CH 54

The song has changed. Leonis wasn’t great at dancing, but this song doesn’t have a lot of movement, so Celia seemed to be able to dance.

“Shall we dance?”

“You don’t like it. If you want, we have to dance close together.”

“What’s wrong with that? I will hold you tight.”

“So that means you want it. What a shame……”

They seemed to be young lovers who were whispering to one another. Celia’s flushed cheeks were brushed by Leonis’ fingertips.

“It’s for that reason that I want to dance.”

He wanted to show a friendly side of himself to everyone. Celia was now his wife, and he wanted everyone to know it.

Celia, on the other hand, was looking for reasons why she couldn’t dance properly and worried that someone would figure it out.

I don’t like doing it in front of other people. Then can we do it on the terrace…….”

Although others couldn’t see their dance, Leonis thought it was a good idea. He also wanted to kiss her.

That was a scandalous thing to say in the middle of the ballroom.

“Right.”

Leonis left the ballroom with her, citing that Celia appeared tired despite being surrounded by people.

There was a subtle magic lamp on the outdoor terrace. There was enough light to not detract from the beauty of the night.

Leonis shut the terrace door after instructing his servant to guard the door.

Even after the glass door was closed and the curtains were lowered, the soft laughter and loud music of the ball continued to pour in.

“That’s wonderful.”

Celia exclaimed as she took a deep breath of fresh air. The light had set on the ground, but there were still enough stars in the sky to dazzle her.

The number of stars floating in the sky could not be counted because the world was free of smoke and pollution. Even when she was watching space documentaries, it seemed as if she had never seen a sky so full of stars.

‘It’s amazing……’

Leonis approached Celia after leaving her alone for a while. Celia turned her head to look at him while he hugged her.

Leonis radiated the light of a male protagonist even in the dim light. His beauty was even more dazzling with the starlight in the background.

‘Beautiful.’

She admired his ruby eyes and delicate facial features, which retained their attractive yet manly allure.

She was so nervous about him at the time of the marriage that she didn’t think he was very attractive even afterward.

‘Or do I have divine power that allows me to see Leonis’ face without being affected by the curse?’

The majority of them were terrified by Leonis’ ferocious gazes and not to be unconcerned about the others.

“Shall we dance now?”

Leonis asked in a sweet voice, his hand caressing Celia’s cheek. It made her happy to think she was the only one who knew how he could produce such a voice.

“Yes.”

Celia smiled as Leonis hugged her and lifted her hips, clasping her hand around his neck. She was relaxed because she wasn’t fully upright, but she was concerned about her weight.

“Did I gain a lot of weight?”

“Absolutely not. If I am whining to complain about you being this heavy, I don’t deserve to marry a beautiful woman.”

“Do you think I’m beautiful?”

“My wife is the most beautiful woman in the world.”

Celia grinned and laughed when she saw Leonis’ serious rebuttal. As he cupped and kissed her, Leonis’s face lit up with joy.

Celia’s heart swelled as she gazed at her handsome man with his red eyes narrowed and happily looking at each other.

As they hugged and kissed again, they couldn’t decide whether the dancing or kissing came first.

Celia had Leonis’ neck in her hands, and she simply kissed him. They were surrounded by a beautiful night sky that was about to pour in.

✦ ✦ 

✦

Since there were only one or two terraces, no one dared to enter the closed terrace andand the terrace with the servant stood in front of the door.

Fabian asked an acquaintance to check the terrace where the Duke and Duchess of Cardian entered and awaited the opportunity.

‘Why aren’t they coming out?’

There had to be times when men went outside to get drinks, even if they spent the most of their time on the balcony terrace. He was considering taking advantage of the opportunity to go inside……

Fabian walked over to the terrace, agitated and frustrated. He was unaware of the servant who was standing on the opposite side of the locked door.

He knew it was impolite to peek inside a closed terrace by opening the curtains. But he was curious as to what the Duke of Cardian and Celia were doing behind closed doors.

Fabian pulled back the curtain a bit and gasped as he looked inside. With a hardened face, he couldn’t take his eyes off the scene.

‘I don’t believe this…..’

Fabian was taken aback when he saw Celia looking lovingly at the Duke of Cardian.

That wasn’t like herself.

Theirs (Fabian and Celia’s) wasn’t the kind of love that could be easily ended.

After seeing the kiss, Fabian took a step back. The scene faded into the background as he lifted his hand from the curtain, but it lingered in his mind.

Celia, He was sure what happened on the inside, but on the outside… She seemed to have lost interest in Fabian Yersil.

Fabian turned against her after recalling her subtle contempt sent to him with Bianca in front of his face.

‘No way…….No way! It’s impossible!’

Resentment, regret, and rage were all present. He didn’t abandon Celia just to feel this way.

He had to break his engagement with Celia due to the emperor’s threat, but he wanted to scream as his plans were shattered.

With his body turned around, he had no idea how much time had passed. While he was zoning out,the servant seemed to open the door to the terrace.

Fabian reflexively hid himself behind others. The Duke of Cardian seemed to be making his way to Celia’s drink, just as he had expected.

‘Celia……’

When he saw the Duke of Cardian walk away, he moved his legs closer to the door. As the servant’s was about to close the door, Fabian stuffed a gold coin into the servant’s pocket.

“……The Duchess has called me.”

‘Did she say something that?’

But the man in front of him was the ex-fiance of the Duchess of Cardian. The servant, who was well aware of the nobles’ secrets and promiscuity, thought it was only half true.

‘It is best not to meddle in the affairs of nobles.’

The servant nodded and opened the door, turning away from the crowd.

Celia was sitting with her chin on the terrace railing when Fabian entered the terrace quietly. Her figure was stunning as she turned her back and gazed up at the night sky.

“Leon? “Have you already returned?”

“……Leon?”

Celia quickly turned her head away after hearing Fabian’s enraged voice. He could see the pink hair he loved fluttering.

When Celia saw Fabian, her face hardened. For a brief moment, his name fluttered in his mouth, but even that was deemed offensive.

“Young Marquis Yersil. You must have seen that the servant stood guard, right? Get out of here right now.”

“Celia.”

Celia became irritated when she noticed his sad expression. With Leonis, she was in a happy mood. Did he ruin the atmosphere that was floating around?

‘On his own, he was sentimental…..he is such a drama queen. Are you a tragic male protagonist?’

“It’s all my fault. I should not have abandoned you to the monster. I, I just……”

“Young Marquis Yersil.”

Celia was enthralled by the eerie voice, and Fabian froze.

Except for the fact that he was cursed, Leonis was a sword master. He was about to turn around and go back when he sensed another sign entering the terrace where his wife should be alone.

Celia sat at the far end of the imperial palace’s large balcony terrace. It was about a ten-meter walk from the front door.

Fabian shouted aloud as Leonis drew near him—he was only two meters away. The distance between them made Celia’s shadow then opaque.

With his large hand, Leonis grabbed him by the neck and immediately brought him closer. As if he intended to immediately break it.

“Did you come into the terrace where my wife was alone? Did you even receive permission?”

“Heok……Du-Duke……Keugh…..”

Leonis had just heard Celia tell someone to get out through the closed door. Leonis possessed this ability because it could only be attained by a Sword Master who had received extensive training.

He saw Celia furrowed her brow as the servants’ faces turned blue as he walked out through the closed door. Then came Fabian’s words.

With one hand, Leonis grabbed Fabian’s neck and lifted him up.

“I’m afraid of what I’m asking.”

Fabian couldn’t even think of a plausible excuse. He was utterly powerless, gasping for air and terrified that Leonis’s hand would break his neck at any moment.

He tried to break free from his grip, but their strength was too different to begin with.

‘Mon-Monster……’

“Leon.”

Leonis froze when he heard Celia’s voice. The fury that this guy dared to approach Celia almost drove him to madness.

“We have our memories here…..

You’re not going to taint our memories with that kind of person, are you?”

He went to a ball and changed the image of the Cardian family, but he couldn’t ruin it because of Fabian.

Leonis remembered Celia and his dancing in this place when he heard Celia’s words.

Her lovely lips, too.

“…….Let’s go somewhere else.”

When Leonis reached out to her, he moved as if possessed. He threw Fabian’s neck, which was strangling him, aside and walked towards her.

“Keog! Cough Cough….Heug, Heog…..”

Fabian coughed loudly as he lay flat on his back on the floor. Meanwhile, Leonis approached Celia and supported her.

Celia stood up and wrapped her arms around him, mumbling in a voice only he could hear.

“I didn’t mean to ask for a hug.”

“…….”

Leonis silently bolstered the arm that held Celia.