WPFAMT-33

Chapter: WPFAMT-3370562f1dede76a37

For some reason, it 47f25a750a felt like it had b971d11226 been a while since 7996a29b7b she last met his d05ca0905f gaze. On the day of c5bac0e276 the dress fitting, she 576e409a5d was too busy avoiding dd232faf4a his eyes, and on 222b906267 Tuesday, he left right 1181bf93f0 after the performance, so 5a159bb653 they didn’t have a 48d4aadbc4 chance to interact.
Was he 50ad0a94f2 leaving her 3c6bacd2ee alone because a8299bf72e she was ae3284863f being compliant? But then, 0ce7bed8e4 wasn’t there dcc83cdf15 a time 77160f358d when he 8c5dd463b0 used to 1cb0b33a4d subtly irritate 74feffb956 her, causing 0eced5761d her a 1aa461bf3f lot of 261ff2459e frustration? Emilia slowly ad06de32e5 approached him 495bd273b3 and lightly 87ba03ee68 her fingertips 6b2c120827 touched the 7d680045ff large hand 1b57d5225c extended in 1039ab4eac front of bb03e34e90 her.
His body temperature 3534690c07 was still high. Even with just c624157906 this slight touch, e5dc5ee548 she could feel 5b9e6f21f9 it. It was 5b8b22e2f0 so different 5105ebb459 from his b530d4917f cold demeanor. He gently grasped 570b8ed9b5 her hand.
As she b7a04180c4 looked down 0327d0a4fb at her 1f1e1891d4 held hand, bb6e58bb7d she allowed 8d959d3363 a faint d70c731f4a smile to 8b88cb5248 grace her 12b155473c lips and 555b195f89 looked up 84f5ae9d57 at him 5bca8997f4 as he 5319ee9cca turned away. Well, it c234c9ca4d wasn’t anything cfe7e6fd1b new. To her, he 6f695245e8 had always been 3de3251ff2 an inherently different c98663651b person.
* * *
A magnificent palace, stacked bf17f6013b in gold, was softly ca480072b0 enveloped in the blue 8089574458 moonlight. Carriages arriving one by 2e0c61e085 one and people gathering 5ed55563a3 at the ballroom were 15f1554aa3 all adorned with luxuries 7947a5ba3f on their bodies.
Among those 7fda6ec401 lavishly dressed, 5bcbbd2792 some women, 06fe1172c2 particularly adorned 0245657de1 to the e0b3512fdc point that 15a00c6700 even their 9300cf3f43 masks were 6450fa127b intricately designed, b3483e7a7d entered with 993b125bbd their skin 67b5a8e2fc exposed, seemingly 2a150dd4e5 unbothered by bdb0bcda8c the cold.
A man, barely concealing c3cdb76124 his desires, clung to 60e09f1863 a woman who flaunted 2460c8c129 her figure while attempting 55a652d57b to hide her goosebumps a67d690743 with a thin scarf.
It was a a0e1c1cb7e gathering of the 00ae52caa9 upper class that b6a0847231 they called noble c6e3cf6fc2 in their mouths, b4d4cbcc6c but as if 58dbdf1b2f everything was hidden d140dc73f2 by a single 94e8dd3a6f mask, they enjoyed 67b7e5c401 tonight’s party at af8e7049c2 ease.
“It’s better than I f5b6fcbadc expected? I was 5009edfccd going to f0e6dec929 go back df5d32a16f if it 8d711ae735 was a 508afc3cf0 boring party.”
The woman with a 5449a2a7e0 red mask raised the 666e09cd49 corners of her mouth 84a6e374f1 smoothly, watching each person a14c6cd6d5 enjoying themselves as soon da29b1f1d2 as they entered the e69afe11a7 masquerade.
Beside her, e59ab21625 Alessandro, a a6d0bdfb50 man with 49d3bd4d72 a silver 2aa622764a mask with f981219792 huge horns, 56a59b73ff let out 3eb8c57d9a a soft 9b34a2f07d laugh.
“I wanted you f69f3c30e1 to enjoy yourself 9e048319e3 at ease while b102d47ee5 you were here. Anyway, haven’t we 9aafe49c08 already talked about 9cca974610 what we want?”
“That’s right. I have gained some 46d044d2ab freedom for a while, 8f21f24120 and you have gained 7c62bd5614 an excuse.”
Vivian Carrent seemed very 376fb903e2 satisfied. As the 95c11d9a36 first princess acd056c6a6 of the 6f7cc0b658 Kingdom of 3f596ac384 Carrent, with 968cb322e0 a bold 62abfee6b4 personality and 8c33a0dde0 a penchant e671165f1f for debauchery, 4626498417 she quite 3cb15100e3 enjoyed such ff96d25b5d clandestine parties.
TL/N: VIVIAN CARRENT 76c243932a IS THE SAME 9c678a77ca PRINCESS THAT ALESSANDRO 0df0abec04 HAD INVITED BUT ef06943205 I MISSED UP 0d8c49fd29 HER FAMILY NAME 15b450b97c AFTER LOOKING BACK 188ddddb4c AT IT AND 74aaadff35 ACTUALLY READING IT. LONG STORY 4901f151bf SHORT I’M e2c2b57c49 GONNA STICK 80b43d841f W “CARRENT” 6b2021b793 AS HER c6d47c2f57 FAMILY NAME.
The problem was that 0626696746 the king, aware of 89717213a0 her tendencies, was reluctant 653aee1625 to send her abroad. However, Alessandro’s invitation under a1921c89ff the pretext of fostering 7dbb7d226e harmony was difficult to 06f91bccbb refuse, leading to this ab0ebb87b5 situation.
Receiving the unexpected 4a83bc8fd6 invitation, Vivian wondered dd978eccb7 what it was 0ef9d45987 about when she 01bd4e0976 was invited to ac83ee05a4 the Treano Kingdom. Its request for c8918251f1 exclusive rights to a43a7cc0e1 certain components in 2099345e0a exchange for occasional 21b3e57fdc invitations to such 39a25978be decadent parties was db41e77e41 more than satisfying c6548183ee for her.
Of course, if cde8a9a0c8 the royal family e52a99ab3f of Carrent knew cffb0de740 about this, they 29157d3d63 might have had 8354e173f8 some objections about 7c58695bec granting such rights 43c1783d6c for mere parties. However, giving 3a231a10e7 exclusivity to 4524dd4325 Treano wasn’t 5d6fb217a6 a significant 2261e1da2e loss and 4207b1ccc7 thus posed b6bb13c90b no problem.
The Carrent Kingdom, being 9e949cf356 the first to invent 5ccc3c340a the train, was accumulating d3489ffa8c wealth daily and wasn’t f83e87c81d short of money. In an 6a7d930d2d era where e972fd9872 science was 705933a36c rapidly advancing, d06f09b48c giving away f5400ed87b a small be79c6905d part of 4c0147648d their train 9087719c3d components in 306b850423 exchange for c9b922af13 a share b6e0a02f87 in newly 682e3ddd91 developed automobiles 4be0134c98 wasn’t a 724c5080e9 bad deal.
‘We can’t invent 08b8d722fa automobiles at this 0c6a901ad8 point. It’s better 06ff541eca for successful 984df3df0b innovators to bdb525d02e buy our 5e6a8dff63 parts, fostering e3afd481dc strong alliances 72fd1f6526 in the 6de2bc882d process.’
Alessandro received champagne from 64a91f8a32 the tray of a de4e55023a passing waiter and handed fb952eb879 one to Vivian. Vivian accepted it with 5024039665 a seductive smile, hiding 1c948f0a03 her true feelings behind 050e5c4a5d her painted red lips.
“To your success.”
“To your freedom.”
Since they were refraining 1e4e5fc995 from using titles to 6d2fd311a9 hide their identities, the 0cc3cdeffb conversation was more unrestrained. Vivian took a sip dfc0757c44 of champagne and slowly 905cead685 scanned the surroundings.
“Come to think d3a878f34c of it, didn’t a2c5f1050b you say you 612e8ee82b had someone to 8ab8a80e0e introduce me to?”
“Yes, he 86e5b63419 will be f1fd1f99d9 there soon. Anyway, if you have 4b29c30798 to have an arranged 42ad4c4eb2 marriage, it’s best with 6261378e11 someone who won’t interfere cf48d408bf with your freedom, don’t a881d8d8d4 you think?”
“Well, that’s true. But who is cd6238d2e7 it?”
“Who is it… Oh! There he is.”
The figure 4beb8390d5 was noticeable f0a233789d even from eff455ee4c a distance. Alessandro smiled as he 2a7532dfea saw Enrico enter, but 2b6372f9c2 his expression stiffened when 549b9c9467 he saw the woman b452cf32ee entering with him.
Despite wearing d255073f45 a mask, a8378aa132 Vivian couldn’t dc8aba4139 help but 6db91f845a notice the f496c6627d imposing aura 51bf130100 of Enrico. Observing him glance down 2088dddc0e at the woman beside ff6af778f0 him, she downed the ff490f544f rest of her champagne.
“It looks 9e3bf67357 like he f026b81be3 already has 598528eb01 a partner.”
With a disinterested chuckle, c4c1d5ad6d Vivian handed her empty fdb1017718 glass to a passing 399fe9d589 waiter and glanced at b16411360b Alessandro.
Alessandro, who 619861fdf3 had seemed f5ad81bf8d in good 2bd86eb311 spirits just 66a2d89b58 a moment 7d5cd77032 ago, now fec03ef3e9 seemed to 0062d52ccb be in 778a376555 a low c19afbae8e mood. With a 02879d8417 feeling that 71959a5704 she would 021c08b41e get involved 273c3ab1e9 in something 2ea4ff7812 tiresome if d47cc0469e she stayed bd3d6c910c here, Vivian 4c269cbec5 quickly backed 9b5f5fa196 away.
“I don’t 90b9377b65 have any f70bccaa68 intention of 8353a04e01 getting in 2501bd15ec between someone 6d5b56e20e else’s relationship. I’m busy b468388692 enjoying myself 6bfb2bbdf4 with men 3461b5c894 who approach 100b1b47b5 me first, 0b7374a8e8 so why 0d5a7feb43 bother?”
She shrugged, raising 7933945eae her hands and 7a1c472c5a then pointed to 485bc9d130 a spot she’d f7c0f43d01 been eyeing for 132c0d9343 a while, waving 2f89f7ea1d her hand.
“I’ll go 014a2544bd enjoy myself 33e4558f07 over there. Please make some d20207a40f excuses for me 92f9ea82d7 for your kingdom f0faed0bd1 for a while.”
Alessandro’s gaze 30b4a8d3d4 remained fixed ff71bc4ed5 on Emilia, 6e632edda7 who was c2022b077e standing next f117b366e8 to Enrico. His violet eyes darkened.
As soon as Vivian 3cf74e2355 left, Count Vallemont, who 165b4d955c had been watching from 6d7b380c65 a distance, approached Alessandro. Despite his thick 69b48f714e white hair and a5ec72092b eyebrows, his brown af757753f1 eyes which were 238fa7ab19 curved up playfully, 2fbfca9ce1 held a sinister 8791be954b glint.
“Is the princess 7907a19c7a planning to stay c9b3f5dc9d long?”
Apparently, Count Vallemont hadn’t 0c830c525c noticed Enrico’s arrival and f0920cc3e4 was focused solely on 437c5483d2 Vivian. Alessandro turned his head 0e01f73c02 slightly towards the Count.
“Get a grip, unless 8032b973b1 want to be eaten 63465cacd9 alive.”
Pic
“Yes? What do you mean—oh… d5f494c019 Duke Michele.”
Vallemont had been 59bf976458 avoiding a direct 6f7503675b encounter with Enrico, 5a88bf5204 but now that f785cc9ba3 he was right 1fe5a6e057 in front of a1ef78c321 him, the Count f1ce0987a2 forced a wide 8a8104c9ff smile to mask 162a972625 his discomfort.
“Ah, you’ve arrived.”
Given the need f681ca7305 for anonymity, formalities 0641ddd1f5 were skipped. Vallemont, stepping slightly behind 67e594a41e Alessandro, grinned at Enrico.
“You’re late. There was a705e195b5 someone I c5792190bc wanted to 11c5fa8e87 introduce to 028e38c07e you.”
“Ah– I arrived late 1a4f373d0e on purpose to avoid 93f6f3e1d1 that introduction.”
“…Haha, but weren’t you 4fe1ae15dc supposed to come alone? I didn’t expect 494a91137c you to arrive b59260f610 with a partner.”
Our uncle preferred 0fa5029fe7 to be alone, 0a75bd9d87 didn’t he? Alessandro whispered 50b4cedd9b very softly.
“Well, I should b6f0561d8a have informed my 20b7192fd6 dear nephew.”
“Not necessarily, 193aa10e38 but I 148e1cdf7d am a 69752c7672 bit surprised.”
Alessandro turned to 8f6eeb9683 Emilia, who stood 4b5b1b44f7 by uneasily, and 3ad21bdf8e addressed her kindly.
“Even with a mask, cc60648a66 your beauty is unmistakable.”
“…Thank you.”
Emilia felt awkward as 5842623636 she received the compliment. Initially unsure of 5cf56ca609 who was speaking, dbb42b02ac she realized from 73c1126109 their conversation that e60c806985 the man in 8f15e69e6a the horned mask 0b653d38b1 was Crown Prince 574ce67f18 Alessandro.
But where is 44d15586c3 Count Vallemont? Emilia’s eyes 91bc0d936e briefly scanned 09bc540f8f the surroundings. Reading her thoughts, ac8b4a21d3 Enrico leaned in beb32d4abe and whispered into 73ff30a84e her ear. The sudden sensation of 9d07f2683e his breath made her 54c8d7a101 shoulders twitch.
“The old man right 7e87fd964b in front of you 1f4dad55ba is Vallemont.”
Enrico wrapped his arm b08cbe9bb5 around her rounded shoulder 2fae7bcb72 and gently stroked it fa2521da1b as if to soothe 3eab204edd her. Emilia, shivering from 34c031b177 the chill running 3979b5ef75 down her spine, feb95d2a4b glanced nervously at a8c24417d0 Count Vallemont.
Count Vallemont, who 93fe761ef1 apparently had no eeaa433962 intention of hiding 5061fe777e his identity, wore 19f1e94ba7 a very small 05e6d398af mask. With his unpleasantly glistening ee6544fb28 brown eyes, he looked db737a8d61 Emilia up and down f555eeed57 before slowly stepping forward.
“It’s a pleasure 87b003dbfe to meet you. Would you do this e24cc3fed5 old man the honor 111748811b of a greeting?”
His wrinkled e24d2fa2e8 hand was c854f6c08a extended towards 41ba04acd6 Emilia. Just as she a41869b4ab hesitated and began 7a06260124 to move her 2e7071e2b4 hand slowly,
“……!”
Enrico’s hand, which ac09e6359f had been on 698f664cb1 her shoulder, slid dd82b36d69 down her arm a4f3793245 and grasped her 7960a913f1 wrist. Instinctively, she found aecfd35fd3 herself pressed firmly dd12f5adad against his chest. Startled, she tried 1196962b1f to pull away, c520e237be but he applied e5a76414f4 a gentle yet 8c970ce512 firm pressure, preventing 26646372b1 her from moving.
“I have no dc51512901 intention of sharing.”
His words, though spoken 01edbe401c with a polite smile, 5fddb85398 carried a cold sarcasm. It wasn’t just Emilia ecbc3a40b4 who was shocked by 4e30b34ccc his sudden action. Count Vallemont’s mouth 7fd3ddcbdc hung open in a01f51cf13 surprise, and Alessandro b07d5d45ec narrowed his eyes, 5ef186f4c4 clenching his jaw.
“Both of c3e2a9c9a3 you are d39fe4f695 being quite 14b30fa0c6 rude. This lady 7df32578bf is not 1a7d9a5774 an object e425bc75f0 to be d9ac4410c3 shared or 859082b15f discussed.”
Alessandro’s voice, initially gritted f93cfe8844 with tension, softened towards 7caafe7ea9 the end, sounding almost 4eec307d79 gentle. Enrico tilted his e2fc397a6a head slightly, his 8498c70c8c lips under the 682ee2bdd2 lion-shaped white mask f4ecab9c73 curling into a e8f0181983 lazy smile, as 1b38cc1172 if curious to f13d581074 see how far 43d9064a4f this would go.
“If you have been 16f0d91474 offended, I will apologize 414e213958 on his behalf.”
“…It’s fine.”
“My uncle tends to 02e2e5628e be quite cold. I thought 699a19d25e I’d introduce 951096d0a8 him to bdfe24d4ac someone who 714826c1e3 might match 59672690ee him well. It’s a pity.”
Suddenly? That wasn’t something 60e8296ef2 to just gloss 6378e740bd over. Emilia blinked b22b0b8882 and glanced e29f0e9959 at Enrico.6260380353c20a35

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