“……Forgive me, Your Highness! I have committed a mortal sin!”

“I fell in love first! So if you’re going to blame someone, blame me first, Princess Ella!”

Evelyn prostrated herself on the floor and begged for forgiveness. Prince Justin also knelt beside her, embracing her shoulders and shouting. Princess Ella’s cold gaze rested on the two for a moment. Finally, she spoke slowly.

“The Prince is right. Two people made the mistake, so I can’t only blame Evelyn.”

“…I’m sorry, Princess. It’s all my fault.”

“That’s right. Everything that’s happened is all the Prince’s fault. If this gets out, not only the nobles of the Empire, but also the nobles of the continent will point fingers at me as ‘the pathetic princess who lost her fiancé to a maid’. Perhaps no marriage proposals will ever come again.”

“…I’m sorry. I will explain this well so that Princess Ella doesn’t suffer any harm from this incident. If you want, I’ll make any compensation.”

“What kind of compensation? If I were to demand that child Evelyn’s life as the Countess suggested, what would you do then?”

When the Prince spoke with his head bowed like a criminal, the Princess sharply asked back. His silent expression darkened further. The Princess silently stared at Prince Justin and Evelyn trembling in his arms.

As the silence lengthened, the Princess opened her mouth.

“Your expression is quite a sight. Do you love that child so much, Your Highness? Enough to turn so pale at my words?”

“…I’m sorry to the Princess, but yes.”

Hearing the Prince’s answer, the Princess let out a quiet sigh. Then she looked at him straight and asked.

“Then can you give up anything to save that child?”

“I’ll give up anything I can give.”

Prince Justin answered without hesitation. Hearing that answer, I quietly smiled. Good. Now it was the Princess’s turn to lead the Prince to the negotiating table.

The Princess spoke to the Prince as she had promised me.

“Hmm. If you do as you say, I see no reason why I can’t spare that child. …Should I just spare her? I could even help you and that child marry safely.”

The Princess added, curling up the corners of her mouth. Seeing this, Prince Justin and Evelyn gasped urgently. The Prince brightened and asked the Princess.

“Is that true, Princess Ella?”

The Princess answered with a meaningful expression.

“Of course. If you pay me a price, I will also give you a reward commensurate with that price.”

“…What should I do?”

Prince Justin asked tensely. Princess Ella answered.

“First, declare at tomorrow night’s ball that this engagement cannot happen.”

“I will do so.”

“And separately from what you were going to give our empire as a dowry, give me a box of the highest quality emeralds produced in the Raska Empire and Elcy Castle as compensation. If you do that, I will do my best to help you formally unite with that child.”

At those words, Prince Justin’s eyes widened in surprise. He said incredulously.

“Is that all it will take?”

“Yes. It’s a small price to pay for putting Evelyn on the imperial register of Raska, isn’t it?”

“……”

“What do you think? Will you accept my proposal?”

Princess Ella asked. Prince Justin nodded as if entranced and replied.

“Of course. I have no reason not to accept.”

“With this, the contract is established.”

The Princess said with a smile. Then she turned to Duke Haven and Countess Jelut and said.

“Countess, write down what we just discussed on parchment for diplomatic documents, and bring my seal ring. We need to leave a record of today’s events in writing to prevent any gossip later. And Duke Haven, be a witness to the contract between the Prince and me.”

“I will obey your command, Your Highness.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The Duke and Countess answered in turn and went out of the reception room.

I handed the prepared contract document to Countess Jelut who came to find me. Then I watched as Princess Ella and Prince Justin signed the document in turn, and the Duke signed the agreement as a witness.

I quietly smiled as I glimpsed the Princess and Prince shaking hands with satisfied expressions.

‘Good. Everything is going according to plan.’

Everyone will be happy with this contract today.

Except for Duke Yusten and Danae, Leonard and Duke Klein.

I quietly took my eyes off the hole in the wall, imagining what would happen at tomorrow night’s ball.

After Prince Justin left, I returned to the mansion in the Duke’s carriage.

I said I could ride in the borrowed wagon, but the Duke insisted on my safety, and the Princess also chimed in. In the end, defeated by the repeated insistence of the Duke and Princess, I sent the wagon back and got into the Duke’s carriage. Soon after, the carriage stopped in a secluded alley near the mansion. As I was thanking the Duke and getting off, the Duke said to me.

“I hope you’ll bring the brooch I gave you to tomorrow’s ball.”

“…Why?”

“Never mind if you really don’t want to. I don’t intend to force you.”

The Duke added. Soon the carriage departed, and I entered the mansion without much thought.

After safely returning to Duke Yusten’s mansion like that, the next morning.

I woke up even before Annie came to wake me. 30 minutes later, Annie, who came to wake me up with the maids, immediately pushed me into the bathroom. They carefully washed me in hot water sprinkled with dried flowers and perfume, then took me to the dressing table. Unlike usual, Annie left the task of tidying my hair to other maids and brought several dresses at once, holding them out in front of me and saying.

“Miss, which dress should we dress you in today? Green? Silver? Or the ivory one embroidered with irises?”

“Hmm, could you bring the dress I had made for the New Year’s party instead of those?”

Annie’s eyes widened at my answer and she said.

“What? But you’ve always said that one was too fancy and never wore it?”

“It’s not just any party, but one where the Princess’s engagement might be announced. Our family essentially proposed this royal marriage, so if someone from our family attends the party in a plain outfit, it might not look good.”

“…Oh my, that’s right. I’m sorry, Miss. I was short-sighted. I’ll bring it right away!”

Annie answered and went back into the dressing room. Shortly after, Annie brought that dress.

The milk-white dress, which decorated the chest and hem with small flower-shaped gold pieces, exposed the shoulders and arms completely instead of wrapping the neck, and made the skirt voluminous by wrapping layers of soft silk beautifully embroidered with gold thread, was dazzlingly gorgeous and beautiful. I twisted my hair up with a chain studded with hundreds of diamonds to match that dress, then put it on.

Then Annie and the maids exclaimed softly.

“My goodness, Miss. You’re truly beautiful.”

“That’s right. I think all the gentlemen attending the ball today will be so captivated by you that they won’t be able to come to their senses.”

“…Oh, what are you saying. You’re all exaggerating.”

I responded shyly to them, then grabbed a handkerchief and gloves. After finishing all the preparations like that, I sat in front of the dressing table and substituted a meal with a short eclair and tea brought by the maids.

While focusing on eating carefully so as not to ruin my makeup, my gaze suddenly fell on the closed drawer of the dressing table.

‘Come to think of it, the Duke told me yesterday to bring the brooch he gave me to tomorrow’s party.’

I kept my gaze fixed on the closed drawer as I thought.

I didn’t know what the Duke’s intentions were, but it seemed there must be some reason for that taciturn person to make such a request. In the end, I opened the locked drawer and wrapped the sapphire brooch in a handkerchief, pushing it into my bosom.

“Miss! Leonard is here! Seeing that he came with a very large carriage, I think he’s going to the Imperial Palace with you!”

At that moment, Annie’s excited voice was heard from outside the door.

I forcibly smoothed out my expression that was involuntarily distorting as I answered that voice.

“Okay, Annie. I understand, so hurry in and support me.”

I took Annie’s hand and went out, passing through the annex entrance. Crossing the path to the front gate of the mansion, the coachman and servants were already standing in front of the carriage ready to depart for the Imperial Palace.

Among them were Leonard’s carriage, Leonard, and his servants. I forced a smile that wouldn’t rise and called out to him.

“Leonard!”

Leonard turned his head at my voice.

When he saw me all dressed up, his eyes widened and he exclaimed admiringly.

“Wow, you! Christine, you look so beautiful today? Just like a goddess statue made of gold and diamonds! You also look like a freshly bloomed white rose!”

“Thank you for the compliment, Leonard. You look handsome too.”

I said words I didn’t mean as I looked him over once. His short brown hair neatly combed back to show his kind amber eyes and clean forehead, and the red and gold formal wear with a light yellow topaz medal symbolizing the heir of Duke Klein’s family didn’t quite suit his impression. To be honest, perhaps because the clothes were too fancy, they made his gentle impression even more vague.

‘If it were me from my past life, I might have thought even this version of him was cute.’

After realizing the ugly true face hidden behind his kind mask and withdrawing my blind love for him, Leonard’s appearance felt disgusting and unsightly. I tried hard to hide my disgust towards him and smiled at him.

Then Leonard blushed bright red all over his face like a shy boy and said to me.