/
Ahmed, who gazed at her with a gentle smile, left an unknown word and entered the room first. Being left alone in front of the door, Holly hesitated for a moment before following after him.
“Ah
”
There was no furniture in the room.
Instead, all the walls were studded with waterdrop-shaped stones in an orderly manner. And, on the wall were two portraits of a man and a woman. The male side had bee-colored eyes, and the female side resembled Ahmed in appearance.
“They are my parents.”
Ahmed, in a word, nailed her guess.
Before entering the room, Holly realized that the ‘promise’ he was referring to was to show the elders of the Royal Family. However, she was meeting them like this.
“I may be called a prince, but in fact, I am the ruler of Sharif.”
The smile on his face as he looked at the portrait of his father seemed somewhat sad. A hug or holding hands—she thought she had to comfort him somehow. The way he looked at her, he quietly wanted it. Still, Holly’s body did not move.
“I have no choice but to hide like this right now, but one day when I gain strength, I will proudly announce it.”
Ahmed spoke with a disappointed smile and turned his head toward the portrait again. Holly’s gaze shifted to the wall next to him, looking at the portrait following him.
“But this stone
”
Her eyes fluttered slightly when she saw the stone embedded in the wall. The stone looked like pebbles at a glance, looked like cheap glass if looked closely.
‘That stone
 It’s like my necklace!’
Seeing that, her eyes lit up as she looked closely at the familiar feeling. The stone was similar in shape and color to the one on her necklace, which she had worn on her body since childhood.
‘Is this here, too?’
Expectation and worry intermingled on Holly’s face. She wanted to find her roots, yet she also didn’t want to. She was afraid of the truth she had to face.
“What is this stone? I don’t think it’s an ordinary stone
”
Holly swallowed the words she wanted to say and said another thing.
“You don’t know the magic stone?”
Ahmed replied, curious about Holly, who did not know the magic stone. He seemed really surprised.
“With this, you can do magic even if you are not a wizard.”
Taking one of the magic crystals embedded in the wall with his hand, he held it out in front of Holly. A dark red mark was visible on the magic stone. The smile he made as he stared at the stone was somehow eerie.
“It will change our lives.”
Unfamiliar emotions overflowed from Ahmed’s voice as he gripped the magic stone. Holly unknowingly brought her hand to her chest. If Cahill hadn’t taken it, the necklace would have been in her neck.
“Shall we go back now?”
The next moment, he asked, raising his head and staring at her. The strange aura in his eyes disappeared as if washed away.
* * *
When Holly returned to her room, she had to be dragged around by Mona’s urgent hand.
“Welcome. There is not enough time to prepare from now on.”
She immediately grabbed her hand and plunged her into the bath.
“You have to soak until I say it’s okay. Otherwise, I will wash you myself.”
Mona spoke in a harsh voice to her before closing the door and leaving. Holly, who was about to leave after just washing, nodded her head with a bitter expression.
A strong scent emanated from the warm water that made her head dizzy. As she was about to melt halfway in the bathtub, Mona pulled her out. She then put Holly in a gorgeous dress that she had worn the day before and spent more time finishing her makeup.
Then, she was led by other people like a doll that had lost its soul, and suddenly, she was standing in the middle of the banquet hall.
“Holly. Come this way.”
Ahmed led Holly to the seat next to him. It was a top seat provided on a platform that ran in a straight line from the entrance. Ahmed, who took over the role of the king, is okay, but could she sit here as a guest?
Embarrassed, she tried to turn down the seat.
“This is Lamez
 um, Minister of Finance. He is my uncle. He has always been a great help as a long-time contributing family.”
“My name is Holly from Centria.”
She was introduced, so she had to say hello. Starting with the Minister of Finance, numerous nobles came to greet her. Holly who sat down was greeted here and there. They would look at her with piercing, bitter eyes.
‘
This feels a little strange.’
Holly didn’t know what to do with this awkwardness. She missed the time to speak and couldn’t even leave the seat.
At that moment, she saw Cahill entering the banquet hall with the door open. She jumped up.
Meanwhile, Ahmed was discussing something with the nobles with a serious face on one side. Whispering so low that she couldn’t hear it while Holly wasn’t consciously paying attention.
“Your Hi—no, Ahmed. Can I go over to my party for a while?”
Holly changed his title after seeing Ahmed’s eyebrows raised upwards. He listened to her and glanced at Cahill as he approached. He didn’t give a single glance to the women who gathered around him, and he was walking straight towards her.
“If you promise to come back
”
Ahmed took her hand and kissed the back of her hand.
A wet and hot breath touched the back of her hand. Holly nodded her head, resisting the urge to get her hand out now.
“I will not leave without a word.”
He gazed at her as if he didn’t like her replies but eventually let go of her hand and nodded his head. Holly immediately ran to Cahill.
“Cahil! Why did you come now!”
She grabbed Cahill’s arm and clung to him.
“Were you here?”
Cahill grabbed her arm roughly, and his brow was narrowed. He was staring at a distant place, not Holly, with his cool eyes. As she followed his gaze, he grabbed her chin to turn her head and pinned it to his face.
“Your makeup seems to be getting thicker.”
His nose was almost curled up as he ended his words. Her eyes twitched at the low voice. It seemed that it wasn’t just the thick makeup that made him feel uncomfortable.
“What’s the matter? What happened?”
Cahill, who was staring at her, who was frozen, at a loss, took a deep breath. Returning to his calm face, he took a step back and held out his hand in front of her.
“Lady Holly. Will you give me the honor to dance a song with the beautiful lady?”
Holly stared at the outstretched hand in front of her. It was a hand large enough to hide all her hands inside. She could feel his body temperature without touching it. Her soles tickled
 No, the throat too. Inside the wrist, between the legs.
An itch ran all over her body.
Cahill gazed at Holly hurriedly and raised his eyebrows.
At that, she swallowed a gulp, and slowly, she put her hand on his palm. Cahill clasped her hand, then released it softly. Then, he pulled her right into his arms before wrapping tight arms around her waist and pressing her close to him.
Holly, held in the familiar arms, breathed a sigh of relief unknowingly. She couldn’t hear the murmurs around her that were constantly scratching her nerves. It was more correct that it didn’t matter now. She leaned against his tight chest, concentrating on thefamiliarr sound of his heartbeat.
“Let’s go back after the festival is over.”
Her murmur made Cahill narrow his brow. It was due to the lack of energy in her voice.
“What happened?”
Cahill asked worriedly, glancing at her bluish lips. Holly stared into his eyes as if trying to read his thoughts. She remembered his eyes glaring at Ahmed fiercely.
‘
What do you know?’
Even though she wanted to ask that, there were many eyes watching them here. They were Ahmed’s people, too. While they treated Cahill as a guest now, it was hard to know what was going to change if they found out that Cahill didn’t like their prince.
“Nothing happened.”
Eventually, Holly shook her head without saying anything. When she buried her head in his chest again, the fresh scent of soap wafted from the clothes that brushed the tip of her nose.
“Did you know what you wanted to know?”
His voice was filled with concern as if he could not let go of her denial. Holly shook her head again this time.
“Why?”
“I just don’t want to know.”