The Opposite Of Indifference - Chapter 33

Frankly, Prince Frederick didn’t have to dance. No, it wouldn’t have mattered if he rolled over the marble floor naked. He boasted an overwhelming influence just by existing.

“… The rumors weren’t false!” Ophelia exclaimed.

Everyone looked as if they had starved for 10 days and found at least a perfectly browned, well-cooked roast chicken. It wasn’t just the five young ladies the same age as him, but even the adults who had gone through all sorts of outliers in the royal court’s society.

“I don’t think there will be a face like that in the garden that Emperor Valentina made with only beautiful boys.” Adriana was stunned.

“If it wasn’t for the second son, he would really have been the best man in the kingdom.” Charlotte was sorry.

“Creator Mother puts me to the test with my foolishness.” Elizabeth groaned as she clutched the rosary.

Even Jane, who was the most skeptical of the prince’s rumors, muttered, “Not at all like Prince Christopher.”

Before long, Frederick’s solo dance was over. Enthusiastic applause broke out. The music stopped as Frederick II rose from the throne.

“My second son, Frederick, celebrated his tenth birthday today.” His voice resounded in the quiet banquet hall. “According to the rite, I should have my first dance with the princess, but… . Jayladin was not feeling well today and was unable to attend.” Frederick II put on a slightly displeased expression.

“Why is Jadalin not attending again?” Ophelia tilted her head.

“What kind of person is the princess?” Ann asked no one. All the girls were impatient to pretend to be proud anyway, she guessed none would answer.

“She is a beauty with an exotic look.” Indeed, Ann’s expectations were wrong. Elizabeth was the first to choose careful words. “I was a bit surprised when I first met her. There were rumors she had six fingers and with warts on his face so big they looked like devil horns.”

“Why are there rumors when she is the emperor’s eldest daughter?” (Ann)

“It is because she is the eldest daughter of the emperor, such rumors spread.”

Jane shot back. “She lost her status as the heir and came to the kingdom. It’s because she married the second son, Prince Frederick.” Jane continued without breathing. “It’s like that when marriage talks first come and go. In the kingdom, Prince Christopher was planning to propose to Jadalin. But Emperor Valentina was stubborn. He insisted she marry Prince Frederick.”

“Why?” Anne wondered if her question was too far but her curiosity got the better of her..

“Nobody knows why.” Jane shrugged.

“It makes no sense.” Ann insisted. “Why did Emperor Valentina hand over the successor they raised with all her heart and soul to the second son, a prince who would not even be the king of the kingdom?”

“Shh!” This time Charlotte put her index finger to her lips. “Anyway, Jaladin’s vacancy is good for us!”

Indeed, Charlotte was right.

“Instead, I’ll ask the lady I’m invited to dance with today.” Frederick II’s declaration appealled to the ears of the young ladies. Just like that, Anne and the five young ladies were brought back to the stage.

Who will the prince choose?

It was a question only a naive person would ask. The answer has already been decided.

Prince Frederick had to choose Charlotte Brennan.

Charlotte wasn’t just the daughter of the Duke of Humston, who had been ranked first in among the nobility since the Duke of Windwhistle Rock’s absence, but also had the most excellent dancing skills. Even Jane Grant, whose steps were lovely, bit her lip and surrendered to the inevitable result.

“Prince Frederick.”

Furthermore, Mrs. Galbraith nodded, pushed Charlotte to the front. It was a blatant hint that he should ask her to dance.

The band started playing again. Prince Frederick didn’t move right away and looked around at the six young ladies. With just that gaze, he stole their young hearts.

Ann heard Adriana, who was standing beside her, swallowing dry saliva. Charlotte’s cheeks still turned red, even as she pointedly ignored him as the second son.

Prince Frederick, who really put others in suspense, seemed to enjoy the stage.

He is not the king, nor is he the eldest son who has attained the position of successor. Still, he overflowed with composure and confidence. He had the look of a man who owned the entire court.

“Will you give me the honor of dancing our first dance together today—”

And the opponent to whom Prince Frederick approached and extended his hand—

“Lady Ann?”

An intense gray light shimmered in his blue eyes.

Prince Frederick passed Charlotte like a ghost going straight to Ann. She heard someone gasp. After confidently holding out her hand halfway only to see the Prince pass her by, Charlotte’s embarrassed face turned blue.

“Hey, you can do this?” Today’s dance has already been overflowing with discomfort. Ann didn’t want to put herself in any more annoying situations.

“—Freddy!”

Unfortunately, or fortunately, Frederick II intervened. His handsome face was not as forgiving as before. On the contrary, he seemed impatient with the attention of the Duke of Humston, who must have been as humiliated as his daughter. “Lady Ann is the daughter of the historic Duke of Windwhistle Rock.” Frederick II intoned.

Prince Frederick didn’t bat an eye.

“And today, she even received praise from His Majesty the King as a gray azalea.” Frederick II  added a smile that seemed to melt the other person. “Isn’t she really a suitable partner for the Prince’s first socialite dance?”

Prince Frederick spun his arrow. “Does the Duke of Humston think so too?”

Of course, the Duke of Humston couldn’t have said no on the spot. But it would be unseemly to focus attention on trivial stories like children’s dances. He reluctantly nodded.

“Lady Ann.” Prince Frederick held out his hand again triumphantly.

Ann realized. There is no room for women’s judgment to intervene in the social world of the royal palace. Although the answer was reversed, the fact that the answer was decided was the same. She had to take Prince Frederick’s hand. In the twinkling of an eye, it was as if she was wrapped in a pesky web he had woven.

“Prince Frederick.” She bent her knees and put her hand on his. But she didn’t want to be beaten, so Ann grabbed it with force as if I was about to crush it.

“It hurts, Lady Ann.” Frederick walked like flowing water to the music of the orchestra. It didn’t look too painful, but he shook his head skillfully. “You are as strong as a woodcutter, not just as a lady.”

“I told you I didn’t want to be a lady.”

“Yes, the lady told me.” Frederick laughed. “Wait, aren’t we supposed to pretend that we didn’t meet before?”

“It would have been if the prince hadn’t ignored Lady Charlotte and asked me to dance.”

Ann pretended to be mistaken and purposely stomped his foot with the heel of her shoe. “It’s okay to dance with anyone, why are you bothering me?

“Because I am determined to be annoying.” Frederick naturally freed his foot from being stepped on, raised his hand, and spun Ann. “I’ll make you so annoyed that you want to kill me.”

“Why did you say—?” Ann tried to step on his foot again but failed. “My eyes. You said you liked them. Why?” As he came closer, he reverted to the boy Ann met in the woods. Others felt uncomfortable whenever Anne stared at them. If she ever used ‘inappropriate’ language, they would say that she was a creepy lady. But she couldn’t understand why the prince, who seemed to have a higher standard, liked her eyes.

“Does there have to be a reason for liking them?” Frederick put on an expression that he really didn’t understand.

“Can I do without it?” Ann raised her eyebrows. “My mother always smiles. She says I should smile when I see others. Because everyone likes a woman who smiles well. If you see someone hurt, you should help them. Because a lady should have a heart that takes pity on others. You must learn to dance and sing. Because women have to meet and be courted by nice men in the social world.” Ann recalled the reasons she had learned one by one. “There is always a reason for good behavior. And I have to understand that.” She suddenly changed her words. “No, I have to pretend to understand because even if I memorize it I will never understand. What the Duchess of Windwhistle Rock taught me isn’t wrong.”

Frederick thought for a moment and said—”But I have no reason to explain to you.”

He smiled. “I like you for no reason, Ann Belvard.”

Ann was so confused she couldn’t speak.

“Your hair was black.” Prince Frederick didn’t really want to provide her with an answer. “Your eyes are blue, and your hair is black. Just like me.”

He must have seen her with her hair undone while dancing earlier.

And he was still watching. A rough re-wrapping of what had been stripped, a few strands of Anne’s dark hair peeked out from beneath the yellow gabled hood.

“I assumed it wouldn’t be blonde or brown. But I didn’t expect it to be black.”

“Are you disappointed?”

“No, I’m glad,” said Frederick. “It’s like looking in a mirror.”

Ann was speechless.

“A mirror where one part is broken, and the image is distorted. It’s similar to me, but in fact it seems to reflect a completely different face.”

It was because she was quite surprised that he thought the same as she did.

“I will never forget this day, Ann Belvard.”

Frederick pulled Ann close once again. He stopped at a distance where the tips their noses could almost touch.

Ann no longer listened to the music of a band that could not keep up with her beat. She just stared at his gray-blue eyes and the jet-black hair that slipped over them.

“Is that so, Prince Frederick?” But she wasn’t enamored with him. “After today, you’ll forget everything.”

“Why?”

“Because everyone likes you. But I don’t like you,” Ann said.

“No one likes me, but like it means nothing to me.”

Ann looked at the mirror called Frederick again. Really similar but different.

He was the light, and she was the dark.

“What the prince should remember is the person who loves you.”

“No.” It was quite rude, but it did not offend Frederick. “It’s only natural that everyone likes me. It has been like that since I was born, and always will be like that.” He spoke confidently. “What I have to remember is the person I like.” Frederick whispered. “Remember, Ann Belvard. I will like you when no one else likes you. And while that may annoy you. It will never mean anything.”

It felt like time and space stopped for a moment at a meaningful promise.

“If you don’t believe me, should I make a bet?” When that bizarre moment was inevitably broken, Frederick cheerfully proposed.

“What are you betting?”

“A kiss,” said Frederick. “If we both remember this day the next time we see each other, you owe me a kiss.”

Ann thought for a moment. “Like you do to your mother before you go to sleep?”

“No. Just like the prince does to the princess who fell into eternal sleep in a fairy tale book.” Frederick shrugged.

“But why am I playing the role of a Princess?” Ann was dumbfounded.

“The lady said she didn’t want to do it? Then you don’t like the princess either?”

“Wait—” It was a reason that made some sense, but Ann didn’t like it. “If I pretend I don’t remember, isn’t it a bet that I win unconditionally?”

“Yes. But you won’t.” Surprisingly, he declared leisurely. “I will make you say you will definitely remember.”

At the same time, the orchestra stopped playing. That’s how the boy and girl’s first dance ended.

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