Chapter 47
Unable to find anything to say, Lione tried to take a careful step towards Riina with his eyebrows lowered, but he had to stop at her voice, colder than frost.
“I said step aside.”
It was a firm rejection that didn’t leave room for even a needle to enter.
Even though Lione’s words and gestures clearly meant nothing but an apology, even if you looked at it while standing on your head, the man who had been about to act up again with an expression as if betrayed also hesitated.
Riina, who didn’t spare even a fragment of a glance at Lione, who couldn’t hide his bewilderment, unconsciously touched her lips.
Was it because of the sudden dousing with water? She felt a slight pain in her lips that had been fine until now.
A sneer formed on Riina’s lips as she touched her lips where blood had formed inside.
Yes. Until now, her luck had been at an ordinary level, unlike her usual self.
No, should she say her misfortune had been giving her a break until now?
She had been too careless since she hadn’t experienced any major failures in whatever she did lately.
Taking a deep breath, Riina swept her gaze across the entire hall at once.
She could see people from families she had marked as worth connecting with in her field of vision, but…
“I can’t stay any longer in this state.”
A voice flowed out, so calm it was hard to believe it belonged to someone who had suffered such an unexpected and very unpleasant accident.
“My lady, I…”
Lione, who had been frozen like a pillar of salt until now, opened his mouth again, but before he could say anything, Riina shook her head.
“If you’re going to offer to prepare clothes, keep it to yourself. I don’t want to wear clothes prepared by you.”
It was a response so cold it bordered on rude, but no one could blame her.
Though she had somehow ended up looking fantastical, wasn’t she the victim who had been unexpectedly drenched because of Lione’s affair?
“It’s not just clothes…”
“I’ll decline all the more.”
As cool, sunken blue eyes stared at Lione, even he, who was about to open his mouth again, couldn’t say anything more.
Not everyone had gladly taken his hand when he had reached out until now.
But wasn’t this the first time he had been rejected so coldly, like a winter wall?
“I went too far. But I really do decline.”
Shaking her head with a faint sigh, Riina truly wanted to decline Lione’s consideration, no, Lione himself.
He would have truly intended to prepare clothes or whatever as a pure gesture of apology.
But after today, would that gift be conveyed to the world merely as a gesture of apology?
Even among those who had seen all the circumstances here and now, there were some thinking something different.
What about those who will hear about it through stories, and exaggerated stories at that…
Moreover, it’s not just anything but ‘clothes’, isn’t it?
Although less explicit than underwear, a gift of clothes was something that could be interpreted a bit more complexly than other things.
For instance, being close enough to accept the other person’s taste in clothes…
Of course, that was an excessively far-fetched assumption.
But for Riina, who always ends up facing the worst situations, when it comes to something like people’s gossip that she can’t control, she needs to be careful, and then be careful again, to the point of being called oversensitive.
Of course, that was just Riina’s position, and Lione, her counterpart, was indescribably troubled.
Wasn’t it because of him that the Bolshevik lady had suffered such an incident?
He should make amends somehow, not just with a personal apology but also on a family level.
Yet, she wouldn’t even let him approach, so it was truly a difficult situation.
“I’m really sorr…”
Lione couldn’t even finish his words.
“Did you not hear the order to step back, young master?”
A low voice, as if echoing from deep in a well, cut off his words and resonated in the quiet hall.
Then Riina’s wet shoulders were enveloped in a jacket much larger than her.
Black hair and ash-colored eyes that seemed to absorb all the light illuminating the outdoor hall.
“His… His Highness the Second Prince.”
Simultaneously with someone’s mutter that sounded like a sigh, those who confirmed Einar’s appearance blinked several times with wide eyes.
It was truly a sudden appearance, wasn’t it?
Even the host seemed not to have expected it, staring blankly at Einar with a face mixed with surprise and bewilderment, just like everyone else.
Riina looked up at Einar and then turned her gaze to the firm and rough hand that wrapped around her shoulder and pulled her close.
I won’t suffer such accidents anymore.
At the thought that suddenly struck her, Riina hid the smile that was unconsciously leaking out and whispered:
“If I could know where Your Highness was when I got drenched, we could almost perfectly gauge the distance at which our luck affects each other.”
Although it was half said as a joke, an unexpectedly heavy answer came back.
“No, I should have come earlier. Before you had the accident.”
Einar’s shirt also began to get wet as he pulled her a little closer to himself.
Riina opened her mouth at this, but in the end, she closed it without saying anything.
Although she couldn’t feel any pain in her lips that had collided with him earlier, she didn’t even realize this fact.
How much time had passed?
“We… greet Your Highness.”
As Lione hurriedly paid his respects, everyone in the hall bent their knees and paid respects to Einar like a wave.
“We greet Your Highness!”
To the chorus that shook the blue night air, Einar merely nodded.
The heads of those who saw the Second Prince’s behavior began to spin rapidly, steaming.
It was surprising enough that he had shown up at the hunting competition for the first time in years, but to appear at a tea party without notice?
The Second Prince who had declared no interest in the Crown Prince position until now, maintaining an attitude that left no room for doubt.
But looking at the sudden establishment of a relationship with Bolshevik and his subsequent actions…
The eyes of those looking at Einar and Riina began to sparkle.
Receiving everyone’s gaze, Riina asked half a beat late.
“What brings you here?”
It was a question thrown out of genuine curiosity.
Wasn’t Einar someone who hardly stayed in the imperial palace and only showed his face at official events about once every three times?
For such a person to be at a tea party.
“Because you said you were attending. If you had invited me, I would have prepared clothes this time.”
Unlike Riina who whispered softly, Einar answered in a voice loud enough for everyone, all those in the hall to hear.
The corners of his mouth were smiling as he mentioned ‘clothes’, but his ash-colored eyes that weren’t smiling at all were fixed on Lione.
That gaze and voice, and even the gesture of pulling Riina a little closer to himself.
Isn’t it too blatant?
Don’t dare to covet.
Einar then drove the final nail in.
“For you, my consort, I can prepare anything.”
Of course, his words and actions weren’t greatly strange.
Their engagement had already been officially announced with the Emperor’s approval.
But…
Until now, not even once, truly not even once, had there been even a rumor of the Second Prince being interested in someone, let alone a scandal, and now he’s like this?
Even a passing peacock would see that he seems completely smitten with the Bolshevik lady.
“Well then. Shall we hear why my consort is so coldly drenched?”
Einar, asking this, smiled fiercely, baring his teeth.
At this, everyone’s gaze turned towards Lione and the man who had been demanding that his love be acknowledged.
Just as Einar’s gaze was about to turn to him as well.
“I apologize, Your Highness.”
Lione stepped in front of Einar, blocking him.
And before Lione could open his mouth further, Riina pulled on Einar’s sleeve.
“It’s alright. It was just an unlucky accident, so I don’t want to blame anyone.”
At this, Einar obediently nodded, but his eyes didn’t lose sight of the man on whom people’s gazes had been fixed.
“If you say so.”
Einar, who lightly pressed his lips to Riina’s wet temple, gestured towards Lione.
At that gaze, so clear in its warning meaning, Lione had no choice but to step back.
Riina, too, didn’t take her eyes off Einar, so she knew what kind of look he was giving Lione.
Hmm… is it necessary to go this far?
A third party might mistakenly think Lione had done her great harm.
Such thoughts were fleeting; anyway, it wasn’t bad that he had completely cut off Lione, who could become troublesome if they got entangled somehow.
Once the situation was settled, Riina opened her mouth.
“I should return for today.”
After slightly bowing her head towards the host of the tea party, Einar also turned around, following Riina as she headed towards the entrance of the hall.
The two left without even sparing a glance at Lione.
Lione, left behind, looked at Riina’s departing back for quite a long time, until her figure was no longer visible.
* * *
Around the time Einar had just left the imperial palace and was heading towards the tea party venue where Riina was.
-Crash!
In the Third Prince’s palace, the sound of something breaking was ringing out.
The Third Prince’s aide had his neck drawn in like a turtle, rolling only his eyes.
He was thoroughly frightened, worried about fists or objects that might fly.
Although not now, before his engagement to the Bolshevik lady, he used to occasionally hit people around him.
In fact, the aide had never been hit by Smith directly.
He had only heard about it from the previous aide who had a corpse-like complexion.
