Where had Abella gone? Dietrich had been trying to find her since forever – having his fiancée clinging to his arm would ward off all the young noble ladies trying to catch his attention in an instant. She always seemed to be where he was – so where was she now that he needed her?

“Please dance with me, Your Highness the Crown Prince!” a brown-haired girl – Lady Eloise, if Dietrich remembered correctly – asked eagerly, excitement and nervousness shining in her eyes.

“I would rather not,” Dietrich tried not to frown as he swiftly brushed past her, barely sparing her a glance, his eyes busy scouring the dance floor and sidelines as he attempted to locate Abella.

“Your Highness! You didn’t tell me that you were going to get engaged!” Lady Mariella, the daughter of a Marquiss who spoiled her rotten, pouted, clinging to his arm. He shook her off and said icily, “do I have to tell you every detail of my life, Lady Mariella? Also, when did I give you permission to speak informally to me?”

Lady Mariella couldn’t help but shudder under the icy glare, and she stammered, “y-you did not.”

“Exactly. So do not speak informally to me,” Dietrich scowled, unable to hold it back anymore, whipping around and giving up on finding Abella.

“Your Highness! Please dance with me!” some other girl called out.

“No! Dance with me first! Just one dance and I will never ask for one again!” some other girl squealed. Dietrich was getting a headache already. His nose was swarmed by the scent of far too much perfume coming from all the crowd of young noble ladies following him eagerly, and he scowled in disgust. Even when he had a fiancée – despite him not loving her – they still dared to approach him? Frustrated, Dietrich had enough and quickly made a dash for the closest terrace he could find. He flung open the doors to the terrace and quickly closed them again once he got through.

“Don’t you know it isn’t polite to burst into a terrace that someone else is currently occupying?” Dietrich looked up and found Abella’s unwavering purple gaze that seemed to glow in the darkness of night. She was watching him while leaning back against the terrace railing.

“I had to escape from the Ball for a moment,” Dietrich lied, panting as he locked the terrace door behind him, hearing faint thuds as the nobles ladies yelled for him to open the door.

“Liar,” Abella scoffed softly. “Do you really think I can’t hear the shrill yells and squeals from out here?”

“Well I had to escape to somewhere.” Dietrich murmured, taking a moment to catch his breath.

“Alright then. Since it seems that you don’t quite like your fan club, I will let you stay here momentarily until the excitement dies down.” Abella said. Dietrich sighed and leaned against the stone railing next to her.

“Are you not a big fan of Balls either?” Dietrich asked.

“I am not.” Abella paused for a moment. “They bring back bad memories.” She added, softer. Dietrich wasn’t sure how to reply to her statement, and so he stayed silent, looking up at the night sky. The wind blew softly, and Dietrich could smell the faint scent of lavenders and roses from Abella. No perfume, no artificial oils – she still smelt like a beautiful field of flowers.

“You did not believe me about the Black Lions, did you?” Abella said suddenly.

“I did not,” Dietrich replied, feeling slightly guilty, though he didn’t really know why.

“Well, all is well that ends well.” Abella said.

“What is that meant to mean?” Dietrich asked, slightly curious.

“You need not worry about it anymore. It has been resolved, and the Black Lions will survive.” Abella replied factually. Dietrich was confused – did she mean that she had resolved it herself? But she couldn’t possibly have been so intelligent as to resolve such a large-scale problem such as a rebellion by herself. So if she hadn’t actually resolved it… she had been lying from the start? Stuck in his own suspicions of the mysterious girl he was unwilfully engaged to, he remained silent.

“It should have calmed down back in the ballroom by now,” Abella said after a while, drawing Dietrich from his train of thoughts. “You can return.”

“What about you?” Dietrich asked.

“I will remain out here,” Abella said, closing her eyes. “I dislike the loudness of the ballroom.” Dietrich glanced at Abella as she opened her eyes again, a faint trace of pain flickering through her purple eyes. He blinked, and then it was gone. Had he just imagined it? Dietrich shook his head and said, “alright. I will return to the ballroom.”

He turned to leave, then paused at the door. It was quite cold – wouldn’t she be cold? As she had said before though, she didn’t catch colds. Dietrich didn’t quite believe her when she said that, and he still didn’t. Dietrich took off his coat and slipped it around Abella’s shoulders. Abella looked at him in surprise, then smiled. The smile set off fireworks inside Dietrich’s head – it wasn’t one of her pretend smiles that she used to appease people around her. It was a sincere smile of happiness, and somehow, he felt his heart fluttering. It was as though he could hear his heartbeat ringing in his ears, loud and quick. He had never felt anything like it before, but it felt… good. It brought him satisfaction and happiness to see her sincere smile, for a reason he had yet to find out.

Turning away from her, he said, “I will leave first.”

He opened the doors to the ballroom and quickly dashed out, covering his face with a hand. Even when he was away from her, his heart was still beating wildly. The image of her smile kept replaying in his head over and over again – why couldn’t he get her off his mind? Some nobles ladies began swarming around him, but he quickly brushed past them, walking at such a pace that they couldn’t keep up. He went down the corridors of the Imperial Palace and burst into a random room, sitting on a couch with his head in his hands. His face still felt hot and flushed – had she cast some sort of spell on him? She was a magician, after all, but… he had a feeling that it wasn’t magic.

It was something else. Something far more complicated that he couldn’t quite place his finger on. All he knew was that he wanted to see her dazzling smile again.