Chapter 197: Unfortunate Mistake
Rose looked up and immediately locked eyes with the crown prince. He was at least ten yards away, and there were many nobles between her and him, but as soon as she lifted her eyes, they locked eyes.
Rose felt her heart skip a beat, but she told herself it was because of how handsome the crown prince looked and the shock of seeing him—nothing else. Besides, being in this ball alone was enough to make her a nervous wreck.
The crown prince was dressed in white and gold. Rose knew these were part of the royal colors, along with blue, red, and purple. His trousers, also white, were tucked neatly into polished black leather boots, their tops folded and stitched with gold filigree.
He grabbed the hilt of his sword as he stood tall at the top of the stairs. He didn’t wear a crown; rather, he wore a circlet of gold. The gold band on his forehead made it clear to everyone that he was unmistakably royal. Not Caius needed a crown. Rose thought he exuded royalty even when he was in nothing but his offensive robe.
Beside him, Rylen stood in servitude. He wore almost identical clothing to the crown prince, but somehow even though placed side by side, it was clear who was the heir to the throne. Crown Prince Caius just had a way of carrying himself, and right now, his eyes were locked on Rose.
She shivered and forced herself to look away just as the royal Herald started to introduce the crown prince.
"His Highness, Crown Prince Caius Ravenor..."
Lady Delphine nudged her, drawing her attention away from Caius. "I told you he would make it," she said with a knowing smile.
Rose nodded, but his presence didn’t exactly make things better—in fact, she felt worse. This was the part where she would have found a way to sneak away from the party now that he had seen her. Rose was sure he had. He had held her gaze longer than a glance.
Amid the crowd, he had found her with just a simple look. Rose narrowed her eyes at the thought. She would have to ask Lady Delphine when she intended to leave so she could too. She doubted things would go as smoothly as they had.