His father was teaching him not to love only for himself, but to love for Annette.
Those words planted a small realization in Kyle’s burning heart.
Kyle knew why his father said that.
The love that comes from the desire to touch, to be by, and to be with the other person could easily become selfish.
It must have meant to guard against it.
For Kyle, who had devoted all of his life to loving her, he wanted to try that too.
He wanted to let his love be entirely for her.
Rather than his own well-being or feelings, he would always put her first.
“…….”
Kwa-hwak.
The fists under the sleeves were clenched straight.
When he made his decision, his heart swelled.
Suddenly, a new dance began, and people started dancing, swaying and twirling, holding each other under the dazzling light.
Kyle’s gaze was only looking for Annette in the crowd.
‘Where are you?’
‘You…’
‘Where will you be?’
‘And your heart now.’
“You can’t just rely on your feelings. What matters is her heart.”
A new question arose today for Kyle, who had been passionately in love alone and was immersed in waiting for her.
It seemed that he would keep chasing until the question was solved. The trace of a woman who shines the brightest in that halo.
━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━
‘Heinrich, where the hell did you go?’
I had been looking for Heinrich ever since I parted from Bizet.
The purple eyes that looked at me through the mask were clearly etched in my mind. Those eyes caught in my heart like a hook, making it sway over and over.
‘Why do you look at me with those eyes and make me look for you, Heinri.’
That gaze was like…
…Like someone who would soon be ruined.
Weak, lifeless eyes.
“Ah.”
Just then, while I was frantically searching for Heinrich, someone bumped into me.
The other person bumped into me first, but I showed a polite reaction like an extremely noble person.
“Excuse me.”
It was a man in a red mask. The eyes inside were clouded like sulfur.
“…Oh, a sweet bird flew to me. Are you doing this to be held in my arms?”
What kind of bullshit?!
This was extremely greasy and annoying.
But tonight was a romantic night where one could anonymously look for a lover to hang out with, so I decided to show my humanity and forgive that guy once.
“It was just an accidental bump. Well, have a good time.”
“Wait a moment.”
Pwakak, the rude man grabbed my wrist and I automatically frowned. He held it so tightly that my wrists tingled.
He said with a smirk.
“If I can’t even notice a lady trying to bounce off and just let her go, then I wouldn’t be a healthy man, would I?”
“…….”
“I want to entertain you tonight, Lady.”
I looked at him expressionlessly and flicked my wrist, pulling it back to my side. My strength, which I had trained for a long time in the bakery, was very strong.
“……?!”
Like a newborn deer, the man lost his balance and staggered.
I looked at him with a cold face and muttered.
“You can’t please any woman with that fragile body, so get rid of your illusions, Sir.”
Then I smiled brightly in response to his bewildered face.
“Please just go away.”
‘Before I burn all the hair on your head.’
If I borrow the power of Um, I think I could even burn the root of his hair.
It was at that time when I was seriously considering whether or not to curse this man of baldness for the peaceful enjoyment of the women who participated in today’s banquet.
‘Something’ slammed into the man’s back as he stepped forward in shock.
It was another tall man, one head taller than the pesky jerk, and one who seemed as strong as a huge fortress wall.
Black hair as if it would absorb the light of the whole world and engulf it in black.
His black mask hid a handsome face, but did not hide a sharp and masculine jawline.
Those red eyes inside—
They were chillingly cold, and were stuck on one spot.
The impudent hand holding my wrist.
“……!!! S-S-Sorry!”
At that moment, the annoying man seemed to have realized.
Who was the person he bumped into?
“P-Please spare me, Y-Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
‘You’re wearing a mask, but it doesn’t cover anything at all, Sisl.’
‘…It’s too Sislin?!’
There was no point in wearing a mask like this.
In the first place, there was only one man with such a physique, so he stood out even in the crowd.
But more than that, the man was begging for his life though Sislin didn’t say anything.
Just by seeing Sislin’s reaction, he guessed who I was.
‘How did the rumors of Sisl and I spread in the empire?’
I couldn’t guess, but it was certain that new rumors would spread. Something like, ‘I grabbed her wrist and the crown prince had eyes that looked as if he was going to kill me.’
The red eyes, which were slightly out of focus, were looking at the man as if glancing down at a bug.
It was so insignificant that it seemed like he was intent on killing him by just squeezing him with his thumb.
I thought there was going to be bloodshed in the banquet hall, so I stepped forward.
“I’ll forgive you, leave the banquet hall and don’t flirt like that again.”
“Yes, yes!”
“Just go.”
As the Goddess of Salvation said, the man shook his head vigorously and disappeared at the speed of light.
‘Whew.’
I saved a person.
“Can I have the next dance with Mr. Anonymous Black Mask?”
I held out my hand first. Asking for a dance was practically something a lady rarely did.
But actually, if there was a gentleman the lady wanted, there was nothing stopping her from expressing it.
Especially on a secretive day like tonight.
Sislin briefly glanced at his aide, Owin, who stood a few steps behind.
Owin nodded and disappeared from his spot like the wind, chasing after the man before.
Unlike Duchess Annette, he was well aware that his master had no such thing as ‘forgiveness’.
Especially for things regarding her.
Annette occupied the entirety of Sislin’s priorities, and there was no compromise in protecting her.
Of course, Annette didn’t need to know what he was going to do.
To her, who was very careful, Sislin hid his cruel side and showed only the sweetest thing as much as possible.
It would probably be like that for the rest of his life.
A little deceitful, pretentious, but at the same time, afraid that she would be afraid of him; that was his lifelong thirst for her heart.
“You chose me tonight.”
He took her little hand and willingly bent his broad back like a beast; the voice whispering in her ear was sweet.
I felt my face heat up.
Even if others said the same thing, what this man did always felt different.
“…Not if I choose to dance once.”
The lips under the black mask rose nicely.
“Please choose me if I’m good at dancing. Lady.”
In line with the concept of the night, the gentler-than-usual respectful words made the mood strange.
My heart was itchy.
He embraced my thin waist with hands as large and rough as the paws of a beast. Those hands were strong enough to crush if he applied strength.
The whispers in my ear were like from a provocative slave in a posture of obedience.
“You can check out what else I can do well.”
Thanks to the design of the dress, the fine man’s hot fingers swept my back delicately, as if engraving his fingerprints.
“…….”
My heart raced.
But it wasn’t because I felt fear like before.
The fear dissipated, and the pounding of the heart suddenly turned into a strong attraction and affection for him.
A person who held his heart out, always showing me how unwavering it was.
My strong fence.
A person who overcame a lot of pain, crawled to me, and hugged me tenderly.
The words of ‘I love you’, he was someone who tells me how he really feels.
‘I like him.’
We hugged each other and danced.
Until everything in the noisy and crowded banquet hall was erased, and only the two of us were left.
━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━
The last waltz was very long. More than enough for Kyle to find Annette.
“Ann…”
As he was about to ask her for the last dance, Kyle found a man standing next to her.
It was Sislin.
Annette asked Sislin for a final dance, and the two soon began to dance affectionately.
Kyle’s eyes followed Annette.
A sweet smile.
The way her cheeks blushed shyly.
Those eyes filled with affection…
Kyle had been around Annette all her life, seeing her many expressions, but it was the first time he had seen such a face.
At that moment, he could clearly tell.
—Where is her heart headed now?
“…….”
Kyle, who had always watched her carefully and alertly, eventually realized her love before Annette herself.
Ame: :”) Kyle is an absolute sweetheart. His reaction contrasted soooo much with Heinrich’s, but y’know, one got parental love and guidance, the other didn’t…
And Sislin my boy, you might have gotten the girl, but it’s about time you deliver some amazing and sweet/sexy scenes like in volume 1!!!
Tassie: ANNETTE FINALLY STOPPED BEING IN DENIAL!!!!!!! IT TOOK 138 CHAPTERS BUT WE FINALLY GOT HERE!!!! Poor Kyle, one of the best ML’s I’ve ever seen but unfortunately Annette isn’t your FL ;-; I really hope this author gives everyone a happy ending ;-;
Every time Sislin is here, I feel like the temperature just goes higher #godwhenisitmyturn