Free Web NovelChapter 7: Beware of Lying to Leona
"My lady, would you like to dance?"
The spectators were silent while the dancers missed their steps periodically as they all focused on Vincent making his bold move.
Leona’s eyes glanced down and stared into Vincent’s red ones.
She wanted to decipher what was going on behind such recklessness, but all she could see was sincerity behind those deep crimson eyes.
’What?’ Leona felt she was seeing things.
This did not seem like the same man she was engaged to.
Her thoughts were in disarray but rationality had never left her judgment. She knew she had to respond quickly or the consequences would be dire.
She held Vincent’s hand and with the other, held her skirt and bowed slightly.
"It is my honor, my lord." Leona answered in a tone which expressed neither affection nor disgust, just pure duty.
To actually ask an attendant for a dance...
Just how far has the D’Arc House fallen?
Had Vincent asked a noble lady and gotten rejected, none would’ve minded it. They would’ve laughed it off and forgotten a day later.
But to actually ask someone’s attendant for a dance was far too scandalous to forget.
An attendant was a servant and had no right to refuse. Taking advantage of such a factor felt cheap and put a bad taste in everyone’s mouth.
The dancers and spectators lost interest in Vincent, feeling nothing but absolute disgust.
The rumors regarding Vincent may or may not have been true, but the actions he displayed today worsened his image to the point of being irreparable.
Anastasia’s lips curved down in frustration. ’I couldn’t make it in time...’
The consequences for letting Vincent do what he just did was severe. He may not be punished as he was the house’s heir, but the same couldn’t be said for her who was a mere servant.
’How did this iteration start with such a change? I’ve done nothing out of the norm. Then... what caused it?’
Anastasia contemplated on this matter for a while.
Meanwhile, among the crowd, there was one person standing quietly in a corner and staring at Vincent and Leona with a look not of disgust.
It was the refined lady in black dress, Agnes Falkner, and in her eyes, others or even the Duke’s daughter were of less importance compared to Vincent.
’Contrary to rumors, his moves so far have been different. He should’ve caused a scene or drunk himself senseless, but he stood up against Count Hall, and rejected many who tried to form a connection with his house.’
Agnes swirled the wine in her cup and stared at it, seeing a blurry reflection of herself.
’Judging from how he chose his fiancée over some noble lady or his own attendant. It’s clear that he’s prioritizing people close to him. But then, that girl is a commoner. He knows the consequences of dancing with a commoner in a ball as grand as this, then why...’
There were a few things Vincent did that made no sense to Agnes.
In her eyes, yes, Leona was a beautiful young lady, but beauty was not enough to stand a chance to dance in such grand halls.
The most basic criteria was to be a noble, which she wasn’t.
’Vincent D’Arc...’ Agnes repeated the name in her mind as she stared at him.
What she thought of after it was something known only to her.
...
[Ding!]
[Entanglement updated.] freewebnovel.cσ๓
[Subject: Agnes Falkner
Friction Link(unstable) → (stable)]
A notification appeared before Vincent’s eyes.
The line of text was nowhere as important as the beautiful face right before him.
For the first time in his life, he was holding hands with a lady.
Her hand was warm.
Softer than expected.
Vincent almost forgot his steps.
A calming and alluring scent of magnolias filled his nose but his heart could not stop palpitating.
’Fuck! Why am I so nervous? She’s just a lady. She won’t eat me!’ Vincent cursed himself and tried his best to not avoid eye contact.
Holding his hands and guiding him into the next steps, Leona peered into Vincent’s crimson eyes.
’Too different,’ she thought as she noticed the flicker in his eyes.
It wasn’t just the eyes.
His palms were sweaty, his movements were unrefined, as if he had never danced before.
Even the way he struggled to keep eye contact as if she was some monster...
It all pointed to the thought, ’who is he?’
The moment Leona had such a thought, a notification rang in Vincent’s head as lines of text in red appeared before his eyes.
[Warning! Warning!]
[Entanglement updated.]
[Subject: Leona Voss
Friction Link(stable) → (unstable)]
[Risk of entanglement falling below baseline!]
[Deepen the relationship with subject Leona Voss immediately!]
Warning bells rang in Vincent’s ears and he almost misstepped.
Leona held his hand firmly and did not let him.
"Careful, my lord."
This was the first thing she said since the moment they started dancing.
"Sorry," Vincent said and corrected his steps.
Leona stared at him with more confusion.
’I need to speak. I can’t just be passive and let her watch me make a fool of myself! C’mon, I can’t waste this opportunity!’ Vincent did some small pep talk and readied himself.
It hadn’t even been a full day since his death. He knew it was unrealistic to suddenly go from a virgin to gigachad, but Vincent had to make an effort or might really lose his shot at getting married!
’C’mon, C’mon, I need to speak. Anything. Just anything is fine as long as I get the conversation started!’
The moment Vincent thought of this, a line of text appeared before his eyes and a mechanical voice spoke in his head.
[Profile note reminder: Beware of lying to Leona.]
’Ah, there was something like this too.’
Vincent kept note of it and turned to Leona, locking his gaze with hers.
"My lady..." he called out softly.
"Yes, my lord?" Leona replied fluently as if it was an everyday conversation for her.
’Shit. What now?’ Vincent felt blocked, hesitation visible in his eyes to Leona.
The young silver-haired lady wearing a black eyemask leaned closer and replied slowly, "Please do not hesitate to speak your mind, my lord."
Her soft breath tickled Vincent’s nose while the scent of magnolia got stronger.
’Fuck! I’m too passive and this lady is toying with me now!’
As a man, Vincent felt his pride hurt a little with Leona’s blatant act of seduction.
He frowns slightly burrowed but then eased just as fast when he realized, ’Maybe this is a natural way of speaking for people here? Anyway, it’s now or never.’
It was time to stop being passive and actually say something.
Vincent cleared his throat and looked straight into her eyes.
The sudden confidence and eye contact made Leona raise her brows.
Before she could think of anything else, Vincent said, "You want me to speak my mind? Okay. I’ll tell you one truth about myself then."
Leona’s eyes exuded calmness, inviting Vincent to speak his mind.
He continued in a low tone, "I am not the man you remember."
There was no shock.
No stumble.
Instead, Leona stabilized the dance and pulled Vincent slightly close, whispering, "Then don’t say something so dangerous so casually, my lord."
For a second, Vincent was utterly speechless.
But as he met Leona’s quiet gaze, he felt a subtle pressure tighten in his chest.
Her blood red eyes were cold but focused, evaluating his every move.
After giving him a moment to collect himself, Leona interlocked her fingers with his, doing a slow dance.
They were still in each other’s close proximity and she continued, "If what you said is true... then indulge me, my lord."
Leona’s tone was soft and low. The ball’s music in the background masked it further.
’I feel like a puppet getting manipulated in her hands. This is not good.’ Vincent thought as his body shifted to survival mode.
Getting out of Leona’s control became his top priority now.
Leona was relaxed as she guided Vincent into some new steps.
In one beat, she was at an arm’s length. In the next, she shifted her weight smoothly into a controlled dip, her upper body leaning backward while Vincent instinctively supported her back
Their faces were close and Leona asked, "When we got engaged, I said something important to you. What was it?"
’What sort of question is this?’ Vincent thought as he moved into the next dance position.
No matter what he said, this was a trap from which it would be difficult to get out of.
Moving into a new dance position, Vincent replied, "If I answer correctly, I’ll lose. If I answer incorrectly, I prove your suspicion and still lose. So instead... let me ask you something first."
Vincent took a few swift steps and leaned closer to Leona.
He looked up and continued, "You know something is wrong. Despite that, you’re still dancing with me. Why?"
Leona looked down and replied, "To be certain. Blindly believing something is akin to stupidity, my lord."
"You’re not certain?" Vincent asked almost immediately.
Leona corrected his posture as he moved into a new position and answered, "I am quite certain because you’re doing a very poor job pretending. But..."
Leona did not continue anymore.
The murmurs around Vincent were growing louder, and despite many minutes having passed, the nobles had not stopped speaking in his regards.
Many were still staring with disgust in his direction, and under so many watchful eyes, Leona tried to be careful.
As moments passed, the attention on Vincent grew a lot more, to the point that even Duke Leurox and his daughter were watching him.
Leona helped Vincent perform a few more correct steps and leaned closer.
"Listen, my lord," she said softly, "this dance just became far more dangerous."
Vincent danced along her rhythm and replied, "Indeed. There’s far too many eyes on us."
Leona switched the tempo and went for a more unrestrained one.
"It seems we need to end the dance prematurely."
Leona abruptly switched to a more formal posture for the concluding dance. "But the conversation isn’t over yet."
Vincent subtly nodded. "It isn’t."
As the final dance came to an end, Leona replied, "I’ll see you after the ball. Don’t disappoint me by disappearing, my lord."
"I won’t." Vincent said and performed the final few poses.
When they were at their last position, Leona got closer and whispered in his ears, "By the way, mid dance, I saw my lord’s attendant leave in a hurry for the courtyard."
"What?"
Vincent tried to respond but Leona had already turned away, vanishing into the shifting crowd.
Vincent frowned and thought, ’Attendants aren’t usually supposed to leave their masters unless it’s for a toilet break. Is this regressor up to something?’
There was only one way to find out.
Vincent left for the courtyard without thinking twice.
