episode_0107

Chapter 107 – Imperial Party

A gentle melody flowed.

Skadia sat alone in a corner of the ballroom, enjoying her wine.

“Haa…”

As she savored the bitter aftertaste and rich aroma, her gaze suddenly fixed on the center of the stage.

A man and a woman stood there.

Exuding a powerful presence even among the many couples, they drew everyone’s attention.

Despite being siblings, and perhaps because they were siblings, they suited each other better than any other couple. As they moved, their black hair swished and their silver gazes intertwined.

The affection in their eyes was considerably deep for siblings.

That, she found unbearable and hateful.

‘Why?’

Ruan had changed.

The scoundrel from a year ago was gone.

The man consumed by inferiority, who coveted women and always sent distorted obsessions, had vanished.

In his place stood a man who, though not extraordinary, was diligent and kind—just as she had once imagined.

To show such a side of himself now, after she had finally cut him off completely, felt nothing short of fate’s cruel jest.

Skadia’s hatred also turned towards Isis.

‘How shameless.’

She already knew the full story of the incident.

The circumstances Ruan had been in at the time, and why such things had happened.

To see Isis, who had overtly avoided and isolated Ruan, now happily dancing as if forgetting all her past actions, made all sorts of negative emotions surge within Skadia.

She wanted to expose their relationship and lead them to ruin.

She wanted to reveal their ugly faces and make them unable to ever hold their heads high again, to make them as miserable as she was.

Yes. She was unhappy now.

She had thought everything would be peaceful once it was over, but it wasn’t.

After breaking off the engagement with Ruan, she felt hollow. As if she had lost something precious, a gaping hole had opened in her heart.

The ice that had enveloped her heart for eight years slowly melted, making her feel regret.

She didn’t know what she regretted.

Even now, she didn’t particularly love Ruan and didn’t wish to restore their relationship.

There should have been no lingering attachment, but strangely, her heart didn’t feel that way. Her mind was in an indescribable state of confusion.

“Pah!”

Out of frustration, she downed the wine in one gulp.

With its unique aroma, the alcohol warmed her stomach and numbed her brain.

It was then.

“Lady. May I join you?”

A nobleman who had been lingering nearby approached her.

His eyes scanned Skadia’s entire body.

Sensing his gaze, Skadia frowned in discomfort, then unconsciously looked at Ruan.

Seeing him happily dancing with Isis stirred a sense of defiance within her.

‘You suffer too.’

She didn’t know if he still had lingering feelings, but she hoped he would feel at least a little annoyed seeing her with another man.

She would make him feel the same emotions she was experiencing now.

Anyway, if he tried anything, she could just freeze him, so there was no problem.

“Please, sit.”

“Haha! Excuse me.”

The man sat down, and their drinking began.

*

“Ruan, I’ll be back. Just going to the restroom for a bit.”

“Oh? Then I’ll go to the restroom too.”

“I need to fix my makeup, so it’ll take a while. You go ahead and grab some food. Okay?”

“Alright. See you later.”

After thoroughly enjoying the ball, Isis and I separated, heading to our respective restrooms.

It was just as I arrived at the entrance.

“F*cking b*tch. Always acting so expensive, you know? She joins our table but won’t let us touch her, does that even make sense?”

“I told you to feed her that! One dose of that and it’s over. Huh? Women go crazy for it.”

I overheard conversations that were impossible to ignore.

‘Smells fishy.’

My nose, accustomed to sensing serial rapes, detected the scent of a crime. It felt like an innocent woman would be forcibly violated by someone today.

Meanwhile, the men appeared.

They were nobles with ordinary appearances, the kind you could see anywhere.

“Are you kidding me? If we get caught, it’s our heads immediately.”

“Ah, with that, you just need to threaten her appropriately— Oh! Ah, excuse me.”

Caught in the act of plotting a serious crime, they belatedly noticed me and panicked.

The two quickly bowed their heads and left.

After watching their retreating figures for a moment, I entered the restroom as if nothing had happened.

‘No time to bother with that.’

I felt bad for the woman who might be violated, but I couldn’t sacrifice my time with Isis to prevent a potential crime.

It was when I was occupying a urinal in the corner and doing my business.

The door opened and a man entered.

I turned my head slightly and spotted Ethan.

He began to urinate next to me.

Feigning disinterest, I observed him and noticed that even though he was handsome, he had a large penis. Of course, compared to mine, it was still a bit lacking.

‘No match in thickness.’

A survey once suggested that length becomes irrelevant past a certain point, but girth correlates with higher female satisfaction.

An inexplicable sense of superiority filled my body.

Just as I was smiling contentedly, Ethan suddenly spoke.

“Young Master Ruan. It’s been a long time.”

“Ah, yes. It’s been since the class tournament.”

“Yes. I apologize for not greeting you then. I was too preoccupied with magic to spare any attention.”

“It’s fine. I was the same.”

“It’s a relief to hear that.”

“…”

Silence fell after a brief exchange.

Silence often fell even when I was with Isis, but I had never once experienced such awkward and uncomfortable silence before.

I had no idea why this guy even bothered to talk to me.

Just then, he asked a significant question.

“I saw you attended with Young Lady Isis. Your relationship seems to have improved considerably.”

“…Do you know about us?”

“Well, you’re quite famous. Personally, I think it’s a good thing. Good sibling affection means a bright atmosphere in the family, after all. Has there been any change of heart, perhaps?”

His blue eyes shot at me, as if intending to peer into my thoughts.

I realized it at that very moment.

‘He was probing.’

Ethan Gloucester was now suspecting that I might be a Transmigrator.

In the game, I was merely a scoundrel expelled for an attempted rape incident, but now I was quite close to the main storyline.

It seemed he didn’t think I was Hyun because of the clock tower incident, but he had opened up the possibility of me being a third party.

He was a guy with pretty sharp instincts.

“It was just a chance encounter where misunderstandings were cleared.”

“Misunderstandings?”

“Yes. Anything beyond that is personal, so I cannot disclose it.”

“That’s a shame. I’m quite interested in the story of the Friuli family. Well then, I’ll be going now.”

“Yes. Have a safe departure.”

Ethan gave a perfectly polite bow, washed his hands, and left.

A sigh of relief escaped my lips naturally.

‘Fortunately, I wasn’t found out.’

Even if I hadn’t completely dispelled his suspicions, he wouldn’t be certain I was a Transmigrator right away.

“Anyway, this is a bit annoying, isn’t it?”

I shook myself dry below.

I had entered before Ethan, but I ended up urinating for longer. It wasn’t that my stream was weak. It was just that after taking the elixir Roxana sent, my size had increased, and so had the volume of urine I expelled at once.

Of course, my ejaculation volume and force had also strengthened, which should be considered a good thing, but in this case, it was utterly bothersome.

If only I could have stopped peeing quickly, I would have ignored Ethan and left.

With a minor grumble, I thoroughly washed my hands and returned to the ballroom.

I was picking at some food when a persistent gaze pricked the back of my head.

I turned my head and saw Skadia.

She was currently at a table, enjoying wine with an unfamiliar man.

She had definitely seemed to be glaring at me, but then she was busily chattering and laughing with the man as if she hadn’t.

‘What was that? Was I mistaken?’

I tilted my head, then shifted my gaze elsewhere.

As I looked around, I realized Alisa was nowhere to be seen.

“Where did she go? Did she already leave?”

Only an hour had passed since the party began.

Even if she disliked parties, she needed to stay a bit longer to avoid unnecessary criticism from her family.

Puzzled, I suddenly recalled Alisa going out to the balcony a while ago.

‘Could she be there?’

Unable to suppress my curiosity, I approached the balcony.

There, I found Alisa leaning against the railing, gazing up at the night sky.

Her back looked lonely.

Her solitary figure, unable to blend in with the main crowd, stirred sympathy.

Alisa seemed to yearn for the stars.

One could sense the wistful sorrow of someone wishing to reach the unreachable, only able to gaze upon it.

The vibrant lights and flowing melodies of the ballroom contrasted with the darkness-shrouded balcony. The gap between these two spaces deepened the feeling.

Unconsciously, I reached for the balcony door, then flinched.

‘What am I doing?’

What would I even do by going out there now?

From the start, Alisa was a woman who hated me and resorted to violence at any time.

Whether such a woman looked lonely or sad, I had no particular obligation to comfort her.

However, despite that, I couldn’t simply ignore her due to the memories that resurfaced in my mind.

-Dangerous!

She, who had embraced me without a moment’s hesitation in a life-threatening situation.

I remembered her face, smiling as she saw me unharmed, even as her entire body was engulfed in black flames, suffering terrible pain.

Her faint breath, the warm and soft touch of her lips—all were vivid.

After a moment of thought, I took off my jacket.

Then I removed my watch and all identifiable accessories. Finally, I took out a mask from my spatial pouch and put it on.

No one paid attention to the balcony anyway, so I didn’t have to worry about being seen.

“Huu…”

I took a deep breath, cautiously opened the door, and stepped inside.

The moment I set foot on the balcony.

“Excuse me, but I’m not interested.”

Alisa declared her refusal without even turning her head.

This meant she had experienced such encounters many times before.

But I paid no mind. As I approached slowly but steadily, Alisa finally turned her back to face me.

“Oh…?”

Her face, full of irritation, turned to surprise upon seeing me.

She blinked her ruby-like red eyes blankly, then a beautiful smile bloomed on her lips.

“Hyun!”

Alisa rushed towards me.

She stood directly in front of me, clutching the hem of her skirt like an excited girl, and asked.

“How did you come here?”

“…”

“I get it! You were a noble? Did you come here for me?”

My ears were tickled by the barrage of questions.

‘Was she always this loud?’

She wasn’t this energetic the last time we met; her excitement level had soared significantly since then.

I returned her question with one of my own.

“Why are you alone?”

“…Me? Of course, I… You don’t know, do you? Hmm… Do I really have to tell you?”

She seemed flustered.

That was understandable, as she was already quite a public figure, so it was probably her first time receiving such a direct question.

More than anything, she probably didn’t want to reveal her weakness.

I had phrased the question poorly.

“If you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to.”

“Oh, no, it’s fine. I’ll tell you. But no preconceived notions, okay?”

“…”

As I responded with silence, Alisa began to tell her story.

The explanation wasn’t long.

She simply stated that she was an illegitimate child and had sought refuge on the balcony to avoid unwanted advances.

“That’s about it. …Did you perhaps come to dislike me?”

Alisa, uncharacteristically, glanced at me cautiously. It seemed she was worried I might despise her for being an illegitimate child.

I subtly looked up at the night sky.

“Not really. One’s background doesn’t mean much.”

“Do you truly think so?”

“Yes.”

“…I see.”

Alisa smiled faintly.

She seemed pleased that I didn’t look down on her like other nobles.

She regained her usual demeanor.

“Then it’s your turn, Hyun!”

“…My turn?”

“Yes! I told you mine, so now it’s your turn, Hyun.”

Her eyes sparkled with curiosity.

In front of her, I couldn’t bring myself to say no. I set a condition.

“If it’s something I can tell.”

“That’s fine!”

“So, what do you want to ask?”

At my prompting, Alisa unnecessarily glanced around cautiously, then whispered softly.

“H-Hyun, did you come with a partner?”

“What?”

“I mean… do you have a fiancée?”

What a sudden and random personal inquiry.

I wondered if I really had to do this, but I revealed only half the truth.

“I don’t have a fiancée.”

“Really? Yay!”

Alisa suddenly let out a cheer.