About almost an hour later, Argus who was worried about how Rhea would be doing, peeked a glance at her while talking to other nobles. He was surprised to find her to be the center of attention and quite popular. He didn't expect her to mingle so quickly. When Rhea observed someone's gaze upon her, she glances up to look at the familiar hazel golden orbs and as a form of assurance gives him a thumb up that she has got it all handled. And this was true.
Within a few minutes of talking Rhea grasped the secret knowledge of how to handle these women. All the ladies were quite impressed with her and the crowd around her started to spread more and more.
There were even a few suitors who approached to dance with her, however, she found a way to get rid of them as well. She would simply state that she won't dance with anyone other than her partner and when they would turn to look at the said person, Argus, who was oblivious to what was going on, would instinctively glare at them. All he knew was that when those men approached her, it irritated him. It made him even angrier when she would smile and say something back to them. After which when they would turn to look at him, he would in his mind tell them to scram. Oblivious to him, it would work and he felt relieved when after a while they stopped approaching Rhea.
Meanwhile, on the other hand, Rhea tried her best to divert the conversation to find out who stole the gem, however, they were more interested in her and Argus's relationship. She didn't know how to respond. If she claimed they were only acquaintances, bad rumors would spread. Which although she didn't pay attention to it, she knew this would make them mistrust her and think of her as a not-so-good woman.
Moreover, she didn't want Argus to be caught him in such weird rumors as well. However, she weighed both options. Either way, they both were going to get caught up in any kind of rumors. The moment they both first stepped into this hall together, they were already the center of gossips hence there is nothing she could do now than to use it to her advantage. Sorry, Argus. She inwardly apologized to the man who stood quite far from her.
"How long has it been going on?"
Lady Helen, the one whom Arthur told her to look out for, prompted her to tell everyone the duration of Argus's and Rhea's relationship which did not exist. But they don't need to know about that for now, Rhea thought to herself and retorted,
"Well, I wouldn't say it has been that long..."
"Oh! Then it's true!"
"Oh, my lord!"
"You have to tell us more!"
Rhea then smiled, proud at herself for gaining their attention, especially Lady Helen's.
"Of course."
Rhea used the technique of sharing. She shared her secrets in return the ladies shared theirs. It was a wonderful and innovative idea to get closer to one another and find out who has the gem. Of course, it was even more wonderful seeing as how Rhea's secrets were all a lie. It is no doubt that many of the ladies present amongst them must have also faked their words, however, it was quite easy for Rhea to distinguish between their lies and truth.
Before long, she deduced that it wasn't Lady Helen who took the gem but in fact, her lady in waiting Sarah and her husband Gavin stole it, unknown to Lady Helen.
All she now needed to do was to find where it was hidden. The reason why this gem was important was not because of its importance as a jewel but rather in fact it was a key to the holy hidden treasure that only the Emperor of this Empire knows of and has seen. Hence their reasons for stealing it are not something to worry about.
While chatting, she observed Lady Sarah take her leave to go to the separate parlor rooms opened for most women to fix their makeup or clothes or even rest. Most of them were occupied to have private meetings as well.
Following her secretly, she took her leave while keeping herself at a sufficient distance enough that did not make her noticeable.
She was still following her when suddenly another sight blocks her view just as Lady Sarah enters one of those parlors.
It was Marquis Leander, Lydia's father.
"It's a surprise to see you here, Lady Rhea. I didn't expect you would be coming here."
"Ar....Duke Argus invited me. I came with him as his partner."
"I noticed. If I knew you were coming, I would've pressed Lydia more on coming here. She told me she would be quite bored here and didn't want to come. I'm surprised she didn't know you were coming."
"...."
Rhea blinks in surprise. He asked her to come but she refused? That's the opposite of what Lydia told her. It means one of them must be lying. As far as she knows, Marquis is not a person that lies. And what would he even gain by hiding the truth? Whereas Lydia, she's her dear friend. Why would she lie to her? Rhea was perplexed. Whom should she believe? She decided to ask Lydia about it later on. It's better to talk straight away to the person instead of dwelling over it and creating more misunderstandings. For now, she decided to pretend to be oblivious and go along with it.
"Is that so? I'm afraid it was all too sudden and decided at the last moment to come here which is why I couldn't inform her about my arrival. I thought that she shall naturally come here with you hence I was looking forward to seeing her tonight. It's such a pity."
"Ah yes, it is such a pity. Are you enjoying the event so far?"
"It is a pleasant evening so far."
"I'm glad. With all that happened to your family, I was worried that you all will not get a chance to relax and have fun. It's good you decided to come here. Please, enjoy yourself to the fullest."
"Thank you, I am planning to. I hope you have a good time as well."
He gives a gentle smile, politely nods, and then takes his leave. While she quickly rushes to the side hallway to go after Lady Sarah. When she stood in front of the room where she entered before, she pondered over if she should go inside or head back and tell Argus about it. She glance back into the ballroom, where she couldn't find Argus. Just where is he when she needs him? She recalls the conversation she had earlier regarding him forbidding her to go after getting the gem. However, the thought that she is just going to listen in to the conversations, made her open the door.
In her mind, she had created a plan. Since it was a public event and such rooms were open to the public, if they are all inside, then she can apologize and say that she'll go to another room.
Even so, for some reason when she could not hear any voices from inside, she had a feeling that they were not inside. As if her feelings were right on the mark, when she opened the door, she was met with an empty room.
Then her eyes quickly darted to another door. Usually, a parlor room was a single living room with mirrors and a dressing area. However, some rooms had a dining room in them which most people utilized to have private business dealings or playing poker.
Rhea quietly, sneakily tip-toed and eves dropped, to hear two unfamiliar and one familiar noise. The known one belonged to Lady Sarah while one of them, which she assumed belonged to her husband, and the third one was a middle-aged man's voice, that she tried hard but failed to recognize.
She was about to properly listen in to their conversations when the footsteps became louder and nearer and suddenly someone grabbed and turn the handle of the door.
Instantly, Rhea pulled back and looked around a place to hide. She was too far away from the door to leave the room and too near to this door to hide behind things. The only place nearby was the balcony door.
It was a small balcony with merely a space for two to three people to stand. She holds her breath as she hears footsteps and voices,
"What do you mean the duke is after us?"
"His men are checking into our backgrounds."
"That's troublesome. What do we do?"
"Not to worry, I've turned the suspicion to Lady Helen."
"But wouldn't that eventually lead them to go after me? I'm her lady in waiting after all."
"If it comes to that, then rest assured. Your background is as clear as a white paper. They will soon move on from investigating you."
"I do hope so."
"What about the gem then? Where do we hide it? We can't keep it with us forever."
"Did you bring it?"
"Of course."
"Kyle and the others have already sneaked out to use it to get the sacred relic. We are to meet them after a while behind the waterfall."
"Splendid!"
"I can't wait to get my eyes and hands upon that sacred relic."
"It is said to possess divine powers, I wonder what happens to the one that will touch it."
"From what the records say, the one who possesses it will be granted and blessed with endless fortune and fame along with good luck."
"Our hiding days are over. After we get it, it's time to take over."
"Our forces are already ready."
"Now, let us wait for our victory."
Suddenly the balcony door opens, and the man who spoke these words, stare wide eyes at Rhea, who was so engrossed in listening in, that she didn't hear the footsteps approaching. And when she saw that man staring, she looked around, figuring out where to escape since they were currently on the second floor, beneath lay a concrete floor. The only option was the nearby tree that was a bit too far.
"What the-"
Before the guy could grab her, she pulls out the hidden knife, aiming at him.
"Back off!"
The guy takes a few steps back to stand a few feet ahead of Lady Sarah and her husband.
"Lady Rhea? What are you doing here?"
The shock was apparent on Lady Sarah's face.
Rhea without answering throws her knife straight at them. While they got busy with ducking and saving themselves from being cut, Rhea takes this opportunity to jump at the tree.
However since it was a bit far, she barely manages to catch one of the weak thin branches, that breaks due to her weight and she ends up falling until she holds on to another branch. This one is stronger than the one before. And using that, she was able to climb down the floor. Although in the end, she did end up stepping on her dress and slipping.
Fortunately for her, there were a few scraps here and there that includes a light bruise on her elbow, scratches on her hands and arms, and a small scratch on her cheek. Her hair was disheveled.
But she paid no heed to it. For now, her appearance was scarcely of importance. She shot one glance at the three people who were glaring at her and then disappearing. Possibly to catch her.
Knowing that she then runs. Her first course of action was to find Argus and tell him the details. He might know of the place where they took the gem and from there they could find it.
When she is about to enter the ballroom, her eyes meet with the three people from before. Instantly, she hides behind the table lined with beverages and food. Staying down, she looks around to find Argus until she locates him quite near to her and walks quite fast towards him.
Argus who was also looking around for Rhea gets surprised to see her appear so suddenly in front of him and even more surprised to see the state she was in.
"Rhea?"
"Argus!"
Speaking at the same time, Rhea takes a deep breath after all the running she did.
"We need to talk."
"What happened? Why are you like this?"
Argus reached out his hand to take the few leaves on her hair when she suddenly grabs his hand and pulls him.
"But nowhere. They are after us. Come on!"
"They? Who? What?"
Argus who was confused still rushed with Rhea who pulled him away after seeing how those three noticed her.
They rush to the hallway and then hide in one of the alleys. When they see those three go the other way, that's when Rhea turns out to explain the situation to Argus.
"What's going on, Rhea? I told you to be careful. Why are you like this?"
He softly asks while taking the leaves off her hair. One of his hands was gently holding her arm that was scratched and slightly bruised.
"I..uh...jumped down the balcony and fell off a tree..."
Argus's expression turns cold, his eyes narrowing. Rhea knew that he was thinking how that was not being careful.
"Lady Rhea are you there?"
Suddenly a voice calls out to them. Rhea didn't want anyone to look at her in this state. Recognizing this, Argus pulls her into a hug by wrapping his arm around her, while her back was at the woman who just called out to her. Rhea's face was pressed against his chest and this caused heat to flow to her face. Feeling flushed and her heartbeat rising, she deduced it was either due to all the running she did or the fact that Argus was hugging her. Something kept telling her it was due to the latter.
"Oh my.."
The lady said upon seeing the two of them embraced in a hug.
"Is there something wrong?"
Argus spoke coldly like he always did to strangers.
"Not at all. It was just that Lady Sarah was looking for Lady Rhea. I didn't know she was with you, my Duke. I apologize for disturbing you."
"It's fine. If anyone's looking for her, just tell them she's with me."
"Yes, my Duke."
It was then when she walked away from that Argus, stepped away from Rhea, and let her go.
"Now would you care to explain what happened?"
"....of course."
Rhea's cheeks were still tinted red and she couldn't stop thinking about what happened a moment ago. Her heart was beating like crazy, she wished it would stop since she was scared Argus would hear it, even if she knew it was impossible. But the way her chest felt like it would explode, she knew what she was feeling couldn't be stopped. She had realized this on a lot of occasions before, but never paid attention to it and tried her best to ignore it, however, she knows that she can't stop her feelings and the fact that she liked Argus.