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.
âNocton, your armâŚ.â
âIf I could convince you with words, I wouldnât have come this far.â
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 itâs 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 couldnât say anything and just looked at Nocton.
âWhat do I think of you? What kind of feelings do I have? Thereâs no way I can answer that question. If I tell you that, youâll try to run away from me more than you do now.â
A cold sweat dripped down on his forehead.
I donât know.
His crestfallen face, I felt strangely desperate because the way he pulled me through the pain was like the truth.
I couldnât press the momentary agitation.
I grabbed Nocton who was about to release me and step back by his collar.
Thanks to his face, Noctonâs agitation was clear.
Without blinking, I stared into his eyes. I completely opened the half-open Pandoraâs 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.
âAt the tea party, in the drawing room ⌠were you trying to kill Aaron?â
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 Noctonâs mouth, which sank like a washing sound.
ââŚ.No.â
Even though heâs not very good at lying, strangely, Noctonâs lie is so obvious now.
âI donât kill people. Yes, Valrose. If Claymore and Limorand are so imporant to you, I wonât touch them.â
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.
âSee you again ⌠Valrose.â
I just stared blankly at the back of Nocton leaving the balcony as if he was running away.
It was vain and empty. It doesnât 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.
âRoa, Roa! Are you okay? What happened?â
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.
âRoa!â
Aliceâs 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 Iâm 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 friendâs 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.
âYouâre literally a swallow.â
âIs that a compliment?â
âThatâs not a compliment, wife. If itâs a compliment, you should put on a more plausible animal. Yeah, Aaron. Youâre dressed very nicely like a Pegasus.â
The way of analogy was the same as Roa.
When he saw her, he sometimes felt like she was his younger sister, and he didnât know why.
Aaron smiled awkwardly at his parentsâ 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 coupleâs 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 Bornaineâs daughter, and behind her was Nocton Edgar.
Aaronâs 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 couldnât take his steps as Marquis Claymore grabbed his shoulder and held him back.
âDonât, Aaron.â
âSheâs my fiancee, Father.â
âStrictly speaking, sheâs 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?â
âWhat do you mean.â
âIf you are going to end the engagement, you shouldnât get involved anymore. Think not of your honor, but of the honor of Lady Roa. Apart from anything else, youâre not in a situation where you can help. Chivalry doesnât mean that you can get involved in all kinds of verbal fights.â
Thatâs what you can say when you donât 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 wasnât even known, and to prove this, he need to talk about the Dukeâs obsession with Roa and their clash.
After seeing Aaron turned his head when he failed to refute but also canât accept it, Lady Claymore was speechless.
Soon after she followed Aaronâs gaze at the ballroom, she frowned.
âYouâre really a man who doesnât know how to love.â
âYes?â
Aaron asked back at the unknown words, but the Marquisâ wife did not answer.
Sheryl Bornaine suddenly had a seizure and Roziks Elford walked out of the ball while carrying her.
Itâs 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 Roaâs safety if the two of them to be alone on the balcony.
âNow that theyâve gone to balcony, itâs must be okay now. No one would dare to open the curtains on the balcony.â
âWhat?â
âAt last, everyone fixed their attention on the Marquis Bornaineâs lady who was not feeling well.â
âAaron Claymore.â
âSheâs my friend.â
âIf you were going to act like a friend, you shouldnât have been engaged from the start.â
âIf I had, we wouldnât even be friends now.â
He politely removed his fatherâs hand, who was still holding his shoulder.
âAnd as a friend, I donât think itâs a nuisance to help her.â
Aaron bowed his head roughly, and headed for the balcony with a small step.
The Marchioness frowned at his sonâs rebellion, the first of its kind since the marriage.
âThat kid, if heâs going to fall in love after the engagement was brokenââ
âI donât think that the case. I think itâs different from falling in love.â
âDo you know anything about Lady Roaâs side, wife?â
âItâs the sense of a knight. Itâs a hassle, so stop prying.â
It wasnât 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.
Itâs a shame that he canât run as the place is a palace.
He recalled the past.
When he, Roa, and Duke Edgar were talking in the Marquis Valroseâs drawing room.
Although Roaâs words were a bit harsh, it was due to the Dukeâs reckless opening of the conversation.
While the conversation could have been more than enough, the Duke was almost ready to kill himâŚ.
âWait.â
His steps stopped.
Come to think of it, it was strange.
He suffered an internal wound and vomited blood because he couldnât stop the Duke Edgar.
If the Duke hadnât been in a strange state, he probably wouldnât have stopped there.
However, it was only Nocton Edgar and himself who vomited blood.
As he remembered vividly, Roa collapsed from exhaustion, but she didnât 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 herâŚ.
âNo way.â
As soon as a speck of suspicion came to Aaronâs 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, Aaronâs 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 Aaronâs 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.
Itâs 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 didnât even acknowledge Aliceâs 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 hadnât 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 whatâs currently going on.
Obviously, what he was concerned about didnât happenâŚ.
Aaron sighed heavily as he alternated between the balcony and Nocton Edgar, not knowing what to do.
Soon, the knightâs steps followed the Duke outside.