I could clearly tell from her eyes that she was questioning why I was there in the first place.

Did I make a mistake? Come to think of it, I never properly apologized after I slapped her... I just hugged her out of nowhere. It makes sense for her to hate me for showing up. Anastasia stared into my eyes for a while before dropping the pile of things in her arms to the floor. They were elegant invitations with gilded edges.

Oh, she’s checking all of them... But why is she doing this kind of work?

“Present your invitation,” the guard said with a stony face.

Here comes the inevitable. I coughed a little and put on a warm smile.

“Oh, weird. Didn’t Reuden come here first?” I asked.

“Pardon?”

“Reuden took my invitation by mistake. Didn’t he tell you that before he went in?”

I could feel Catherine’s arm under my hand stiffen. She must have been surprised that I was lying through my teeth.

Regardless, I kept a smile on my face and my eyes on the guard. He promptly looked to Anastasia, who flinched at his gaze and finally looked away from me. She subsequently dropped to the floor.

“H-hold on, let me check...” Her voice was clearly agitated as she kept fumbling through the invitations, failing to grab them all. It was heartbreaking.

She’s so shaken just from seeing me. It’s going to be a long road to becoming friends with her... It was a terrible truth. I knelt to help her pick up the invitations, ignoring Catherine calling my name in surprise. As I was picking up the invitations one by one, Anastasia looked up at me. My eyes met hers once more. Just as I had thought last time, they were so beautiful that they almost looked unreal.

If there is a god, then they surely must have used up all of their power to make Anastasia’s eyes. She’s the main character, all right. I was lost in admiration when Anastasia blushed shyly.

“Th-thank you, Renee.”

Oh... my... god... Oh, my god, oh, my god, oh, my god! What am I going to do with you, my dear angel?! She thanks me just for helping her pick up some measly invitations? She’s an angel. There’s no doubt about it. Internally, I was banging my fists against the walls of my heart out of sheer excitement, but I managed to draw a kind smile on my face as I handed her the invitations.

“It’s nothing,” I told her.

She hesitated, but thankfully she took them. Now was not the time to dawdle in awe at Anastasia’s angelic character. I snapped out of it at once and thought about how to enter the banquet hall without drawing any suspicion.

Okay, so I lied... But what do I do now? I shifted my eyes toward the banquet hall entrance.

Anastasia, who was looking through the invitations, said cautiously, “R-Renee... Lord Reuden didn’t mention anything before going inside, and I don’t see your invitation here. Maybe there’s been some kind of mistake?”

Well, duh. I lied. But she didn’t know that. She just smiled, clearly wary of me. My eyes darted to her quivering cheeks. She was nervous, no doubt.

“Y-yes, but you know, there’s no way my invitation would’ve just disappeared. Oh, if Reuden didn’t, maybe a sneaky cat took it?” I was just spewing out words without thinking.

“No invitation, no entrance. I’m sorry, but you must leave.” The guard interrupted with a stern voice.

Of course that didn’t work. But I couldn’t give up. I just need to take one step inside.

“Then can you call Reuden? Just to double-check.”

“I cannot leave my post,” he said.

“Come on, don’t be such a square. Anastasia, can you go bring him?”

“My lady,” Catherine called out from behind me. She wanted me to give up, but I was desperate.

Anastasia looked at me with wavering eyes. Then it suddenly dawned on me.

She’s nervous because of me, that’s for sure, but it’s not that she’s afraid of me. It’s that she doesn’t understand why I’m here... Like I’m not supposed to be here... Almost as if she’s hiding something... Is it just my imagination?

At that moment, Anastasia’s eyes darted to my right. Before I could even wonder what she was looking at, an unfamiliar voice rang out.

“Something the matter?”

“Greetings, Commander!”

The guard yelled out as he made a rigid salute, which was a one-eighty from when he addressed me.

Huh? Who’s this? I was about to turn around when a hand landed on my shoulder. Surprised by the sudden touch, I glanced at the black-gloved hand on my shoulder before looking up.

Someone had come right up behind me as if he were my friend. The man was in formal but fancy attire like Reuden. He had tousled black hair and violet eyes. I had never seen him before, and I had absolutely no idea who he was, but he was strangely familiar.

Who the hell is this? A character from the novel? He was smiling, but his languid yet sharp eyes held no trace of mirth. The guards eyed each other in hesitation before one of them finally spoke.

“We were having difficulty locating her invitation, Commander.”

“Aha.”

The man tossed out a careless response and finally looked down at me. He was much taller than me, even though I was wearing high heels.

Who does he think he is to put his hand on me? Does he have any idea who I am? I looked at him like he was crazy. I was about to swipe his hand off me when he removed it himself.

He grinned at me. The upturned corners of his mouth were charming.

“Renee Blair.”

He calls me by my name?

“You know me?” I asked.

“Who doesn’t?”

“You’re pretty casual for someone addressing a lady.”

“Ah, that’s right. Why did I call you by your name?”

“Huh?”

“We were never very formal with each other in the first place, were we? I mean, it’s the first time we’ve ever actually spoken, but...” He lowered his eyes and then looked up again. “Well, I’ve already said it. You can call me by my name too.”

I couldn’t follow his logic, so I crumpled up my face silently.

The man let out a low laugh. He turned to the guard again. “If she has no invitation, then I’ll take her in as my partner. I didn’t have a plus one anyway.”

“Excuse me?” Anastasia was the first to respond. Her eyes were wider than usual.

The man looked down at her as if to ask what was the matter. He was just looking at her, but his gaze still felt heavy, even though it wasn’t directed at me. That was when I knew for certain that he was no ordinary man.

“What do you mean, your ‘partner?’” I asked.

There was silence. Neither the man, nor the guard, nor even Anastasia answered my question.

I asked again in frustration. “Hey, what are you—”

“My lady,” Catherine whispered.

“He’s from the Order of Hugo. Their knights can enter with a partner, hence his offer.

“Is that so?”

“Indeed,” the man answered.

I was asking Catherine, not you. I realized that he was listening in on our private conversation, so I shot a glare up at him. He didn’t even flinch and only smiled in turn.

What the hell is his problem?

“You want to go to the banquet, right? Just be my partner and you can go in.”

I glared at him.

“But you have to stick with me through the entire banquet.” The man was so slick, so at ease, that I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. I couldn’t even remember if he was in the novel. I had my guard up, but his offer was honestly tempting.

I had to do something to complete the mission and the stickler guard didn’t take to my lie so easily. I didn’t like the condition that I had to be at his side the entire time, but I was going to leave as soon as I entered, so it didn’t matter. I was weighing the options when—

“No? Oh, well,” the man said, tilting his head. He turned around without hesitation.

I grew impatient, and before I knew it, my arm had shot out to grab his. The force made him wobble backward, and he ended up leaning on me. He wiped the slick smile off his face and looked at me with widened eyes.

Why is he so weak? And he calls himself a knight?

“I didn’t even answer yet. You can’t just leave like that,” I said.

“Hmm.”

“What? Whatever. The partner thing... I’ll do it.”

I let go and he straightened up. He squinted as if he were examining me, which I didn’t appreciate. Soon, he relaxed his eyes into a smile and wrapped his arm around my shoulders again.

“Works for me.”

“Stop putting your arm around my shoulders.”

“Anything for you, my lady.”

Oh, I see how it is... What a player. His slimy answer was pretty impressive.

He has to have been in the novel. He’s got that energy. Could he be a romance candidate for Anastasia? Is that why he feels familiar? I looked up at the player and then turned to Catherine, but I didn’t even have to say anything.

“I’ll be waiting in the carriage, my lady.”

“I’ll be out soon. I’m sorry,” I replied.

“Don’t worry about it. Go on.”

I couldn’t read her face at all. She returned to the carriage, and I suddenly felt the cold silence covering us.

“What’s going on?”

“Right? Something’s up,” the man muttered, his eyes fixed on me. His violet irises sparkled in his darkened eyes. He pointed toward the banquet hall entrance and said, “Who cares? Let’s go in.”

He took my hand, but it didn’t feel like he was escorting me. It felt playful like a little boy holding someone’s hand too tightly. For some reason, I found it odd.

Who the hell is this man? Maybe if I heard his name ...

“Sir Dywen Fergus!” Anastasia’s urgent voice stopped the man in his tracks.

He turned around and I blinked dumbly at his face.

Dywen Fergus? He had moderately fair skin, tousled black hair, downturned but sharp eyes, and most of all, those glaring, violet irises.

“I never liked you in the first place.”

A low, biting voice rang in my head.

Oh, it’s him... He’s that guy... The leader of the Order of Hugo and one of the only two dragon slayers in the whole country. And... Renee Blair’s murderer. That Dywen Fergus.