Isabella felt like she could fly above the sky as she danced the first waltz of the ball with the prince.

Although it was disappointing that she couldn’t stand at the very center of the stage, while Ariadne was merely dancing her first official waltz with Count Cesare, Isabella herself had danced with none other than Prince Alfonso!

Isabella’s friends flocked to her in groups to hear her story.

“Isabella! It’s truly amazing that you danced with the prince!”

It was Leonetti, the viscount who always sincerely admired Isabella, albeit in a rough way. Isabella tossed her hair with a satisfied smile.

Camellia de Castilione, the baron’s daughter, who had just been undermining Isabella while praising Ariadne, now subtly sang Isabella’s praises.

“Your dress is also very beautiful. Is it by chance from Collezionne?”

Isabella’s nose rose high. Whether it was Collezionne or not, it was a new organza dress that she barely managed to acquire on time by paying an extra 50 ducats, as it was impossible for anyone to reserve it.

The round skirt, piled up layer by layer, looked like a precious candy.

“How did you manage to get a reservation? It’s said to be difficult.”

Feeling arrogant, Isabella lied smoothly without even wetting her lips.

“Well, I made a reservation a bit late and thought I wouldn’t be able to get it. But Madam Clemenza said, ‘I would like it if Lady Isabella de Mare wore our clothes. Won’t you tailor them for us?’ and offered it to me first!”

The truth was that as soon as Ariadne’s debutante ball date was announced, Isabella contacted Collezionne. But all she got back from them was a reply that reservations were backed up and would be difficult.

But Isabella didn’t give up. She contacted Collezionne again separately, asking if they would make a dress if she chose a higherend line worth 50 ducats (about 50 million won) instead of the usual 230 ducats (about 230 million won) dress, and she managed to secure a slot with their agreement. But she kept her mouth tightly shut about this.

The girls, unaware of this, screamed in a chorus, expressing their envy towards Isabella.

“One might think that Lady Isabella is the protagonist of this ball!”

The viscount’s daughter, Leonetti, who brought this up, meant it as a compliment. But Isabella, sharp, sensed that she could be cursed, and responded modestly.

“No, no. How beautiful is my sister Ariadne. I can’t even stand at her feet!”

“The reward matches the effort!”

“Hey, if you say that, what would the young Lady de Mare become.”

The compliments were electrifying. It felt like they were nourishing her soul. Isabella enjoyed the spotlight cast on ‘me, superior to Ariadne’, pretending to be kind to her friends.

Then Julia de Baldesar, the duke’s daughter, asked a sharp question.

“But Lady de Mare, is it alright for you to wear white at your sister’s debutante ball?”

Isabella didn’t like quickwitted opponents, but she had a perfect alibi. She wore a sweet smile like cotton candy and parroted the correct answer.

“Because my sister and I are very close, she first said that she wanted to match colors with me and asked me to come wearing a white dress.”

If she herself was okay with it, what could a third party say? Isabella wore a warm smile and added a sentence.

“Our Ariadne is so sweet, isn’t she?”

Although it seemed like Ariadne’s compliment on the outside, in fact, it was a phrase that elevated Isabella herself. Isabella, the sister who Ariadne, her wonderful sister, loved enough to yield her own.

Julia couldn’t argue any further with Isabella and closed her mouth. It was something she couldn’t directly ask Ariadne, with whom she was not familiar.

To make even that highnosed daughter of the Duke of Baldesar shut up, ah, it was truly a good day.

Everything had an end. Ariadne’s seemingly endless first waltz also barely ended as the orchestra’s bow stopped.

Ariadne made a show of bowing to Cesare and quickly distanced herself from her partner. Not only did she dislike being with Cesare, but the front of her dress had been uncomfortable for a while.

‘Should I find a powder room…?’

Or should she return to her room on the second floor for a break? As Ariadne was contemplating this, she saw Prince Alfonso. At the same moment, Alfonso also spotted Ariadne and approached her with a bright face.

“Ariadne!”

“Alfonso!”

Upon discovering the prince, Ariadne sincerely thanked him with a bright smile.

“I thought you had left.”

Indeed, the prince’s position had become difficult due to Cesare’s appearance. To be precise, one might even say he had suffered a humiliation.

In such a situation, any fastidious noble would have stormed off in anger. However, Alfonso chose to stay at the party. It was a consideration for the hosts.

“I couldn’t leave without even having a waltz with the lady of the night.”

Alfonso extended his right hand with a bright smile.

“How about it, miss? Would you honor me with your grace and a waltz?”