Moonlight Ball

“I’ve been thinking, maybe I can just limp in.” Iris had whispered to him. The King seemed to have thought that it would look strange in many ways if he carried her through the hall.

“Wouldn’t it be worse if they found out that your limping was just an act? If you have the confidence to act perfectly, so that you don’t get caught, then I’ll let the Queen do as she wishes.” Sidrain had told her, emphasizing the word ‘perfectly’.

Iris hadn’t been sure if she could do that perfectly and had looked down at her legs resentfully. She’d wanted to break one of them using her magic.

Sidrain had kissed her cheek, watching how she’d agonized for a moment, and had said, “And I like it when we’re a little close. You know the people are waiting for the heir between us, right?” He’d added unexpectedly. Iris had been aware of that and had nodded her head as he’d continued, “So let’s try to be a friendly couple. I’ll try first.”

Sidrain had paused for a moment, his voice sounding hoarse. He was accustomed to lying, but his voice became hoarse when he tried to tell the truth. With a smirk on his face, he’d asked quietly, “Try to like me.”

He was such a strange person to like and she only liked her teacher, but she’d smiled nonetheless while she’d thought that there must be a contagious poison in the Haran’s river. People were starting to think that way too, as there was no other way to explain the sudden change in her.

King Sidrain was sweet to the Queen. He wasn’t being friendly like one friend would be to another, he was acting more like a man in love. No matter what food the Queen looked at, he’d immediately have it brought to her, and several times he’d told the maids to bring odds and ends for her too. He kept talking to her, smelling her scent, wanting to touch her neck and chin and listened to her voice intently. He didn’t understand some of the things she’d say and assumed that the nonsense being spoken came from the old Rosemary. But Sidrain listened to the stories regardless, always with an excited look on his face, as if she was singing a celebrity’s song.

The band sang poetic songs and Sidrain didn’t look at anyone other than Iris. Even when he got up to make a toast, he couldn’t take his eyes off the Queen. Then, he immediately sat down and continued to converse with the Queen.

“Sid, are you honestly doing this?” Count Portwall stepped forward. He was Sidrain’s baby brother and one of the few people who could call him Sid.

“Excuse me, my Queen.” Sidrain kissed Iris on the cheek and rose from his seat. It was obvious that Portwall wanted to say something and it wasn’t something that he wanted to say in front of Iris.

They walked across the hall and then Sidrain pushed Portwall into the corner of a wall and frowned, “What is it?” pretending not to know.

Portwall spoke quietly but firmly, “You’re stuck close to the Queen. Everyone thinks it’s weird.”

“What’s so strange about me being next to my Queen?”

“You don’t like Rosemary. It was only a few days ago that you said you didn’t even want to touch her, Sid.”

“Things have changed.” This was a new experience for him. Everything had changed a few days ago.

“How? How did it change? People are saying you are the one that is crazy now.”

“Let them say whatever they want.”

“Sid.” Portwall looked up at Sidrain in astonishment. Sidrain leaned himself against the wall. His tall muscular body showed how powerful he was and Portwall recalled the time when Sidrain had slain a particular dragon. People praised Sidrain for killing dragons. No matter how strong a swordmaster was, killing a dragon was never an easy task and he recalled that Sidrain had nearly died that day. But because of his strength and skills, he’d survived.

In a slightly different mood than he was then, the current Sidrain seemed as irrational as he was that day. The opponent was not a dragon, but rather, a slim, voluptuous, but poisonous queen.

“It’s still Rosemary you know? It’s the same Rosemary you’ve hated so much all your life.”

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“She is my first love,” Sidrain spoke quietly. Portwall opened his mouth and hurriedly shut it. He’d lose his jaw if he wasn’t careful.

“What?” Sidrain spat at him. “She’s my first love. My first love at sixteen. I think I fell in love with her at first sight.”

Sidrain’s voice was excited and Portwall lost his cool and raised his voice, “Sid, you first saw Rosemary when she was seven years old! She was a child at the time!”

Portwall was visibly angry with him for saying that, but Sidrain just smiled pleasantly. Suddenly, Portwall realized that Sidrain was looking somewhere else, he was no longer looking at him, his gaze was fixed in one place behind him. He turned his head to where the King was looking and saw the Queen still seated in her chair. Sitting far away, the Queen looked at the center of the hall with an unusually calm look on her face, and Sidrain murmured, “I’ve always missed her.”

Portwall rolled his eyes. When they started talking again, Sidrain’s gaze had shifted back to Portwall. At that moment, a note was secretly handed over to Iris by a maid and she quickly read it, ‘Your moonlight would like to see you on the third balcony.’