chapter 16
Unlike the chilly night air, the banquet hall—packed shoulder to shoulder with people—was filled with stifling heat and energy.
Ariel poked her head out of the basket and scanned the hall.
“Oh my, Lord Ian Cadelion is carrying a white basket.”
“A white suit paired with a white basket as the highlight? I never would’ve thought of that!”
“Wow… the moment he walked in, I was shocked because someone was literally glowing from across the room.”
“I should buy a basket in advance. Looking at this, baskets are obviously going to become the center of this season’s trend.”
“How can a fashion like this suit someone so perfectly?”
‘It’s not that it suits him. Ian’s face is just carrying the whole thing….’
How exactly do a white suit and a basket go well together?
Amid the murmurs, the beastfolk inside the ballroom were all dressed differently, each in their own unique style.
A few even wore outright disgusted expressions when they spotted someone wearing clothes similar to theirs. Those people subtly avoided each other afterward.
‘At that point, can you even call it subtle?’
Showing your displeasure that openly probably wasn’t a good idea.
Ariel clicked her tongue as she watched a beastfolk pass by with a deeply furrowed frown.
‘Well, this place revolves around social status and networking. Matching outfits must be a social disaster.’
With so many beastfolk gathered here, every single one had a different situation going on.
“Do you perhaps have time tomorrow? If not—”
“Oh, no! I’m busy!”
‘What are you talking about? You already promised to attend Lily’s tea party tomorrow.’
‘Quiet. I’m canceling it.’
“But… why do you ask…?”
“Ah, then… would you perhaps spend tomorrow with me instead?”
“Oh my, I’d love that.”
There were young men and women blushing as if fresh feelings had just begun blooming between them, and there were already people completely drunk, acting like they’d found lifelong friends.
“Hey there, nameless young master!”
“No, seriously, after talking for three hours, shouldn’t you remember my name by now?”
“Doesn’t matter. What I do know is that you and I get along incredibly well!”
“And why did you call me over?”
“You remember where we agreed to meet tomorrow, right?”
“You’ve just told me for the tenth time that we’re meeting at a tavern in Central City Afron.”
“Hahaha!”
But among all of them, the most entertaining thing by far was the love quarrels.
‘Their passive-aggressive skills are seriously impressive….’
If only she had popcorn, she would’ve stuffed it into the basket and crunched away while watching.
Especially when it came to bizarre love triangles and nobles battling for dominance over one woman—or one man—it was beyond words.
“Darling… are you two dating again?”
In other words—
A full-blown soap opera.
A young noblewoman with light yellow-brown hair pressed hard against her eyelids as she spoke in a tearful voice.
“How can you look at her like that? You said it was completely over.”
“It is. We’re really over.”
‘Wow. That is not the face of someone who’s over it.’
The man linked arm-in-arm with the yellow-brown-haired lady stared at the woman in front of him with obvious lingering feelings dripping from his face.
‘At least look at your current girlfriend’s face, you idiot.’
Ariel’s gaze turned icy as she looked at him.
“Hm. Is it really over? Between us?”
The red-haired woman asked meaningfully, and the tips of the man’s ears immediately turned red despite his earlier claim.
‘Ugh! In what world is that “completely over”?!’
Watching everything unfold, Ariel felt terrible for the yellow-brown-haired noblewoman.
‘Break up with him!’
As if she herself were frustrated, Ariel scratched excitedly at the basket and leaned farther out.
“Us…”
The yellow-brown-haired noblewoman began in a trembling voice.
That’s right. Good.
‘You can do it. Break up with him.’
Ariel silently cheered her on—
And then someone new strode over from the other side.
“We promised we’d stay together forever. This is kind of hurtful.”
‘What?!?’
It was a man with navy-blue hair and piercings in both ears that gave him a sharp impression.
‘Huh? Wait, what’s happening now?’
The redhead had a lover too?
And she cheated with the yellow-haired girl’s boyfriend??
‘Tsk tsk. The world’s really gone to ruin.’
As soon as he finished speaking, the yellow-brown-haired woman Ariel had been emotionally invested in finally spoke again—
Not to the man clinging to her arm while wistfully staring at the redhead, but to the newcomer.
“Hey, you said that exact same thing to me too. So what, you said it to her as well?”
Uh…
‘Huh? Huh?!’
WHAT?!?
The yellow-brown-haired noblewoman clenched her fist.
“You really are… such a… horrible…”
‘If you broke up, then that should’ve been the end of it. What else were you expecting?’
Was the woman Ariel had sympathized with not exactly normal either?
Before Ariel could even recover from the shock, tears welled up in the woman’s eyes.
As if she had no intention of holding them back anymore, she stopped pressing at her eyelids and fired words rapidly at the redhead.
“I trusted you just as much as I trusted my ex-boyfriend, so I introduced you to him without any worries. After that, the three of us kept meeting up together and spending time happily as friends—”
She paused briefly to catch her breath before continuing.
“So how could you do this to me?!”
Even though she tried to compose herself, emotion surged through her voice, and her reddened eyes brimmed with tears.
“How could you do this?!”
The expression she wore while staring at the redhead was full of overwhelming betrayal.
And upon hearing that, the redhead flinched before shouting back indignantly.
Though her voice was half-buried beneath the noisy banquet hall.
“Couldn’t the same be said for you?! I introduced you to my ex-boyfriend too, and before I knew it, the two of you had become affectionate lovers!!”
At the unexpectedly loud outburst, nearby nobles turned to stare.
‘Oh wow. Total catastrophe.’
…So the pierced guy and the yellow-brown-haired lady used to date. And the redhead and the cheating guy were exes too.
And they’d been close enough to introduce their boyfriends to each other.
‘But now… they’ve swapped boyfriends?’
And on top of that, the cheating guy had apparently cheated again with the redhead.
How had things devolved this far?
Good grief. Seriously. Ah, she needed popcorn.
‘Ooooh. The yellow-brown-haired girl grabbed champagne.’
Champagne was entering the battle.
Though she had nothing in her mouth, Ariel unconsciously chewed the air while watching intently, only her ears and eyes peeking out. Her triangular ears perked up sharply as she strained to catch every word.
“We greet the heir of House Cadelion.”
Just as things were reaching peak excitement, someone greeted Ian.
Ah. The flow got interrupted. She still needed to see how this drama ended.
Why did someone have to interrupt right when champagne entered the scene?
Swallowing her disappointment, Ariel reluctantly ducked back into the basket.
Starting with that man, people began crowding around Ian in waves. Some wanted to discuss business, others political matters.
Among them were also many women acting coquettishly or trying to seduce him. Thick pheromones laced with blatant sexual intent filled the air.
‘Ugh. My head hurts.’
It felt like being trapped inside an unventilated room while dozens of overpowering perfumes were sprayed everywhere.
Maybe because she wasn’t human anymore, she felt even more sensitive to pheromones.
Unable to endure the suffocating atmosphere any longer, Ariel lifted the basket lid and looked around the party more carefully. Once Ian started conversing with others, everyone focused entirely on him, and no one paid any attention to her anymore.
Turning her head, she spotted one side of the hall lined with delicious finger foods, cocktails, and various wines.
‘Should I jump down? I kinda want alcohol.’
She glanced cautiously at the floor below and looked around.
Still, nobody seemed interested in her.
‘Well, there’s a man standing right here who’s handsome beyond human standards. Why would anyone pay attention to me?’
They absolutely wouldn’t.
When someone ridiculously attractive is nearby, everyone else naturally turns into squid by comparison.
Of course, if Ian openly carried her around in his palm, things might’ve been different.
Fortunately, he was so busy that he didn’t seem to have the time to care about her right now.
Ariel boldly stood up inside the basket and measured the distance between it and the floor.
Good. This is my chance. There are plenty of people around too. I can jump down from this height. I’ve practiced enough.
Normally she would’ve been too scared to attempt a jump from this height, but the moment alcohol came into view, it suddenly didn’t seem intimidating at all.
Had her desire for alcohol really become that strong?
‘By now, I should be able to drink at least a little.’
The taste of alcohol from her previous life lingered vividly in her memory.
Inside the basket, she wandered around, trying to find the best angle to leap from.
She could hear Ian and the others talking outside, but that wasn’t important to her right now.
She took a deep breath.
Get ready. Jump. No—fly.
Fly like a butterfly, sting like a bee.
‘One… two…’
‘Three!’
‘Flyyyyyyy!’
With her eyes squeezed shut, Ariel kicked off from the basket and launched herself into the air.
Stretching her legs out wide, she flew toward the alcohol.
As she dropped downward, she could feel her fur being pulled by gravity.
Ah. This was way higher than she expected.
‘Surely I won’t die… right?’
Still, if she got to drink alcohol she normally couldn’t have, maybe it was a worthwhile sacrifice.
Broken bones healed eventually.
But there was no guarantee she’d ever get alcohol again.
So she waited for the moment her body would crash to the floor and shatter somewhere—
But she never hit the ground.
Instead, she felt herself rising even higher.
‘Huh? What?’
A dreadful feeling crept up her spine.
‘There’s no reason I should be going upward.’
Then a low voice rumbled beside her ear.
“Ariel, what are you doing?”
A voice she absolutely should not have been hearing right now.
He had caught her midair and lifted her up.
Opening her eyes slightly, she realized she was dangling helplessly in Ian’s grip.
Her eyes collided with his vivid blue ones.
In Ian’s gaze swirled the bizarre obsession of a predator that had just discovered its prey trying to escape.
The corners of his eyes curved beautifully.
“I told you escaping wasn’t allowed.”
Was it just her imagination, or did those smiling eyes behind his glasses radiate murderous irritation?
The longer Ariel remained silent, the brighter and sweeter his smile became.
He looked like a flower blooming beautifully while concealing deadly poison inside.
Behind that smile, the predator’s blue eyes gleamed sharply.
“Explain yourself.”
Ah. She was doomed
