Chapter 23
“I am the lord of the Hollen province—”
“How insolent. Greetings can wait.”
“Y-yes, forgive me.”
Dmitri’s voice was so sharp, the man couldn’t even finish speaking before stumbling backward in retreat.
“Are you alright?”
He caught Ariella, who had leaned too far and nearly toppled over.
A sigh of relief escaped her lips.
“I’m fine, thank you.”
It was in that very moment that she felt it.
Something ominous.
Or rather… something missing.
Glancing down, she saw it—an object that should have been snugly in place inside her bodice, instead poking dangerously outward.
Dmitri’s eyes followed hers.
No.
Not that.
His gaze narrowed as he caught sight of the strange thing.
Her panicked movement only made the padding bulge further.
Almost at once, one side of her chest felt utterly empty.
And then—whoosh.
The white object launched into the air, taking flight.
Dmitri’s narrowed eyes widened round in shock.
His arm shot out, catching it mid-air in a swift, reflexive motion.
No. No, that can’t be happening.
As Ariella scrambled to deny reality itself, Dmitri began to open his hand, curious about what he had caught.
She lunged forward and clasped his fingers.
“Don’t.”
Not this. Never this.
At the desperation on her face, Dmitri hastily shoved the object into the inside pocket of his coat.
It was so large the sharp line of his chest bulged outward.
His eyes lowered from hers, lingering.
The difference in size between her two sides was obvious.
Even a passing glance would reveal something was off.
Now her face burned red, heat crawling down her neck as well.
Just then, grand, beautiful music filled the hall.
“Dance with me.”
“What?”
Before she could react, Dmitri yanked her against him.
Their chests pressed together, and she could feel the object nestled firmly inside his pocket.
Ariella twisted instinctively.
“Hold still. Just—stay still.”
Her body froze at his command.
“Now put your arms around my neck.”
He took her arms and draped them around him.
Their bodies locked together without space between, and he led her gently across the floor.
On the walls hung enormous tapestries, woven with scenes of the empire’s history in vivid color.
A startled count being raised as king by his vassals.
The former emperor standing on a cliff, savoring victory after expanding the empire’s reach.
Scene after scene passed before Ariella’s eyes.
Then the music cut off.
Her gaze landed on an image of a dragon carrying a baby Dmitri.
She swallowed hard.
Standing in the very center of the hall, pressed close together, they drew every eye.
The silence that followed was not awe but near horror.
From the murmurs around them, she caught phrases like “Good heavens” and “The crown prince is actually dancing…”
Stiff and awkward, Ariella could do nothing but stand there.
“You need to move your legs.”
Legs? What legs?
“The music changed.”
His voice was low, close enough that their breaths mingled.
After staring at her for a long moment, Dmitri suddenly lowered his head.
His feverish brow came to rest on her shoulder.
Her breath hitched.
“W-why?”
He stayed there, unmoving, then began to laugh softly.
The stares boring into them grew sharper, heavier.
His damp breath tickled her neck, sending her shoulders curling inward.
“I take back what I said earlier.”
“What… did you say?”
“That you were boring tonight.”
Ariella tried to pull back and glare at him, but her own situation forced her closer instead.
He only tightened his hold.
“You’re not irritating at all. You’re maddeningly entertaining.”
She ground her teeth.
“Stop laughing.”
“I’d like to. Do you think I want to be a spectacle for all these people?”
She wanted to shove him away and run, but there was another problem.
Her unfamiliar shoes made her movements clumsy, ridiculous even.
No wonder he couldn’t stop laughing.
“Take them off.”
Here?
Their eyes met, and he burst into full, booming laughter.
Even with dozens of eyes glued to them, he didn’t stop.
“Take your shoes off.”
“That’s absurd. If I take them off, my skirt will drag and I’ll trip.”
“Then step onto my feet. I’ll hold you tight so you don’t fall.
And I’ll keep your enormous secret tucked safely in my chest.”
Every laugh of his sent little pinpricks across her cheeks and chest.
Her heart had been pounding wildly for some time, but now it hurt with the force.
Would this moment ruin her reputation throughout Triphina?
Or was it because some instinct told her she would never forget it?
The princess who, on her first day in the palace, hadn’t even set foot on the main stair.
The woman who had angered the emperor with a portrait that looked nothing like her.
And now—the barbarian duchess who danced barefoot at a royal banquet.
Even the disgrace she bore in her past life as the most ill-fated crown princess felt preferable.
“Hurry.”
And yet Ariella, as if enchanted, slipped off her shoes.
A thing unthinkable in the very center of a ballroom.
At Dmitri’s signal, a servant whisked the shoes away.
With them gone, the hall seemed to plunge into darkness.
The piercing stares, the strange melodies, the dazzling lights—all of it vanished.
“If my mother saw this, she’d call me insane.”
Her voice trembled as she leaned her head against his shoulder.
Compared to Forenze, Triphina’s nobility was less refined, less bound by ritual.
A warlike country had no energy to spare on elaborate formalities.
Even so, this was shameful.
“It’s alright.”
At that simple reassurance, everything else ceased to matter.
A terrible omen, surely.
Ariella stepped onto the tops of his shoes.
The feel of polished leather beneath her toes made her shiver.
His large hands settled firmly at her waist.
To hide the emptiness of her chest, she clung tighter.
Gasps rose around them, but she ignored them.
Dmitri lifted her lightly in rhythm with the music.
Each time he set her down, her heart slammed like a drum.
The lively tune reached its climax—then melted into a slow, mournful melody.
“Promise me.”
His gentle voice brushed her ear.
“No one will harm you while I’m away.”
Desperation welled up, and she only shook her head.
But she didn’t even know why she felt so desperate.
“I’ll be back soon.”
No, you won’t.
For three long years, you’ll sleep under a dark sky with stone for a bed.
Don’t pretend to know how those days will break you.
Don’t make promises you can’t keep.
Dmitri guided her toward the balcony.
At his approach, a servant opened the doors.
Ariella spun into the dark night as if still dancing.
The chill of marble seeped into her bare feet.
With a thud, the doors closed behind them, cutting off the noise of the hall.
Silence rushed in.
She exhaled deeply.
At last, she could breathe.
Ariella slipped to the corner of the balcony and turned away.
“Don’t look this way.”
Dmitri chuckled.
She reached inside her bodice and pulled out the culprit that had betrayed her.
In her hand, it looked absurdly huge.
No wonder it was so obvious.
Reina, your secret weapon was completely exposed.
She tucked it away under her skirt.
“Give me the other one, too.”
“What is it?”
“I don’t even know its name. Just that it shouldn’t be sitting inside your pocket.”
Another chuckle.
Without turning, she held out her hand.
A moment later, the soft, padded thing was placed in her palm.
She concealed it as well, feeling oddly lighter.
Her chest may have been flatter, but her spirit was freer.
“I feel like a beggar now.”
No shoes.
No chest.
Dmitri’s deep laughter filled the balcony.
“You’re amusing again.”
His voice brimmed with mischievous delight.
And as he laughed, the world around them seemed to glow.
For the first time, he looked his age.
She may have felt empty, but something else swelled in her heart until it ached.
