MY THRONE

42. The Ball

"Done!" Julia exclaimed after attaching a jade hairpin in my small bun.

I stared at my reflection in the mirror, my eye shadow and makeup done perfectly, so was my hair which matched with my jade floor-length dress with lace sleeves.

"You did great." I complimented Julia's skills in makeup.

"Mister Orion won't be able to remove his eyes from you." She giggled and I feigned to be shy.

"Oh shut up." I muttered as I finally put on my pencil heels and the outfit was complete.

I was ready for the ball.

Two weeks had gone by since meeting Ian, or Orion, and from that day, I've been trying to get close to him.

I've been spending most of my time meeting him or thinking about him (not in a romantic way).

I was acting all loved up, pretending to be interested in the lies that left his mouth.

Orion's manner of speaking was the same as Ian's. Both of them had that sweet voice that made me want to record it and play it as a lullaby.

This made me wonder if me getting attracted to him in my past life was all because of dark magic as well.

I had thought about it an entire night and came to the conclusion that; no, it wasn't entirely magic.

My heart beating faster and me finding everything adorable about him during our first meeting might've been the result of his dark magic. But I started falling for him afterwards.

The dark magic only created a small spark in my heart for him, his personality and loving attitude towards me was what lead it to ignite.

I once loved him, but not anymore, not when I know he may be the mastermind behind all the murders.

And today, after the ball, I'll execute my plan.

My plan was simple; to find out who all were involved in Ian's plan.

I had already started working on the plan when I told Julia about my 'crush' on Orion.

Julia was a bubbly person who could barely keep her mouth shut. Telling her something would basically mean telling every butler and maid in the palace that I had a crush on Orion.

If the person involved in the plan, was a maid or butler, they would instantly think Ian's plan for making me fall for him was working and when they meet together on a later date to discuss their next step, I'll catch them.

But before that, I need to make sure the public knew that Ian was the one who I'll choose as my partner. Only then will Ian understand that I am 'genuinely' interested in him and would stop doubting me (like I felt him doing sometimes when we talked).

That public display of affection would happen today, at the ball.

And after it ends, I'll privately ask Ian to be my emperor. If he wants to be the Emperor, I have to meet his 'parents'.

That would be the other family who helped Ian become Orion.

Once I catch that family, I'll explain the situation to Roman and tell him about the traitor in his own empire who knows about the poison.

He was extremely fuzzy and sad when I refused to meet him over the two weeks. I couldn't risk giving rise to some obnoxious rumour about us.

I have a feeling that the royal family of the Southern kingdom was also involved in the murders, however, I currently hold no proof against them.