Whitney’s heart beat rapidly as her body pressed close. She couldn’t focus on the dance at all and kept biting her lips, trying to concentrate.

She wished for the song to end quickly. Every time they twirled around the stage, she caught glimpses of people who couldn’t take their eyes off her and Cheston.

It didn’t seem like they would rush over to ask her for a dance as soon as the song ended. Rather, they looked as if they had lost their fighting spirit. Whitney felt relieved, but also puzzled.

Who would have thought that just looking at him would be enough. Even the men turned their gaze towards her.

“Your Highness, it seems to have really worked.”

“There are still some ruffians unaffected, so we should escape about now.”

As soon as the song ended, the two immediately held hands and smoothly slipped out of the dance hall. They quickly walked to the private room prepared by the royal family, and a sigh of relief burst out.

“Oh, come to think of it, it’s strange. There’s no way my sister wouldn’t come, but I didn’t see her.”

“It is certainly strange. I’ll have Aaron look for her.”

“Given that she met secretly with the Queen, there must be something. She wouldn’t miss an opportunity like this.”

Whitney was uneasy about the quiet Melissa. The way she had changed her attire as if imitating her, and the strangely different atmosphere bothered her.

They tried to spend time in the private room, but even that wasn’t easy. Maids and servants kept knocking on the door.

“It seems they won’t give up at this rate.”

He slightly disheveled his clothes and ruffled his hair with his hand. Whitney covered her surprised mouth with her hand at the appearance that looked like they had made love in the private room to anyone who saw.

Cheston half-opened the door and raised his hand to block the view inside.

“Are you interrupting our rest?”

“We, we’re sorry! But His Majesty the King is looking for you, so we had no choice.”

“…Father?”

“If Your Highness doesn’t go, we don’t know what will happen to us. It’s troublesome if you keep ignoring the orders.”

He said he would go out soon, then closed the door and turned around. Regret was evident in his expression.

“It seems I have to go.”

“They’re trying to separate us, aren’t they? Just in case…”

Whitney got up from the sofa and approached Cheston. She tore off one of his shirt cuff buttons. Cheston’s eyes widened at the sudden action.

“We need to leave evidence. Those who came to the private room to fetch Your Highness would have seen our disheveled appearance, but they won’t testify. So we should prepare for any possibility.”

Whitney slipped the cuff button between the sofa cushions.

‘This isn’t enough. We need evidence that we were together.’

As she was examining herself, she tried to remove one of her earrings. At that moment, Cheston approached and gently pulled her hand away, then softly caressed her earlobe.

“You’ll hurt yourself if you remove it like that.”

The finger touching her ear was hot. Whitney swallowed hard at the burning sensation, as if she had been scalded. He carefully removed the earring and bent down to place it under the sofa.

“Is this enough preparation?”

“…Yes.”

Strangely, her mouth felt dry and her voice wouldn’t come out properly. She didn’t have time to figure out if it was because of the heat spreading through her body or if she felt embarrassed by her reddened face.

“You should stop biting your lips.”

Cheston’s finger brushed over her lips. At that moment, it felt as if the world had stopped, and Whitney froze in place.

Whitney, having come to her senses, barely managed to leave the private room. Cheston was nowhere to be seen in the ballroom, probably having followed the servant to His Majesty the King.

‘I should find Prince Karl first.’

If he couldn’t leave this place, perhaps that incident might not happen at all. However, it wasn’t good to get too close, so she intended to just watch.

“Lady Orlean.”

“Ah! You’re here, Lady Helenie.”

“I wanted to greet you earlier, but I couldn’t.”

“I’m sorry. I had something going on, so I couldn’t pay attention to anything else.”

“Well, it was partly because the young lady couldn’t take her eyes off Prince Cheston… but it also seemed like he would not let anyone approach, whoever they might be. The killing intent was indescribable.”

“…Pardon?”

Helenie shuddered and shrugged her shoulders.

“But it seems Lady Melissa didn’t come. Actually, some people say they saw her, but they only caught a glimpse of red hair… and they said they mistook her for you.”

“Are you saying that those who saw my sister said such things?”

“Yes, I found it strange too, but since I didn’t see it with my own eyes, I let it go.”

It was certainly strange. The invitation must have been sent, but the fact that people who saw her sister were divided meant that she had stayed briefly and then disappeared.

Whitney quickly looked around for Karl.

‘He’s not here. Prince Karl is gone too.’

She felt anxious. Perhaps he had already left this place and headed for the cave. Looking at the clock, it was still early.

‘Something must have gone wrong.’

My goodness. She hadn’t expected that. Come to think of it, the situation now was quite different from then, so there was no guarantee that things would happen at exactly that time.

“Lady Orlean.”

“Princess Violet, Your Highness.”

At that moment, Helenie and Whitney grabbed their dresses and bowed their heads in greeting as Violet approached. Seeing her alone, it was clear that Karl was not here.

“Haven’t you seen Prince Karl? I heard he followed you two earlier.”

“I’m sorry, but I was with Prince Cheston in the private room, so I didn’t see Prince Karl.”

“…Are you sure?”

Whitney nodded. Violet looked around, not letting go of her suspicion.

“Why on earth can’t I see him? He just danced the first dance and then disappeared!”

She was furious, ready to confront Karl as soon as she saw him. Whitney hinted to Violet, just in case.

“Maybe he went to the beach for some fresh air because it was stuffy? The ballroom is quite hot with all these people.”

“…That could be the case.”

Violet soon left the ballroom towards the beach. Whitney, watching her disappear, stared anxiously at where she had gone.

“Neither Prince Karl nor Prince Cheston can be seen.”

“Indeed. The timing of their absence is so perfect, it seems strange.”

“Nothing will happen. It’s a royal ball after all. So don’t worry and have some wine with me.”

Helenie led Whitney to a table. However, the peace of the ballroom was soon shattered. Because of Princess Violet, who entered the ballroom with tears streaming down her face.

“Prince Karl…! Quickly, quickly! He’s unconscious!”

People’s faces turned pale at her cry. They whispered among themselves, each offering their own opinions. From stories of falling into the sea to falling off a cliff, everything was unfolding just as she had seen before.

At that moment, Cheston entered the ballroom. People’s gazes turned to him, and the Queen immediately pointed at him.

“Cheston de Clifton!”

Her sharp voice echoed. Full of anger, she rose from her seat, her body trembling.

“How could you! Such a cruel act…!”

The Queen sat down in her chair, almost collapsing, with tears streaming down her face. His Majesty the King sighed, holding his throbbing head.

“There’s no evidence that Cheston did it. Don’t you think it’s not good for others to see you always blaming Cheston whenever something happens?”

“Is it because Your Majesty always protects Cheston that such absurd things happen? Do you think I’m doing this without evidence? There is no mother anywhere who can remain calm when her son almost died. If you’re not trying to insult me, stop right there.”

She gestured to her maid as if telling her to speak.

“Your Majesty. An eyewitness has come forward. There is… testimony that Prince Cheston pushed Prince Karl.”

“…Testimony?”

The King’s expression turned cold. Even in this situation, Cheston stood there without changing his expression, enduring people’s gazes. Seeing him standing alone as if used to such situations, Whitney immediately approached him.

She didn’t want him to bear everything alone. Hadn’t she told him?

That she would protect him.

“I’m sorry, but the eyewitness must have seen wrong. Your Majesty. We were together.”

Whitney said, holding Cheston’s hand.

The Queen’s eyebrows twitched at the unwavering voice. She glared at Whitney, standing beside Cheston and refuting her words. The Queen, filled with anger, was on the verge of losing her reason.

“Young lady! Even if you’re in an ill-fated relationship, you should defend what needs to be defended. How dare you interfere? My son, the heir to the throne, was pushed off a cliff and his life was threatened. Can you take responsibility for your words?”

Despite the trembling in her voice, Whitney did not back down. Perhaps through this incident, the Queen would try to eliminate not only Cheston but her as well.

‘I’m not afraid.’

Because she wasn’t alone. She had a reason why she couldn’t back down.

“Of course. I can prove that Prince Cheston did not try to harm Prince Karl. And I will take responsibility for it.”

Cheston’s gaze turned to her. Whitney smiled faintly, gripping his hand tightly as if to say it was alright.

“Bring in the witness.”

At the Queen’s words, the one who appeared was Melissa, who had been nowhere to be found despite searching. She spoke, tears streaming down her face.

“I clearly saw it. Someone pushing Prince Karl off the cliff…! How could I not recognize that brilliantly shining golden hair?”

Melissa raised her head and gazed at Cheston for a moment. Then she smiled gently towards the Queen.

“Your Majesty. Melissa’s words are true. It was Melissa who saved Prince Karl. I saw her rescue the Prince who had fallen into the water when I went to the beach because I couldn’t see His Highness. And she ran to request help, so it can’t be a lie.”

Violet wiped away her tears and added weight to Melissa’s words. She probably didn’t realize that this situation was a well-crafted scenario.