Chapter 18: Banquet of Accusations

In the end, the day of the Third Prince’s birthday banquet arrived without me having obtained any decent information.

After arriving at the Imperial Palace, not wishing to stand out, I secured a seat at a table as far in the corner as possible.

Having had absolutely no desire to come, just yesterday I was racking my brain over what on earth I could do to excuse myself from the banquet.

However, realizing there was no particularly good way out, I ultimately resigned myself.

Seeing Mikeron and Ran conversing with different nobles in the distance made my stomach churn, so I downed the entire glass of water in one gulp.

If it were up to me, I wanted to escape this place right this instant, but the protagonist of the banquet, the Third Prince, had not even made his entrance yet.

I silently cursed the Third Prince for making me come to this horrific place—though I had no idea why he invited me in this life—and gripped my glass so tightly it felt as though it might shatter.

Just then, someone approached and took a seat opposite me.

Sensing their presence, my gaze shifted up from the glass toward the person.

“Count Kinesis, it’s been a while.”

‘Come to think of it, this person was here too.’

I had been so preoccupied with Mikeron and Ran that I had completely forgotten his existence.

Seimon Export, whom I hadn’t seen once since our encounter in front of the jewelry shop, sat before me with a good-natured smile.

Because the moment I last conversed with him remained vivid before my eyes even now, a stiff and dry greeting slipped out.

“Hello.”

“Have you been well? Well, you seem to have been doing well enough.”

“I have been well. Thank you for your concern.”

Unable to voice the words rising to the tip of my tongue, I offered only a formal reply and shut my mouth tight.

We weren’t close enough to share friendly chatter, and I had no desire to mingle words with him any further.

I thought he must have a specific purpose for sitting in front of me, but he merely sat there quietly.

‘It’s not like anything interesting will happen by being with me, so why does he keep staying here?’

Just as I felt thoroughly uncomfortable and decided I should move seats, the protagonist of the day, the Third Prince, finally made his entrance.

The esteemed Third Prince, Casion de Avelonia, slowly descended the stairs lined with a luxurious red carpet, receiving the congratulations of everyone in the banquet hall.

The people seated at the tables stood up automatically, and I, too, casually rose from my seat after gauging the crowd.

“I am truly glad you have made time to come today.”

The Third Prince, Casion, who possessed silver hair and violet eyes just like Raihar, offered an elegant smile with his pale and pretty face.

While I was clapping indifferently along with the cheering crowd, Export subtly approached my side.

He quietly whispered in my ear.

“That day, after we parted, I looked into you a bit…”

A repulsive breath brushed against my ear.

I shivered and tried to take a step back, but Export was quicker to continue speaking.

“They say those cursed eyes of yours drove everyone in the Kinesis family to their deaths. Is that true?”

Backing away with a detestable laugh, Export shrugged his shoulders.

I could feel the applause filling the hall gradually fade, and at that point, my rational mind snapped.

I felt like reaching out my hand without any control to grab him by the collar, but my sanity returned before my fingertips could touch his clothes.

I slowly withdrew my hand, which had extended all the way to his chest.

Unable to calm down, my hands trembled.

Glaring at him as if to kill him with wide eyes, I slowly managed my racing heart and spoke.

“I do not know for what purpose you are provoking me, but if you are hoping to elicit some reaction from me, give up.”

In the past, I would have grabbed him by the collar and shaken him without any plan, but now I had a brain capable of rational thought.

I couldn’t afford to cause trouble at the birthday banquet of the Third Prince, of all people.

For whatever reason, Export smiled faintly.

His darkly shadowed face looked incredibly sinister.

Just as I felt an ominous premonition and tried to keep my distance, he briefly scanned our surroundings, picked up the glass on my side, and slammed it down at his feet.

At the sharp, ear-piercing crash, the people nearby stopped looking at Casion and turned their gazes toward us in unison.

As numerous eyes focused on me, my stomach churned violently.

While I was faltering, unable to even ask what on earth he was doing, Export beat me to the punch.

“C-Count. Isn’t this a bit too much, even for you? To suddenly throw a glass at someone like this.”

“Um… what on earth is going on?”

A young lady nearby approached hesitantly and asked.

As the commotion arose, the people who had been watching Casion also began to turn their gazes one by one.

The moment our eyes locked, their piercing glares flew like arrows, stabbing into my flesh ruthlessly.

The tip of my tongue went dry, and my mind turned entirely white, as if covered in white paint.

I couldn’t think of anything for a moment.

“I only asked a few questions out of curiosity, when he suddenly threw a glass out of nowhere. How dangerous.”

“My goodness, are you hurt anywhere?”

“I was fortunate enough to dodge it by a hair’s breadth.”

The more Export opened his detestable mouth, the more the surrounding whispering multiplied.

Just then, even the protagonist of the banquet, the Third Prince Casion, made his way over.

“Just what is this commotion at my birthday banquet?”

An icy voice, as if tightly suppressing rage, leaked through his small lips.

Although his eyes were violet like Raihar’s, they carried an entirely different sensation as they glared menacingly at me.

Export began to fabricate his story like a truly wronged victim and report it to the Third Prince.

As lies were piled upon lies, the surrounding glares turned even colder.

“Count, do you have nothing to say to me?”

The Third Prince asked me.

He was looking at me with eyes that said, ‘Let’s see what excuse you come up with.’

Suppressing my pounding heart, I swept my gaze over our surroundings.

Having swallowed Count Export’s words hook, line, and sinker, they were already looking at me as if I were a criminal.

They were already believing whatever they wanted to believe, so would they even listen to my denial?

I was the one only who knew Seimon Export was a detestable and sinister man.

In comparison, I was merely a stalker branded as a madman by everyone.

Even if I were someone else, I wouldn’t choose to believe me over the decent, respectable-looking Export.

Furthermore, people secretly wished for me to be the villain.

Only then would they have a justification to openly look down on me, making this banquet far more entertaining.

I could feel an unconcealed expectation in the eyes focused on me.

‘If no one is going to believe me anyway, wouldn’t it be better to just apologize cleanly and end this?’

Nobody wanted the truth.

If this, too, was my karma for the sins I committed before my regression, then doing so felt entirely proper.

I didn’t want to make a scene at the Third Prince’s banquet.

Erasing my intention to deny it, I opened my mouth to apologize roughly and put an end to it.

“I am sor—”

“There is no proof that the Count actually did it, yet you are cornering him based solely on one side of the story.”

Just as I was about to resign myself and finish it, some man grabbed my shoulder and stepped forward.

A comforting warmth spread from my shoulder where he held it, and my chaotic mind felt as though it was cleansed and brightened.

My entire gaze was captured by the man standing before me.

A broad back clad in a blue tailcoat and brilliant platinum-blonde hair adhered to my vision, refusing to budge.

“Is that not correct, Count?”

The moment he turned toward me, my entire body vibrated at his steadfastly shining blue eyes.

At the same time, the memory from the day of the festival flashed through my mind.

Had he said he would choose to believe my explanations?

He was a man so honest and upright it was almost foolish.

“Duke.”

The Third Prince Casion frowned and called out to Mikeron.

Mikeron dropped to one knee and showed proper etiquette.

“I apologize for the rudeness of suddenly intervening. However, I wished to make sure we address this clearly.”

Slowly rising from his knee, he quietly looked down at me.

The blue eyes reflecting my figure were incredibly straight.

He quietly spoke.

“Did you truly do it, Count?”

He did not corner me.

Rather, he was waiting for my reply with a peaceful gaze that seemed to reassure me.

“There is no need to even listen. Duke Mikeron, you also know what kind of person he…”

“I believe I have never once asked for your opinion.”

The moment Mikeron barked before Export could even finish speaking, the surrounding air froze.

His cold gaze was directed at Export, not me.

I couldn’t understand why Mikeron was taking my side.

Was it because of the promise he had made to me on the day of the festival?

But a mere promise of words couldn’t possibly act as his shackle.

He could easily break it, or claim he never said such a thing, and that would be the end.

Though I was glad that Mikeron had stood on my side while keeping his promise, an anxiety greater than joy began to squirm up like insects.

The moment he discovered my identity, he would surely regret every single moment he had been gentle with me.

I wasn’t a particularly meaningful person to Mikeron.

I was just someone who reminded him of a certain person—that was all.

Thus, neither feeling fluttered when looking at Mikeron, nor growing increasingly accustomed to his gentleness, was welcome.

Rather, an unknown fear made me endlessly anxious.

It felt as though I would eventually be betrayed by everything I expected and trusted, falling into a state from which I could never recover.

The contemptuous gaze Mikeron wore in my dream wouldn’t leave me, even if I wished to forget.

“I…”

The moment I spoke quietly, Mikeron looked at me again.

The contemptuous sneer from my dream overlapped with his cool face.

My heart plummeted.

I didn’t want to start having expectations, only to be betrayed by my faith.

As the desire not to get hurt filled my head, I decided in my urge to escape that I should rather betray him first.

“Yes, I did it. I am truly sorry for causing trouble because I couldn’t control my momentary anger.”

When I bowed and apologized, the frozen surroundings heated up rowdily once more.

Numerous gazes directed themselves at me, but one person’s gaze in particular felt glaringly obvious.

“…Count.”

Doing my best to ignore his gaze, I raised my head.

Export was smiling with a highly satisfied expression on his face.

“Since I received an apology, I shall specially forgive you. However, I hope you will be careful in the future.”

“Yes. Understood.”

“Since the victim, Count Export, says as much… I shall let it slide out of generosity just this once. Today is a good day, after all.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

Although it turned out slightly differently from my expectations because Mikeron intervened, the incident concluded without escalating into a massive uproar.

As the Third Prince returned to his place and stood at the center of the crowd to announce the start of the banquet, the surrounding atmosphere also began to clear up.

I stared blankly at the scene and turned my body toward the balcony.

Due to what had just occurred, the people’s gazes toward me were far from ordinary.

Just then, Mikeron approached and grabbed my shoulder.

“Why did you lie?”

The voice leaking through his lips was stiff and low.

His hand holding my shoulder applied force.

“I didn’t lie.”

“…”

“Why did you think I wouldn’t have done it? Just what are you expecting from me, Duke?”

When I smiled self-deprecatingly, Mikeron squeezed my shoulder even harder.

As pain registered, my brow furrowed.

Just as I was about to shake him off and tell him to let go, he spoke.

“Just as I told you on the day of the festival, whatever explanation you gave, I would have chosen to believe you first.”

“…”

“And yet, it seems what I said back then failed to earn your trust, Count.”

He smiled bitterly, lowering his brows.

In that moment, my stomach felt nauseous, as if someone had grabbed my heart and violently shaken all of my insides.

I was the one at fault, so why was he blaming himself?

I hated that gentleness.

I wished for him to never awaken any expectations or emotions in me.

I didn’t want to know anything.

I was terrified of finding out.

“I am not a person worthy of receiving your goodwill, Duke. Therefore, there is no need for you to keep that promise from back then either.”

“I do not understand why you are suddenly acting like this, Count. I certainly thought we had grown a bit closer during the festival.”

“Closer? Us?”

A scoff broke out.

Mikeron and I could absolutely never grow close.

The Knight of Light, whose duty was to strike down evil, growing close to a dark mage—was that not absurd?

The moment he discovered my identity, he would surely regret every single moment he had been gentle with me.

I didn’t want to see him filled with regret.

“If it were anyone else, maybe, but you and I can absolutely never grow close, Duke.”

“Is that… because of Mariel after all?”

‘Mariel comes up here again.’

My mood slowly sank, as if submerging into deep water.

It was only natural for Mikeron to mention Mariel.

He was likely worried about Mariel.

Unlike me, whom he could execute with a single strike, Mariel was precious.

Feeling as if my insides were twisting, words I didn’t mean leaked out.

“Yes.”

“…”

“It seems I am simply unable to forget Baron Mariel.”

As I smiled provocatively, Mikeron released my shoulder.

Because of how tightly he had grabbed me, my shoulder tingled as blood began to circulate again.

While I was massaging my shoulder, he turned his back without a word.

I quietly watched his retreating back, then lowered my gaze.

Even after he vanished, my heart was still beating wildly.

It was a strange resonance.

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