had expected the fiancé in question to be a man of high nobility. Someone closer to her age, with a reputation that could rival hers, and—

“Now that I think about it… it does make sense.”

“He may be the son of a Count, but the Evenus Household is thriving.”

“Not only that, but he’s also incredibly strong and still quite young. He even won the Summit and is likely the strongest in his entire age group.”

“His appearance is also…”

It quickly dawned on everyone that Julien’s qualifications truly did make him a fitting partner for her. He was not only strikingly handsome but also exceptionally powerful. As a Tier 7 mage, he ranked among the strongest individuals in the world.

And for him to still be in his early twenties…?

Rather than him lucking out, it was most likely the Duke who had lucked out.

Though there was an age gap between them, it hardly mattered considering the lifespans of humans at their level of power. They could easily live two hundred, perhaps even three hundred years.

An age gap of eight years was hardly anything.

“Now that I think about it, he is probably stronger than Delilah was at his age. Could he potentially…?”

“That’s not very relevant. What matters isn’t the speed, but how far you can climb.”

“That’s true. There’s many that can get stuck in the same stage for years, never reaching the next stage.”

“Yeah, but that’s not the thing I’m most worried about…”

Suddenly, a suffocating tension settled over the room. Dozens of eyes shifted toward a single figure, his head bowed low, jaw clenched so tightly it seemed his teeth might shatter under the pressure.

The chatter died down rather quickly as they looked at the Prince.

That was also the moment that many realized the crux of the situation.

Julien…

He was well known to be part of Aoife’s camp. Having fought in the Rite against the Prince, that fact was common knowledge. But if Julien, now revealed to be engaged to Delilah, still remained in Aoife’s camp, then…

‘The power balance has shifted towards the Princess’s side!’

All eyes soon fell on Aoife.

And yet, despite the weight of all those stares, Aoife didn’t react. She couldn’t. The shock was too great, leaving her utterly frozen, incapable of any response.

She wasn’t the only one.

Kiera and Evelyn were both the same.

The three stood with dumb expressions, their gazes lingering on the same spot where Julien had been present moments prior.

The only one that didn’t seem surprised was Leon, as he held onto the side of the table where the food was placed, and he held his throat with his other hand.

“Ukh…! Gahk!”

He was making weird gagging sounds.

His face was also extremely red.

“M-my eyes…” He mumbled, gagging several more times.

Nobody paid any real attention to him, as the main focus was on the Princess. Thankfully, she was able to snap out of her daze rather quickly as she finally took notice of her surroundings.

Immediately, she put on a professional expression as she took in the gazes, but before anyone could approach her, the Duke’s voice echoed across the surroundings.

“It seems like no one was able to convince my daughter to change her mind. In the end, we still ended up going with the original fiancé. It’s unfortunate, but this is for the best. I’m quite satisfied with my current son-in-law.”

The room fell silent again, but for a different reason this time. If the earlier scene had hinted at the fiancé’s identity, the moment the Duke uttered the word “son-in-law,” all doubt vanished.

But at the same time, doubts arose in the minds of all those present.

If he was so certain about his son-in-law, why create such a scene? Why did he give a chance for everyone present to take her hand?

Was it something done simply out of amusement…? Or was there a deeper reason to the action?

All eyes looked at the Duke suspiciously. And yet, the man in question seemed completely unbothered as he started to talk with the other people present. Almost as if nothing happened.

In the end, despite everyone’s curiosity, nobody was able to figure out an answer.

The party continued like that.

***

Everything felt like a blur to me.

I didn’t know what came to me… No, I was completely aware of what I had done. I was conscious of it, and I had done it properly.

It was what came after that felt like a blur.

Before I knew it, I found myself in a completely different place.

The cool breeze drifting through the air pulled me from my daze. I looked around and realized I was standing on a spacious balcony, bathed in the light of the moon above. Within the moonlight, a lock of black hair drifted in the air as I turned my attention towards the figure that basked within the moonlight.

I hadn’t taken a proper look at her due to everything that had happened, but looking at her now, I couldn’t help but fall into a daze once more.

From her flowing hair to her gentle smile, and the way her obsidian-black locks framed her face as she gazed into the distance, basking in the moonlight…

Everything about her… I was completely obsessed with it.

‘I can’t believe someone like her is my fiancée.’

I had never even thought I’d be able to get a girlfriend in my life, let alone a fiancée. I felt both happy and sad.

Happy that something like this was possible, and sad about… what was to come.

None of the words that I had previously said were a lie.

Liking someone like me wasn’t easy.

The same was true for her. Liking the two of us wasn’t easy. We both carried our own burdens, and as I thought about what she had gone through not long ago, a heavy weight settled on my heart.

“What are you thinking about?”

As if sensing my inner turmoil, Delilah’s soft voice floated through the air. I turned to her, scratching the side of my face as I leaned against the marble railing, my gaze drifting absentmindedly toward the moon.

“…A lot of things.”

“Like?”

“About what chocolate I should buy. Why my fiancé is so pretty. How lucky I am to be with her, and—!?”

A pair of hands clamped over my mouth before I could finish speaking. Startled, I turned to see Delilah pressing her hands against my face, her head turned slightly away. My brows lifted in confusion, but it wasn’t until I noticed how red her ears had become that I finally understood.

This girl…

I pulled the hands away.

“Weren’t you the one who always told me to call her beautiful?”

“…..”

“I am calling you pretty. Very pretty. Why are you suddenly shy?”

“…..”

I smiled.

This…

Seeing her head turn more and more away from me, I couldn’t help but lean closer to her, whispering nonsense like, ‘You’re really pretty, you know? Very pretty. The most beautiful in the worl—!’

My words were once again cut off as Delilah pressed her hand against my mouth.

I smiled, thinking that she was doing it because she was shy. However…

Flick!

With a sudden motion, she cupped the bottom of my chin and forcefully tilted it toward her.

“….!?”

My eyes widened, but before I could think of anything, her cold eyes fell on me as her eyes flickered.

“I’m not shy.”

So she said, but her ears were red.

“O… kay.”

“I’m not.”

“I know.”

Delilah’s eyes flickered once more. I could feel the temperature getting colder as I felt a chill running down my back. Eventually, Delilah’s lips pulled into a smile as she leaned her head closer to me.

Ba… Thump! Ba… Thump!

I heard the loud beat of my heart inside my mind as she drew closer, her face a few inches away from mine.

“…I’m just trying to hold myself back.”

“——!?”

Boom!

My thoughts scattered, and a numbness spread across my face. I stood frozen, utterly dazed, while Delilah continued to watch me, her expression shifting from an amused smile to a slow, seductive curve of her lips.

And then—

“My turn.”

Her head leaned forward, and I felt a soft sensation on my lips.

I froze for a moment, then let myself breathe, closing my eyes as I felt her warmth. The closeness of her body and the gentle touch of her hands sent a shiver down my spine. Before I realized it, we were holding each other, lost in the quiet intensity of the moment.

I felt an euphoria I had never felt before, finding myself wanting more and more of that sensation as we lost ourselves in that sensation.

I didn’t know how long we went like this, but by the time we both pulled back, both our breaths were heavy as Delilah’s obsidian eyes held a certain haze to her that made my blood boil.

I wanted nothing more than to bring Delilah inside with me, but I held back.

Staring at her, I extended my hand as she leaned her body closer to me, and we both stared towards the distant moon.

A quiet, yet peaceful silence lingered in the air as we stood like that for several more minutes.

By the time we both settled and fully realized what had happened, at least ten minutes had slipped by, and I found myself smiling.

“It wasn’t short.”

“…Not a peck.”

Delilah replied, calm returning to her face. I brought her closer to me, feeling the warmth of her body and imprinting it deeply inside my mind.

As I did, the smile and happiness that I felt a few moments prior began to fade.

Instead, a certain heaviness settled over me as I gazed at Delilah. Sensing the shift in my demeanor, she met my eyes just as I closed them, taking a moment to steady myself.

Then, opening my eyes again, I looked at her.

Despite trying my best, I wasn’t able to hide it. The sadness that I tried to keep sealed as my chest trembled.

“What if I were to tell you…”

I paused, biting my lips.

That was probably the worst thing I could have said in that moment. After everything we’d been through, what I was about to do next could very well destroy the connection we had just begun to build.

But—

It had to be done.

“What? What’s—”

“What if I were to tell you that I’m Oracleus. Will you still try to kill me?”