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Chapter 36




There was a huge spark, a loud noise, and a strange smell.
The moment I opened my eyes shut with embarrassment, I was confronted with a pair of eyes filled with pain.
“Nocton, your arm….”
“If I could convince you with words, I wouldn’t have come this far.”
With his teeth clenched as if to endure the pain, Nocton pulled me into the safe side of the balcony.
Only then did his hand fall off.
It must be hard to bear, but I think it’s the same in my side, the necklace was shattered at the same time.
However, between the torn palms and the white crystal necklace, I was more concerned with his trembling hands, so I couldn’t say anything and just looked at Nocton.
“What do I think of you? What kind of feelings do I have? There’s no way I can answer that question. If I tell you that, you’ll try to run away from me more than you do now.”
A cold sweat dripped down on his forehead.
I don’t know.
His crestfallen face, I felt strangely desperate because the way he pulled me through the pain was like the truth.
I couldn’t press the momentary agitation.
I grabbed Nocton who was about to release me and step back by his collar.
Thanks to his face, Nocton’s agitation was clear.
Without blinking, I stared into his eyes. I completely opened the half-open Pandora’s box.
Nevertheless, it was what I wanted to believe.
Because what I knew was a lie, because I felt unfair to believe in Alice and not give Nocton a single chance.
Like pleading to let me believe him, it was a question of that meaning.
“At the tea party, in the drawing room … were you trying to kill Aaron?”
Silence, silence, and silence again.
The cowardly and heavy answer revealed the cruel reality.
My little expectation died down in an instant.
A few seconds later, the answer came from Nocton’s mouth, which sank like a washing sound.
“….No.”
Even though he’s not very good at lying, strangely, Nocton’s lie is so obvious now.
“I don’t kill people. Yes, Valrose. If Claymore and Limorand are so imporant to you, I won’t touch them.”
I know, as expected, trust is not so light that it can be gained overnight.
It was such a dream that trust, which had not been built for decades, could be created in a moment.
“See you again … Valrose.”
I just stared blankly at the back of Nocton leaving the balcony as if he was running away.
It was vain and empty. It doesn’t sound like the sound of a heart beating so fiercely.
A little later, until Alice, who became blue, entered the balcony, I only looked at the closed curtains like an insane person.
“Roa, Roa! Are you okay? What happened?”
Alice, who entered the balcony alone without Arhan Limorand, repeated the same words several times as if to check my condition.
When I saw the face full of rage, my legs were somehow relaxed, and I fell on the floor.
“Roa!”
Alice’s scream resonates.
The extent of trust is too small compared to the years we spent together.
And yet, I still want to believe in something.
I wanted to trust him, I wanted to believe him.
No matter how hard he treated me, despite the fact that I’m scared and terrified of him, even though I suspect he might kill my friend, I still wanted to.
When I was conscious of that, tears were pouring out of my heated eyes.
Alice, who leaned down after me, called my name in perplexity, but I had no room to answer.
I hugged Alice and she held me in her arms.
In my friend’s warmth, I cried.
I felt like I had lost my whole childhood.
***
Away from Roa, Aaron approached the Marquis and Marchioness of Claymore.
The Marquis was the head of the Imperial 1st Order and the Marchioness was the head of the Imperial 3rd Order, so they were in the Imperial Palace since the morning.
When he was greeted by his son, the Marchioness looked up and down at Aaron.
“You’re literally a swallow.”
“Is that a compliment?”
“That’s not a compliment, wife. If it’s a compliment, you should put on a more plausible animal. Yeah, Aaron. You’re dressed very nicely like a Pegasus.”
The way of analogy was the same as Roa.
When he saw her, he sometimes felt like she was his younger sister, and he didn’t know why.
Aaron smiled awkwardly at his parents’ praise, which was immature but full of pride.
Aaron was pleased with the family time he had after a long time, as he only talked to them during succession classes and only about important matters these days.
There were some people who tried to talk to them, but the couple’s sharp eyes made it easy to defeat them.
How much we talked about, until the chaotic atmosphere flowed into Aaron.
As he turned his head, he saw Roa in the middle of the ballroom.
Three men and women were standing in front of her, led by the Marquis Bornaine’s daughter, and behind her was Nocton Edgar.
Aaron’s face hardened as soon as he found the face of the young man.
He bowed his head, cut off his conversation with his parents, and turned around without hesitation.
But Aaron couldn’t take his steps as Marquis Claymore grabbed his shoulder and held him back.
“Don’t, Aaron.”
“She’s my fiancee, Father.”
“Strictly speaking, she’s your fiancee until today. Do you think it would be good for her if you come forward and help her in the presence of Duke Edgar?”
“What do you mean.”
“If you are going to end the engagement, you shouldn’t get involved anymore. Think not of your honor, but of the honor of Lady Roa. Apart from anything else, you’re not in a situation where you can help. Chivalry doesn’t mean that you can get involved in all kinds of verbal fights.”
That’s what you can say when you don’t know the Duke.
The momentary backlash soared and Aaron wanted to say so.
However, he cannot speak without foundation. Even when he vomited blood because of Duke Edgar, Aaron said he suffered internal injuries due to lack of training.
The fact that Nocton Edgar was a wizard wasn’t even known, and to prove this, he need to talk about the Duke’s obsession with Roa and their clash.
After seeing Aaron turned his head when he failed to refute but also can’t accept it, Lady Claymore was speechless.
Soon after she followed Aaron’s gaze at the ballroom, she frowned.
“You’re really a man who doesn’t know how to love.”
“Yes?”
Aaron asked back at the unknown words, but the Marquis’ wife did not answer.
Sheryl Bornaine suddenly had a seizure and Roziks Elford walked out of the ball while carrying her.
It’s a series of unknown events.
Aaron hesitated, but the moment he saw Nocton and Roa pulled themselves out onto the balcony, his face hardened more than before.
It was dangerous for Roa’s safety if the two of them to be alone on the balcony.
“Now that they’ve gone to balcony, it’s must be okay now. No one would dare to open the curtains on the balcony.”
“What?”
“At last, everyone fixed their attention on the Marquis Bornaine’s lady who was not feeling well.”
“Aaron Claymore.”
“She’s my friend.”
“If you were going to act like a friend, you shouldn’t have been engaged from the start.”
“If I had, we wouldn’t even be friends now.”
He politely removed his father’s hand, who was still holding his shoulder.
“And as a friend, I don’t think it’s a nuisance to help her.”
Aaron bowed his head roughly, and headed for the balcony with a small step.
The Marchioness frowned at his son’s rebellion, the first of its kind since the marriage.
“That kid, if he’s going to fall in love after the engagement was broken—”
“I don’t think that the case. I think it’s different from falling in love.”
“Do you know anything about Lady Roa’s side, wife?”
“It’s the sense of a knight. It’s a hassle, so stop prying.”
It wasn’t good enough, but it seemed like her son grew up a little.
Looking at his urgent-looking back, the Marchioness smiled lightly.
***
Freed from the Marquis couple, Aaron hurried to the balcony.
It’s a shame that he can’t run as the place is a palace.
He recalled the past.
When he, Roa, and Duke Edgar were talking in the Marquis Valrose’s drawing room.
Although Roa’s words were a bit harsh, it was due to the Duke’s reckless opening of the conversation.
While the conversation could have been more than enough, the Duke was almost ready to kill him….
‘Wait.’
His steps stopped.
Come to think of it, it was strange.
He suffered an internal wound and vomited blood because he couldn’t stop the Duke Edgar.
If the Duke hadn’t been in a strange state, he probably wouldn’t have stopped there.
However, it was only Nocton Edgar and himself who vomited blood.
As he remembered vividly, Roa collapsed from exhaustion, but she didn’t get hurt at all, not even the tip of her hair.
To his shame, Roa Valrose was safe even though he failed to properly protect her.
He seemed extremely angry, but he must have controlled his strenght even in that situation.
Or, perhaps from the start, the reason why he stopped the attack and vomited blood was because Aaron stood too close to Roa Valrose.
He lost his grip because he was trying to attack him without hurting her….
“No way.”
As soon as a speck of suspicion came to Aaron’s face, someone headed to the balcony before him.
The woman with long brown hair was Alice Limorand.
When Alice was about to enter the balcony, Aaron’s eyes widened.
The reason he wanted to suspect until a moment ago was still in his mind.
He quickly put her name in his mouth to stop Alice.
Fortunately or unfortunately, however, the curtain on the balcony opened, before the name appeared in Aaron’s mouth.
Black hair, pale skin, the man with nightime appearance was Nocton Edgar.
The eyes of the man and woman seemed to have met each other. Not long ago, even though the story of the engagement had come and gone,, it only seemed to be bloody because of his heart.
It might be dangerous.
Even though this was the Imperial ballroom, Aaron had such absurd thoughts.
His heart thundered.
Holding his breath, he groped his waistline unconsciously, and realized that he had left his sword behind again.
It’s impossible.
Being armed without permission for Imperial events was a crime equivalent to treason.
Alice glared at Duke Edgar with a frightened face, but the Duke just brushed past her. As if he didn’t even acknowledge Alice’s presence.
The walk without any hesitation leads to the outside of the ballroom.
Aaron worried for a moment whether he could just leave the ballroom even though the royal family hadn’t arrived yet.
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Alice looked at his back with a bewildered look, as if it was for the Duke to ignored her, but soon she went into the balcony.
He has no idea what’s currently going on.
Obviously, what he was concerned about didn’t happen….
Aaron sighed heavily as he alternated between the balcony and Nocton Edgar, not knowing what to do.
Soon, the knight’s steps followed the Duke outside.