“Are you….”

I was about to ask if he was alright, but closed my mouth. His widened pupils trembled right before my eyes.

Ian slowly blinked as if trying to grasp the situation, then suddenly took a rough breath.

“I apologize.”

His face, which had been close enough that our noses almost touched, instantly moved away. Ian, who had risen first from on top of me, immediately helped me up.

“I should be the one apologizing. I suddenly lost my balance….”

As I suddenly remembered his breath brushing my lips, embarrassment crept in.

I almost stole Ian’s lips, didn’t I?

“No, I….”

Ian ruffled his hair with a somewhat pained expression, then abruptly turned his gaze to me. His eyes, which scanned me from head to toe, were filled with anxiety.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

Apart from my left ankle twisting slightly because of my shoes, I was fine. It was thanks to Ian quickly protecting my head and back.

Huh?

I thought my left foot felt particularly cool, and realized I was barefoot.

“I’m fine. Are you hurt anywhere?”

I asked, trying to appear calm, while my eyes busily searched for my shoe. One of the shoes that had slipped off was precariously hanging on the balcony railing.

As I picked up Ian’s coat that had fallen to the floor and tried to discreetly move, Ian was suddenly in front of me.

“Were you looking for this?”

In Ian’s hand as he turned around was my shoe. He approached me and knelt on one knee without the slightest hesitation.

“Um…. I’ll put it on myself.”

“Is it uncomfortable?”

“Not really, but….”

A bit embarrassing, I should say.

“Then may I put it on for you?”

Did he eat something wrong today?

Even thinking back to the beginning of the original story, I don’t think he was the type to be so attentive to women.

As I tilted my head and slightly lifted the hem of my dress, a very gentle touch brushed my ankle before quickly moving away.

“And I’m fine.”

“Huh?”

Ah, that was the answer to my question about whether he was hurt.

I carefully examined Ian as he rose from the floor. Despite his answer that he was fine, his expression was somewhat ambiguous.

“Are you really okay?”

When I narrowed my eyes and asked, Ian rotated his shoulders and arms to show me.

Is he copying what I did in front of Raymond?

“I’m not as weak as you worry, senior.”

I thought it was a joke, but his face was quite serious. I burst out laughing through my teeth, then met his eyes and spoke.

“…Thank you.”

When I smiled brightly, a faint hint of a smile appeared in Ian’s eyes as well.

“By the way, who’s outside that we can’t go out?”

“My mother.”

“Your mother….”

“To be precise, I should say my stepmother.”

Through the slight gap in the incompletely closed curtains, I could see Olivia and David. Olivia, who had been talking to him at a slight distance, soon turned away first.

It seems Olivia has already discarded the David card.

David, left alone, seemed flustered, spinning in place not knowing what to do, then hurriedly left.

“I think we can go out now. Oh, right. I’ll return this.”

Ian, who received the coat from me, hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“I think I should be going now.”

“Already?”

What did I just say?

Daisy was here at this party today. If Edwin was also attending, it would be a perfect opportunity for the two to build a friendship, so I needed to either keep Ian out of their sight or send him away quickly.

That way, I could prevent any variables that might arise because of Ian.

“Do you want me to stay longer?”

Ian, who had put on his mask at some point, asked while grasping the tips of my fingers. His voice was as fluid as a soft curve.

“It just seems like you’re leaving earlier than I expected, considering you just arrived.”

“Actually, there’s someone I shouldn’t meet here today.”

“Who’s that?”

“Someone who tries to take things from me indiscriminately….”

Ian’s last words were close to a mumble and inaudible.

“Huh?”

When I asked again, Ian just silently gazed at me.

“Even with a mask on, they’ll recognize me, so I should leave before running into them.”

“I see. Then you should go.”

“I’ll see you at the knights’ order, senior.”

Ian hesitated for a long time as if reluctant to leave, then jumped off the terrace.

As I watched his retreating figure, a question suddenly occurred to me.

If there’s someone he shouldn’t meet, why did he come to the party in the first place?

In any case, having successfully gotten rid of the stringy David, Ian’s presence here was a boon for me.

“Thank you for today, Ian.”

My small voice, which wouldn’t reach him, floated in the air before fading away.

*

“Red hair. Red hair….”

By now, the second part had begun, so everyone was wearing masks. If it were the usual Rosebelia, she would have left long ago, but I had something to do.

I searched every corner of the banquet hall for Edwin, but for some reason, a man with red hair was hardly visible to my eyes.

Did Edwin not come?

“Lady Daisy, is that you?”

Daisy?

Adjusting my mask that was about to slip down, I turned towards the voice. Three women were standing in front of Daisy.

Wait? If it’s three people, could this group be…

“Who are you?”

“My, is it because it’s been too long that you don’t recognize me?”

“Ah, could it be…”

“That’s right, I’m Camilla Maynolds.”

Camilla Maynolds?

That nasty girl who subtly criticized Daisy in the original story?

Daisy, being weak in health, rarely attended parties, and even when she did, she didn’t stay long. It was because of that Camilla.

The Maynolds duchy was a force openly supporting the second prince, and they were at odds with the Elizer duchy, which maintained neutrality in the succession structure.

Daisy and Camilla were the same age, so they were close to being rivals from birth, and Camilla noticeably checked Daisy.

In the original story, there had never been a woman by Ian’s side, so there was no sub-heroine, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t any bothersome presences.

If I had to pick a villainess from the novel, it would be that Camilla.

“Ah, so it was Lady Camilla.”

Was Camilla the second prince’s fiancée?

Come to think of it, I think I heard that the second prince was coming to this event today…

Could the person Ian didn’t want to encounter be the second prince?

“It seems Lady Daisy isn’t very interested in me.”

“I couldn’t recognize you right away because you’re wearing a mask.”

“I recognized Lady Daisy at a glance even though you’re wearing a mask. I heard you haven’t been well recently, I guess that rumor was true.”

Wow, is she really saying that just because Daisy didn’t recognize her right away?

“No, I’m fine now.”

When Daisy spoke firmly, Camilla seemed slightly taken aback. Daisy looked straight at Camilla and spoke again.

“I don’t think it’s that I have little interest in you, Lady Camilla, but rather that you have excessive interest in me.”

Did Daisy just say that? In the original story, Daisy never spoke to Camilla like this.

“What did you say?”

The glass Camilla was holding shook at Daisy’s unexpected counterattack. Noticing the wine inside swirling, I discreetly approached them.

“From my experience, finding someone among many people is never an easy task. But you always find me first like this, so if that’s not excessive interest…”

Camilla, who was trembling, tried to force a smile and gave a subtle glance to the woman standing behind her.

The woman who noticed Camilla’s intention slightly pushed Camilla’s back.

“Oh my!”

I approached behind Daisy and gently pulled her towards me.

At that moment, Camilla, who had intended to pretend to fall and spill wine on Daisy, fell flat on the floor.

“Lady Rosebelia?”

Before I could answer Daisy’s question, I hurriedly raised my arm.

I clearly saw the wine scattering in the air, but for some reason, I didn’t feel the cold sensation.

What’s going on?

As I furrowed my brow and was about to lower my arm, a familiar voice descended.

“Are both ladies alright?”

And then, my vision was filled with red.