Hearing the person cry out, Yura turned in that direction.
Suddenly an arm shot out, pushing someone else away. The person staggered back, as if they’d been struck on the head. She had no idea what had happened.
A young woman was turning away, visibly upset. She was pulling up the hem of her long skirt. Shards of glass were scattered at her feet.
Undeterred, a thick arm shot through the air once more. Water splashed someone’s lowered head, splattering everywhere.
That was when Yura finally realized what was going on. She started to rush over.
“No, where are you going!?”
Leila’s arm held Yura back. Yura was so worked up, however, that she shook Leila off.
“How horrible…what happened!?”
People were crowding around, making it difficult to move. Yura tried to crane her neck to see what was going on.
It was a young man with his eyes downcast. Perhaps because he’d turned his face away and his body was stooped over, he looked so small.
He lifted his eyes to look at the two men holding the empty glasses. The men had fist-sized stains on their chests. Colliding with each other and spilling the contents of their glasses must’ve started the whole thing.
Even if that was the case…aren’t they going too far?
Yura tore the fabric off the decanter Leila was holding and turned back to the disturbance.
The young man was staring at the others, expressionlessly. There was no hint of emotion in his eyes. He wiped away the water without a word.
Suddenly Yura gasped.
It was him.
She froze.
The young man Yura had chased and failed to catch earlier.
The one she’d happened upon in the garden. But there was no emotion in his eyes now.
Instead, he looked like a wax doll with lifeless eyes. So completely empty that she was sure if he spoke now, his voice would be monotone.
He turned toward her with equally empty movements.
In that instant, Yura regretted not hiding.
In that moment when their eyes met, he looked so pained, it was as if someone stuck a needle in his eye.
As soon as he recognized Yura, he silently spun away. Turned his back to her and walked off.
There were numerous people in his way and they all stepped aside for him. They all watched him go in disgust, as if looking at something truly awful. The music once again sprang to life.
Finally, the banquet slowly returned to its easy pace, as if nothing had happened.
Suddenly, Ashes was standing next to Yura. He had a capricious look on his face, likely drunk.
Yura turned away, watching the young man who still hadn’t completely disappeared into the crowds. She hadn’t noticed before, but every single person that watched him go turned away from him, putting as much distance as they could between them.
“Hey, th-that man…” Yura whispered, just barely audible and trembling. Ashes bent closer to her, struggling to hear. “That man, the one with the gold hair…”
“Oh, him?” Ashes snorted in response. He casually extended a finger, still wrapped around his cup, to where the young man had been.
It seemed like others nearby were laughing as well. Yura looked down, her heart aching. It was a strange feeling, as if an old forgotten wound had begun to throb.
“Does he have some sort of illness…?”
Ashes laughed in response. It was a sneer; his gaze was cold and disgusted. He smiled with pity, as if rejecting the other man down to his very core.
“Saying it’s an…affliction of appearances might be more like it.”
“Affliction of appearances?”
Appearances—like his looks?
Yura frowned.
She turned her head to look at him. He was currently looking to the side. Where she stood was up high, the place she was least likely to lose sight of him. She could still see him very clearly.
“Isn’t he hideous?”Ashes slid closer and whispered. He continued to smile at her with a cold expression. “He’s the ugliest man in our entire nation.”
Ashes’ words slapped Yura like an ice whip. She shuddered as if she’d been hit with cold water and looked at him.
The young man looked back up at Yura, as if detecting her fear. His face really was like that of a doll’s. A fake expression with any emotion shoved deep down inside.
However, his looks were still as handsome and as breathtakingly beautiful as they were that day they saw each other through the mirror.
It gave Yura goosebumps and she stiffened up. She slowly looked back and forth between them, speechless.
The young man with golden hair and Ashes.
Both of them had such handsome faces that they couldn’t help but garner attention.
Could it be…
Could they possibly be…
The words sprung back to her mind.
“My, how beautiful…”
That old man who had sighed enraptured. Those words of delighted admiration. Those envious gazes.
“I can’t believe such beauty is of this world.”
Yura looked up. The young person whose eyes met hers grew red in the cheeks and flashed her a broad grin.
“An unparalleled beauty.”
“Those words of praise were meant for you…”
Yura took a step back.
For me?
Flustered, she looked around. All eyes were on her and she felt backed into a corner.
He’s the most hideous man in the country and I’m an unparalleled beauty?!
Questions she couldn’t put into words were running through her head. Her fears formed a dark veil before her and increased at an interminable speed. She was tormented by a strange sense of terror, all amid the backdrop of this glamorous feast. Yura stood there vacantly, wringing her hands.