Soon the guests involved themselves in the rhythm and danced on the platform while others chatted and had their stomachs filled.
Soon, Alice and Kole retired from the stage.
Kole made small chats with whomever he could and displayed dominative calmness while talking and dark humor to entertain the guests.
He couldn't say for sure he made friends, but at the very least, he got acquainted with many noble scions of the Treon Kingdom.
One of them was a young man in a three-piece burgundy tuxedo, Alfred Jefferson—son of Baron Jefferson.
Alfred mentioned how he was encouraged because of Kole's short speech and how one should always try to live life to the fullest.
Kole wondered whether Alfred also had some unconventional passion like Alice had, who loved exploring, which was frowned upon by societal norms.
Regardless of the reason for Alfred's enthusiasm, Kole wasn't interested in discouraging someone. He merely chatted with a smile.
As the vibrant night was coming to an end, Kole, who was about to approach the sulking Caroline, was stopped by a young noble lady.
"Miss Constance? Is there something you need my help with?" Kole raised an eyebrow with a playful look in his eyes.
Constance covered her mouth with the back of her hand and chuckled elegantly, "Heir Akerse, there is something…" Her blue eyes showed a difficult expression.
"Oh? Then how may I help you, my lady?"
"Would you like to take a stroll in the open garden? The moon is shining more brightly than any night. Could be perhaps because of your special day." Constance smiled meaningfully, "I would like to discuss some things over the walk."
Feigning a deliberate expression, Kole hesitated for a bit.
After pausing for a brief second, he nodded and agreed to the proposal, "Um. Sure, beautiful lady…"
…
Soon, the duo was walking along the shaded cloister under the curtain of silver hue in the dark night.
"Sooo… not that I mind, but why are you holding my hand, Miss Constance?" Kole glanced at their connection and thought this girl was quite daring for wearing an engagement ring in her left hand while holding another man's hand.
"A way to connect without the use of words…" Constance was feeling quite awkward as she made a random excuse.
Even she didn't know what got over her when she approached Kole out of nowhere.
She wanted to punch his handsome face, but when she came in front of him, she just couldn't get herself to follow her original plans and invited him for a stroll.
Later on, she couldn't interact with him because not only was she flustered, but she didn't even know her own purpose for approaching Kole.
She could only clumsily grab his hand and lead him away from the guests, that were leaving in their steam cars so that no one saw them.
"Hum. This is a very unique method to connect, and frankly, I'm delighted you chose this technique to get in touch with me." Kole could guess what was going through Constance's mind.
After all, from his perspective, she was just a naïve spoiled brat that decided to confront the bully.
But later on, realized her strength wasn't enough and could only awkwardly wait for the bully's judgment.
Even though Constance was a strong Ascendant, she couldn't use her strength to put Kole in his place, especially when there was a chance the Duchess was lurking in the dark.
As such, Constance was in quite a pickle.
"Haha… You must be jesting, Heir Akerse…" With an embarrassed laugh, she tried to scurry her hand away, "I think, a better way to interact should be talking."
"No-no…" Kole tutted and held her hand tightly, refusing to let it go, "I think it's definitely in the top 3 methods to connect with people."
"Top 3?" Constance was genuinely curious about the other two approaches.
"Yes. Top 3. As for communicating normally through chatting as we all did at the banquet, is at the fourth position."
"Really?" Constance shot Kole a peculiar glance, "Then what are the other two, other than holding hands?"
But Kole shook his head and denied her curious self the pleasure of gaining knowledge, "If you want, we can try communication through those means, but I won't tell you what it is…"
As they walked, Constance fell into a contemplative reverie.
However, it didn't sustain for long as the inner struggle for curiosity won the lead.
"Okay, show me." She said in a determined tone.
As soon as she said that, Kole pulled her into his embrace and pressed his lips against hers while a profane light flashed in his eyes.
This is the second-best method to communicate… He thought inwardly.
Constance's eyes opened wide, but soon she relaxed as her eyes half-closed and blazed with lust…
Kole felt something wrong with her reaction. However, he wasn't one to complain. He was about to make this chaste kiss into a full-blown passionate one when his brows furrowed.
Suddenly he appeared in a blurry palace.
Mind Palace!
He glanced around and saw his colorful painting had a dark blue tone appearing over it.
What is happening?
He was extremely confused as he noticed a blue tint was afflicting the fog surrounding him and even the blurry palace.
Feeling the ominous bubbles popping in the pits of his stomach, Kole's dark eyes analyzed calculatedly while his mind raced rapidly with churning thoughts.
A type of corruption? When did I get corrupted?
Images after image replayed in his mind. He recalled his every action today and from the past few days.
Suddenly, Kole's eyes turned into slits as a dangerous glint flashed past them.
The Kiss!
Controlling his body in the real world, he, at once, separated from Constance!
She, on the other hand, breathed roughly.
At the same time, in the Mind Palace, he switched the bright painting with the Canvas of Felony lying in the shadows.
Immediately, his lips curved into a lopsided grin as his eyes gave a ruthless and menacing look.
Side Effects of Replacing himself with the Canvas of Felony!
Kole controlled himself and waited for the blue tint to disappear.
After only a second, Kole noticed the blue shade being absorbed by the dark painting.
It took a few more moments before his Mind Palace returned to its earlier calm.
Having completed his goal, Kole changed the positions of the two canvases and placed the Canvas of Felony back in the shadows of the Bright painting.
When Kole opened his eyes in the real world, those dark orbs weren't pretty with a playful light in them but were replaced by the eyes of a tyrant, looking at a death row prisoner with absolute apathy!