Chapter 384: A Bad Feeling
Amid everyone’s bows, the old King appeared to the sound of solemn music.
He no longer had the vigor he’d shown in previous years. Long-term illness had made him look thinner and weaker.
As King, he had done plenty of evil things in secret, but in front of the nobles, and in front of the “people”. He still put on a friendly, approachable act, greeting everyone warmly.
He recited a speech he had prepared long ago. Most of it was empty words and polite phrases without any real meaning, but the nobles still cooperated, responding with round after round of applause.
The old King stood on the high platform. His two sons could not stand at the same level as him and could only stand to the side.
Everyone knew that the crown prince and the second prince had been political enemies for many years, but at an important event like this, they still acted like close brothers, smiling and waving when the King mentioned them, saying nice things to praise each other.
On the surface, their polished words sounded even better than the King’s prepared speech, but inside, the crown prince’s feelings were already well hidden, while the second prince was likely sick to his stomach.
It wasn’t so much the words praising his brother that disgusted him. After all, they had once been friends for years, and some compliments could be spoken sincerely. What truly sickened him was the entire scene, a gathering where even the King himself was smiling on the surface while hiding completely different feelings inside.
“Another year gone by, elder brother.”
When they no longer needed to step forward to speak, the two of them naturally moved to a corner of the platform, standing respectfully as they waited for the King to finish his speech.
“Yes.” The crown prince’s reply carried no clear joy or sorrow.
“I remember when we were children, the New Year was what we looked forward to the most. Good food, new clothes, lively parties, and colorful fireworks.”
“Every child is like that.”
So they would look obedient while on stage, neither of them looked at the other as they spoke. Their voices were kept just low enough for the other to hear.
“Do you miss it? The days when we set off fireworks together?”
“We can still do that now. After Father finishes speaking, there will be the opening fireworks. If you want, there are a few more in storage.”
“Heh.”
It sounded like a laugh, but it was a smile without warmth.
“Are those fireworks the same as the ones we had back then?”
From the corner of his eye, the crown prince could see his younger brother’s smile and could hear the meaning behind his words.
“No, they’re not the same.”
Without thinking too much, he gave this somewhat stiff-sounding reply.
“The designs of fireworks keep changing, and we’ve grown up.”
“Yes, we’ve grown up. Our father has grown old. And the flowers on Mother’s grave… I don’t know how many times they’ve bloomed and withered over the years.”
The second prince’s lips held his standard smile, but even from the edge of his vision, the crown prince could imagine the complete lack of warmth in his brother’s eyes.
“…Brother, don’t miss the fireworks show later.”
After that, the two exchanged no more words, only standing there quietly.
The people below listened to the old King’s speech. Naturally, Armand didn’t want to draw attention by moving around too much, but his eyes kept scanning the area, his palms sweating from anxiety.
“Have you seen where Rachel went?”
He had only been held up for a short while by that irritating noble, but when he turned back again, Rachel was already gone.
After bringing Rachel here, Armand had avoided introducing her to anyone, so she wouldn’t get into trouble. That was why, when he realized she was missing, he could only ask Evelia if she had noticed anything just now.
But Evelia’s attention hadn’t been on Rachel. She was more focused on the second prince, the one who had insisted she come to the ball.
And so, while both of them were distracted with their own concerns, they overlooked the fact that Rachel, who was supposed to be quietly enjoying the food, had disappeared.
She was nowhere in sight. Even after searching the nearby dessert tables, there was no sign of the little girl in the all-white outfit who should have stood out easily.
Armand had always thought Rachel was a girl he could trust to behave, so he never worried that she might cause trouble. But he was wrong.
His way of thinking had been wrong from the start.
He had always worried that the nobles might give her a hard time because she was his adopted daughter, so he tried to make her invisible. Just a quiet presence who, if needed, could later be placed in a better family.
But once they came to the party, what he thought was “Don’t cause trouble.” When it should have been “Don’t get dragged into trouble.”
It was only now, after Rachel had silently vanished, that he realized his mistake.
She was his adopted daughter, she was family. Even if she didn’t go looking for trouble, trouble could still find her.
Because of what Evelia had told him about the second prince, Armand’s instincts had been focused entirely on protecting Evelia, keeping all his attention on her.
But what about Rachel? She deserved his protection just as much.
Armand began to suspect that what the second prince had told Evelia might have been nothing more than a smokescreen.
If the prince told Evelia to come to the ball, Evelia would naturally be nervous and tell him. And once he knew, of course he would put protecting Evelia as his top priority. That way, in his already weakened state, he would overlook other matters, including Rachel. Maybe even more than just her…
“Something’s not right.”
A sudden sense of dread hit Armand. He quickly led Evelia to a quiet corner of the ballroom, somewhere no one was paying attention, and pulled paper and pen from his engraved seal.
“Mr. Armand, what are you…?”
Evelia didn’t understand. She was just as shaken by Rachel’s disappearance and watched as Armand hastily wrote something on the paper, folded it several times, and took out a communication crystal used by the Knight Order for emergencies.
[What are your orders?]
The moment he took it out, a reply came through.
“Southwest corner of the royal ballroom balcony, send it to my estate. Make sure it goes straight to the old butler’s hands.”
[Understood.]
After those brief words, the crystal dimmed, turning into powder once its light went out. A cold wind on the balcony blew the dust away, just like the one-use leaves used by the House of Nightingales.
“...Listen, Eve, something’s really wrong right now…”
Armand stopped himself mid-sentence. He seemed worried that if he told her about his smokescreen theory, she might overthink it. He took a deep breath, swallowing the words.
“In any case, Eve, I’m going to find a way to get you out of here.”
Originally, this was a ball they had to attend because of the old King’s invitation. But now, there was no time to think about that ‘had to.’
“Leave? You mean… leave the ball? But isn’t this an important event?”
“That doesn’t matter anymore. And it’s not just the ball… Eve, you need to find a way to get out of here entirely. If you can leave the city, even better.”
If this turned out to be a false alarm, all would be fine.
But if something really had happened to Rachel… then the next target… could very well be Evelia.