Riena inadvertently let out a shrill voice at the unexpected words.

“What?”

Anaïs gave her a look as if to say ‘why are you so surprised?’ and continued explaining.

“If Father suddenly goes senile and tries to break off your engagement with the Duke to push for a marriage with me, I’ll strongly oppose it.”

What should she say here?

Thank you? You don’t need to do that?

Neither seemed like an appropriate response.

Fortunately, Anaïs didn’t seem to care about her reply and continued speaking.

“Anyway, apart from that, I wanted to say that I’d like to be friends with you. What do you think?”

“…Pardon?”

This time her voice rose automatically.

“Why are you so surprised?”

“Me with Your Highness?”

“Yes. Is that not allowed?”

Anaïs seemed to not understand Riena’s reaction.

“You probably know this, but there are no women my age in the ducal families of the empire right now. The duchesses and noble ladies are either much older or ridiculously younger than me.”

Riena nodded slightly to indicate she knew.

“And then you appeared. A noblewoman around my age. An age-mate who will have a status that allows for some informality – isn’t that wonderful?”

Anaïs winked one eye.

“That’s the official reason.”

“…?”

“I want to gain Winckler through you.”

“Winckler?”

“Yes.”

Anaïs wiped the smile from her face.

“Do you know why Father is trying to match me with Duke Winckler?”

“Because Cass is a good marriage partner suitable for the Imperial Princess?”

“Wrong.”

Anaïs playfully tapped the tip of Riena’s nose.

“Of course, that reason isn’t entirely absent. There aren’t many men of suitable status to marry me, the Imperial Princess. Otherwise, I’d have to go abroad. But I absolutely refused to go abroad, so they looked within the empire. But that’s not the real reason.”

“Then what is it?”

“Father intends to tie my hands and feet. By marrying me off to the prestigious House Winckler.”

Riena tried to understand Anaïs’s words.

“To prevent you from being involved in imperial affairs?”

“Exactly.”

Anaïs tapped Riena’s nose tip once more.

“More precisely, it’s to drive me out. It’s tantamount to exile.”

“…”

“If I marry Duke Winckler, I’ll live as the Duchess of Winckler, not the Imperial Princess of the empire. I won’t be able to actively voice my opinions on imperial matters anymore. Even if I say something, people will think that I, as a member of House Winckler, am prioritizing Winckler’s interests above all else.”

“…”

“But paradoxically, Father can gain Winckler thanks to my marriage. It’s a marriage solely for Father’s benefit, without any consideration for my position.”

It wasn’t the atmosphere to interject or agree. Riena just silently listened to her words.

“You see, I don’t want to end my life as a mere duchess.”

While the position of a duchess wasn’t one to be dismissed as ‘mere’, it was possible because it was Anaïs saying it.

The moment she saw Anaïs’s golden eyes burning with undisguisable ambition, Riena realized.

This person wants to become the Emperor.

She had grown up that way until now, and would continue to strive for it in the future.

However, aiming for the throne was tantamount to treason. Therefore, neither Anaïs nor Riena explicitly spoke those words.

But even so, Anaïs’s intention was clearly conveyed to Riena.

It felt like she had unwittingly become involved in something tremendous.

What on earth should she do about this?

As Riena stiffened her face in contemplation, Anaïs relaxed her solemn expression and smiled.

“Well, anyway, that’s what I mean. So I thought it would be nice to have Winckler by my side. But as you know, is the Duke someone who would fall for seduction?”

“…No, he’s not.”

“That’s why I’m targeting you. The Duke seems to be head over heels for you.”

“You’re mistaken. It’s not like that.”

“Well, we’ll see about that.”

Anaïs shrugged her shoulders.

“But as I talked with you a bit, I found myself wanting to know you, regardless of Winckler.”

“…Pardon?”

Anaïs gently stroked Riena’s cheek with her thumb.

“What do you think? How about kicking Duke Winckler to the curb and coming to me? Aren’t I much better than the Duke who can’t even express his emotions properly? I’m confident I can treat you well.”

“No, I mean…”

Anaïs burst into laughter.

“I’m joking. I’ve noticed that teasing you is quite enjoyable.”

“…”

“Don’t worry. I like men too. Handsome men with good bodies, that is.”

That statement seemed sincere.

Only then could Riena heave a sigh of relief.

“But I genuinely want to get to know you. As a friend, I mean. I have a feeling we could become quite good friends.”

While Riena didn’t know why Anaïs was so confident, to be honest, she doubted whether she could really be good friends with her.

Anaïs was, first of all, the Imperial Princess, and being in a position where she didn’t need to be mindful of anyone’s feelings, she was excessively frank.

However, since she couldn’t say that outright, Riena agreed moderately.

“Yes, me too.”

“I can see from your expression that you don’t really think so.”

“…”

Anaïs tapped Riena’s nose tip one last time and stood up from her seat.

“Shall we go now? If people know that you and I have been alone for so long, they might misunderstand our relationship.”

“You’re joking again.”

“Oh, you’re not falling for it anymore?”

Anaïs laughed and pulled back the curtain. Holding the curtain until Riena came out, Anaïs said,

“Well then, I’ll invite you to my palace soon, so let’s meet again.”

“Understood, Your Highness.”

She left the hall without any lingering attachment, as if her business was finished. Although they had only talked briefly, Riena’s head was spinning.

As Riena was sighing, she saw Cassel approaching from afar. Cassel, who quickly came to Riena, asked while looking at Anaïs’s retreating figure.

“Were you with Her Imperial Highness?”

“Yes.”

“May I ask what you talked about?”

“We didn’t talk about anything special.”

Riena decided not to relay Anaïs’s words about not being interested in Cassel and telling her not to worry.

“She said she wants to be friends with me, and that she’ll invite me to the Imperial Princess’s palace soon.”

“…”

“There seem to be more complicated circumstances than I thought. I’ll follow your wishes. If you’re not comfortable with it, I’ll decline the invitation even if it comes.”

“I think it’s fine for you to build a friendship with Her Imperial Highness. In fact, Her Highness might be able to support you.”

“Is that so? Then I’ll meet with her once.”

Their conversation had more or less concluded. Just then, as if on cue, a waltz announcing the start of the first dance began to play.

Cassel bowed slightly and extended his hand.

“Ria. Would you grant me the honor of sharing your first dance?”

“Gladly.”

As Riena gently placed her hand in his, he led her to the center of the hall. Once again, people’s gazes were drawn to them, but Riena no longer felt nervous or intimidated.

With Cassel standing opposite her, it felt like they could overcome any adversity.

The two took up the standing position and slowly began to move. The rhythm that had been a bit awkward during practice at the mansion was perfect today. They moved without the slightest misstep, as if they were born for each other.

Riena leaned closer to Cassel and whispered,

“I’m only going to dance with you today. Even if anyone else asks me to dance, I’ll refuse them all.”

“…?”

Dancing at a party was just an extension of social activities. Even those with spouses or fiancés could freely dance with other partners at parties. It was absolutely not a flaw, and no one looked at it with suspicion.

So it wouldn’t have been strange at all for Riena to dance with men other than Cassel.

Yet, for some reason, Riena didn’t want to.

She shyly added to Cassel, who didn’t seem to grasp her intention,

“So I hope you won’t dance with any other ladies besides me.”

No matter how meaningless it might be, she didn’t like the idea of Cassel asking other women to dance, holding their hands and waists, and dancing intimately.

“I want you to look only at me.”

“…”

“Do you dislike me for being like this?”

“How could I ever dislike you?”

“Jealousy is one of the emotions emphasized to be avoided in the doctrine of God Karwin.”

Cassel leaned in closer and whispered softly in her ear.

“If I tell you that even your jealousy is welcome to me, would you come to dislike me?”

“How could I?”

As Riena answered with a voice tinged with laughter, Cassel also replied with a smile.

“My heart is exactly the same as yours.”