The Obsession of a Fallen Paladin

7. The Mask of the Perfect Holy Knight (1)

“I had no idea Daryl’s sister was such a beautiful lady. If I had known, I would have pestered him to introduce us sooner.”

The clichéd and cheesy comment made Kasha frown slightly as she nodded her head in greeting.

“What are you talking about? Don’t try to flirt with her.”

“Flirt? Really? Are you already on guard duty for your sister? By the way, shouldn’t you be heading over there?”

“What? What’s going on?”

Kasha pretended not to listen but perked up her ears.

“That Lady Margaret Yonder you secretly admire. She seems to be in some trouble right now.”

“What? What do you mean? Explain properly.”

Margaret Yonder. Hearing an unexpected name, Kasha froze.

At that moment, the musicians started playing, signaling the beginning of the dance.

Already?

Kasha’s eyebrows twitched.

No one had yet pulled Kasha onto the stage.

And now, this talk about Margaret Yonder—what was it all about?

Kasha tuned in more carefully to the conversation between the two men.

“She’s been dragged into the center.”

Baron Penilton’s son shrugged and pointed behind him.

“The center?”

Daryl and Kasha turned their heads to look where he was pointing.

Loud music, high laughter, and swirling colorful dresses.

In the middle of the ballroom, where many men and women were dancing in pairs, someone was standing still.

A pale blue dress. Brown hair.

“Lady Margaret!”

Daryl shouted, trembling.

Kasha almost shouted along with him.

Why are you standing there, Margaret Yonder?

‘There.’

The one person who had reached out to her with a white hand in a pale blue dress, amidst those who mocked the fallen Kasha like a caged beast, was Margaret Yonder.

And there she stood, becoming the beast in the cage.

* * *

Odette glided gracefully across the ballroom floor, holding hands with one of her handsome marquis followers.

With each step they took, she felt her mood improve.

Especially when they brushed past Margaret Yonder, who was being pushed around with her head hanging low in the center of the ballroom.

Of course, it would have been more satisfying if that Kasha or whatever her name was, had been in that spot instead.

Ba-bam.

The dance ended with a dramatic move.

Hearing the applause and cheers filling the hall, Odette glanced at Margaret.

Margaret was stumbling, trying to leave the stage.

‘How dare she.’

As Odette folded her arms and watched, her partner, the marquis’ son, quickly approached and pushed Margaret.

“Ow!”

Margaret fell ungracefully, her skirt flipping up to reveal her thin legs and worn petticoat.

Pfft.

Odette slightly covered her rising smirk with her fan.

‘How unsightly.’

Just as Odette was thinking this, feeling much better, a loud voice pierced through the crowd.

“Lady Margaret!”

Simultaneously, a slender figure appeared before Margaret and extended a white hand.

Odette’s eyes narrowed as she saw the owner of that hand.

‘Her again?’

Katiana Ruschino.

That bothersome and unpleasant woman was reaching out to Margaret.

“Stand up.”

An awkward and lifeless voice.

But her hand was directed precisely at Margaret, without any hesitation.

Margaret hesitated for a moment, then trembled as she took that hand.

Unable to contain her displeasure, Odette slowly lowered the fan that had been covering her face. As Kasha helped Margaret up, their eyes met directly.

‘How dare you ruin my fun?’

The smile disappeared from Odette’s face.

“Lady Margaret.”

At that moment, a large man with a pale face appeared through the crowd, calling out to Margaret. It was Daryl Ruschino of House Ruschino. He approached Margaret, visibly agitated.

“Are you alright? Who dared to-”

“Brother.”

It was Kasha who calmed the increasingly agitated Daryl.

“Lady Yonder seems quite shocked… Please help her to rest.”

“Oh, yes, of course. Lady Margaret, may I assist you? This way-”

Following Kasha’s instructions, Daryl supported Margaret, and the two slowly left the ballroom. Before leaving, Margaret looked at Kasha for a moment before lowering her head in resignation.

Once they were gone, only Odette and Kasha remained in the center of the ballroom.

Countless eyes, including those of Odette’s followers, were fixed on them.

Odette felt her improved mood plummet.

What was meant to be a small prank now made her look like the villain.

As Odette pondered how to retaliate, Kasha spoke up.

“You are truly, unchanging. You.”

“What did you say?”

Odette struggled to keep her expression from becoming harsh.

Kasha’s expression, as if she could see right through Odette, was infuriating.

“There are… two kinds of rulers in the world.”

“What nonsense are you spouting, Lady?”

Odette responded sharply, but Kasha continued as if she hadn’t heard.

“There are those who naturally command respect… without having to do anything, and those who must constantly trample others… to confirm their own position.”

Kasha’s eyes now roamed over Odette’s followers.

“Who can guarantee… that one day, it won’t be their turn… to be trampled?”

Despite her faltering speech, no one laughed at her. All the young people in the ballroom were listening to her.

Odette’s followers were wavering, influenced by Katiana Ruschino’s words.

Odette quickly stepped forward to change the atmosphere.

“Ah, Lady Ruschino. You speak so slowly, it’s hard to understand what you’re trying to say. How pitiful.”

Odette’s mockery was met with a few weak chuckles from her followers.

Annoyed by their reaction, Odette continued with a forced smile.

“The music has been paused for too long. We should start the next dance.”

She gestured to the orchestra and openly mocked Kasha.

“Oh dear. It seems you haven’t found a partner yet?”

At Odette’s signal, the surrounding nobles took a step back from Kasha. A circle formed around her once again, isolating her.

Kasha was once more completely alone.

‘In the past, I would have panicked and thought only of running away from this situation.’

Kasha thought.

It was strange. The looks of pity or contempt from others no longer hurt her.

‘You cannot hurt me. Only I can hurt myself.’

Once, due to ignorance and naivety, she had walked towards her own death.

But now, she was neither foolish nor naive.

She stood there proudly, facing them all.

Odette’s confident expression began to crack as she saw Kasha’s resolute face.

At that moment.

Thud, thud.

Unusually loud and clear footsteps echoed.

Kasha’s previously calm eyes wavered slightly. Simultaneously, a platinum-blond man emerged, commanding the crowd’s attention.

Leon Aranias.

Seeing him shine alone, Kasha felt overwhelmed with emotion.

Unlike at the temple before her return, Leon’s arms were still intact beneath his dazzling white knight’s uniform. His eyes, which had once been hollow, now sparkled like jewels.

Most of all, she was so glad and happy to see him alive that she almost smiled.

Leon was the only one who had shared her pain in her short life, and his helpless death had left an indelible scar on her.

‘Seeing you now, I realize I’ve been waiting for this moment more than I knew.’

Kasha muttered a confession to herself, knowing he couldn’t hear.

They had met only twice in her life, but he remained a deep scar in her heart.

Could she untangle the twisted threads of fate with him this time?

With her heart pounding, she waited for him to approach.

But she was not the only one waiting for him.

Odette, who had been waiting for him throughout the ball, was thrilled to see him finally appear.

She quickly adjusted her attire and signaled to her partner, who retreated a few steps with a disheartened look.

Meanwhile, Leon boldly stepped into the center of the ballroom. Odette, Kasha, and Leon stood facing each other, forming a triangle.

A palpable tension hung between them.

Odette mistook this tension as something between her and Leon. She smiled seductively and was about to speak.

But Leon’s voice rang out first, just a split second earlier.

“Do you not have a partner?”

Not towards Odette, but towards Katiana Ruschino.

Odette’s eyes widened in disbelief, doubting her own senses.

“…Yes.”

A beat late, Kasha responded to his question.

It felt as if time had stopped between the two of them. The people around them were enveloped in a feeling of being mere spectators.

Odette bit her lip until it bled, unable to comprehend the situation.

‘No wonder I felt uneasy the moment I first saw that girl.’

What irritated Odette the most was Kasha’s expression.

In a miraculous situation where Leon Aranias had asked her to dance, Kasha dared to maintain a calm demeanor.

As if she had expected this all along.

Odette started to tremble with rage.

How dare he, at her party, extend his hand to another woman—especially Katiana Ruschino, an utterly inferior creature.

“Then, would you like to dance with me?”

Ignoring Odette’s seething anger, Leon asked again in a low voice.

A calm, cold voice. Free of any personal motive.

Those who heard it realized something.

Leon was issuing a warning to everyone present.

To those who had discarded noble decency and oppressed the weak.

Some people, finally understanding the warning, blushed in shame.

But for Odette, it had the opposite effect.

She grew even angrier, realizing she had become the perpetrator in front of Leon.

Odette’s mask completely shattered. With a fierce and savage expression, she glared directly at Kasha.

“That’s,”

Just then, Kasha slowly opened her mouth again.

“I refuse.”