They only drank one glass of champagne each. Because although this world's laws legalized drinking at their age, their conscience weighed on them too much to continue. Instead, they settled with the light sweets and snacks provided by the ball.

Since most of the nobles had swarmed around Creston and Lysander, the two of them had all the space around the food table to themselves. While they silently munched on their snacks, two little girls approached them.

Rowena wore a deep pink dress with black chiffons alternating along the layers of her skirt. Although her attire looked rather adorable with its flowery design, Rowena's innately sharp features made it seem out of place.

Next to her, a much brighter child beamed at Zeke as she got closer. She had long, pearly locks that sparkled with the silver tiara resting atop her head. The hem of her golden dress trailed behind her like a gilded river, if not for her small body, she may have looked like a queen straight out of a fairytale.

“Lord Silas!” The little girl exclaimed in a honeyed voice. Circe even smiled a little at her practically bouncing up and down while trying to stay well-mannered. “You look lovely today as always!”

It took Zeke a moment to recognize her identity, but as soon as he did, he and Circe gave her a courteous bow, “Thank you, princess. You're beautiful as well.”

“Awh, why is Lord Silas being so formal with me?” Princess Vivian pouted, “I told you before that you can call me Vivi! After all, you and I will become husband and wife soon!”

Hearing those words almost made Zeke scream, though he managed to keep his expression still as he raised his head. Glancing at Circe, he saw brief surprise flash across her face. “...What?”

“Viv, what did I tell you? My brother's no good for you,” Rowena crossed her arms, and even though her words definitely meant to insult him, Zeke couldn't agree more with them, “Besides that, Silas’ already engaged, you know?”

Vivian's face dropped. She began to look around with fire burning in her scarlet eyes, “What!? Who is it? Who dare take my beloved husband away from me!?”

“She's right in front of you,” Rowena sighed as she pointed at Circe with her chin. When Vivian turned to her, she gave the girl a smile, “That's Lady Ruelle Peregrine. I doubt I need to say anything further.”

“It's…Lady Ruelle?” Vivian almost sounded as if she didn't believe herself. Her brows slowly arched downwards, the reality settling in for the young girl. “I can't believe it!” Vivian glared at Circe, her eyes glistening with tears, “Give him back! Give my hubby back to me!”

Circe blinked, facing Zeke just as he looked at her, “What do I do?”

“I don't know? What are we supposed to do?”

“Should I respond honesty or?”

“I don't know!”

“Argh! Stop having a silent conversation in front of me!” Vivian stomped the ground, her hands gripped tightly into fists. She turned to Rowena and pointed at Circe, “Rena! Tell her you don't want her as your sister in law! I'm a better candidate for that spot anyway!”

Rowena briefly glanced at Circe, though before her friend could notice, she looked back and sigh, “Sorry Viv, but Sister isn't a bad person. She'll take care of Lord Silas for you.” She placed a hand on Vivian's shoulder. “Besides, you're ten years old, you're at no age to marry anybody.”

“No! I won't accept this!” The princess shook her head as she turned away. She glared at Circe and pointed at her again. “I'll tell my father to break off this engagement!”

“Viv…you know the king won't do anything about this. You've tried like a hundred—”

“Don't try to stop me Rena! You traitor! Wait until my father hears about this!” With that, the princess stormed off.

Zeke pinched the bridge of his nose, “What in the actual fuck just happened?”

“You know how Vivian is,” Rowena didn't even comment on her brother’s use of language. Zeke initially forgot it when he spoke, though he had to thank Silas’ horrible reputation for covering that up. “She just likes you because apparently you're…” Rowena narrowed her eyes, “Handsome…”

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“She'll grow out of it,” Circe chuckled, looking at Zeke, “It must be nice to have a princess admire you so earnestly, right? My lord?”

Zeke resisted the urge to punch her and smiled, “Well, I am used to it.”

Before anyone could speak, they noticed the background music suddenly got louder. Nobles from all around them began pairing up to dance in the middle of the hall. Rowena stared at them absentmindedly as she spoke, “Are you two going to dance?”

It would be odd to say no. Circe nodded, “Yes,” turning to Zeke, he'd already held out his hand, “Then, shall we?”

“The honor is mine.” Zeke smiled, and Circe couldn't help but smile back.

Even though they hadn't practice since their dance at the engagement banquet, their bodies still moved purely by instinct. At that point, none of them felt uncomfortable, shifting to the music's tunes as if they'd danced together for hundreds of times.

“You know,” Circe whispered just loud enough for her partner to hear.

“Hm?” Zeke raised an eyebrow.

“If…hypothetically, we can't go back to our original world,” a smile carefully spread across her face, “I wouldn't mind…just staying here, and doing this forever,” she spun around as Zeke held her hand up, “It's fun, dancing to classical music without a care in the world.”

Zeke scoffed, a grin forming on his lips, “Yeah, I get it,” he glanced around at the other nobles around him. They all had a smile on their faces. “It would be nice if our world was this peaceful.”

“Kind of naive of you to think that way.” She teased him.

“I know,” Zeke rolled his eyes, earning a giggle from Circe, “But then you'd be a hypocrite also for saying that.”

“Right,” by that time, the music had slowed down, signaling its inevitable end. They parted from each other and bowed. “It's impossible to ask for a world with nothing but peace.”

“Well,” As Zeke straightened himself, he held out his hand, “I think it's fine to hope for something like that. Even if this world is filled with adversaries,” he beckoned with his fingers, “Technically, we're the protagonists, so we'll have to save the world even if we don't want to.”

Circe laughed and took his hand. She was sure her voice managed to garner some attention, but at that moment, she didn't care. “That's true, we can just make the world peaceful ourselves.”

“Yep!” Zeke guided them towards the entrance, “Now let's make our escape. We already show our faces so there's no need to stay here.”

“Where are you two going?” Zeke almost jumped out of his skin as Rowena's voice rang out behind them.

Circe crooked her head towards the door, looking at Rowena with a smile, “We're heading out for a walk. It's a bit stuffy in here, so how about you join us too?”

Rowena glanced at the floor, “Well…wouldn't I be interrupting you two?”

“Nah,” Zeke replied instead, waving his free hand around nonchalantly, “Since your friend kind of ditched you, I'd be much more at ease knowing you're not alone.”

Hearing that, Rowena frowned, “Don't treat me like a child, Silas. I know how to take care of myself,” her expression shifted the moment she faced Circe, “Please take care of him sister. Make sure he doesn't get lost somewhere.”

“Huh? Hey!” Zeke glared at the little girl as Rowena began walking away. She turned and sticked her tongue out at him before she disappeared into the crowd.

Circe chuckled, “Wow, you got owned.”

Sighing, Zeke dragged them both out the door, “Yeah, whatever. It's not like she's my real sister anyway, why should I care?”

“You still cared enough to invite her with us.”

“That was then, and this is now. I won't even show an ounce of my care towards her next time!”

“Yeah, sure,” Circe glanced down, “By the way, how long are you going to hold my hand for?”

“...Why? You don't want me to?” Zeke stared at her. She couldn't pick up anything on his blank expression.

Cursed the Salvador's natural stoicism, Circe internally whined. “That's not it,” she responded, “But why would you want to hold my hand?”

“Because I can.”

“...” Circe narrowed her eyes, but Zeke didn't even flinch. She sighed and lightly shook their interlocked hands, “Alright, fine. Let's go.”

She didn't expect him to smile at her at all, and while he happily dragged her down the corridor, she was still too dumbfounded to say anything.

“...Are you doing this because I teased you earlier?” Circe frowned at him.

“...Who knows.” He didn't even bother to hide his grin.

Circe pouted, “You're being childish.”

“Am I?”

She couldn't find her words. Zeke merely chuckled at her silence and continued to guide her outside. If only she could blame it on the alcohol for making her cheeks heat up. “I hate myself for thinking this is cute.”

Zeke let go of her hands once they reached an open area. He went ahead and threaded along the colonnade, eyes glancing towards the vast royal garden next to them. Circe followed without much thought as she took note of the silver lights casting a cool glow on the flowers below them.

“...I almost forgot that this world isn't really real,” Zeke's whispers rang out through the silence between them. Circe didn't even notice how quiet it initially was until he spoke. “All the events we know from the game are already behind us. From now on, we won't know if we step into a death route until we're already on it.”

Circe's brows arched slightly, “...We both know this. What are you trying to say?”

Zeke stopped walking, but didn't face her when he replied, “Aren't you…scared? Because I am,” there was a short pause; from the both of them, “If, if even one of us messes up…the other would be completely alone.”

“...Oh c'mon, I won't mess this up for us,” as Circe's response poured out, her frown deepened, “It sounded like you don't have much faith in me even after saying all that stuff back there.”

Zeke whirled around, eyes widened in distress, “I'm not saying it's you, Circe,” his voice had a hint of desperation she couldn't ignore, “I said those things because I was trying to look cool,” he averted his eyes to the ground, “But I'm actually nervous. The future has always been uncertain, but we're unfamiliar with this world. I just…I'm anxious about the unknown variables.”

Circe relaxed as she let out a short sigh, “I'm not trying to invalidate your worries, but I think you're overthinking too much,” a realization hit her then; perhaps he kept joking around while trying to mask his anxieties. Circe took a few steps closer to him as she replied, “It's fine, Zeke. If you can mess up, I can mess up too. When the time comes, I'm sure we both can think of something.”

She tried to read his expression again, but to no avail. Zeke merely looked at her without a flash of emotions on his face. His voice, however, carried some hesitation when he muttered. “...Yeah, you're right. Sorry for souring the mood when we were already doing fine.”

“It's alright,” Circe chuckled, relieved that, even if briefly, she'd managed to keep his mind off of the bad thoughts, “Like you said, we're doing fine right now, so let's just focus on the present and—”

‘Tap.’

Although it was a small sound, both of them immediately tensed up as they glanced around. Circe had her hands slightly raised, ready to summon a weapon the instant she sensed danger. Zeke focused on a particular spot in the bushes of the garden, eyes widened as if looking straight at something.

When Circe noticed that, she carefully asked, “Zeke? What are you looking at?”

“...” He didn't reply at first, but when he spoke, his words weren't directed at her, “...Hey, I see you in there. Come out.”

The leaves moved in response as a figure rose to their feet. They wore a full black attire, blending in with the night perfectly like a passing shadow. None of them could see the face properly, though they noted that his eyes were also black.

“I'm surprised that the mad dog noticed my presence,” the mysterious man pulled out a short sword from his belt, “But no matter, both of you will be coming with me.”