As soon as Lea left the reception room, she saw Terran standing in front of the door.

She jumped into his arms without hesitation. Her heart was still pounding, and she could barely control her body due to the lingering excitement.

“If you were any later, I was going to break down the door.”

Terran whispered, burying his face in Lea’s lush golden hair.

“I finished talking with His Majesty.”

She didn’t explain the details to Terran. Even if she did, he would just shower her with nagging complaints.

‘I must succeed, if only for Terran’s sake.’

Lea looked up at his gleaming black eyes.

“What are you trying to do, looking at me like that?”

“Huh?”

“I want to eat you up.”

“Not a chance until all the grape signatures are filled.”

Lea shook her head, dispelling his delusion. Instead, she held out her hand to him and said in a gentle tone:

“Let’s dance.”

“Will you sign if we dance?”

“Oh, come on!”

“If you don’t sign, I won’t dance.”

“Fine. There are plenty of men who want to dance with me.”

Only then did Terran firmly grasp Lea’s hand.

He had momentarily forgotten that there were men in this ballroom who coveted his fiancée. The two headed to the dance floor, holding hands affectionately.

Just then, the dance music changed. As Lea and Terran took their place on the floor, all eyes focused on them.

It was a rare opportunity to see Duke Courtois, famous for rarely attending social gatherings, dancing with his beautiful fiancée.

“Terran, I need information about the Crown Prince of Galdensia.”

“Let’s enjoy this moment and talk about others later.”

“Ah! I’m sorry.”

Terran knew all too well why Lea was asking about the Crown Prince.

“But I don’t know anything about the Crown Prince. I only know his name.”

Because he had no interest at all. The problem was that he knew too much about Salame, who wasn’t even an important figure.

‘What should I do? I need to know everything about the Crown Prince.’

At that moment, the person who came to Lea’s mind was Salame.

Being brothers, he would know better than anyone. But she didn’t even dare to consider it because Terran despised being close to him.

‘What should I do? I can’t go back empty-handed after coming this far.’

Lea’s mind was complicated, but she tried to shake it off. As Terran said, their time together was more important.

She moved like a leaf floating on water, following the music that flowed like a river. She enjoyed savoring this happiness with Terran more than dancing well.

Terran twirled Lea, making her bloom like a flower. Even though one of his hands was injured and should have been uncomfortable, he led well with just one hand.

It made her wonder if there was anything he couldn’t do.

‘Ah, he’s a bit oblivious.’

Other than that, he was a perfect man.

Perhaps blinded by love, she couldn’t find a gentleman as wonderful as Terran at the party.

Just then, as the music changed, an unexpected person asked Lea for a dance.

“Duke Courtois, may I dance with your fiancée?”

As Teresa stepped onto the floor, people began to murmur.

“Your Majesty, please forget about the unfortunate incident at the riding grounds earlier.”

Terran also showed his courtesy to her like a gentleman.

“Let’s do that.”

As she readily agreed, Terran handed Lea over to Teresa.

It’s rare for women to dance together, so it must be quite an interesting sight for people. But since Teresa was wearing a uniform, she looked like a man from the outside.

“It’s an honor, Your Majesty.”

“The honor is mine. To be able to dance with such a beautiful lady.”

Lea was relieved to hear Teresa’s bright voice. It seemed the Emperor’s anger had finally subsided. Moreover, Teresa played the male role quite well.

“It was a first. Someone saying such words to me.”

Teresa spoke as she smoothly led Lea.

“I hate the word ‘giving up’ the most. But you hit the nail on the head.”

“I apologize.”

“No, no need to apologize. Just don’t disappoint me.”

“I will definitely succeed.”

Lea expressed her enthusiasm to Teresa. Living with a black veil covering one’s face for life was too cruel.

“Your Majesty, I’m not sure if I should ask this, but…”

“What is it?”

“What is His Highness the Crown Prince’s preference in women?”

Teresa tilted her head at Lea’s question. It didn’t seem like she was asking out of personal interest in her son.

“Prince Salame is very cheerful and bright, isn’t he? So I was wondering what the Crown Prince is like.”

Lea couldn’t explain the full circumstances.

It somehow felt like cheating to say that she had been commissioned to make dresses for two young ladies attending the selection banquet.

“Prince Salame? It’s better to call him Lord Roberto. I don’t acknowledge him as a prince, you see. Of course, I haven’t granted him a title either.”

“I understand.”

“Hmm, that fellow lives life as he pleases. He’s a free spirit. In contrast, our Crown Prince is quite rigid. He rarely gets close to women.”

‘You don’t know him well.’

Lea was slightly disappointed. She couldn’t get an answer even when asking the Crown Prince’s mother directly.

“As far as I know, I’ve heard he likes intelligent, graceful, and wise women.”

“I see.”

“And if they have a seductive charm on top of that, even better.”

‘An intelligent, graceful, and wise woman who’s seductive?’

Lea inwardly chuckled. It’s best to ignore all the words men list before the last one.

‘So in the end, he likes seductive women?’

It probably means he likes women who are modest during the day but exude sexual appeal at night.

She had a rough idea of what kind of woman he wanted. This was quite useful information. She was fairly satisfied.

“What an unfair era. It’s frustrating that women have to be evaluated by men until they die.”

Teresa suddenly spoke in an agitated tone.

“Men, you see, want their wives to remain beautiful even when they grow old. Even when they themselves become hunchbacked and can’t perform properly in bed.”

The conversation had taken a strange turn, even though she had only asked about the Crown Prince.

But instinctively, she realized this was something Teresa herself had experienced.

She wondered if Teresa had been shunned by her husband because of her damaged face. It seemed the resentment remained in her heart, even though her husband was now dead.

“Look over there.”

Teresa reminded Lea as they danced.

Lea followed Teresa’s gaze, and there was Terran. And around him were young ladies and noble women.

“Duke Courtois will receive many love letters tonight.”

“Pardon?”

Lea unwittingly raised her voice and even stopped in her tracks.

Speaking without context was just like Salame. The conversation felt disjointed, jumping here and there.

“Such an innocent young lady.”

Teresa teased the bewildered Lea.

“Do you know nothing about high society?”

“Um… It seems so.”

Before becoming Grace, she had been so obsessed with Allen that she rarely attended even small social gatherings. Of course, she never went to big parties.

“People all know that Terran is my fiancé.”

“So?”

“!?”

“Young lady, you need to know both the dark and light sides of society to run a business catering to women. This isn’t just about the upper class.”

Lea was getting irritated by Teresa’s roundabout way of speaking. Seeing Lea’s gloomy face, Teresa explained more clearly.

“High society looks glamorous, but it’s the perfect place for corruption. Because you can have affairs. Married women keep lovers, and young ladies aspire to become mistresses of noble men they admire.”

Finally, Lea’s eyes widened as she understood in an instant. She couldn’t take her eyes off the letter in Terran’s hand.

“So it doesn’t matter if it’s another woman’s man?”

“That’s right. Just the label of being the Emperor’s or a high-ranking noble’s mistress can make you a celebrity in high society. Well, sometimes it’s because they genuinely like the person. So Duke Courtois must have received countless love letters.”

“He never mentioned anything like that.”

“Well then, make sure to check.”

Teresa whispered in Lea’s ear.

At that moment, Lea remembered James handing Terran bundles of letters every morning. Surely not all of those letters were about state affairs.

‘Am I naive or just ignorant?’

It seemed Teresa wanted to tell her that there’s no such thing as eternal love.

Moreover, it sounded like she was saying that women’s desperate efforts to maintain their appearance and spend money on clothes, cosmetics, and jewelry were all struggles to keep their men.

‘No, that’s wrong. Women dress up for their own satisfaction.’

Lea wanted to refute, but Teresa beat her to it.

“Young lady, love has an expiration date, and men are bound to change. So there’s no need to give your whole heart.”

* * *

Lea headed to the lounge. Honestly, every single word from Teresa was unpleasant.

Terran, like Allen? No, that man never loved in the first place, so he couldn’t be a comparison.

‘Other men may waver, but not Terran.’

Lea shook her head vigorously, trying to shake off the unpleasant feelings building in her chest. But as soon as she stepped into the lounge, she heard strange words from beyond the partition.

“Isn’t Duke Courtois just wonderful?”

“You, did you actually give him a love letter?”

“Yes, actually, I’ve been sending letters consistently for a few years now.”

“Didn’t you see the Duke’s fiancée? Do you think he’d look elsewhere with a woman like that by his side?”

Lea couldn’t believe her own ears. The very fact that such a conversation was possible felt surreal.

“Haven’t you heard the rumors about Baroness Bizac? They say her body is as fragile as glass. No matter how beautiful she is, it’s useless if she can’t bear sons to continue the family line.”

“True, what good is it to be pretty as a flower? Men immediately turn their eyes away when they find out their wife is barren.”

Lea was speechless at the ladies’ conversation. She also finally realized:

There had always been rivals eyeing her man everywhere.