Cinderella Contract

“Nice to see you again so soon. Are you enjoying the party?” He smiles as he looks straight at me.

“Y-yes.” I stuttered. Prince Claude draws closer to me and looks into my eyes. His blue eyes travel from me to Asena.

“Asena? Oh, so you two know each other.” So Asena does know Prince Claude, he’s certainly acquainted with a lot of important people. Who is he?

“I appreciate your invitation to this party.” Asena speaks so politely.

“You are always like this. Enough with the awkward formalities. I’m sorry, but I’m borrowing her for a bit.” His mood changed suddenly as Prince Claude grabs my arm. He’s forceful to the point where he is almost dragging me. What is happening?!

“You cannot just do that…!” Asena shouted from behind us. Prince Claude paused and turned around.

“I am the host. It is fine, is it not?” Prince Claude said with a matter-of-fact tone.

“That is not the issue!” Asena seems pretty upset. If I wasn’t so shocked and embarrassed, I would probably be upset too. Prince Clause is being pretty forceful.

“Well, do you want me to introduce some other woman to you? A new partner?” Prince Claude grins, pointing in the direction behind Asena. Taking advantage of Asena being distracted, he continues to pull my arm. Not having any room to resist, I followed Prince Claude out onto the balcony.

There are other people out here as well, probably taking a breather from the formal atmosphere. Once I realize who they actually are, my eyes widen and I feel almost breathless.

“What’s that? Are your shoes worn out again?” Prince Cyril, the man who found me new shoes, asked. I blushed and shook my head.

“Oh, Risa? Do you know Claude?” Prince Yuri asked with a smile. Prince Yuri and Prince Cyril…Three princes in one spot.

“You guys know her as well?” Prince Claude looks intrigued.

“Not exactly. Why did you bring her here?” Prince Cyril is harsh as ever.

“We already had a formal discussion on this. I bring along anyone who I feel is interesting.” Me? Interesting?? I feel embarrassed at his words.

“I don’t remember anything formal.” Cyril speaks bluntly.

“You sound so unfriendly when you speak.” I agree with Prince Claude on that one, although he does not seem like he is a bad guy.

“Shut up.”

“You are so arrogant.” I feel awkward at the bickering between Prince Cyril and Prince Claude; Prince Yuri on the other hand is quiet but appears to be amused. After being insulted, Prince Cyril turn to me looking annoyed. Our eyes met briefly, but then he turns his face away. “Hey, did you take your eyes off of me there?” I looked over to Prince Claude, shocked.

“N-no, I…” As I hesitate, Prince Yuri places his hand on my shoulder.

“Don’t be so rough with her. You are scaring Risa. More importantly, I thought Risa had a partner.” I sighed in relief as Prince Yuri helped me.

“Not to worry. I am sure he will be fine.” Asena did not appear to be fine with Prince Claude dragging me away.

“So basically, you have not asked for his consent. Honestly…you are always placing yourself on a pedestal. I guess that is one way of running things.” Prince Yuri sighed but showed a hint of a smirk then looked at me. “It must be fate that we meet again here. In any case, I would like to dance with you after this Risa.” Yuri flashes a charming smile.

“Um…” I blushed at his suggestion.

“Do I dissatisfy you?” My eyes widened as I began to shake my head.

“Hey. I have not finished talking to her yet.” Prince Claude stepped in before I could answer.

“I am not very fond of your attempts to threaten this woman.” Prince Yuri turned away from Prince Claude. “Hey, Risa, if you cannot dance I will teach you. How about it?”

Can I carelessly turn down such a request? Especially since the person asking is a prince. On the other hand, I do not want to blindly accept and make a fool out of myself. I can’t dance… Unable to decide what the right answer is, I stare alternatively at both Prince Yuri and Prince Claude.

“If you cannot dance, then all that is required is practice. So hurry up and take my hand.” Prince Claude smirked. Before Prince Yuri could say anything, Prince Claude holds his hand out to me. As I hesitate, he grabs my hand. He then pulls me by my waist and laughs. I blush and shake my head at my inability to speak up.

I am unable to turn Prince Claude down, and he takes me into the ballroom. I hear a murmur of voices spread across the room. Painfully aware of the eyes that follow me, I am unable to raise my head. I feel so awkward and out of place.

“Why are you looking down? You are my dance partner, act in a more dignified fashion.” I felt a pang in my heart at Prince Claude’s harsh words. I should not have come here, I am not cut out for this. Doubt filled up my mind.

“I-I can’t.” Those were the only words I could muster, feeling bad for my lack of elegance.

“You are a strange one.” He sounds exasperated, but when I finally raise my head I see Prince Claude is smiling. That handsome smile from the entrance earlier is back. “If you are worried about those around you, then just look at me.” He sounds so confident and I could not help but blush. My body relaxed a bit, hearing his helpful words.

“Ahh!” He pulls my arm forcefully and we enter a ring of people dancing slowly. His large hand reaches around my waist.

“I will lead. Just surrender your body to me.” Despite my bright red face, I obediently attempt to follow his moves cautiously. I am trying to avoid simple mistakes. After finishing one song, my body and soul are exhausted. Phew… In this state, he takes my hand and leads me towards a wall. “Well you were not as bad as I thought.”

“I’m sorry.” I have never danced like this before.

“I did not mean to put you down. I was attempting to compliment you.” He smiled. Me?! I blushed.

“Oh…” His kind smile causes my heart to skip a beat. I open my mouth to say something, anything, when suddenly Prince Claude narrows his eyes. Still holding my hand, he begins to walk forward and we end up in front of a man.

“Why are you here?” Prince Claude seems upset. I looked at him then back at the man in front of us. He has a handsome face and a wise demeanor. His blonde hair falls past his shoulder, leaving only strays to hit his face. He has golden eyes to match. Beautiful… As I stare in awe, I noticed there is a pin of a cross on his tie. I wonder who this beautiful man is.

“Oh, there you are. It seems like you were trying to avoid the gaze of his Highness.” The mysterious man states.

“Answer my question.” Prince Claude clearly does not like this man. But why?

“That should not be an issue. As long as you go through the proper procedures. More importantly, what is your connection with her?” He turns his golden eyes towards me. Prince Claude takes a step in front as if to protect me.

“There is no connection.”

“So you have no interest in her, huh? I wonder if you have forgotten your position.” The way this man speaks is so cold. Definitely different from everyone else I met tonight, even Prince Cyril. Although Prince Cyril could come off as harsh, he was of great help to me and did not seem to be a bad person.

“I do not need you to remind me.” Prince Claude retorted.

“Then I will not say anything more. I do not want to hold you up here with questions, but it seems like this girl has some time on her hands.” I felt offended at his words, but thought it would be best to keep quiet. Prince Claude turns towards me. With a loathsome expression, he seems to be thinking about what is happening.

“I’m sorry. But I need to talk with this guy a bit more. Go back to Asena.” I stood there dumbfounded; and before I knew it, I was thrust out. What was I just dragged into? The cold man disappeared and Prince Claude followed suit.

“Risa!” After Prince Claude left, I heard someone call my name. When I see that familiar face, I let out a sigh of relief. Asena. “I planned on catching up earlier, but I got held up by someone. Sorry.”

“I also apologize for not being able to properly turn him down.” I bowed apologetically.

“Well, there is not a girl out there that can refuse Prince Claude. He is…pushy.” I nodded in agreement.

“Um. I have been wondering…Are you acquainted with the other princes?”

“Yes, I have had many occasions to be so. I have met and talked with them many times.” I wonder what led him to have so many occasions. Just who is Asena?

“Oh, so you have?” I wanted to know more.

“Let’s not talk about this anymore. May I ask you to finally be my partner?” He smiled slightly. I took his hand and nodded.

The rest of the party continued without a hitch. No more strange encounters. I enjoyed myself with Asena. But then it was time for the dream to end, or so I thought.

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The day for me to go home has finally come. I made it to the airport with my luggage, but…

“It’s like I told you many times before…” The officer said. I felt frustrated.

“But why? I already told you where I am going and how long I stayed.”

“Yes, you did. But the papers you filled out are not sufficient.” I let out a frustrated sigh. “We must have one more check.”

“What about it is not sufficient? I do not think I wrote anything strange.” The officer sighed as well. Our exchange keeps going like an endless loop. I had no idea I would be help up by airport security. “I have even showed you my passport. What in the world could be going on?” The officer’s attitude cause me to get a bit mouthy. But it still does not look like there is any resolution in sight.

“Well…” I watch on as a couple of officer’s whisper to each other. I start to feel even more anxious about what is going to happen from here on. “Oh!” The officer exclaims, looking behind me. Wondering what is going on, I turn around. When I see who is standing there, my eyes open wide.

“Y-you’re…!”