Chapter 90

Chapter 90 – Fairy Tale And Reality

Kiehl burst out laughing as soon as he saw Bella. According to what he was told by Iwer, she wore a plain, discreet dress.

‘She’s too conspicuous.’

Everyone was dressed in splendor, but only one was modest. Still, even the simple dress was alluring enough to be instantly recognizable from afar. And just as Kiehl thought so, Bella regretted choosing her dress the wrong way as soon as she saw him.

‘Iwer… You are dead.’

By the looks of it, it was clear that Iwer had deliberately made the remark.

The dark purple suit Kiehl was wearing matched the color of what Bella was wearing right now… like a pair prepared in advance.

“Would you like to dance to a song?”

Her refusal here would cost Kiehl’s pride, so Bella smiled awkwardly and placed her hand on top of Kiehl’s.

“Shall we?”

It would be against the law to look good even in the midst of it and look good in that purple suit.

Gradually, she felt the stinging stares around her. This was far more gazes than when she was cornered as the thug who raided the Cruelle family’s carriage, or when she and Kiehl entered the annex.

‘…This is driving me crazy.’

Before the music started, she grabbed her skirt and bent her back.

“Are you sure you’re doing this to break up that group?”

“Yes.”

“You really… are strategic.”

What about Rosanne doing?

‘…I keep wanting to be greedy.’

Of course, her treason matter would be more important than Rosanne.

‘Ah… I don’t know.’

As the saying went, if you couldn’t avoid it, enjoy it.

So for now, she just wanted to focus on dancing with the person she liked right in front of her eyes because she couldn’t make mistakes in front of everyone.

On the other hand, Kiehl thought that Bella would be angry, but he was surprised to see that she danced so hard.

‘…For some reason, she doesn’t ask about Rosanne.’

In one of the novels he knew, Kiehl asked Rosanne for the first dance.

‘Has she given up on going according to that note now?’

He wished it was like that.

‘Or maybe, it’s because she’s so angry that she won’t talk…?’

Kiehl asked Bella in a slightly trembling voice.

“Did I embarrass you a lot?”

When he suddenly asked, she looked at him in surprise.

“Ah.”

She stepped on his foot right away, but fortunately, it didn’t show through the long dress.

“Then, why are you talking to me all of a sudden?”

“Because you were so focused…”

As the wriggling Bella tried to go the opposite, Kiehl caught her and laughed.

“Not that way, this way.”

“I forgot everything because of you. What happened next?”

Bella gulped, opening her eyes wide as if this was more embarrassing for her.

“Like I said before, relax.”

Laughing lightly, he pulled her waist tight.

“Just naturally touch your feet as my body goes.”

“…Yes.”

She was a little curious.

Even though dancing was about moving together, Bella was trying to put together the dances that each of them had practiced separately. However, when she followed Kiehl’s hand as he led her, her body moved naturally like during sparring.

As he raises her hand and pushes her waist slightly with the other, Bella naturally spins around.

“Put your hand on my shoulder.”

As he said, Kiehl raised his hand, and he naturally supported her back with it. He then smiled slightly and pushed, and the world spun around him.

How many times have they danced together?

At a very young age.

At the Cruelle family.

And now, in front of many people, she was dancing with Kiehl, who had become the Crown Prince, and she, as the lady who had participated in the contest…

Nonetheless, Bella wasn’t thinking about anything at this moment. Each word of the music was engraved by ear. The dance moves and his smile were in her eyes, like a scene from a fairy tale she always told Kiehl.

In regret, the music ended and Kiehl slowly let go of his hand.

The fairy tale came to an end, and Bella slowly returned to reality at the sound of noisy people.

* * *

As Kiehl said, the group would have no choice but to disintegrate in an instant.

It was the first dance… No matter who he applied to, it was natural to do it to a lady who would never refuse. In addition, that meant they were the closest. And because of that, some of the ladies in the group seemed to feel betrayed.

“Why does His Highness ask Lady Bella to dance first?”

“Certainly she wasn’t trying to block us in advance because she was afraid we might like him, right?”

Fortunately, there were only a few of them.

“They look good. Aren’t the clothes similar?”

“That’s true. Even if she’s an adopted daughter, she’s of Duchy Cruelle.”

Inwardly, they spoke with joy, saying, “We stood in line well.”

“I think we should change the name of the meeting.”

“Is it okay if it’s a meeting that supports Lady Bella as the Crown Princess?”

The group disintegrated, and without Bella knowing it, a few more join to create a new group.

* * *

As soon as the dance was over, Bella returned to reality and urgently asked about Rosanne.

“By the way, what about Rosanne?”

Kiehl who was wondering why she didn’t ask, smirked and dragged her hand away.

“I will introduce you later. Now, dance with Rio.”

“…What?”

Before she knew it, Rio dressed up pretty nicely and held out his hand to Bella.

“Would you like to dance to a song with me?”

Kiehl gazed at Bella’s back, who was dumbfounded and unable to follow his words, and only smiled. Then, he reached out his hand to Rinne next to her.

“Miss Rinne Proha, shall we dance together?”

“….”

Unlike usual, Rinne wore a fancy dress and held Kiehl’s hand.

Kiehl was fully aware of what this ball meant. After that day, in the novel, Rosanne was bullied by several ladies.

At first, he also tried to follow Bella’s novel as she wanted. Though what was this about ‘a group of ladies who don’t want to become the Crown Princess, but came to the contest’? What better excuse could there be than this? Now that there was a gap, he tried to be greedy.

“Kiehl, it’s very obvious that you don’t want to dance right now.”

However, Bella was not to be subjected to the bullying that Rosanne in the novel would receive.

“Why don’t you talk while dancing with the other ladies?”

“Yes.”

He couldn’t just give treats to the cat he loved, even though he wanted to give it only to his cat.

Even if he didn’t like it, he had to give everyone a treat.

How many people has he already danced with? Kiehl managed to calm his irritation inwardly.

Through the novel, and through the information he originally knew, he danced with the daughters of Duchies and Marquisates, and also asked the daughters of promising families among the Counties to dance.

Lest the jealous glances he felt when he danced with Bella be directed at her.

“Are you done now?”

He even wrote a list and danced thoroughly and deliberately. Rio looked at Kiehl with some awkwardness.

“Who else is left?”

“She’s not on the list, but… Rosanne is here.”

County Psilia was also a family that belonged to the periphery, like how the novel was about a love that transcends the difference in social status. Even when they thought they were commoners, and when they actually met again, they had to overcome that wall.

“Not with her. If I dance with her, there are so many who I have to dance the same way.”

“Not that… can you greet her?”

Hearing his words, Kiehl glanced in the direction Rio pointed.

Rosanne stood alone in a corner and hesitated. When their eyes met, she stiffened even more and lowered her head. Rather than being happy to see her after a long time, he didn’t like it. Bella would have laughed in that situation.

As he thought so, Kiehl immediately looked around and found Bella.

She, too, was quiet in a corner with many of the ladies surrounding her.

The expression on his face, as Rio had expressed before, was ‘free of thoughts.’ He just watched the ladies clamoring in front of her, saying, ‘Mountains are mountains and waters are waters.’

All of a sudden, like Rosanne, his eyes met with Bella.

‘Ah….’

Bella, who he thought would smile, showed anger with her eyes as soon as she saw Kiehl. Rio hinted cautiously.

“Lady Bella must be really mad right now?”

“…Why?”

“After her, you kept asking people to dance.”

Rio approached Kiehl and said softly as if it was a secret.

“Rinne told me that the ladies’ were huddled together.”

“….”

“They said they weren’t interested in the Crown Prince, but now they’re fighting among themselves.”

“Ah…”

“Should they push Lady Bella as the Crown Princess or not…”

“Are you incredibly detailed?”

“Rinne overheard everything with that radio magic.”

At those words, Kiehl stared at Rio with contempt for a moment.

“I didn’t give you permission to do that…”

“Besides, even though Lady Bella subtly avoids it, they keep following her and arguing among themselves.”

Even though Kiehl was doing everything he could, it was a bit sad to see Bella get angry.

“Anyway, Lady Bella muttered that she would get her revenge on you tonight.”

Rio spoke with an emphasis on ‘revenge’, but he just laughed.

‘Aahh. I can see her tonight.’

She was welcome to be so angry.

Meanwhile, Rio couldn’t understand Kiehl’s laughing even though Bella was angry.

‘He’s my master, but really…’

Suddenly, as the feeling that the conversation had gone down a side road, he brought up the story of Rosanne again.

“What about Rosanne?”

Kiehl took Rio and slowly headed towards Rosanne. Perhaps it was after he had danced with quite a few young ladies, people didn’t attach much importance to his steps.

“Long time no see, Rosanne.”

As soon as Rosanne saw the shadow cast in front of her, she blushed and bowed her head again.

“You-Your… Your Highness.”

In fact, he had no special feelings for Rosanne.

To put it bluntly, she was a ‘girl he didn’t like.’ But Bella kept mentioning ‘Rosanne.’ In addition, every time there was ‘Rosanne’ instead of Bella in that novel.

e used to get annoyed.

“All this time, I didn’t know it was Your Highness….”

As soon as Rosanne saw Kiehl, she burst into tears.

“Hey, Rosanne. Because I’m fine….”

Rosanne shed her tears.

People around started whispering.

‘Haa….’

Even Bella, who doesn’t have to follow the manners of the human world, thought of Kiehl’s situation and didn’t refuse her first dance.

What would be the crown prince’s position if she cried here?

‘You brought it on yourself.’

Kiehl had no choice but to extend his hand to Rosanne.

“Rosanne Psilia, would you like to dance a song with me?”

Rosanne wiped away her tears and took Kiehl’s hand in a daze.

At that time.

Everyone noticed that the not-so-famous daughter of County Psilia danced with the crown prince.

It’s a little different from the novel, but with enough envy and jealous eyes to flow as the contents.

As described in the novel, Rosanne was really dazzling and shining like an angel who came down from the sky.