[CHAPTER 9: TIME FOR THE SUMMER BALL]
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It was finally the day of the Imperial Summer Ball; the event that most nobles looked forward to while others dreaded at the thought of it. That morning of the ball, the entire imperial palace was engulfed with chaos and ruckus. Servants and maids ran around like headless chickens to get the royal kin ready for the event. Meanwhile, the ravenette was silently sitting inside his office, working on paperwork.
He only came out of his office when it was lunchtime. After lunch, Albert alerted him that servants from the Malefic Archduchy household have arrived. He thanked Albert before heading to his private quarters. He greeted the servants and had small conversations with them; asking how everything was at the estate in the Malefic Archduchy territory. It wasn't long before the ravenette was soaking in warm bathwater with a relaxed yet blissful expression.
He could hear how the imperial palace servants were scurrying around outside, trying to get everything they needed for the royal kin. The Malefic servants were calmly neatening his private quarters and preparing tea for him as they waited for the outfits to arrive from 'Clair de Lune'. They were all aware of the Malefic lineage's curse since they grew up in the household with their parents for generations. Their loyalty to the Malefic household was impeccable.
"Your hair seems to have grown longer, Your Grace," A young man - who had ashy-grey coloured hair and silver cat-like eyes - mentioned with a smile as his fingers ran through his charcoal-coloured hair. He was the current aide for the Malefic household's financial and military spots; he usually takes care of the matters of the estate when the ravenette was summoned to the Capital.
A permanent gentle expression was seen on the young man's face and he stared down at the ravenette's handsome yet relaxed face. "Hm? Really?" He mumbled with a raised brow as he closed his eyes, enjoying the scalp massage he was receiving from him. "Should I grow it out like how I used to or should I cut it short again?" He asked while opening one of his eyes, playfully grinning at the grey-haired man.
"Whatever you desire to do, Your Grace," He chuckled, rubbing his scalp in a soothing manner as he secretly admired the man relaxing in the bath. His eyes trailed down from his jaw, collarbones, and chest before landing on his toned stomach that was seen above the water. His gaze flickered to his shoulders and arms where the tattoo-like markings were. At the age of five years old, he met the nine-year-old ravenette at the time; a special encounter between them.
"Your Grace," A sudden voice called out from behind the bathroom door, alerting the grey-haired man and the ravenette of the person's presence, "The delivery from 'Clair de Lune' has arrived." Immediately, the ravenette straightened his posture, startling the grey-haired man. "Good," He mumbled for a second before ordering in an authoritative tone, "Send a letter to Madam Blanchet that I would be waiting for her at the stairwell when she arrives tonight at six o'clock sharp." The person behind the door said that he understood before leaving.
"I guess that was my cue to start getting ready for the hellish part," He joked with a chuckle and poured water over his head, washing the shampoo off. The grey-haired man observed his motions and felt his ears turn a bit pinkish. "Isidor, a towel please," He stated as he pushed himself out of the water and held his hand out towards the grey-haired man with his back facing him.
Quickly, he handed him a towel and the ravenette thanked him as he dried himself off. Once he was finished, he took a black bathrobe off the wall hooks and wrapped it around his body, securing it with a knot. He walked out of the bathroom and Isidor followed him closely. They were immediately met with the sight of maids placing the outfits on the mannequins, showing them off.
The maids and servants stared at the outfits with awe; speechless at how luxurious yet eye-catching they were. "Which one would you be wearing tonight, Your Grace?" Isidor questioned with his eyes pinned to the mannequins while the ravenette sat down on the couch. One of the maids poured him a cup of coffee and placed it down in front of him.
"Serina said that I should wear the outfit with the white vest for the first night," He answered, humming a small tune as he picked up the cup of coffee and took a sip of it. "She made it crystal clear that she would kill me if I don't wear that outfit on the first night," He added with a deadpanned expression, recalling how she caused a racket inside the boutique yesterday, yelling 'We have to match our outfits for the ball!' at him.
"Ah..." Isidor responded with an 'I'm not surprised' look on his face and gestured for the maids to ready the outfit for him, "Madam Blanchet is still strict about ballroom outfit etiquette, I see." The ravenette scoffed at his words in an amused manner, "You say it as if she was never strict about such things, but that's what makes her unique." The moment he was finished with his coffee, he got up and allowed the maids to dress him.
He felt like he was a doll for them when a sparkling aura surrounded them, showing that they were giddy and excited to dress him up. Two hours later, he was finally finished. "You look so handsome, Your Grace!" The maids squealed in unison at the sight of the ravenette. The said man stared at himself in the mirror with his lips in a thin line. His charcoal-coloured hair was swept to the right side and he had a bit of dark eyeshadow on his eyelids that brought out his sunset-coloured eyes.
The black long-sleeved shirt hugged his torso like a glove, causing a bit of his cleavage to show. The white sleeveless vest made his waist look more slender than usual. The black tight trousers complimented all the right areas on his lower half. He used the black cloak as a one-shoulder cloak with the harness wrapped around his chest. The white fur on the cloak's shoulders and collar tickled him a bit, but it was bearable. A pair of golden earrings dangled from his ears. He finished the outfit with black leather loafers and his usual leather gloves.
"Hmm," He hummed as he fiddled with the open collar of the shirt, staring at the faint markings on his throat. It was a miracle that the markings settled down and grew faint. "It's almost six o'clock, Your Grace," Isidor mentioned from next to him and he glanced at the grey-haired man. "All right," He mumbled before turning around with his hands inside his pockets, "I'll be leaving now." The servants said their farewells to him as he left his private quarters and stepped into the corridors.
He spotted a few knights guarding the current floor and they greeted him when he walked past them. After descending a few stairwells and walking through empty hallways, he reached the lobby area of the palace. Guests were roaming around the lobby, greeting each other or heading to the ballroom with a butler escorting them. When they spotted him descending the stairwell that led to the inner court's hallways, they stared at him with wide gobsmacked eyes.
He ignored them as he headed towards the doors. While walking down the stairs, he took his pocket watch out and looked at the time; it was two minutes before six o'clock. He paused halfway when a carriage pulled to a stop in front of him and he shoved his pocket watch back into his breast pocket. A smile graced his lips as a doorman opened the carriage door and his smile grew wider when Serina stepped out of the carriage.
"Wow..." He mumbled with sparkling eyes. Serina was dressed in a sleeveless silver-blue silk dress; it had high slits on either side of her legs until her upper thighs and exposed her cleavage. Her forearms had long sleeves that were attached with bracelets around her biceps. The top of the dress had silver chains attached to a white choker around her throat while the back of the dress draped across the floor.
Her hair was curled; decorated with pearls while diamonds dangled from her ears and darkish makeup complimented her face. Her deer antlers had thin silver chains dangling from them. With each step she took, her slender bare legs would be seen, showing off the white stilettos she wore. The ravenette only then noticed that she had a white-furred shawl around her arms.
"My, those clothes seem a bit tight on you, Your Grace," She mentioned with a strained smile before she opened her white fan and covered her lips as she peered at him, "I guess my measurements were a bit too short..." Just by that, he knew that this was her form of revenge for leaving her alone with the other tailors. "I have no complaints, my lady," He reassured her with a chuckle and walked towards her, smiling.
"Because my lady was the one who made this outfit for me," He added as he gently picked up her smaller hand. "It's an honour to see you on this beautiful evening, Serina," He greeted, maintaining eye contact with her when he gave her knuckles a small yet long kiss, causing her to tense up under his touch. "Flattery won't make me forgive you, Erix," She retorted, clicking her tongue with pinkish cheeks.
"But I can at least try, can't I?" He teased while smoothly pulling her towards him, hooking his arm with hers. A sly smile appeared on his lips when he noticed how her cheeks blushed at his actions. "Well... I will forgive you if you give me cake tonight," She joked, childishly grinning at him with a giggle. His smile widened as he nodded at her words. Carefully, he escorted her up the stairs with consideration of her draping dress behind her.
Once they were in front of the entrance doors, gasps and whispers escaped the on-looking guests. They ignored the reactions and headed towards the ballroom hall. "I heard that the Holy Empire would be attending tonight's ball," Serina mentioned while glancing at him from the corner of her eye, "Knowing your reputation with them, will you be all right tonight...?"
"I have no other option than to smile and act friendly when I see those bastards," He sneered slightly with a glare before sighing. "Erix," She called out to him in a whisper and he looked at her with a curious gaze. A reassuring expression appeared on her face as she placed her hand on his forearm which was hooked around hers. "You'll be fine," Her voice was low yet gentle and she felt him tense up.
Silently, he stared at her with bewilderment for a few seconds. She was startled when he started to laugh out loud and wiped a tear away from his eyes. "You're truly amazing," He complimented, genuinely smiling at her. At the sight of his smile, she grew extremely flustered. He started to tease her when he noticed how flustered she got; a comfortable atmosphere surrounded them.
After a few minutes, they arrived in front of the two looming oak doors. The two knights guarding the doors stiffened up with wide eyes at the sight of the ravenette and the white-haired woman. "Open the doors," He sternly ordered and Serina covered her mouth with her fan, liking how his personality changed so quickly. Immediately, the knights opened the door; revealing a luxurious ballroom filled with hundreds of people.
"Suzerain Erix Malefic, the young heir to the Malefic Archduchy, and Madam Serina Blanchet are now entering!" The doorman announced in a booming voice, catching everyone's attention in an instant. Erix could feel Serina tense up at the hundreds of eyes pinned on them. "Relax..." He whispered while giving her hand a squeeze, which made her glance at him in a hurry.
"Smile with confidence, Serina," He added as he sent her a tiny smile before escorting her down the magnificent stairwell. With each step they took, the room started to buzz with people's murmuring. Serina's nerves were all over the place but she tried to focus on Erix's body heat next to her. The said ravenette was looking forward, listening to the murmurs of people.
"Who is Suzerain Malefic's partner?"
"Wahhh~! They look so good with each other!"
"Ah... Here comes the 'Emperor's Mutt'..."
"He looks more handsome than I heard..."
"That's the 'Devil of Malefic'?"
"That woman is gorgeous but..."
"She doesn't deserve to be Suzerain Malefic's partner..."
Suddenly, a heavy aura spread throughout the room when his feet reached the floor. It felt like something was pushing everyone's shoulders down from a strange pressure. Dozens of them trembled with pale faces when they spotted the icy cold expression on the ravenette's face. It was clear to everyone that looked at him; their comments pissed him off.
"Erix..." Serina whisper-yelled at him when she spotted him clenching his jaw with cold eyes. "Hm?" He hummed as he turned his head to her, snapping out of his menacing state. "I would like to have a look around the buffet," She whispered, leaning closer to him with her fan covering their mouths. In disbelief, he stared at her for a second before chuckling.
"Of course," He whispered back to her and pulled her towards the buffet, "Let's see if there's anything sweet for you." People watched them for a couple of minutes before minding their own business again. The room was filled with chatter and faint music again. "Here, try this," He handed her a plate of cheesecake that had berry sauce poured over it, "You might like this."
Surprised, she took the plate from him and stared at the cute-looking dessert. He picked up a small plate of red velvet cake and took a bit from it. While he was occupied with his dessert, Serina took a bite of hers. Immediately, sparkles surrounded her as the sweet sugary taste overwhelmed her tastebuds. "It's good right?" He asked with a playful grin and chuckled when she childishly nodded her head at him.
"Your Grace," A voice called out to him from the side and he raised a brow, placing his attention on the owner of the voice. It belonged to a middle-aged man dressed in an expensive blue suit. "Ah, Lord Gromwell," The ravenette greeted him with a strained smile and secretly tapped Serina's exposed backside, catching her attention. "How have you been, my Lord?" He asked while gesturing for Serina to hide behind his back and she silently scurried behind him, hiding herself from Gromwell's perspective.
"It's been rough in the South, Your Grace, haha!" Gromwell answered as he tried to peer over the younger man's shoulder, however, he was unsuccessful when the ravenette straightened his posture. "Is that so? That's unfortunate to hear, My Lord," The ravenette mentioned with a forced chuckle before an icy cold smile appeared on his face, "And what about the Marchioness, My Lord?"
At the mention of his wife, Gromwell tensed up as if he was struck by lightning. He was silent while biting his lip in anger. 'Oh my,' Serina could feel the middle-aged man's anger seep off him. "My Lord?" The ravenette innocently called out to him, feigning worry. "Ahem! Uh, it seems that I am sought by the other nobles! My deepest apologies, Your Grace!" He stuttered with panic and sent the ravenette a small bow of his head before scurrying away in a hurry.
The moment Gromwell was gone, the smile on the ravenette's face fell and a pissed-off frown replaced it. "Fucking perverted pig..." He mumbled under his breath, causing Serina to bite back a laugh. "Nevermind that," He sighed while glancing at the entrance doors, almost as if he was expecting something. "They're late," He said out loud with a playful yet disappointed smile and Serina raised a brow at his words. Before she could ask, the doorman's booming voice filled the room as the doors creaked open, "Now entering, the four heirs of the Archduchies!"