"Can you see her? She's the girl with pink hair! Look, look," Evelyn urged.
Zadhea's gaze fell upon the simple looking girl who was pouring some wine into a duke's silver goblet. Her lowered livid blue eyes glittered like gems under the light of crystal chandeliers. Her whole persona looked alluring although she was dressed in maids' clothes. She was the type of a girl who made the opposite gender wanting to protect her at any cost.
Indeed a beauty. An innocent beauty.
"Oh, I see." Zadhea looked away, mumbling, "She's beautiful."
"Yea, but not as much as you are..."
"Don't flatter me!" Zadhea hit Evelyn's elbow. "She's the female lead for fuck's sake."
"Hush, Zadiee. Someone might hear you!!!" Evelyn looked around, worried.
Zadhea wanted to tell her not to worry. But somebody approached her before she could speak.
She looked at the young man before her speechlessly.
His green eyes carried a hint of surprise and then it faded away within a second, leaving no trace. Soon, he appeared normal and unaffected like nothing had happened at all.
"What are you doing here? I already said good bye." Zadhea tiredly massaged her forehead.
Not caring about her behaviour, Heidith simply said, "Let's dance."
"What?" Zadhea was stupefied but was able to recover quickly as she denied, "Nooo!"
"Be good."
"..."
Suddenly, a maid bumped into him hard. As a result, Heidith's white shirt soaked in red wine, leaving ugly red scars.
Dreva was horrified. She quickly apologized to him again and again.
"I'm sorry, your highness. Please forgive me!" Tears filled in her blue greyish eyes. They soon became red as her tears fell to the floor, drop by drop.
"I didn't know. I didn't see. Please forgive..."
"Enough!" Heidith raised his palm, motioning her to stop talking.
Zadhea watched the show with interest. She didn't read the novel so she didn't know what would happen next. No worries, she could witness the live action.
Maybe, romance novels aren't that bad.
At least, dramatic scenes are quite satisfying.
When she goes back, it's better to take a look at a romance novel. There are more to it than simply fluffy love and sweet romance.
Especially, scenes like this.
Dreva bit her lower lip hard that it almost bled. Her delicate body started shaking faintly, making others have pity on her.
Heidith let out a sigh.
"You may go. Be careful next time. Others won't be as patient as me," He said, catching the three girls off-guard.
"Thank you so much, your highness for your kindness! This lowly servant doesn't know how to express her gratitude."
Dreva's eyes twinkled like stars. She eagerly and happily gave him a smile before leaving while wiping her tears.
She didn't forget to pause in her tracks to look back at his handsome face for one last time.
"How's the drama?" A low voice whispered in Zadhea's ear.
"Not that interesting," Zadhea truthfully answered before coming to her senses.
"What? What drama?" She pretended to be innocent and asked.
Heidith let out a low chuckle. "I knew you were enjoying the mess too much. That's why I easily forgave the maid. I didn't want to entertain you."
Zadhea rolled her eyes. "I have countless ways to entertain myself. No need to worry."
"I wasn't worried. If I was, why would I set her free? But don't be so obvious next time."
"What did you mean?"
"Your look was obvious. You were clearly enjoying the scene!"
"So what? You wanna arrest me?" She raised a brow.
Heidith shook his head. "Perhaps, later. Let's dance now." He took her hand and dragged her to the dance floor.
"No, I don't want to." Zadhea tried to break free from his grip but to no avail. He was too strong.
"Hey, let go of me!"
"Oh, come on," He urged her. "Others are looking at us. Don't make a fuss to embarrass yourself."
Zadhea clinched her teeth. "Look who's speaking. You've already embarrassed yourself."
"What?" Heidith frowned.
Zadhea poked the red scars on his white shirt with her index finger. "See."
"It's nothing." He wore his black coat back, hiding the red stains. It wasn't noticeable as much as before.
The dance floor was filled with both young and middle aged couples. Slow music lightened the atmosphere. It was warm and romantic, giving a fairy tale feeling.
"Ouch!" Heidith cried for the third time.
"What are you doing? Don't you know how to dance?" He yelled, agitated.
Zadhea rolled her eyes. "I SAID I DIDN'T WANT TO DANCE!"
In fact, she knew how to dance thanks to her mother's teachings. Queen Margaret forced her to learn ball dance. As a result, Zadhea actually became quite professional. But she deliberately stepped on the poor prince's foot more than once to express her anger.
"Aaah!"
Catching her off guard, Heidith lifted Zadhea by her waist, pressing her body to his own. Now she was taller than him as she was picked up. Her legs swung in the air.
Afraid of falling, Zadhea reflexively put her hands around his neck, holding onto him tightly.
"Put me down! Put me down! What are you doing, idiot?" She screamed in a low whisper.
Heidith raised an eyebrow. "What did you call me?"
"Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!" Zadhea's face heated up in anger and embarrassment.
Heidith snorted angrily.
"Call me idiot as much as you want. But don't expect me to release you."
This time, Zadhea became furious.
"You asshole prince! How could you!? So shameless!" She hit him on his shoulders.
"Ehem!"
Someone cleared his throat, flinching the two of them.
Heidith slowly put the girl down the moment he saw his future father-in-law. Then he arranged his wrinkled clothes. Putting a gentle smile on his face, he said, "Greetings to your majesty."
"Don't be so formal, son." King Edwin patted his shoulder. "I came here to invite you to the men's party."
When grand banquets like engagements, weddings, coronation ceremonies held in Edwina, there was a tradition of throwing a party only for men at night.
Honestly speaking, it was quite enjoyable as noble men drank alcohol while watching seductive girls swinging their hips and breasts, wearing revealing dresses similar to bikinis. Men lazily laid down on long sofas while enjoying their dance. There were maids beside them, always ready to pour beer or wine into their empty cups. Even lowly soldiers could have alcohol that day. Simply saying, it was indeed a lucky day for all men in the palace.
As for women, they could only return to their bedrooms silently.
Zadhea gritted her teeth. "Dad, it's not necessary." The moment she said that, she regretted it.
Blushing hard due to embarrassment, she quickly explained, "...He's still a teenager, he can't drink those stuff."
'What the heck is wrong with me? It's not my business!'
Heidith smirked, "Lady, I'm already an adult."
Then he pretended to be panicked, saying, "Wait, don't tell me... You are jealous? Don't worry. I'll try my best not to touch them. Let's wish there are no blondes. They are my weakness." He gave her a playful wink.
Zadhea looked at her own hair. Neither she nor Dreva was a blonde. Seemed like the prince would forget about blondes when he met the love of his life. Pathetic playboy!
She snorted coldly, loud enough for the prince to hear. "I'm not interested in playboys' deeds. Whether you fuck them or not is not my business!"
"ZADHEA!!!"