Lea’s eyes widened when she saw the box Pauline handed her. It was clearly something she recognized.

‘This is…!’

With trembling hands, she opened the lid of the box to find exactly what she had expected.

“It’s a pearl necklace?”

Pauline looked at the pink pearls in admiration. Though it was a gift from Allen, the pearls were truly exquisite.

‘Father gave this to me as a gift for my eighteenth birthday.’

She remembered how overjoyed she had been to receive the necklace back then.

It had been too precious to wear, so she had kept it safely stored in her dressing room. To think he would give it to another woman.

‘At least it’s fortunate he gave it to me. This is rightfully mine.’

Lea felt a mix of emotions as she looked at the necklace.

It felt like it was her father’s will. After all this time, it had finally found its way back to its rightful owner.

Just then, Terran appeared, and Lea startled, quickly pushing the necklace into a drawer of her vanity.

“Why? Is there something I’m not supposed to see?”

Terran asked, looking at the flustered Grace and Pauline.

“It’s… nothing like that. Pauline just received payment for the dress from CEO Allen MacDowell.”

“I’ll be taking my leave now.”

Pauline hurriedly left the room. But Terran clearly remembered the item the two women had been looking at just moments ago.

‘No. There was something else besides money.’

Did she have something to hide from him?

Though he thought it unlikely, the drawer of the vanity where Lea had hastily hidden something bothered him.

Terran harbored suspicion for a moment but soon brushed it off.

‘Grace knows what kind of person Allen is. What could she possibly have to hide from me? I’m being paranoid.’

A smile returned to Terran’s face.

“Are you nervous? The decision will be made tomorrow, after all.”

“Yes, I’m nervous. And I’m desperately hoping. Hoping that Adele will be chosen.”

Lea wrapped her arms tightly around Terran’s waist and leaned her face against him.

In response, Terran buried his face in her lush golden hair. It was a moment that made his earlier suspicions seem foolish.

“Grace, when we go to the Galdensia Imperial Palace tomorrow, you’ll meet Allen.”

“I won’t get close to him. I’ll just greet him politely. Showing wariness would be more dangerous.”

“That’s right.”

The two shared each other’s warmth and heartbeats.

“I should ask Chainer to make the dress for the May bride.”

“Chainer hasn’t been in a good mood lately. Since Luke went down to his territory, got engaged, and came back.”

“I suppose Luke had no choice. His parents were adamant.”

“I know. Love isn’t formed by one person’s unilateral feelings alone. Chainer will resign herself to it soon.”

“You know what’s even more interesting?”

Lea looked up at Terran at his words. What could be more interesting?

“Luke is jealous.”

“Jealous? Of whom?”

“Of Chainer and Louis.”

“Oh, come on! That’s impossible. Luke has no interest in Chainer at all.”

“That may be true, but…”

“But what?”

“Never mind. You’re right, Grace.”

Terran felt he could somewhat understand Luke’s feelings.

Just as he hadn’t expected Grace to come looking for him in Basel Forest, Luke must have been greatly surprised to find that it was Chainer who had saved him when he was hanging from a tree.

‘The person you meet before death is special. Especially if they’re your lifesaver.’

But Luke didn’t choose Chainer.

Whatever the reason, it was only right to respect his decision.

“Grace, shall we take a bath together?”

“Hmm, only if we just bathe.”

“Did you want to do something other than bathing?”

“What…? No.”

“I didn’t know people did anything other than bathing in the bathtub.”

Why did it feel like she kept falling for Terran’s wordplay?

“Alright.”

At her acceptance, Terran took Lea’s hand firmly and headed for the bathroom.

Though not as large as the ducal mansion’s grand bath, it was big enough for the two of them. Mindful of Lea’s fear of water, Terran held her tightly in his arms as they entered the tub.

‘I’m actually a really good swimmer.’

But since Grace’s soul within her was so afraid of water, she couldn’t move recklessly.

Still, it was an enjoyable bath. However, Terran couldn’t shed his predatory nature even in the water.

“You fraud, you beast!”

“If Grace dislikes it, I won’t lay a finger on you.”

Terran’s sudden seriousness left Lea at a loss for words.

“You said we’d only bathe… mph!”

His lips silenced her before she could protest further.

True to his word, Terran didn’t use his fingers. The problem was that he tormented her with his most fearsome body part instead.

* * *

Allen had driven Emily away. He didn’t care whether she had seduced Count Armand and ruined his family or not.

But he simply couldn’t tolerate being Terran’s second choice.

The fact that a mere mistress had trampled on Allen MacDowell’s pride was unforgivable.

What if he had brought Emily to the selection banquet? Terran would have laughed at him, sneering.

“Damn that wench!”

Allen continued to curse, his anger still unabated. No wonder Madame Armand, who had brought Rivette’s dress, had caught his eye.

The name had sounded familiar. But what was surprising was that the lady was with Grace.

Allen was heading to his bedroom when his gaze stopped at the room at the end of the corridor. It was the room where Sara had stayed.

‘Sara left too.’

He found himself walking towards Sara’s room without realizing it. As expected, the room was neatly tidied.

With Sara gone too, all traces of Lea Hamilton had now disappeared. He felt relieved, as if a heavy burden had been lifted.

That’s when he noticed an object on the bedside table.

‘What’s this?’

It appeared to be a necklace, judging by the chain.

Allen picked up the necklace that had been left so conspicuously, and soon felt goosebumps rising to his scalp.

‘This is Lea’s key necklace, isn’t it?’

No matter how he looked at it, the shape was the same as that necklace. But there was no sign of the Hamilton Trading Company’s crest or the intricate engravings. Moreover, it was a perfect new necklace without any traces of age.

Then he noticed a small note on the bedside table.

‘Who does she think she’s fooling!’

The person who had already found it and run away was… Now that he thought about it, Sara must have had something to rely on. That’s why she had accepted so readily when he told her to leave.

Allen rushed out of the room with the key in hand.

It was certain that Sara had already found the memorandum book and fled, but he needed to know where she had found it.

‘Sara, you dare deceive me?’

He had to find her and take the memorandum book back.

Not only that, no matter how he considered it, Sara needed to disappear from this world for his safety.

* * *

Finally, it was the day of the selection banquet.

Lea and Terran headed to the Galdensia Imperial Palace. Inside the carriage, Lea readjusted Terran’s tie.

“You look splendid, Terran.”

“Grace, you’re dazzling.”

Grace, wearing a dress made of silk the same color as her eyes, looked exceptionally beautiful.

“Your vest looks great too. It suits you perfectly.”

The teal silk vest matched exactly with Terran’s intellectual and cold image.

“You’ll see. The young ladies participating in the selection will all be wearing white dresses, as if they made a pact.”

“Hmm, you think so?”

“You’ll see when we get there.”

Finally, several carriages came to a stop in front of the palace one after another. The young ladies participating in the selection had already gone to the palace two hours earlier, so now their family members were arriving.

“Who is Adele with?”

“Today, Sonya agreed to be Adele’s chaperone.”

“That’s good. An experienced person is needed for such a big event.”

The selection was held in the grand reception hall.

Inside the hall, chairs were placed on both sides for the distinguished guests to sit, and a luxurious carpet was laid on the central aisle where the young ladies would walk.

And at the high seat, places were prepared for the Emperor and the Crown Prince to sit.

Lea carefully observed the people arriving at the reception hall. There were fewer smiling faces than expected, probably due to nerves.

But as luck would have it, her gaze met Allen’s, who was sitting across from them, and Lea gave a slight nod in greeting.

However, Allen deliberately came over to greet them.

“Good day, Your Grace, and Lady Bizac.”

“Hello, CEO MacDowell.”

Lea greeted him, but Terran merely nodded his head without saying a word.

“Miss Bizac, I wonder if you liked the gift I sent. It’s a pink pearl necklace that’s quite difficult to obtain.”

“Pardon? Oh, I… like it. You didn’t have to go to the trouble for me, but thank you.”

Lea replied with difficulty, glancing at Terran.

‘Bastard!’

Just looking at his face made her want to curse.

Allen returned to his seat gracefully, but Terran’s expression was not very pleasant.

“He said he sent a gift because he liked the dress. It wasn’t much, so…”

“You don’t need to explain.”

“Pardon?”

“If it wasn’t much, you would have thrown it away.”

Terran smiled at Lea. It was an expression that seemed to say, ‘I hope you threw away the gift that bastard gave you.’

‘I can’t throw it away. How could I throw away something my father gave me as a birthday gift?’

“Did you throw it away?”

“What…? Of course.”

Lea ended up lying.

As the selection time approached, the sound of fanfare announced the arrival of Emperor Theresa and the Crown Prince.

All the distinguished guests stood up and welcomed the two with applause. Soon, Emperor Theresa in a black veil and uniform, and the Crown Prince appeared.

“The Crown Prince resembles Prince Salome.”

“Does he? I don’t see it at all. Salome looks like a girl.”

There seemed to be a thorn in Terran’s words.

The Crown Prince had neatly combed back his hair and wore gold-rimmed glasses. It made him look even more fastidious.

“We will now begin the selection of the Crown Princess!”

At the chamberlain’s words, the people began to murmur.