Novel Bin Chapter 15
Evanessa paused as she was heading to the terrace after demolishing a pudding in seconds.
‘Hm?’
It was a message that made her suspicious of her own hearing. Although she quickly searched her surroundings, she couldn’t see where Daniel had gone off to.
‘Could it have been a system error?’
Tilting her head questioningly, Evanessa arrived in front of the terrace door. Just then, the orchestra switched to performing a minuet. Stealing a glance behind her, she saw the Crown Prince and Lady Beatrice give their greetings to the Imperial Couple and then move to the middle of the banquet floor, hand-in-hand.
Although it was true that as the banquet’s guest of honor, the Saintess and her partner should have the first dance, thankfully the church had a rule that she was to keep her distance from all men, except her escort, and avoid physical contact.
Being proficient in etiquette and being able to dance well were two entirely different matters. Evanessa not only lacked stamina, but her flexibility was also of a deplorable standard.
‘On top of that, I don’t know anything about this world’s dances.’
Evanessa quietly opened the door to the terrace. In order to not only avoid the suspicious main story, but also the Crown Prince, she had to run away before this dance ended.
According to the game’s storyline, the Crown Prince would approach Evanessa once the dance was over and get into an argument with her. Unlike the current pacifistic Emperor, the Crown Prince was aligned with the Royalist Faction, which sought to increase imperial authority.
‘In other words, he views the church as an eyesore.’
He had nothing good to say to the Saintess, who could be said to act as a mascot of the church. Every time she progressed with the Prince’s storyline, he would approach the Saintess to make a fool out of her; thus, tarnishing the image of the church in the eyes of the surrounding nobility.
‘Although the church’s image no longer matters to me.’
She wasn’t confident that she would be able to meekly give in, as the original Evanessa had done after being subjected to the Crown Prince’s argument. She also declined to be mocked in front of this many people.
Evanessa, who entered the terrace without any disturbances, immediately closed the door and shut the curtains carefully, so that all the light from inside was blocked. This was a signal that someone was inside who did not wish to be disturbed.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Evanessa looked down at her feet that had started throbbing painfully since a while ago. Her heels were hurting because of the unfamiliar pumps she was wearing.
Placing her dish onto a nearby table, Evanessa sat down and took off her shoes without any hesitation. After rolling her shoulders that were stiff from tension, she took a short stretch.
Suddenly, she felt the presence of a person from the terrace balustrade. Evanessa’s face stilled as she belatedly noticed a shadow being cast by the light.
Only
“This is really… I have to say, every time I see you, you prove to be so interesting.”
The newcomer who was cloaked in darkness stepped out into the moonlight.
***
Even as the Crown Prince Yurisian was dancing with Lady Beatrice, his sharp eyes scanned his surroundings. The saintess who was usually hovering around him was nowhere to be seen today.
‘What kind of scheme is she up to now?’
From the moment he stepped into the banquet, something felt off. For her to take off the veil that she had worn with more care than she gave her own life, and thus reveal her bare face. If it wasn’t for the whispers in his surroundings, he wouldn’t have believed it.
As the puppet of the church, this couldn’t just be Evanessa acting arbitrarily. This was definitely a step in that wolf-in-sheep-skin pope’s plot.
“Your highness. Is something worrying you?”