Diana tilted her glass, observing Nathaniel’s appearance.

He spun the glass, looked at it, and called a passing servant to stop.

Then he handed over the glass.

The servant took the glass and left his place as if it was a common occurrence.

Diana felt her mind go blank at the thought of being ignored.

Since coming to the capital, many nobles had ignored Diana.

But it was the first time that someone treated her as if she didn’t exist in front of her face.

“Did you not like the champagne I brought?”

The other person was the crown prince.

Diana was not someone she could get angry at for being insulted.

She tried to sidestep the issue as much as possible.

Now Diana was not a pitiful country bumpkin who had just come up from the countryside.

“Not particularly.”

But Nathaniel was someone who didn’t care about such things.

It was Jaina who discerned the other party’s intention.

“Shall I bring you another drink? If there is something you like.”

“No, it will be the same no matter what you bring. I don’t eat what others bring me.”

Some said Nathaniel’s attitude towards others had softened, but his deeprooted distrust didn’t disappear easily.

If it wasn’t brought by Jaina herself, he still refused food.

An experience of almost being poisoned as a child had deformed his eating habits.

But Diana couldn’t have known this.

And Nathaniel had no intention of telling her.

In the end, Diana left her place with a flushed face.

Nathaniel, left alone, leaned against the wall, satisfied with the finally quiet surroundings.

(This is a time separator.)

I thought only good things would happen.

I ran down the corridor with Casian towards the lounge.

When I swung open the door, the sight of Teresa lying on a long sofa caught my eye.

She raised her body, noticing someone had entered the room.

“Your Highness.”

“You can just stay lying down.”

I quickly went next to Teresa.

She looked sick at a glance.

“Are you feeling better? I told you not to overdo it.”

“Haha, I thought I was better, but maybe the fever came back because the dress is thin.”

Casian responded to Teresa’s words incredulously.

“It’s longsleeved and suitable for autumn, how could it be thin.”

I thought so too.

Moreover, the Imperial City always maintained a warm temperature using magic stones.

“It seems that you haven’t fully recovered from being sick then.”

“I was really fine before leaving the mansion……. I’m sorry to have worried you.”

Teresa, perhaps dizzy, paused for a moment.

“I’ll get someone to accompany you, so just wait a little. Don’t faint like last time.”

I felt sorry, thinking that she might have strained herself because of me.

“I’m fine…….”

“No. I have a partner today, so I can’t come to rescue you.”

With Casian also chiming in, Teresa finally nodded her head.

I called a maid and entrusted Teresa’s care to her.

“You must return to His Highness quickly. He must be bored alone.”

Thinking of Nathaniel standing there alone, I felt worried.

In the end, Casian and I went back to the ballroom first.

Nathaniel was leaning against the wall, quietly closing his eyes.

His surroundings were buzzing with people trying to talk to him somehow.

I pushed through such people and approached Nathaniel.

The stubbornly closed lips and wrinkled brows revealed his low mood.

“Nathaniel?”

My voice made his expression melt as if snow in the spring sun.

Nathaniel looked down at me, his eyes curling prettily.

“Where’s your friend?”

“I decided to send her back first. She says it’s not serious…….”

“Should I check?”

I widened my eyes at his words.

“You don’t have healing abilities, Nathaniel.”

“I may not know how to heal, but I can at least find the reason.”

“Really?”

He nodded his head and patted my back.

“I’ll ask you next time if she gets sick again. It could just be a cold.”

“Yeah, then.”

Nathaniel smiled affectionately and grabbed my hand.

He playfully pulled me into a hug and whispered.

“So now will you focus on me?”
A snort escaped me at the tone that sounded offended.

The pressure that had been weighing on my shoulders until just now seemed to have flown away with his single word.

I clenched the hand I was holding tightly.

We headed towards a floor filled with people.

Now it was really time to enjoy ourselves.

(This is a time divider.)

Teresa’s vision spun as she headed for the carriage.

A maid rushed over, her face full of worry, leaning against the wall.

“Are you alright?”

“Haah, I’ll sit down and rest for a moment.”

‘Why is this so exhausting…….’

Sweat trickled down her face, perhaps from the heat.

Seeing Teresa’s condition, the maid hurried to fetch some water.

Teresa, sitting on the railing and looking at the garden, turned her body at the sound of someone approaching.

“Teresa?”

Him again.

What a vexing connection.

She was even more annoyed because it seemed like she had been seeing him more often lately.

Teresa tried to avoid him by getting up from her seat.

“Ah…….”

Cruelly, her body did not follow her. Her vision blurred, and she collapsed on the spot.