“I don’t remember meeting you. Who are you?”

“Ah… I’m Diana. It’s nice to meet you, Your Highness. Please forgive my rudeness for calling your name so casually…”

“When you speak, state your affiliation first. I don’t care if you’re Diana or Marsook.”

Despite his young age, he had a remarkable aura, perhaps because he was the male protagonist. Diana muttered timidly.

“Ah, yes… I’m Diana de Arnel. I’m from the Arnel ducal family.”

“You’re one of the princess’s close associates.”

He quietly closed the terrace door and glared at Diana with a chilling gaze.

“Are you carrying out orders to monitor me?”

“What…? Me?”

“The timing is too perfect to be a coincidence.”

“No way! I just came out for some fresh air because I wasn’t feeling well… Don’t misunderstand!”

“Is that so? Then why are you trembling?”

“That’s because you’re suddenly pressuring me…!”

His body, pushing Diana against the railing, was close. Red eyes stared at her piercingly.

“Since you know my name, I can’t just let you go.”

“…I didn’t see anything, and I didn’t hear anything. Really. I won’t tell anyone that I saw Your Highness here.”

“What I’ve blocked is your mouth, not your eyes or ears. You know my face, and you’re even from the Arnel family.”

There was nothing to say.

Diana rolled her eyes and swallowed hard. Trian was as impenetrable as Raoul.

“Then… what should I do?”

“You don’t need to do anything.”

“What?”

Trian suddenly pulled Diana’s wrist.

With that momentum, their faces drew closer, and with a numbing impact, the shadows of the boy and girl overlapped beyond the terrace.

‘Ack! It hurts so much…!’

Diana clutched her lips and opened her eyes wide. The impact was so strong that her teeth felt numb.

What, what the hell! This crazy bastard!

“Your Highness!!!”

“I’m sorry, but I need you to keep your mouth shut.”

Trian released her wrist and wiped his lips.
For someone who had stolen another’s first kiss with a headbutt, his attitude was too confident and brazen.

“No matter if you’re the prince, what on earth are you doing!”

“You seem to have a bad reputation. You’re that black-haired mixed breed people gossip about, right?”

“…It’s not mixed breed, it’s mixed race!”

“Whatever. It seems you’re already drawing attention, so if you don’t want to create rumors in a different sense, especially being involved with the palace’s troublemaker, you’d better keep quiet.”

“…Troublemaker… I didn’t think that far…! I’m pointing out your lack of chivalry right now!”

“You’re noisy…”

“…Do I look like I’m not going to shout right now?!”

“I’m telling you to keep quiet if you don’t want rumors spreading about you kissing me all over town. Why are you making a fuss? Be quiet. Do you want to get caught?”

“When did I ever k-kiss Your Highness! You just crashed into me on your own…!”

“People only remember provocative words. Like kiss. Kissing and such. If you don’t care, go ahead and talk.”

“I never intended to say anything from the start!”

While Diana was huffing and wiping her lips, Peniche’s figure could be seen catching her breath below the terrace.

“Gasp!”

Diana instantly pushed Trian away and leaned her body over the terrace railing.

‘It is Peniche…!’

She was clutching her ribs, bent over as if something was wrong.

Diana, forgetting Trian’s presence, was about to rush out immediately when a sharp voice pierced the back of her head.

“Watch your mouth. I’ll be keeping an eye on you.”

She immediately left the banquet hall and ran to Peniche’s side.
Intermittently behind her, disapproving gasps of ‘Oh my’ and ‘Goodness’ followed, but she paid no attention. There was only one person she needed to target.

Near the imperial garden, Diana caught her breath.

‘Peniche is a celebrity who makes the front page of the news. I shouldn’t give the impression that I approached her intentionally.’

Trying to appear as if she had met by chance, she even let out a “Huh!” as she carefully approached.

“Um, are you alright?”

“Huff… Hah… Didn’t I tell everyone not to follow me?”

Peniche immediately spoke in a low voice. Her tone clearly conveyed her displeasure, as if saying, “I’m already struggling, and now you’re annoying me too.”
Diana’s heart sank for a moment, intimidated by the forceful attitude, but she couldn’t back down here.

‘My golden lifeline…!’

She continued her awkward act.

“…Ah, I was just passing by and saw that you didn’t look well.”

“Huff… Ob… viously a lie.”

“…Um, it seems like it’s because of the corset. How about going into an empty room and loosening it a bit?”

“Mind your own business and go on your…”

Peniche, turning around with an irritated voice, narrowed her eyes as she saw Diana’s attire.

“…Black hair. You must be Lady Diana of House Arnel.”

“You know me?”

“…Of course… Ugh…”

Peniche tried to answer but doubled over again. She was having difficulty even breathing at this point.

“You’ll really faint at this rate. Let’s loosen the strings quickly…!”

“Huff… To show such an unsightly state, this is unacceptable.”

“It’s alright, just lean on me for now.”

Diana offered her shoulder and put her arm around the slender waist. The waist, not even a handful, seemed about to disappear from how tightly it was cinched.

As Diana hurried her steps with concern, Peniche glanced up, scanning Diana’s face.

‘The Arnels are at the forefront of protecting royal authority. What’s her reason for approaching me?’

Hair neatly tied down, a silk dress in subtle colors with the corset removed and the neckline raised.

‘Unusual.’

“Come in here.”

Diana opened an empty room and guided Peniche inside. Fortunately, the dark room was empty except for the two of them.

“This is my first time doing this, so it might take a while…”

“It’s fine. Take your time.”

Diana awkwardly fiddled with the strings.

‘Am I doing this right?’

After loosening the corset and readjusting it to avoid putting stress on the chest, Peniche finally exhaled like someone who had just come out of water, “Haah.”

“Is this better?”

“Yes, much…”

She faced Diana with a more comfortable expression than before. Having regained her composure now that her body was more at ease.

“Ah, come to think of it, we haven’t properly introduced ourselves yet.”

“Ah, as I mentioned earlier, I’m Diana. Diana de Arnel.”

“I’m Peniche de Hyperion.”

“…Actually, I already know. I see you often in the news.”

“Is that so? What do they say?”

“It’s all praise. Especially in fashion, you’re a role model for many young ladies…”

“I see. How predictable.”

As if hearing something obvious, Peniche brushed back her long, wavy light blue hair.

“Still, this is the first time I’ve seen this type of dress. It’s quite intriguing. To be honest, I really like it.”

“Ah, thank you. It’s a style that’s popular in our territory.”

“When did the fashion center shift to Arnel? For me to fall behind such changes… it hurts my pride a little?”

“Ah, that’s not what I meant… I’m sorry if I offended you.”

“It was a joke. You’re quite naive to apologize so seriously.”

‘Am I bad at social interactions? Why is this child so slick?’

Diana scratched her cheek awkwardly and laughed.

“Ah… haha. It was a joke. You surprised me.”

“I’m sorry if I was mischievous. But how did you really guess? I’m curious too. I have many outdoor activities, and it’s not once or twice that I’ve wasted time in carriages because of corsets. I’m getting used to it.”

‘Even though she’s still young, she emphasizes curves. I didn’t know because I don’t often wear social dresses.’

“There’s a skilled tailor in our territory whom I asked. His name is Marcel, and honestly, I didn’t expect such a great result.”

“Marcel… I’ll remember that.”

“If you’d like, you’re welcome to visit our territory. I’ll introduce you.”

“Well, I’m not sure if I’ll have the time.”

“Yes… I suppose so…”

“Let’s get to know each other a bit more. Have you greeted the other young ladies? If not, I’ll introduce you. It’s a connection since we’ve met by chance.”

She led Diana to the center of the stage where diamond chandeliers shone.
That place was a gathering of socialites, intimidating even to imagine.

“Say hello. This is Lady Anya from the Count Hoffman family, and this is Lady Anthony, the second daughter of the Viscount Yuraf family.”

“Ah, nice to meet you. I’m Diana.”

“Hmm… Nice to meet you.”

“Oh, me too…!”

Anya, a prim beauty, pouted her lips at Diana’s appearance.

‘Of course, it’s like an official outcast suddenly joining a popular group.’

However, it seemed no one here dared to talk back to Peniche.

“The ball is about to start soon.”

“Has everyone found a partner?”

“Ah, I haven’t yet…”

“It’s okay. We can just think of it as a celebratory performance and enjoy it lightly.”

At Peniche’s consolation, Anya brushed her hair back and sneered subtly.

“How can one enjoy without a partner?”

As she opened her fan, it was clear where she learned such manners, even without seeing.

‘If it’s the Yuraf Count family, they’re the ones who went bankrupt due to gambling debts…’

It was more pitiful than annoying.

‘I want to tell her to live humbly…’

It was quite amusing that even the circumstances of such extra villains no longer felt like someone else’s business.

Diana turned her gaze away from Anya’s concern. She already had a partner in mind.
The second son of the Baron Olton family, Taylor Young. Recently, he had achieved good results in an art competition hosted by the Hestion family.

Though they were nobles in name only, barely getting by on the merits of the previous baron, he would soon be recognized for his ability as an educator and manage the overall art business run by Peniche.

‘I need to make connections now so I can recommend Paisar later.’

Just as she was about to approach Taylor and speak to him.

“Gasp, how did you think to attend here?”

“…My goodness, how shameless.”

Far away, red eyes watching Diana glinted.
The subject of their gossip was none other than Trian, the imperial bastard.

After his mother, who had been the emperor’s mistress, passed away, he was left alone in the palace without any supporting factions.

‘I heard he was also abused a lot by the palace people when he was young. I can understand why he’s so prickly.’

Still, she couldn’t forgive the surprise kiss.
It was her first kiss in both her past and present life, what was this? Diana glared at Trian discreetly before trying to approach Taylor Young.

However, she felt uneasy for some reason.

Looking back, Peniche was glaring intensely at the group badmouthing Trian.

‘Come to think of it… Hyperion was one of the families that escaped the fire in the original story. Did they support Trian after all?’

At that moment, the imperial orchestra began to play, signaling the start of the ball.

“…No way.”

As the banquet hall parted like the Red Sea, Trian was staring at Diana with a chilling gaze from across the room.

‘What choice should I make…?’

Peniche’s gaze piercing the back of her head felt as sharp as an interviewer’s pen tip.

‘Is there really only one path…?’