“It seems I have interrupted the ladies’ conversation.”

The plain voice awakened Dalia. At his words, the ladies all chimed in.

“Not at all, Your Highness. Rather, the atmosphere has become much livelier with your presence.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

Alexion’s smile deepened at the ladies’ response. The atmosphere instantly became warm and friendly.

As Alexion’s gaze swept slowly over the ladies’ faces, it naturally lingered on Dalia.

“This lady is…”

“She’s the Duchess of Sayer.”

The Empress stepped forward at Alexion’s question.

“Margaret even made a special request to me. She said that after the previous Duke died, she was feeling lonely at the mansion, but the new Duchess has been a great help. So today, I thought I’d give the Duchess of Sayer some support.”

As she spoke, the Empress glanced briefly at Lloyd behind her.

Despite appearing late to the banquet, her eyes showed she had already grasped the entire situation.

Dalia, who had been looking for the right moment to greet the Crown Prince, gave a formal greeting.

It would have been against etiquette to remain silent after the Empress had introduced her to the Crown Prince.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness. I am Dalia Sayer. I feel reassured knowing that the Crown Prince is working so hard for the country.”

“Come to think of it, this is my first time meeting the Duchess of Sayer. I was unable to attend your wedding as I was in the south at the time.”

“That’s not something someone who will do great things for the country should worry about. Your words alone are enough, please don’t give it another thought.”

As a duchess, there was no harm in making a good impression on the imperial family if one wanted to live well in the empire.

Thus, Dalia employed all the etiquette knowledge she knew to address the two respectfully.

But Dalia found this whole situation merely bothersome.

All of this – coming to the imperial palace out of the blue, receiving people’s goodwill unexpectedly, and now exchanging words with the Crown Prince like this.

While maintaining a smile on the outside and responding earnestly, all she wanted was to leave this place quickly.

So she was thinking of going outside to rest quietly once the Crown Prince and Empress left, but.

“The princess who was supposed to be my partner tonight couldn’t attend due to illness. Would the Duchess of Sayer be my first dance partner?”

All her plans were thwarted again by the Crown Prince’s unexpected proposal.

“Pardon? Me?”

Too surprised, Dalia pointed at herself with her index finger, forgetting all about etiquette.

The first dance at a party, especially at a banquet held in the imperial palace, held a very important meaning.

Generally, it was customary to have the first dance with one’s partner.

Originally, Dalia should have had the first dance with Clayton, but now that he had come as Lloyd’s partner, the situation had become awkward.

“Ah, I…”

As Dalia showed a troubled expression at his proposal and looked towards the Empress, she didn’t seem to have any major objections either.

With the Empress’s tacit approval, Alexion continued.

“It seems the Duchess is also alone, which is why I’m asking.”

“Ah…”

Everyone’s attention was focused on who would be the Sayer Duke’s first dance partner. And the partner who couldn’t share that first dance would face great embarrassment.

It could be Lloyd, or it could be Dalia. Of course, it would likely be Dalia.

“Since the Duke of Sayer is having his first dance with someone else, there’s no need for you to feel conflicted, Duchess.”

While Dalia was generally indifferent to being embarrassed or becoming the subject of gossip, and the Crown Prince’s words weren’t exactly wrong, somehow it didn’t feel right.

So Dalia was about to decline the Crown Prince’s offer politely without breaching etiquette. But then.

At that moment, her eyes met Clayton’s, who was looking this way.

He had even stopped his conversation with the nobles and was staring intently at the two of them.

Why was someone who had shown no interest in her suddenly looking so intensely? And with a gaze that seemed somewhat displeased.

With Clayton’s belated interest, Dalia stopped her attempt to refuse and began to think.

Suddenly, a hypothesis flashed through her mind.

‘Wait, could this be…’

Jealousy?

As the word flashed through her mind, Dalia let out a sigh as if she had just had a great realization.

‘Right, jealousy!’

Obsession and possessiveness could be considered default values for male leads in romance fantasy novels.

Why hadn’t she thought of this until now?

Dalia’s purple eyes sparkled as she discovered a new hope.

She had a feeling that she might be able to create an event that would touch Clayton’s nerves.

After that, the deliberation was brief. Wondering if she should pretend nothing happened, Dalia grabbed the Crown Prince’s outstretched hand and said,

“It would be an infinite honor for our family if Your Highness would dance with me!”

The strategy had changed.

Now it was about provoking jealousy.

* * *

Soon, the bell signaling the start of the first dance began to ring.

At the clear and cheerful sound echoing through the hall, everyone began to gather in pairs at the center of the banquet hall as if they had been waiting for this moment.

And among the couples gathered, the one attracting the most attention was undoubtedly the Crown Prince and Dalia.

As the two held hands and stood in the center of the stage, even those who were on stage to dance themselves glanced at the pair.

This was because Dalia ended up being the first to dance with a partner, defying the predictions of those who had been guessing which woman would be left alone.

And not with the Duke of Sayer, but with the Crown Prince.

It was the moment a love triangle transformed into a quadrangle.

Meanwhile, Dalia, who was the focus of everyone’s attention, swallowed dry.

It wasn’t that she was particularly burdened by people’s gazes. What Dalia was most worried about now was none other than the dance itself.

‘I said I’d dance, but…’

She belatedly realized that the only dance she knew was the cha-cha-cha she had learned in physical education class.

Why did she only realize this crucial fact after the music had started?

She regretted not having had the opportunity or even the thought to learn to dance since her possession.

While it was one thing for her to embarrass herself, she became stiff with worry about causing trouble for the Crown Prince.

Then Alexion gently wrapped his arm around Dalia’s waist and whispered,

“Relax. Just leave your body to me.”

Somehow he knew she couldn’t dance. The Crown Prince amazingly eased her worries.

The truly fortunate thing was that her tension eased a bit at the Crown Prince’s reassurance.

‘Alright. Let’s give it a try.’

The steps would be hidden by the hem of her dress anyway. She just needed to move as the Crown Prince moved.

When she organized her thoughts like this, the dance seemed simpler than expected.

Soon, a gentle melody flowed from the conductor.

Dalia, who was awkward and stiff at first, was led by the Crown Prince’s naturally skillful guidance, and before she knew it, she began to enjoy the dance.

As they came close and then apart, then close again and apart, their breaths mingled and separated repeatedly.

The man’s hand gently embracing her waist and his left hand holding her right hand.

All of these, combined with the music, began to create the illusion that she was alone in this space with the man.

Dalia stared intently at the face of the Crown Prince who was leading her with familiarity.

His straight features and mysterious blue eyes that naturally drew people in were looks that could never be considered those of a supporting character.

He was certainly not inferior even when compared to Clayton, whom she had considered the most handsome man in the world.

‘Now I understand why people fall in love while dancing.’

In classic movies, there were often scenes where the male and female leads fall in love while dancing.

At first, such situations seemed too unnatural and sometimes even ridiculous. But now that she was experiencing it herself, she could somewhat understand why they fell in love.

The breath of the partner tickles your cheek, and the heat rising from the body is transmitted to each other intact.

When their chests touched, she could even feel the sound of their beating hearts.

And all of this made her fall into the illusion that an invisible wall had been erected in the noisy banquet hall, leaving only the two of them.

As Dalia was engrossed in the dance, forgetting her original purpose in this new and mysterious experience, it happened.

She inadvertently turned her gaze and met Clayton’s eyes looking at her. But.

‘…Huh?’

Red eyes containing such blatant jealousy, not even attempting to hide the emotion.

Without a doubt, if eyes could tear a person apart, they would look just like that.

‘What’s this? I feel like I’ve touched something I shouldn’t have…’

The survival instinct deeply ingrained in her subconscious began to sound an alarm.

I think I might be in trouble?