When the doors of the banquet hall opened to the elegant melody, Maria believed that her world had finally changed today. Everything was perfect.

From the shower of flower petals and sparkling lights pouring towards her to the dazzling engagement dress sprinkled with diamond dust and the various jewels that adorned her.

And even the gazes that followed her every step.

She wanted to make it clear. In this noble place, fitting for receiving attention from the foreign envoys, the person worthy of such a position was none other than the esteemed Maria Ethel, not some insignificant half-breed.

Especially to Olivia Maderlein, who would be watching her from somewhere in the banquet hall with a twisted expression.

An intensely pleasurable sensation pierced Maria from head to toe. Her heart felt so full it might burst.

When the backlight shone behind Leopold, who seemed to rush down the stairs as if he had noticed her.

Maria could not help but smile brightly.

The one shining the most in this place was Leopold ascending now. And it was her who would be holding his hand.

However.

“Oh, Olivia…”

The name echoed quietly above the quiet banquet hall. The brilliant future that had been floating above the clouds crashed in an instant. Maria Ethel blinked silently, looking at Leopold.

I should be the one to take his hand and smile gently. However, Leopold, showing me his broad back for the first time, was staring at a spot in the banquet hall with an unfamiliar face.

And there.

Olivia Maderlein was there. With the Grand Duke by her side, Olivia Maderlein smiled as if she possessed everything.

This is ridiculous. A strange sense of foreboding surged, and Maria desperately shouted towards Leopold.

“…What are you doing, Leopold? I’m right here…!”

Maria’s voice trembled. When I spoke like this, Leopold always looked at me. But the tender eyes that should be directed towards me remained unmoved as if fixed in one place.

Uncontrollable terror rushed in. Shaking off the whisper from deep within, Maria tightly grabbed Leopold’s arm.

If she let go of this arm, it felt like she would die.

“I’m here. I’m your Maria!”

Your Maria.

The voice of malice echoed through the high-ceilinged banquet hall.

“I’m here,”

Where are you looking, Leopold?

“Stop!”

When the resounding shout of the mighty emperor was heard, Maria was startled and closed her mouth. Only now, everything before her blackened eyes became clear.

No longer seeing the back of my affectionate lover, Leopold. His eyes were fixed on Olivia Maderlein.

And interestingly observing the situation, foreign envoys and nobles. The princess and the empress, both glaring at me as if wanting to tear me apart.
Seeing the Empress staring at her with cold eyes, Maria Ethel’s mind flashed as if she had just drunk cold water. The murmurs of the nobles, which had been unheard, began to reach her ears.

“What’s going on? Is it true that His Highness the Crown Prince called Lady Maderleine?”

“Are they having the engagement ceremony with Ethel? No, is this really an engagement ceremony? It was supposed to be a congratulatory performance by the diplomatic mission.”

“It’s a spectacle. Such a thing happening when foreign envoys are here. Is Lady Ethel causing all this alone?”

“It can’t be. How could Lady Ethel make a move without the approval of Her Highness?”

It was incomprehensible. Clearly, Duke Elkin said he had prepared everything.

Maria hastily surveyed the banquet hall with a pale and shocked face. The only person who might take her side was Duke Elkin.

And in the distance, when Duke Elkin’s face appeared, Maria shouted desperately without even realizing it.

“Something’s wrong, Your Majesty! This is not what Duke Elkin, or rather, Her Majesty the Empress agreed to!”

In an instant, a large hand pressed down on Maria’s shoulder. Frightened to the point where she couldn’t even breathe, Maria was terrified. If Leopold saw her like this, he wouldn’t stand idly by.

“…I won’t allow it anymore, Ethel.”

Maria’s eyes widened. Her perfectly raised eyebrows trembled. The low growl reaching her ears was undoubtedly Leopold’s voice. The Emperor’s voice sounded from afar.

“…Ethel seems to be in bad shape. Take her out.”

What’s going on here? Is this a dream? When Maria turned around, Leopold’s back was cold. Even though his hand had left her shoulder, a heavy weight seemed to linger.

“We’ll escort you, Ethel.”

The knights and maids who had come running surrounded Maria. Unlike their polite words, they forcibly twisted her arms, blocking Maria’s mouth as if suppressing her, and held her arms in any way they could.

Maria managed to glance at the banquet hall through the knights. Anyone should have faced this situation head-on.

But all the gazes she thought were awe were laughing at her.

“…Therefore, why overlook a prince with an engagement partner. Overlooking.”

“I bet even Lady Ethel didn’t know that His Highness’s heart would sway like this.”

“Oh, dear. But if it were me, I would have noticed it yesterday. A pet name, really.”