"Is the innocent expression of this face real?" His eyes squinted as he held her face, turning it left and right to his liking.
"Which masks are you wearing to conceal your real thoughts, Lady Claire?" His voice dropped from the warmest of voice to the coldest tone she heard all week, his eyes locked on her as if he wanted to devour this innocent rabbit.
Claire was reminded of that gaze, it was the gaze she felt when she stumbled onto him the day before. The looks of pure hatred that even Claire herself couldn't think of the reason.
Her eyes widened as she heard his cold and cruel question. The warm feeling that the prince gave her has long gone, replaced by an alien feeling, as if a reaper is looking into her soul.
"Your royal highness… I… I don't understand what you–"
She quietly spoke, afraid of angering the prince, her movements messy as she gets more and more flustered as time passes, she felt the man stopping his dance, before she even have a chance to ask,
"Your royal highness–!!"
The crown prince waved to the knights, he broke from the dance and pointed his fingers towards Claire.
"Knights! Capture this woman! She is in charge of inciting rebels against the Etrill Kingdom!!!"
The prince's hand tightly gripping her tiny arm, she couldn't even think of going against the prince as the situation could have developed to be even more perilous because of that, her heart dropped, she felt panic surging into her whole body.
Unfortunately, her dear brother, Vincent, is not here. If he is here, there would be at least someone who will support her, yet no one did, not even her absent father could do anything as she is by herself in this ball.
Knights footsteps are all that one can hear in the ball, everyone has turned quiet from the commotion, even the orchestra is looking at the middle of the hall, curious to what's happening there, the nobles were stunned because of the prince's accusation.
Claire feels as if the world is spinning, her head is dizzy and thinks of this as a big mistake. She had never done anything, she didn't even have any idea about the politics in the kingdom.
"I–I'm innocent, your royal highness!" She said loudly, her voice hoarse from desperation. "I have no idea about any rebels nor have I joined any political party! I'm only a girl that is coming of age, I have never–"
The cold blue eyes portrayed no remorse or pity, seeing such expression, she fell silent.
"Lady Claire, the proof has already been collected in the royal library. There are no mistakes without any purpose, as you are a threat to our kingdom."
As he stated the verdict, his gaze wandered the whole ballroom which is now filled with curious and shocked gaze from the nobles, it was as if they were watching a judge dropping a sentence to a criminal.
"Knights! Make sure Lady Claire is taken to the underground cell to be interrogated! The sentence will be decided by His Majesty!!"
Without any trial? The nobles were agape by the crown prince's statement. Yet, there is nothing they can do. Etrill has always been a tyrannical kingdom, every decision from the king is absolute.
The crown prince directed his gaze towards Claire again, his sharp eagle-like eye staring right at her soul, no doubt behind those pair of blue eyes.
"Your royal highness, I really have no idea about any rebellion!!"
"Be quiet!!" shouted the knight, who was already surrounding her, holding her from running away.
BAK!!!
One of the knights pushed her down. Her ashen complexion grazed the red carpet, blood seeped from the corner of her lips, she didn't even notice that she had bitten her own tongue as she fell on the floor.
She looked towards the crown prince, who is now fixing his attire with a cynical look on his face.
"Every traitor said the same sentence, Lady Claire. Your trial will be held in the royal court, the truth will be unveiled there."
Claire can feel her whole body pulsing, trembling from how hard her heart is beating, she couldn't help but feel her tears pouring from the socket of her eyes. The panic has now become a chaotic mess in her heart, she couldn't speak as elegantly as before as she sobs while trying to stand up for herself.
'I'm not guilty! I know nothing about any stupid coup! I never even leave the Duchy, living like a doll everyday!'
The silence makes her feel worthless and dirty from the accusation. She didn't even notice when her father had arrived and now stood beside the crown prince while she was still on the floor sobbing.
In the middle of the hall, surrounded by a crowd of nobles, the Duke faced her daughter with wrinkles on his forehead. His anger and fury became one, yet to protect his dignity, he tried his best to maintain his face as the duke.
"Your royal highness, what happened here!?"
His eyes wandered between Claire, who is still forced to prostrate by the knights and the prince who is coldly looking at her. He was very startled by the sight of Claire prostrating herself, his eyes darkened, with a sigh, his face now becoming less solemn and calmer.
"What has she done, your royal highness?"
Rather than asking towards his own daughter who is prostrating herself on the floor, he chose to ask the crown prince about her fault. Claire felt her heart had been stabbed by a knife.
"Father…"
Claire directed her eyes towards the Duke, feeling as if the world was crumbling. The startled expression of the Duke was not directed by his worry towards her. Her heart was heavy, even crying felt very hard and pathetic, feeling betrayed by the one that was supposed to protect her.
"Father… I did nothing wrong…"
She can barely speak as she sobbed throughout the whole sentence, her tears already wet her face. The shame and humiliation covered her whole being, especially those eyes looking at her from other nobles that attended the debut, those eyes full of mockery, contempt, and degrading her. Her body feels weak, seemingly will lose consciousness at any time, yet her body still fights back.
"Father… you know how I spend my day at the Duchy… How can I even organize a coup? Father… you know me better than anyone here, don't you…?"
The duke heard the plea of her daughter, he can feel her hope residing in him.
'Ah… this is worthless, there is no hope anymore. Hoping to get any help from him is useless…'
She feels despair as the duke's eyes also turn cold, following the prince's example. Her white hair is now a mess, combined with her unkempt makeup and sobbing face, she is the perfect clown for the nobles to jeer on.
'A dream… this must be a long dream…'
The crown prince turned around, leaving the ball before abruptly stopping his step.
"Ah, make sure to bring her to the dungeon alive, don't let anyone hurt her."
The knights nodded, bowing themselves as the crown prince walked outside the room.
"Yes, your royal highness!"
Claire despairs, she no longer has any energy to fight back nor to defend her honor, she quietly accepts that no one will be there for her, not even the duke who is standing not far from her.
The knight who had forced her to prostrate now forced her to stand on her feet, forcibly pulling her to walk, pulling her by her arms.
Every step she took tore her heart apart, it was as if the floor was a sharp needle stabbing sole with each step she took. The tears kept flowing from her eyes, her vision blurry as she tried her best to stop crying.
'Vincent… brother…' she quietly mumbled, hoping her dear brother would show up and help her.
As she passes the duke, she can see his gaze is full of contempt, not a single care about her well being.
The knight pulls a rope out of his pocket, tying Claire's hand. She struggles a bit, yet the knight's strong hand forces her to submit.
Her fear and sadness is overwhelming her, every second feels like she is burning from the inside. Her vision darkens as the knights pull her outside…