Lea’s plan to draw the attention of the distinguished guests at the banquet was successful.

However, the problem was that the continuous stream of dance requests from men became unmanageable. Yet, she hadn’t even danced with all those men.

“Grace, look only at me.”

Terran didn’t leave Grace’s side throughout the dance music. Whenever men tried to ask her for a dance, he would suddenly grab her hand, even in the middle of conversations with acquaintances.

“This seems to go against etiquette.”

Normally, at a ball, one was supposed to change partners while dancing.

But Terran despised the thought of another man’s hand touching Grace’s soft back.

“Who cares about etiquette? It’s not strange for me to dance with my fiancée.”

“That’s true, but…”

On one hand, Lea didn’t dislike his excessive attention.

However, Terran’s strategy to guard Grace was gradually crumbling.

Being the Duke of Rubeck, he had many occasions to greet the Emperor and foreign dignitaries.

In the meantime, Lea had to dance with quite a lot of men.

‘I need to improve the back area.’

The touch of men’s hands on her back wasn’t particularly pleasant.

It would be better if she decorated it with a row of jeweled strings or added a mesh that matched her skin tone.

Lea’s mind was full of people’s reactions and the discomfort of the dress or things to improve. Then she felt sharp gazes directed at her.

‘I’ve succeeded in capturing attention.’

Women gathered in small groups, glaring at Lea while hiding their faces behind fans. They must be busy badmouthing her among themselves. Moreover, they would think she had stolen all the men’s attention.

Although she hadn’t expected such a reaction, she couldn’t help but feel her face burning.

At that moment, as the dance music changed, an unfamiliar gentleman approached Lea.

“Would you grant me the honor of dancing with such a beautiful lady?”

He was a handsome man with red hair and delicate features. Though he seemed to have not quite shed his boyish charm, his movements and speech indicated he was an adult man.

“The honor is mine.”

Lea took the man’s hand and headed to the dance floor.

With a moderate height and an androgynous voice, he had a charm quite different from Terran, who exuded masculinity.

“I am Salame Roberto.”

“I’m Grace Bizac.”

Roberto was the family name of the Galdensia royal family. Could this handsome man before her possibly be a prince of Galdensia?

She had heard that Empress Teresa had many sons and daughters. But she didn’t know exactly which one of them the man before her was.

“I’ve been waiting for a while, hoping to dance with you as soon as I arrived at the banquet.”

Lea responded to Salame’s compliment with a smile.

But this man had, how should she put it, a peculiar charm. After pondering why, she finally found the answer.

‘He’s prettier than most women.’

“I hear you’re the fiancée of Duke Courtois?”

“That’s correct.”

“My, it seems all the beauties in the world belong to other men.”

“Other ladies would think the opposite.”

“What do you mean…?”

“That a handsome man like Lord Roberto belongs to another woman.”

Salame burst into laughter at Lea’s words. He laughed so loudly that people dancing nearby glanced over.

“I wish you were the woman who would have me.”

“You’re quite the jester.”

He was good at flirting subtly with an engaged woman. The fact that it didn’t feel unpleasant was probably due to his exceptionally clean and neat appearance and demeanor.

“Lady Bizac is my ideal type.”

‘How bold.’

He had the audacity to come on strong. Did it not matter that she was spoken for? If so, there might be a slight issue with his morality.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“I’m not so indiscriminate as to flirt with just any woman.”

Just as Lea was feeling awkward, the dance music ended.

The ball paused briefly, and the distinguished guests drank champagne, greeted each other, or engaged in conversation.

Lea politely bid farewell to Salame and headed towards the ladies’ lounge.

By now, many women would have been retouching their makeup or throwing off their high heels that pinched their feet. However, Lea couldn’t even enter the lounge.

Because through the long curtains of the lounge, she could hear talk about herself.

“Lady Bizac, isn’t she in the terminal stages of attention-seeking?”

“I know, right? She’s determined to seduce all the men.”

“And what about that vulgar dress?”

“I was embarrassed for her. So undignified.”

“How mortified Duke Courtois must have been, tsk tsk tsk—”

Lea didn’t have the confidence to face them nonchalantly. Perhaps such a bold dress was still too much.

All sorts of gossip and harsh criticism of her dress continued in the lounge.

“To wear a dress fit for a prostitute to a royal banquet.”

“She’s an attention seeker. Normal thinking is impossible for her.”

“She must be under the delusion that men are flocking to her because her dress is pretty.”

Lea turned and left. It seemed her plan for today was a complete failure.

In her view, her dress stood out the most among all the women’s dresses at the banquet. Above all, she found it hard to agree with the claim that it was vulgar.

‘This is a work of art. They all have their eyes on their feet.’

It seems her heart wasn’t broad enough to simply accept the harsh criticism. Rather than accepting it, she felt rebellious.

Lea, who had been standing in front of the lounge, headed back to the banquet hall. Quite a few men were waiting for her. She was overwhelmed by their rush to ask her for a dance.

Among them, one person most boldly took Lea’s hand.

“I’ve been waiting, Lady Bizac.”

Although he looked much younger than the other men, he was the most audacious. Was it because he was a prince?

However, Salame was also stopped after just a few steps.

“Now, please return my fiancée to me.”

Terran had already brought Grace to his side even as he spoke. Salame awkwardly smiled and disappeared.

“Terran, I’m tired. I want to go back.”

“Let’s do that.”

Seeing that Grace didn’t look well, he immediately escorted her out of the banquet hall.

* * *

Even in the carriage returning to the duke’s residence, Lea remained silent. The ladies’ harsh criticism of her dress couldn’t be erased from her mind.

“Next time, don’t wear that lace dress.”

“!?”

Lea was infuriated by Terran’s words. She wondered if there was any need for even Terran to scratch at her wounds.

“Why? It’s just pretty.”

“I want to tear it apart.”

“Ha! How can you say that?”

It was more humiliating than being called a vulgar prostitute or an attention-seeker who wasn’t in her right mind.

Did Terran also judge her with the same eyes as those ladies? Lea abruptly stood up and moved to the seat opposite him, rather than staying by his side.

Then she turned her head towards the window, completely ignoring Terran. It was regrettable to face the situation where Terran might have been embarrassed because of her.

‘Still, saying he wants to tear it apart is too much.’

“Are you angry?”

Lea didn’t respond to his question. She felt that if she spoke unnecessarily, it might lead to a big argument.

Terran pressed his forehead with his hand, wearing a perplexed expression.

It seemed that his too blatant expression of desire had been perceived as an insult by her.

Lea had stood out the most at the banquet. Even the Empress had come to mention it.

[Duke Courtois, it seems a new queen of Rubeck’s social circles will soon be born.] [You flatter me.] [It’s rare for women to know exactly what charm they possess. But Lady Bizac knows how to express her beauty boldly yet not excessively.]

Terran hadn’t heard the Empress’s compliment.

Even while conversing with distinguished guests at the banquet, all his attention was focused solely on Grace. This too was something he had never experienced in his life.

Due to strong vigilance and anxiety, he couldn’t enjoy the banquet at all. It seemed as if a beast lived inside him.

His instinct urged him to take Grace away immediately, tear off that flimsy lace, and satisfy his burning desire.

‘I desire you maddeningly.’

The problem was that he liked her more with each passing day. To the point where he couldn’t control his reason.

“It seems like you’re the one who’s angry, not me.”

Lea said with a sulky face.

“Because Grace didn’t keep her promise.”

“What promise?”

Had they made a promise at the banquet? No matter how much she tried to recall, she couldn’t remember any such thing.

“I told you to look only at me, didn’t I?”

“What?”

‘Ah! This man, really! There are other things to be unreasonable about.’

“So did you only look at me, Terran?”

“Yes.”

“Yes?”

“You might not have felt it, but I was always watching Grace.”

Lea’s heart pounded and goosebumps covered her body. She was confused whether this was the same taciturn and unsociable Terran she knew.

She couldn’t tell if he was a master of romance who could play with a woman’s heart, or a novice in love who revealed his raw emotions.

“Still… saying you want to tear the dress apart was too much.”

“I still want to tear it.”

“What?”

Suddenly, his hand pulled Grace onto his lap. Soon, his hand caressed Lea’s back.

“I want to tear it to shreds and possess you to my heart’s content.”

Terran whispered to her in a low voice.

On the other hand, Lea’s eyes were filled with confusion. If Terran tore her dress, what would he do next?

‘Can he feel desire when he can’t even function properly as a man? Is that biologically possible?’

It was truly strange. Terran, who was acting as if he would devour her right now, seemed like a ferocious beast. But as far as she knew, he couldn’t be a beast.

“Let me go.”

Lea felt threatened by Terran.

His attitude was something a very normal man might do. She even felt fear at the obsession that tightly gripped a person.

“You… can’t do that, can you?”

Lea quickly returned to her seat.

“What can’t I do?”

“No… nothing.”

She had to be careful with her words. She might inflict a huge wound on a man’s pride.

“Tell me, what is it that I can’t do?”

He persistently sought an answer.

“You’re a… gentleman, aren’t you?”

“!?”

‘To hell with being a gentleman.’

He laughed dejectedly at her words.