“I’m sorry I acted immaturely last time.”

“Not at all, Your Majesty. Please don’t worry about it.”

“I knew you would understand. You’ve always been so kind, both then and now.”

The Empress smiled kindly and gently patted Alicia’s hand, which she was holding.

Watching this, the Duchess exchanged glances with the Duke.

Although the Duchess had made a veiled threat last time, this reaction was more excessive than expected.

“Ah, I’ve been friends with Sarah, that is, your mother, since childhood. So whenever Sarah brought you to the palace, we met, but I wonder if you remember?”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I don’t quite-”

“That’s understandable. You were very young then. You used to play well with our Harry too.”

The Emperor looked at the Empress, who was now speaking casually and familiarly, trying to hide his surprised expression.

It was true that the Count and Countess of Lancaster had brought Alicia to the palace before.

But the Empress had such hysterical fits each time that the Emperor had even advised the Count of Lancaster not to make family visits anymore.

As a result, they had been on distant terms until now, so the Emperor found the Empress’s current attitude quite suspicious.

Nevertheless, the Empress’s kind words continued.

“Come visit the palace often like before. I don’t have a daughter, so I’ve been feeling lonely lately without many people to talk to.”

This time, not just Alicia, but everyone was more surprised.

Especially William, standing behind, asked with his eyes ‘What on earth is going on?’, but Eric was equally clueless.

Finally, the Emperor looked around and spoke to the Empress in a low voice.

“Empress. Let’s go now. It’s not proper to keep the Duke’s family too long.”

“Oh my. Look at me. I got carried away because I was so glad to see them.”

The Empress laughed awkwardly and turned to Alicia again.

“Well then, Alicia. See you later. Let’s have tea and eat delicious things with Harry like before.”

“…Yes.”

The Empress patted Alicia’s hand once more, which had answered in a daze from surprise, and moved along with the Emperor.

As she passed by Eric’s side, the Empress stopped for a moment.

“Ah. Count Russell.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Don’t monopolize Alicia too much.”

“Pardon?”

“Overprotection is not good. If you make other young ladies jealous, Miss Alicia might have a hard time in high society later.”

“…Yes.”

“Of course, I’ll look after her, but even I have limits in getting involved with the entire social scene.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Well then. Have a good time.”

With those final words, the Empress left with the Emperor.

William, following behind, shrugged as he passed by, and Harry hurriedly walked away, trying to avoid the gaze of the Duke’s family.

Left behind, the Duke couple, Eric, and Alicia finally spoke when they were out of earshot.

“What on earth is going on?”

“Mother, you said you had a confrontation last time, don’t tell me-”

“I didn’t go that far. And ‘confrontation’? Where did you learn such an uncouth word?”

‘His Highness William said it.’

But Eric wisely kept his mouth shut.

Glaring at Eric, the Duchess turned to Alicia with curious eyes.

“So, was Lady Sarah friends with Her Majesty the Empress?”

“Ah, well-”

Mother had said they were acquainted, not friends. Moreover, judging by her tone, they didn’t seem to be on good terms.

Feeling awkward about how to answer, Alicia smiled uncomfortably and evaded.

“Um, yes. I didn’t hear the details though.”

“I see? You seem to have deep connections with the royal family in many ways.”

“And you were close with Prince Harry too.”

Eric added lastly, smiling mischievously.

Now he understood why Harry had called Alicia by name at the opera house.

But Alicia slightly furrowed her brow at the memory she couldn’t recall no matter how hard she tried.

“But I don’t remember at all. Was that what His Highness wanted to say?”

“Oh, never mind. You might not remember since it was when you were young. More importantly-”

The Duchess pushed Eric and Alicia’s backs.

“The waltz is about to start, isn’t it? Shouldn’t you two get going?”

[This is the timeline separator]

Even until the moment the music started and she took her position with Eric to begin the steps, Alicia was quite nervous.

She couldn’t remember dancing the waltz since her debutante ball, and it was burdensome to have people glancing at her since she entered the dance floor.

Noticing her mood, Eric whispered in her ear.

“Fortunately, I can lead a bit. Trust me.”

His arm firmly supporting her waist and their hands gently clasped together felt reliable.

So Alicia smiled and nodded.

‘She’s light.’

Despite saying she was nervous, Alicia followed Eric’s lead lightly and gracefully.

When their eyes met as Alicia twirled once and returned to Eric’s arms, she smiled brightly as if her tension had eased.

“Not so bad, right?”

“Thanks to you.”

Watching the two dance the waltz, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester smiled contentedly.

As the Duke dabbed his eyes with a handkerchief, the Duchess lowered his arm holding the handkerchief, saying not to do that as it was embarrassing.

“Why, dear? I’m moved. I never thought I’d live to see my son dancing the waltz.”

“That’s true. It has been a while since we’ve seen him at a party.”

“Isn’t it fortunate, dear? That boy seems to be leading properly.”

“Oh my, we taught him properly from a young age, and it was a required subject at the military academy, so there’s no need to worry.”

But even as she said this, the Duchess’s eyes were fixed on Eric and Alicia with a pleased expression.

‘As expected, she doesn’t remember anything.’

In another part of the banquet hall, Harry was watching the scene with a different atmosphere from the Duke couple.

Even when the Empress subtly brought up his name, Alicia was just surprised by the Empress’s attitude and didn’t react much.

‘Of course, I thought that would be the case, but still.’

Harry smiled self-deprecatingly.

It’s true that because of his mother, the Empress, he couldn’t meet Alicia freely.

Harry, who knew his mother’s temperament well, had no intention of upsetting her and causing harm to Alicia.

So Harry had been carefully watching over Alicia.

He secretly sent a letter of recommendation in the prince’s name when she was looking for a job due to family circumstances, boosted sales with bulk purchases listing Alicia as the referrer, and sent experts to help resolve issues when accidents occurred.

All in secret. All without revealing his identity.

‘If only I could have repaid her like that.’

Unfortunately, now she had a reliable fiancé to the extent that she didn’t need his help, so there was little he could do.

Moreover, that fiancé seemed to dislike him, making it awkward to approach.

“There you are, Harry.”

The Empress, who soon approached, whispered subtly.

“Are you going to keep watching them like this?”

“…Mother.”

“Why don’t you go ask Miss Lancaster for a dance? I even mentioned you were childhood friends, so she probably won’t refuse.”

“I’m not in the mood.”

“I suppose not.”

The answer to the Empress’s words was already set.

Tired, Harry sighed softly and was about to leave.

“Make up your mind quickly. You have less time than you think.”

“…”

The Empress tapped Harry’s shoulder as if urging him and then left.

Left alone, Harry continued to stare at the retreating figure of the Empress with a complicated expression.

The emotion that appeared on his face seemed like hatred, anger, and pity all at once.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Well, well.”

A man looking out at the garden from the second-floor balcony of the palace smiled faintly.

A red ring glittered on the finger of the neatly dressed man.

“As expected, it appeared. I’d like to have a chat, but if I approach, it will run away. It seems to be powerless too.”

The man seemed to ponder for a moment before smiling.

Even after a long time, it seemed to be the same as before, always missing each other.

But this time, he had no intention of just finding it cute and letting it go.

He had been severely punished for doing so before.

“What are you doing?”

“You startled me. Didn’t I tell you last time? Make some noise when you approach.”

“…”

The man approaching the one with the red ring was also neatly dressed.

“Indeed, you look better without the robe.”

“Shouldn’t you be going down now?”

“I suppose so.”

After glancing down at the palace garden, the man fiddled with his red ring and turned to his subordinate.

“By any chance, do we have a sorcerer we can use right away?”

“We should. What are you planning to do?”

“Planning to do? I just want to have a chat.”

The man grinned, and after staring at him for a moment, the subordinate nodded.

It seemed he had already made up his mind, so there was no way to stop him anyway.

All he could do was to try to contain the situation from getting out of hand.

“As you wish.”

“You really are a good child. Unlike that child. Always have been.”

[This is the timeline separator]

The palace garden was not as dark as expected.

The moonlight was shining softly, and lanterns were lit here and there for the party guests, making it safe to walk.

Moreover, perhaps because it was summer, the scent of lush trees was pleasantly wafting through the air.

Eric was walking through it, holding Alicia’s hand.

After dancing two songs in a row, Eric immediately left the banquet hall with Alicia.

If they had stayed in the banquet hall, they would have had to go around greeting people with his parents again, or William might have caught them and forced them to work.

As they walked, Eric glanced to the side.

Alicia’s lush eyelashes visible from the side, her straight high nose, and the red lips below all captivated Eric’s gaze.

The Empress had told him not to monopolize Alicia for her sake, but how could he do that?

Besides, there was no reason to listen now to the Empress’s words that he hadn’t really heeded until now.

“It feels different at night.”

“Indeed.”

It felt different from the rose garden they had seen at the garden party before and recently.

From where the two were standing, the garden spread out widely, creating a maze-like pattern with green walls bending in different directions.

And at the end, the tombstone of the first Emperor that they had seen before was clearly visible even at night.

It was as William had said.

The tombstone gleamed noticeably even with just the light from the lanterns placed below.

Then, a familiar blue color caught Alicia’s eye.

‘Oh, that butterfly. It’s here too?’