Chapter 12
****
Half of his words were sincere, and the other half were not. He couldn't quite put his finger on what the insincere half was. With that offhand remark out of the way, Argos studied the girl's expression. But it was his face that changed color.
"Thank you for your kind words."
She had been paying attention to the muscles in his face since the moment she met Argos, so she didn't react much to his remark.
"You don't look grateful at all."
But this time it was dangerous. She almost burst out laughing at Argos's comment.
In truth, Lynette had known all along.
That he was equally intrigued by her.
Maybe she should have been more careful, maybe she should have been cooler, colder, maybe she should have made him withdraw his attention from her altogether.......
But no matter how careful Lynette had been, she could not have escaped Argos's attention. For the source of this curiosity was in Finberg.
From the moment Finberg showed his favor to Lynette, and stepped into her world.
Argos's curiosity must have been piqued.
"No, my lord prince. I thank you from the bottom of my heart."
The only way to escape Argos's gaze was to avoid provoking him as much as possible.
If she came across as boring, dull, and ordinary, he'd be less interested.
"Really?”
But Argos showed no sign of backing away from her.
"Why don't you tell the lies that children tell?"
"I don't lie, because I was well educated by my grandfather."
"Even that doesn't sound straight to me now, am I being too twisted?"
"No, I think Your Royal Highness is just."
Impulsive, rash, and perverse.
"I think you’re an honest man."
Argos' lips twisted into a thin line at Lynette's reply.
"Yes, that's what's not childlike about you."
"...."
"You know what to do in times like this?"
"I don't know-"
Argos closed his eyes with a sigh and tilted his head to the left.
"Music."
"....?"
"I don't like it, but it's worth listening to."
"...."
"If you're so good at manners, you must be good at dancing."
He held out his hand in imitation of a gentleman.
The hand he held out transported Lynette to a moment in the past.
<Ah, I don't feel like dancing right now.>
<That's okay, you have to dance with people when you have a lot on your mind.>
<But.>
<Oh, please. That look on your face is making me dry up with guilt.>
<Ari, actually, I’m scared.>
<What is it?>
<Me and Ari and our⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯.>
<Our?>
<⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯our baby.>
<Is that what you wanted to talk about? You should have told me.>
<Baby.>
<I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, so...... I'm really, really sorry.>
<I didn't mean to hear Ari's apology.>
<As you know, things are not good. I'm in enough danger that I wouldn't be surprised if I died at any moment, and if you stay with me now, I’m putting Lily and our baby in danger.>
<...>
<If I'm dead, I'm dead, and I can't let you be a target.>
<...>
<Ari.>
<Lily, Lynette, Lynette Dikla Hilt. My princess. My queen!>
<...>
<My love, my lover. Let's think only of our happy future, so please dance with me today. Please!>
Not then, not now, did Lynette want to dance with Argos.
"Though it would be an honor to be the first to dance with the prince here today."
At that moment, Lynette's gaze met Kanna's.
She was staring at where Argos and Lynette stood.
"No thanks."
Lynette grabbed the hem of her skirt and bent her knees politely.
Argos stiffened, hands outstretched, like a statue.
"You've answered like a child now."
"Why?"
A dark voice cut through the peaceful music.
"For the first dance, I want to dance with the man who saved my life."
The girl replied succinctly.
Tricked into attending a banquet she didn't want, and dancing with the fetus in her belly and her anxiety, Lynette died.
Instead, the reborn Lynette asked Argos with a whimper.
"Are you upset?"
Argos swallowed hard, as if in disbelief.
"Not at all. I'm just disappointed that your grandfather didn't teach you proper ballroom etiquette."
He hid his displeasure, but she couldn't help but notice the redness in his earlobes.
“Proper etiquette?"
"It is only a gentleman's place to ask for a dance. That doesn't mean you can dance with my brother just because you want to. Did you not know this basic etiquette? Yes, ignorance is not a sin, so I'll forgive you."
He spoke at length, trying to hide his feelings.
"Ah."
He understood because it's not a sin?
You're crazy, you've gone mad.
Lynette laughed softly, hiding her disbelief.
"I'll wait, then."
"What?"
"I mean, I'll wait, in case His Highness the Crown Prince asks me to dance. I'll wait until then."
Argos was at a loss for words.
He didn't know why this rejection from a mere child should upset him so much, even to himself.
"I think the wait for the crown prince will be a glorious one, so I'll wait with joy and happiness."
Honor?
How dare you ignore my favor, and wait for glory?
That too, with joy and happiness?
Argos withdrew his outstretched hand.
‘You must have been grateful for the medicine he gave you.’
Anyone could have done that. All he'd done was pull a pill out of a doctor's bag and give it to her, and that was the least he could do.
‘You're the kind of person who can't stand to be in debt without paying it back.’
Argos chose to think so.
Yeah, that's just the nature of the beast. Or an overly strict education from his grandfather.
Argos looked down at the girl, his expression steady.
"I'll keep that in mind, Lynette."
***
The air in the ballroom was getting thicker and thicker.
The fading light of the lamps stained the portraits that hung side by side brown.
Kanna waited patiently, biding her time.
"His Highness is indeed a man of great character."
"So much so that he personally inspects the public infirmary in the capital."
"His compassion is so evident."
"Yes, indeed."
Walking around the ballroom Kanna didn't miss the fearless conversations of the drunks.
"I wonder how the two princes could be so different under the same father."
"Do they have the same father?"
"Shhh, if you don’t want your head chopped off."
Kanna stared at Finberg at a distance.
He was with a group of gentlemen, ties high, medals dangling.
The boy's face was solemn at times, like a judge's, and then his eyes seemed to be uninterested in anything.
His gaze was dry, and Kanna saw in it the solitude of a man in power.
‘Crown Prince.’
The mysterious red eyes were brighter than the sun. It was like a pearl shining in a crimson sea.
Kanna wanted to find hidden anguish in the boy, just as she had found anxiety in Argos.
‘Only I can do this.’
She was hopeful.
<A witch gave birth to that blond-haired prince.>
In truth, there was a reason Pisco had brought up the witch story with Kanna.
To remind her not to dream in vain.
But the realization that the prince was the witch's son brought joy to her.
It didn't matter that Argos's mother, Clotilde, had disappeared into the dew of death.
‘If a witch can get into the king's bedchamber, so can I.’
***
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