Free Web NovelChapter 9: Crown Princess
The ballroom continued to dance, breathe, and move as musicians played their gentle symphonies.
Picking a finger sandwich, Agnes tasted the cream and strawberries within, enjoying it with a cup of unsweetened black tea.
’That’s Duke Brunelle and his wife...’
A masked middle-aged couple elegantly danced around Duke Leurox and his daughter around the center stage.
’...and that’s, hm... maybe Count Williams with his daughter?’
A middle-aged man with a clean-shaven face danced slowly with a young lady in a blue dress.
’...no, that’s not his daughter.’ Agnes squinted her eyes as the warm sip of tea brought a refreshing effect on her mind. ’That’s the girl who has the Countess’s son’s fiancée as her attendant. What was her name again...’
Agnes picked up a pink macaroon and took a small bite, putting her memory to test.
’...ah, it’s Leona. The daughter of the renowned blacksmith Bernard Voss.’
Agnes’s gaze searched for Leona in the ballroom as she connected the dots.
Noble ladies wore bright colored outfits while the men were in darker clothing to make them stand out more.
Attendants were usually in darker colors too, wearing simpler designs to not stand out.
’She was in a black dress, but that silver-colored hair...’
It did not take long to locate a head full of silver among the crowd.
Standing quietly but proud in a corner, Leona held a drink in her hand and seemed to be enjoying the ball.
As Agnes’s gaze lingered for a few seconds longer, Leona turned to stare in her direction, making eye contact.
Even through a distance, Agnes could see those bright red eyes behind the eyemask, appearing vividly like molten metal in a furnace.
’A troublesome but beautiful young lady nonetheless. Too bad I don’t swing that way...’
As Agnes broke eye contact and turned to pick up another sweet treat for herself, she failed to notice Leona’s gaze lingering on her.
The party in question, Leona, did not look away from the lady in elegant black dress.
’That’s the Crown Princess Agnes Falkner.’ Leona thought. ’Why is she staring at the nobles and not worrying for her own security?’
Leona’s eyes shifted and noticed a server standing in a place close to Agnes, holding a tray of warm drinks.
Nobles who sought something comforting in the cold weather came to this server.
There were more such servers, and as most of them stood around the dance floor, the nobles gathered around the center.
It felt suffocating.
Leona noticed the servers glancing in Agnes’s direction periodically.
The uniformed guards of the Leurox House protecting her were not aware of these gazes.
’The Crown Princess surely must’ve noticed them. But, she isn’t bothered. Could it be that they’re her personal guards?’
Leona sipped on the red wine and her eyes shifted around, noticing the crowd of nobles starting to scatter all around the ballroom ever so slightly.
’Those servers are leaving one after another. Shouldn’t another server replace them before they leave?’
Without the drinks around the center, the nobles had no reason to stand in one place.
In just a minute, a third of the servers had left.
Before coming to any conclusion, Leona’s gaze fell on Agnes.
’The Crown Princess did not once look at the positions those servers were in. Is she avoiding it on purpose or...’
A few seconds later, Leona noticed Agnes looking at the said positions.
’Why is she... wait, were those servers not the Princess’s guards?’
The moment such a realization dawned on Leona, she felt a slight itch on the back of her head, as if some thought that was creeping up could not fully form.
It was as if she was missing some trigger.
She looked around.
Apart from the missing servers, there were also a few nobles away from the ballroom.
It could be for a visit to the restroom or for some alone time with their partners.
The possibility of the latter wasn’t much as the dance was still going on. Couples did not usually leave before the last dance.
But for the former...
Leona did not track the people leaving the ballroom until she noticed her fiancé’s attendant leave.
’My fiancé went in search of his attendant. I thought about it before, but even now it makes no sense. Why would his attendant suddenly leave? She didn’t go in the direction of the ladies room either but the courtyard.’
Something did not feel right to Leona.
She took a sip of wine to calm her nerves and turned to look at the young lady in blue dress, dancing gracefully with Count Williams.
’I guess their dance will take a while.’
Leona moved around while avoiding the social circles.
Before she left, she had a final glance at the ballroom to search for anything odd.
Couples danced elegantly.
The music was still gentle.
The nobles socialized.
Some of the servers had not been replaced yet.
The Crown Princess looked around. This time at specific places where the servers were supposed to be.
A displeased expression could be seen on her face and she moved.
’Why does it seem like the Princess isn’t aware of her guards disappearing?’ Leona felt an urgency arise.
She did not linger in the ballroom for long and moved towards the hallway leading to the courtyard.
Right as she was making an exit, two masked men walked into the ballroom while gleefully chatting over wine.
Leona paused.
She looked at them.
’Wait, weren’t these two—’
The candle flames illuminating the ballroom stretched, causing the shadows of people to stretch longer than they should.
Leona’s eyes lost focus momentarily.
When clarity returned, she saw two masked men gleefully chatting over wine near the ballroom’s entrance.
They went past her. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
Leona found nothing odd.
’Right. I need to hurry and find my fiancé.’
Walking into the hallway leading the courtyard, Leona did not see a single guard of the Duke House which was quite odd.
She moved while carefully keeping a check on her surroundings.
As the passage narrowed and she was a few meters from the courtyard, she felt the change in the air.
The air felt heavy and more "pressed".
Leona raised even more as she moved forward.
A few steps ahead, she saw the red carpet slightly damp at its side.
Looking at it clearly, there was a large flower vase beside it.
’The vase has water. Did someone accidentally bump into it?’
It could be the case as she could see some dampness of the wall too.
Leona felt on edge and hesitated taking the next steps forward.
’My instincts are screaming to back away. But I do not see any hints of threats directed at myself.’
The latter understanding was the sole reason Leona hadn’t backed away yet.
As she reached closer to the metallic door of the courtyard which was slightly ajar, she heard faint footsteps coming from the hallway.
She turned around.
No one.
But the footsteps didn’t stop.
They were getting louder as someone was coming closer.
It was at this moment.
Crack!
Leona’s pupils shrank.
’That sound—’
"Ambush!"
