I Start with a Bad Hand!

Isn’t she the one who was with Hayden?

The student who had slapped Hayden twice. The student who had loudly declared that only she became a fool due to an irresponsible love. That girl, whose name I didn’t know, was now dancing with Logan as his partner.

To be honest, it was a combination I couldn’t understand at all. It was like discovering that kimchi pizza with sweet and sour pork existed in the world for the first time. This incomprehensible combination completely occupied my mind. Why were two people who seemed to have no connection dancing together?

And there was another point that I couldn’t understand.

“…Why with Logan?”

Is this why people get involved in such crazy love? Because they have no eye for people? But the student looked strangely uninterested while dancing with Logan. Her expression was in stark contrast to Logan’s smug, self-satisfied grin.

As I watched the student’s incomprehensible choice, I matched steps with Klaus, who was leading me, and moved away from them.

Before I knew it, the music had ended, and Klaus and I stood facing each other, exchanging final bows.

“…That was quite nice, wasn’t it?”

It seems the Marquisate’s education includes how to give someone a pretty good time.

I tried humming the lyrics that Klaus had been humming, just like he had. As I was thinking of asking him the title, I was about to approach him when someone suddenly put a hand on my shoulder.

“Um… excuse me,”

With an awkward smile, Logan stood before me, fidgeting uncertainly. The partner he had been glued to all this time was nowhere to be seen.

“Uh… that, Dietrich.”

Without realizing it, I shook off the hand on my shoulder, and Logan flinched and stepped back, then beckoned to me as if signaling to a secluded spot.

‘What kind of rude gesture is that, as if calling a dog?’

Feeling my brows furrow uncontrollably, I reluctantly followed him. Honestly, I was curious about what he wanted to talk about. Logan, who seemed slightly nervous at my reaction, soon regained his composure and spoke to me.

“…Can you tell him not to come?”

“What? Who?”

At the unexpected request, I turned around. There was Klaus, standing behind me.

‘What’s this?’

This time, I looked up at Klaus, as confused as Logan was. Despite clearly receiving my message, Klaus pretended not to notice, pressing his lips together and avoiding my gaze with an ambiguous smile.

“Klaus.”

We have something to discuss privately. Only after I called his name did Klaus stop following us. He looked at Logan with a slightly regretful expression, but it wasn’t threatening at all. Only then did Logan seem relieved and beckoned me again.

It was only when we arrived at the most secluded terrace in the ballroom that Logan got to the point.

“…I heard there was a carriage accident. Is that why you’re so late?”

I wanted to hear what excuse he had, but it was exactly what I expected, and I just stared at Logan.

“Well… because you were so late, I had no choice.”

It’s not like I wanted to come to the ball with someone else.

Despite having gone through so much trouble to separate Dietrich from me in such a messed-up way, Logan began to desperately explain himself.

“But Dietrich, you know how disappointing this is. But we have the official knighting ceremony, and we can always see each other again. So….”

I had heard this kind of long-winded excuse many times before. Just as I was about to open my mouth to cut him off, I caught sight of someone approaching from behind the balcony. Seeing that person’s appearance, I felt a cold sweat trickle down my back and desperately signaled to them.

‘Oh, no, not now.’

Agnes was marching toward us, gripping the neck of a bottle with fierce determination. I had a strong feeling that if this continued, someone’s head was going to get cracked open. While I could imagine Logan’s head getting cracked open as a possible outcome, Agnes hitting someone else on the head again was a different matter.

I stopped what I was about to say and urgently spoke to Logan.

“Logan, you need to leave. Now.”

“What?”

Logan looked back in confusion as I pushed him out of the terrace, unable to take my eyes off the approaching figure.

“Uh, okay.”

With the intensity of someone about to peck out eyes or whatever, the crazy owl-masked Agnes was closing in on us. Logan stood frozen for a moment before instinctively starting to climb down the terrace wall. Watching him, I thought to myself with a slightly calmed mind,

‘…That’s how he was able to climb up to Dietrich’s room so easily.’

Without any hesitation, Logan climbed down, reaching out and descending smoothly. When he was completely out of sight, there was a dull thud and a long groan.

At that moment, Agnes kicked open the terrace door. She looked at the empty terrace in disbelief and then glared at me.

“What’s going on?”

“What do you mean?”

Agnes, now angrier than before, looked around furiously.

“Why did you let him go?”

Feigning ignorance, I asked,

“Who?”

“Ah! Don’t pretend you don’t know. Your partner! Why did you just let him go?”

That Logan or whoever he was. I saw him clearly. Agnes muttered quickly in a low, chilling voice.

“What are you going to do if you find him?”

“Step on his foot, at least.”

Agnes, still holding the long drink bottle like a baseball bat, was searching the area thoroughly. It didn’t seem like she would be satisfied with just stepping on someone’s foot.

“Hey, let it go. Just leave it.”

“Let it go? He doesn’t even know who I am because of the mask. Hey, isn’t that him over there?”

Despite wearing a mask, Agnes’ curly hair gave her away as she climbed back into the ballroom and saw Logan standing next to his partner. She looked back and forth between us with an expression of disbelief.

“…Why are you letting that bastard go?”

I calmly covered Agnes’ mouth and looked around. She bit my hand lightly with her front teeth.

“Ow!”

I stared at Agnes, amazed at her surprisingly mature response for a seventeen-year-old. She wiped her mouth and said,

“How can you just let him abandon you after he asked you to be his partner?”

And it’s not like he just left you anywhere. He left you alone on that mountain path. Finally, as Agnes started to rush towards Logan, I grabbed her hand urgently.

“He didn’t ask me to be his partner. I asked him first.”

“What?”

It was as if she heard something she wasn’t supposed to. I physically blocked Agnes with my body. As I dragged her away, she looked up at me irritably, her gaze sharp enough to make me look away.

“What’s with you?”

“What?”

“Why are you letting him off the hook? Do you actually like him?”

I gathered my fading thoughts and calmly replied to Agnes.

“I’ll deal with him later.”

“How?”

“I’ll do something more effective than stepping on his foot or hitting him with a bottle.”

At my words, Agnes slowly lowered the drink bottle, muttering, “I didn’t bring this to hit someone.”

While still preventing her from approaching Logan, I linked arms with Agnes and said,

“It doesn’t matter. It’s not like I really wanted to come with him. I’ll just count it as a morning walk. And in the end, it’s better this way. I get to spend more time with you.”

I always wanted to come to a ball with you at least once. And now, we’re here.

“So don’t get so worked up.”

At that moment, the music changed. It was a dance where everyone gathered in a circle, not needing specific partners. I gently pushed Agnes into the circle and said,

“If I had been with him, I wouldn’t have had the chance to talk and dance with you like this.”

Look, he’s still glued to his partner over there. I pointed to where Logan, looking slightly exhausted, was sticking close to his partner.

“Hmm.”

Agnes, seeing the point, began to calm down and step in time with the music.

“Right? Just leave him alone. Living like that, he’s bound to get what’s coming to him from someone eventually.”

And that someone will probably be me… I’ll make sure to wipe that smug grin off his face. Keeping these thoughts to myself, I continued to match steps with Agnes.

As we twirled around, I kept whispering and chatting with Agnes.

“By the way, did you see me dancing with Klaus earlier?”

“Oh, right. He seemed to come over because he thought you were in a tight spot.”

This cloak is Klaus’s too. I lifted the hem slightly to show her, and Agnes nodded as if she understood.

“Oh, the Warrior of Arneb? Now I get it.”

“You know that story too?”

“Yeah, it’s famous.”

A well-known legend, huh? I had no idea. Feeling a bit embarrassed, I noticed Agnes changing the subject casually.

“You know someone as decent as Klaus… why, uh, what was it? Roger, Roger, Rog…”

“Logan. You know his name. Why pretend otherwise?”

“…Because I dislike him that much.”

In a gruff voice, Agnes spun lightly. Her well-braided hair whipped her cheek, making her pout from the unexpected self-inflicted hit.

“You should have just asked Klaus to go with you from the start. Why bother with Logan,”

I turned with Agnes, sneaking a glance at Klaus who had entered my field of vision. In a place where everyone was elaborately dressed, his plain appearance without a mask seemed to attract even more attention. By now, a significant crowd had gathered around him. Klaus, however, engaged in conversation with a gentle smile, seemingly unbothered by the attention.

“See? He’s quite popular.”

Stepping closer to me, Agnes whispered quickly.

“That’s why you should’ve gone with him.”

Klaus, catching my gaze, waved slightly. How did he see me in this crowd? I returned the gesture with a light nod.

I pondered Agnes’s words for a moment. Klaus, having been asked for a dance by someone, looked slightly troubled. After exchanging a few words, he politely declined and sent the person away. Watching this, I finally spoke.

“Klaus is…”