Chapter 21: The Midnight Masquerade Part 2

Ryuto, Nina, Celeste, Roland, and Ruda moved carefully through the ballroom, trying to avoid drawing further attention to themselves. Roland led the way, his eyes locked on the group of masked figures near the far wall. Ruda's nose twitched, subtly sniffing the air, her senses on high alert for anything out of the ordinary.

But as usual, Ryuto's group was struggling to keep things discreet. The cursed ring was still pulling Nina, Ryuto, and Celeste together, causing them to awkwardly bump into each other as they walked.

"I swear," Ryuto whispered, "if this ring gets us caught, I'm going to kill that merchant."

"Focus, Ryuto," Celeste hissed, pulling him closer as the invisible tether yanked them together. "We have bigger problems than this stupid ring."

Nina, meanwhile, was clearly enjoying the closeness, brushing her arm against Ryuto's every chance she got. "Come on, Ryuto, it's not so bad being stuck to two beautiful women, is it?"