"Of course. By revealing the political alliance with Schmaichel—"
"Not quite."
Arikx promptly cut off Rose's words, then,
"Ah, I can't stand it, my face is burning."
he said something completely out of nowhere.
"Pardon?"
"Look at my friend. I can't tell if he's dancing or keeping an eye on me."
Rose heard his words and looked at Dane.
His two fiercely burning blue eyes were fixed on Arikx. It was a gaze carrying a warning not to try anything funny.
"See? He might not be holding a sword, but he's stabbing me with his eyes."
Arikx exaggeratedly shuddered his shoulders.
"Now, why is my friend so on guard? Do you know the reason, Duchess?"
…….
When Rose silently lowered her gaze, Arikx's smile deepened.
"It's jealousy. Very childish."
"...Pardon?"
Rose asked back in bewilderment.
"Did you say jealousy?"
"During our academy days, whenever a social ball was held, Dane would just show his face and leave. His excuse being that practicing swordsmanship was a better use of that time."
Rose just listened to his words in silence. In truth, she was so flustered that she didn't know how to respond.
"Why would a guy like that stay here until this hour today? Isn't it to monopolize you?"
…….
"But I offered you a second dance, so wouldn't he be angry? The very fact that I'm standing beside you right now must be highly displeasing to him."
Prince Arikx was confidently confirming the sweet imagination Rose had conjured up earlier, as if it were the most obvious fact in the world.
'Jea...lousy?'
Rose wordlessly parted her lips.
He was jealous of me dancing with someone else?
Her heart pounded wildly. If it were really, really true...
Before long, the music began to reach its climax.
"There isn't much time left to enjoy with you. It's truly a pity."
Arikx winked and spoke to Rose.
"Thank you for staying by my side, Your Highness. It helped a lot."
Rose's response completely excluded any personal feelings. To her, Prince Arikx was merely Dane's friend and a political ally.
"I've heard a lot about you from my friend. You're a capable Magical Scholar, right?"
"I am only striving to do my duty. To call me 'capable' is far too generous."
Rose maintained her calm expression and voice. She felt relieved that Dane's dance was slowly coming to an end.
"Drop the modesty. If you are walking the path of magical scholarship—yes. Aren't you curious about the royal library?"
"...Did you say the royal library?"
Seeing Rose show interest for the first time, Arikx flashed an even smoother smile.
Tteobeog.
He took a step closer to Rose, bringing his body near. Then he whispered in her ear.
"It is normally a place permitted only for members of the royal family, but... for you, my friend's wife, I will specially permit your entry."
...!
Rose felt her heart pound wildly.
The royal library was filled with not only every book in this kingdom, but also all sorts of out-of-print books that could no longer be obtained.
It was also a place Rose had wanted to visit her whole life.
"It is an honor, Your Highness."
Rose smiled softly and took a step back from Arikx, putting distance between them.
"I will visit together with my husband later."
"...You leave no openings. Very well, do so."
Arikx smirked as if he had just been played.
It was then.
"Gasp...!"
"Oh my."
Suddenly, the surroundings grew quiet, and people began to murmur.
"Oh."
The moment Arikx raised the corners of his mouth as if he noticed something,
Teop.
A large hand grabbed Rose's wrist. At the same time, a firm and hot body pressed against her back.
A familiar, cool scent hit the tip of her nose.
"Your Highness."
Dane had approached at some point and was embracing Rose from behind.
"I will be taking my wife back."
The low voice that struck down was as chilling as a sword tip being thrust at him.
...!
Rose widened her eyes and looked at Dane.
To think he would leave his partner behind and come all the way here when the music hadn't even ended yet.
She was dumbfounded from the sheer shock.
"Ahem, hmm."
The conductor glanced at the king, wondering whether to stop the music or continue,
"Oh my... leaving the Princess like that."
"To think the great Duke of Schmaichel had a side like this to him."
"This is truly a rare sight. Hoho."
People were also whispering quietly and looking their way.
"Instead of thanking me for faithfully carrying out my duties as an escort, you show such insolence."
Arikx deliberately hardened his face and reprimanded him sternly.
"You were not faithful in the least."
Dane retorted without a moment of hesitation. Arikx snorted once and crossed his arms.
"That is for the Duchess to decide."
The moment Dane's eyebrow twitched,
"Well, I made a promise with the Duchess, so I will keep your secret."
Arikx flashed a provocative smile at Rose. Then he began to walk toward the center of the dance floor.
"I should go tend to my poor sister now."
The moment people's attention focused on Arikx,
"Let's go."
Dane grabbed Rose and led her toward the balcony.
"Your Grace..."
Without a chance to say anything, Rose had to let herself be dragged along by him.
Deolkeodeong!
The balcony doors violently shut, and all the noise and sights of the banquet hall disappeared.
"Your Grace, wait—"
Before she could speak, her body was roughly pushed against the wall.
Tak.
Dane trapped Rose between himself and the wall.
Holding onto Rose's shoulder with one hand, he stared directly at her with intensely shining blue eyes.
"What were you talking about so happily with that guy?"
…….
Rose was at a loss for words for two reasons.
First, him referring to the prince like that, and second, wondering when exactly she had been so enjoyably engaged in conversation.
"What did Arikx say to you?"
Dane's voice was like a sharply honed blade. Rose sensitively caught the faint tremor at its edge.
"Did he whisper that he fell in love with you at first sight? Did he promise you the position of crown princess?"
"...Pardon?"
"So, did you want to leave?"
Rose fell silent for a moment.
It was hard to keep up with Dane's flow of conversation, and more importantly, his face was excessively unfamiliar.
The face that rarely showed emotion was fiercely hardened to the point of being terrifying. The blue eyes, once calm as the water's surface, heaved violently.
He was angry. Extremely, fiercely angry.
'...Why.'
Arikx had simply stayed by her side in silence. There was no personal physical contact or seduction of any kind.
In fact, when Viscount Vikander had approached earlier, she had been able to suppress him with even more authority thanks to Arikx.
So there was no reason for Dane to be angry. If he... only considered her as his contract wife.
"...Nothing like that happened."
Keeping the sweet assumption that had blossomed in her mind, she cautiously let out each word.
"We didn't have any private conversations either. Really."
Despite Rose's calm explanation, Dane's sharp intensity did not ease at all.
"Then why were you smiling so happily?"
"Smiling? Ah...."
Rose rummaged through her recent memories and barely managed to answer.
"His Highness mentioned granting me access to the royal library, so I was merely thanking him."
"...The royal library."
Dane's body heaved menacingly,
"I replied that I would go together with you, Your Grace."
—but it finally calmed down at Rose's following words.
Even so, his furrowed brows showed no signs of smoothing out.
"Then what is that 'secret'? Is it something I'm not supposed to know?"
"Ah, that is..."
It seemed that the single remark Arikx threw out before leaving had severely provoked Dane.
Rose answered with a calm demeanor.
"My father came to persuade me. It seems His Highness the Prince also vaguely caught on to the situation."
…….
"I told him I would speak to you directly, and so he promised to keep it a secret."
"Arikx, that bastard..."
The hand that was holding Rose's shoulder slowly slipped down and swept across her lower back. It was a sensuous and slow touch.
"It seems he is desperate to seduce you."
"That's not it—"
"No, I am right."
Dane's hand traced back up and cupped Rose's cheek.
"Seeing you up close must have made him covet you all the more."
Dane's tone carried a certain certainty that it was naturally so.
"I shouldn't have left you two alone."
She could finally understand the fear she had read from him earlier. It was the fear that she might be stolen away by Arikx.
'...Why to this extent.'
Was her heart not important to him?
She had never even imagined Dane would get angry over a reason like this, so she was utterly astounded.
'It's jealousy. Very childish.'
The moment Arikx's words brushed past her mind,
"Are you... perhaps... jealous?"
Rose's lips opened on their own.
…….
Dane parted his lips with a face filled with dejection and absolute rage.
"...Jealous? Me?"
At last, his lips moved.
With veins bulging in his temples as if holding back something surging up.
"...Ah, no."
Rose hastily lowered her head. Her face instantly flushed with heat.
Whatever was she thinking to ask such a thing. She felt like she would die of embarrassment.
'Jealous, my foot.'
She was definitely mistaken. That must be why he was asking her back with a straight face.
"I'm sorry. I was speaking nonse—"
"Are you really asking because you don't know?"
Rose's mouth, which had been hastily retrieving her words, completely stopped.
Hwaek.
She lifted her head, doubting her own ears.
He was staring at her with a thoroughly broken face.
"What on earth did you think I was so angry about all this time?"
She felt like she would suffocate under the sheer weight of Dane's pouring emotions. Rose dared not even think to retort and merely looked at him.
"Of course I'm jealous."
For a moment, it felt as if his breathing stopped before it burst forth like a storm.
"Because I like you!"
A deep and heavily strained voice, as if he were barely hanging onto a single thread of reason, followed.
"Please, Rose."
Dane leaned his body down, bringing his face close to Rose. The surface of his dark blue, lake-like eyes was heaving violently.
"What more must I do for you to understand?"
For a moment, time seemed to stop.
Only Dane, standing there breathing heavily in the slightly cool outside air, felt vivid and real.
With a face that she hadn't expected to see, or even dared to imagine, from him.
"I like you. I truly do."
Dane whispered.
It was the voice of a boy who had fallen in love, or perhaps a man defeated by love.