Upon receiving the host’s permission, Khaled immediately grabbed Velia’s hand and helped her up.

“Velia, they say it’s about time to wrap up.”

Khaled had a tendency to act on his own accord, but when one examined his actions closely, they were all meticulously calculated within the bounds he could control.

That’s why his sudden appearance at the women’s tea party seemed uncharacteristic.

But the moment she looked up and met his eyes, Velia recognized a very familiar expression on his face.

‘…I can’t believe it!’

That expression was the one Khaled wore on the day she first arrived in the empire, when he greeted her with a comical dramatization.

Understanding his playful eyes, Velia decided to play along.

“I apologize. I must take my leave now.”

“No need to worry! We were actually just about to finish. Please don’t feel burdened, Your Highness.”

Count Duncan seemed grateful that Velia had let the lack of preparation for the tea party slide.

Her approach to Velia had become significantly warmer.

‘Did she feel a bit hurt toward the Princess of Canteliff…?’

While that wouldn’t mean she would cut off relations with the princess, she was slightly showing her displeasure for the moment.

“I express my gratitude for Count Duncan’s generous spirit.”

Velia turned to the other noblewomen.

“I will invite all the ladies here to the royal palace next time. We’ll have more to talk about then.”

Neither overly apologetic nor rude, it was a flawless wrapup.

“Are you really inviting us?”

“Of course.”

Being invited to the palace was a rare occasion.

The young ladies’ eyes gleamed with excitement.

They seemed eager to go home and share the news with their families.

“Then please excuse me for leaving first.”

Velia had been contemplating hosting a tea party at the palace anyway.

What a great opportunity this turned out to be.

Thus, she took Khaled’s hand and exited the garden.

‘This wasn’t what I planned…’

Watching their affectionate departure, Elin Canteliff clenched her fist tightly under the table.

Her fist trembled as she filled it with strength.
Everyone was talking about how much Prince Khaled loved Princess Velia.

Why did it come to this?

Initially, the plan was to isolate Princess Velia by putting her in a difficult situation.

Elin clenched her teeth.

“Your Highness.”

“…Count Duncan.”

Upon hearing her name called, Elin forced a smile and took Count Duncan’s hand.

“I’m sorry.”

Count Duncan sighed softly, looking at Elin who spoke as if she were regretful while gripping his hand tightly.

“I shouldn’t have asked you to do something pointless.”

“It’s not that, Your Highness.”

Elin lowered her eyes coldly.

“I’ve truly disgraced myself in front of everyone here.”

Elin appeared sincere.

“I was so upset to know that Prince Raul had proposed to the princess that I acted rashly.”

The nobles present were moved by her candid expression.

It would have been extremely uncomfortable for anyone to face the person their fiancé had proposed to.

So they sympathized with Elin’s emotions.

Although Princess Velia turned out to be a better person than they thought, they still felt more pity for Elin.

“I will invite you ladies to my home soon as an apology for today’s confusion.”

Elin carefully stood up. She didn’t want to stay here any longer.

Anger was boiling up to the tip of her head, making it hard to control herself.

“Well, I will take my leave now.”

The nobles all cast sympathetic glances at Elin, who maintained a faint smile as she disappeared.

‘How dare I be treated like this?’

Velia Ronica…!

Elin gritted her teeth and hurried out of the garden.

Her eyes looked entirely different from how she had looked at the noble ladies earlier—utterly predatory.

“Let’s go back to the mansion.”

“Yes.”

Climbing into the carriage, Elin bit her nails and lost herself in thought.

The afterimage of Prince Khaled holding Princess Velia’s hand and disappearing wouldn’t fade away.

It was the first time she had seen the dignified Prince act so humbly toward anyone.

Just for one woman.

‘Ha, he even came to the tea party?’

It was laughable. It was obviously a show.

However…

Raul had shown no animosity towards Elin, even in his forced actions.

‘…I was the one supposed to be engaged to him.’

The vivid image of Raul staring intently at Velia at the recent party floated up in her mind.

At the end of Raul’s eyes filled with possessiveness, Princess Velia was laughing happily with Prince Khaled.

After watching them for a while, Raul furrowed his brows and suddenly left the scene.

‘It’s not Princess Velia but me who’s engaged to Raul…!’

Elin, holding back her anger, bit her nails once again.