“I-I simply wanted to have a chat with her.”
“By all means, then.”
“Oh, no, it’s not important enough to impose on your time, Your Highness.”
His smile broadened when he looked up and away from the gaggle of aristocratic young women.
“Such beautiful beads of light. Fiona, you used your magic, didn’t you? I wonder why.”
“Begging your pardon, Your Highness, but the Lady Saint did so heal my wounds.”
The maidservant answered him plaintively. His gaze switched between her and the frowning young ladies. Then he exhaled quietly. They all let out muffled shrieks at the sensuality in his action.
“Fiona is the saint our country summoned and the woman who will be my fiancée. Make sure you don’t forget that.”
The cluster of genteel women nodded even as they trembled at the sight of his incredibly gorgeous smile. Once he saw they understood, Linus took Fiona’s hand and began walking.
“Um, Your Highness.”
Since he had come here to escort her back and he’d come to her defense, she knew she needed to explain the circumstances to him. But Linus only smiled when he looked at Fiona. Despite him being all smiles until now, this particular one was more gentle than the others.
“Let me guess. They tried to pick a quarrel with you, and she got hurt protecting you, right?”
“I couldn’t prevent any of it from happening, and for that, I apologize.”
The maidservant bowed her head in penance as she spoke, but Linus stopped her with a raised hand.
“Don’t worry. There wasn’t much you could do without serious repercussions considering the other party was the prime minister’s daughter. The fact that Fiona isn’t hurt is more than enough. You may take your leave.”
The woman curtsied. After she left, Linus let go of Fiona’s hand. She’d been standing there silently during their exchange.
“Now, won’t you tell me what they said?”
“Ummm, well, I explained to them the definition of cost performance, then without warning, their mood turned sour.”
Their displeasure had been clear after she’d told them, so perhaps her explanation had been too complicated to understand?
“I see, I see. The truth is, I was thinking of taking you home because I suspected you were tired, Fiona. But will you stay with me for a little while longer?”
“Where are we going?”
She seriously doubted he wanted her to accompany him to the lavatory, which begged the question of where exactly he planned on taking her in the middle of a ball.
“You see, I think it’s best to nip things in the bud as early as possible.”
Linus stretched his hand out to Fiona, his captivating eyes locked on her.
“My beloved saint. Won’t you grant me the privilege of a dance?”
She blinked in awe at his painting-perfect gesture.
“Um, I don’t think I’ll be good at it, though.”
Born and raised a commoner, she had no notion of what the dances of nobility entailed. Though her answer had been honest, he only let out a strained chuckle.
“Fiona, at times like this, you’re supposed to say, ‘It would be my pleasure’ with a pretty blush on your cheeks.”
“But I can’t dance, so…”
“Don’t worry. You’re in good hands.”
She was quite worried. However, if Linus insisted, then she couldn’t very well refuse him out of hand.
When she reluctantly placed her hand in his, he gripped it firmly. And when he smiled at her, she thought everything would be fine. It was the strangest feeling.
Holding her hand, he led her back to the ballroom, where they entered the circle of dancers on the dancefloor. However, she couldn’t conceal her surprise at how close they were, with his arm around her waist and his other hand clasping her own.
“A-Aren’t we too close?”
However much used to his affectionate nature, she couldn’t help feeling nervous about their bodies being so close in front of all these people.
“Not at all.”
Prompted by his pointed gaze, she looked around them and saw the other dancing pairs had just as much, or little in this case, space between them. There was even a couple who locked eyes so ardently with each other that it embarrassed her to look at them.
“I think I understand now. Surprisingly, nobles prefer close contact. Is that why you’re so unrestrained about closing the distance between us, Your Highness?”
For some time, she’d been wondering why he’d been so strangely close to her recently, and she wondered if it had merely been practice to interact with nobles in public as a saint. He must have wanted to help accustom her to the social mores of high society so she didn’t embarrass herself or the royal family.
“Goodness, you’re so kind, Your Highness.”
“Do you really think so?”
“Yes, I do. You’ve been that way since we first met ten years ago, like a precious older brother to me.”
Linus led her slowly because Fiona still wasn’t used to dancing. Her lack of dancing ability wasn’t his problem to manage, yet he remained considerate of her in this regard.
“Older brother, huh…”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said such a rude thing to you, Your Highness.”
She picked up on the hint of coolness in his tone and rushed to apologize. No matter how comfortable he was with her, he was ultimately this nation’s crown prince. So for a mere priestess…well, she was a saint now technically. In any case, for someone like her to refer to him as a brotherly figure was beyond discourteous.
“No, it’s fine. Because I did my best to play that exact role for the last decade. You’re right on that score, Fiona. But.”
Linus pressed down on her lower back and pulled her even closer to him. They were so close that saying she was in his embrace wouldn’t be an understatement. Fiona vaguely heard shocked exclamations from around them.
“From now on, I’m your fiancé. And I don’t want you to forget that.”
Smiling, he traced a finger down her cheek, the movement almost gliding. This time, the shrieks in the vicinity sounded much shriller and clearer. Regardless of the nobility’s preference for close contact, the outraged sounds told her Linus’ behavior marked a deviation from the norm.
“I thought our engagement was still under consideration?”
“Well, in my heart, there’s only one answer.”
He moved the hand stroking her cheek to cup the back of her head and gently dropped a kiss on her forehead. The shrieks became full-fledged screams now and echoed in the ballroom. But Linus’ expression remained serene as he beamed at her.
“Fiona, hurry up and look at me, hm?”