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nUnder the brightness of the silver full moon on its peakest phase, three people were quietly in the middle of a stand off at the west courtyard of the palace hall.

nThe air was tense, or it might be because one of those three figures is currently sweating cold bullets while looking a little guilty for whatever reason. And that person would be me.

nThe taller one, a man with the sharpest eyes, was raising his brows at the timid me who wouldn't want to meet his gaze. The other lady, Estelle, was just as confused as I am. She too couldn't understand what was going on, nor doesn't know what she should do at this moment.

nA few more minutes passed and I was beginning to question all my decisions that lead me up to this right here. I was only going back to the hall… Why am I here? How did I end up here?

nMost importantly, what is this situation??

nIn case all of you have forgotten what happened, let me just rewind back to mere moments ago.

nTo summarize my evening, my family and I went to the Founding Ball while hoping to witness the interaction between the novel characters.. While waiting for it to happen, I got slightly drunk, got bored, and went outside to calm myself down.

nThen I saw Noah and Rosamunde being unusually close with each other and in order for me to not disturb them, made a detour and saw Lukas and Estelle instead. I decided to eavesdrop-- Ahem, I mean listen to them a bit but Lukas caught me, which led us to now.

n'I was going to escape back to my route but then he blurted out my identity like that…'

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"I can't believe the young lady of the Herman family has a hobby like this…

"

nI mean, what is he insinuating? As if I do something like this on a daily basis!

nMy dignity as a decent noblewoman was at stake, thus I had no choice but to come out of hiding. Not that I am hiding or anything like that at all. I was just being considerate you know.

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"So? Why are you spying on me?

" The hunk-- I mean, the assuming man said.

nI gasped out loud, feeling indignant.

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"I did not!

"

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"Oh? Then what are you doing over there, hiding behind a wall?

" Lukas countered.

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"I was only passing by… I didn't know the two of you had some tryst going on…

" I grumbled beneath my breath.

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"Tryst?

"

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"I didn't mean to disturb the two of you okay? So you could resume whatever talk you were having a while ago...

" I said and tried to slip past in the gap between the wall and him.

nHowever, Lukas sidestepped and blocked my escape route to my chagrin.

nHe stared down at me,

"Where are you going?

"

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"I'm going back inside,

" Duh!

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"No, you're not,

" he rebuked.

nWha--?! What is he saying now? Wait, let me calm down first.

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"I don't want to intrude in your talk so--

"

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"We're not talking,

" he declared, not even letting me finish.

nIs this man serious? They were just talking though?!

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"What are you saying? What was that then?!

"

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"U-uhmm… E-excuse me…

" it was uttered by a tiny voice from our right.

nBoth Lukas and I turned our heads to Estelle who was looking at us with an awkward expression.

nOh dear. I had forgotten there's another person here. How to put it, I just show such a brass attitude in her presence. My dignity…

nIt also looks like she remembered me, judging from the recognition I see in her eyes.

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"What? You're still here?

" Lukas rudely remarked with a scoff.

nEstelle's face got red because of that and she looked even more awkward now.

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"Go away if you're only going to waste my time,

" he added.

nThe poor woman grasped the sides of her skirt and bowed at us.

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"S-sorry! I'll be going now,

" she said and scampered out of our sight, back to the direction she came from.

nNow, Lukas and I are left alone. There was a looong silence. Mainly because this guy was looking down at me while I avoided looking at him directly. I don't have an idea what he was thinking about as he did that but I don't intend to find it out either. I'd rather go…

nLukas then took a step forward so I stepped back in instinct. He did that for a few more times and that's where I found myself stuck in between the wall behind me and him.

nErrr… He's so close! Why is he so close?!

nHe never left his imploring eyes on me which was filled with amusement. He's seriously enjoying this, isn't he?

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"So… Mind telling me why you are here?

" He inquired and braced one strong arm beside my head, making me nervous.

nI tried to look away and strayed my gaze at the side, onto the bushes.

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"I told you the reason already!

" I answered.

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"You're telling me that this is not deliberate and it just happened that you were just passing by?

" He pressed on as he leaned closer.

nAh! Go away! Stop invading my personal space, geez!

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"That's exactly right,

" I affirmed.

nThe corner of his lips quirked upward into a half smirk. This sudden change of behavior truly is confusing.

nHe was so callous and cold earlier with Estelle and now he's playful? What the hell…

nThat smirk is such a foul play too! It's a direct hit to my poor heart!

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"And why would I believe that? Aren't we meeting a lot lately to be only a coincidence? You're stalking me, admit it.

"

nAnd he's so full of himself either…

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"I won't admit such a thing,

" I grumbled, still not looking at him.

nIf I did, my face and his face would be so close to each other that I'm sure it would cause me anxiety attack. Why did the situation change like this? Just why?

nI heard him paused for a couple seconds before I felt his other free arm grab me under my chin and made me look at him. I was so surprised that I couldn't react that much and met his intimidating purple eyes.

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"Look at the person when you talk,

" he asserted.

nUnder the moon and from the light that came from the lit lamps, he looked so handsome that it caught me off guard. I have seen him up close before but that was when he had his thick hair almost blocking his eyes.

nI could clearly see his forehead right now, and his piercing gaze too. If he was already attractive with his rugged look, he's even more good-looking in this formal attire.

nDang it. I now know the reason why women throw themselves at his feet and why he's such a player. Because he got the face!

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