Became the Escort Knight of the Villain in the Romance Novel

19 – Under the Crystal Palace (3)

“Does it look good?”

He frowned as he pulled the Jabo from his neck.

Unlike plain clothes, this close-fitting fit is uncomfortable, but the fact that I have to go to the prom after wearing this clothes bothered me.

In my mind, I want to wake up after fainting for a day, but won’t the world go by that easily?

As I looked at Lopena, loosening her uncomfortable collar slightly, Lopena pursed her lips as she fixed her gaze on me with her slightly dazed face.

“…Who are you?”

“Why is it strange?”

“No…Rather than that, he is very different from the knights I know.”

What the hell was the me you knew? However, I soon realized that it was not meant in a bad way.

What was contained in her blank stare was admiration.

Although the slightly reddened cheeks were a bit awkward, I smiled and stood in front of Lopena.

“Isn’t that strange?”

“Not at all.”

I don’t know how Irene will dress her, but I hope she doesn’t kneel at least.

Still, isn’t it a ball with the person I liked the most in the novel?

This is the last time I could have never had an opportunity like this, so I wanted to show the best I could.

I also practiced dancing just in case you didn’t know.

No matter how angry Lize was, she scolded me for asking why I couldn’t dance while using a sword well.

Her feet still throbbed from Rize’s stepping on her, so it took a while for her to laugh bitterly. After she had sorted out her clothes, Pena coughed and left me.

“How about dressing up a bit? It’s a lot better than I thought.”

“If you do this every day, you will die of frustration. You won’t even be wearing clothes after today anyway.”

Ever since she became an escort knight, as she removed her sword, which had always been hanging from her waist, somehow she felt empty.

To think that he had to play the role of a son of a count rather than an escort knight. Will I be able to do well?

After dressing up like that, I opened the door and came out. Everyone outside the door looked at me and exclaimed.

“Oh, Evan. Are you Evan?”

“…Does it make such a difference?”

“You’re usually fine, but you wouldn’t recognize me because I’m dressed up like this? Now it will be difficult for me to hand over the letters one by one. The young ladies’ eyes will return.”

Well, even now, that sticky courtship is a little burdensome.

I laughed at Rize, who was looking at me with admiration for some reason, and then she patted me on the back and opened her mouth.

“This prom was held by the crown prince only in his name, so don’t be too burdened. Just do what the lady tells you to do and you’ll be fine. I don’t know why the young lady is taking you.”

“…Well, I’ll do well. Don’t worry too much. At least it won’t bother you.”

When I told her not to worry and smiled lightly, Rize suddenly flinched, then narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth.

“Don’t go there and smile at everyone. It would be better to just keep an expressionless face and always keep the corners of your mouth level. Keep it firmly in her chest. I’m saying this because I’m worried about you. It will be hard for you to be bullied by other women too.”

“Okay. Can I just keep my mouth shut?”

I don’t know why she told me not to laugh, but since she was the daughter of a viscount, she probably had been active in the social world for a longer time than Irene.

If she’s saying something like that, you should listen carefully. Long after hearing about her ball from Rize, she felt a familiar presence from far away and raised her head.

“Why is that?”

“I think the young lady has finished her preparations. I think we should go.”

The sound I just heard was definitely coming from the room where Irene was.

When I laughed awkwardly and said that I had to go now, Rize waved her hand at me saying, “Goodbye.”

“Um.”

Why am I so nervous? Every time I took a step in the direction of Irene, I heard a heartbeat as loud as the sound of that footstep.

Her strange tension wraps around her body and she frowns and lets out a heavy breath.

How long had she been so nervous? Even when she faced the assassins, she wasn’t so nervous.

When Lopena, who was standing next to her, asked if she was okay, I smiled lightly and nodded her head. You can’t look ugly.

“Looks like you’re all set.”

Soon, the voice in my ear made me slowly turn my gaze towards Lopena.

The coldness of the voice I heard told me that the woman in front of me was Irene.

As soon as my gaze reached Irene, I involuntarily exclaimed.

Under the chandelier with countless candles flickering, I could see the most brilliant light in the brightly lit hallway.

The ultramarine blue dress was not hung with fancy accessories, but the look that looked gorgeous like jewels must have been her inborn nature.

Her looks that arouse admiration from anyone who wears any clothes,

Her current appearance seemed enough to dazzle people, enough to forget the chill in her dark blue eyes for a moment.

“What are you staring at so blankly?”

“…It suits you well.”

I couldn’t take my eyes off her and opened my mouth with difficulty. Irene looked at me and opened her mouth calmly.

“You look good too. You have prepared quite a bit.”

“I prepared it a few days ago. And dance practice-“

“Lopena.”

As I shot Pena with a chattering beside her, he gave her a small nod with a hee hee laugh.

She wouldn’t have to go so far as to say that she practiced dancing.

However, Irene just passed me by with an insensitive expression, probably not paying much attention to such things.

As she passed by her side, Lopena, who glanced at her, opened her mouth to her.

“Come on. Don’t be too nervous.”

“…Yeah, thanks to you, I think I’ve relaxed a bit.”

Whoa.

After letting out a sigh, her stuffy chest seemed to get better, albeit a little.

Looking out of her window, only the pervasive darkness is visible, and the stars occasionally shining through, she moves toward Irene.

Is it my mistake to think that this night will be particularly long?

#

Duck-

Because it was a carriage in the Middle Ages, it was quite difficult for me, who was used to cars, to get used to it.

Especially if the person in front of me is someone I have to serve.

It has been a long time since my face has been whitewashed by the poorly maintained roads, the occasional kick of a wheel, and the rattling wagon as if an earthquake had occurred when the horses ran amok.

“…Are you okay?”

How bad she looked, Irene would ask.

She just smiled bitterly at the fact that there was even a little bit of worry in her cold gaze.

Even with a superhuman body enhanced with mana, it was very difficult to adapt to this environment.

“It’s okay.”

“If you’re not feeling well, you can stop the carriage for a while.”

“Then it’s not too late for the prom to start. You don’t have to worry.”

When I tried to show her a smile, Irene stared at me for a while, then nodded her head coolly and looked away from her.

There was definitely something in her gaze that she had just looked at, so somehow it felt awkward.

I wonder if I became close enough to Irene to receive her concern.

Three months have passed since I became her escort knight.

During that time, if I asked her if she was close to me, I would nod her head, but if I asked if she had opened her heart, I could shake her head firmly.

Although it seemed like they were getting closer, Irene was the one who coldly drew a line between her when she approached.

Whenever I see her, who always harbors an unknown darkness within her, her mind seems to become complicated naturally.

When will the day come to hear the story hidden inside? If you fully know her heart, wouldn’t it help prevent the tragedy she will face after her?

The reason why she was later called a villainess must be because of her irreversibly broken heart.

The reason why she cared for her family, Jimin, and was kind to her own people, even ruined her own family after her and persecuted her heroine, must have been because of her twisted mind. .

It’s still okay, but if time goes by without opening her heart like this, she will face the tragedy I know.

Perhaps even if I die, I will not die in peace.

Her eyes were on the carriage window.

What do you see outside of a quiet street, an empty building with nothing to do with it?

I followed her and fixed her eyes on her window, and saw the scenery outside passing by as fast as her horse was moving.

The Duchy of Yuris, like one of the leading territories in the empire, came into sight.

Perhaps the tallest building among them is the duke’s residence from which we started.

It was a dark city, but in the midst of it, a building that was shining brightly stood out.

I wonder if she was looking at that?

Or is it that he is looking at the sky, which is still standing still even though it is moving at such a high speed?

That incomprehensible gaze was still looking outside, so I just blankly stared outside the window and kept my mouth shut.

It took a long time to do so, and then I began to see something that was shining brilliantly in the distance at night.

A palace high in the sky, high enough to make you think you might reach the moon.

The palace, where the light shimmers alone as if carved out of stars, was like a light source.

Crystal Palace. A palace that is said to have been created by the founding emperor of the empire with the light of the world.

I couldn’t dare compare its majesty to that of the duke’s residence, so I just stared blankly at the palace and admired it.

Under the Crystal Palace, I could see numerous carriages and people standing next to them, as if they had already arrived. Probably nobles.

However, when I realized that fact, the tension I had forgotten about started to come in.

To be stuck among so many people,

The urge to avoid this place right now seemed to creep in, so I shook my head and brushed off my thoughts.

Duck-

As soon as the vibrations that kept the wagon shaking stopped, I realized that I had reached the Crystal Palace.

Until recently, it was difficult to even sit in the carriage, but why do I hate to get off it so much now?

When I got off the carriage, there were countless eyes on me.

The pattern of the shield of thorns engraved on the wagon, because that was the symbol of Julis only in this empire.

It was as if everyone in the world was paying attention to me.

However, as if nothing had happened, she reached out her hand toward Irene, who was still sitting in her carriage.

Now I am her partner. The thought that she would never be able to show her funny side to her for choosing me over her fiancé made her nervous, albeit slightly.

Very naturally, she held my hand lightly, and as soon as she got off her carriage, her gaze began to sharpen even more.

The one who is with Juris’ cow, the one who escorts her even though he is not her fiancé.

The gaze directed at me was sticky, as if licking every nook and cranny of my body. Naturally, this situation was just inconvenient.

Is it dissatisfaction that an unauthorized person came to this crystal palace?

There was no kindness in that gaze directed at me.

Suspicion and wary of the person who came with Irene instead of her fiancé.

As I frowned amid not one, but dozens of gazes, a cool voice came from my ear.

“Clear those eyes.”

In a tone so cold that one would think the surroundings would freeze in an instant, and the thorns mixed in with those words, the gaze directed at me disappeared in an instant.

And only then did I realize that I had lost her hand. Maybe it was because I was nervous without realizing it, but the corners of my mouth trembled.

“Evan.”

Irene looked at me and opened her mouth. There was no more chill or thorn in that voice.

How did she see my expression to her? What I could see in my shimmering blue eyes was a faint concern for me, so I licked my lips while staring at Irene blankly.

“…Sorry. Because I was nervous without knowing-“

“Son, I missed it.”

She didn’t ask anything. I didn’t bruise the ugliness I showed in the slightest. She just looked at me with that insensitive face and held out her hand in silence.

I stared blankly at her gloved hand in front of my eyes, then carefully grasped her delicate hand.

It was a small hand indeed. A hand that is small enough to be invisible as soon as you lightly squeeze it.

But just by squeezing that little hand, it felt like the tension that filled her body melted away in an instant.

She silently smiled at her as if she was standing still in her place as if she was waiting for her expression to clear up.