Chapter 768: Dance [2] |
"I can tell that everyone here is excited for the upcoming announcement. I am too, haha."
Orson laughed, his voice reverberating through the now-silent venue. No one joined in, not a forced smile, not a single laugh, leaving the atmosphere awkward.
The usual forced laughs and smiles had vanished, replaced by a heavy, somber silence that settled over the room.
Despite all of this, Orson didn't look at all offended.
Instead, he seemed to enjoy the situation even more.
"Alright, since no one seems inclined to listen to my ramblings, I'l start by introducing my daughter." Orson's gaze shifted to the long flight of stairs, a smile playing on his lips. “Delilah, please come down. Everyone here wants to see you."
The surroundings fell silent a moment later.
Until—
*Tak*
A woman soon appeared, her delicate hand brushing the handrail as she descended the stairs in a long black dress adorned with white patterns down the center. Her appearance immediately brought the breath of several people to a stop, as her appearance sucked the very air of the room.
Not from the immense pressure coming out of her body, but from her appearance.
With her black hair tied in a bun and her normally indifferent lips curved into an uncharacteristically soft smile, Delilah's presence brought the entire room to a standstill In that moment, it almost felt as though she wasn't human.
AS ff...
She belonged to a completely different dimension than everyone present.
#Tak* *Tak*
Her heels clicked steadily as she descended the stairs, each step making the hearts in the room beat faster. Eventually, she stopped before Orson, the soft smile lingering on her lips as Orson looked at her with pride.
"What do you think?"
His words brought everyone out of their daze.
But despite that, the silence lingered. No one said a word as Orson’s gaze swept the surroundings.
He assessed the situation, feeling a deep, almost intoxicating sense of control. Yet he knew he couldn't let it drag any longer.
Still, he had set up a special moment for the announcement.
With his gaze sweeping the surroundings, Orson began speaking again.
"Next up, we will be holding a ball."
"What?"
"A ball... But what about the announcement?"
"Are you playing with us?"
His announcement immediately enticed a few protests. However, Orson ignored them as he continued to speak.
"Before anyone rushes in to curse at me, this ball will be extremely important.”
Orson turned his attention towards Delilah.
"The fianc will be the one who can get her to dance with them."
—
On
Immediately, the room turned rowdy.
With a smile, Orson continued.
"At the moment, the fianc is running late. I'm not sure where they are. But if any of you can convince my daughter to dance with you, then it wouldn't be impossible to change the current fianc."
Orson actually knew where Julien was.
In fact, he was already in the venue. Looking at him and seeing his frozen expression, Orson had to try his best to hold his laugh back.
This wasn't something that he had arranged.
It was, in fact, something that his daughter had proposed. He didn't realize the reason before, but it was starting to become clearer to him now.
"...Nothing is set in stone until the official announcement. If anyone can convince her, then changes can be applied."
The room grew even more rowdy following the announcement. The faces of several important figures grew solemn, with others staring in Delilah's direction with trembling gazes, their hearts beating out of their chest.
Seeing the current atmosphere, Orson turned his attention towards the end of the room where a band had quietly moved in.
++Clap! Clap—!+*
Clapping his hands twice, he pointed towards the center of the venue, currently empty, as a quiet and nice tune drifted in the air.
"With that said, shall we begin the ball? And please, don't all rush my daughter at once. Each song allows for only three attempts per person. If anyone can convince her in those three attempts, then you'll be the most likely candidate for her new fianc. Shall we get started?"
The crowd shifted immediately at his words, noise spilling into the venue as everyone cast glances toward Delilah, searching for any sign of displeasure. But her soft, lingering smile told them all she consented to the arrangement.
This made the hearts of many explode with excitement.
She came from an incredibly powerful family, possessed great strength herself, and was breathtakingly beautiful. The dream of many men in the room, she drew an overwhelming number of suitors eager to take their chance.
++Da Daaa~**
As a soft tune began to play in the air, and the already established couples began to dance in the middle of the stage, the many eyes of those who wanted to take their chance fell on the Duke as he watched the ball with his hands behind his back.
"..This should make for a good impact, right?"
“
"This is ridiculous," Aoife muttered, staring at Delilah from a distance. The entire situation felt ridiculous to her.
It was obvious to her that the Duke was using this chance for some sort of scheme of his own. However, she had to admit that it was effective.
"No, now is not the time for this."
Aoife's eyes scanned the room until they landed on her brother. Her heart sank at the sight of him carefully polishing his clothes, as if preparing to step forward and approach Delilah.
"Wait, could it be true that he's the fianc...?'
Acife's heart sank further as she watched her brother advance toward Delilah. She wanted to rush forward and stop him, but she knew doing so would only earn the Duke's resentment.
In desperation, she settled her gaze over to Leon.
Handsome, talented...
"You, go."
"Ah..2"
Leon's eyes widened. What did she just...
"Try to approach the Chancellor. Seduce her if you must. You can't let my brother get to her. If he somehow manages to convince her, then—"
"Stop."
Leon placed his hands over her shoulders, forcing her to stop.
He stared straight at her.
"Calm down. I know that you're panicking, but there's nothing to panic about."
Although Leon said that, he was panicking inside. Wasn't Julien supposed to be Delilah's fianc? What was going on? Was this arranged by him?
"No, I don't think that this is something that Julien would arrange."
If anything, where was Julien?
Leon wanted to look around, but for now, he had to calm Aoife down.
"Just relax. Everything will be fine."
"No, but—"
"Even if we want to stop it, it's already too late."
Leon's gaze fell towards Delilah and the man who stood before her. Aoife's face fell, and the entire venue paused for a short moment as the music continued to linger in the background.
“
"Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you."
John smiled in Delilah's direction, trying his best to calm his unevenly beating heart. Despite doing all of this for politically related matters, standing before Delilah, he couldn't help but feel his breath be taken away.
Her beauty was simply overwhelming.
“...Hello."
Delilah replied, her deep obsidian eyes lingering over to him. She didn't say anything and retained her soft smile.
John took a small breath, sporting the best smile he could muster as he lowered his head slightly, extending his hand in her direction.
"It would be my pleasure if you would take this chance to dance with me. I know I can't offer much, but I hope to become a great Emperor someday. One who can help his citizens and end starvation. I had planned to take on such a monumental task alone, but after seeing you today, I realize I cannot achieve it by myself. I wish... for you to be by my side in such a task."
Lifting his head, John continued, "Your beauty has enamored me, and I can't see myself not being with you. Please take my hand, and I'll try my best to make sure you live the fe that you desire."
The venue held its breath following his words.
All eyes turned to Delilah as she gazed at his outstretched hand. One simple motion, just reaching for it, and the deal would be sealed.
++Ba... Thump! Ba... Thumpts+
John's heart beat rapidly as he continued to stare at her, growing more and more captivated by her.
The tension stretched for what felt like an eternity, every gaze fixed on Delilah. The longer she hesitated, the more it seemed that she was leaning toward agreement. Everyone felt this way.
John wasn't just one of the leading candidates for Emperor. He was also handsome and carried himself with grace. In the eyes of many, they seemed a match made in heaven. John also felt this way, his confidence growing by the second.
"Yes, there's no better partner than me. I'm sure.’
His heart pounded louder with every passing second, each beat convinced of her agreement. The tension thickened, and finally, Delilah's hand moved. John's heart skipped a beat.
Yes, yes, y—"
But...
"No, thank you."
Delilah’s words poured cold water over him, his smile freezing on the spot.
"Huh?"
His head flicked up in surprise.
"What? That's... What did you...2"
"I said no," Delilah replied calmly, the smile on her face fading slightly.
The room seemed to freeze. Though the music played on, the dancers had stopped, leaving only a tense stillness as all eyes turned to the Prince, who struggled to grasp what was happening.
"No, but... I am the best person. Why... Who could—"
"Sorry, Prince. It looks like you got rejected.”
The Duke stepped in not long after, seeing how the situation was turning, as he patted the Prince on the shoulder.
"For a moment, I almost thought you had it. It's just unfortunate that you're not compatible with my daughter."
"I... see. It's unfortunate.”
The Prince's jaw tightened so hard that the muscles started to show; however, he just barely held himself back as he looked at Delilah one last time and walked away not long after. Staring at his retreating back, the Duke clapped his hands once more.
"Let's continue with the ball! If there are any more candidates, please step forward!"
The event continued.
After several minutes of inactivity, someone else eventually joined in and asked Delilah for her hand. In the end, he was also rejected.
This continued for the next several minutes, with more and more people getting rejected. Eventually, after witnessing so many rejections, most of the suitors stopped hesitating and began asking for her hand. After all, the worst she could do was say no.
Even the Prince started to feel a bit better after all of the rejections.<lpztn> Fresh chapters posted on N0v3l.Fie.net</lpztn>
The dance also appeared more fluid, and the event progressed in a natural manner. The tension that had previously lingered not long after had faded, and a more jovial one replaced it.
By now, everyone had given up on being accepted.
And soon, a certain person stepped up.
The moment he appeared, a noticeable shift appeared on Delilah's face. One that was dismissed by everyone present as he stopped before her.
Their eyes met, and Delilah's lips pulled into a soft and genuine smile.
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