CH 14.2

14. Don’t you dare covet mine (2)

Fortunately, the cookies she made that morning had baked well.

The shape was also pretty and it made her hum a song in satisfaction.

It was the day of entry, so she woke up at dawn and walked around the kitchen.

Although it took longer than she thought, the ‘Eurecia’ goddesses bullied her the instant they descended for breakfast.

Still, she felt good.

As she wrapped the box containing the cookies, a smile formed on a handsome man’s straight face that only existed in her imagination.

Kelly had always kept her dreamy first meeting with Joshua a few years ago at the back of her mind.

It was the day she first stepped into the banquet hall when she got invited to her queen’s birthday party.

“Oh, Kelly. You’re here, too? I guess the government’s daughter has an invitation, too.”

“I know. If I were you, I’d be embarrassed and stay in the corner of my room, instead. Look at you! All dressed up as a woman.”

Her sisters had bullied her without fail, giggling with their fan-covered lips.

These things happen all the time so she was already familiar with it.

Still, she couldn’t just close her eyes and completely ignore them.

She remained seated on a chair at the corner of the banquet hall.

“Oh, my God! My mistake.”

Rosaline poured the red wine she was holding into her shiny golden hair and flashed a cold, pretentious smile as she glanced down at her.

Then, she wiped Kelly’s stained face with a handkerchief and pulled her arms out with violence.

Rosaline’s hurtful pinch caused Kelly to grimace and push her away.

Only then did Rosaline withdraw with a satisfied smirk.

“I hope you’ll have a good time, Kelly.”

When the two women walked away from her, the scent of their awful perfume wafting in the atmosphere went with them.

Now, her dizziness had vanished and the knot in her stomach had cleared up.

The colorful chandeliers at the ceiling were all visible from the open space and underneath them, the aristocrats were smiling happily among themselves.

Kelly felt someone gazing at her from afar and it eerily felt like dripping water that she couldn’t wipe off.

She just knew that someone would approach her soon.

She was so used to the bullying that she couldn’t even bring herself  to cry.

Something unexpected happened, however, when she felt all the people’s eyes on the ball were on her.

At this point, she considered possessing good eyesight and working ears as cursed.

Her eyes were about to turn red, and she gritted her teeth to hold herself back.

Where should she go if she wanted to get out of here?

She blinked when she felt her reality was bleak.

“Excuse me.” A fine voice from behind made her heart beat faster.

She turned her head and faced the image of the handsome man being engraved slowly in her mind.

His blood-red eyes appeared calm as his pitch-black hair sparkled gorgeously under the orange light.

He was neatly dressed in a grey suit which made him look perfect.

Unlike her, the man simply shrugged his shoulders in nonchalance as if he didn’t give a damn what other people think of him.

Kelly realized he was an aristocrat.

“Wipe yourself with this.”

A pale hand offered her a handkerchief embroidered with the Mckinley’s family crest.

She would never forget all the scenes where they made skin-to-skin contact  that night.

It had been quite a long time since their gazes met as intensely as that.

When she just stared at him without receiving his handkerchief, the man’s brows furrowed in confusion.

His long, elegant fingers caressed Kelly’s hair.

“If you don’t want to accept it, allow me to help you.”

The handkerchief in his hand gently rubbed against her wet hair.

Kelly felt rather strange as if it was an out-of-body experience.

She knew that the man hadn’t exactly touched her directly but nothing seemed to exist in her world except his hand touching her hair.

She was grateful for his delicate touch that made her tear up a little.

At the same time, she felt so ashamed that she wanted to run away from him.

“The insecure ones always do childish things when they’re jealous.” His melodious voice tickled her ears like flowing water.

“It must be because they’re jealous of your beauty, My Lady.”

Soon, his hand on the top of her head fell away.

The man bent his head a little so that they would be at an eye-level with each other.

Next, he settled the handkerchief in her hand.

“I can’t wipe your clothes myself, so please take them.”

His thumbs swiped the tears in her lashes and the corner of her eyes.

Kelly closed her eyes slightly and trembled at the unexpected caress.

The man sat on a chair next to her, picked a cookie on a tray, and placed it in his mouth.

“I don’t really like sweets, but this cookie seemed light and tasty. Why don’t you try it yourself?”

The aristocrat was also a man of impeccable manners.

If he just left his handkerchief behind, Kelly might feel embarrassed with wiping the wine in her clothes all alone, so the man sat next to her and ate some cookies to make her feel less awkward.

He seemed light-hearted and kind.

He also possessed an easy smile.

It was the first time she felt a man’s warmth and it choked her up for no reason.

Kelly, who had finished cleaning herself up, mumbled without looking to the side. “Thank you. I’d like to wash your handkerchief and return it to you later–”

“Don’t worry. I don’t need it anymore.”

“Ah.”

“After going out of the banquet hall, turn right and look for a room that contained some dresses inside. You can pick one and wear them.”

Joshua turned to the sound of someone calling him and only then did Kelly look at the man sitting next to her.

She realized that this kindness must be normal to him and didn’t really think much of it.

Kelly sat there alone for a long time.

Even at the empty chair where the man had left, a cool scent continued to circulate next to her.

She wasn’t afraid of people’s eyes anymore.