Chapter 12

***

No, that wasn’t it.

His own woman appeared, with the bold letters “your fate” underlined, and five stars popping out!

But Rosaline kept her mouth shut, and Cahir sighed heavily.

“Rosaline, the nobles on the border side are not easy to manage. I’d like to have one of my own over there, how about Derek?”

‘Oh my god!’ Cahir asked Rosaline to agree to his horrible plan of separating Hui from Derek, who would be miserable if they didn’t see each other even for a day.

“No! There must be someone else besides Sir Derek who is worthy of the job. I’ll find him for you!”

Rosaline decided to sacrifice herself for the love of Hui and Derrick. How many families would she have to search and investigate in order to find the right person? She was already tired of staying up for a few nights.

“Rosaline, why should I need someone else when the right person is in front of me? I want to send Derek right away. There will be many carriages outside…”

“Your Majesty!”

Rosaline cut off Cahir’s words. It was necessary to bind his limbs and thoughts tightly so that Cahir could concentrate solely on the banquet, unable to do any other work. There was only one way to do that and the music began to play just in time.

‘Oh, I really shouldn’t be doing this. Ella is a more jealous woman than I imagined…’ Still, there’s something to be said for spending five years with a tyrant. For the sake of Hui and Derek, Rosaline was willing to make sacrifices. She held out her hand to Cahir with a refreshing smile.

“Let’s dance together.”

Cahir smiled handsomely, as if all his anger had gone away, and straightened his posture. His frustrated face finally became relaxed. He neatly fastened the neck buttons without removing his gaze from Rosaline. It was a hundred times more eye-catching than when he had untied his clothes. Even Rosaline, who had seen Cahir’s sexy figure closely for so long, couldn’t breathe.

Cahir lifted his right hand to shoulder height, placed it gently on his stomach and made a graceful bow. It was the perfect gentleman’s greeting.

“Shall we dance a song then, Rosaline?”

He got up and held out his hand. Rosaline’s heart crashed. A nice smile, a neat posture, gentle voice, and warm eyes looking at her… A man so sweet in front of her that she doubted if he was the usual Cahir. Rosaline covered her mouth in surprise. There was no hand to hold the hand that Cahir reached out to her.

“Anyway, you take all my work away from me, the same as you did when you were secretary and partner,” he tugged at the hand over Rosaline’s mouth.

Rosaline followed Cahir helplessly.

“What? Your Majesty’s work?”

Only when Cahir wrapped her thin waist did she react belatedly.

“I was the one who asked you to dance.”

The unruly tyrant was surprisingly perceptive to rules and procedures. Cahir laughed again, as if he liked Rosaline’s blank expression. Thanks to this, Rosaline’s heart was shaken as if it were jumping without being able to find its own pace.

They took slow, deliberate steps. They gave full consideration to each other’s rhythm. The dance started slow and gradually accelerated, and so their movements also became faster.

Cahir ran with her, picked her up, and twirled her around skillfully. Rosaline had seen him dance a few times from a distance. His movements were distinctly different from those times. At the previous banquets, he stomped on the women’s feet mercilessly, turning them roughly.

She seemed to be good at everything, but only the dancing didn’t seem to work. Rosaline had to correct her earlier assessment. Cahir was adept enough to make Rosaline, who was not used to dancing, perform some nice moves.

“Look, Derek, look!”

Hui circled around to follow Derek’s lead, and after he had her in his arms, she stopped with no thought of making the next move.

“Hui, what’s wrong?”

“His Majesty and Miss secretary….”

Her eyes were glowing with fascination. It was a little different from the way she had looked at Derek. It was as if she was looking at a rare gem that existed only in legends. The dreamy eyes of a little girl, who had read a fairy tale about the Prince and Princess, and couldn’t help but think about becoming a princess, looking at them lovingly.

“Let us rest now.”

Hui wanted to appreciate the beautiful appearance of Rosaline, who flew like a butterfly, and Cahir, who became the flower where the butterfly would stay.

Derek wanted to dance more. But he decided that it would be more useful to take a closer look at Cahir’s unfamiliarity. Derek and Hui held hands as they approached a table with sweet desserts. He took a glass of wine and handed it to Hui.

“I can’t drink while I’m on duty. Let’s drink after the party’s over.”

Derek lingered, making Hui’s hips buckle. Hui glanced sideways at him as he handed her the glass. It was the look of love.

“How can she be so good at it?”

“Who is that?”

“Isn’t that Secretary Rosaline?”

The whispers interfered with Hui’s appreciation of the view. Derek and Hui, who were usually very sensitive to the two’s reputation and rumors, pricked up their ears.

“Is the secretary always that beautiful?”

“Oh, what a handsome man and a beautiful fairy!”

“I’m afraid I can’t hold back. Rosaline is so…..Oh, What should I do? I think I’m falling in love with her.”

Said the nobles in exaggerated voices.

“Not His Majesty, but Rosaline?”

Derek asked, looking at Hui with a curious expression. Hui spread her shoulders wide and smiled.

“Look at Miss secretary. Her arms and legs are long and graceful in every movement, and her skin is flawless. When I first saw her, I thought she was sprinkled with jewel dust. The mysterious purple hair, supple hips…Even Hui seemed to be infatuated with Rosaline. Feeling jealous, Derek lightly pinched Hui on her side.

“Derek!”

 “I still vote that His Majesty is better.” Derek said crossly.

“Of course His Majesty is great too. That’s why they suit each other well. Look at the defeated expressions on the faces of the noble ladies.”

Derek looked around. They had been looking at the two with envy, but now there was a dark shadow of defeat on their faces.

“You know it, don’t you? There has been frequent talk among the nobles about the Empress seat being vacant. ……”

Derek’s voice was filled with concerns. Hui bumped his glass and spoke.

“What are you worried about? His Majesty has a beautiful secretary.”

It was Hui’s belief that the  secretary, who knows all about His Majesty’s character, will often marry him.

Derek didn’t want to put a damper on Hui’s dream plan, so he decided to keep his negative thoughts to himself. They finally leaned against the wall to watch Rosaline and Cahir dance. They heard countless rave reviews about Cahir and Rosaline, that they had calluses in their ears, saying that they were the couple of the century, that they were the goddess and the man-god, and that they would never see a painting like this again. At some point, all the painters Rosaline hired painted the same picture.

Rosaline and Cahir spun around hands in hands, not even knowing that the painters she had hired directly were painting them.

“Your Majesty! Aren’t you a good dancer?”

Rosaline asked with a blushed face. It was the moment when their bodies touched.

“Is there anything I can’t do?” Cahir replied.

“You’re not what you used to be. Did you practice?”

“Geniuses don’t need practice. They get it once they see it.”

‘It’s just my luck.’ Rosaline mumbled and frowned.

The music played faster and faster, and Rosaline and Cahir came closer.

“By the way, Your Majesty. I feel a bit unfair…”

“What?”

Was it because they kept bumping into each other? Rosaline complained.

“It’s my first, ah…, my first banquet,  and my first dance. It’s not your first time, isn’t it, Your Majesty?”

Breathing hard, Rosaline focused on Cahir’s lead, not wanting to miss a step.

“It’s my first time too.” Cahir answered.

However, Cahir never ran out of breath. His breathing was calm, as if Rosaline was the only one dancing.

The time for conversation was short. But they were more focused than ever on each other’s stories.

“What are you talking about? I’m a man who doesn’t need to lie.”

It’s true. He didn’t have to lie to look good. Rosaline’s lips twitched.

“Your Majesty, I’ve been following you to every banquet. I can’t even count the number of women you’ve danced with…”

Cahir pulled Rosaline in a different direction. Rosalynn’s waist was firmly planted in Cahir’s arms. Then, the music began to slow down. It was a signal that the song was coming to an end.

“Rosaline, let me tell you because you don’t seem to remember. This is the first time you’ve asked for a dance with your hand out first. So today is my real first dance at the banquet. Are you feeling any better now, Rosaline?”

The music ended.

Rosaline breathed hard. A long surge shook her as if she was hit in the head with a hammer. She couldn’t move as she leaned her upper body back. Cahir put his arms around Rosaline’s slender waist and held her up.To keep herself from falling, Rosaline gripped Cahir’s arms tightly.

“That was fun, wasn’t it, Rosaline.” Said the mean, mischievous Cahir, one eye blinked.

Rosaline glared at him.

“Now that I’m in a reasonably good mood with the Empress, I’d like to rest, what do you intend to do Rosaline?”

Cahir looked at Rosaline with a very satisfied look in his eyes.

However, with sweat oozing down her forehead, she was feeling very tired. She wanted to rest too. Dancing was an intense exercise. Especially for Rosaline, who only held a pen and walked and breathed every day. When it came to exercise, it was very strenuous. But Rosaline was the one who organized the banquet. She could not rest.

“I’m fine, Your Majesty. If you go in first and rest, I’ll send someone to get you when the feast is over. There is portrait will be made after.”

Rosaline called for ten painters to today’s banquet. She ordered them to paint a beautiful and lovely scene of the banquet. The paintings will be published in the weekly bulletin announcing the news of the Imperial Palace and spread throughout the Empire.

If the beautiful stories about the imperial palace’s close family spread throughout the empire, there would be fewer children try to profit from the gap between Azela and Cahir. It was for this reason that the emperor had to stand side by side with Azela, the empress, at the time of final celebration.

“Will you be here?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,”

Rosaline said quickly. Cahir looked at Rosaline with a worried expression and turned away. It was opposite the entrance to the banquet hall.