The Shivering Ball (4)

“Ahem!”

As though she'd reached a decision, Ashley cleared her throat. She gathered up the papers she'd shown me and slipped them back beneath her dress, against her thigh.

There. The evidence was concealed again. That would have to count as disposing of it.

A short silence fell between us.

It was a blessing that we finally understood each other. Unfortunately, we couldn't afford to show it.

The elf was still watching.

And now Ashley had to carry that burden with me.

“Lord Theorad,” she said in her scolding voice, “if you've done something disgraceful, you ought to apologize to the family…”

Silence would make the elf suspicious, so Ashley kept up her rebuke. Then she tapped on the table.

Her eyes moved toward the orchestra seated in one corner of the hall.

I turned to look. The musicians, all neatly dressed in tailcoats, caught her signal and hurriedly began to play.

The music spread through the ballroom, a little louder and livelier than before.

“Ashley, don't tell me…”

Shh.

She lifted a finger to her lips. The slight movement of her mouth told me to say nothing yet.

“Ladies and gentlemen!”

The servant directing the festivities raised his voice with amplification magic.

“It is time for the grand finale of tonight's celebration! Take your partners by the hand and gather in the center of the hall! Under the night sky blessed by the God of Light, show us your most graceful steps!”

The nobles paired off and moved toward the center of the ballroom, smiling with practiced ease.

The orchestra's music swelled along with them.

Ashley glanced at me and whispered so softly I could barely hear her.

“Lord Theorad. Pull me away roughly, as though I've offended you.”

“How could I treat you roughly?”

“That's kind of you, but please set that aside for now. Keeping the elf from becoming suspicious comes first, doesn't it?”

She was right.

The elf was still looking our way, as though she sensed something amiss. If I hesitated now, everything Ashley had done would be wasted.

I nodded, stood up, and seized her arm. Then I pulled.

“Kyaa!”

Ashley stumbled into my arms with a cry. For an instant I felt the soft pressure of her body against mine, but this was hardly the time to think about such things.

I leaned toward her ear.

“What should I do now?”

“…First, take me somewhere as far from the elf as possible. But Lord Theorad, I didn't mean for you to pull quite that hard.”

“Was there something wrong with it?”

I was genuinely curious.

Ashley opened her mouth, hesitated, and swallowed whatever she had meant to say.

There was no reason to keep standing there. I led her away, moving as far from the elf as I could.

When we reached a corner of the hall, I stopped and turned toward her.

“Now—”

“Let's dance.”

Dance?

Hadn't we come here so she could talk to me?

I stared for a moment, then looked around at the other guests.

“Ah, I see. Everyone else is dancing. If we're the only two standing still, we'll attract attention.”

“That's not why.”

“What?”

“I simply wanted to dance with you, Lord Theorad. You spend all your time reading or enjoying quiet pastimes. It must be nearly three years since you last came to a ball, isn't that right?”

She took my left arm and joined her other hand with mine, gently threading our fingers together.

The smile on her lips was graceful enough to leave me embarrassed.

“So let's enjoy ourselves a little. Just the two of us.”

How was I supposed to refuse that?

I smiled faintly and placed an arm around her back.

“All right.”

As the lively music rose around us, we began to move together.

From time to time my feet tangled and I lost a step. Each time, Ashley gave a small laugh and guided me back into rhythm.

I'd learned the steps of the round dance long ago, but I'd never found much pleasure in it.

With Ashley beside me, however, the dance seemed to bloom into something entirely different. Her happiness was so infectious that I felt it spreading into my own heart.

“Lord Theorad.”

It was a happiness that couldn't last.

As we danced, Ashley's expression grew serious. She leaned closer and whispered where only I could hear.

“Tell me now. How old is the elf, really?”

“As far as I know, she's two hundred and fifty. Her magical ability is comparable to an archmage's.”

“I see…”

She sounded calm, as though she'd expected something of the sort.

Without missing a step, she continued.

“What else do you know? Do you know why she pretends to be a slave?”

“Her tastes are perverse. Beyond that, I don't know anything yet.”

“Hmm. I can't be sure, but… I don't think she's an ordinary elf at all.”

“What do you mean?”

“It's only a suspicion. When I asked her name, she hesitated and avoided answering me. And at lunch today, I saw something strangely hostile in the way she looked at me. Was that really no more than possessiveness?”

We completed a turn and changed places.

“What are you suggesting?”

“Only that I doubt she happened to be sold to you by chance.”

I was at a loss.

“I don't know. We have nothing that would establish who she really is.”

“Neither do I. For now, I'll look for information about the Great Forest. It's a place shrouded in secrecy, so there may be little to learn. But trying is better than doing nothing.”

“Even hearing you offer is enough to make me grateful.”

“It's more than an offer.”

Ashley smiled mischievously and glanced toward the entrance.

The elf was still staring at us.

“In any case, she looks furious. I imagine she doesn't enjoy seeing you dance happily with another woman.”

“How can you tell?”

“A woman's intuition. At this rate, I think she's going to make things rather difficult for you. In the worst case, she could even take you away to the Great Forest…”

I tightened my hold on Ashley's hand.

“She can't! I have a duty to protect my family…!”

“Calm down. I only said that was the worst possibility. There must be a way to avoid it.”

“A way?”

“Yes. Although it will be rather unpleasant for you.”

“I don't care. If it will calm the elf's anger—”

“Then… this might hurt a little.”

Hurt?

Before I could ask what she meant, Ashley withdrew her hand from mine and swung it toward my face.

Smack!

My head snapped sideways. For a moment my vision blurred.

The orchestra fell silent, and the dancing nobles stopped to look at us.

I turned back in astonishment. Ashley was wearing an expression of fierce anger.

A quarrel.

Oh!

She meant to calm the elf by making us appear to have fought. A slap in front of all these witnesses would be difficult for the elf to dismiss as an act.

At last I understood.

I cleared my throat and straightened my collar.

But how am I supposed to look like we're arguing?

I'd never fought with Ashley. Come to think of it, I'd never had a quarrel fierce enough to turn into verbal abuse with anyone.

Still, there were too many eyes on us to make a halfhearted attempt. If the elf was to believe it, I had to do my part.

After a moment's hesitation, I reached out and caught Ashley by the chin.

“You impertinent little thing.”

I drew her face toward mine and lowered my head until our eyes were level.

“One day, I'll make you mine.”

Ashley's eyes widened.

Her cheeks turned bright red, and her lips parted in surprise.

She really was quite good at acting, too.

Satisfied that she understood what I was trying to do, I released her chin and strode toward the entrance.

The elf, who had been waiting there, hurried over and wrapped herself around my arm.

The softness pressing against it was an unwelcome distraction.

“M-Master, are you all right?”

There was a trace of satisfaction in her red eyes despite the concern in her voice.

I felt some of the tension leave my body.

“Don't trouble yourself over it.”

“Ah… If you like, Master, you could touch my breasts…”

“I have no need of that. Get away from me.”

Rebuffed, she hesitated and stepped aside.

I clicked my tongue with deliberate irritation and glanced back.

Ashley was looking straight at me.

Please.

There was nothing more I could do. I had to leave the aftermath in her hands.

I gave a small bow and left the annex.

---

Meanwhile, Ashley stood staring at the entrance to the ballroom.

Her heart wouldn't stop pounding.

“You impertinent little thing”…?

She knew perfectly well that he had been acting.

Knowing that, however, did very little to settle her feelings. Her face grew hot, and her breathing quickened.

One of the nobles, puzzled by the sight, touched her lightly on the shoulder.

“Lady Ashley. Why on earth did you slap Viscount Theorad?”

“Ah! Y-yes?”

Ashley came back to herself with a start.

“Oh, well… He suddenly leaned in as if he meant to kiss me, and I was startled. That's all.”

“You slapped him merely because he tried to kiss you? Even though you're engaged?”

“Y-yes. I reacted foolishly. I shouldn't have…”

The noble laughed heartily at her embarrassed answer.

To the onlookers, it was nothing more than a lovers' quarrel between two inexperienced young people.

“Good heavens, arguing over a little thing like that! Youth, I suppose. Come now, let the music continue! The guest of honor may have left, but that's no reason to spoil the ball!”

The noble clapped, and the orchestra began to play again.

Lively music filled the hall. Nearby ladies chattered excitedly, their imaginations clearly running away with the story.

Ashley had no idea where to look.

“I-I'll excuse myself.”

She offered the surrounding guests a hurried apology and made her way out of the ballroom, which was once again full of dancing and conversation.

She returned to her private room in the annex.

After closing the door, she crossed the room and sat on the edge of her bed, trying to quiet her racing heart.

Just when she thought she'd begun to calm down, Theorad's voice sounded again in her memory.

You impertinent little thing. One day, I'll make you mine.

Those were words the ordinary Theorad would never have said.

Perhaps that was why they had startled her so deeply.

She pictured him as he had been a moment earlier.

His light brown eyes, the color of a wheat field in autumn, narrowed as he looked directly into hers. The cool voice that had emerged from his slightly twisted lips.

It was a side of him that his usual gentle, considerate manner had never shown her.

Her cheeks burned. Her lips felt dry.

“Honestly…”

I told him to act angry. Who told him to try to seduce me?

One day, I'll make you mine.

There was his voice again.

And the worst part was that she hadn't entirely disliked hearing it.

Ashley snatched up a pillow and hugged it tightly to her chest, her face scarlet.

“You fool, Theorad.”

She had a feeling she wouldn't be falling asleep easily tonight.