Chapter 103. The Xino Covenant (5)
Night had fallen. The crystal stars embedded in the vaulted do of the Xino Palace poured down their gentle starlight.
Beneath the radiant, star-strewn path, tonight's sole leading lady finally made her appearance before the eyes of the assembled crowd.
Her pure moon-white waist-cinching gown shimred under the do's starlight, rippling with flowing threads of pearl white, pale silver, and light gold. The Austrein imperial house's immortal Cornflower Insignia had been wrought into a golden chest ornant, blooming in full above her graceful, full-figured silhouette.
Atop the platinum crown fashioned after cornflower vines, thirty-six condensed light-diamonds were set in place, gleaming in beautiful harmony with those dazzling golden tresses.
The Imperial Princess wore exquisite makeup—a trace of pale rose liner drew along the corner of those violet eyes, adding a layer of distinctive allure.
Beneath the long skirt, white lace glimpsed and vanished with each step she took, revealing a stretch of leg that set the imagination wandering.
Serela took Luo Nan's arm, and the two walked slowly side by side from the exterior of the Xino Palace into the main hall.
Luo Nan's deep black and cobalt blue—like the vast depths of the night sky. Serela's platinum radiance—like pure, bright moonlight spilling across the earth.
"What a…… perfect match."
Even Anya, at this mont, could not help but acknowledge that the pair at the center of the hall were a match as though made by nature itself.
As if the union of the two had been fated from the very start.
For so reason, Anya found herself feeling a little short of breath.
The girl reached a hand into the bodice of the formal dress she had rented for the occasion, and gripped tightly the white cloth strip she had brought along to conceal her identity while carrying out her task later.
'Enough—stop looking. It ans nothing. Better go get so more food.'
Anya loosened her white-knuckled grip on the cloth strip, and in her ill-fitting high heels made her way back to the dining room.
'Ow!'
'?'
Anya first felt herself collide with sothing soft, then heard a startled gasp, and finally a faint floral fragrance drifted into her nostrils.
"I'm sorry, Miss……"
She imdiately realized she had bumped into soone. She quickly reached out to steady the girl who was about to topple backward, and apologized at the sa ti.
"It's alright—please don't worry about it." The girl she had caught replied softly.
Only now did Anya get a clear look at the face of the person she had caught, and her mind identified the other party at once.
"Miss Rose?"
The one she had collided with was none other than Rose Anlute—the "victim" from the Hocoming Banquet half a month ago.
Anya rembered: her very first eting with Luo Nan had co about precisely because she had been used by an interested party to believe Luo Nan was attempting to violate Rose—and had barged into the private room to try to rescue her, thereby setting off a whole chain of subsequent events.
'Has it really only been half a month……' Anya couldn't help feeling a touch of nostalgia.
"You are…… Anya Sivans—Miss Anya?"
Rose had clearly recognized the righteous young lady with the beautiful golden eyes standing before her.
"Miss Anya, why are you here?" Rose asked the sa question Luo Nan had.
Rose had naturally investigated Anya's background and knew her status was that of a re commoner—hence the inquiry.
"Ahaha, naturally soone invited ~" Anya gave her head a vague shake, her gaze evasive, unwilling to discuss this topic further.
She could hardly say she had been dragged here by so person of unknown identity to carry out a mission, could she?
Although she disliked the Crow-Beak Mask's money-scattering rich-person ways, basic confidentiality was sothing she would still uphold.
This was Anya Sivans's professional spirit!
"I see," Rose could also tell Anya didn't wish to go into detail. She gave a nod, then hesitated for a mont before asking quietly: "Then…… Miss Anya, have you recently had any…… contact with Luo Nan?"
"?"
Anya was taken off guard for a mont. She couldn't work out why Miss Rose would ask her whether she had seen Luo Nan lately.
'She must know I was hired by Luo Nan?' She rubbed her smooth chin.
At this thought, the girl replied: "Lately I have indeed t with him a few tis—mainly to exchange case progress updates regarding the assassination attempt against him."
Anya did not ntion the joint investigation trips to Apartnt No. 23 and the Listone Mine Shaft the two had undertaken together.
She didn't feel like bringing it up.
"Then…… in the tis you've been in contact with him, especially these last few days…… has he and you……" Rose was sowhat tangled, the rest of the words already at the tip of her tongue but sohow difficult to say.
"Done what with ? We haven't done anything."
"No…… it's just, has he ever ntioned…… ?"
"ntioned you?"
Anya's eyes went wide. She found it rather hard to believe Miss Rose would ask this particular question.
'Based on what I know of the relationship between those two—Luo Nan being a scoundrel should be soone Miss Rose despises…… and there was that misunderstanding between them too……'
'Surely Miss Rose hasn't developed so kind of improper, twisted feelings toward Luo Nan?'
Anya gave a nod, and the more she thought about it the more convinced she beca that her guess was correct.
'No—I have to set Miss Rose straight. I can't let her go astray.'
The thought had barely ford when a look of resolve ignited in those golden eyes. Both hands ca to rest on the girl before her snow-white shoulders, and she stated with upright conviction: "Miss Rose, your feelings are twisted!"
"Huh?"
"Listen to —even though that Luo Nan fellow has so money and his looks are passable, he is an utterly depraved scoundrel!"
"This…… this I know……" Rose was a little baffled; she couldn't work out why Anya was bringing up facts that everyone already knew.
What she actually wanted to ask was whether those photographs that Luo Nan had forced her to take had been revealed to anyone.
Although she very much wanted to ask Luo Nan himself—the mont she thought of what had passed between the two of them that night……
Rose felt sothing was off about her own body.
So she didn't quite dare go and ask Luo Nan directly.
She held leverage over him, it was true—but even with no news these past few days, Rose could not guarantee that Luo Nan wouldn't change his mind later and use those photographs to threaten her into doing this or that……
She had seen this kind of plot in certain unsavory picture books before. When a girl's leverage was held in so man's hands, it was invariably the beginning of that girl's downfall.
She had to save herself!
It would be best if she could get that mory Crystal back from Luo Nan's hands.
"So, Miss Rose—please correct the way you think about Luo Nan! It is morbid, twisted, and wrong!"
"Huh?"
Rose was startled by Anya's sudden seriousness. She darted her eyes around at the people nearby—fortunately, all of them had their attention drawn to the central pair in the main hall, and no one had heard what Anya just said.
"No no, Miss Anya, you've misunderstood……"
Rose pulled Anya to a corner of a side hall, cast a furtive glance around to confirm no one was passing by, then lowered her voice:
"Miss Anya, although I don't know what sort of 'morbid, twisted, improper feelings' you're referring to…… I have no feelings whatsoever toward Luo Nan."
"In fact…… I utterly despise him!"
"Huh? Why?"
This ti it was Anya's turn to be confused.
"Well……"
Rose certainly couldn't tell Anya outright that she had been forced to let that fellow take a photo collection of her, could she?
Even though both of them were won and she believed Miss Anya could understand her difficulty—it was sothing she simply could not say aloud.
Looking at the golden-eyed girl in front of her who seed sowhat guileless, Rose once again recalled the boldness with which she had dared to directly accuse Luo Nan half a month ago.
'This person…… could she possibly be made use of?'
Reviews
All reviews (0)