After meeting Yuan in person, Bollonico’s mood didn’t improve.

Because he couldn’t have imagined that a woman living a miserable life would dare to reject his proposal.

However, Regina, who didn’t know the fact that he had personally visited her and the fact that he was full of resentment because of that, saw Bollonico, who was focused on the play, with a face as if she had lost everything in the world.

“What do you mean by that-.”

“Lady Regina. Do you know what’s worse than a boring story?”

Bollonico’s gaze was still directed below where the play was unfolding.

However, his cold voice was aimed directly at Regina, who was in the adjacent seat.

“You provided incorrect information due to incompetence. How foolish.”

-“Foolish- Foolish-.”

The parrot Lorenzo repeated Bollonico’s muttered words, hitting Regina’s back of the head very hard.

Regina’s delicate temples twisted sharply.

“Incorrect information due to incompetence? Your Highness, I merely conveyed what I heard.”

“The information about Yuan Pellece was insufficient. Who she is, what she likes and dislikes, what she admires.”

“You called her a very selfish woman who only thinks of herself, didn’t you? A calculating woman who willingly abandons and ignores her family to live comfortably alone.”

“Incorrect information due to incompetence, that.”

-“Incompetent- Incompetent-.”

“You might have noticed, but Bollonico has a place to use Yuan Pellece, Regina’s cousin.”

Seeing Regina’s eyes shake anxiously, Bollonico, who had finally given her a brief glance, smoothly smiled and comforted her.

“Ah. It’s an experiment, an experiment. It doesn’t mean I will take her. So don’t worry.”

Beyond the sharp and arrogant nose of Bollonico, Regina saw a yellow elephant she had seen in his palace playing slowly.

In that palace where all sorts of bizarre experiments and games took place, the beast that had been there was staring up at Bollonico’s box seat with occasional resentful eyes, firmly bound by an iron chain around its neck.

As if it were a being capable of thought.

“Among the countless Pellece legends I heard from Lady Regina, I want to experiment to see if there’s anything that applies. Even if they are both Pellece, Bollonico can’t harm Lady Regina, right? Unless she’s a ‘Ruined’ Princess.”

Regina’s eyes, filled with injustice, softened.

“Then why are you rejecting the debutante ball partner?”

“People are more jealous than you think, Lady Regina. Why didn’t Aristadae Duchess and Bollonico come together?”

“!”

“Just going out a few times in official places becomes a target for many. Especially in places like your family. It’s not the right time yet. Bollonico doesn’t want to throw Lady Regina into uncertain situations. You should be protected. Instead, I will dance the first dance with you. How about it?”
Regina’s hesitating face brightened half-heartedly.

But it was only for a moment.

“Now, who would I take as a partner at this point?”

The first person that came to mind was the most approachable Dracoup Treloni.

Having been absent from home for quite some time, the Pellece Count, who had recently returned, was actively preparing for Regina’s debutante ball. Moreover, he bragged about taking a remarkable gentleman – precisely, Prince Bollonico – as a partner. Imagine the embarrassment if she were to bring her brother, Frederick, who was either her brother or a visibly plump uncle. Regina had to endure the sudden shift in his attitude, which was previously lukewarm and one-sidedly presumptuous. The decent man she could choose was likely already waiting for the debutante ball, paired with someone more suitable for him.

Regina meekly wrote down sentences that would stir Dracoup Treloni’s feelings in the morning letter, stating, “I intended to take the hand of my brother, Frederick Pellece, to the debutante ball. But recalling the days when we shared our hearts, I wrote a letter to you, as it bothers you. He responded completely the opposite way to his warm and affectionate love letters. Pitiful Dracoup Treloni did not believe at all in the rumor that Regina was Bollonico’s hidden lover. On the contrary, he even boldly asserted that he would shut the mouths of those spreading such baseless rumors. He was completely smitten with love. Regina had been responding to his delusions so far, and that was the reason she could now secure a new partner.

‘I did well not to completely abandon Dracoup.’

The morning letter was replied to before lunch, and the result was a series of long sentences filled with the fervent will to go together.

‘But why doesn’t any other woman look at Dracoup except me?’

Although she barely overcame a crisis that could have been a complete disgrace, Regina’s heart became a bit sharper when she saw Dracoup’s reaction, who still seemed unable to find another partner even with only two days left until the event.

‘A perfectly fine man. belonging to such a family. Yet so unpopular.’

Such an inconspicuous man, becoming Regina Pellece’s partner, entering the debutante ball she had dreamed of since childhood.