After finishing the dance with the Emperor, the one who matched her rhythm to the ensuing music was Adrian.

He, who had just been holding his beloved wife in his arms with a smile, greeted his beloved sister with another bright smile and gently led her with his steps.

“You must have practiced hard with Sienna. Your dancing has improved.”

“You too, your dancing has improved even though you probably didn’t have a partner to practice with.”

“Are you teasing me now because you have a partner, brother?”

The hem of Alicia’s voluminous dress pleasantly brushed against her ankles as she followed Adrian’s steps.

Alicia had never thought there would come a day when she would dance with her family again.

“Alicia? Are you crying? I, I wasn’t really teasing you! It was a compliment!”

“…I was pretending to cry. You meant that compliment, right?”

Alicia, who had barely held back the tears that were about to form in her eyes, asked with a smile.

Adrian, who seemed relieved that Alicia’s acting was convincing, chuckled and replied.

“Of course.”

Seeing her brother’s face smiling without any worry, she was reminded of the tragic incident that happened in the past.

Come to think of it, what happened that day was the beginning of all misfortunes.

‘I will prevent it.’

She would somehow prevent that incident from happening.

After finishing the dance with Adrian, Alicia made this resolve once again, curtsied slightly, and returned to her place holding the Emperor’s hand.

After the imperial family’s dance ended, the music that started again was for the nobles.

As Alicia watched people approaching their fiancées or those they had in mind to ask for a dance, she felt Killian’s gaze on her.

It wasn’t just Killian.

The nobles who remembered Alicia, who would usually rush to Killian to ask for a dance as soon as the first dance ended, were also looking at her.

When will she run to Killian?

How will she embarrass herself this time?

Who knows, maybe this time that fearsome Duke Diaz will accept the Princess’s request.

Numerous tangled thoughts in their gazes pricked Alicia’s skin.

While she continued to ignore such gazes pretending to be composed, she caught sight of someone approaching Killian at the edge of her vision.

Red hair.

It was Cheryl Lewis.

On the first night of the festival banquet, all women wear white dresses.

Cheryl, who approached Killian as if flaunting her distinctively bright red hair amidst the numerous pure white dresses, was seen covering her mouth with a fan and smiling coyly.

Alicia, who had been unconsciously following Cheryl’s figure with her eyes, was startled when her gaze met Killian’s, who had been watching her, and quickly averted her eyes.

Surely no one had been watching her behave like this?

As Alicia was discreetly looking around the Grand Hall, she unconsciously turned her gaze back to where Killian was due to the growing murmurs.

“…Huh?”

The first thing that caught Alicia’s eye was Cheryl’s face, biting her lower lip in frustration.

What had made her so angry?

Her pretty face was as red as the color of her hair.

And the next thing she saw was the nobles unable to hide their surprised expressions as they stared somewhere.

Showing one’s inner thoughts so transparently at a place like this was a mistake made only by those who hadn’t properly learned noble etiquette.

The nobles who used to mock Alicia for not being able to hide her feelings were now revealing their shocked inner thoughts as they stared somewhere.

The last thing that caught her eye was Killian.

As he approached with long strides, a smile as if painted with a brush was spread across his face.

So Killian…

‘…Why is he coming this way?’

The nobles who were dancing, the Emperor who had been watching them with a pleased expression, all looked at Killian and Alicia, unable to hide their surprise.

But the one who was most surprised was undoubtedly Alicia.

What on earth had happened for Killian to walk towards her?

No, could it be that he had business with the Emperor, not her?

But the surprise on her father’s face was not fake.

If not the Emperor, could it be Adrian?

Is there any reason for these two who can’t stand each other to get close at a place like this?

But that thought didn’t last long either.

Because Adrian, who had been chatting with Sienna and turned his head at the nobles’ murmurs, scrunched up his face the moment he saw Killian.

Even though he’s the Crown Prince, is it okay to dislike one of the three Dukes of Eregron this much?

No, it’s fine to dislike him, but is it okay to show it so blatantly at such a public event?

Alicia, who had been endlessly raising different questions in confusion as Killian approached, stopped thinking when he stopped in front of her.

Or more precisely, all the questions that had filled her mind vanished in an instant.

“Would you like to dance with me?”

Killian… that Killian was asking her to dance.

Is this a dream? Could it be a dream? No, this has never happened even in dreams.

Killian smiled as he saw Alicia’s sky-blue eyes shaking uncontrollably, and held out his hand.

At that sight, Alicia unconsciously placed her hand on Killian’s and rose from her seat to walk towards the center of the hall.

The first to come to their senses at their appearance were the musicians with their strong professional spirit.

Even if a sword fight broke out here, they were the ones who had to continue playing unless the Emperor ordered otherwise.

As the music started again, Alicia came to her senses.

She had tried her best not to get involved with Killian, but it was already after she had taken his hand.

As Alicia naturally began to move her feet to the slow music, she lowered her eyes, feeling the gaze of the nobles who had not yet recovered from their surprise.

She didn’t have the courage to face Killian at all.

“Are you worried about stepping on my feet?”

“Pardon?”

“I asked because you’re looking down.”

“Ah, no. There are just… too many eyes looking this way.”

“Ignore them. They’re worthless gazes.”

“Ah, that… Yes. You’re right. They’re… worthless.”

The words he’s saying are clearly the Killian she knows, but why is he dancing with her?

Moreover, when Cheryl had approached him first!

“Is it okay?”

“What is?”

“Lady Lewis… she must have been expecting to dance with the Duke.”

“That’s not possible.”

“Pardon?”

The two, who had briefly separated and then come close again in a semicircle, were traversing the hall with slow steps.

Had she misheard Killian’s words during the moment they were apart?

Alicia tilted her head.

“You seem to find this situation awkward.”

“It’s not awkward… it’s strange.”

Alicia, who had weakly responded to Killian’s words tinged with laughter, raised her head.

Would it be alright to ask?

The expectation that never seemed to tire of raising its head again was urging her to ask quickly.

“May I ask why… you asked me to dance?”

“…It was necessary.”

Killian, uncharacteristically choosing his words carefully for a moment, answered.

I knew it.

The expectation that had raised its head was once again trampled under Killian’s feet as he took slow steps.

One would think it would have become numb after being trampled so much… but her foolish self that ached with new pain each time wasn’t even pitiful.

“May I ask what kind of necessity it was?”

“You can just ask. I needed to draw people’s attention for a moment, so I asked you to dance.”

“Attention…”

“Yes, because the people gathered here shouldn’t notice someone’s absence.”

The moment she heard his words, Alicia could understand for what purpose Killian had gathered the attention of those in the Grand Hall.

It was for a secret meeting between the three Dukes and the Emperor.

Although it wasn’t a frequent occurrence, when an important matter that needed to be urgently resolved arose, the Emperor would summon the three Dukes to a secret space in the imperial palace, avoiding people’s eyes, for a long meeting.

Alicia, who only learned of such occurrences after ascending to the throne, would sometimes reminisce about the Emperor and Crown Prince who used to disappear secretly from people.

‘I shouldn’t pretend to know about this now.’

It was a secret that only the Emperor and the next heir to the throne should know.

She had to be careful, as even knowing about such a thing could be misunderstood as showing greed for the throne.

“Should I continue to draw attention with Duke Diaz?”

“I’ll have to leave my seat for a while too, so that won’t be possible.”

“Then how do you plan to avoid people’s eyes, Duke?”

If Killian couldn’t find a way, Alicia was thinking of finding one herself.

It probably wouldn’t be difficult.

Alicia was born as the beloved child of the ruler and had always received people’s attention.

If she acted even slightly different from usual, people surprised by it would gather their attention to criticize her and secretly move their lips.

There would be the side effect of her reputation falling a bit, but that wasn’t more important than the future of this Eregron.

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but… whatever you’re picturing in your head right now. It would be better to erase it.”

“Pardon?”

“It seems like you’re about to do something absurd, so I’m telling you this.”

This man who doesn’t have even a speck of interest in her sometimes makes such sharp remarks that read her mind.

There was a time when she mistakenly thought it was an expression of interest that even the person themselves hadn’t noticed.

‘That was truly an absurd thought.’

Killian just has good eyes for observing people.

Isn’t he a man who survived the harsh battlefield with those eyes?

Alicia, who had briefly recalled and then erased his past filled with misfortune and danger, was about to ask if he had a way to slip out of this place avoiding people’s gaze.

It was at that moment, in the brief interval between the end of one song and the beginning of the next.

As Alicia finished the dance and slightly bowed her head towards Killian, Reilly approached her side, smiling more handsomely than ever, and held out his hand to her.

“Princess Alicia, would you give me a chance as well?”