CH 19

The party to celebrate the victory was scheduled to be held in the Admiralty’s banquet hall.

Odette was the last to stand up from the stands. Now it was time to meet Bastian and move to the Admiralty. It was a distance she could walk alone, but it didn’t seem like a good choice.

Standing under the arched door connecting the stadium and the clubhouse, Odette took a deep breath and braced herself once again. Since she was invited as Captain Klauswitz’s partner, she was obliged to fulfill the responsibility until the end. At least doing that perfectly was also the minimum pride that Odette wanted to protect.

“How are you, Lady Odette?” Came the familiar voice as she entered the clubhouse garden. It was the wife of the naval officer who had chatted her ear off throughout the match.

“Good luck.”

After giving her unknown words of consolation, she went away with her husband. It was after reaching the center of the promenade where people gathered that Odette found out why.

A pink ribbon was dumped in a puddle under a tree. The eyes of the onlookers surrounding it were all focused on Odette. It was a look of mixed pity and interest, like the one sent by the wife of the officer she had just met.

Odette stopped between them and looked down at the ribbon. The initials embroidered on the end were also stained with mud. It was Odette’s ribbon, which the man had taken without permission.

“Are you all right?”

A familiar lady asked a cautious question.

Smiling faintly, Odette took a step back from there.

The ribbon was her cherished possession, but she didn’t want to pick it up. After all, from the moment Bastian took it, it was no longer her property. Whatever way he disposed of it, the authority now belonged to him. It was a bit upsetting, but she had no reason to feel more than that.

“Excuse me, may I ask one small favor?”

Having cleared her mind to that extent, Odette turned around and faced that young woman from earlier. Fortunately, she gladly accepted.

“As much as you like. Please feel free to speak.”

“I’m afraid I’m not feeling well and must leave early, but Captain Klauswitz’s preparations seem to be delayed. I would appreciate it if you would break this news to him on my behalf.”

“Ah yes. Of course. Go ahead. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to tell the Captain.”

She nodded her head as if she understood everything, and looked at Odette with deepened compassion.

After leaving a polite greeting, Odette left the garden without regret. She felt a stinging stare at her back, but she didn’t look back.

He didn’t want her best.

The moment she found the discarded ribbon, Odette suddenly realized that fact. Apparently, her today’s usefulness ended with the polo match.

She felt as if she had been abandoned in the mud along with the ribbon, who had been unaware of this and had unnecessary enthusiasm.

It would have been nice if he had given her a clear line from the beginning.

As she left the polo club and went out into the city, the sigh she had been holding back came out quietly. Lutz in May was like a paradise made of roses. It was hard to believe that spring snow had fallen just a week ago.

Walking down the street dyed by the brilliant afternoon sunlight, Odette suddenly stopped in front of an advertisement billboard in front of a theater when she passed by. Department store discount sales, upcoming opera performances, job ads. Posters announcing news large and small filled the high cylinder.

Odette’s gaze stopped at the black-and-white flyer at the bottom of the billboard.

Looking for a tutor.

A few lines of detail were added under the large headline.

– preference for young, unmarried women from educated middle-class backgrounds;

-knowledgeable in literature, foreign languages, music, and etiquette and having a well-groomed appearance.

– Sufficient income guaranteed to those who have the right skills.

Troubled, Odette copied the advertisement into a small notebook she took out of her purse. Today’s performance for the Emperor had come to an end. It was time to live in reality again.

***

Bastian left the waiting room with his colleagues after the crowded clubhouse had become quiet. The afternoon sun dazzled the young officers in uniform.

“If I had known this would happen, I would have kept Sandrine. That would have been better than going to a party without a partner.”

Lucas, who had been keeping an eye on him, skillfully mentioned Sandrine while making a small talk. Bastian smiled instead of answering.

Lady Odette disappeared leaving only the news of her absence from the party.

He thought it wasn’t like her, but Bastian didn’t think deeply. 

Five times they had met.

It would be nothing more than a ridiculous delusion to believe that you know about a woman you have only seen briefly.

“Isn’t that your ribbon? Isn’t that the token the beggar princess gave you?”

Erich Faber, who was walking in the lead, exclaimed loudly.

Bastian’s brow wrinkled as he looked there involuntarily. Lady Odette’s ribbon was submerged in a puddle of muddy water.

“Why is it there? You didn’t throw it away, did you?”

“You don’t suppose she saw that and went home in shock?”

“It could be. Well, that’s rather a good thing. It’ll be easier to get rid of her if she figures out where she stands beforehand.”

The officers, who had exchanged a few words among themselves, soon took interest in the discarded ribbon.

Except for one person, Lucas von Ewald.

“Bastian, so that’s …”

Lucas’s eyes began to tremble in uneasiness.

Bastian dropped his gaze without replying. Sandrine went to the waiting room earlier for a while and Odette left as if running away. And the ribbon that was thrown away like a show for all to see. Putting it all together, there seemed to be only one conclusion.

Bastian laughed a little in amazement.

I will do anything to protect what’s mine.

It was a creed that Bastian shared.

It was also a quality that deserved to be held much higher than to be trampled on while pretending to be noble.

“Just in case you misunderstand, Sandrine would never do that…..Uh, Bastian!”

Lucas exclaimed in astonishment as he made an effort to defend his cousin.

This brought a near-shrieking scream from the mouths of the officers who had turned their heads.

Bastian approached the puddle and leaned down to pick up the ribbon. It was an action that was even more perplexing, without much concern. 

“Really? Have you gone crazy?”

“What is it? Did the cruising Klauswitz meet the sea witch?”

“Come to your senses, hero! I don’t think I have to explain what the end will be like being possessed by a siren, do I?”

Despite the teasing, Bastian showed no reaction. All he did was gently lower his lifted eyebrows and grab the dirty ribbon.

It was mine.

For whatever the reason. Whether he liked it or not. Either way, as of now, it was under his jurisdiction, and therefore his to protect.

With big strides, Bastian crossed the garden. Traces of muddy water ran down his fingers, dotted along the path.

As the clamoring officers departed, the garden of the clubhouse became quiet again. The surface of the puddle where the ribbon had disappeared, the ripples quieted, as if nothing had happened from the beginning.

***

It was destiny.

No other words seemed to be able to explain the coincidental reunion.

With a soft sigh, Franz watched the building across the street, keeping himself hidden in the shadows of the alley.

It wasn’t long before a light came on in the window at the far end of the top floor. It seemed to be the woman’s house.

On the way back from dropping off his fiancée, he saw Odette.

Feeling stuffy, he lowered the car window, a sweet breeze blew in, and as fate would have it, Odette was there when he turned his head along the breeze.

For some reason, she was walking alone on Preve Boulevard, when she should have been celebrating with Bastian. At that moment, Franz knew. What was the nature of the depression and anger that came to him when he greeted Odette and the thorn-like emotions that plagued him throughout the match? 

That was why he impulsively got out of the car. He guessed he would have to check it out.

His heart was about to explode, but Franz did not approach Odette. All he did was follow the woman, keeping calm at a reasonable distance.

His father and mother regarded the marriage proposal arranged by the emperor as a good opportunity.

Judging rationally, it certainly was. It was difficult for Bastian to find a wife who could be a reliable support. If a useless woman could hold Bastian’s ankles, they would be grateful.

But what would be the future of that pitiful prey thrown to the beast?

Franz involuntarily held his breath when the silhouette of the slender woman was reflected in the glass window through which the light streamed in. 

A little bit more.

He earnestly hoped for it, but Odette did not open the window in the end.

“He threw the ribbon away.”

Ella von Klein made a big deal about the incident.

Her eyes sparkled with innocent joy when she said that it was nothing more than a hint of Odette’s future play.

Indeed. It was just Ella being Ella.

Everyone gathered there despised and rejected Odette. Even Bastian, who was bestowed the woman by the emperor.

If only she were mine. He thought to himself.

Franz gazed at the woman’s window, contemplating a more beautiful home. 

Meanwhile, the gradually thickening twilight became darker, and shining stars slowly appeared.

Eventually, the curtains were closed when the quaintness of the clear spring night reached its height.

Franz resigned himself and left the alley.

It finally dawned on him that by now his mother’s wrath would be sky-high. Having sent his fiancée back early, and even disappearing, abandoning his car and driver, he would not get off easy.

Franz walked through the entrance of the poor town, thinking of a suitable excuse.

The scenery where the illusion of Odette had vanished was horrendous. It was hard to believe that such a beautiful woman could live in such an unpleasant place.

Bastian Klauswitz would never marry that woman.

Franz crossed the bridge over the Prater river, intoxicated with the joy of what should have been hopelessness.

He painted Odette in the beautiful light that illuminated the darkness.

It was an ecstatic dream that he did not want to wake up from.