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☾ thirty - two ☾

Blue skies and colorful roses, the visible ballroom in the background, and a man and woman who would come out to the terrace to show their affection for one another.

For Max, who constantly had to overcome threats in order to survive, such cliche scenes were old-fashioned and annoying.

< Your Highness, just in case things go awry, please stay at the promised rendezvous point. >

Before he had come here, he kept in mind what Freesia had said to him, but it was boring to hide in the trees all day long.

'Should I just leave?'

If he could, he wanted to drop everything immediately and go back to Salon Blooms, and yet he was displaying an abnormal amount of patience.

< Speaking of Lady Floyen...I wonder if she'll be okay as she's well-known for being an outcast in high society and has a lot of enemies. >

'That's right, there's a lot to gain from this party.'

Today's party didn't just have his mentor, but also a large number of nobles backing the Empress in attendance.

If there was anyone who approached his mentor, it wouldn't be a bad idea to keep track of their identities for now and then nip the buds later in the future.

But what was really occupying Max's head was the image of Juvellian in a fancy dress and dancing in another man's arms.

'She's probably dancing with another man by now, right?'

Max's eyes grew increasingly murderous the longer he stared in the direction of the ballroom.

'If I were to reveal my identity and go in right now...'

As his body shook with a strong impulse, the door of the terrace he had promised to meet up with Freesia opened.

Recognizing the person who had just come out, Max's eyes widened.

'Juvellian?'

At first, he thought perhaps he was hallucinating and blinked a few times before confirming that it was indeed Juvellian.

'Why did she come out here?'

He started having all sorts of thoughts, but strangely, he felt better after she had entered his peripheral vision, to the point where he now saw the originally dull and boring scenery in a new light.

'She must like roses, seeing as how she's staring at them so earnestly.'

Unbeknownst to himself, Max was smiling as he observed Juvellian.

But he soon became puzzled by her next action.

'What, why is she lowering her head all of a sudden?'

Once Juvellian raised her head, Max found his answer.

'Is she crying right now?'

He had thought maybe he was mistaken, but from her gem-like eyes–which were a mix of purple and blue–a trickle of tears escaped.

At that moment, Freesia's recent request passed through Max's head.

< Your Highness, please don't cause any trouble and quietly stay put at the meeting place. >

But before he had even finished recalling the remark, Max had already jumped down from the tree.

_

I frowned slightly as I stared at my father's apprentice.

'Why is he saying something so out of the blue?'