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Chapter 11
It was the day Olivia and Kyle decided to explore the north of the Capital. Rosalind didn’t look at the two of them through the window as before.
Out of curiosity, she looked out the window for a while, though quickly turned her head away. To appease her upset heart, she reached out toward the bottom drawer of a chest of drawers in the corner of the room.
She opened the chest of drawers, but the inside was empty. However, when she put her hand deep enough to fit her arm halfway, a small box came out at her fingertips.
“…Long time no see.”
She stared into the distance at the jewel-studded box. Then, she took the gold key from another drawer and put it into a small gap.
The box opened with a small click. Inside was a pale golden mask. It was a party mask that could cover from the eyes to just above the nose.
It was a ball mask that was common everywhere, though Rosalind looked at it for a long time as if it was a very meaningful object. Her fingertips, gently sweeping the surface of the mask, were only tender and distant.
‘Don’t cry.’
Looking at this mask, she immediately remembered the friendly voice and warm touch of that time. It was so warm-hearted that she couldn’t believe that it was her husband’s treatment of herself.
Suddenly, she remembered Olivia’s hoarse voice that she had just uttered to her.
‘Do you know how kind and warm the Duke is?’
‘I know.’
‘Lies.’
Olivia laughed openly at her, but it wasn’t a lie.
She knew how sweet and warm he was.
That night he was sweeter than anyone else, but she was the only one who remembered his affection that night…
One night in her sixteen that he may not remember.
Rosalind smiled thinly as she remembered that time.
On that day a few years ago, when she was sixteen, Rosalind had just finished making her debut.
Following her father’s belief that it wasn’t good for a woman to go out, she was almost stuck in her house from an early age. Of course, she had no friends since she didn’t go out much.
She began to be invited to various parties and banquets starting with her socialite debut. The sudden change in her life was only difficult and chaotic, and she wasn’t too keen on dealing with strangers and dancing with men.
To be honest, she was reluctant and was even subtly afraid.
‘Lady Rosalind, why do you keep making mistakes!’
The tutor who taught dance was strict. She used to slap the back of her hand with a fan relentlessly whenever she made a mistake. She was naturally afraid. As she learned, she was socializing with a forced smile, but in reality, Rosalind was very nervous.
“…I don’t want to go in.”
Because of that, she had just sneaked out of a masquerade at a count’s castle.
Coming out into the garden, she sat down with her body curled up in a corner of the grass, not caring whether the hem of her dress was dirty or not. As she wrapped her cheeks heated with tension and glanced behind with nervousness like a person being chased, a large, splendid castle caught her eye.
Even though the night was dark, the castle was shining brightly as though it had swallowed the sun.
When she thought about going back there again, she was at a loss. To make matters worse today, didn’t she step on the other person’s foot while dancing?
Rosalind’s steps got tangled while she was dancing, and she accidentally stepped hard on the foot, and her partner became very angry. He was covering his face with a mask, though she could sense the annoyance in the chubby mouth and voice.
She apologized hastily but escaped from the place as she ran away from the embarrassment.
“I don’t even want to dance…”
How angry would her father be if he found out that she didn’t even learn to dance properly…
Rosalind wanted to go home just like this, but if she did, she might be beaten by her father.
Tears streamed down the mask that resembled the eyes of a cat. At that moment, she quickly wiped away the tears with the back of her hand. If she continued to cry like this, her face would be ruined, so she had to control her mind.
Her father wanted her charm to win the hearts of young and powerful men. So, he reminded her over and over again that it should contribute to the wealth and honor of the family. Nevertheless, she didn’t want to get married, and she didn’t want to be of help to the family.
As she was trying to swallow her tears as she did so, she could hear an unfamiliar voice from behind her.
“…Who is there?”
Rosalind gazed back, startled as if she was a timid rabbit.
Behind her stood a tall man.
Perhaps, he was also a party participant, and he was looking at her with a face half-covered with a mask. Rosalind, who was looking at the man, turned her head away. She then heard a low voice in her ear again.
“What are you doing here?”
“I was resting… for a moment.”
“Really? It’s the first time I’ve seen anyone cry while resting.”
It was a monotonous voice. A tone that cannot be judged whether it is sarcastic, a joke, or just uttered words.
On the other hand, she responded with a rather sharp voice as if wary.
“What does it matter?”
“That’s right.”
He agreed with her, nonetheless, his tone was blunt.
Rosalind crouched her body down, wiping her tears away. Meanwhile, the man continued to stand without saying a word. The party hall was busy, so he seemed to have come out to catch his breath. It’s a very remote place to catch a breath for a while, but that wasn’t her concern.
Amidst the stillness, her cries slowly subsided and the man’s voice was heard again in the wind.
“Why were you crying?”
“…I don’t want to dance.”
“If you don’t want to, you don’t have to dance.”
The man’s voice spitting out was calm, as though nothing special. The words ‘carefree word’ ran up to the end of her throat.
“Carefree word.”
At that moment, the man’s eyes met her.
Gasp. She covered her mouth. Rosalind thought it was just a thought inside, though it came out of her mouth without realizing it.
She rolled her eyes back and forth in embarrassment. But, the man didn’t ask anymore, and she didn’t say any more. Time passed quietly, and Rosalind, who had been quiet for a while, opened her mouth carefully.
“…I have to dance If I don’t dance properly, I might get hit.”
“By whom?”
“…Father.”
It was like courage borrowed from alcohol to confide in the things that had already been spat out. She thought it was a drink, but what she drank turned out to be alcohol.
It was only when she got dizzy that she realized that what she drank was sweet wine and that she was weak on alcohol. It was probably an impulsive act close to courage to run away by borrowing the alcohol. If it was her usual self, she would have stayed at the party with a forced smile.
After all, they couldn’t even tell who each other was because they were covered with masks, anyway.
More importantly, the fact that the mask covered more than half of the face gave her strange courage.
“Did you see that?”
“The cheek.”
Are you okay?
Suddenly, the man bent over and looked into Rosalind’s face.
Her eyes widened like a rabbit. Although she was wearing a mask, she couldn’t help but be embarrassed by the face of a stranger who suddenly came in. Her heart pounded hard, perhaps due to the sudden move, and she backed away with a frenzy like a cornered little animal.
However, the behavior of a man whom she could take as somewhat rude for some reason wasn’t too bad. Maybe it was because of the pleasant and cool scent she felt from him.
Soon, Rosalind spoke to him in a rather calm voice.
“I rarely get it right these days.”
After those words, the conversation was cut off, yet she didn’t care. Rosalind fumbled her tears with her palms, then brushed off the hem of her dress.
Before too much time had elapsed, she was about to move her steps that she had to go inside, although the man’s voice sank through the cool air.
“Want me to teach you?”
“Pardon…?”
Her gaze turned to him.
“Dance.”
She blinked her eyes as if on alert.
Is he not a suspicious person? But, seeing that he’s wearing a mask, he must at least be a part of this party, then maybe it’ll be fine…
“…I’m not good at dancing.”
“It’s all right because I dance well.”
Saying so, the man approached her in stride and held out his hand.
He gave hesitating glances as if he wanted her to hold it, and the hesitant Rosalind eventually grabbed the hand in front of her. When the man applied force and pulled her, his body was lifted up too lightly.
He spoke naturally, putting his hands around her shoulders and waist.
“It is not very difficult. All you have to do is follow the lead.”
“It’s difficult…”
“You can try,” he chuckled, and he began to guide her gently. He then bowed in front of her politely, as if dancing at a ball. Seeing so, Rosalind also held the hem of her skirt and pretended to spread it slightly to either side.
“Now, put your hand on my shoulder. Take my hand with your other hand.”
As instructed, she reached out and placed her hand on the man’s shoulder.
Suddenly, a man’s hand was lightly supporting her back.
“In one-two, you go backward, and in three, you go round and round as if you are looking back.”
One, two.
Soon, she followed his instructions and moved her body. Rosalind took a step back, and she turned around. There was no light like a flashing chandelier, but a beautiful moonlight fell between them.
The man’s face, revealed in the soft light, was elegant and beautiful even though it was covered with a mask. Rosalind, who was staring at his face, accidentally stepped on his foot for a moment.
Surprised, she stopped her movement.
“Sorry…!”
“It’s okay.”
Under the mask, a smiling mouth could be seen. The voice that followed was sweet.
“If you are not confident, put your feet on mine.”
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