I cringed at his response. It wasn’t just Geraldine—all the knights were being ostentatious.
Beatrice met the knight's eyes.
"Join her?" she echoed.
She turned her head slightly and looked toward where Jubelian sat. Wearing a bonnet decorated with flowers and lace, she resembled a porcelain doll. When their eyes met, Beatrice blushed. What a beautiful yet bold lady, being the first to extend the proposal and requesting to sit with her.
Beatrice concealed her excitement.
"Fine,” she said. "Lead the way."
With a grin, Todd nodded. "I am honored to be escorting you, Your Highness.”
As Beatrice followed the knight, another announcement rang out. "Marquis Hessen's knights will now enter!"
The knights immediately entered the arena. Realizing who was at the front, Beatrice’s eyes narrowed. Mikhail... She glared at him. Meanwhile, he looked around the area with a curious gaze before fixing his eyes on her.
She recoiled. Why was he giving her that look?
Just then, someone carefully touched her shoulder.
"Your Highness,” came a clear, familiar voice, "is everything okay”
Beatrice turned around to behold the face of the one person she had longed to see. As usual, Jubelian’s skin was flawless.
"Oh, it's..."
Beatrice shifted slightly to check Mikhail's movements. Once he turned his back toward her, she frowned. What the hell was he plotting? His eyes were eerie enough to send shivers down her spine.
He said he loved her. She clenched her fists. That was a bunch of bullshit and Beatrice knew it.
"Bea, are you okay?" Jubelian whispered.
Beatrice met her gaze. Then, something suddenly occurred to her. Mikhail probably glared in Beatrice’s direction because Jubelian was behind her.
The princess observed the lady watching her with worry in her jewel-bright eyes. The sight of Jubelian concerned for her filled Beatrice with courage.
Don't worry. I won't let that scum approach you, she silently promised.
Observing the lady adorned in a pale blue dress, Mikhail blushed.
My Jubelian, you are beautiful today as well.
For a moment, he stared blankly at her, but once she began moving, Mikhail frantically looked around to track her. Where was she going? Murderous thoughts began to invade his mind when he lost sight of her, but when he spotted her again, his eyes lit up with relief. Nonetheless, the traces of obsession remained within them.
Once she became his, Mikhail planned to break her legs first so that she couldn’t run away from him again.
Reinforcing his delusions, Mikhail turned his attention to the woman next to her. He furrowed his brows. The princess—was she looking at him just now? Upon realizing that Beatrice was watching him with a ferocious gaze, Mikhail smirked. It didn’t matter if she was a member of the royal family. She was nothing but a rude and helpless girl.
Just then, someone soundlessly approached Mikhail.
"My lord, His Majesty is calling for you."
Turning around, Mikhail clenched his fists. Jubelian wouldn’t be able to keep playing hard to get once he proposes to her in front of all the nobles today.
A menacing smile spread across his face.
All of my friends were here except Bea. My invitations had been delivered in order of proximity to where I was seated, and Bea ended up being the last to be asked. In any case, it worked out, because it was most proper to deliver the last invitation to the person of the highest status. Just like how the final boss of a game appeared at the end of it, nobles were much the same. The etiquette was to show up late if you were of higher status than others so that the group could have some time to talk comfortably amongst themselves.
Full of excitement, Rose whispered, "Thanks to you, I can watch the contest from a special seat, Lady Jubelian!"
I guess one could call it a privilege. A duchy was considered to be the top of the noble class, and our seats were separated from others. Frankly, however, this was a place made to entertain aristocrats, so any seat was bound to be comfortable. In any case, I turned my attention to the central seats where the emperor would sit.
The colorful chairs looked more comfortable than all the other seats in the stadium. There was also a mysterious silver-colored flower that adorned the seats for the royal family. It seemed to be a rare flower that couldn’t be easily found even in the capital, but I just saw the decoration as another way to waste money and turned my attention back to Bea. She was standing off in the distance with a pale complexion. Worried about her, I stood up.
"Where are you going?" Dad asked.
I pointed to where Bea was, which wasn’t too far away. "I'm going out to meet my friend halfway."
He nodded. "Okay. I’ll be watching, so don't worry."
Feeling reassured, I hurried to Bea.
"Your Highness, is everything okay?" I asked once I reached her.
Instead of answering me, however, she stood stock-still with a hardened expression. Concerned, I repeated my question several times until she responded.
"Oh, it's..." she finally began. "I feel nervous for some reason."
I took her hand. "Don't worry. I'm here."
"Yes,” she smiled. "Thank you for saying that.”
She followed me back to my seat, and just like that, we safely arrived.
"Welcome, Your Highness."
Everyone bowed formally to Bea. The only one who gave nothing more than a slight nod was my dad because he was equal to the royal family in terms of status. She acknowledged Dad first.
"Thank you for inviting me to join you, Duke Floyen."
Dad glanced at me. Unlike usual, his expression was more relaxed. "I would like to thank you for getting along with my daughter."
Bea beamed brightly in response. With an elegant voice, she said, "I have only recently debuted in high society, and Jubelian has taught me a lot. I hope that we will continue our amicable relationship."
This time, Dad turned to me. From the look in his gaze, I could tell that he was proud of me. My face grew hot, so I avoided looking at his gaze directly, and the center box seats caught my eye again.
I could see the emperor approaching his seat. I furrowed my brows at his entrance while my dad said, "Please, make yourself comfortable."
Bea sat down at his suggestion. I was about to sit down as well, but then I realized something familiar about the flower on the emperor's seat.
A silver flower.
I hadn’t made the connection a moment ago, but now I realized its identity. Holding Bea's hand, I abandoned my seat. "Your Highness, could I have a moment with you?"