If that cunning Jusid noticed, it would not end merely with her identity being exposed.

While Roselia was frozen, Closet suddenly intervened between them and grabbed Roselia’s arm.

“Come to think of it, Her Highness the Crown Princess must be waiting! Let’s hurry, Roselia!”

As they left abruptly with Closet pulling Roselia away, Jusid, who had been neatly ignored, glared at their backs with a persistent gaze.

As they pushed through the crowd and moved away from Jusid, Closet finally let out a sigh of relief.

“She’s really relentless. Be careful not to catch Jusid’s eye. You remember what happened last time, right? That woman loses all reason once she sets her sights on something.”

Roselia shuddered as she recalled Jusid drugging her and stripping off her clothes.

As Roselia rubbed her arm and frowned, Closet looked around.

“I think we should first greet Her Highness the Crown Princess…”

With so many people, it didn’t look easy to make a path.

Then suddenly, Closet’s expression widened as if she had spotted something.

And soon, the crowd parted like an ant colony, opening a path on its own.

Roselia turned her gaze to where Closet was looking and stiffened her shoulders as she saw a man walking down the middle of the parted crowd.

Somehow finding them amidst this large crowd, Crown Prince Esteban was walking towards Roselia.

It felt like the masquerade ball was overlapping with the current situation.

The numerous people in the crowd were holding their breath, watching Esteban and Roselia.

Esteban’s expression was stiff, seemingly still bothered by Roselia’s escape from him earlier.

The Crown Prince, who had now approached right in front of her, twisted his lips and murmured in a low voice.

“You ran away quite cleverly last time.”

Roselia swallowed dryly and bowed as calmly as possible.

“I greet the sun of the empire.”

“Enough with the superficial greetings. Isn’t this too much? I was trying to help you in my own way.”

There he goes again with that nonsense about fragrance.

Roselia pretended not to hear and lowered her gaze as she replied.

“I’m not sure what you mean, but if I have offended Your Highness in any way, I apologize.”

“An apology…”

The Crown Prince let out a distorted sneer, then immediately curled up the corners of his mouth and continued.

“Forget the apology, you’ll have to be my first dance partner again today.”

This crazy Crown Prince…

At the masquerade ball, she had been wearing a mask, but now her face was fully exposed.

Moreover, today was not just a simple banquet, but one with distinguished guests from other empires.

If she were to dance with the Crown Prince like this, it could cause problems for the Crown Princess’s and the empire’s dignity.

But there was no way that she, who wasn’t even a proper noble, could refuse the Crown Prince’s request.

As she was biting her lip in distress, suddenly the crowd on the opposite side parted and murmurs could be heard.

A tall man in a black tailcoat was walking down the other path opened by the parted crowd.

Klaus…

With neither hurried nor slow, but confident steps, Klaus approached and stood before the Crown Prince and Roselia.

Unlike the masquerade ball where he had arrived a step too late and could only stare at the Crown Prince and Roselia, Klaus bowed his head to the Crown Prince and then looked at Roselia at just the right moment.

“I was hoping to be your first dance partner today…”

Klaus gazed intently at Roselia and carefully extended his hand.

“Would you please join me?”

It was a gentle tone, unlike his usual cold, commanding one.

Roselia, caught in Klaus’s gaze, unknowingly stared at him as if entranced.

Before she knew it, Roselia had placed her slender hand in his.

Satisfied with this, Klaus smiled and firmly grasped her hand as if afraid to let go, leading her to the center of the ballroom.

Feeling the pressure of his hand enveloping hers, Roselia finally came to her senses and became flustered.

She couldn’t understand why she had accepted Klaus’s dance invitation.

But seeing the Crown Prince’s stiff expression from afar, she thought it might not have been such a bad choice.

“It’s better not to look at the Crown Prince.”

At Klaus’s nonchalant words, Roselia’s gaze turned to him questioningly.

As she rolled her eyes trying to decipher his words, she soon spotted a few men in unfamiliar attire among the nobles and swallowed hard as if realizing something.

The envoys from Rapelios…

They were the nobles of the delegation who had come over for the treaty between Lugbeljet and Rapelios, led by the Crown Princess.

If Roselia had danced with the Crown Prince, it would have been embarrassing for the Crown Princess who was leading the treaty and for the empire’s face.

Could it be that this was also done for the sake of the Crown Princess…?

As that thought occurred to her, Roselia’s gaze turned to Klaus.

While her head understood the situation, she oddly didn’t feel entirely good about it.

“Is this for Her Highness the Crown Princess and the empire?”

Surprised by the sudden question, Klaus, who had been trying hard not to look at Roselia’s exposed shoulders, looked down at her quizzically.

“What do you mean?”

“The reason you asked me to dance.”

For a moment, Klaus lost his words and stared blankly into her eyes.

“Well… that’s true, but…”

Klaus suddenly curled up the corners of his mouth and smiled.

Caught off guard, Roselia had to take a surprised breath.

The cold-blooded Klaus smiling like that?

While Roselia was stunned, Klaus pulled her closer and whispered low over her shoulder.

“I didn’t want to lose you to the Crown Prince.”

What had she just heard?

Her ears felt hot from his breath felt over her shoulder.

As Roselia was confused, the music sped up, not giving her time to think.

Klaus, who was skillfully leading the dance, lowered his head almost touching her clear shoulders and murmured.

“You know what?”

She felt her hair standing on end along her exposed shoulders and neckline.

“You smell good.”

Suddenly, Roselia’s mind froze.

She recalled how Klaus had asked her, when she was Antonio, if she was wearing perfume not long ago.

When had he scolded her not to wear it, saying it didn’t suit her? Now he was saying the opposite, that she smelled good.

The feeling was strange, but on the other hand, it was clearly a dangerous situation.

If… as the Crown Prince said, she had a scent…

If Klaus noticed that Roselia and Antonio’s scents were the same…

Roselia quickly moved away from Klaus, who was pressed close to her.

Fortunately, the music was coming to an end.

Roselia gave an awkward smile to Klaus, who was looking at her with a puzzled gaze, and bowed politely as she spoke.

“I’m feeling a bit dizzy, so I’ll take my leave now.”

Leaving those words, Roselia turned around calmly and moved away from Klaus.

As the song changed and the nobles who had switched dance partners began to dance again, the space between Klaus and Closet was soon filled with busy dancing nobles.

Klaus tried to follow Roselia but realized there was no particular reason to stop her and had to withdraw his hand.

When Roselia returned to the banquet hall, Closet and Ivellionne greeted her as if they had been waiting.

“Roselia! My goodness, dancing with Klaus… are you okay?”

Closet, who knew that Roselia was Antonio, asked worriedly.

Ivellionne interpreted it differently and chimed in.

“Oh my, dancing with Duke Balthasar… is your heart alright?”

At Ivellionne’s words, Closet and Roselia’s gazes turned to her with wide eyes.

Puzzled by the sudden attention, Ivellionne tilted her head.

“Why are you both looking at me like that? Ah… Lady Closet, you might not understand since Duke Balthasar is your brother. Duke Balthasar is quite famous in social circles.”

At Ivellionne’s words, Closet frowned skeptically and asked back.

“Famous for what?”

“He’s famous for never dancing with anyone. He always puts up an icy wall with that cold and charismatic aura, so no one dares to approach him. Many women among the ladies admire the Duke.”

As Closet made a face as if it was nonsense, Ivellionne smiled and continued.

“Ah, of course, there was one exception. One lady who danced with Duke Balthasar before Lady Roselia.”

At Ivellionne’s words, Closet seemed to guess who it was and fell silent.

Roselia, suddenly overcome with curiosity, couldn’t help but ask.

“Who was it?”

“Her Highness the Crown Princess.”

Though it seemed natural in a way, Roselia felt oddly uncomfortable.

Her brows furrowed, not understanding her own reaction.

Unaware of Roselia’s inner thoughts, Ivellionne looked somewhere else and quickly changed the subject.

“I was so surprised when His Highness the Crown Prince approached Lady Roselia earlier. Fortunately, he’s now beside the Crown Princess, greeting the Rapelios envoys.”

As Ivellionne said, the Crown Prince was standing beside the Crown Princess with a stiff expression, conversing with the Rapelios envoys.

Most of the conversation seemed to be led by the Crown Princess, with the Crown Prince merely responding…

At that moment, the Crown Prince’s gaze seemed to briefly turn towards Roselia.

Roselia had to swallow hard, feeling somehow chilled.

Surely that crazy prince wouldn’t leave his place and come to her.

Then, Closet, who had been scanning the Rapelios delegation, spoke up curiously.

“Wasn’t the head of the Rapelios delegation supposed to be an incredibly handsome man? They’re all just middle-aged men.”

At Closet’s disappointed tone, Ivellionne chuckled and replied.

“I heard the delegation head had some business and left late. They say he’ll arrive in a few days, so we won’t be able to see him at today’s banquet.”

At Ivellionne’s regretful voice, Roselia quickly scanned the delegation.

The female lead Crown Princess’s sub-male character was probably the delegation head who couldn’t attend this banquet.

In the novel, his appearance was praised excessively, so she could immediately tell that the sub-male wasn’t among them.

She remembered that the sub-male’s background was from a viscount family considered a pillar in the Rapelios Empire, where the positions of archduke and duke were vacant.

As Roselia was thinking this, the Crown Prince’s gaze turned towards her again.

Unlike earlier when she thought it was just her imagination, his gaze was clearly fixed on her, causing Roselia to stiffen.

Surely not…

Before long, Esteban politely smiled and spoke to the Crown Princess and the envoys, then turned and began striding towards her direction.

Inwardly cursing, Roselia handed her champagne glass to Closet and quickly had to turn away.