Chapter 361: I Just Want To Help Protect His Secret
Confident that he would be able to blackmail Vaan into submission with the secret she had hidden all her life, the Montclair heir’s smile turned into a smug, greasy smirk.
But the young lady was set on defying every single one of his expectations. Vaan came to the Grand Hall with one thing in mind.
To break free from the shackles of her past, and face the person who believed he had power over her.
"You’re not my fiance," Vaan declared firmly. "Can you stop involving me in your delusions? How long must you embarrass yourself? Must I call the academy guards to have you kicked out?"
Her fearless voice was loud and clear, and her gaze was straight and true.
Victor’s eyes were practically bulging out of his sockets. He’d anticipated Vaan’s surrender, but not only had she not bowed down to his threat, she was not showing any signs of fear in her tone or expression.
For a brief moment, he wondered if he was talking to the same person whom he had drugged in the past. Was this really the behavior of someone being threatened?
Victor might not be able to tell, but Vaan’s hand was trembling faintly in Alex’s hand. Alex simply held her hand more firmly to reassure her that he was there to support her.
Victor was now faced with two choices.
One, he could announce the truth to everyone and destroy Vaan socially. Two, he could continue guarding this ill-gotten secret so he would gain the upper hand in future negotiations.
So humiliated was he that he came very close to telling everyone the truth.
But he also understood that once the secret was out, he would no longer hold any power over Vaan. Naturally, that would eliminate the option of seizing the Damne Territory through marriage.
"You’ll regret this!" Victor glared at Alex before storming out of the Grand Hall. He needed to be away from the crowd to calm down. At least, that was what he was telling himself.
Chuck and Dim Dim watched the arrogant noble leave, clicking their tongues in disapproval.
"Dim Dim, it looks like we can feed the fishes tonight," Vaan said.
"Dim!"
Clearly, the two of them wanted nothing more than to toss Victor into the Arowana River.
Chuck agreed that Victor deserved such a fate, but he was unsure what the Rank 4 and Rank 5 monsters had done to deserve Victor.
"Good job, Vaan," Alex praised his friend warmly. She had finally stood up against the thorn in her side. "You were amazing."
"Thank you, Alex," Vaan replied. "I’m glad that you’re here with me."
The two smiled and held each other’s gaze for nearly a minute before they heard a light cough beside them.
Lavinia lightly poked Dim Dim’s cheek before looking at Alex.
"The musicians are about to play a song," Lavinia said. "And I am in the mood to dance. Will you dance with me, Alex?"
"I’d love to," Alex replied. "Your dress is really gorgeous on you. But... you seem to have a lot of faith in your shoulder straps. Are those strings really, uh, structurally sound?"
The Catkin had dressed up for the occasion as well.
She was already beautiful to begin with, but after dressing up, she looked truly stunning.
The young lady of the Clawford Tribe was wearing a black party dress with a slit skirt, highlighting her shapely legs.
In truth, Alex was having a hard time looking at her because he didn’t know where to look.
He was worried that the thin strings that held up her dress would come undone and cause a wardrobe malfunction.
If that happened, Alex wouldn’t hesitate to take off his cape and wrap it around her to protect her dignity.
To his surprise, Lavinia simply laughed. "Yes, the dress won’t fall off. Girls are not stupid. We have our ways."
Alex couldn’t really discern what these ways were, so he could only take her word for it.
’The ladies seem to be a little bold tonight,’ Alex thought because Lavinia’s dress was truly captivating.
However, he couldn’t possibly leave Vaan behind because he was worried that Victor would return to mess with her.
Fortunately, Prince Garen also asked Vaan to dance, which she accepted gracefully.
As the four of them headed to the dance floor, Princess Xenia grabbed Chuck’s hand and dragged him alongside her to dance.
Seeing Xenia’s straightforwardness, Charles took a deep breath before asking Nessia to dance with him.
"Can you dance?" Nessia blinked.
"A little bit," Charles admitted.
"I can’t dance," Nessia said, embarrassed. "If we dance, I’ll just step on your feet."
"I don’t mind." Charles smiled. "I won’t get hurt even if you step on me repeatedly."
After some hesitation, Nessia finally relented and allowed the young man to take her to the ballroom.
Only Dim Dim, Renard, Lotte, and Mary were left at their table. However, they didn’t feel left out. Watching their friends try to dance was amusing enough as an activity.
Suddenly, Lady Celestria approached Renard and invited him to dance with her.
However, Renard hastily refused because he didn’t know how to dance. Charles might not mind Nessia stepping on his toes, but surely a princess would mind a heavy man crushing her toes!
Renard was aloof, yes, but that didn’t mean he was alright with hurting a lady with his clumsiness.
"Don’t worry, I’ll make sure that you won’t step on my feet." Lady Celestria giggled. "I’m a Saintess, you know? Don’t underestimate my abilities."
"Dim Dim!" Dim Dim tapped Renard’s hand that was resting on the table, catching his attention.
The little bun was encouraging Mr. I-Have-Trust-Issues to accept Lady Celestria’s invitation to dance.
Just as the musicians readied their instruments to play a song, Renard finally agreed and accompanied the young lady to the dance floor.
Alex noticed this right away, and couldn’t help but chuckle at how awkward Renard looked as Lady Celestria guided his hand to her waist.
"You and Renard don’t really get along huh?" Lavinia commented as the music started to play.
"We do get along," Alex replied as he danced with Lavinia, who was a surprisingly good dancer. "In our own way at least."
"That’s what you always say." Lavinia smiled helplessly as she effortlessly danced with Alex, enjoying their moment together. "By the way, Alex, what is your relationship with Vaan?"
"Close friends," Alex answered.
"Friends as in romantic friends?" Lavinia asked and moved closer to whisper in Alex’s ears.
"Did you forget?" Alex whispered back. "I just want to help protect his secret."
Lavinia’s gaze softened a bit because she didn’t know what to believe. Alex had always insisted that Vaan was a boy.
But she and Latifa were starting to doubt that.
Vaan also refused to cooperate, never giving them a straight answer.
They’d tried different ways of wording the question, but Vaan always frustrated them with mischievous answers.
In the end, the young lady decided to just enjoy dancing with Alex, who was matching her skill on the dance floor.
She watched with great amusement as the young man winked at Charles, who was getting stepped on repeatedly by Nessia.
Alex guided Lavinia closer to Renard and Lady Celestria.
Clearly, he wanted to see Renard’s awkward dancing so he could tease him at a later time about it.
Seeing this playful side of him, Lavinia felt both amused and a little sorry for Renard.
The poor boy was too stiff to move to the music, and was only swaying on the spot as Lady Celestria danced around him.
"Stop bullying him," Lavinia said softly as she moved closer to Alex, their chests touching each other.
"Whatever you say, Princess." Alex smirked before moving both of them closer to Vaan and Prince Garen.
Both were equally skilled dancers, so seeing them up close made Alex and Lavinia nod their heads in approval.
Not long after, the song came to an end. Every dancer bowed respectfully to their partner before returning to their tables.
Alex then took Dim Dim to the buffet area to get something to eat. Many ladies approached him and asked to dance, wanting to experience the Blackmail King’s skill on the dance floor.
However, Alex tactfully declined and said that he planned to eat for the time being.
His goal for coming to the Grand Hall was the same as ever.
To make sure that he would be there to protect Vaan from Victor’s entitlement and recklessness.