Moonlight Ball

The King’s arm position wasn’t so subtle. It wrapped around her torso and was slightly higher than usual, almost touching her voluptuous breasts. Iris couldn’t breathe, and she felt strange because the King’s body was so close. As she felt his breath on her, she suddenly had a flashback of their kiss.

It had been a strange deed and a dirty one too. It had been a rough and bizarre experience, where their saliva had mixed. That was what she had thought before the kiss, but that had soon changed. The one kiss that sent chills down her spine, and caused her body to weaken and feel like collapsing, was not a kiss. She didn’t know how to describe it, but it was not a kiss that she’d expected. Recalling the kiss that was not a kiss, Iris hunched her body.

Feeling her body tense, Sidrain carefully retracted his hand. “Sorry. I thought you were going to fall.”

“It’s okay. I was the one that moved.”

“Just so that you know, I like you. Ever since I first saw you, until now, I have never stopped thinking about you. I’ve searched for voices that sound like yours and even got excited when I heard someone talk similarly to you.”

Why would he be excited by the way I talk? Not understanding that he meant that he became sexually excited, Iris looked at Sidrain, confused.

Seeing this, Sidrain kissed the back of her hand. “But I have not been in love with My Queen until a month ago. Do you understand what I am saying, My Queen?”

Iris’s eyes widened. Desperately, she searched his face. No, it can’t be! Had he figured out who she was, and if so, how? Iris anxiously blinked. Scared and uneasy, her eyes were demanding answers.

Sidrain gazed down at her and contemplated whether to tell her, “Yes, I know who you are, my adorable lady. My first love. The Princess of the Tower.”

I always dreamed about your face that you never revealed after presenting the beautiful lights. Even when your face became the face of the woman that I hate the most, I still love you. That was what he wanted to reply to, but he didn’t.

Elaine had not visited in recent times, but he would not let his disciple stay here. He would do anything to get Iris out of there, and Sidrain wasn’t going to let it happen. If he wanted to keep Iris at the palace, he could not acknowledge that Queen Rosemary was Iris. She had to be Rosemary, and therefore his legal spouse. He was dead-set on not allowing Iris to become the Princess of the Tower once again.

Sidrain still remembered the day he didn’t get a glimpse of Iris Elaine’s face, even once. The same day that he couldn’t even get out one syllable of her name. She was beautiful and marvelous, but fleeting, just like her lights. He wasn’t even able to see her fully, let alone have her in his grasp; he would not make that mistake again.

“I-I-I do not understand.” Iris shook her head. Like a prisoner on death row, her pale face stared at Sidrain’s mouth. She was so terrified of the words that he’d say next that she looked like she was about to faint.

“I mean, I love you very much,” Sidrain said and kicked the horse in the side. In response, the horse started cantering down the grassy hill. Instinctively, Iris clung onto Sidrain for dear life. “Rely on me like this! Then you will be able to get everything you have ever wanted!” Sidrain shouted.

On a spring day, in the forest with trees with bright green leaves, he’d opened a market just for The Queen. Where did love come from? Sidrain thought to himself as he and Iris walked side by side, admiring the different stalls. The more he thought about it, the more ridiculous it sounded. Sidrain had fallen so hard for Iris without her even knowing.

He’d been overwhelmed from the moment they’d met, and he remembered her until now. And since they’d met again, he had fallen for her the same way. Even though she had the face and body of Rosemary, which he hated so much, but if he reminded himself that it was Iris, she seemed lovable and pretty.

Iris could not lie to save her life and was unable to hide her interest in the tools. She had been standing at the table of magic tools for an hour already. The merchant didn’t know why they invited him to a market for The Queen. But as she showed great interest, he excitedly explained everything he could about the different items on the table.

“Oh, there are many new items now,” Iris said, sounding excited as she observed the tools with sparkling eyes.

Sidrain suppressed a laugh as he watched her. The person, who had recently been so scared that her secret had been revealed, had vanished. And now, she was so focused on the magic tools that she had forgotten whose body she was occupying.

“Wow, such detailed technique. Which tower was this made at?” Iris asked.

“It’s from Ze Letaire,” the merchant replied proudly.

“Ze Letaire! How could Ze Letaire create with such a fine technique!”

It was clear that Iris was a member of a tower, whether she tried to hide it or not, and Sidrain chuckled to himself. The competition between the towers of each country was fierce. It was typical for them to take jabs at each other, and Iris was doing just this. They didn’t just take jabs, though. They attacked and criticized, and sabotaged each other. There was no doubt Iris learned this from the monks at the tower.

“Ze Letaire has been very successful these days, Your Highness.”

“Well,” Iris narrowed her eyes, “surely not as successful as En Letaire?”

“Yes, but En Letaire has been going downhill lately. In Ze Letaire, these people called the ‘Rising Four’…”

Iris slammed the item in her hand loudly on the table, and the merchant immediately stopped speaking. She crossed her arms and stared at the merchant directly, “En Letaire is doing worse than Ze Letaire? Is this something a merchant selling magic tools in En Letaire is allowed to say?”

The merchant met her sharp eyes and hunched his shoulders in fear, and stuttered, “Y-y-your Highness?”

“Your items are not very good,” Iris said dismissively.