“Did you know about this, Katsuki?” I asked, referring to the fact that this was a ball for the prince to find a wife.
“Of course, Mistress. I was the one who told you about it.”
Oh… Right… I think I vaguely recall Katsuki being there telling me about it while Delmare and Odeta were all over me in my ball gown…
My bad.
As though reading my mind, Katsuki shook her head, “You do not need to feel bad about it Mistress, you were quite occupied with Odeta and Miss Delmare at that time. In addition, knowing this fact would not change any plans either.”
I suppose that’s true too… Especially since this is a ‘date’ with Mother and she’s the one who chose this place.
And just like what she had said to the Duke just now, I doubt she was expecting me to be trying to get the prince’s attention to be part of his harem.
The fact that she did not say ‘wife’ told me that the prince already had several other partners even before this ball.
I was also in no position to say anything about that since I also have multiple partners of my own.
I won’t call it a harem yet since technically you need at least three people to call it one, right? At least that’s what I think the rule was?
Oh who cares, I know I’m more interested in the sweets in front of me right now! Those other girls can go and try and woo him all they want because I’m definitely not interested in him~
I took up my fork to cut a small bit of the chocolate cake I was planning to eat. Just as I was about to stab my fork into the little treat, a voice spoke up from behind me.
“Please excuse the rudeness, milady. Might I know your name?”
Uggghhhh… Why am I not surprised…
I turned around to see the prince himself standing behind me with the kind of smile you might expect to see on those pretty boys. I could have sworn there were sparkles around him while he was flashing that smile at me too.
Most of the girls that had been trying to get his attention were also gathered behind him, a few of them clearly miffed that he had come to talk to me instead of them.
At first I thought it would be fine for me to just give him my name but before I could, I felt a soft tug on the back of my dress, prompting me to shift my gaze behind me.
Katsuki had her head down but I noticed that she was slowly shaking her head.
I interpreted it as a sign that I should not be giving the prince my name and I also realised that if I did, they would probably make the connection that the normal me was the actual child of the Nilm family.
But… There’s people out there who already knew about Katsuki, right? They also know that she’s my personal maid so seeing her here would clue them in about my identity wouldn’t they?
Oh what do I know? Maybe she also has some kind of artefact on her that is stopping people from realising who she was. I just need to be careful about myself.
I turned back to the prince and smiled, belatedly realising that he probably can’t perceive the smile because of the mask I was wearing anyway.
I curtsied, “Pardon me, Prince Lucius, thank you for inviting me to your party today. However, I must insist that I not be allowed to reveal my name.”
𝑂𝑽𝒍xt.𝗇𝓔t
A few of the girls gaped at my discourtesy but the prince did not seem to bothered by it and maintained his smiling visage.
“Even if it was the third prince asking for it?”
I nodded, “My apologies, it’s a no even if it’s the third prince asking for it.”
“Ahaha! That just makes me all the more curious, Milady! No matter, I am well aware that it would be rude for me to pry a lady’s secrets~ But if I were to ask for a dance, surely you would not begrudge me of something as simple as that?”
Ugh… Now I’m put in a spot…
I believe I can still reject him but that would make him lose face especially after he had chosen to skip over so many other girls to talk to me instead. If he’s the type to bear grudges, he might come back and cause trouble for me…
Oh well… It’s just a dance right? It shouldn’t be too hard to just waltz with him for a little while and then come back here to enjoy my sweets again.
I stretched out my hand to him, palm facing down, “I would be honoured, Prince Lucius.”
His smile widened slightly and he reached forward to take my hand, “It is my pleasure, Milady.”
The other girls made barely audible groans of disappointment with a few of them even outright glaring at me like I just kicked their dog or something.
Come on… It’s not like I intentionally took him away from all of you… It’s obvious the prince also likes sweets and he was only interested in me because I was here eating sweets. Maybe if you girls also go and start enjoying those delicious treats, he might notice you as well!
I’m kidding of course. I just want them to go eat some sweets instead of glaring at me like that.
He brought me to the centre of the hall before turning back to put his other hand on my back while stretching out the other hand that was holding onto mine towards the side.
I recognised it as the standard pose of a waltz so I placed my free hand on his shoulder and assumed a ready position as well.
The orchestra that was in charge of the music then started to play a slow melody, prompting the prince to begin our dance as he set the pace of our waltz.
Since I had some practice with it during my birthday, I was able to avoid embarrassing myself and keep up with the prince, despite the fact that I was mostly dancing as the leader instead of the follower back then.
It was also only then did I realise that we were the only ones on the dance floor and it took me a moment more to realise why. This was the first dance of the ball, which means the prince has chosen me as his first dance partner and everyone’s eyes were on me.
While spinning around, I saw Mother looking at me with an amused smile on her face, clearly enjoying the sight of me being roped into this by the prince.
Duke Arlta was also nearby and was looking at me with a wry smile, though I wasn’t sure why.
“You are a really good dancer, Milady,” The prince noted, probably just to have polite conversation while we danced.
“Thank you, Prince Lucius. You are also exceptional yourself.”
“I don’t suppose Milady would be willing to tell me your name now that we are out of earshot from the other ladies?”
Hmm? Did he think that I was only unwilling to give my name because I was afraid the other girls would come and find me?
“Fufu~ I apologise Prince Lucius, but I truly cannot tell you my name.”
“That’s a shame… You seem like an interesting person so I would not mind getting to know you better.”
“Is this so that you can add me to your harem, my prince?”
“I will not deny that the thought was there, but I can assure you that I will not force you if you do not wish to. I was merely thinking that I truly would not mind knowing someone as interesting as you are, Milady. I think it would be mutually beneficial for us to get along.”
At least he’s straight forward in admitting what he really wanted…
I’m not sure how much he knew but he most likely realised I was related to the Nilm family in some way so if he was able to have friendly relations with me, that would also equate to having friendly relations with Mother as well.
And if he could somehow charm me into his harem, he would even be able to get his hands on the Nilm Family too, which might arguably be a better choice than fighting his siblings for the throne.
I let him spin us around to waltz back to the centre of the hall again before I chuckled, “I am merely just a normal citizen of the kingdom my prince. I am not worthy of your attention like that. If I may be so bold as to offer a suggestion, the high class ladies over there might be more suitable than someone like me.”
He smiled wryly at me, “You certainly have a way with words Milady. I shall keep your suggestion in mind.”
Good, he didn’t get offended by that.
Now I just need to finish this dance before I can get back to my sweets…