Chapter 29: The Ball - Part 3

YUKI reached the first manor. The decorations and lights were almost blinding. And the scenery of the first manor was breathtakingly stunning. The guests looked smartly dressed and appealing. This was not just any simple ceremony. It was a grand ball!

A maid from the first manor assisted her to the ballroom. When the servant in charge asked for her name, she answered, "Yuki".

"From which family?" he requested her family name.

"Just Yuki." She smiled unintentionally.

"Lady Yuki, HAS ARRIVED!" the servant announced.

Swiftly, the noise of the evening became shattered by her arrival. It was the first time they heard a noble without a last name. Yuki entranced the entire court. Her unique look and the way she dressed charmed them unconsciously. Yuki wore a gorgeous blue gown, complete with a delicate pair of matching heels. Yuki felt uncomfortable as she realized the guests were looking at her.

"I need to search for Grace," Yuki said.

___

DAMIEN, Eric, and Harry went to the terrace to have a quiet conversation. They held a glass of wine each. The ballroom was too loud, and they could not have a reserved talk between men. There would be other nobles or ladies who tried to talk with them and ask for a dance. The noblewomen would not leave these hot eligible bachelors alone! So, these gentlemen escaped from the ladies to the terrace.

"Man, why did you do that?" Harry looked enquiringly at Eric, who shrugged his shoulders. Eric offended Aleph back then. And Aleph would not let it pass. Knowing that proud vampire for a long time, Harry knew that Aleph would hold a troublesome grudge against Eric, and it would be a woe in the future.

"What? I asked a normal question." Eric was acting annoyingly acquitted. He smelled the excellent quality wine and leaned against the wall while crossing his arms.

"More like an insult!" Harry shook his head.

"Anyway, how about your wedding, Damien?" Eric changed the topic. He already finished his wine in one sip. He handed the empty glass to a nearby attendant. Then Eric took out a cigar from his jacket. Damien and Harry looked at him behaving. Eric lighted the cigar with his magic finger.

Eric inhaled the smoke and puffed it every minute. He even blew a smoke ring, showing off that he was a professional cigar smoker.

"I thought you quit? Nora said you stopped smoking." Harry was squinting his eyes against the smoke.

"Nah! That is what she thought." Eric deeply inhaled the cigar and slowly puffed out the smoke. Smoking could release his stress. Working as an engineer was freaking tiring and tedious. Thus, smoking was his cure. But it always enraged Nora when she saw him smoking. So he would secretly smoke here and then behind her back. "So Damien, how is your wedding plan?" he asked the same question again.

Damien heaved a sigh. "Should we not discuss this? It is not an interesting topic. I don't want to spoil the mood."

"I saw Lady Vanessa with her father. You had the first dance with the lady?" asked Eric. He remembered seeing the maddening long face of that lady.

Damien chuckled. "No, I did the first dance with Grace. Like always. But I haven't danced with Vanessa."

"Rumor has it that your relationship is going to be over soon." Harry voiced out.

Eric snickered. "It just a baseless rumor, dude. The lady won't let it be. Lady Vanessa had a huge crush on Damien ever since in the academy." Well, most of the ladies did. Some even became crazy stalkers that shadowed Damien everywhere he would go. Even into the boys' dormitory. It was wild! Some gave him handmade cookies, poisoned with love hexes. And more. Having an attractive face was sometimes a blessing and a curse.

Anyway, Damien had his charming look thanks to his late mother, Lady Greta Gregory.

"Are you sure about this wedding, though, Damien?" Harry had concerns in his eyes. Wedding is important stuff that requires a serious commitment. Well, Harry was always ready for his wedding, but how about Damien with his big day?

"I need that title soon. And Vanessa is the only lady that can be a marionette wife. She had no ties with Bridget," explained Damien. He did not care about his upcoming wedding. One could always get a divorce. He already thought about divorcing Lady Vanessa after some time of being together. And Damien would offer alimony instead to support her family financially. Damien did not wish to be with Vanessa forever. He knew that the woman would become a thorn in his path. Well, eventually.

They had a long conversation. And the time passed without one could notice. It was already time for these gentlemen to end the men's talk.

"Let's go back inside. A host cannot be absent from his party for a long time," said Harry. "And I think my Claire is looking out for me."

These men went back inside. But the ballroom was silent. The musicians paused their song, and the guests stopped dancing. What was happening while they were gone?

They heard another guest saying, "Whoa! That is the actual definition of hot, and spicy."

All the guests were looking in the same direction. At a woman. A beautiful lady.

Damien watched her for a few minutes, but he could not see her face. Drinking glasses of wine made his sight a little blurry. Who was that beautiful maiden? He pondered the question. Again and again. Yet Damien could only see her silhouette.

"Sister Yuki!" Grace gasped. Grace ran to her brother. "I don't know how she could be here. And she is awake!" Should she be happy? Or surprised?

"What?!" Damien could not believe it. He remained speechless for a long time. It was the human that he almost slaughtered alive.

As Damien watched her longingly, his soul was nearly exploding. She was like a divine creature. An angel that had just descended as she walked gracefully and wandered alone until she mixed in the crowds. Her red-colored hair, which almost imitated the shine of a blazing sun, was blowing carelessly as it fell here and there around her bare shoulders. Without knowing, Damien began to walk towards her. As he did, Yuki turned her head around slowly. As the illumination lights splashed across her face, Damien could see that she was without a doubt the most beautiful woman that he had ever seen.

Yuki looked different. But nicely different. The dress emphasized her immense charm. So this was what Bridget meant by a surprise? Bridget knew about her! Damien halted.

The other nobles tried to approach Yuki. They were lining up for a chance to dance with her. But before they could do that, Damien cut the line. He could not let it be.

"Will you honor me with your hand for a quadrille?" He suddenly appeared in front of the clueless Yuki.

He dumbfounded Yuki for a minute before she recognized the husky voice. God! It was the mad demon! She was distracted in searching for Grace. That she did not realize she was standing in front of Damien!

"No. I can't dance." Yuki refused politely.

"Oh! Really?" Damien looked at her. This little woman looked small and fragile up close.

"Yes." Yuki almost stuttered.

"It is fine, though. Just step on my boots and let me lead." He suggested kindly.

"I am heavy." She said dryly.

"Miss Yuki. You are skinny and light." Damien gazed at Yuki. How heavy could this young woman be? That dress, in fact, highlighted her alluring curve and bust. And the other gentlemen could not stop observing her body with their laser eyes.

"I hurt my legs."

"You walked just fine before." They stood silently for a while. "Miss, do you genuinely hate the idea of dancing with me?" Damien asked abruptly.

Jackpot!

"I am not mad enough to dance with the man that almost killed me, mister." Yuki gulped as she harked back to the 'dead or alive' scene before. She still remembered the familiar bitter touch of the tip of the Katana and the throbbing pain of the slight cut.

"Well, miss. It doesn't give the impression that you have many choices in your hand," said Damien. "Either dancing with me or, do you want to dance with those other creatures." He pointed at the other demons and vampires that are staring in their direction. "Just a simple give of advice, though. Once they learn about your real identity, I believe you cannot escape or hide anymore." Damien sounded threatening.

Yuki had been aware of that possibility for a while. She saw the other creatures were looking at her with these uncomfortable eyes. She could feel their malicious intentions. Those creatures were like predators watching their prey in the wood. It was suffocating. However, Yuki could never imagine herself dancing with a sadistic demon who almost killed her, like Damien. Yuki was in a state of desperation!

Damien took the chance to offer out his hand. "So, will you do me the honor?"

Yuki breathed nervously. "But I truly do not know how to dance," Yuki admitted. "I never dance in my life," she whispered in embarrassment. "So, please. Don't ask me to dance. I don't want to humiliate anybody."

Damien smiled. So he would have her first time. "Well, dancing can be hard. But… my first rule of dancing is, just have fun." Damien pulled Yuki closer to him. "Dancing is the amusement of the evening."

Yuki permitted herself to dance after deep thinking of future consequences. She did not have many choices in the beginning.

As they danced, her eyes were not meeting his. Yuki was avoiding eye contact. She was more interested in looking at their footings. Damien led their dance, and they became the spotlight couple of the night. "Don't you think we are too close?" Yuki could smell his masculine cologne.

"No. It is normal. But. We have to be closer." His eyes were focusing on Yuki. However, Damien saw the other men were still eyeing Yuki. Thus, he embraced her waist tighter. Being this close meant he marked on her. As if she was one of his exclusive belongings. And the other men avoided his death glare. They had to give up on this fine-looking lady.

Yuki looked puzzled by this man's unusual behavior. How could his demeanor change in an instance?

"Are you drunk?" Yuki asked.

"Hmm, maybe. But alcohol can make one being honest."

"Huh? Oh, God." Yuki was speechless indeed. This demon was speaking nonsense!