Suddenly, Whitney found herself entering the room. Although she didn’t know why he was hiding, it seemed that a troublesome situation had occurred.

For both him and Whitney.

“Your Highness? What’s the matter?”

“Ah, a troublesome person was chasing after me.”

“…It seems we’re in a difficult situation too.”

Only then did Cheston step a couple of paces away from Whitney. If anyone were to see a man and woman alone in a room together, it would immediately cause a scandal.

“What’s there to be troubled about? We’re going to be engaged anyway.”

“It would be better to be careful since it hasn’t been announced yet. But who was chasing after Your Highness?”

“Princess Petontra.”

“……”

“You don’t seem curious about the reason.”

Whitney shook her head. Cheston slightly opened the door to check outside, then immediately locked it.

“It seems I’ll need some time. Are you uncomfortable being with me?”

“…No, I’m not.”

“No one will come in here, so don’t worry. Even if we’re caught, it wouldn’t matter, but if it’s better for you not to be discovered, just stay quiet.”

There was only one reason Princess Petontra was looking for him. She must be dissatisfied with the arranged engagement. She seemed to be interested in Cheston, not Karl.

“If the princess is looking for Your Highness, wouldn’t there be a reason?”

“That reason shouldn’t be me. You must know that too.”

Cheston leaned back on the sofa, keeping Whitney in his sight. With a strange expression, he stared at her, causing Whitney to straighten her back.

Without averting her gaze, she met his eyes. Cheston, with a face full of curiosity, leaned towards her.

“You were the one who first proposed the engagement, but you don’t seem to take it seriously. Didn’t you say it had to be me?”

“……”

“Looking at your actions, it seems like it doesn’t have to be me. You gave me something tempting, but now you’re not even doing that.”

“……”

She couldn’t answer. Whatever questions he asked were difficult to answer. After all, she was someone who would leave his side, and once they both got what they wanted, they would never see each other again.

“We’re in a relationship bound by a contract out of necessity. I have no other curiosities about Your Highness. That’s why I didn’t ask.”

“So you’re saying it’s just a temporary relationship.”

Cheston stood up as if it didn’t matter. Then he extended his hand to her.

“We’ll arouse suspicion if we’re absent for too long, so let’s go back now. Lady Orlean.”

Whitney gently took his hand. He naturally matched his pace with hers as they walked to the door.

“You should go out first. I’ll leave through another way. See you in a bit.”

She slipped out through the opened door first. As the door closed, she looked around. Fortunately, Violet was nowhere to be seen. However, that brief time she spent with Cheston felt long to her.

The ballroom was full of excited ladies. Every one of them enjoyed the party with smiles on their faces. Whitney looked around for Cecilia and Melissa while observing the atmosphere.

‘It seems they’re not done talking with aunt yet.’

It was rather fortunate. If they found out about her and Cheston’s relationship, they would surely be furious. She hoped they would be unable to contain their anger and return to the mansion.

“Here you are. Congratulations, Lady Orlean.”

“Thank you, Princess.”

“The Kingdom of Reowen’s parties are quite lavish. I suppose it reflects the Queen’s taste?”

“They tend to be quite extravagant most of the time. I hope this is an enjoyable occasion for you as well, Princess.”

Whitney followed Violet’s gaze. Where Karl and Cheston were standing. And she was staring intently at Cheston.

“It will be an enjoyable occasion. If only things go as I want them to.”

“I hope it turns out that way for you.”

She was about to turn away with a slight smile. But then her eyes met directly with Karl’s. For a moment, Whitney felt she needed to leave this place.

“I’m feeling a bit of a headache, so I think I’ll go for a walk. Please excuse me for leaving early.”

“That’s alright, go ahead.”

Violet immediately walked towards where the two men were standing. Whitney thought she would ask Cheston to dance.

Before Karl could approach, she quickly hid on the terrace, concealing herself behind a pillar.

The darkness hid her from others. Unlike the ballroom, the moonlit terrace was quiet, and she felt she could breathe again.

Somehow, she felt a bitter feeling. Why she had to hide, and why she became uncomfortable after learning about Violet’s interest in Cheston. Perhaps Violet could be more necessary for him.

‘If it’s her, wouldn’t she be able to help him if he were falsely accused?’

Whitney sat down on the floor, looking up at the night sky. She just wished time would pass quickly.

Cheston looked around searching for Whitney. She seemed to be with Violet just a moment ago, but suddenly disappeared somewhere.

“Elder brother, who are you looking for? Princess Violet is over there.”

“It’s interesting to see you curious about who I’m looking for.”

“…I’m just saying this out of concern. There are many eyes watching, so I’m telling you to be careful.”

“Don’t worry. My first dance partner will be Violet.”

So the second one is already decided for someone else? Cheston didn’t care who Karl danced with. But there must be another reason for Karl to say such things to him.

For instance, if it was said with Whitney in mind. That’s why he felt uncomfortable. Cheston soon spotted Melissa standing by the wall and raised the corner of his mouth.

“Red hair… It’s rare to see in the kingdom. I think she was a lady from the Orlean Duke’s family.”

“Don’t be interested. There are no women here who will be connected to you. Mother won’t allow it either. You just stay quietly by yourself until you die. Don’t do anything bothersome.”

Karl immediately reacted to his words. He shifted his gaze from searching for Whitney to fixing on Melissa. Then, gripping Cheston’s shoulder tightly, he smiled sinisterly. Cheston felt relieved to have diverted Karl’s attention elsewhere.

“If you’re talking about Melissa Orlean, don’t be interested in her.”

“I didn’t know you were interested, elder brother.”

“It’s good that you know now. Isn’t it?”

Karl immediately walked towards Princess Violet. Seeing his hurried steps, Cheston smiled slightly and tried to leave. If Violet came to him, it would be an awkward situation. The Queen would be watching, so it wouldn’t be good to get involved.

“Prince Karl, Your Highness. And Prince Cheston, Your Highness.”

Cheston, who was trying to quickly leave, finally had to stop in his tracks.

“Princess Violet, Your Highness.”

Karl smiled brightly towards her. Cheston gave a light greeting and stepped back.

She gave Karl a brief glance and then immediately approached Cheston, about to extend her hand. Cheston pretended not to see her hand, gave a greeting, and looked at Karl.

“Elder brother, what are you doing? Isn’t the princess waiting?”

“Princess Violet. Would you give me the honor of the first dance?”

“…Of course.”

Violet soon took Karl’s hand. Only after seeing the two of them go to the center of the stage did he turn his steps towards the terrace.

“The star that should shine the brightest is shining alone in the darkness.”

“How did you know I was here? More importantly, why did you come looking for me? I thought you were angry.”

She had a face that seemed not to have expected him to come looking for her. Cheston drew the curtain at her words and came to her side. He sat down in the same crouched position and looked up at the night sky.

If asked whether he wasn’t angry, he couldn’t say no. He felt inexplicably hurt by her attitude of drawing a clear line. But that didn’t justify being angry at her.

He said with a chuckle.

“I wasn’t angry at you. Rather, you thought I was going to dance with someone else, didn’t you?”

“…It seemed like Princess Violet was going to ask Your Highness for a dance.”

“Lady. It seems you’re more interested in Princess Violet than in me. You speak and act as if you know everything.”

“If I made you feel that way, I’m sorry. When I spoke with Princess Violet earlier, she seemed interested in Your Highness.”

“There’s no way I would have the first dance with my elder brother’s fiancée. Besides, I have someone else I need to dance with.”

Cheston said, extending his hand to her.

“Lady, would you give me the honor of the first dance?”

“…Is it alright to have the first dance with me?”

“If it wasn’t alright, I wouldn’t have come looking for you. You think too much.”

Cheston gazed at her for a moment, then stood up and helped her to her feet. Then they danced alone on the terrace. Whenever their gazes met and slightly shifted away, their hearts strangely fluttered.

Using the moonlight in the night sky as their spotlight, Cheston and Whitney danced alone on the terrace. Whitney performed a more perfect dance than expected.

‘It would have been a shame if I had lost the first dance to someone else.’

Looking at her eyes sparkling in the moonlight, he felt like he was looking at a forest. Soon, everyone would know about their engagement. Since he had already coordinated with his father, they just needed to make their appearance at the right time.

Whitney smiled brightly as they danced. Cheston’s lips slowly curved upwards at her smile. They could have returned to the ballroom to dance, but he was rather satisfied being here alone with her.

Somehow, he didn’t feel good thinking about others seeing her smiling face. He intertwined his fingers with Whitney’s hand that he was holding and smiled.

“…Your Highness?”

“It seems I forgot one more thing.”

He took out a ring from his pocket and slipped it onto her finger. Only then did Whitney’s eyes widen as if she had forgotten about it.

He lightly kissed the back of her hand and offered his arm.

“Lady, are you ready?”

“Yes, I’m ready.”

As Whitney took his arm, Cheston drew back the terrace curtain. The people in the ballroom were wide-eyed when they saw the two coming out from the terrace.

Cheston and Whitney walked side by side towards the stage where people were gathered.