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THE sky was blanketed in darkness, threatening rain clouds on the evening of the party, as if the weather were reflecting Richard’s inner turmoil.
“It’s going to rain. That settles it—we’re staying in today.”
“Don’t be ridiculous!” Daniel scolded Richard. “The party’s not going to be canceled just because of a little rain. Besides, both of you are already finished getting ready, so it’s kinda late to bring up such nonsense.”
Richard stared back at him, stony and silent.
“Oh, Princess Hermiiine! Please pacify His Highness with compliments so he’ll want to go to the party!”
“What? Well… Your outfit is really lovely today, Your Highness. I’d be a very lucky lady to go to the party on the arm of such a handsome man!”
With Daniel having suddenly shunted the task onto Sara, she had tried complimenting the prince’s outfit, but he didn’t seem flattered in the slightest.
Richard always wore dark clothes—his favorite style—but today, he was wearing shiny white formal attire. He usually thought very little about what he wore and tended to don slightly oversized shirts and pants. For this occasion, however, a tailor had been called in and had taken measurements, so the white outfit made for Richard today fit him like a glove.
Richard’s legs were long and slender, and even as he sat with one leg sloppily crossed over the other, he looked absolutely modelesque. The bottom hems of both his jacket and vest were embroidered with gold thread in an ivy pattern, which, together with the matching pale-gold necktie, added pleasing accent colors to the outfit.
Richard’s wavy slate-gray hair was neatly combed through and, because it was on the longer side, tied back with a ribbon. However, with all the humidity the looming rain clouds had ushered in, he seemed quite displeased with it.
Richard had insisted he would wear a mask the entire time, to which Edouard replied that he could, but it would have to be one that looked a touch better than his usual. Even Sara had chimed in that he shouldn’t wear his normal expressionless white mask to a party.
That was why today Richard wore, over his eyes only, a silver masquerade-style mask with feathers. It covered less of his face than his normal one, but it was elaborately made and beautifully decorated, so it looked quite appropriate with his handsome facial features.
Sara took all these points into account as she showered him with compliments, but Richard wrinkled his nose.
“I don’t think that’s true…”
“No, no, no! That won’t do, Your Highness! Now is not the time for modesty,” Daniel argued fervently. “You’re supposed to say, ‘Thank you, but you look much more beautiful than I.’”
But then Sara wanted to say, “I don’t think that’s true…”
Today, Sara was matching Richard—her dress was white with gold embroidery. It was also custom-made—her measurements had been taken for it at the same time as Richard’s—but no matter how long Sara had looked in the mirror, she couldn’t help thinking her own looks paled before the beauty of the dress.
Her hair was done up, tied with a ribbon that matched Richard’s. The dress was originally designed in an off-the-shoulder style, but the neckline had been changed in response to Richard’s vehement opposition. He had not been totally satisfied with the alteration, however, so he ordered her to wear a thin bolero on top of her dress.
The bolero, chosen by Richard, had a delicate pattern and was incredibly beautiful. Sara had also pinned the corsage keepsake from her mother to her chest, and with that on, she finally felt that, at the very least, she wasn’t doing the dress a disservice.
Richard’s mouth had opened slightly in surprise at Daniel’s scolding.
“Daniel’s right…,” he said. “You’re the one who looks wonderful. If I can walk alongside such a beautiful woman, then maybe going to this party won’t be so bad.”
“What?!” Sara squeaked.
“What do you mean, ‘What?’” He frowned at her.
“Oh! No, I mean… Thank you very much.”
Sara had never expected Richard to compliment her so candidly. When at last she had pushed through her confusion and thanked him, she sensed that, behind his mask, his eyes were smiling with an inward satisfaction.