She didn’t want to look, but her eyes naturally went to the table where he had been before. Other people had now come and sat at that table.

Somehow, she felt empty inside.

‘Telling me to stay close to him, and then…’

Who on earth did he go to meet? She had no idea.

Was it a close friend, or did he have some urgent business, or was someone keeping him occupied?

Why did she know so little about Carlos? She couldn’t even guess.

Could it be… that some woman had approached him?

Beneath the well-crafted mask of the ‘other Mercedes’, her true feelings sank endlessly.

“−So in the end, I bought that hat. Father let out a sigh.”

“Really? My goodness. No matter how I think about it, your taste is quite unique, young lady.”

“Oh my? Will you say that I have an excellent artistic eye?”

Meanwhile, the young ladies and their partners were chatting very merrily. Mercedes tried to fit in among them, smiling so much that her mouth nearly went into spasms.

As she was getting tired like that, in that moment−

Carlos caught her eye.

She could tell just from his back.

He, who was quite far away… was dancing with someone.

The lady he was with was obscured by the fabric decorations and wasn’t clearly visible. To others, it might look different, but to Mercedes, it looked like they were dancing very intimately and closely.

‘He’s dancing.’

Was the reason he didn’t come back because he wanted to dance with someone else?

‘…Right, of course.’

It’s no big deal. It’s only natural.

No matter how much of an emperor he is, there will be moments when it’s difficult to refuse an invitation to dance. Maybe there was a nobleman whose favor he needed to gain, so he danced with his daughter, or maybe there was pressure from the atmosphere.

Things like that.

But something boiled up inside Mercedes’ heart.

‘He told me not to leave his side. He said other women wouldn’t even catch his eye.’

Her emotions plummeted to the very bottom. Being mindful of how she had been doing a poor job of managing her expressions lately, she paid the utmost attention to her expression.

“Ah, dear me. I think I need to rest for a bit.”

And she made an excuse about ‘going to the powder room’.

Having to entertain the young ladies in her tired state, and seeing Carlos acting like that on top of it, she couldn’t endure it any longer. Whether she went to the carriage to rest with the support of her guard, or found a seat in some corner−

She just wanted to rest alone.

“Ah! Yes. Lady Mercedes.”

The young ladies smiled and let her go.

Mercedes got up from her seat, leaning on her guard, and moved to leave the hall.

“…Lady Mercedes.”

But once again, a bothersome person approached.

It was Count Nantes, more heavily drunk than before.

“Count.”

Mercedes was instantly on guard against him and took a step back. The guard also took a step forward as if to protect her.

“Dance… with me. His Majesty is also, dancing like that over there. What’s so difficult about it?”

Count Nantes’ tone had now changed to that of a street thug. This seemed to be his true nature.

“Unfortunately, the fatigue from the banquet has built up, so it would be too much for me to dance. Please understand.”

Mercedes discarded her innocent facade and brought out her firm way of speaking to respond to him.

As soon as he heard her rejection, Count Nantes’ eyes lit up with anger.

“A mere trifle… no, that’s not it. Is dancing that difficult? Huh?”

The contents of Count Nantes’ muttering to himself were clearly disparaging towards Mercedes.

She had a low status, so it didn’t really matter if she was subjected to such disparagement, but the problem was that the emperor was backing her.

‘What is he trying to do?’

Mercedes gripped her guard’s arm tightly and spoke again, politely but coldly.

“Yes. It is difficult for me right now. You seem to be quite drunk, so why don’t you go back for today.”

“Pride… dirty… stro… needless…”

Count Nantes muttered something with hazy eyes. The banquet hall was noisy and his voice was low, so it was hard to hear properly.

“We have to go.”

Sensing the danger, Mercedes moved a little forward to whisper to her guard.

No matter how much she was the emperor’s woman, she didn’t have a proper status yet. It was ambiguous for her to act strongly against a count, and she didn’t want to get further involved either.

“Yes.”

The guard also calmly replied and tried to make a path.

And at that moment, Count Nantes moved with an agility unbelievable for a drunk person.

His long arm stretched out towards her in a flash. How many people had grabbed her like that? For a moment, Mercedes was gripped by the terror of the past.

But fortunately, the guard managed to prevent that situation. Judging from the count’s posture, it seemed like he was trying to pull her into his arms. If the guard hadn’t been there… what would have happened? A chill ran down Mercedes’ spine.

“What do you think you’re doing? Step back.”

The guard spoke firmly. Pushed back, Count Nantes now opened his eyes wide and ranted.

“You, a knight? A mere thing like you… blocking me, a nobleman? Who do you think you are?”

“It is the emperor’s order to protect the vicinity of Lady Mercedes. Are you daring to object to the emperor’s command?”

“No, what did I even do? I just asked her to dance!”

Fortunately, the direct threat to her was blocked, but another problem arose. Count Nantes’ drunken voice was getting louder and louder.

‘…This won’t do.’

At least it was fortunate that there were lots of fabric draped around. The situation wouldn’t be clearly visible because it was obscured by the fabric.

The very thing that had felt dangerous until now was protecting her from the gazes of others; it was quite ironic.

However, there was a limit to how much the fabric could conceal. The persistent and strange gazes were following them.

If louder noises started coming out now, gossip would be generated in an instant.

It was a story detached from reality to say that there would be no impact on this side just because Count Nantes caused a disturbance while drunk.

Absurd things like, ‘It seems Count Nantes has fallen hard for her? As expected of a seductress who ensnared the emperor, she must have been seducing the men,’ could come out.

Especially if someone jealous of her added, ‘I also saw her being unusually friendly with the gentlemen’… It would spread like wildfire.

It was unfair, but that was the reality.

Mercedes didn’t care what kind of rumors came out. However, with the empress’ investiture ahead, she had to be careful about rumors regarding ‘relationships with men’.

The guard also knew that, so he tried to drag Count Nantes out as quietly as possible.

But the drunk count seemed like he would lose control of his body and collapse right there.

Then it would become even more of a commotion. The guard, with an irritated look, supported Count Nantes and held him tightly so that he wouldn’t lunge at Mercedes.

“It’s nothing much. Just a dance. Huh? You refuse even a kiss on the hand, am I dirty to you?”

Mercedes had heard nothing about Count Nantes and didn’t know him at all. But she noticed a strange sense of inferiority flickering in his eyes as well.

There seemed to be something there. However, finding that out was a matter for later.

“Count. Maintain propriety and decorum and step back.”

Mercedes spoke to him firmly, as if admonishing him.

“Ha. Acting so high and mighty in such a filthy way.”

The guard thought that he should drag the count out, even if it meant risking a bit of a commotion. With his strength, it wouldn’t be difficult to carry a man out on his shoulder.

But he was worried about leaving Mercedes alone for a moment.

‘It’ll be fine if I move quickly.’

The guard finished his thought and was about to move. At that moment−

“−How dare you, Count?”

A low, seething voice was heard.

At the same time, Mercedes’ tension dissipated with a snap.

“My Mercedes. You were here. I’ve been looking for you for a while.”

Carlos gently wrapped his arm around Mercedes’ shoulder, placing her behind him, and faced Count Nantes.

“Dear me. You, if you’re that drunk, you should go home at a reasonable hour. What kind of unsightly behavior is this?”

Then he grabbed the count’s shoulder and pressed down firmly with his hand.

His grip strength was so strong that a cracking sound came from the count’s shoulder, and he nearly collapsed. At the very least, his shoulder bone seemed to have been dislocated.

“Aargh−”

As the count, startled by the pain, was about to scream and crumble, Carlos stomped hard on the toe of the count’s shoe and forcibly pulled him up, warning in a low voice.

“Shh. If you make even a slightly louder noise, you’ll face a greater price, Count. You can endure this much pain, can’t you? Hmm? If you can’t even bear this much after daring to be rude to our woman, it would be disappointing.”

Carlos threatened him with a smile.

Count Nantes, who had been making a scene in front of the royal guards and Mercedes, who had lower ranks than him, without fear, shut his mouth in an instant.

It probably wasn’t because of their status.

Carlos’ aura was extremely ominous. Even Mercedes, standing behind him and unable to see his expression, felt overwhelmed by it.

“Try running your mouth somewhere. We are persistent. Did I seem easy to deal with because I’ve been acting too meekly in social circles? I even had the childish nickname of ‘Blood Drinker’. Remember that. Count.”

As Carlos stopped speaking, Count Nantes, who had been facing him, made strange noises like ‘ugh’, ‘uh’, then barely bowed and ran away.

“That son of a bitch…”

Carlos growled like a beast as he watched his retreating figure. The guard, relieved to be out of the difficult situation, let out a sigh and asked.

“From that far away, you could see this fight?”

“I’ve been keeping an eye on Mercedes’ side this whole time. There were quite a few strange hyenas. Damn creatures… I came as fast as I could, but it seems I was too late. I’m sorry. Are you alright?”

Carlos moved to face her and lowered his head slightly. His black eyes were filled with worry as he checked on Mercedes.

‘…Confirming my safety while dancing with someone else?’

Mercedes nearly let out a ‘ha’ and laughed.