CH 12

“Perhaps I’ve lived too long.”

The Countess of Trier, seeing the mess the princess had caused, was stunned into a faux pas. Isabelle jumped Bastian Klauswitz in an obviously insane manner. What a ghastly sight! It was difficult to keep her eyes open to watch it.

“Oh my God, look at him!”

While the Countess was touching her throbbing forehead, the surroundings started to stir. Only then did the Countess of Trier look up and see the antique dealer’s grandson.

Bastian watched Isabelle with cold contempt. There was no sign of any respect for the imperial family. Of course, that was the only situation, but to dare to show the emperor’s daughter his true feelings as they were…. He was the height of disrespect.

By the time the Countess started to seriously worry that the antique dealer’s grandson might attack the Princess, she began to make a move.

Bastian let out a deep sigh and stubbornly pushed the princess away. Isabelle, who was not deterred even after losing her last respectable image, clung to him again, but he refused to give her any more leniency.

“Isabelle!”

Isabelle, who was again miserably rejected, broke into a cry when the crown prince appeared.

While the princess was being dragged by her brother’s hand, Bastian Klauswitz tidied up his clothes that had become disheveled in the scuffle. The ruthless gesture, as if brushing off dirt, made Isabelle even more devastated.

“I’d rather have Princess Helene. But she didn’t do anything embarrassing like that.”

The contemplative old lady of the imperial family lowered her voice and whispered.

“Is that all? At least the Duke of Dissen was a noble nobleman. I wonder how the princess of the empire (Isabelle) would do such a thing because she was blinded by such a lowly man (Bastian).”

“No matter, Captain Klauswitz is far superior in terms of ability and wealth.”

In the midst of a war of words, the end of the banquet was officially declared. But the guests showed no sign of retreating.

The princess left, but Captain Klauswitz and Lady Odette remained.

The Countess of Trier, who glanced over at the grandson of the antique dealer who was having a conversation with the returning crown prince, moved her gaze to Odette, who was still holding the original position. The torn dress and disheveled hair told the story of the child’s tragic experience.

At the moment when the Countess of Trier’s heart became infinitely heavy, Odette turned around. At the same time, Bastian, who finished his conversation with the crown prince, also turned around.

The eyes of the two met in the still brilliant light of the imperial palace.

***

Like this night, her black hair fluttered down like waves. Bastian understood the scene unfolding in front of him only after he took a deep breath.

Odette untied her hair.

Pulling out pins one by one, she ran her long slender fingers through her messy hair. The slow and smooth movements of the woman seemed to be part of a dance at first glance.

Bastian watched the surreal scene with his narrowed eyes.

With her neatly arranged hair hanging down one shoulder, Odette finally faced him directly. The dress the princess had ruined and the traces of her fingernails on her skin were barely covered. The eyes of countless onlookers were still focused on Odette, but she seemed to have forgotten all about it. No, she had a funny illusion that nothing had happened from the beginning.

After finally tidying up her ruined dress, Odette slowly but without hesitation approached Bastian. Like a proud queen with the sound of footsteps resonating with one after another.

Bastian captured Odette in his gaze of interest and doubt.

Seeing her up close, the woman’s face was so pale that it wouldn’t be strange if she lost consciousness right away. Even so, her upright appearance reminded him of their first meeting. A woman who was so bold even after being sold for her father’s gambling debts, held her own even under the roof of the imperial palace. At this point, she wasn’t bluffing, but was a spirit that wouldn’t be unreasonable to trust.

Standing still in a close distance, Odette lifted her expressionless face and looked around.

Beautiful Marble Hall, Night Garden, and Bastian.

Odette bowed her head at the moment when she was amazed at the fact that she could remain aloof even after going through such shame and humiliation. It didn’t take long for Bastian to figure out what the gesture meant.

Odette was asking to finish the unfinished waltz. A polite request, or an arrogant command. Either way, it was just as absurd.

Bastian raised the corner of his mouth in a slightly dejected mood.

Blue blood.

He finally understood the meaning of the word he had thought was pathetic. What could have driven this woman mad? 

The entrance to the grand banquet hall where the princess, who drowned the honor of the imperial family in mud, was dragged out. Socialite glamourites gathered in search of a stimulating interest. The aristocratic wife of her father, who was being honored at the cost of adultery and murder.

Bastian looked around carefully and looked at Odette again. And he bowed his head. Towards the woman who was insignificant more than anyone else in this place, but whose blood flowed through her veins seemed to be the thickest and bluest, willingly.

“What the hell is that?”

The onlookers, who had been holding their breath, began to stir. How shameless and unbelievable was the behavior that did not suit the situation that had become a massive disgrace. It gave them the illusion that the ball was still going on.

The Countess of Trier, who had changed her mind about bringing Odette before it was too late, watched the scene with a strange smile. 

It was now their turn to exit, the last turn of the waltz.

Holding hands, the two leisurely crossed the hall. They just stepped forward, forward, as if the crowd surrounding them had been cleanly erased. The perplexed onlookers eventually retreated without hesitation, clearing the way for them to proceed.

“Did you enjoy your time with Odette?”

To Bastian, who had been escorting Odette, the Countess of Trier deliberately asked a provocative question.

“It was an honor to share this special day with a beautiful lady.”

Bastian smiled as he replied with words like a passage from a book of etiquette. For the first time in his life, he crossed the threshold of the imperial palace, and it was unbelievable.

The Countess of Trier studied the young officer standing before her with a keen, searching gaze.

His reputation for crawling like a dog, sacrificing his ego for the sake of his career, wealth, connections, prevailed, but well. Rather, Bastian Klauswitz looked like a man clad in armor like the arrogance of a man who had lived his whole life without knowing subservience. She seemed to be able to understand the naïve people who were enchanted by the ferocious light. Of course, that didn’t change the fact that the princess was insane.

“See you again, Captain.”

The Countess of Trier gave a dubious greeting and accepted Odette’s hand. Unexpectedly, Odette was trembling. The sound of her small exhaled breath was also unstable.

While the Countess of Trier was stunned, Bastian, who had paid tribute to the chaperone, turned around. The grandson of the antique dealer, who knew Odette’s condition but did not raise an eyebrow, was amazed.

Which of the two people, Odette, who held her ground and did not give in to the situation, or Bastian, who was willing to sympathize with her, could be called the more terrible of the two?

It was clear that they were too similar rivals.

“Helene has raised her daughter quite well. It seems that she was a good mother even though her eyes were lousy for men.”

The Countess of Trier offered consolation with plaintive words of praise. She even withdrew the hand when she tried to call someone. 

“Well done, child. You  were perfect.”

Odette’s eyes shook at the words the Countess said along with a benevolent smile.

Relief and joy. A bit of disillusionment, or sadness.

Those rich emotions that glistened with tears filled her eyes soon disappeared. “Thank you, Countess.”

Odette said her thanks calmly. A smile was at the tip of her quivering lips.

The Countess of Trier led Odette away without saying anything of her own. Now, what this child might need was a much needed break.

***

“Yes. I’ll take your word for it.”

Admiral Demel sighed deeply and lowered his voice to whisper. It was a conclusion he reached after questioning Bastian’s relationship with the Princess several times.

“Lay low for the time being. It wouldn’t hurt to get closer to Lady Odette.”

Admiral Demel left the banquet hall after leaving a request close to threatening. To take advantage of the woman. What he wanted to say was that one after all.

Since then, several nags have repeatedly come and gone. Eventually, when Bastian left the banquet hall, it was late at night. If it was like last year, the ball would have been in full swing, but tonight, the Imperial Palace was heavy with desolation.

Bastian got into a waiting car, leaned deeply into the back seat, and closed his eyes. As he loosened the knot on his bow tie, he let out a tired sigh.

It occurred to him that perhaps the performance of the play for the Emperor should be extended. It seemed that it would take a long time for the aftermath of today’s incident to subside.

When he opened his eyes, solidifying his resolve, the car was passing through Preve Boulevard in downtown Lutz. The woman suddenly came to his mind when the night view of the Reinfeld Hotel began to appear through the car window.

Until the last moment, Odette did not bend her stubborn will. Her appearance was so lofty that no one would have guessed that the woman was trembling from the blue.

The same was true of the woman that night.

She had put on her veil again, straightened her body, and walked gracefully away from the backstreet gambling parlor.

Bastian, who had erased the memory of her hair flowing down sensually the soft white nape of her neck, stopped looking at his car window. The wind blew through the half-open car window, shaking the trees.

The flower petals that had gotten stuck on Bastian’s collar for a while as he closed his eyes again disappeared quietly before long.