Tonight just got worse

"Why did everything turn out like this? Just a few hours ago, I was dancing with you two."

"Princess Louisa, stop crying. I'm fine," said Elroy, trying to calm her down.

Right then, Ferdinand, who was treating his wounds, hit one of his bruises. "Just because you're strong, you let yourself become his punching bag?!" he said angrily.

Elroy glared at Ferdinand. Warned him not to say anything else.

"I'm sorry, Princess Louisa. But I'm really fine," said Elroy trying to calm down. "Tomorrow, I will be able to do activities as before. You needn't have worried."

Louisa seemed to hold back her tears as hard as she could. Elroy and Ferdinand again tried to calm her down. Poor young lady. At her debutante banquet, she had to see many people get hurt. After this, Louisa would be reluctant to throw herself any kind of banquet.

Even though Louie almost cried because he failed to protect Mariette, Elroy thought.

Today seems indeed not a lucky day for the twins. More precisely... perhaps the fate of the twins has already begun.

Shortly after that, Count Lavaud appeared with a maid. They had come to escort Louisa back to her pavilion.

"Sir Elroy, His Majesty the King wishes to have you in the audience hall now," Count Lavaud said before he left.

Opening the king's audience hall late at night… That's very serious.

In the audience room, King Vallotton and Duke Valent were already present. Elroy thought Anatole would be there too, but…

"Sir Anatole is confined indefinitely. He has to learn to cool off his mind," Duke Valent told him as if he could read Elroy's mind. He then bowed before Elroy. "I apologize for what my son has done–"

"Duke Valent," Elroy said hastily. "You don't need to come to this."

"No. My son has made a fatal mistake. A knight shouldn't use his power for personal matters," he insisted.

"A-all right. I… accept your apology," Elroy said awkwardly. "So… how is Sir Anatole now?"

"He is fine. His skin is clean of any bruises or scratches," said Duke Valent. "You are also a knight. If it were just Anatole, I'm sure you could escape his rage. Why don't you fight back?"

"Eh–yeah…" Elroy scratched the back of his neck. "We were only talking about flowers before Sir Anatole–errr–fired. So I thought… things would get worse if I replied. Besides, I'm sure my friend will help me soon."

"It is precise because you kept quiet that my daughter had to see the fight," said King Vallotton.

"I was not aware of the impact, Your Majesty. I apologize profusely, "said Elroy quickly.

King Vallotton glanced at Elroy and Duke Valent in turn. "Tonight is a long night. The debutante party just now was bad enough. Added to that fight, tonight just got worse."

"Forgive me, Your Majesty. I will ensure that my son gets the punishment he deserves," said Duke Valent.

However, King Vallotton waved his hand, ignoring Duke Valent. He then turned to Elroy. "What do you think made Sir Anatole act the way he did?"

Mariette Tierney. Elroy knew the answer, but he was reluctant to say it for some reason. It felt ridiculous and embarrassing when he said the fight happened because they were fighting over a woman.

King Vallotton snorted in amusement. "Why are you silent, young man? It's only natural for a guy your age to want a girl. Mariette grew up to be a smart and graceful woman. I am proud to have played a role in raising her," he said, making Elroy confused. "There is no need to put on such an expression. We all know you like Mariette. She himself said that you had confessed your feeling."

So Mariette herself said that!? Elroy thought to himself. He couldn't imagine Mariette proclaiming this in front of so many people.

"We all never thought that one day there would be a man who truly loved her-you know because of the damn curse," continued King Vallotton. He turned to Duke Valent briefly. "Long before this, when Mariette was in her teens, only Anatole approached her. That's because of the agreement."

"Because of the agreement?"

"As you know, the late Queen Odette was my sister," said Duke Valent. "And she was also the one who gave the curse. As penance for an innocent child, our family will do anything."

Elroy was surprised to hear that. That means Anatole is betrothed to Mariette as a sacrifice. "Sir Anatole agreed?"

"He just said that as long as there aren't any women that attract attention, being Mariette's companion isn't bad. Besides that, the Tierney family was a family that could be trusted and had power within the Palace. There would be no loss in marrying her," explained Duke Valent. "Just seeing what he did to you earlier… I'm not sure since when did my son like Mariette either."

"Sir Elroy, just so you know, Marquess Gauthier already knows all of this," added King Vallotton.

"What?" Elroy was even more surprised to hear that. "I don't know about that."

"Of course. Marquess Gauthier loves you. He doesn't want his youngest child to marry someone who carries a curse, but can't bear to distance the two of you either."

"Apologies in advance, but… This should be my private matter, right?" said Elroy slowly. "I've noticed recently that a lot of people are getting too involved with my feelings for Viscountess Mariette. I know that the curse came from the late Queen Odette and all, it's just that–"

"How far have I gone in translating the books Sir Anatole brought?" interrupted King Vallotton.

Again the question. A question that Elroy really avoids for many reasons. "Is there something I don't know about the curse?" he asked back.

King Vallotton. "I don't know how to convey this to you. So you should just ask Marquess Gauthier."

His father even knew more than him.

No, thought Elroy. In fact, Elroy himself might have known more than anyone else. He is the only translator of the book of magic and curses. He had indeed reported the outline of the book he was translating. But there is one book he recently translated and he hasn't reported what it contains.

In a way, the position of Elroy and the opposing camp is currently balanced.

The problem is, is the opposing side aware of this?