I snapped out of his fascinating eyes when I heard him growl. I must've forgotten that he was angry and he wasn't happy about having women in his palace.
In a very short period of time, I have discovered who could be the prince and the fact that he didn't like the idea of this ball and having ladies scatter all over his place.
The prince doesn't look sick at all. His body looks good, he is tall, and I can see a bit of what was hiding inside the robe when the chest opened up when he swooped the curtains out of his way. He doesn't look like he's been suffering.
He can stand his ground. Then what is this curse that pushed him out of his throne?
"Miss, I beg your pardon but no ladies are allowed in this area," the panicked man is one old man. He had a pair of glasses on his eye, a curled mustache, and white hair just like Martha. His palms were closed as he approached me. "I'm sorry but how did you walk past the guards?" he asked me.
"She must be someone from the main palace," I heard the person at the back say. The same person whom I believe is the forgotten Prince standing just meters away from me.
I was so caught by the tension in the room that I couldn't think of what I was supposed to do and what I was supposed to say.
Before even thinking if I should talk or not, my hands moved without my cue.
'I didn't know, I'm sorry.'
"Miss? May I help you?" the man who was called Anton by the Prince asked me. He seemed not to understand the language I was using he thought I was trying to say something I couldn't.
I couldn't bring myself to talk even after realizing that I may have to do it in this situation.
'I'm sorry,'
"Bring her back down, Anton." As I was struggling to choose and find my words, the Prince spoke. His eyes have fallen on my shaking hands. The ones I used to covey what I had to say earlier.
His look said it all. He understood.
With the Prince's orders, Anton took my attention again. "Let me guide you, Miss," he said. He moved his hand to where I was supposed to go. But I couldn't leave my eyes on the Prince who was now falling deeply into his thoughts he's been staring at me for so long. "Miss?"
I said nothing and turned around. I followed the stairs leading me back to the noisy ballroom grounds. "Then, I shall take my leave. Good luck on you, Miss." Anton said after I took the last step of the stairs. He gave me a genuine smile. One of the smiles Martha used to give me in my first few days in the Manor.
'Thank you,' I said with my hands. He looked at it and didn't seem to understand so he then gave me an awkward smile and took his leave.
I might have stared at the stairs for too long upon realizing what had happened. I might've met the actual Prince in the Mistress' rumors.
He was far from how the mistress had described him. He didn't come close to looking like a frog.
I can say that the Prince looked charming. His features went perfectly with each other giving birth to an extremely appealing face.
But I couldn't deny I am feeling eccentric about him. He's been sick for 10 years now and yet he doesn't look like he's not been well. If the curse didn't make him suffer an illness, what could it have been that he had to be replaced?
I also noticed the look on my hands when I started moving them. He looked like he could read and he can understand sign language.
But I cannot be so sure. He could've also been wondering what I was doing and just acted differently.
But that look....
The party became even louder as everyone was just chatting and running in their own worlds.
I looked up to the balcony I came from just minutes ago. He could be there, watching.
I continued looking around the venue and tried the offered foods on the table. I came across many groups of ladies who talked about what was going to happen tonight.
"We are going get our chances to meet the Prince," one of them with a huge mole on the corner of her lips said while flapping her fan.
"What does that mean? The Prince never even came out," said another.
"See that right there?" she pointed to a balcony in the middle of the room. Lower than the ones I was in earlier was a balcony sitting in the middle of the ballroom connected to two stairs. "He'll be there later and we will be able to spend equal time with him," she chattered excitedly.
"Eh? Really?" the others started awing in disbelief.
"Yes," she said confidently. "Make sure to become the best version of yourself during that small period of time, ladies. This is our only chance,"
The man I met earlier is definitely not fond of the crowd. Or women themselves. I was a bit hesitant about the girl's idea until we were called to line up.
The idea was absurd. Why can't he just find a woman from a huge family and go on a meal instead of making a huge crowd line up to meet him? But just like what I heard earlier, this party wasn't his idea.
The girls were right. The balcony has a small room covered in sheer sheets where you can see a person inside but vaguely. It seems like the Prince does not want to reveal himself yet.
He must've felt like staring from the balcony wasn't enough so he went downstairs to meet them face-to-face.
Each lady was given a short time to introduce themselves. It's only for the person inside if he was going to decide whether to let her spend another minute or make her leave.
I only felt the tension when the lady in front of me stood in front of the small room covered in sheer curtains. She introduced herself ladyly in front and even added things that she thought would make her fascinating.
Cringe.
"Next," the guard standing on the side told me and gestured for me to walk in front. But I didn't and gave him a piece of envelope instead. It got him wondering what it was so he opened it and read it. He coughed. "The lady is MUTE, your highness." The guard must've thought I wouldn't notice how he said the word 'Mute' so loudly.
He was mocking me.
I looked at him and moved my hands. 'I want to punch you in the face,' even though I knew he couldn't understand.
"I don't know how to speak mute, my lady," he said. Being this disrespectful to an aristocrat's lady is a sin. I can get this guard punished if I want to. Being disrespectful should be reprimanded. "Her name is Celeste Alliyah from the Duke's manor," his voice grew smaller upon reading what was written after my name.
"We do not have someone who understands sign language, do we?" the person behind the curtain spoke. It made me look at him who has become a shadow behind the sheets. I could barely see his face but I can fully examine the shape of his head, his hair, and his body sitting on a seat.
"We don't, your highness." the guard answered.
"Then we'll have to skip," he said.
Upon hearing his words, I walked in front and bowed to him as a greeting and a goodbye. I felt not a bit of remorse after being sent away for not being able to talk. Instead, I looked up to the balcony at the corner I was facing.
A man with red eyes looked down at me. His eyes are as deep as ever. It's a different red from mine. While my eyes shine, his are dark. Ominous. And his face says nothing about him. He's not showing any emotion as he battles my gaze with his. I gently tilted my body and did a respectful bow breaking our silent battle.
I wanted to see his reaction when I bowed to him and let him know that I knew his scheme and that he wasn't the one behind the curtain.
Being the first one to look away, I couldn't bring myself to look back. Wondering if he saw and understood what I said to the guard earlier, I stepped down the opposite staircase and straight to the exit of the ballroom.
I felt no guilt, no remorse, no disappointment as I left the place. Because I knew too well that the man behind the curtain wasn't the one I was aiming for. So then, I may have come for nothing. I stood no chance of living after all.