“That’s absurd. The debutante ball at the Imperial Palace is every Yufris girl’s dream!”

“The climax of every fairy tale is the Imperial Palace ball!”

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime event! Others can’t even get invitations because they’re so rare!”

“You’ll make a wonderful couple! I’ll make sure there’s no pair as beautiful as Your Highness and Your Grace there!”

Yuan met Clard’s eyes as he looked only at her with his head tilted slightly, ignoring the excited chatter around them.

His amethyst eyes, backlit, slowly scanned her up and down.

The sparkling hem of her dress.

The light pink silk flowing like waves, revealing her waistline, and the large organza ribbon of an even brighter hue above it.

Following the hollow of her collarbone and slender neck to her delicate chin. Up to her lips, painted a faint pink as if not painted at all.

Finally, as their eyes met – her cute nose and teary black eyes – the owner of those black eyes suddenly stepped towards him.

“I’m fine.”

Her long eyelashes fluttered rapidly along with her blinking eyes.

Yuan briefly glared at the invitation in Clard’s hand.

For some reason, Boloniko Yufris wants her and won’t give up.

That invitation is meant to summon her to the Imperial Palace where he is.

She had thought all night about the uncomfortable, unsettling feeling she had throughout meeting him, but there was only one conclusion.

First Prince Boloniko.

That broken doll-like man doesn’t like her husband, Clard. He’s trying to use her to bring Clard down.

So she shouldn’t give him any opportunity at all.

She couldn’t expose this pitiful and beautiful husband of hers to danger any longer.

For the sake of that so-called ‘every girl’s dream’.

“I really am fine. What’s the point of someone already married like me attending a debutante ball? Everyone will laugh. I’d rather just stay here-”

“Who would laugh at you, Madam? You’re so beautiful!”

“That’s right! We want to show off our skills too!”

“Madam, you’re being too modest. If I were you, I’d be so excited to show off my beauty that I couldn’t sleep at night!”

Thinking Yuan’s refusal was just excessive modesty, the dressmaker Michelle and her staff jumped in to object from behind.

“All the beautiful, sparkling things will be at the Imperial Palace.”

“It’s been quite a while since you got married and saw such glamorous, nice things! How refreshing would it be? I once had a lady client who was invited to the Imperial ball just once, but she kept talking about it everywhere she went for 10 years!”

Trying hard to ignore the unnecessary meddling of those who didn’t know the situation, Yuan desperately flashed her eyes at Clard.

Clard and Yuan’s gazes collided and intertwined in mid-air.

Yuan hoped Clard would immediately quell the excitement of those who didn’t know the circumstances.

But from his tightly closed lips came an answer that even the butler Gustav didn’t expect.

“Go.”

Yuan’s eyes widened at the short, concise answer.

She approached him a bit more, her lips trembling.

“I really am fine! If it’s because of the dress that’s already made… I can just wear this dress to visit the Lev Marquis’ house and have a meal together-”

“Just go.”

Clard, who had straightened his leaning body, strode up to Yuan who was just a step away.

Leaving the cheers behind, Yuan was completely engulfed in Clard’s shadow.

His long fingers slowly tapped the ribbon on Yuan’s chest.

As the ribbon swayed lightly, Yuan felt like her heart would burst.

His low voice slowly seeped into her ear, which was burning hot with embarrassment.

“Do what everyone else does, live like them.”

Leaving behind people making a fuss about having to completely revise the design,

Clard leisurely left the reception room.

Unable to turn to look at Clard as he left, Yuan discovered the problematic invitation left where he had been, and a thick book underneath it.

The tip of her nose quickly went cold, and tears welled up.

Why.

Why is he being so nice?

Why so excessively.

Unnecessarily.

Why on earth.

“Madam! Don’t worry. The Emperor won’t be so rude as before. I know because I often entered the palace with my grandmother when I was young. There are so many watching eyes in the palace! There will be guests from neighboring countries too! Last time he only had his closest aides here, but in the palace there are quite a few groups wary of His Majesty the Emperor. You just need to stay close to the Master.”

“…”

“I told you before, didn’t I? When he’s nice to you, just say thank you and accept it.”

At Hena’s voice reassuring her familiarly, she suppressed her expression that was about to crumple and smiled bitterly.

Why did she feel so guilty the nicer Clard was to her?

How should she treat him when he keeps being exposed to danger as if being tested because of her?

Maybe, as Hena said, Clard was trying to take better care of her and cling to things like debutante balls because Yuan was the same age as his beloved younger sister, Princess Apollini.

Thinking that way made her smile even more bitter.

Chewing on these bitter and painful emotions, Yuan realized she could no longer cover up her feelings for him with the thought of ‘Let’s think of him as an older brother.’

Clard was not an older brother to Yuan.

An older brother, really.

Yuan had never had tender feelings for her cousin Frederick, who was actually her older brother.

Nor had she ever thought about wanting to kiss him with tender feelings.

Judging by the fact that he came all the way to the Lev Marquis’ territory, risking being noticed by others, and his behavior of openly sending her an invitation,

First Prince Boloniko was not someone who would give up this strange obsession just because she refused one invitation right now.

‘Since it’s come to this, I too need to figure out what he wants when there are many watching eyes.’

There must be someone in the mansion who reports news of the mansion to that bob-haired prince.

Yuan suppressed her anxious heart and kept thinking.

Her cousin of the same age, Regina Peliesse, had been looking forward to and preparing for this debutante ball since she was very young.

Her uncle will surely come to the Imperial Palace for his daughter’s debutante.

Her uncle was Boloniko the First Prince’s man, but from their last meeting, she learned that he feared and distrusted Boloniko.

She might be able to find out exactly what Boloniko’s intentions are if she uses her cowardly uncle or Duke Kompani, with whom she’s acquainted.

‘Rather than weakly avoiding and giving him another chance to attack, I should go into the tiger’s den myself and see what’s really threatening His Highness.’

Hugging the book Clard left to her chest, Yuan glared at Boloniko’s handwritten invitation and bit her lip hard.

Meanwhile, at the Peliesse mansion.

The dressmakers and jewelers had just swept through the reception room, which had been busy preparing for Regina’s debutante with the bride price sent by Clard.

Regina, who had deliberately gathered the daughters of prestigious families, showed off her beauty in front of them and gave the impression that she was buying all these items with Boloniko’s money.

“Diamonds for a debutante? One might think you’re a princess rather than the daughter of Count Peliesse, Lady Regina.”

“But I’m sure the First Prince has his reasons for paying so much attention to Lady Regina. Does this mean we’ll get to see Lady Regina wearing that dazzling necklace and holding the First Prince’s hand when she makes her entrance on debutante day?”

“Then will I be able to greet His Highness the First Prince as well?”

‘To think that mere Peliesse would summon me here and make me a spectator,’ the eyes of Princess Celetina’s group flashed with subtle anger and mockery, while the daughters of court nobles who envied the quite prestigious Peliesse family sparkled with their own circumstances.

Curiosity. Jealousy. Anger. Mockery. Admiration.

Facing these eyes mixed with various colors head-on, Regina took off her sparkling necklace.

It was indeed a difficult question to answer.

The damn Boloniko had received information about the suspicious cemetery in the Lev Marquis’ territory, took care of it, and then ignored her letter without even a word of thanks.

But given Boloniko’s personality, if he had judged the information to be uninteresting, he would have given an infuriating response like [Please bring me something more interesting next time, Lady Regina].

Regina counted the days until the debutante ball, now less than a week away, and scanned the young ladies who had come all the way to this remote mansion and were sitting here, enduring discomfort for the single title of ‘Boloniko’s hidden lover’.

This would have been unimaginable before.

Regina, who used to occasionally receive admiring glances from peers of lower-ranking families, was thoroughly ignored among peers from prestigious families.

So how sweet is the title of Boloniko’s lover?

If she becomes his woman in the future and becomes the Prince’s consort.

And if that’s not enough, if she becomes the Empress in the future?

The heads of high-noble families with their noses in the air would have no choice but to bow their heads to her.

If Boloniko becomes like Emperor Igor Yufris, the tyrant of unlimited power, wielding that butcher’s knife, then Regina, as his woman, could wield no less power and no one would dare to make a peep.

“Pardon? Lady Regina-”

“There’s no way to gauge His Highness’s heart, but I believe.”

Regina didn’t want to lose these eyes mixed with envy and jealousy at all.

“That perhaps this Imperial debutante ball will be the most beautiful and happiest day of my life.”

Regina smiled like a fully bloomed peony.

And then.

Exactly three days before the Imperial debutante ball, said to be every Yufris girl’s dream,

Boloniko, who had secretly invited her to a VIP play, responded to her expectations very coldly.

“It would be better to look for another partner even now, Lady Regina.”