With a heavy sound, the door opened, revealing the Empire’s one and only Grand Duke, Boreas Adrian, and his wife, Selene Adrian.

All those who saw the two entering arm in arm momentarily held their breath. A brief silence fell over the vast hall. But soon the atmosphere became unsettled with exclamations of admiration.

The appearance of the supposedly mad Grand Duchess completely defied everyone’s expectations.

Glimpses of snow-white skin peeked through the flowing folds of her dress as she walked. Moreover, the light pink makeup accentuated her already striking features.

Surprise, shock, admiration, envy, jealousy, disapproval, discontent. Various emotions filled the gazes directed at this one woman.

Men stared as if bewitched, while women elbowed them and cast envious glances. Though individual reactions varied, they all ultimately arrived at the same thought.

‘Was she always this beautiful?’

Most, whose minds were more deeply imprinted with the image of a Grand Duchess gripped by madness, couldn’t take their eyes off this unfamiliar woman.

Strangely, though unfamiliar, this appearance suited her oddly well. Along with the Grand Duke in uniform beside her, they were the most radiant couple. Upon spotting the Crown Prince at the upper seat, the two approached him and greeted him.

“We congratulate Your Highness on the birth of the little sun.”

The two exclaimed in unison. The Crown Prince, who had seemed dazed, belatedly gathered himself and replied.

“Indeed. You must be tired from your long journey, Grand Duke and… Grand Duchess. I hope you have an enjoyable time.”

Selene raised her head and took in the man with shimmering golden hair. Their gazes met with a click, and at that moment, his voice seemed to falter briefly.

His eyes, as if studded with starlight, were striking. Unlike the colorless man beside her, this was a vivid man painted with color. Such was Selene’s first impression of the Crown Prince. After leaving this mundane impression, Selene soon lost interest and bowed her head.

* * *

An hour into the full-fledged banquet, Selene was struggling with severe fatigue.

Getting up at dawn to dress up is no easy task. I momentarily forgot, having been away from this culture for so long. The tightly laced corset made it difficult to breathe, and the forcibly worn high-heeled shoes made her toes tingle.

‘It’s stifling.’

The murmuring noises, uncomfortable attire, and etiquette-bound posture. This obsessive harmony made Selene feel extremely suffocated in this place.

After exchanging greetings a few times, her mouth corners began to twitch, so Selene, who had fled to a corner, was now sipping her glass while ignoring the subtle glances from the nobles.

Please look for another lady. I cannot dance.

As Selene scanned her surroundings with bored eyes, she suddenly looked up.

At the front of the second-floor balustrade, her old friends were gathered, engaged in some conversation.

The atmosphere seemed quite convivial. Whatever conversation they were having must have been so amusing that their laughter seemed to reach her ears.

‘It’s been a while.’

Perhaps because they were meeting again after crossing lifetimes, it felt fresh in many ways.

Johan with his great sociability, the calm and composed Nocturne, Carloi who loves indolence, Yulio who loves God. Including Boreas, these were once friends who spent their school days together.

In the past, she might have felt betrayed by them, but now… there was only a slight regret and bitterness.

Selene rolled her eyes again, this time looking at Boreas.

He was chatting with the powerbrokers, maintaining his gentlemanly smile.

The smile on his lips was impeccably neat. Even if it was an artificial smile, it was far better to look at than a crooked mouth.

Boreas Adrian, he truly did just what needed to be done, and let go of his wife’s hand. If there hadn’t been a custom that the first dance of the party should be shared by couples or lovers, there wouldn’t have been any hand-holding with him at all.

The skin that had touched out of obligation was infinitely cold. Was it because the season called winter was almost over, yet the days were still quite chilly? Selene was about to clasp her hands together, still feeling cold, but stopped.

Further contemplation is meaningless.

“…It’s empty.”

Realizing her glass was empty as she tilted it, Selene frowned, pondering something.

* * *

Meanwhile, there were gazes that continued to observe her.

“Just now, the Grand Duchess was staring intently at that upper floor. Regret was dripping from her eyes.”

“Don’t you remember two years ago? She was quiet like that, then suddenly overturned the table.”

“When you think about it, the Grand Duchess is pitiable. Abandoned, and all the men have gone to other women.”

The gathering, ostensibly to chat, was in fact to prepare for gossiping while expecting someone’s outburst. It wasn’t just the noble ladies.

Even the young nobles who had just moved up to the capital were throwing signals with their eyes at the lone Selene. To them, Selene, whom they saw for the first time today, was a lonely angel fallen from the sky.

The grace and atmosphere she exuded were of a kind not easily approachable.

Is she really that rumored ‘Grand Duchess’? Surely it must be a false rumor.

‘She’s frowning. Could something sad have happened?’

‘Has something serious occurred? Why such sorrowful eyes…’

Wistful gazes were directed at her.

Meanwhile, ‘she’ who was the focus of those profound gazes was pondering. Really, seriously.

‘Should I eat cake? Or cookies?’

The interest she had consciously diverted just to erase Boreas from her sight had now become real, plunging her into a dilemma.

Selene carefully surveyed the upper right diagonal. There, various desserts and drinks were displayed, each looking exquisite.

‘That chocolate cake looks too sweet, wouldn’t raspberry cookies be better?’

You should eat sweet things later to better taste the less sweet ones.

‘Right. Let’s eat cookies first.’

Having made a decision using her outstanding analytical skills, she finally took a step after about ten minutes.

The gazes watching her brightened. Where is she going? To the second floor where people are chatting and laughing?

However, the place the Grand Duchess arrived at was neither the second floor nor the exit, but in front of a side table.

‘…Huh?’

The woman who arrived there neither slapped anyone’s face nor overturned the table.

‘What’s this?’

She just started eating desserts.

* * *

“Grand Duke?”

“Ah, I apologize. What were you saying?”

“I was wondering who you were looking at, and it turns out it’s your wife. You must love her very much, haha.”

The briefly forgotten presence was Derick, a diplomat from the Kingdom of Serendel, which was trading with the Empire. Although rumors about the Grand Duchess were quite famous within the Empire’s social circles, to the extent that there was no one who didn’t know, that fame hadn’t spread across the sea to foreign countries.

Derick, who likely hadn’t heard any rumors about the relationship between the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess, and Boreas, who didn’t add any words to the misunderstanding caused by his unconscious action.

He only wore a smile on his face that he had learned to put on well through years of experience.

Showing a business-like smile, Boreas offered a handshake to Derick.

“I hope the good impression you’ve formed of me will be beneficial to the trade between our two countries.”

After finishing the conversation, he shifted his gaze back to Selene. Then, the bright smile that bloomed on the woman’s lips came into view.

Perhaps because it was a smile he hadn’t seen in a very long time? He silently gazed at the smile that had blossomed on her beautiful face for a moment.

Her two cheeks, tinged with rose, were fresh, and her chewing appearance looked as innocent as a child eating candy, munching diligently.

“…”

As he watched that sight, suddenly, a day from the past flashed in his mind when she had smiled brightly and said that she liked all sweet things indiscriminately, so if one wanted to appease her, they should feed her sweets.

It was a moment when memories of the past that he had tried to bury resurfaced. This was the first ripple that occurred in his heart.