The first waltz began with the orchestra's performance. With the position of Crown Princess vacant, the Crown Prince's partner was one of his twin daughters. In truth, it was more accurate to say it was fixed to one person. The Crown Prince always designated Jeremiah for official events, and this time was no exception as he led his daughter adorned with green jewels by the hand.
While the girl wearing a black jade necklace watched her father and sister's dance with boredom, the father and daughter—who shared a handsome appearance and blue eyes—continued their elegant dance. The dress puffed out in several layers spread in a circle. Young unmarried noble lords watched the hem of the dress spinning and settling with rapture.
"Lady Jeremiah is truly beautiful."
"She looks exactly like Lady Tenebraei, though."
"Ah, but the essence is different, is it not? Even with the same face, Lady Tenebraei is somewhat... gloomy."
Though their appearances were as identical as if cast from the same mold, the sisters' personalities were complete opposites. Jeremiah was bright, cheerful, and lovable, while Tenebraei was gloomy and always unable to hide her depressed demeanor.
That must be why the Crown Prince discriminated between them. The saying that twins were ominous should have applied to both, yet it seemed like a story told specifically with Tenebraei in mind. There was even a rumor that the Crown Prince, who could foresee the future, had personally tried to kill Tenebraei the moment the ominously destined twins were born.
The performance entered a familiar flow. People guessed that the first dance would soon end and began preparing to dance the second piece with their partners. Just as the performance was heading toward its climax, the lights of the brilliant chandelier began to go out one by one.
"The wind isn't even blowing, so why did the lights go out?"
The lighting stayed only at the center where the Crown Prince was dancing, as if focused there, before that too faded away. The splendid banquet hall was covered in darkness. It was a perfect blackout. One couldn't even distinguish objects right before one's eyes.
"What is going on...?"
"Who is that! Damn it, don't push!"
"Kyah! Someone stepped on my foot!"
"I can't see anything...! I, I need to get out!"
At this level of chaos, the music should have stopped, but the orchestra, fearing they would be punished for arbitrarily stopping the performance at the Crown Prince's banquet, continued the accompaniment that had reached its peak. This was because there was a precedent where a cellist who had accidentally broken a string at the Emperor's banquet had been beheaded.
The murmuring of people, mixed with budding fear and confusion, blended with the sweet orchestra performance to create a bizarre harmony. It was rather absurd, as if a scene from a well-constructed play was being reenacted.
Fortunately, the stage lighting came back on before greater commotion could arise. The people who barely calmed down at the chandelier lights that started emitting light all at once as if they had never gone out were busy frowning and adapting their eyes.
"What in the world..."
And only after adapting to the light again and being able to take in the splendid decorations of the banquet hall did they cover their mouths one by one in horror.
The last thing the crowd saw before their vision was swallowed by darkness was the father and daughter standing at the center of the banquet hall. So naturally, when the surroundings became bright again, they looked for them first.
However, the father and daughter who had been sharing a waltz were nowhere to be found, and only the girl with the green necklace remained alone, staring blankly at the ceiling while being hit by falling red liquid. Following that gaze curiously, they saw something unbelievable.
Someone screamed, someone lost their mind, someone collapsed to the floor, someone retched. Perhaps it would have been better when nothing could be seen because of the darkness.
The music dragged on.
The accompaniment continued without noticing the murmuring due to focus on the performance, but as the performers noticed something was wrong one by one, the harmony began to break apart. Only the remaining piano continued the majestic second half alone until the piano strings, unable to withstand the intense performance, broke with a death rattle, and all music stopped.
All that remained was the sound of a regularly beating rhythm. Following the heartbeat, drops of blood gathered at the fingertips fell regularly like a metronome. The sound of water drops falling onto the small puddle on the floor was clear.
The Crown Prince, killed with an antique dagger stuck in his heart, was hanging from the chandelier. The chandelier, tilted under the weight of the corpse, swayed with a creaking sound, and the crystal glasses clattered against each other. It was a very small but bleak and spine-chilling sound.
"Father!"
One of the Crown Prince's twin daughters screamed in anguish. She was wearing a black necklace, so it was definitely Tenebraei. Someone else, seeing the sword stuck in the heart, shouted next:
"Th, that's the sword Lady Rohanson gifted!"
People's gazes reached the sword's handle. Not a few people had witnessed Evangeline Rohanson presenting the dagger to the Crown Prince, having attracted attention upon entry. Gazes that realized the sword handle was identical all shifted at once.
"Lady Rohanson assassinated His Highness the Crown Prince!"
Because everyone kept their distance, there was a round empty space around Evangeline, making her red-stained dress hem particularly visible. Evangeline was covering her mouth, but if she removed her hand, corners of her lips that curved upward seemed likely to appear.
"Lady Rohanson..."
Kinder called out to Evangeline while biting her lip. Unlike others, Kinder, who had regained her sight, was looking only at Evangeline.
There was no way Lady Rohanson would kill the Crown Prince, and certainly not in a way that confessed her guilt like this. This was clearly a trap. Sir Gabriel hadn't warned her for nothing that something was unsettling! But who would believe Kinder's defense?
Evangeline's white dress was stained red. The altercation with the Duke of Hosquin had been quite noisy. Thanks to that, she had almost been soaked in wine, but thanks to Gabriel shielding Evangeline instead, only a few drops of wine had splashed on the white dress. This meant the dress wasn't stained right before the lights went out.
"I let my guard down."
Evangeline said with flashing eyes, boldly offering her impression. It was a tone that was chillingly pleased.
Late, the banquet hall doors opened. No one realized when they had been closed. A few people merely recalled that the doors had been wide open when Gabriel went out to change clothes.
What entered through the door was Muzeta, the Crown Prince's guard knight who had abandoned his post and left his position empty while the Crown Prince was being killed.
"Y, Your Highness!"
Muzeta began collecting the Crown Prince's body and sorting out the situation. He reported the Crown Prince's death to the Emperor, protected the confused imperial grandchildren, and sent them back. The girl with the green jade stood blankly for a while, being hit by the blood the Crown Prince hanging from the chandelier was shedding, before being led away by her twin's hand to return to her quarters.