As Rosemarie moved from the clamorous hall to the balcony, the chilly air filled her with a sense of relief.
“Are you okay? We’re almost through here, so hang in there.” Claudio stood behind Rosemarie as if supporting her back. She looked up at him and flashed a pitiful smile.
“Just a little tired. But what about you, Prince Claudio? How are you holding up?”
“Yes, I’m doing just fine.” Claudio said that, and his complexion hadn’t been too bad when Rosemarie had checked on it in the bright hall, so he probably really was fine.
“We’ve made our rounds for hellos, and the Crown Prince and Princess of Rivera are likely ready to take their leave. Once they do, I see no issue with us also taking our leave. —On an unrelated note, you’re not the best dancer, are you? I never would have guessed that you would be tripping over your own feet.” As a cue for the start of the evening festivities, Rosemarie ended up dancing with Claudio, but he kept flubbing it up by stepping on the fringe of her dress and almost taking a spill several times.
“I would always hole myself up in the villa, so I would never attend evening galas. That also means that I hardly ever had any practice. I believe it would actually be peculiar if I danced well.” She shot Claudio a bitter look as he chuckled. He brushed aside the hair falling over her cheek with his fingers and presented the same hand to her.
“Shall we practice now, then? Not only can you hear the music from here, but people would have to go out of their way to watch us.”
“Huh? No, I think I’ll pass,” she said, turning down the offer immediately and backing up. Claudio laughed, his shoulders bouncing.
“Come on. I’m asking you nicely, aren’t I?”
“Just because you have to go out of your way to watch doesn’t mean that no one will be around...” She had just finished tripping over herself in grand fashion before a whole hall of people. If someone were to witness them practicing out here, it would had fueled the rumor mill immensely.
“If they were to find out that the crown princess cannot even dance, they might talk ill of you for marrying such an uncultured wife, Prince Claudio.”
“It’s too late for something so trivial to lower my reputation, but if you don’t wish to do so, then we won’t.” Rosemarie’s eyes dropped as Claudio smiled softly.
Claudio already made himself easy to be an object of fear to people. An inexperienced wife such as herself would make it all too easy for his reputation to plummet. Even if it were a slight matter, he still needed to be mindful of it.
(If only he didn’t have a lion head...)
In order for that to happen, however, she needed to return his mana to him. After lifting her head, Rosemarie noticed that Claudio was looking over at the garden with a grim look on his face.
“Is there something wrong...?”
“Get down!” With that tense declaration, he yanked on her arm and thrust her toward the entrance of the hall. At almost the same time, three silhouetted figures descended from above. Each figure held a silver knife that glinted in the light of the room.
“—?!” Rosemarie stifled her scream and backed away. While she did, Claudio retaliated by kicking one of the assailant’s knives to the ground. Rosemarie turned herself toward the hall in order to call for help from inside.
“Eeeek!!”
“Who are you people?!”
Screams of panic and anger that didn’t belong to her came from the hall. Guests came running their way, attempting to escape the assailants who had infiltrated from the other balcony. They saw Claudio in the midst of battle and started to run away in a panic.
The evening gala was being raided by a group of people—that was the only thing that she knew. As for who they were targeting, that was a different story.
“Rosemarie!” Claudio called, grabbing for her in the confusion.
“Did they hurt you?! The assailants, are they...”
“I defeated them. The castle patrol knights have come as reinforcements.”
Things began to shift back to reality. The assailants who had raided the hall weren’t very great in number, and were currently being apprehended one by one by the castle’s knights.
King Baltzar and the Crown Prince and Princess of Rivera had likely been evacuated immediately because Rosemarie couldn’t spot them anywhere.
“Um, did they hurt you?”
“No, not a bit.” As she stared at Claudio, using his hand to mop his brow of sweat, she noticed a person approaching them.
“Eek...” Rosemarie gasped and ran behind Claudio. It was the Archbishop, with his half-human, half-melted-lizard face. The melted portion of his face was even worse than usual today. She could practically smell a foul odor coming from it, which almost made her want to vomit.
“Are you safe, Prince Claudio?”
“Yes. I’m glad to see you are unscathed, as well, Archbishop Kastner.” Claudio held out his hand to Rosemarie, standing behind him, for consolation. She squeezed onto it tight. The large, slightly cool hand calmed her nerves.
“Goodness gracious, what a fiasco. And, of all times, when you’re entertaining the Crown Prince and Princess of Rivera... Could this be an attack against Rivera or toward our country?”
“Watch your tone. I won’t stand for disrespect.”
“A thousand apologies for speaking without due consideration. It would seem that this ordeal has me quite shaken up.” His tone of voice didn’t give the impression of being shaken up in the slightest. Hearing it made Rosemarie bite her lips.
The fact that he observed the disaster unfold and was not unsettled in the least meant that either he had guts to spare or he was absolutely confident that he would remain unharmed.
(If he were actually relieved, then he shouldn’t have that disfigured head.)
In spite of this fact, his face was still half-monster, so what did it all mean?
As she came to her conclusion, she squeezed Claudio’s hand and he shielded her shoulders with his arm.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Apologies, Your Grace, but since my wife is frightened stiff, we will be retiring.”
“Ah, yes, I cannot say I can blame her for being frightened, to say the least. Just one last thing before you leave, Prince Claudio. There is something that I would like to inquire, so would you be so kind as to spare a moment?”
Just as he was about to leave, Claudio stopped in his tracks, clearly annoyed. Rosemarie felt the irritating thumping of her heart and pressed a hand to her chest.
“Why is it that you didn’t use your magic? Knowing you, Prince Claudio, boasting the strongest mana in the land, I would think you could have taken care of these ruffians in a matter of no time. Oh, which reminds me. I did not happen to see your familiar around, either. It has me quite concerned that perhaps you are not in the best of health. Or, maybe...” His half-human face curled its lips into an ugly smile.
“Maybe you have some sort of issue with your mana, Prince Claudio?”
Claudio stood there, silent, as he held Rosemarie close to his body. Rosemarie whimpered through her throat, bone-dry from anxiety.
If he had no mana, he couldn’t ascend to the throne.
This was the very reason Claudio had been keeping the theft of his mana a secret from everybody.
Despite that, he was being suspected by his most hated opposition, Archbishop Kastner, which made it that much worse.
“Would you mind answering my question and eliminating these concerns of mine?”
“—If that concerns you so much, you should arrange an inquiry. I’ll gladly take the stand.” There was no indication of anger in Claudio’s voice. He declared that as if it were nothing at all. Then, partially tucking Rosemarie under his arm, he headed out of the hall.
As they walked down the corridor, where people rushed passed them along the way, Rosemarie looked up at Claudio with concern.
“What if he actually takes you at your word and arranges an inquiry?”
“He can go ahead and do it. He wouldn’t say anything to fan the flames without preparation.” Rosemarie’s worries only compounded as she saw Claudio lift the corner of his mouth in a sardonic smirk, and she gripped onto his jacket tightly.
This most likely meant Claudio had something in store.
“Please don’t do anything too dangerous.”
“I’ll act accordingly.” Claudio looked slightly surprised, but soon squinted in a smile.
As she put her hand across her worried-filled chest, Rosemarie anxiously frowned, unable to smile in return.