The Ball (Part 1)
Anthony gave a piece of paper that was folded vertically to Adolphus in the evening. “Your Royal Highness, I have found out about Miss Iris’ family,” Anthony informed him, while keeping his tone as polite as possible.
Adolphus went to the study desk and put the paper inside his personal diary.
“Your Royal Highness, Miss Iris’ family is searching for her. A missing complaint had been filed about her.” Anthony wanted Adolphus to remove Iris from the position of his personal attendant. “I think that Miss Iris should return to her home,” he proclaimed.
“I didn’t ask for your opinion, Anthony,” Adolphus answered, and closed the diary. He didn’t want a third person to tell him what he should do with Iris.
“Forgive me, Your Royal Highness.” Anthony lowered his eyes and apologized. “However, I want the betterment of His Royal Highness. If he keeps himself entangled with a human, then things may go wrong.” Despite Adolphus’ refusal to hear his opinion, Anthony told him what he truly felt.
Adolphus turned to look at Anthony and walked up to him. He placed his hand on Anthony’s shoulder and pressed it with fierce force. Anthony clenched his fists and his brows flinched in pain.
“I already said that I don’t want to hear your opinion on this matter,” Adolphus clarified once again, to make sure that Anthony would not repeat the same mistake twice. He let go of his grip on Anthony’s shoulder. “You have been with me for more than twenty years. That’s why I am lenient towards you,” he stated.
“I understand, Your Royal Highness,” Anthony said.
“Did you give the dress to Iris?” Adolphus asked and went to the oval-shaped mirror and looked at his reflection in it.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.
“I have already given the dress to Miss Iris,” Anthony answered. Adolphus ran his fingers through his raven hair and left for the main palace hall, where the ball was organized.
King Xavier and Queen Lucia entered the ballroom, and the people present there welcomed them. They sat on the throne after giving a wave to the people in the ballroom on a high-rising platform. Lucia asked her husband why he let Adolphus wait for his mate.
“We all know that because of the curse, it’s difficult for him to track his mate. However, I cannot let him marry any random woman that we decide on or find for him. For an Alpha, his Luna is everything, and it’s difficult for him to find the perfect mate when he can’t get the scent of her. I don’t want him to have any trouble in the future,” Xavier told his wife. Lucia understood the intention of her husband.
“Then, how will he find his mate, Your Majesty? Adolphus cannot stay single his whole life,” Lucia worriedly said.
“The Moon Goddess has made pairs of werewolves. She must have thought something about Adolphus as well. Whoever he falls in love with will be considered his other half. However, Adolphus may find the cure before that,” Xavier said. He turned silent when Nicholai came to greet the King and the Queen with his wife and daughter.
They left when Xavier continued, “Love will be the answer, Lucia. His wolf is still alive. Today’s ball has a specific purpose in my eyes, My Queen.”
Lucia nodded her head and realized how foolishly she was pressuring her son into a marriage. She found the other princes had arrived, but only Adolphus was late. The courtiers had also come with their respective families. People were drinking, talking, and smiling at each other.
Lucia’s eyes landed on Iris, whom she had appointed to serve the drinks in the ballroom. She didn’t want her to enter the ballroom in the first place, but when she found out that Adolphus had asked her to come, she decided to let it go.
However, she didn’t want her son to be angry at her, so she decided to appoint Iris as the servant in service to serve drinks along with many female servants.
King Xavier was busy conversing with his courtiers while Lucia called her personal servant, Laviana. “Keep an eye on the Crown Prince. Don’t let him see Iris. I don’t want him to create trouble for me by involving himself with a human,” she instructed Laviana.
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Laviana acknowledged the command of the Queen and walked away to keep her eyes on Iris.
Iris arranged the wine glasses on the tray and filled them with the wine before lifting the tray. She came to the ballroom and served the guests, along with hundreds of other female servants.
The grand ballroom was lavishly decorated and painted in gold. Large white curtains were wrapped around the pillars, while a large golden chandelier was hanging in the center. For Iris, it was no less than a dream.
She used to hear from her stepsister how the noble families arranged the balls. She had always imagined what a ballroom used to look like, and her dream came true today.
The glasses soon disappeared from the tray as she returned to get more glasses.
“There are so many people in the ballroom,” Iris said to the young man in his early twenties, who was also one of the servers. Usually, she would not speak to people around her, but at the present moment, she, for the first time, talked with a man other than Adolphus.
“All the packs have come to attend the ball,” Escar, the man in his early twenties, replied. He picked up the tray with cupcakes on it.
“Did the humans join them too?” Iris asked him curiously.
“I think so, but I am not sure,” Escar answered. They both entered the ballroom again. “Are you new here? I never saw you before?” He waited for Iris’ response.
“Yes. I joined a few days ago,” Iris replied. However, she refrained from telling him that she had been appointed as the personal attendant of the Crown Prince.
They both stopped upon hearing that Adolphus had entered the ballroom. Iris looked towards the entrance, but she was so far from Adolphus that she could not even see him.
Escar had gone ahead while she stayed behind as one of the gentlemen asked her for the wine. She walked to them and handed the glasses carefully.
Iris heard one of them. “The young ladies will do their best to get into the eyes of the Crown Prince.”
“I don’t think so. No one knows the Crown Prince’s taste in women. Nicholai’s daughter tried to capture his heart, but could not till now,” the man standing on the left said.
“Joshua might know. He is not only our Alpha’s protector, but also a close friend. However, he hardly tells us anything about Adolphus. I do hope that tonight, he tells us what’s going on with the future Alpha,” the third one stated.
Iris listened to each one of them and wondered why Adolphus did not marry, even if he was cursed. She walked ahead while keeping the tray in her hand.
She saw Adolphus was near the King and the Queen, along with other family members, and was smiling along with them.
She heard the young ladies who were drooling and dying for the gaze of Adolphus. It made her smile. She realized, in all those years that she spent inside the four walls of her house, that she never once got to feel like that woman. She used to hear only from her stepsister who had a crush on a nobleman in the town.
But in her life, there was no such thing. She realised that she was also attracted to him while gazing in his direction. They had small intimate moments together, but she would not deny that being a slave, her master tried to get close to her. But she also found out that Adolphus was very lenient with her.
“What am I even thinking?” She mumbled and shook her head. She turned and went to the other side, as a man called her.