Contrary to his elegant and sophisticated appearance, Anselot’s dance steps were a total disaster, and he was completely off-beat. Within just three minutes of starting to dance, I almost got my foot stepped on five times, making me wonder if this was his new way of tormenting me.

“Oh, it’s my first time,” Anselot replied with a calm voice.

“First time dancing?” I asked incredulously.

Anselot was a prince of Luenhart. It was unbelievable that a prince from a kingdom had never danced before.

“The ladies of Luenhart didn’t like to partner with me. Despite appearances, I was quite an unpopular man,” Anselot said, pretending to be sad as he drooped his eyebrows. But the smile at the corners of his mouth betrayed his true feelings.

‘It doesn’t make sense. With Anselot’s status, he would have had formal partners at least…’

Suddenly, I remembered a sinister rumor about him.

‘They say all the women engaged to the prince ended up mysteriously killed. And the prime suspect was Prince Anselot himself…’

Could it be because of that rumor?

I knew the rumor was baseless, but it still sent shivers down people’s spines.

“What are you thinking so hard about with that little head of yours?” Anselot interrupted my thoughts.

“You should focus on dancing with me.”

“I don’t need to focus to dance better than you,” I replied, sticking out my lip.

Anselot chuckled, finding something amusing.

But I couldn’t laugh along with him. I had to quickly move my steps to avoid having my fragile toes stepped on by Anselot’s shoe heels.

Despite his terrible dancing, Anselot’s impressive appearance prevented him from looking ridiculous.

Finally, after narrowly avoiding getting my toes crushed by Anselot about 1397 times, the musicians finished their performance. I could hear whispers about Anselot and me amid the applause.

“How well they match each other!”

“What an elegant scene.”

“Maybe this is the start of a new relationship between the Empire and Luenhart…”

Not sure if Anselot heard these comments, his expression turned smug.

“See, everyone says it’s splendid.”

“That splendor isn’t referring to your dancing skills,” I remarked as we retreated to a corner to sip champagne as the second song began.

‘It was exhausting…’

It wasn’t just the focus of the people’s attention that was tiring. It was my first time leading the first dance, but I had danced in public a few times before.

It was Anselot’s terrible dancing and the fear of being crushed by him that had kept me tense, and the relief that washed over me was immense.
As I watched people dancing with vacant expressions, a soft fabric suddenly touched my forehead.

“You’ve been sweating,” Anselot said as he gently wiped the sweat beads off my forehead with a white handkerchief.

Then, he suddenly leaned closer and flashed a grin. “Princess, were you that nervous dancing with me?”

“Of course, I was nervous! I nearly got stepped on and killed!”

I raised my voice in surprise, and Anselot let out a cheerful laugh.

“Keep this,” he said, handing me the handkerchief before walking away.

‘Where is he going?’

I wondered, tilting my head as I watched his calm departure.

“Princess Luibel!”

Sylvia approached me briskly, her eyes sparkling.

“I knew it! You two match so well! What was that just now? Wiping off sweat?”

“Just a gentleman’s courtesy, that’s all.”

“But that’s Anselot! He doesn’t know the first thing about being a gentleman!”

“Huh?”

Though Anselot occasionally displayed strange behavior and words, he did seem to maintain a proper manner…

I glanced up at Sylvia’s head.

Sylvia of the House of Winster, a noble lady

Affinity: 279

‘Sylvia… she doesn’t dislike me after all.’

I had suspected that Sylvia, who seemed to dislike me, might fabricate lies to get me in trouble, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

“Oh, dear. You’re so unaware of rumors. Especially about your own lover.”

Sylvia clicked her tongue and scolded me.

Despite her behavior, she didn’t seem to like me…

“Didn’t you know? Recently, a lady who had a crush on Prince Anselot approached him, and he showed her a very…”

Sylvia paused, glancing around.

Then, she whispered in my ear, “He showed her an utterly dog-like manner.”

“A dog… what?”

I blinked in surprise. Sylvia slightly blushed, fanning herself.

“Using such vulgar language made me a bit hot. But there’s no other way to describe it.”

What did he do to make Sylvia, who values the honor of nobility, use such a term?

Maybe Anselot’s unpopularity in Luenhart was due to his dog-like character?

“Oh, right. I came with my brother today.”

“Your brother?”

“Yes, my brother who was studying abroad. He’s back in the capital for the Emperor’s birthday. I’ve mentioned him several times, haven’t I?”

I vaguely remembered Sylvia mentioning a brother.

But since she usually snapped at me, I hadn’t paid much attention to her stories.

“Of course, I remember.”

“Good. I’ll introduce you to him.”

“No, it’s okay…”

I didn’t particularly want to meet her family, but before I could decline, she called out.

“Klaus, brother! Come here!”