Chapter 80 - Rumor

I was in no position to calm anybody down, but I swear when I say I was probably the calmest person in the room then, I wasn't lying. 

Everybody was screeching, either scared or outraged. Honestly, I was a bit shaken, too. Why had the event suddenly been called short? And the lights, too. Why had they been shut off? As every woman around me ran around and complained, while others wailed like children, I stood my ground as I thought about it. The Marquess's demeanor had changed after he had conversed with that Wendell girl, and then he had proceeded to call everything off. What might she have said?

I looked around as I tried to find Wendell, hoping that she'd be where she had previously been seen. But with all hell loose and the dark upon us, I couldn't distinguish between anybody at all. 

"Ashli! Oh, Ashli!" I heard a familiar voice call out my alias. "Ashli, where are you?"

It was Haziel, and it seemed like she was crying. She had been right in front of me a moment ago, but her voice was coming from almost across the hall.. 

"I-I'm coming!" I yelled towards her, hoping she'd recognize my voice amidst the others. "Wait for me, Haziel!"

Gathering the hems of my dress, I took a deep breath and began my journey across the ballroom. It was good that I had worn flat sandals or else I'd be on my face right now. On my long trek, I uncovered single shoes in my path, hair accessories, jewellery and something even I didn't know about. Scrunching up my nose in disgust, I kicked it away from my path and hurried on, trying to find her. 

Haziel called again and I followed her voice, which seemed even farther now. I was positive I was heading in the right direction when I bumped against something large and soft on the floor and fell down. 

"Ouch!" the soft thing said. 

"Huh," I chuckled. "I should be the one saying that." Then I stood up and dusted my dress. "Get up," I said to the unfortunate girl sitting on the floor. "What are you doing there?"

The girl remained silent but still, she took my hand to get to her foot. It was strange because I felt like I had heard her voice before, but then again, I wasn't so sure. The moment I let go of her hand, she wobbled and collapsed again. 

I looked at her (though there was nothing to look at since all I saw was dark), "Um, what happened?"

She gave a huge groan. "I think I've sprained my ankle. Would you be a dear and guide me to one of the benches?" She probably meant the benches attached to the walls in several corners of the room. Honestly, I wanted to say no, but since I had a big guilty conscience, I couldn't help myself. 

"Alright then," I muttered as I put my arms under hers and pulled. ""Heave ho!"

With extreme perseverance and by shouldering a huge weight on my shoulders, I led the girl blindly to a bench and sat her down. The amount of women I had to fend away from myself was more than one. 

"I'm leaving, then," I muttered when I was sure she was seated. "I'll check back at you once the lights come on again." I turned my back to her so I could proceed once more to find Haziel when the woman with the sprained ankle gave out a loud laugh. A hyena laugh. I froze in my steps and cautiously, I turned around. "What?"

She stopped laughing and sighed. "Well, you might never come to check back at me if that's what you await. The lights are never going to turn back on, love. Not when I know why they were turned off in the first place."

"Pardon?" I frowned. What the hell was she talking about?

"Ah, so you are unaware," she said, her voice musical. "Not to worry, since most of these witches here don't know either. Then shall I let you in on a secret? Promise not to raise havoc."

I bit my lips. "Um, sure. I promise." I was definitely uncertain about this. 

The girl chuckled once again. "Alright, then. Here, bring in your ear."

Though it was unnecessary, I did so and leaned closer to her. Despite the warmness of the ballroom, I could feel her even warmer breath dancing against my ear. She sure was taking her time. 

"The thing is..." the girl with the sprained ankle whispered. My eyes widened as I heard the following part of her sentence. "There are assassins in the area."

Instantly, I pulled back. I hadn't even noticed that my blood had run cold. "Must you joke about that?"

"Oh, but I'm not," she said innocently. "How else would you explain him turning off the lights? It's because the assassins are here to kill the Marquess, or his bride. Or both, if that's what they prefer."

I clenched and unclenched my hands. All around me, the voices of the other women had been blocked out. The only voice I could focus on was of the girl with the sprained ankle. Somewhere, I heard Haziel call for me again, but I didn't call back. I needed to hear what this was about. 

"What are you talking about?" I said, gritting my teeth. 

The woman laughed again. That annoying laugh. It was really getting on my nerves now. 

"Assassins," she said after she had stopped. "There are people who don't want him to get married, because that would mean him taking over the duchy of Notdale. Do you have any other reason as to why he had the Selection ball in a foreign empire rather than his own? He's from the Lands of Sovia! People there hate him! They hate him so much that they swore they wouldn't let him become the duke. All they needed to ensure it was that he either never got married," she paused, "or died."

I scowled. "Why?" He seemed like a good enough person. "Why do they hate him?" 

The girl chuckled. 

"You don't know?" she asked, her voice amused. "The moment you enter foot in the Lands of Sovia, you'll hear all the rumors, love."

I gulped. When did my throat become so starched? "What rumors?"

She hummed a tune, clearly trying to make me wait. "Terrible Rumors. I couldn't believe them when I first heard them. Good god, I was in shock for a few days.

I gritted my teeth again. "What rumors?"

I knew she was smiling. "Rumors that he killed his own brother to remove any competition for the duke's title. Funny, isn't it?"

Funny? Should I have found that funny? Was the girl joking? A bead of sweat ran down my forehead, and my stomach felt like it was turning upside down. I felt sick. I wanted to get out of there. What was I even doing here in the first place? 

"Is this some sick joke?" I spat.

"Not at all," she sang happily.

"There's no way he killed somebody. He's a nice person." I was unconsciously defending him. Why? I wondered. He had nothing to do with me, and I had clearly intended to reject him, knowing he was a good enough person to find a better wife. But had I been wrong about him?

"Some people are just seemingly nice," the girl shrugged. "If you still don't know that, then it'll be hard to survive in this world where survival is only ensured to the cleverest."

"So if you knew he was a rumored murderer," it pained me to say the words, "why did you attend the ball?"

The woman sighed. "It's the biggest ball of the decade; as a social butterfly, how could I ever refuse?"

This was not enough. "How did you know the assassins have already reached here?"

She hummed another tune as she thought about how to respond. "Let's just say my family has a long reach. I knew the assassins would be here even before they had arrived."

I understand now. He had had the lights turned down so that it would seem as if the ball never happened. But how thoughtless had he been to have left all the women unsafe and exited himself when he knew about the height of the danger.

"T-Then, what do we do now?" I asked, suddenly worried. "What if one of us gets hurt?"

The girl chuckled, and I knew she was smiling a sinister smile despite the dark. What she said next left me appalled. It felt as if the ground had slipped away from under my feet. 

"Not. My. Problem," she spat. 

I gaped. "What the heck is wrong with you!?" I turned around and stared at everyone who was still present in the Plaza. I must do something, I thought to myself as a loud ringing sound began in my ear. Or else the assassins would attack. 

Crap, crap, crap, crap. What should I do?

It suddenly felt like I was part of an action movie or something. And I was the hero, going to save the world from harm. It was as if the girl could hear my thoughts because she reminded me, "You promised not to raise havoc, remember? Don't do something you know won't go well. HEY! LISTENT TO ME-" But I was already running.

Hastily, I ascended to the platform where the orchestra was still set and took a deep breath. I couldn't fathom what I was about to do. Socially awkward me.

"Listen up, everybody!" I bellowed into the ballroom. Nobody paused for me. It felt as if I was yelling into an empty void. Then I tried to remember how Jieum had once taught me to catch someone's attention. She was telling me about how she had caught the attention of her favorite idol in a concert she went to.

"They never look at you no matter how many times you call their names," she had muttered. "But guess what! I managed to get my favorite idol to look at me. You know what I did? I put my hands to my mouth, like this." She demonstrated it to me as we ate rice cakes after school. "And then I took a deep breath and called out a random, attention-catching thing. You know what I said? Guess, guess."

I made a guess. "I dunno…'pork'?"

She scoffed. "No. I said: 'YOU PREPOSTEROUS IDIOT, F**KING LOOK AT ME! DAMMIT!' I'll never forget the alarmed stare he had given me. It was as if we were in love."

I put down my disposable cup of rice cakes and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Jieum, no. That's horrible."

✿

I took a deep breath.

"YOU PREPOSTEROUS IDIOTS, F**CKING LOOK AT ME! DAMMIT!"

All of a sudden, the ballroom went silent. Pin. Drop. Silent.