A Foolish Act

"I pay my respects to the little sun of the empire."

"Greetings, Your Majesty."

"Salutations, Second Prince, Ariel."

Such words were directed at me as I walked past a group of nobles. Everywhere I went, people bowed their heads.

Even if not out of respect, they still bowed.

Funny, right?

A known troublemaker like myself could execute a person with a single command. However, I hated violence more than anything else.

Yet these people had to walk on eggshells around me—the drunkard, lazy second prince.

Ignoring all their nervous gazes, I grabbed a glass of water from the fully decked table and made my way toward the window.

I stood there for a while.

The gathering of nobles from all across the empire marked only one occasion, and that was the coming-of-age ceremony meant for royalty.

In other words, a royal birthday party.

Just then, the music stopped as whispers died down shortly after. An old man could be seen speaking from the balcony of the second floor.

"I thank you all for attending my son's birthday. As you all know, the crown prince was born very frail..."

The person currently speaking was the emperor of the Solistia Empire, Leonhardt Von Solistia...

My father.

For a brief moment, his gaze fell upon me. With those amethyst-colored eyes, he looked at me with indifference.

"Tch..." I clicked my tongue before taking a sip from my glass, though by that point it was already empty—except for a few drops.

He continued his speech.

I wasn't planning on listening to his boring address.

Placing my glass back on the table, I made my way up toward the rooftop, where I met her...

A girl clothed in a red dress, yet its color paled in comparison to the crimson hair falling over her shoulders.

The sky was dark that night. Clouds loomed in front of the moon, blocking even the stars.

I took a step forward toward her. She turned, likely hearing my footsteps.

A paper mask covered her face. It had a fox design, one of the masks currently popular among children.

"Oh?" She tilted her head. "It seems a spectator has come to witness my final hour."

"However, thanks to you, that hour has yet to come."

Those words... they were the lines the villainess spoke in her death scene in A Villain's Tragedy.

It was a well-known play.

I've read it countless times since the protagonist reminded me of myself, an individual who couldn't help but act the fool to appease his father's inferiority complex.

Then the next words should be...

"Final hour? What does a sheltered girl like yourself even know about unfairness?"

She went silent for a moment. I could feel her surprise.

However, what followed was a laugh—just like in the play. A painful yet unrestrained laughter escaped her lips.

"Since we both know about this world's tragedies, why not share this last moment?" she said, her hand reaching to remove her mask.

"What do you think, dear prince?"

With those words, she finally removed her mask. And at that very moment, as if on cue, the dark clouds drifted past the moon.

A pale silver light illuminated her beautiful appearance, resembling that of a red rose.

Her face looked soft to the touch. A face without flaw.

Her rose-pink eyes glowed under the moonlight as she looked at me with a seemingly hopeless gaze, a faint smile coloring her lips.

At that moment, I knew.

This girl was like me.

I couldn't help but chuckle. It was both genuine and my next gesture. The play had almost come to an end.

I reached out my hand.

"I'll keep you company... ignorant girl."

My face felt hot. Doing something like this felt incredibly embarrassing, and I wasn't the only one feeling that way.

The crimson-haired beauty also wore red cheeks as if it were makeup. A cute expression for someone who looked bored with the world.

She placed her small hand in my palm as I took hold of it.

For a moment, it was silent.

What should we do now?

Without a moment's hesitation, she wrapped her arms around my neck, her trembling voice soft in my ears.

"L-Let us dance... m-my dear prince."

"Y-Yes—"

Before I could finish my sentence, the music below started back up.

Both of us took that as a signal. However, the beautiful scene of us dancing under the moonlight was only an image I had conjured in my mind.

She stepped on my foot.

I lost my balance, unable to lift my foot from beneath her sharp heel.

We fell to the ground, my back hitting the floor as she landed on top of me.

I was probably the only one who got hurt... twice.

Groaning, I opened my eyes.

Her face was extremely close to mine, her eyes wide.

It felt as though the world had stopped in that single moment.

My heart pounded.

She could probably feel my heartbeat since her hand was directly above it on my chest.

Realizing that, my ears began to sting with warmth.

Just what was happening?!

I've never been that close to a girl in my entire life.

My head felt light. I closed my eyes until I heard a chuckle.

The crimson-haired girl was laughing.

This time it wasn't an act but a genuine show of joy at the absurd situation we had found ourselves in.

I, myself, also began to laugh.

What were we even doing? Acting like we were in some kind of play...

It really was stupid, yet somehow fitting.

After laughing our hearts out, the music below had finally stopped before another melody began to play.

The girl stood up, reaching out her hand to help me up.

I gladly took it.

Her face was still red from embarrassment, as was mine.

Yet I continued to hold her hand as words finally left my mouth.

"So, um... could you please tell me your name?"

She averted her gaze as she introduced herself.

"I..." She hesitated for a moment. "Just call me Rose."

"Rose, that's a... beautiful name."

At my words, it seemed as if her face was going to explode from embarrassment.

She immediately covered her face with her mask, hiding behind it as she mumbled something under her breath.

And even though I looked somewhat composed on the outside, my heart was pounding like a war drum.

Why did I just say that? Fool, you're making her uncomfortable!

The music playing in the background sounded louder than ever in that moment.

A violent gust of wind swept between us, taking her mask with it.

As she glanced in the direction the mask had been swept away, I couldn't take my eyes off her.

She was the only one who had made me feel that flustered in a single meeting.

I wanted to know more about her. But when she gave me a fake name, I knew she wouldn't reveal information about herself so willingly.

My faint smile turned into a subtle frown as I looked at the girl standing in front of me.

I knew every noble currently residing in the empire, and "Rose" wasn't a name belonging to any noble house unless...

No, let's not go there.

Glancing toward the moon surrounded by stars...

For the first time in my entire life, I thought it looked beautiful.