Chapter 57: An Unexpected Face

The duel had ended, but the excitement clearly hadn’t. Neo walked out from the training grounds, catching sight of Nora waiting near the entrance, his discarded coat draped carefully over her arm. He reached for it, pulling it back on and straightening the collar as the murmurs of the crowd trailed behind them like a low, persistent hum.

"Come on, we should head back inside before people start assuming we’re avoiding the actual ball." Neo said, glancing sideways at her.

Nora nodded, and together they made their way back toward the grand ballroom. Even though the duel had clearly stolen most of tonight’s attention, and would undoubtedly become the talk of noble circles for weeks to come, it still wasn’t right to let it overshadow the entire event any further. This was, after all, the princess’s own carefully arranged gathering.

By the time they stepped back through the tall double doors, more nobles had already begun arriving, and the earlier buzz of excited whispers had settled into quieter, more discreet murmuring, the kind reserved for polite society determined to maintain its composed appearance no matter what scandal simmered just beneath the surface.

The orchestra resumed its gentle melody, and pairs of nobles began drifting toward the open dance floor, moving gracefully in time with the music. The ball, for all intents and purposes, carried on as though nothing unusual had happened at all.

Neo led Nora toward the long catering table lined with an impressive spread of food, various pastries, cheeses, and delicately arranged fruit platters catching the warm chandelier light. Nora reached forward without hesitation, selecting a plate and beginning to fill it, mostly with dishes Neo recognized instantly as his own personal favorites.

He blinked, watching her curiously.

’Wait. Did our tastes actually end up matching over the years? Or does she just not care much for anything else on this table?’

Curious, he reached out and gently poked her arm. Her attention flicked immediately toward him.

"Are you alright? You’ve been pretty quiet. Did you not enjoy being here tonight?"

Nora tilted her head slightly, studying his lips movement carefully before shaking her head.

"What did he say, that made you so hyper?" she asked instead, her expression carefully blank.

Neo blinked, caught off guard by the sudden question. He quickly composed himself, not particularly wanting to make a bigger deal out of the situation than necessary.

"...He just said you were deaf, and made it sound like he pitied you for it."

Nora looked at him blankly, tilting her head with genuine curiosity. "So what’s wrong with that? It’s technically true. Did you think that would upset me?"

Neo fell silent for a moment, unsure how to properly respond.

It was true, he’d gotten angry the moment Helios opened his mouth, but it wasn’t really about the insult toward himself. He could have brushed off nearly any comment directed purely at him without much thought at all. But the second that guy had turned his mockery toward Nora, deliberately trying to humiliate her in front of an entire ballroom of nobles, something inside him simply refused to let it slide.

Nora’s gaze lingered on him steadily; her eyes studying his expression with quiet, careful attention, as though trying to peel back whatever thin layer he was attempting to hide behind.

Neo felt distinctly like she’d already figured out exactly what he wasn’t saying.

Without giving her the chance to press further, he quickly grabbed a small pastry off the nearest tray and pushed it directly into her mouth before she could react.

"Umm—!"

"Come on, Let’s go eat somewhere quieter. Oh, and by the way, I forgot to mention it earlier, but you look really beautiful tonight." Neo said quickly, already turning toward the seating area.

Nora froze completely, her whole body going rigid as she processed his words through the movement of his lips. Her eyes widened noticeably, the pastry still lodged awkwardly in her mouth.

"Um... thank... you... umm..."

She mumbled around the pastry, quickly pulling it free and setting it carefully back onto her plate with an embarrassed little sigh, her cheeks tinged faintly pink.

"Okay, I’m finished choosing my food. You should go pick something for yourself. I’ll wait for you at the table."

Neo nodded and turned, making his way toward one of the smaller side tables tucked near the edge of the dance floor.

Behind him, Nora remained standing exactly where he’d left her, a faint, dazed expression lingering on her face as she watched his retreating back, her fingers absently touching her own lips.

Once Neo reached the table, he settled into one of the empty chairs, picking up a small cookie from the tray already set out and munching on it idly while he waited. To his relief, most of the surrounding nobles seemed thoroughly distracted by their own conversations and political maneuvering, their earlier fascination with the duel having mostly faded into background gossip.

Neo let out a small, quiet breath, glancing around the glittering ballroom.

’I really am the only one here who couldn’t care less about any of this.’

He didn’t dream of grand political alliances or expanding his family’s influence across the empire. He didn’t crave power for power’s sake, or a title, or a marriage arranged for strategic gain. All he really wanted, if he was being completely honest with himself, was to live a quiet, comfortable life, surrounded by the people he cared about, free from the looming threat of whatever chaos the original story still had waiting for him.

But he already knew better than to expect that kind of peace to last. Not while the so-called hero of this world’s story remained out there somewhere, alive and growing stronger with every passing year.

*SHATTER—!*

The sudden sound of shattering glass rang out from somewhere behind him.

"Ah—! Sorry, sorry, I didn’t mean to, I swear, I was just—"

"Are you alright, my lady?"

Neo’s head snapped around instantly toward the unfamiliar voice, drawn from the exact spot where Nora had been standing only moments before.

A short distance away near the catering table, a young man stood with messy black hair and striking golden eyes, his handsome features sharply at odds with his obviously worn, patched-up coat, clearly out of place amid the sea of people wearing luxurious dress and jewelry surrounding him. In front of him stood Nora, her elegant violet gown now soaked through with dark red wine, a shattered wine glass scattered across the floor at her feet.

Neo’s eyes locked onto the stranger’s face, an unsettling, creeping sense of familiarity crawling up the back of his neck.

He knew that face. He’d seen it countless times before, plastered across screens back in his old life, admired and adored by millions of viewers who had absolutely no idea just how insufferable the person behind that charming smile truly was.

His stomach dropped.

’No way. No absolute way. It can’t be possible, he can’t be here at this time.’

Every muscle in his body tensed at once, his mind racing frantically to confirm what his instincts were already screaming at him.

"F*ck, How the hell did he just appear out of nowhere?!"