The Queen Who Deserves To Be Tainted - Chapter 54.1

His hair was a shade of blonde that was slightly lighter than Ejnar’s. Elfreda stared at the man with a puzzled expression.

“I’ve been watching you since earlier. You’re so beautiful.”

“Huh?”

“If it’s not too forward, would you mind if I asked you for a dance?”

Elfreda awkwardly smiled and declined.

“I didn’t come here to dance. I’m sorry.”

“Then would it be alright if we just talked?”

Elfreda had never had a conversation alone with a man before, and she was a little flustered. However, rejecting him completely felt too rude, so she eventually nodded.

Then, she quickly realized something odd and spoke up.

“You’re not from Machi, are you?”

“Huh? How did you know?”

“Your accent is different from the people from Machi.”

Elfreda thought for a moment before asking,

“Did you come here as part of the diplomatic delegation?”

“Oh, dear. I almost gave myself away.”

“Ah…”

Elfreda realized she had made a mistake and quickly apologized.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make any assumptions.”

“You know, your accent doesn’t exactly sound like a native Machi person either.”

The man muttered with an intrigued expression.

“Princess Rachela of Giver has lavender-colored hair, and Princess Serina of Makaeri has red hair…”

“Well, actually, I’ve only recently returned to Machi.”

“You must have been away from Machi for quite some time, then?”

“Yes… well, sort of.”

Elfreda felt a bit guilty for lying, but it seemed unavoidable to prevent revealing her identity. After all, it was a masquerade ball… It should be fine, right? She quickly tried to change the topic.

“Did you come here alone?”

“Yes. What about you?”

“I came with a friend… she just went to grab a cocktail.”

“Ah, I see. Do you like alcohol?”

“I’m not a big fan, really.”

“I love it. Whenever I travel, I make sure to try the most famous drink from each place. When I went to Giver, I mostly drank red wine. It wasn’t as good as Makaeri’s, but even the ‘barbarians,’ as they call them, make excellent wine.”

“You’ve been to Makaeri? … But, isn’t it a land of barbarians?”

“Well, I wouldn’t exactly call them barbaric.”

Surprised by the unexpected response, Elfreda stared at the man, and he continued calmly, as if to make her listen.

“Sure, they’re a bit aggressive because of their nomadic nature, but to call them barbaric is a narrow-minded view. Just because their civilization isn’t as advanced doesn’t mean they don’t have their own culture. I actually enjoyed my time there. Do you know how good their mare’s milk is?”

Elfreda was shocked, as she had never heard anyone speak about Makaeri like this. She had expected to hear about the uncivilized savages, brutish and ignorant of etiquette, but this was completely different.

As Elfreda was momentarily speechless, the man awkwardly smiled and scratched the back of his head.

“Ah, I suppose that wasn’t something I should have said to a Machi person. As you might have guessed, I’m from the West, so I don’t have any reason to hate Makaeri so much. That’s why I’ve been able to see it more objectively. Sorry if I upset you.”

“Ah… no, it’s fine. But it seems like you travel a lot.”

“It’s my only real joy in life. My father doesn’t like it, though.”

“I’m curious, where have you been?”

“Well, the most recent place I visited was Giver, like I mentioned earlier…”

Elfreda quickly became fascinated by his stories. It seemed that his claim of traveling extensively wasn’t just talk. He had a wealth of knowledge about countries from both the East and West.

He had an endless supply of stories from his travels, and Elfreda lost track of time listening to him. But then, she suddenly realized that Illene had been gone for a while, and she was surprised.

“What’s wrong?”

“My friend is taking too long. I should go look for her.”

“Are you going alone? Do you think something might happen?”

Elfreda’s expression darkened quickly.