villainess'ss Secret Service

c73

Couple competition

'What was that about? He actually knew who I was?'

While Rosalie was kneading through another wave of uneasy thoughts, she felt a gentle touch fall upon her left shoulder, nearly prompting her to jump out of her skin with shock.

Matching her astonishment, Damien withdrew his hands, holding them up as if surrendering, and widened his eyes,

"Forgive me, Lady Rosalie. I did not mean to startle you."

With her right hand pressed against her chest, Rosalie shook her head slowly, her thumping heartbeat echoing in her ears.

"N-No, it's quite alright, Your Grace. Anyway, you've returned swiftly. Was there something of great importance that needed your attention?"

Damien shook his head, mirroring Rosalie's relief.

"Rest assured, it was a trifling concern."

Just as Damien finished speaking, a short, stocky man dressed in bright red attire with a sparkling heart-shaped mask approached them. Without waiting for a response, he handed Rosalie a large, colorful brochure and retreated with a polite bow.

"Embark on an Enchanting Journey of Love! Join our Romantic Couple Competition for a chance to uncover the treasures within a mystical box brimming with romantic magical items."

Rosalie read the big, bold letters in the center of the glossy brochure out loud. She scratched her chin and quickly skimmed through the rest of the text on the page.

'Wow, they do things like this here too... Back in my world, no festival was complete without such a competition. What a cliché.'

She was about to tear the brochure and toss it aside when Damien's hand skillfully snatched it from her grasp. The duke examined the paper himself and then looked down at Rosalie, his face slightly blushing, his sharp golden eyes glistening with subtle hope.

"Lady Rosalie... How about we give this a try?"

Damien's question left Rosalie's eyebrows arched in sheer astonishment. Before she could respond, Damien hastened to explain, his voice punctuated by an awkward clearing of his throat.

"Well... The mysterious magic item box sounds like an interesting prize..."

Rosalie shifted her eyes back to the red brochure in Damien's hands, lost in thought once more.

"It does sound interesting—mysterious and romantic magic items. Well, this is 'Damien's date,' after all. If he wants to do this, then I must oblige."

With a warm smile and a nod, she agreed.

"Alright, let's do it then."

***

As the two of them approached the designated area for the competition, they saw a wide wooden stage, decorated just like the brochure, with at least a dozen couples already gathered on it, eagerly awaiting the start of the event. The collective excitement was palpable.

"Are you here to join?"

A brightly-dressed man with a heart-shaped mask approached the couple. Without giving them a chance to respond, he deftly tied delicate crimson silk ribbons around their wrists. With a nonchalant air, he explained the significance of this gesture.

"Every couple is assigned a distinctive color; yours will be a passionate red. Now, please ascend the stage and choose a vacant spot."

With surprising excitement, Damien gently took Rosalie's hand and quickly led her onto the stage, selecting one of the empty couple spots on its broad wooden surface. He then simply waited in silence for the competition to start.

The first contest was for the ladies. While blindfolded, they were presented with a set of items taken from their partners and had to identify the one belonging to their man by touch alone.

Rosalie, her vision obscured by a thick black blindfold, stood nervously on the stage, anticipating her turn. As the announcements of successes and failures grew closer, the cheerful host finally reached her, placing both her hands on a large silver tray with, she assumed, five different objects.

She carefully slid her fingers over the items on the tray, unable to distinguish which one might belong to Damien.

"This is absurd! Damien was so excited to participate; I can't lose in the first contest. But what can I do? I have absolutely no idea which of these items is his."

Amidst her anxious thoughts, an unexpected surge of determination took hold of Rosalie, guiding her hand as if by some mysterious force. It pulled her toward a specific object with irresistible momentum.

Initially confused and enchanted, Rosalie's fingers instinctively closed around a soft leather glove. As she touched it, a familiar essence flowed from the glove and merged with her own.

"Acme? Could it be that if I really concentrate, I can sense my Acme on Damien and his belongings that I've touched?"

With no time for further contemplation, Lady Ashter decided to trust her instincts. She confirmed her selection with the host, who excitedly announced, "Yes!"

Filled with exhilaration, Rosalie removed her blindfold and saw the black glove in her hand. With a flourish, she extended her arm toward Damien, the glove dancing in the air. A radiant smile of elation adorned her face, reflecting a silent symphony of shared excitement. In response, Damien's face softened into an affectionate smile, and he gestured for Rosalie to return to his side.

That victory clearly meant great advancements for both of them.

The competition continued, and surprisingly enough, after the initial hurdle was overcome, the rest of the contests seemed relatively easy for either of them, until only the last two trials were left.

The first one was a challenge of strength - standing on one leg only, the man had to hold his lady in his arms for as long as possible until the time was up. As Rosalie found herself gently held in the duke's arms, her eyes instinctively fixed on his face, prompting her to lose herself in rightful admiration.

'Even hidden behind the mask, his looks are beyond astonishing. And with such prominent strength to top it off... Evangelina is surely a lucky girl to be held in his arms for the rest of her life.'

As if having read her mind, Damien shifted his gleaming eyes to the lady in his embrace, making her flinch and blush at the sudden realization of her own embarrassing thoughts. She moved her gaze away, trying to calm down her galloping heart, while unable to understand the source of her predicament.

"Now, with only three participating couples left, we would like to ask our dear gentlemen to not release their ladies just yet as the final competition is... The longest kiss!"

Lady Ashter widened her eyes in shock and quickly turned to face Damien, who looked back at her with a surprisingly calm expression on his handsome face.

"We've kissed before, but it was purely necessary... So why is he looking at me without saying anything? Does he really want to continue?" she wondered.

Rosalie shut her eyes as if trying to gather her courage and spoke first, her voice tinged with insecurity.

"Your Grace, if you do not wish to—"

"Lady Rosalie, I—"

Neither of them got to finish their thoughts. At that very moment, it seemed like the entire Capital was plunged into darkness, as if all sources of light had vanished, leaving them in an all-consuming, impenetrable blackness akin to a bottomless abyss.