Time seemed to stand still.
Duke Kellan's words were like a huge rock thrown into a calm lake, stirring up silent waves among the surrounding crowd. Everyone was stunned, including Crown Prince Siron and my "good sister" Celine.
Interrupting the Crown prince's invitation and directly making demands? This is simply unheard-of rudeness and provocation! But the speaker was Kailan Vance, the ruler of the North and the most powerful military pillar of the kingdom. There are even rumors that he has collateral blood from the royal family of the previous dynasty. He has the right to be arrogant.
Thuren's expression instantly turned a little gloomy, but he quickly regained control. The royal upbringing did not allow him to lose his composure in public, especially when facing Kelan, he always had a sense of wariness.
He forced a smile, but the smile did not reach his eyes: "Of course, Your Excellency." It seems that even our stern northern lions can't resist Miss Elana's charm." What he said seemed like a joke, but in fact, he was looking for a way out for himself and secretly mocking Kailan's abruptness.
He withdrew the hand he had reached out to me, gave me a complicated look in his eyes, with a hint of displeasure from having been snatched and a deeper curiosity.
Celine was standing by, her smile almost unbearable. Her meticulously designed plan to draw Selen's attention to me (so as to later set off her "understanding") was completely disrupted, and the focus was entirely on her most despised, taciturn sister? Or was he noticed by someone like Duke Kellan? Her nails were almost pinching into her palm.
And I, my heart was pounding wildly in my chest, almost breaking my ribs.
All eyes were fixed on me. Surprise, jealousy, curiosity, exploration...
Duke Kelland no longer looked at Seron. His icy grey eyes fixed on me again, with an overwhelming pressure that could not be refused. He took a slight step forward and stretched out his hand. That was a hand belonging to a warrior, with distinct knuckles, strong and powerful, as if it could easily crush my phalanges.
I have no choice.
Refusing a duke's public invitation to dance, especially the Duke of Kelan, is a consequence that I, as the "duchess of Kelan", cannot bear. Not to mention, this is an excellent opportunity for me to get close to him and test him.
I took a deep breath and gently placed my fingertip on his warm palm. His palm immediately drew in, and with a firm yet not rough force, he grasped my hand, as if he had captured a bird that was destined to be inescapable.
"It is my pleasure, Your Excellency." I try to keep my voice as steady as possible.
He led me towards the center of the dance floor. The crowd, like Moses parting the sea, automatically made way for us. The music started at the right time, a gentle and elegant waltz.
His hand wrapped around my waist. Even through a layer of fabric, I could still feel the scorching heat and the strength contained in his palm. The distance between us was so close that I could smell the refreshing scent on him, a mixture of faint leather and fir scents, a cold and dangerous feeling.
We began to move along with the music. His dance steps were precise and full of control, leading me to follow involuntarily. I tried to maintain a superficial composure, but all the muscles in my body were tense, and every cell was screaming in alarm.
You just said... "Curious about my courage, Your Excellency?" I broke the silence first, raised my eyes and bravely met his scrutinizing gaze, "I don't understand what you mean." I have no commendable acts of bravery.
He looked down at me, his gaze as sharp as a falcon's, as if he were about to peel off the carefully disguised shell of mine.
"Really?" " His voice was deep and only the two of us could hear it clearly. "Well, wasn't it you, Miss Elana Viridian, who dared to look at me with that gaze just now in the shadow?" "
Sure enough, he noticed! And it precisely interpreted the provocation in my eyes rather than fear.
Which kind of look? I feigned ignorance and slightly turned my head. "I was just curiously looking at a well-known duke." If that offended you, I apologize.
A barely audible snort emerged from his throat, carrying a hint of mockery.
"Curious?" He repeated, his hand around my waist tightening slightly, pulling me a little closer to him. This action was filled with possessiveness and a sense of threat, causing my breathing to freeze suddenly. That doesn't seem like curiosity. That's more like... "Recognize. Even like, "he paused, his icy grey eyes tightly locking mine, and said word by word," Examine."
My back was instantly soaked with cold sweat. His intuition is terrifyingly sharp!
"Your Excellency, you are joking," I forced myself to give a slightly pale and weak smile. "How could I possibly 'examine' you?" Before today, I had never even spoken to you.
"Yeah." We've never spoken." He repeated my words, but his eyes grew even deeper. "But your eyes tell me that's not the case." It tells me that you know me. Or rather, you think you know me.
The music went on, our dance steps were smooth, but our conversation felt like walking on the tip of a knife.
"Perhaps..." In a moment of inspiration, I tried to steer his suspicion in a seemingly reasonable direction, "Perhaps it's because I've heard too many legends about you." The lion of the Northern Frontier, the sharp blade of the kingdom... These stories always make people have some fixed imaginations about the protagonists of the stories. I thought I would see a... A more aggressive warrior rather than an elegant dancer. So I took a couple more glances. That's all.
This is a clumsy explanation, but it's still better than admitting that I've been reborn.
Duke Kellan was silent for a few seconds, merely looking at me, his gaze as if it could Pierce through the soul.
"Legends always have an exaggerated element," he finally spoke again, his tone unpredictable. "But sometimes, legends are closer to the truth than what is shown on the surface." For instance, you may seem gentle and docile, but I can sense the scent of my own kind in you.
"Same kind?" " My heart gave a sudden jolt.
"Um." " His gaze swept over mine, where there lay an indelible hatred and a frozen flame. A kind of... Wounded and always ready to tear apart the threat of the trapped beast's aura.
His words were like a sharp arrow, precisely hitting the deepest secret in my heart! I could hardly control the expression on my face.
Just then, the music came to an end. He led me through an elegant spin, then with force from his arms, he slightly pulled me off the ground, completing a standard yet heart-pounding finish move.
Our bodies drew close again. His lips almost brushed past my earlobes, and with a cold yet clear voice that only I could hear, he dropped a real bomb.
"Besides, Miss Viridian," he whispered, his breath brushing past my earlobe, "the way you gaze at me reminds me of someone. A me many years ago... A executed woman."
Om --
My mind went blank. It seemed that all the blood in my body froze in an instant.
He remembers!
He must remember something, too!
Or perhaps he felt it! ?
Immense fear and shock seized me. My face turned deathly pale in an instant, and even my lips were trembling slightly. The music stopped. He let go of me and took a polite step back, as if the fatal whisper just now had been my illusion.
He looked at my uncontrollable loss of composure, and the look of inquiry and confusion in his eyes became even more intense.
"Thank you for your dance, miss." He said formulaic, his tone reverting to the previous coldness and hardness, "It..." "Very inspiring." "
Having said that, he nodded slightly, no longer looking at me, and turned around to leave the dance floor directly, leaving me standing alone in the same spot, as if frozen in place by a sudden snowstorm. All the noise and gazes around me became blurred and distant.
What did he know? How much exactly does he know?
Is that "execution" a coincidental metaphor or... The most terrifying verdict?
My path of revenge, from the very beginning, encountered a completely unexpected and extremely dangerous variable.