âWould you like to dance with me?â Killian moved his arm slightly.
It was as if heâs telling me to put my hand on his arms. I looked around to see if the villagers had brought grapes by now. Fortunately, I havenât noticed anything that resembled grapes yet. I put my hand on Killianâs arm.
Then there was the sound of a glass hitting the table. Startled, I removed my hand from Killianâs arm.
Siegfried, who had only been surrounded by a multitude of people, squirmed between the two of us. His lips twisted as he looked at the outstretched arm of Killian towards me, and my hand lifted in mid-air.
âOne gold coin when you lower your arm.â
Siegfried has made an outrageous offer.
Not understanding what he was talking about, Kilian and I blinked.
Siegfried talked again, âIâll add another gold coin if you step back.â
âAre you⊠talking to me now?â Killian asked, slightly perplexed.
Siegfried nodded. âThen, is there any money-crazy guy here besides you?â
âI will do it. So, will you give it to me?â
I raised my hand. I donât know what game Siegfried was going to play so suddenly, but I was willing enough to participate. One gold coin is equal to 100 erks, so I will have enough to buy a new dress. I can buy a bag for two (gold coins).
ââŠâŠDonât joke around.â
Siegfried furrowed his eyebrows as if he was dumbfounded. It was like his expression was telling me he doesnât know which part of him looks like joking.
By the way, are we finally talking? After two days?
I smiled slightly because I was more than happy to see Siegfried bet money.
âI donât know whatâs going on, but I seemed to have disturbed Your Royal Highness.â
Killian said as he fiddled with his silver hair resembling that of a dewy spider web at dawn. He quickly followed his swords as if he thought it would be better for him to leave his seat.
âI need to go get some more drinks. It was a pleasure talking to you, Ariel.â
âAh yes. Me too.â I replied bewildered.
Soon after, Killian lowered his arm and took a step away from me.
âYou said two gold coins.â
How are you being meticulous in getting your money in the middle of all this? I should learn from him.
âTake it in moderation from my room.â
Siegfried said nothing without looking at Killian. Thanks to you, he was now only looking at me.Â
âYou canât do that! What if Killian takes three?â
âAriel, what should I do if you say that?â
Killian clicked his tongue in regret. I guess he really thought so. Anyway, Killian was no ordinary person. Itâs good that I told Siegfried about him beforehand.
âTwo or three are the same.â
I almost threw a tantrum at Siegfried.
No matter how rich you are, do you have no care for someone like him? You have to save money to get richer.Â
But for Siegfried, there is no such thing. Since he will inherit the diamond mine and become Emperor.
âItâs fine, so go now.â
Siegfried raised his hand toward Killian as if he was annoyed. Killian looked at me with a bit of resentment and left.
âIt looks like money can be used at times like this. Can I show off my wealth like this? Or should I have tried raising the amount a little more?â Siegfried asked me with a serious face.
He very naturally opened up a conversation as if the past two days were blown away.
âWasnât Your Highness angry with me?â
And I couldnât understand him. There is a cold war going on. So was it only me who thought that we were having a cold war? In just two days, Siegfried was treating me as if he was fine after I rejected his confession.
âWhat does it matter if I am angry?â
âYou never came to me first. It has always been like that. Weâll have a little bit of argument and you will completely ignore me.â
Come to think of it, I was shocked by his manner when he rejected Count Paresaâs proposal for me. So, I vowed that I wonât get involved with Siegfried again. I would have been able to keep him away until recently, if only he hadnât approached me with his pitiful face as he tried to reconcile with me.
This time as well, it was Siegfried who bowed first whenever this happened.