CH 35

7. Caught in a broken trap

A fancy banquet hall of some social club. A strange woman appeared in the secret playground of young aristocrats.

"Who is it?"

It was an unknown woman even for the good-for-nothings who pretty much lived in the banquet hall.

A slender beauty with long blond hair. There was a secret charm in the pale skin and dark eyes revealed under the dark lighting.

Standing in front of the stairs, she hurriedly lifted up her black dress, and dropped one glance at the men who were staring at her as if making fun of them. Then, with a clear mocking smile on her lips, she went upstairs.

"Who the hell is it?", a man muttered.

The noisy banquet hall became quiet in an instant. It was because of her beautiful appearance, but also because of her eyes that looked terribly indifferent to others.

"Is she a foreign aristocrat who came to Ortega on vacation?"

"Go and ask for her name."

"She doesn't seem like a Southerner, nor a Northerner."

The men gathered and whispered. Some openly showed interest while others glanced at the hallway on the second floor to subtly observe her movements.

"Do you think she's already married?", someone muttered.

He was a man who fell in love with her at first sight. At those words, the friends who were drinking with him laughed and replied.

"Is that important?"

"Do you think that woman would even look at someone like you in the first place? Stop dreaming."

"Who knows? Just go and talk to her."

The banquet hall quickly became noisy again. A few men with lingering feelings kept throwing glances at the second floor, but she did not appear for a while.

As he entered the guest room on the second floor of the banquet hall, Lewicia looked nervous.

"What should we do?"

"About what?"

"All of them are looking at me. Is there anyone who has recognized me? Yulia, you might not know this, but... even if I look like this, my face is very familiar to the nobles of Ortega."

"It didn’t seem like anyone recognized you."

Yulia pulled out a chair. Lewicia kicked the cumbersome hem of the dress to the side, and sat on the chair.

"I don't think it's a good idea after all. Let's go back for today. If I make a big mistake here, I will be laughed at by the nobles."

Despite his perfect acting when he made his appearance, he suddenly became timid after entering the room.

Yulia smiled lightly and approached the Prince, holding out a cup of cold water.

"You did well."

"Huh?"

"You did really well. You were like a completely different person. Despite being royalty, Your Highness appears friendly at the palace. However, Your Highness who just entered the banquet hall looked like a mysterious foreign woman."

"Is that true?"

Lewicia asked hesitantly. He was so nervous that he couldn't accept the compliment right away.

Yulia looked straight at him, and said.

"Your Highness has a talent."

"What talent? Talent as a con artist?"

"No. The talent to draw people's attention."

That was a very important skill to those who belonged to the royal family. Yulia thought that Lewicia's greatest talent was his charm that had the power of captivating people's hearts.

"Just like Your Highness Prince Lewicia faces his vassals with a well-decorated appearance in the light, you can sometimes appear as a different person in the shadows to listen to the sincerity hidden in their hearts."

"Is that even possible?"

Lewicia was skeptical. No matter how open the nobles of Ortega may be, they wouldn't confide in a stranger so easily.

But Yulia's thoughts were different.

"They will be bolder precisely because you are a stranger. They don't have to feel guilty. Anonymity turns humans into honest monsters. Your Highness, be an anonymous friend who doesn't exist to them."

"I can't talk directly to them because I will get caught if they hear my voice."

"They will feel more at ease since you can't speak. They'll believe you won't spread rumors."

After that, Yulia taught Lewicia how to behave after going down to the banquet hall.

It was the same as when teaching successor studies. Yulia was a good teacher, and Lewicia was a good student.

Watching him accept what she taught him without prejudice, Yulia realized once again that she had made the right choice.

"Don’t try to look feminine."

"Why?"

"You shouldn't do it unless it's natural. If you let them know in the beginning that you can't talk because you have a throat illness, the followers will explain it to the others on their own. That means you don't have to make excuses yourself. Your Highness only needs to put on a troubled expression."

"I understand."

"Since you are a good drinker, I won't worry. It's fine to enjoy gambling at the level of entertainment if you don't want to bet a lot of money. However, don't sympathize with vulgar swearing or obscenities. Don't sympathize with jokes that disparage and criticize others."

Lewicia vigorously nodded at Yulia's words not to do anything that would undermine his dignity.

"Even if someone embarrasses Your Highness, don't react aggressively."

"What? Why that?"

"Keep a distance, and ignore them. Rather than childish provocations, pay attention to conversations that are slightly more elevated. Let the little attention that Your Highness gives them be a source of pride for them."

"I see... I will do that."

Lewicia nodded with a serious expression. Then, after patting down his tense face with the back of his hand, he went to the mirror to tidy up his appearance.

"Yulia."

"Yes?"

"What should I say my name is? No matter how mysterious I want to appear, it's too strange to keep my name a secret."

"When it comes to names, Coco and I came up with one."

"What is it?"

"Titania." 

The Titania Mountains located at Ortega's Northern frontier.

"That's a nice name."

Lewicia let out a smile with a satisfied face.

He was someone who thought that the biggest factor that prevented the Baikan Empire from moving south twenty years ago was not the King's declaration of surrender, but the high and rugged Titania Mountains that separated the two countries.

That's why Yulia thought that Titania was the perfect name to use as Lewicia Ortega's secret name.

"Enough now. Let's go down."

Lewicia, who had spent a good amount of time pulling himself together in the reception room on the second floor, kicked the hem of his skirt and walked ahead. Yulia, who came out into the hallway with him, cautiously rolled her eyes.

As they approached the stairs, almost everyone in the banquet hall turned their heads in Lewicia's direction. It was a gaze mixed with kindness, wariness, and curiosity.

Taking a deep breath, Lewicia took a look at them. His heart was beating a little faster than usual. A pleasant tension and unfamiliar sense of liberation filled his body.

Lewicia thought of Yulia and Coco.

Yulia's eyes that look like they're sinking quietly, but are about to suck you in like the dangerously moving sea. And Coco's arrogant and charming lips that lift slightly as if laughing.

He wouldn't be able to copy them exactly, but he could at least try to emulate them. He was the one who had seen the two maids of honor the closest.

The two of them were like teachers, friends, and sisters to him.

A slight change occurred in Lewicia's face. At that moment, the eyes of some of the people who were looking at him were filled with ecstasy.

*****

Lewicia's first disguise attempt was half a success.

The place the two of them went to was the biggest social club in Ortega, but it was judged to be an appropriate place for their stealth operation because the overall lighting was dim and there were many young aristocrats hanging out casually.

However, instead of having a serious discussion about the Liberation Army, the nobles were busy expressing interest in the beautiful Lewicia. 

"Where on earth did this person come from? I feel like I am seeing her for the first time... and it doesn't look like she is an aristocrat from Ortega."

"Haha! It's rude to ask about family name in a place like this. Even though we are meeting for the first time, let's hang out as if we are old friends. What do you think? I'll buy you a drink!"

"I know this is a childish confession, but you are my ideal type. Should I say you look like you came out of my dreams? Please let me know how to contact you."

There were men who stubbornly courted him saying that they had fallen in love at first sight, and there were women who clung to him saying they wanted to be friends.

Lewicia, who had spent all his time rejecting them, had no choice but to hurry back to the palace at dawn.

Yulia rated it as 'half-success as they couldn't obtain any useful information, but no one recognized him'.

"What was that about? Don't tell me that all of the aristocrats of our Kingdom are playing around like that? I thought they would have important conversations... but everyone was just staring at my face."

"It's because it was the first time."

"That's why it's a problem to be born so good looking. Why on earth did my mother made me this pretty?"

"You still did very well. You left the impression that you were someone who couldn’t be treated carelessly, so next time people who are on a higher level will approach you."

Lewicia looked a little disappointed. However, Yulia soothed him while saying that he shouldn't rush.

"It will get better with time. One day, someone might invite Your Highness to a secret gathering. The more people want to be close to Your Highness, the better it will be."

There is an appropriate time for everything. Lewicia's strength must expand in hiding. He was still too weak to show his presence as a member of the royal family.

"Don't worry. I will continue doing it. I didn't know that not being recognized by anyone could give me such a great sense of freedom."

"Your Highness."

"That doesn’t mean I’m just going out to have fun. Yulia, I remember when you told me to grasp the trends of the nobles, and look at the Kingdom from their point of view. And when you told me to keep an eye on the movements of the Liberation Army, and listen to the voices of the people."

Lewicia looked straight at Yulia.

"Actually, isn't that what you meant? The words on the first page of the textbook on the discipline of kingship you chose. A king should be able to put himself in the people's shoes."