CH 24.2

Anne was relieved when she danced with another man once. Suddenly, the upbeat tune was approaching the middle part. Anne again encountered a new partner, and she opened her mouth in stupor. It was the man she had been dancing with a while ago.

What happened?

The whole sequence had not yet been completed. If it were so, Salton should have been in front of her already. Anne hastily turned her head and looked for him with her eyes. Not far from her, there was a mask just like her.

It’s out of order.

It was really weird. She was suspicious because the man approached her too often. What’s more, no one seemed to be wondering if the order went wrong. Even if a defector appeared among the people standing in a line, there would have been some who refused to get cut off in the middle, but all the people had happy expressions.

At this point, Anne felt increasingly uncomfortable. Salton’s turn hadn’t come at all. He was still only at the end. And this time, as if he had noticed something strange, he looked at Anne.

The fifth time the stranger grabbed her hand, Anne reluctantly pulled her hand away and left the formation. As she quickly turned her back and busily tried to get out of the place, someone grabbed her shoulder.

“Lady Libelois!”

When Anne, startled by the voice, turned around, her fiancé, who had left the place just like her, was chasing after her.

“Are you alright?”

Anne exhaled slowly, and sent a gaze over his shoulder, but the stranger had disappeared without a trace. Even among the crowd, his tall stature and a black leopard-patterned mask could be easily recognized, but even looking around, there was no trace of him.

As Anne continued to look around her to see where the suspicious man had gone, Salton spoke to her.

“I suddenly saw the Lady leaving, so I hastily followed. But it was strange. I waited for the Lady, but my turn didn’t come . . . Like . . .”

“Sir Salton, there are too many people. I want to go out to the garden to get some air.”

Anne didn’t want to think about it any more, so she moved Salton’s topic elsewhere. Even though she said that, she felt dizzy because she was wearing a heavy mask.

“I thought so too. Let’s go together.”

As soon as she stepped out of the place, the wind at the end of spring gently tickled her face. The garden of a high-ranking family created a beautiful landscape with the efforts of talented gardeners. Perhaps it was because the colorful flowers that received the night dew and moonlight mysteriously embraced their colors, and the fragrant smell of flowers and the night air sweetly melted her lungs with every breath.

As she leisurely strolled along the white stone-paved road, Anne looked up at Salton with a puzzled look when the person next to her stopped.

“I look forward to the day I marry Lady.”

“I feel the same way.”

She could feel the trembling contained in the low confession that showed how nervous his heart was. Anne, who had slowly blinked her eyelids, patted his arm softly in agreement, and he turned to her. A faint scent of wine wafted from Salton, who was facing her.

“Angroanne, you don’t know. How much I . . .”

Today, he had a different mood than usual. Salton, who was dragging his words, slowly entangled their eyes. He was a gentle man, but now he had a man’s face before she knew it.

When she got too close to him, Anne, bewildered, hurriedly called him.

“Sir Salton.”

“I am the man who will soon become your husband.”

Salton, who recognized what the voice calling her meant, spoke louder. The hot breath that blew from him, who had become more determined, tickled her face. Anne, noticing what he was trying to do, took a step back at a loss, but all she could do was pull her shoulder back a little.

Finally he came close enough to rub his lips, and she unknowingly pushed him away.

“Please let go.”

When she shook her hand so hard that her wrinkle-free dress was wrinkled, he raised his eyes in surprise and came into view belatedly. His eyes, vivid with disappointment, made her feel guilt instead.

Thinking that she had committed a great disrespect, Anne turned her staggering feet and ran away. She suddenly felt the power of a man so great that she was terrified, and with his clear intention of wanting to kiss made her want to leave that uncomfortable position.

As she ran with the heavy dress, she barely stopped her feet until her breath reached the tip of her chin. As she passed, regrets flooded in. She had pushed him too hard.

“Haaa . . . haa . . . I made a mistake. I have to go back now.”

She didn’t make a single mistake in front of her fiance the whole time, so she couldn’t stand it and ran back. What he would think of her right now, and what kind of criticism she would hear if what happened today went into her parent’s ears who had been strictly admonishing her words and actions. How she lived until now has been to live up to their expectations. Her shoulders trembled just thinking about it.

As Anne twisted her back to return to Salton, someone grabbed her waist and pulled her back.