Closet and the woman in the green dress were descending together, but the woman quickly turned and disappeared before he could take a closer look.

She wore a mask similar to Closet’s, but it covered half of her face, and she was only seen briefly, making it difficult to discern her identity.

Klaus, who had approached Closet, glanced in the direction the woman had gone and asked, “Who was that woman just now?”

“Ah! You scared me!” Closet exclaimed, genuinely startled by Klaus’s sudden presence.

Closet looked at him with her usual sullen expression and replied nonchalantly, “She’s an acquaintance I’ve become close to.”

“Which noble family does she belong to?”

Closet seemed taken aback by his probing, and responded irritably, “Since when have you cared about my acquaintances? Why the sudden interest?”

Despite Closet’s sharp response, Klaus just sipped his champagne, looking in the direction the woman had gone.

That’s when the guests began to stir, looking towards the entrance of the ballroom. The doorman, who was momentarily flustered, announced the arrival of new guests.

“Lu, the Sun of Lugbelziet. His Highness Esteban Vandellupe de Lugbelziet, the Crown Prince, and Her Highness Ibelionne de Lugbelziet, the Crown Princess!”

Klaus and Closet both looked towards the door, where the dignified Crown Princess Ibelionne and a displeased Crown Prince Esteban were entering, arm in arm, wearing golden eye masks.

As they stepped into the ballroom, the crowd parted naturally, leading them to Closet and Klaus, who were the hosts.

Klaus bowed respectfully as they approached. “I am honored by the presence of Lugbelziet’s Sun. I apologize for the inconvenience.”

Ibelionne replied gracefully, “Closet is like a sister to me. It’s no inconvenience at all.”

She glanced at Esteban, signaling him to say something out of courtesy. But Esteban’s gaze was fixed elsewhere, ignoring the Crown Princess beside him.

Klaus, annoyed by Esteban’s behavior, involuntarily turned to see where Esteban was looking and saw the woman in the green dress standing upright.

As their eyes met, Klaus’s expression darkened, recognizing her from the tavern. “How is she here…?” he thought.

Before he could ponder further, Esteban began walking towards the woman.

Roselia was taken aback by the Crown Prince approaching her. The crowd parted for him, drawing everyone’s attention to Roselia at the end of the path.

The masked faces all turned towards her, a sight almost terrifying.

As she instinctively stepped back, her gaze met Klaus’s, who was staring intently at her. Startled, Roselia looked away and back at Esteban, who was now close and leaning in to whisper in her ear.
“Meeting you here,” Esteban remarked with a sly grin as he softly whispered to Roselia.

Roselia’s eyes widened in shock. Could it be… he recognized her?

They had only met once before, and she was wearing a mask over her eyes…

Roselia, unable to respond promptly, remained frozen. Esteban’s lips curled into a smirk as he whispered, “I have quite sharp eyes, you know.”

Ignoring her racing heart, Roselia stiffly retorted, “I think you’ve mistaken me for someone else…”

Esteban, lifting his head, chuckled lightly, “Is that so?”

As they engaged in an unintended confrontation, the surrounding nobles began to murmur, oblivious to the situation.

“My goodness, is the Crown Prince showing interest in another lady?”

“Who is that lady? She’s wearing a mask, so it’s hard to tell who she is.”

“How bold to behave like this right in front of the Crown Princess… This is disrespectful to her dignity.”

The murmurs caused the Crown Princess and Klaus to stiffen their expressions. Klaus, standing next to Closet, had the most displeased expression.

Klaus furrowed his brows with an inexplicable sense of discomfort, probably irritated by Esteban’s disregard for the Crown Princess.

Despite the surrounding commotion, Esteban looked relaxed as he gazed at Roselia. Roselia, feeling awkward, could do nothing but roll her eyes, unable to ignore the Crown Prince or escape unnoticed due to the watchful eyes of the nobility.

At that moment, Esteban, seemingly enjoying Roselia’s predicament, slyly spoke up, “Alright, let’s put aside who you are for now. If you cooperate with me for just a moment, I promise to let you go gracefully.”

Startled by Esteban’s sudden proposal, Roselia looked up at him with wide eyes.

“You just need to dance the first dance of this ball with me.”

As he said this, Esteban glanced briefly at the Crown Princess.

It was then that Roselia realized Esteban’s ulterior motive.

This crazy Crown Prince…! Clearly, he intended to embarrass the Crown Princess by dancing with another woman.

Roselia was about to refuse, her face contorted in displeasure, when her gaze caught Klaus approaching them with a formidable air. Startled, she instinctively grabbed Esteban’s outstretched hand.