Chapter 41: Chapter 41

“What?! I can’t believe I missed all of those happenings, Shia! How come you’re only telling me about all of these now?” Khailis said exasperatedly.

This important talk had happened one night before the debutant ball. Shia and Khailis had been practicing their dance inside the hall that had been set up for their etiquette classes. The baroness had left them on their own to prepare for dinner and that gave Shia and Khailis plenty of time to talk about the things that had bothered Shia, especially about the prince and the mage.

“So that was why you were making so many excuses not to see Langrey? And now you can’t talk with the mage too. That’s so insane!”

“Yeah... ‘Insane’ might be an understatement. I don’t really know what to do!” Shia said as she lay down on the floor, exhausted from the dance and more so from too much thinking. Of course, Shia did leave out some information from Khailis, like the fact that she and Langrion had shared a kiss. It was one of the secrets she’d probably bury with her until the day she died.

“So what are you going to do now? You can’t avoid Langrey or Mage Silas forever! You should tell them how you feel, and set everything straight with them as soon as possible.”

“There’s nothing to set straight with Langrey. He’s right; we mean nothing to each other. Now with Mage Silas, I had made it clear at the very start to him that I am not Freya. Although she resides within me, she and I are different beings. He wouldn’t possibly have feeling for someone he barely knew, right?”

“I don’t know, Shia. People are crazy. Feelings are way crazier… But are you really sure you have no feelings towards Langrey? I mean not even a tiny bit?”

“I am sure… I think…”

“Hah, so you do have feelings for Langrey! Why don’t you just admit it?”

“I can’t. If I want to save him and stay by his side, I can’t have feelings for him,” Shia sighed.

“And as for Mage Silas; I mean, Galahad? Are you sure you don’t have even the slightest bit of emotion for him? I mean, who wouldn’t swoon over from such a love?”

“I can’t have feelings for him too. How can I be too selfish after all that Freya has done to him?”

“Yeah… That won’t be unfair to them, but it’s unfair to you too…”

******************

The next day, every servant of the house had spent an enormous amount of time preparing the women of the Andry household for the debutant ball. Duchess Tristal and Baroness Alessa would be guests of honor since Shia’s engagement with Prince Langrion will be announced there as well.

“You look positively lovely, my child!” the baroness exclaimed as Shia walked down from the staircase into the receiving area of the manor. She was clad in the snowy white, sparkly dress that Master Dredsell had crafted for her with matching silver-colored shoes that fitted her feet perfectly.

“Thank you, baroness! You and grandma look so beautiful too.”

Duchess Tristal was donned in a purple-colored gown while the baroness wore a light blue dress. Her grandmother smiled approvingly at her, and then right after, she began to cry.

“If only your mother and Gregor could see you today, I’m sure they’d be happy…” she remarked.

In a few minutes, a carriage from the Rubiyah Manor had arrived. The coach driver opened the carriage door and a dashing version of Prince Langrion stepped out from it. He was also dressed in all white, matching Shia’s outfit so beautifully that it looked as if they will march straight to their own wedding rather than into a debutant ball.

“My ladies, shall we go?” he said.

Langrion helped the duchess and the baroness to get inside the carriage first before going to Shia’s side and assisting her.

As soon as their eyes met, his stare began to turn sorrowful. He started to speak.

“Shia, I-”

Shia flashed a dazzling smile towards him to hide the throb at her chest. “Let’s talk later, your highness. I’m sure we’ll have plenty of time to talk together at the ball.”

The four of them rode in silence to Sensala’s Grand Pavilion, the venue for this year’s debutant ball, making only small chitchats on how they all looked positively vibrant as debutants and guests.

As they neared towards the pavilion, Duchess Tristal started to say something.

“Prince Langrion, I never knew this day would come that I would see you become engaged to someone very, very special to my heart. If it isn’t you that would be marrying my Shia, I would never agree to this; so please promise me you’d take care of her, not the other way around.”

“And you, my Shia, my heart! Know that in everything you do, I shall always be there beside you. I don’t know how long I still have in this world, but I am glad that the gods have given me enough time to see you grow up as a beautiful and determined, young lady. I am truly proud of you!”

Shia smiled warmly and held the tear that wanted to fall from her own eyes. “Grandma, you speak as if you are going somewhere. Let’s not be like this. We are supposed to be having a grand time today.”

“I know, my child. I know…” the duchess said.

As they stepped out of the carriage, they were greeted by the festive sounds of an orchestra playing such gay music that people had already started to occupy the dance floor. Lamplights of every color also decorated the ceilings, making it look like the stars had fallen down from heavens straight into the Grand Pavilion.

Shia and Langrion already knew the drill by heart: all the debutants and their partners need to go at the back part of the pavilion stage past the large central fountain. They shall be presented one by one and will take their first dance as debutants soon after.

“I’ll see you later, grandma, baroness. We have to get to the stage now,” Shia said, bidding them a momentary goodbye.

She was a little flustered as her grandmother held her close in an embrace before whispering, “take care, my heart.”

Surprisingly, Shia and Langrion made their way quickly into the back part of the pavilion’s stage amidst the thick throngs of people. The crowd had easily parted seeing that the Imperial Prince of Gascone and his debutant-betrothed had finally arrived to grace the halls of Sensala.

Upon reaching the back part of the stage, they discovered that it was still nearly empty. Many of the debutants and their partners have not arrived yet, including Lady Khailis and her partner, Gavil.

The two of them sat at the huge, round ottoman at the center back stage, waiting for everyone to gather and for the debutant presentation to start. After a few silent moments, Langrion began to open his mouth.

“Listen, Shia, there’s something important I need to speak to you about.”

“I know. I have something of utmost importance that I need to tell you too.” Shia looked around the crowd whose eyes were on them and suggested, “let’s find a place where we can be alone.”

He nodded towards her. “Alright. Let’s do that.”

He started to scan for a place where they could possibly talk in private. “Let’s walk further down the halls. I think there might be some empty dressing rooms back there.”

They started to walk a little bit to the end of the hall overlooking the stage. Sure enough, they found dressing rooms that were presently empty.

“Um, you can go ahead and wait for me in that room,” Shia said, pointing to one empty and quiet looking dressing room. “Let me just go into the powder room. I need to adjust something in my dress,” Shia replied.

Langion nodded, and went inside one of the rooms while Shia clung to her dress and went inside the ladies’ powder room.

As soon as Shia closed the door, she placed her hands around her wildly beating heart. This was it – her moment of truth. She recalled part of the conversation she had with Khailis the night before.

“You’re right. Refusing both his highness and the mage will make this predicament seem fair, but it’s actually unfair to you. I think for once, you should just be honest with yourself: if the prince wasn’t the Demon King and the mage isn’t a god that had sacrificed to be with you, who would you choose? How do you really feel about the two of them if their titles and pasts were stripped away? Setting everything aside, what do you feel about them? Regardless of what they say they feel towards you, what do you really feel towards them? I think you should start exploring that truth within yourself first before trying to decide which one you should or should not love…”

‘If Langrey wasn’t the Demon King, and I was not tasked to kill him, would I still choose to be with him? Even if he says he has no feelings for me, would I still choose him?’ Shia muttered within her heart.

She knew the answer to these questions all along; they could never be more than crystal clear. Cursed or not cursed, whether governed by fates and prophecies or not, and his own feelings toward her set aside, she knew she loved Langrion. She was just denying her feelings all along so that she could get close to him without any complications, and now, she isn’t afraid to say it anymore…

Shia sighed deeply. Just as Khailis said, she should, for once, be honest with herself. She opened the door and walked confidently towards where his Langrey is waiting for her answer.

******************

Langrion sat by a small, luxurious chair in the middle of the dressing room where Shia had asked her to wait earlier. He started to rest his head in one of his palms and thought deeply of what he wanted to say to her.

He knew that he had made a huge mistake as soon as he had let Shia walk out of the hall the day they fought. Back then, he didn’t have the courage to tell her what he really felt. He got so afraid of getting hurt that he couldn’t tell her he had already start to cherish her deeply in his heart the very first day he had set eyes upon her at Ylann.

For the next few days following their fight, he tried to talk to her several times, but he knew she had been avoiding her. During those times, he missed her even more. At night, he’d look up at her window, hoping to catch a glimpse of her, but still too afraid to open himself up to her lest she rejects his feelings. The only thing that was keeping him together was that she knew Shia would never back down from her promise of becoming his bride. He would still have her by his side no matter how she feels towards her because she is a person with a kind heart and a person who keeps her promises.

“But that’s the unfair part of it all!”

Khailis said this when he opened up to her last night after she went back from the Littman Manor.

“It’s unfair to Shia that you expect her to keep her end of the bargain without telling her the truth. I mean, what if she does like you back, or what if she likes someone else back? You shouldn’t keep her by your side by making her feel like you only need her to be some sort of protection. Who knows, you might actually like each other. Wouldn’t that make you both happier?”

“Just be honest with her, Langrey. Just ask her upfront. And if it turns out that she only likes you as a friend, then just be that friend to her. Consider it as a repayment for all that she had done and all that she’s willing to do for you. I spoke with her today, and she looks troubled. She could really use someone to talk to right now.”

Khailis was right. Shia has to know the truth about what he feels towards her. He must tell her. It’s now or never.

Suddenly, Langrion heard the faint rustle of a ball gown skirt and saw someone garbed in white enter the door from the corner of his eyes. He tried to look from behind, but a pair of white, slender arms had already enveloped themselves around his head.

“Were you waiting for me, dearest?”

He did not need to look up or spun around to see who it was that was holding him. That sly and seductive voice could only come from one source.

“Lady Edelfina, what are you doing?”

Edelfina tightened her embrace around his neck. She bent her lips towards his ears, making his heart race a little.

“I knew your secret, Langrion. I heard the two speak in the hallway last time. Everything between you and that Andry girl was just an act. She was just pretending to be your betrothed, but the question is why? ”

Edelfina turned around to face him full view. She continued to speak amorously in a half whisper towards his left ear.

“Is she hiding something perhaps? Is she a cursed one, like you? Did she perhaps discover you will soon be the Demon King?”

Langrion’s visible eye widened in fear.

“That’s right, Langrey. Just admit it. That woman, she’s cursed too isn’t she? Tell me the truth, why would the two of you pretend to be in love? What could be the reason other than that?”

“It’s because of you” Langrion began to say after what seemed like a long time, “Edelfina, you are the reason. You are the only reason we needed to pretend.” With that, Langrion’s lips came closer and closer towards Edelfina’s own lips, locking themselves into a kiss.

That was all that Shia needed to hear and see before tears began to pool in her eyes.