Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Shame and humiliation consumed Frank.

All eyes were on him.

‘What on earth just happened?’

People around them were still staring with dazed expressions, thinking the same thing.

However, no one made the mistake of speaking out loud.

Thud!

Enraged, Frank kicked the treasure chest, then strode toward Khal and reached out his hand.

He intended to grab him by the collar, but—

Grab!

Khal, realizing the intent, wasn’t about to let that happen easily.

Khal gripped Frank’s wrist—which was made of much thicker muscle than his own—as if he were going to crush it.

‘This bastard, what is he?!’

For Frank, who ranked third in swordsmanship and first in raw strength at Partes Academy, this was a very foreign experience.

To have his strength matched by someone so much smaller than him.

“Come outside. Let’s settle this, you punk.”

“Are you sure? I doubt you’d want to be humiliated a second time.”

Khal twisted a corner of his mouth and released his grip.

Seeing the willingness to accept the challenge, Frank clenched his fists, his fighting spirit blazing.

However—

“That’s enough. There are too many eyes watching today.”

A boy with long black hair tied back appeared out of nowhere, stopping Frank by lightly tapping his chest with the back of his hand.

“……Morris, even you.”

Recognizing him, Lily’s face hardened significantly.

‘Is that guy one of the hounds, too?’

Khal narrowed his eyes as he looked at Morris and Frank, wearing an intrigued expression.

Surprisingly, both of them were individuals he couldn’t easily suppress with his current strength.

‘They’re temperamental and stubborn. To have two guys like that under him, Deses is no ordinary fellow.’

Khal glanced around, but the man presumed to be Deses was still nowhere to be seen.

‘Does this Deses guy even exist?’

Looking disappointed, Khal soon locked eyes with Morris.

Standing at 180 centimeters, Morris was roughly at the same eye level as Khal.

“I’m honestly a bit surprised that you have physical strength similar to Frank.”

“I think you meant to say I was overpowering him.”

Snap!

Frank almost lost his temper again at Khal’s provocation, but this time he managed to restrain himself thanks to Morris.

Morris stared at Khal with dull, brass-colored eyes and spoke.

“Stop the bluffing and why don’t you change your mind? This is a place where people who will eventually make a name for themselves across the Lachman Continent and the world gather. If you gain our connections, you could become famous too… If you kneel and apologize now, we can still accept you.”

At Morris’s suggestion, Khal narrowed his eyes and spoke in a lethargic tone.

“I’m not interested in brats. Get lost.”

“……Then, you’re just our enemy.”

Perhaps his emotions weren’t as easily shaken as expected, but Morris merely snorted and muttered, “Let’s go back.”

With that, Frank and the group from the Sceletus School followed behind him.

* * *

Due to the commotion caused by Khal and Frank, the number of people in the ballroom had been cut in half.

Eri, who was resting in a chair, was rubbing her head as if she had a headache.

“Should I bring you some cold water?”

Eri shook her head at Lily’s words.

“No, I’m fine.”

Then, she looked at Khal with sharp eyes.

At that moment, Khal was picking up a grape, popping it into his mouth, and chewing away.

“I didn’t know he was that rough and fierce. Is he like that with you too?”

Lily replied with a bitter smile.

“He’s unexpectedly kind to women.”

“A philanderer?”

“Well, I don’t think that’s it. You can see he’s angry, but he’s trying to exercise restraint.”

“……Lily, you’ve changed a lot. Before, you were only obsessed with study, study, study.”

Eri narrowed her eyes, finding Lily’s change unfamiliar.

“W-what? Why that look?”

“Are you interested in Khal by any chance?”

“……Wh-what are you talking about?”

Caught off guard by the sudden interrogation, Lily blushed, clearly flustered.

Then, scratching her temple, she muttered in a low voice.

“It’s just that sometimes when I see him, for some reason, I feel anxious and nervous, so I just keep an eye on him.”

Eri breathed a sigh of relief at Lily’s words.

“Whew, so it was a motherly heart.”

“No, it wasn’t!”

Lily snapped back immediately, and Eri burst into a giggle, as if she had been joking.

Muttering, “Seriously,” Lily resumed the conversation.

“Actually, until now, I studied for the sake of success. I thought that was the only way to prove my worth.”

“And?”

“Khal is digging into real academia here. From why things exist to how they can be utilized…… it’s all stuff that doesn’t appear on exams. Seeing Khal like that made me feel both ashamed and empty. I realized I had only been reading the words in books.”

“He looks rough and unrefined, but I wonder if he has the temperament of a sage.”

Lily frowned at Eri’s assessment.

“There’s no sage that rough.”

“True.”

Eri chuckled as if she agreed.

As the party atmosphere reached its peak.

Ding♪

The sound of piano keys was followed by harps and various wind instruments, and music began to echo through the ballroom.

Realizing it was time to dance, everyone began searching for partners.

“Eri, would you like to dance with me?”

“Lily, please dance with me.”

Thinking this was their chance, the surrounding men swarmed Eri and Lily.

“Ugh!”

Lily, horrified by the massive crowd, immediately thought of how to refuse.

Step.

Eri simply stood up and began walking somewhere.

The crowd, overwhelmed by her aura, naturally split into two paths.

“Eri?”

Murmurs broke out.

Lily and the others watched where she was headed.

There stood Khal, grimacing after eating a sour grape.

Eri reached out to Khal and spoke.

“I’ll give you the honor of dancing the first song with me.”

In the next moment, Khal, who had been wearing a grumpy expression until then, showed his manners and gently took her hand.

“?!”

Eri’s eyes widened, seemingly surprised by his unexpectedly smooth acceptance.

At the same time, the first song officially began, and those who had found partners started dancing.

As Eri danced alongside Khal, she spoke to him privately.

“Kalliant, you’ve made this the absolute worst birthday party today.”

At her sarcastic tone, Khal shrugged and spoke shamelessly.

“I wouldn’t be so sure. Because when I kicked that box, you were smiling.”

His face was blunt, but it was filled with such certainty that Eri felt troubled.

Soon, she narrowed her eyes and snapped back.

“I told you before. There are times when you shouldn’t dig into a woman’s secrets and should just turn a blind eye.”

The moment he was about to reply—

Flash!

Because the song changed passionately, Khal applied strength to his arm, spinning Eri forcefully and bringing his head close to hers. It was a distance so perilously close they could almost share the same breath.

“?!”

Eri’s pupils trembled in panic.

Khal whispered a single sentence to her.

“Don’t give me advice.”

Having regained her composure, Eri moved her steps to the beat and spoke.

“You’ll become unpopular if you’re like that.”

“I don’t bind myself to such pathetic things. And I think I’m starting to figure out who you are.”

Eri closed her eyes as if she couldn’t help it and said, “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that, so go ahead and say it.”

“The wealth to rent this ballroom without hesitation, and the fact that Frank and Deses’s gang backed off wasn’t actually because of Lily’s statement, but because they were gauging your reaction. That means Deses’s gang knows who you are.”

“You figured out my identity just from that?”

“The deciding factor was the hair color of Ekaterina II, whom I encountered at the academy recently; it’s similar to yours. That moonlight-like blonde. And your sociable attitude toward everyone makes you look like a diplomat. Being friendly with everyone—no matter how you look at it, that’s similar to a diplomat from the neutral country of Isilia.”

“…….”

Realizing her identity had been seen through, Eri’s eyes shook once again.

“You’re the daughter of the Queen who rules Isilia, aren’t you?”

At the mentioned truth, Eri slowly opened her mouth.

“Eris von Isilia. That is my name.”

Feeling a sense of elation from having guessed correctly, Khal curled his lips and spoke.

“I am Kalliant Stark.”

“Oh my, you come from a family that’s more dangerous than I thought.”

As if she already knew, Eri marveled playfully and then sighed.

“Honestly…… even Lily doesn’t know this yet.”

“If it’s Lily, she probably already knows your identity.”

“How?”

Eri, hearing something unexpected, looked at Khal in shock.

Khal glanced toward Lily, who was watching them, and then spoke to Eri.

“She’s an incredibly diligent and smart woman; a woman who dreams of success but isn’t calculating. The reason she knows your identity but pretends not to is probably because this moment she spends with you is precious to her.”

“……Is that so?”

Khal’s words seemed to move her, as Eri’s expression softened considerably.

“But, can I ask you one thing?”

“What is it?”

“Why did you throw such a large and extravagant birthday party? There was no need to go this far.”

“There is a reason. School life inevitably demands abstinence, and ruffians who can’t control their desires might get addicted to drugs or cause trouble outside…… so they need to be allowed to let off steam like this.”

“So everything is calculated.”

At Khal’s weary reaction, Eri sharpened her eyes.

“It’s better than you, who does everything on impulse.”

“Since I answered your question, can I ask one too?”

“By all means.”

Once Khal’s permission was given, Eri glanced toward Lily and spoke.

“What do you think of Lily?”

“She’s a friend.”

At the unhesitating answer, Eri reacted suspiciously.

‘Does this guy even know what a friend is?’

A relationship where he doesn’t look at her with lecherous eyes, yet doesn’t lack respect either.

Was such a relationship really possible between a man and a woman?

While Eri was harboring doubts, Khal added one more thing.

“……When Frank insulted her gift, I felt very unpleasant. If it had been anyone else, I wouldn’t have been that angry.”

“?!”

At those words, Eri widened her eyes, then soon curled her lips into a smirk.

“You’re just like me.”

Satisfied with Khal’s answer, she smiled brightly and continued the conversation.

“Khal. Thanks for giving Frank a satisfying blow today.”

“Heh, the gift……”

“Still, think seriously about a gift next time. That wasn’t a gift.”

Flinch!

Khal’s face stiffened, having been caught trying to gloss over it.

At the same time, the music stopped, and the two let go of each other’s hands, finishing their greetings.

“I should go find another partner now.”

Eri looked at Lily and smirked.

‘I’m ending up dancing more than I thought.’

Khal, feeling he had no choice, approached Lily and reached out his hand.

“Let’s dance.”

“Eh?”

Startled by the unexpected invitation, Lily glanced around before slowly reaching out her hand.

At that very moment—

Whoosh!

Eri intervened between the two and grabbed Lily’s hand.

“Let’s dance, Lily.”

“Eh?”

Lily was flustered once again, and Eri gave a sly smile to Khal as she lightly skipped away with her.

Snap!

A vein popped on Khal’s forehead at the realization that he had been played.

‘The princess of this country is more of a tomboy than I thought.’

However, since her appearance didn’t seem entirely hateful, Khal took a sip of wine and let out a small chuckle.