Who Is The Mysterious Woman?

I PUSHED THROUGH the crowd and raced back to the dancer's house as fast as my little legs could take me.

Did she do something wrong? Was she caught, and they want to throw her in prison?

Panicked images of poor Seralind rotting away in the palace dungeons make me run even faster.

Perhaps he’s crazier than Seralind had led me to believe!!

This gesture was also vastly grander than before. But was this the true intention in my previous life? Did the Prince spend those two years buying mistresses from Whispet and other dancer houses like ours, searching for Seralind?

If so, why was he being so bold this time?

I could only assume it was because she attended the ball in disguise. Before, Seralind had worked all three nights as a dancer. Maybe he had noticed her more as a guest.

Therefore, this was entirely my own fault.

But at least there was a bit of a bright side; the incentive the herald presented to the city would encourage any and all women to come forward and possibly impersonate Seralind. This would delay him finding us, and maybe I could come up with something to prevent Madame Whispet from selling us to him.

But what if it’s too late? What if we end up at the palace again with the same deaths happening to us?

I didn’t know what this meant for our fates. However, I had the feeling that Prince Cassian and Seralind were now completely and irreversibly intertwined with each other.

***

I knew that the news had spread quickly because some of the women were whispering about it in corners of the lobby as they poured wine, and as they changed in the vanity room.

Even patrons lounged lazily on our couches, speculating about what the Prince could be doing and what had happened at the ball.

Thankfully, I didn’t have to go to Miss Berraultier’s store today, as it was closed because she had left to send out her gowns overseas. I couldn’t even imagine what she was thinking if she heard the news.

Madame Whispet was annoyed that I had gone to the city and hadn’t picked up the supplies she had wanted, so I had a small headache from her cracking her fan over my head.

I perform my chores dutifully, ruminating over the herald’s words.

Maybe I’m just overreacting. There is no way the Prince would be making all this noise about a mysterious woman if he’d only met her on the last night of the ball.

My reasoning made me calm down a little bit. But to be sure, I’d have to ask Seralind herself about what happened. And unfortunately, she’s kept the events mostly to herself and refused to tell me any details since the night.

Maybe I can get some insight from the other dancers who went to the ball.

If something important happened at the ball that could have sparked this, then they would know.

I sneak up close to Auna, Thalina, and Lorelei. They’re having a conversation on one of the lounge chairs, and knowing that Lorelei had gone to the palace, she might have told them something.

“Have you heard? The Prince is looking for a woman!” Auna tells the ladies. She had just returned from the city and must have heard the herald.

“What if she’s a thief?” Lorelei speculates as she braids up her hair. “He could be looking for revenge.”

“I’ve heard ‘round and about that the Imperial family are direct descendants of the Sun god,” Thalina explains. “So their beauty is like the rising dawn over countryside plains!”

“Oh wow~, imagine being sought after by such a good-looking guy!” Auna gushes.

“A rich, good-looking guy!” Thalina adds. “Maybe we’ll be interviewed in his chambers!”

As their conversation steers towards waters I have no interest in, I notice Seralind is nearby, quietly pouring a glass of wine for a patron.

Her actions are eerily slow and inconvenient, and I deduce that she must be eavesdropping too.

“I might take a wagon to the palace just to see what it looks like. Anyone our age can go, right?” Thalina admits.

“Tell us if the Prince is really as handsome as they say!” Auna begs her.

“Now why would you do that? You weren’t even at the ball!” Lorelei asks with a raised eyebrow. Thalina shrugs.

“Oh, please! One look at me and he’ll forget all about that lady.” Thalina says to the ladies playfully, smoothing her hair.

“Two is better than one!” Auna agrees, striking a pose. They burst out in laughter.

But after they say that, Seralind frowns.

Huh? I think to myself, observing her expression. She looked annoyed as she abruptly turned on her heels back to the guest rooms.

Well, she was just at the ball. Maybe she’s upset that right after all that effort to get in, the Prince is now just inviting anyone to the palace.

“Madame Whispet has made it clear that none of us are to go to the palace,” Lorelei explains.

That was true. Shortly after I had returned, the Madame mentioned to me in passing that I should avoid the guards at the town square, as their business shouldn’t interfere with what I needed to do for her.

“Why? She can’t spare a couple of girls for a day?” Auna mumbled to herself.

“Do you think he’s looking for one of our girls who went to the palace?” Thalina said curiously.

“I don’t think any one of us spent any time around the Prince,” Lorelei informed them. “He was at the ball, but we were mostly in the drawing rooms or guest chambers. The Prince never requested us either.”

Auna huffs with disappointment, and I do too. It sounded like if something did happen at the ball, they weren’t present for it.

Therefore, only Seralind could tell.

***

After spending some time scrubbing the floors and bringing drinks to patrons, I snuck upstairs to eat a small meal. Seralind kept my lunch on our bed, so I could eat it if she was out working.

I entered our small bedroom, not expecting her to be at our vanity, humming to herself.

She didn’t seem to hear me enter, because she was holding something in her hands and using it to rake through her hair. It was some sort of comb, but I wasn’t sure if I’d ever seen it before.

“Seralind? What are you doing here?” I asked. I had fully expected her to be working.

“Oh! Esmeline!” She cried, startled. She clasps the comb in her hands, hiding it from me.

“What’s that?” I ask, bouncing over to her to take a closer look.

“You want to see?”

She opens up her palms to reveal a lotus hair comb. The flower was a milky pink jade, and hand-carved green leaves and lily pads surrounded it. The spokes of the comb were golden, shining in the little sunlight that streamed through our window.

“It’s so pretty!” I breathe, admiring how the pink jade was smooth under my touch.

“Isn’t it? I got it from the ball.” Seralind tells me with an excited smile.

“You didn’t…steal it, did you?”

Seralind’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“What? No! It was a gift!” She insists.

I breathe a sigh of relief.

At least the Prince wasn’t looking to chop off her head!

“It must be worth a lot of money.”

“I suppose so, but gifts shouldn’t be given away. They must be treasured.”

She cherished it enough not to sell it for money? Maybe she’s keeping it as a memento from the night, like how Wilhelmina is so important to me now.

“Seralind, what happened at the ball? You’re going to tell me, right?” I asked her once again.

“I told you what happened already. It was fun, and I danced.” She insists. It’s the same story she had repeated to me since that night.

“There were a lot of adults there, so I don’t think there’s anything of interest you’d want to hear about it all.”

I definitely know you’re lying!! I grumble. I can’t believe she’s using my innocence as an excuse!

If she had received a gift, then the story she’s been telling me—simply dancing, eating their food, then leaving before midnight—wasn’t true.

Seralind had most certainly spoken to someone to receive such a luxurious gift, like the ruby brooch from the first night. Was the comb given to her by the benefactor? What did she say to him? Did he recognize her?

Or maybe, the worst case of all, she had spoken to the Prince directly thanks to her generous patron, prompting this manhunt.

He doesn’t know she was a dancer from Madame Whispet, but what did he know? It could only be a matter of time before we’re discovered!

“But haven’t you heard? The Prince is looking for a woman at the ball!” I press, growing frustrated.

“You think it’s me?” She says, batting her eyelashes in faux confusion.

She must think I’m stupid!

“It has to be you!” I finally say.

The other dancers made it clear none of them had interacted with the Prince. There is a possibility she could be a noblewoman. But in that case, he wouldn’t send the decree to the commonfolk, and she would have no reason to hide her identity from him.

“I’m flattered, Esmeline, but there were so many guests at the ball that I can’t even estimate it for you. Many women approached the Prince that night. Who knows who he’s looking for.”

“Did you approach the prince?”

She hesitates to respond, opening and closing her mouth, struggling to find an excuse.

I knew it!

“I never got close enough to speak with him.” She lies, not meeting my eyes.

Fine! If she wants to play dumb, then that’s okay. I huff to myself, flopping over onto the bed. Maybe this can still work for us.

Clearly, the Prince’s public declaration can be beneficial for us. This means that he won’t buy mistresses from the Madame, because he has no use for buying women when there could be hundreds visiting the palace every day.

We can still make it out of this alive.

He will only find Seralind if she volunteers herself. Whether she will or not is a completely different story that I can’t predict the ending of.