Hana, realizing too late the stain on her dress, looked flustered. When Prince Lehart offered his handkerchief, she took it with a flushed face.
“Why don’t you go and clean it up?”
“Yes, I’ll be right back.”
Hana obediently left the spot. Currently, she was too overwhelmed by the attention the Crown Prince was showing her to think about anything else.
After Hana’s departure, an awkward silence lingered. Etienne wondered what had just happened. Prince Lehart was the first to break the silence.
“I’m sorry.”
He apologized readily for involving Hana in the situation, and Fernando responded by pulling Etienne by the shoulder, signaling to move away.
“Shall we go? Okay.”
Etienne replied with a slightly surprised face and walked away with Fernando, glancing back at the champagne glass that remained upright.
She remembered a time when Hana had dropped a rose, getting scratched by its thorns. Back then, despite Hana being at fault, she had been seen as the sensitive one…
That’s why her feelings were mixed now. She couldn’t decide whether Fernando, who had pulled her back protectively, or Prince Lehart, who had averted a disaster by catching the glass, felt stranger to her.
“Thank you for attending today’s banquet. Tonight, we have prepared a special opportunity for you to witness something extraordinary.”
Count Pigment, standing on the podium in the center of the hall, began his speech, drawing everyone’s attention.
The nobility had been mingling until now, but it was time to learn why Count Pigment had invited them.
“The east door of this hall will soon open. Beyond it, you can view the exhibits arranged along the corridor. And now…”
As Count Pigment drew the audience’s interest, Etienne spotted a man standing at a distance.
‘The Second Prince.’
The man who would soon ascend the throne after the Crown Prince’s demise. The same man who had completely ruined her family and the Ducal House, including her parents.
His arrogant gaze as he pronounced her death sentence was unforgettable.
‘Calm down.’
Etienne took a shallow breath. Her plan was just to observe the Second Prince, not to react impulsively and show any odd behavior.
However, contrary to her intentions, her heart was pounding.
Etienne’s eyes kept darting to the Second Prince. She was glad she hadn’t come as the Crown Prince’s partner. After all, the Second Prince occasionally glanced over at the Crown Prince’s direction.
“Here it is.”
Amidst the heightened atmosphere, Count Pigment removed a cover from something, eliciting gasps of admiration from the crowd.
Etienne looked at the object a bit late, and at that moment, the Second Prince, Ludvig, noticed her. Their eyes briefly met.
“What’s that?”
“It’s an item brought over from across the sea.”
Fernando kindly explained to Etienne.
“It was discovered and acquired during a trade with a foreign country.”
Etienne examined the item closely.
The item Count Pigment presented was an ivory-colored porcelain piece. The surface of the porcelain was decorated with a design that was more elegant than flashy.
What was unique was the gold shimmer that seemed to emanate from the ivory porcelain, making it appear precious.
“Huh?”
As Etienne looked puzzled at the porcelain, Fernando glanced at her.
“What’s wrong?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
Though she answered that way, Etienne’s expression remained tense.
‘Something’s off.’
The porcelain didn’t have any visible cracks or chips, yet it seemed somehow unharmonious.
However, since she was not viewing the porcelain up close and it was just a feeling, Etienne dismissed it as her misconception.
After a moment, she shifted her gaze back to the Second Prince, only to see him, who had been standing quietly, suddenly walk away after hearing a whisper from someone.
“Fernando, just a moment…”
Etienne excused herself to follow the Second Prince, leaving Fernando behind.
“Etienne?”
Fernando, attempting to follow her, found that the path Etienne had made was quickly closed off by the crowd.
Fernando frowned, watching the direction in which Etienne had disappeared.
“Didn’t Count Pigment bring some interesting item?”
Someone approached Fernando to strike up a conversation. Fernando replied curtly, suppressing his irritation.
“What do I care about that stuff?”
His purpose for attending was solely Etienne. Fernando had no interest in a porcelain piece that might end up being a mere vase.
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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