“W-What are you doing?”

Litania, who had been mesmerized by the handsome man’s beauty, was startled when something touched her sensitive lips and quickly distanced herself from him.

“I’m sorry. You kept silent, so I wondered if perhaps this time you had lost your voice.”

“What? That’s not…”

Even so, isn’t it too familiar to grab the chin and touch the lips of a woman you’ve just met? Litania warily put some distance between them.

‘I was captivated by his extreme beauty, but he’s a bit strange. I should keep my distance.’

Isn’t it said that beautiful flowers have thorns?

The man was too alluring for Litania, who sought a safe life.

‘If I get too close, I might get badly hurt.’

Though she didn’t know much about physiognomy, that was her feeling.

“Ah, I forgot to introduce myself. I was so entranced by your beauty that I lost myself.”

That’s my line, Litania thought to herself.

Beautiful face, beautiful heart, they say, but isn’t this too much praise for a woman you’ve just met?

It was more problematic because it didn’t sound like mere formality.

Is this handsome man’s standard of beauty a bit off?

“My name is Orbis.”

“Orbis…”

“It means world, or universe.”

“Yes, I see.”

Your beauty is this world and universe. Oh most handsome man in the world…

Whoever named him, it fits perfectly.

“And here, um… yes, I hold the title of Marquis.”

“Ah, so you’re a Marquis…”

With that dazzling smile as he spoke, Litania’s head was spinning so much she could barely tell if he was introducing himself or explaining insurance terms.

Fortunately, unlike her eyes, Litania’s ears managed to grasp the necessary information and transmit it to her brain.

‘A Marquis… Well, looking at his beauty, it’s an understandable status.’

With this level of beauty, he was clearly the male lead.

Though rarer than Duke or Count male leads, Marquis male leads weren’t uncommon. A Marquis was perfect for living far from the imperial palace, cutting ties with the court.

‘But was there such a male lead in the books I’ve read?’

The beauty of romance novel male leads goes without saying, and after black-haired male leads, blonde ones are most common, but Orbis’s distinctive feature was his long hair.

Long-haired male leads are rare, and the name Orbis is unique, so it should be memorable, but while Litania was certain he was the male lead, she couldn’t figure out which novel this was.

“Um, my name is Litania… Beriberbium. I’m an imperial princess, and this is my first time attending a ball.”

“It’s my first time too.”

“Really?”

“Is this what they call fate?”

Orbis smiled gently and extended his hand to Litania.

“May I ask you for a dance, Princess Litania?”

“Ah…”

Litania was about to raise her hand as if entranced, but remembering the state of her skirt, she quickly withdrew it.

“I’m sorry. I can’t accept your dance invitation.”

“Did I do something rude?”

“No, it’s not your fault, Orbis. It’s mine.”

Litania clutched the red cloak covering her skirt.

“It’s embarrassing, but earlier while absentmindedly walking in the gallery, my skirt got wet from muddy water splashed by a carriage.”

“Oh my, the rain has caused you trouble.”

“It’s not exactly because of the rain, but… well, yes. It would have been better if it hadn’t rained.”

“Yes, indeed.”

Orbis nodded lightly and pointed to the red cloak she was holding.

“Then, is that…?”

“Ah, a knight who saw my wet skirt gave it to me to cover up.”

“You don’t need to cover it, Litania.”

“No, it’s embarrassing…”

“Your shy face as you say that makes me want to step back, but hiding it under a cloak won’t make the stain from the unfortunate rain disappear.”

“…”

It seemed the man wanted to see the state of Litania’s skirt. Or more precisely, he wanted to remove the red cloak she was covering herself with.

‘He seems a bit strange.’

With such a blindingly handsome man persuading her in a subtle voice, her mind became hazy, and her hand moved on its own.

Thud. The large cloak fell to the floor.

Orbis was already kneeling in front of her, examining the stain on her skirt.

“There’s mud here.”

“Um, please don’t look like that. It’s embarrassing…”

“Don’t worry, little lady. I’ll make it so you won’t be embarrassed.”

A hand in a white glove moved slowly over Litania’s mud-splattered skirt. An elegant movement, as if gliding over water. Something sparkling like stars flowed from the tip of the snow-white glove, dissolving the stains.

“Huh?”

“There, it’s clean now.”

The skirt that had been stained with muddy water was now as clean as new. Litania stared at Orbis in amazement.

When their eyes met, he smiled brightly.

“Now you don’t need to be embarrassed anymore.”

“Oh, Orbis… are you a magician?”

“Something similar.”

I see, he’s a magician. Right. Magician male leads were popular for a while. Not my type, but… Litania nodded unconsciously and sighed.

“Thank you, Orbis. I didn’t think it could become this clean.”

“I was conflicted because I quite liked your troubled face.”

“…Pardon?”

“But it’s a gentleman’s duty to help a lady in distress.”

That doesn’t seem to be what he meant just now. Did I hear wrong?

Anyway, thanks to Orbis fixing it with magic, she was no longer stuck just watching from the second-floor sofa. Litania decided to be honestly grateful.

“Thank you, Orbis. You’re a gentleman.”

“Then would it be rude of me to ask for a dance now?”

“I never thought it was rude from the beginning.”

Litania smiled and placed her hand on Orbis’s. His large hand in a white glove gently grasped her small hand and stood up straight.

Her now-light skirt fluttered gently.

Following the melody from downstairs, the two danced along the second-floor railing.

‘Wow. He smells nice.’

A cool fragrance, neither too strong nor too faint, wafted to her nose.

Feeling the firm arm around her waist and the soft, flowing golden hair, Litania felt her initial wariness gradually fading.

‘We’ve met less than an hour ago, yet we’re already flirting sweetly and dancing… It feels nice, but is it okay for things to progress so easily?’

Something felt off. It felt off, but…

Just being in his arms and dancing made her feel dreamy and dazed, unable to discern what exactly was strange.

“Orbis. The second floor isn’t being used for this ball, so you wouldn’t have noticed me… How did you see me and approach?”

“My eyes only see what’s necessary. I can find you immediately.”

His way of speaking was a bit peculiar. It wasn’t really an answer to her question either.

It was suspicious. She should be suspicious.

‘Right. How can a person have everything? He’s handsome, so he might be a bit eccentric. A kind man with a screw loose is the standard for healing types…’

Her mind, captivated by his beauty, was forcibly trying to make sense of the situation. Is beauty an excuse for plausibility?

Litania, her reason half-melted by Orbis’s melting smile and voice, was mercilessly stepping on his feet, but because Orbis showed no sign of discomfort, she didn’t even realize it.

“I’m truly glad to have met you, Litania.”

A handsome man smiles at me. He says he’s glad to meet me. Then, I’m glad too. Isn’t beauty itself happiness?

A smile naturally spread across her face. Litania gave up trying to control her rising corners of her mouth. She answered with a broad smile.

“Me too, Orbis.”

“Then shall we get married?”

“Yes, that sounds ni…”

Answering as if in a trance, Litania suddenly came to her senses.

“What?”

Marriage?

“Are you crazy?”

Litania shook off Orbis’s hand and tried to take three steps back but stumbled. As if cold water had been poured over her head, her mind cleared and chills ran down her spine.

‘Isn’t he insane?’

No wonder things were progressing too easily.

It’s not like there wouldn’t be men approaching her with interest from their first meeting, but hasn’t this crossed a line? Even if captivated by beauty, there should be limits.

Litania felt confident she could handle a handsome man with a screw loose, but she didn’t want to get close to a complete nutcase.

‘Could he be the villain instead of the male lead?’

This is dangerous. If she gets dragged along, captivated by his beauty, she might disappear without a trace.

Why, aren’t there urban legends like that?

‘Surely the genre of the novel I’ve been transported into isn’t horror instead of romance?’

Litania shook her head to shake off the creeping feeling in her neck and grabbed the railing.

“We just met. What do you mean, get married?”

“Oh my.”

Orbis blinked slowly.

“I see. This time was the first, wasn’t it.”

This time?