Survival Guide After Accidentally Kissing a Demon - Chapter 201

Chapter 201

Without anyone noticing, the night sky had transformed into a sheet of dense black silk, draping over the heavens.

Inside the Banquet Hall of the Santos Palace, the lights were dazzling, as bright as day.

Candlelight flickered softly atop exquisite silver candelabras, rising and falling with the melody of the symphony.

The music gradually faded.

A dance ended.

“Did you get what you wanted?” a cold voice asked by her ear.

With her fingertips lightly clutching the fabric on Cyril’s arm, Beili slowly rose.

They were still holding hands, and the atmosphere was stiff.

“No, but it’s enough,” she said.

Cyril understood what she meant.

So the gentleman bowed slightly-polite and proper, yet expressionless-and gave her a formal gesture of thanks for the dance.

Beili had planned to hand the gift to Cyril right after the dance.

Even though it still wasn’t wrapped.

But when she fished it out and lifted her head, the black-haired, purple-eyed boy had already turned and left the Banquet Hall.

Prince Cyril had never liked dancing, even though his technique was elegant and practiced.

Any noble lady who had attended a ball with him knew-

Prince Cyril would only dance what he had to. After that, during the freely invited partner dances, he never took part.

So the fact that Prince Cyril had danced with a young lady from the Butterfly Family had already caught many people off guard.

…

Susanna, squeezed off to the side by Princess Renee, stared at Prince Cyril’s retreating back as he strode out of the Banquet Hall.

Quite a few noble ladies, seeing him leave, also followed.

Remembering the gift she had prepared, Susanna hesitated for a few seconds-then lifted her gauze skirt and hurried after him.

…

After Prince Cyril left, His Majesty the King left as well.

Most of Sainthos’s Royal Family was gone, but the ball remained lively.

No-if anything, it was even livelier.

Beili stood where she was, her gaze threading through the shifting crowd to the silver-haired youth seated high above.

Beneath the black mask, those hollow golden eyes seemed to be looking back in her direction.

As if he’d noticed her stare, the youth leaned forward slightly, as though about to rise.

Then, as if remembering something, he sat back down.

Yes.

Just as they had agreed earlier.

Don’t come looking for me.

The three-layer cake she’d made herself-he’d only tasted the first layer.

Very soon, he would taste the second.

Ashera.

…

Beili watched him quietly for a few seconds.

Just as she was about to withdraw her gaze and look for her next partner, a vivid flash of maple red entered her view.

“Looks like it’s my turn to dance with you, Luoluo.”

A pale, slender hand reached toward her. In those narrow, fox-like eyes, pupils as dark as ore brimmed with laughter-and a charm that came as naturally as breathing.

Beili gathered her thoughts and offered Lance a faint smile.

“Of course.”

She answered softly, then set her hand lightly into his.

Out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly saw the Silver-haired Youth in Black Attire on the high seat stand up.

Princess Renee, who had been stubbornly stationed at his side all night, seemed to hear him say something-her face instantly blooming into a radiant smile. Following behind him, the two of them headed toward the dance floor together.

“Luoluo-”

That flippant yet pleasant voice tugged her thoughts back.

As if remembering something, Lance turned solemn, and his tone grew just as serious.

“This is Cyril’s Coming-of-Age Ceremony partner dance. It’s not the dance we agreed on for the Holy Island Academy orientation ball.”

His dark eyes burned as he stressed each word.

“So when Holy Island Academy starts and the orientation ball begins, the first dance still has to be with me.”

His smile didn’t change, but a trace of bitterness slipped in as he added, “You can’t do what you did tonight-turn around and run off to Cyril.”

Beili lifted her red eyes to him. A faint smile tugged at her lips as she considered it, then said softly, “Maybe I won’t be going to Holy Island Academy after all.”

Just as she’d planned before-Holy Island Academy could no longer help her.

“What?”

Lance froze. The hand at her waist nearly loosened, and she almost fell.

Fortunately, he reacted fast, yanking her back a heartbeat before she hit the floor.

Her red eyes flickered. Seizing the moment, Beili slid with the motion, looping her arms around the youth’s neck and hugging him.
At that same moment.

In the symphony orchestra on the music stage, the strings of the cellos and violins held by the musicians suddenly snapped.

The snapping strings whipped violently against the musicians’ hands and faces.

In an instant, several visible welts appeared.

The musicians hissed in pain, shaking their hands and clutching their faces.

With the string instruments suddenly gone, the dance music was left with only the woodwinds, brass, and percussion to continue the ensemble.

The melody became somewhat strange.

The nobles dancing in the ballroom all came to a halt.

After informing the staff of the situation, the musicians hurried toward the backstage of the Banquet Hall to fetch spare instruments.

Lance helped her steady herself, and Beili released her hold on his neck.

“Why aren’t you returning to Holy Island Academy?”

The youth cared far more about this than the inadvertent embrace from a moment ago.

“Is it because of Renee?”

Lance asked, his tone tinged with anxiety.

“Miss Bartholomew, I swear to you in the name of the heir to the Tilisha Royal Family.”

Even his way of addressing her had turned formal. He straightened his back and placed his right hand over his heart, speaking earnestly:

“After the ball ends… no, as soon as we finish this dance, I will immediately bring Renee over to apologize to you and Miss Susanna. A truly sincere apology.”

“Oh-Brother, not so loud…”

Someone in the crowd couldn’t help but speak up.

Lance remained oblivious, his gaze fixed solely on the grey-haired, red-eyed girl.

“I promise, Renee will never act so rudely again.”

Whether it was an illusion or not, she seemed to see a flicker of panic deep within those eyes that were as black as ore.

It was as if he was afraid she really wouldn’t appear again.

After all, living in different countries, their interactions were already pathetically few.

“Lance, you’ve misunderstood.”

Beili looked at him with a hint of amusement, her voice softening as she explained, “My decision not to go to Holy Island Academy has nothing to do with your sister. It’s a decision I made after considering many factors over many days.”

As she finished speaking.

She saw the charming, flirtatious smile on Lance’s face vanish, replaced by a visible wave of disappointment in his dark eyes.

His head drooped and his arms hung limp, as if he had lost interest in all forms of entertainment.

Including ballroom dancing.

This wouldn’t do-

Seeing the musicians returning to the stage with their cellos and violins, Beili quickly leaned closer to the red-haired, black-eyed youth.

“But it’s not set in stone yet,” she added.

“Because I haven’t mentioned this to my father and mother yet. I don’t know how they’ll react.”

Hearing this, Lance was quiet for a few seconds before suddenly looking up.

“Luoluo-”

As if he had figured something out, Lance’s fox-like eyes curved into a beautiful arc once more when he looked at her again.

“Then I can only treat this as our final dance. Allow me to make a special request.”

“Please, go ahead, Prince Lance,” Beili said.

Lance leaned in and whispered, “I want to dance a slow dance with you.”

The words were breathed out like a murmur, his voice rising slightly with a hint of a smile, carrying the innocent aura of a youth.

“Even though the music right now is a bit upbeat, don’t worry. I have a way.”

As he spoke, he produced four colorful beetles from a Spatial Artifact in the blink of an eye.

He placed two beetles in her ears and the other two in his own.

Instantly, Beili heard slow, elegant music emanating from within. Aside from that, all other sounds were completely blocked out.

Beili looked up in surprise and saw Lance’s fox-like eyes give her a gentle wink.

His thin lips moved as he said something.

Beili couldn’t hear him, but she could guess from the shape of his mouth that he was saying-

Then, let the slow dance begin. Beautiful Miss Bartholomew, please give me your hand.

Then, Lance took her hand and placed his arm around her waist. Amidst a crowd of figures performing a fast-paced dance, they began to dance slowly.

…

A faint red glint flickered past.

She saw the silver-haired youth in black standing motionless amidst the crowd of elegant dancers.

Beside him, Princess Renee looked up, saying something to him with a confused expression, yet he seemed not to hear her at all.

His hollow gaze was fixed on them.

The expression beneath the Black Half-Mask was unreadable.

However, the curve of his cold, thin lips was frozen in place.