chsdbacks Chapter 347 The Dance [Part 1]
Chapter 347 The Dance [Part 1]
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"now entering, lord indarel din varris. lord of the city of varris and proud supporter of the true queen, ayalla din aedrider."
indarel stepped into the ballroom to the fanfare of his guests. a gentle wave of polite applause greeted him and he answered them with a wide, charming smile. among the crowd there were a number of illustrious beauties. some of the noble families within the city had made sure to bring their most beautiful, unmarried daughters in the hopes that they would be chose. many of them were women who he had partaken in before, but they were out of the running for tonight's grand event.
indarel's goal was to find a beauty he had yet to sample, though he would not forget about the others. besides himself, the only other living member of the varris family was his shameful 'brother', kestis. it was up to indarel to ensure the bloodline flourished after all.
as he was thinking about his 'destiny', a sudden jolt shot through his body. twirling through the center of the ballroom was a beautiful woman whose every step pulled another set of eyes toward her. her long, white hair flowed down her back as she gracefully stepped in time with the gentle music. her pale skin contrasting the deep, crimson dress that hugged her figure. as for the finishing touch to her ephemeral beauty, her ice-blue eyes glimmered in the magical light of the chandelier overhead.
every move she made was a combination of seductive and refined. it seemed as though the gods themselves carved her visage from the finest marbles before bringing her to life with their very own hands. never in his life had indarel witnessed such a creature. he was almost certain that she had never once graced his home in the past, making him question who among his inner circle committed the unforgivable sin of hiding such a person from him.
at the end of the song, the ballroom was once again brought to an applause. the woman curtsied at her dance partner whose face was nearly the same shade as the woman's dress. the man who had joined with her stepped way from the dancefloor with a stumble as though he were in a trance. indarel could not blame him for acting in such a way. were he a lesser man, he too might have been just as bewitched.
"are you saying that your father allowed you to venture through our city during an active rebellion alone? my fair lady, such an atrocity shall not stand!"
everia laughed once more, lightly covering her mouth. "my lord please, i was not left defenseless. my dear brother escorted me. we were also guarded by my pet, so fret not for my safety kind sir."
"your pet?" indarel gently directed to the dance floor, intent on having a dance of his own with lady cortis. she smiled and grabbed his outstretched hand, joining with him. the music began to transition into a slow number meant for more intimate displays. a simple nod from indarel indicated his pleasure to the maestro leading the band for switching up the music on their behalf.
"yes, my lord. before the loss of seteste my father picked me up a gift in the form of a beastman. a rather capable warrior meant for guarding our caravans. though, we soon found it better for it to guard myself instead."
indarel felt a scowl form on his face. "lady cortis, i apologize but i must say i am disappointed that your family chooses to house something so impure. after all a beastman is nothing more than..."
"an animal?" everia interrupted with a smile. "my good sir, i do believe i referred to it as a pet. would you consider it impure to own a horse, a dog, or a bird? no, i imagine not lord varris. if a beastman is nothing more than an animal, then by what ruling should i not keep one as a pet? i promise to take good care of it, my lord. might i please keep it?"
a new, colder smile spread across indarel's lips before being followed by a cruel laugh. "you have it in the right, lady cortis. as a pet, why not. i do hope it is collared appropriately my dear."