“Oh my, hello.”

Mercedes stood up and greeted them with a bright voice.

The young lady smiled brightly and bowed to Mercedes along with her partner. Judging by their resemblance, her partner seemed to be her brother.

“I’m Reina from the Marquis Lawrence family. Hehe. I’m sorry the timing of my approach is a bit awkward. Actually, His Majesty wouldn’t leave your side so I was a bit scared to come over and waited. I apologize for watching you.”

“Oh no, not at all! If I had known, I would have asked His Majesty to get a drink a bit sooner. Please don’t apologize.”

“Wow, I’m so grateful…! Actually, Marquis Marshall’s banquet is always a bit, you know, for unmarried ladies like us. So this time, we promised to gather with ladies of similar age to look out for each other. I’m alone, would you like to join us?”

Reina shyly introduced herself and asked.

At the table she pointed to, young ladies were gathered. They all seemed to be slightly younger than Mercedes, around the same age.

There were also men escorting them interspersed, and most resembled Reina’s partner, so they seemed to be their brothers just like in Reina’s case.

“Um… Everyone is curious because they heard Lady Mercedes will soon become Her Majesty the Empress.”

“Ah! It’s embarrassing but yes, that’s what happened.”

Mercedes smiled and examined the table Reina pointed to.

Most of the ladies gave a neat and polite impression. So much so that they felt very out of place in this banquet hall.

It looked quite nice for her to go there.

It was also an opportunity to expand her social network with peers.

However, the ladies were burdened by the Emperor accompanying her. Then she would have to leave Carlos.

Her partner wouldn’t be a problem even without Carlos.

Because there was one more person to escort her while crossing this dangerous banquet hall.

It was the captain of the Emperor’s royal guard.

Of course the guard captain, who was always by the Emperor’s side these days, accompanied them to the banquet. And today, he even brought the vice-captain for Mercedes’s sake. He said he was very worried since the banquet had such a bad reputation.

So she could ask the vice-captain to escort her and go.

What should she do? His words telling her not to leave his side came to mind.

She pressed her fingertips hard with her nails.

‘No. Maybe it’s for the best. It looks safe over there, and it feels uncomfortable to only be by his side…’

It was like an invisible thorn constantly pricking her heart. It would be too mentally exhausting to stick together the entire lengthy banquet, unlike a meal that ends and parts ways quickly.

“I’m so happy you invited me! I’ll definitely go.”

In the end, Mercedes decided to choose a place that would be even a little less uncomfortable.

“I’ll tell His Majesty to rest for a bit and go escorted by this knight here. Then it should be fine for you too, Lady Reina, right?”

Perhaps moved that she noticed and considerately accommodated their discomfort, Reina’s eyes lit up and she nodded vigorously.

“Really? That’s a relief…! Thank you for your great consideration as well.”

Reina clapped her hands and held Mercedes’s hand.

“Actually, I wanted to make a lot of friends too. I’ll go tell His Majesty when he returns.”

“Yes! Then I’ll wait! Lady Mercedes!”

Pointing to the table where the ladies were gathered once more to let her know the location, Reina left.

There was a reason she decided to wait for Carlos and tell him directly.

She didn’t want to show that she was avoiding him because of her feelings. So she thought it would be better to tell him in person before going.

“His Majesty is taking a while to return.”

But it was strange. She waited a fair amount but Carlos still wasn’t coming back.

It was enough time to pick up two champagne glasses and return.

The vice-captain nodded.

“It seems he met someone. There are many nobles desperate to talk to His Majesty after all.”

He then responded in a flat voice.

‘Who… did he meet?’

Her mind snagged on the vice-captain’s words for a moment. But she quickly shook it off.

It was because it had become an awkward amount of time to keep the ladies who invited her waiting any longer. She didn’t have the luxury to dwell on other thoughts.

Since she was the one who said she would go, she had to mind her manners. Mercedes stood up from her seat without waiting for Carlos any longer.

“It’s gotten too delayed. Please escort me, Vice-Captain. And if you find His Majesty, can you let him know my location?”

“The escort is of course possible, but I cannot leave your side to look for His Majesty. He ordered me to never leave Lady Mercedes’s side.”

The vice-captain spoke firmly. Hmm. If he doesn’t relay the message, I wonder if our paths will get tangled. As Mercedes worried, she opened her mouth.

“Then if you see His Majesty returning to his seat, please go and relay the message then at least.”

“Mm. Yes, understood.”

The vice-captain seemed to think that much was alright and nodded, offering his arm to escort her.

As the sculptural beauty who had only been sitting at the table started moving, people’s gazes naturally focused on her. There were also gazes blatantly raking over her body.

It was something she was used to, so it didn’t even sting for Mercedes.

And right then.

“Lady Mercedes.”

An unfamiliar form of address was heard. It was a form of address she had never heard even once in high society, due to debuting and immediately being chosen as the crown prince’s woman.

She looked at the man standing in front of her. He was quite a lively handsome man.

“Hello. I am Marquis Nantes.”

“Hello, Marquis Nantes. I am-”

“I know. Who doesn’t know! The Empire’s moon. Lady Mercedes. You are beautiful as always today as well.”

Marquis Nantes held out his hand to her.

He was going to kiss the back of her hand after she placed hers in his.

It was a common etiquette but somehow she didn’t want to offer her hand.

Mercedes furtively glanced at the vice-captain. He was also scanning the surroundings with eyes that had rapidly grown wary.

Certainly.

The fabrics draped here and there in the banquet hall concealed people’s figures very well.

Even though it seemed like nothing much, it was easy for them to obstruct one’s vision, and it was annoying to walk through so one’s movements easily got disrupted. Someone had probably tripped over them several times.

In the end, Mercedes ignored Marquis Nantes’s hand, worried an accident might occur if she took it.

There was also the fact that she felt wary of him suddenly approaching her.

And it was fine for a lady to refuse a hand-kiss, as it wasn’t a breach of etiquette.

Marquis Nantes hid his awkward expression and laughed before throwing out a question this time.

“Lady Mercedes. Won’t you dance the second dance with me?”

Dancing could be done with a stranger without being gossiped about. It was like that in Shame as well. Because dancing also held the meaning of socializing.

“Oh dear. Marquis Nantes. I’m so sorry! I have friends waiting for me so I’m in a rush to get there.”

But she refused him with a bright smile.

No matter what, she had no intention of creating a situation she absolutely could not control.

At that, Marquis Nantes’s expression momentarily stiffened. Somehow she felt wary and strangely disliked him.

As soon as Mercedes saw his face, she realized.

That man had not requested a dance for the purpose of socializing.

The gaze of men who “wanted” her all the more because she was the crown prince’s woman. Marquis Nantes’s eyes resembled that.

Mercedes clearly imprinted the marquis’s face in her mind and added him to her mental list of people to avoid in the future.

“Oh dear. Then I shall aim for the next opportunity to dance with the lady. Please do dance with me.”

“His Majesty has strong monopolizing tendencies so I don’t know if it will be alright. It would be an honor for me though!”

She purposely laughed loudly. Marquis Nantes politely bowed and withdrew.

“Vice-Captain. Can we move quickly?”

As soon as the marquis disappeared, she whispered to the vice-captain. The vice-captain nodded with keen eyes.

“Yes. That would be good.”

Fellows like Marquis Nantes gathering would only be annoying.

Mercedes held the vice-captain’s arm like a lifeline and the vice-captain agilely moved while alertly surveying the surroundings.

It was quick to Reina’s table but her feet quickly got tired from having to swiftly move so much.

Still, she felt relieved to be able to arrive at the table soon.

Though it was a bit tiring to have to act differently, at least it seemed nothing dangerous would happen at this table.

“Lady Mercedes!”

As soon as Mercedes arrived, the ladies and their partners stood up to greet her. Looking closely, there were some familiar faces.

‘Now that I see, there are also those who used to glare at me before the Empress announcement.’

It wasn’t surprising for them to change their tune. As the new Emperor’s first Empress. They were probably desperate to at least gain a position as her lady-in-waiting.

And Mercedes wasn’t displeased but rather glad they blatantly changed their attitude like this. They likely wouldn’t pick pointless fights or be annoying.

‘And lady’s maids… It’s not bad to look out for some in advance.’

Once she became Empress, she would inevitably have to increase the number of her ladies-in-waiting.

She tried to sit anywhere there was an empty seat at the table. But everyone wouldn’t leave her alone, and she ended up sitting in the center.

“This seat is too embarrassing!”

Mercedes burst into a shy laugh as she sat in the middle.

“We invited you, so of course you should sit in the center! You’re the main character.”

“What in the world is the satin fabric of the dress you’re wearing? It’s so beautiful, Lady Mercedes! You could take off your jacket.”

“Ah, I get cold easily so His Majesty gave it to me before leaving. And this dress’s fabric is-”

Information about the fabric flowed smoothly from Mercedes’s mouth. It was exactly the details she had leaked to Nadia in advance.

After that, she chatted quite well with everyone.

And Carlos.

Still had not returned.