Emilia just blinked her eyes. She was confused about how to react, but for a moment, his face smiling as if incredulous strangely bothered her.

“You can sell it, but I’d prefer if you kept it. It’s a kind of memento.”

“A memento? Oh, did you receive it as a memento? If so, you should keep it!”

“That’s not it. Let’s just say it’s a memento of finding a new watch.”

What does he mean? A new watch? Emilia thought for a moment and slightly parted her lips.

‘Ah, does he mean he bought another watch?’

Come to think of it, although she hadn’t seen it every time, she remembered that whenever she did see his watch, it was always a different design.

‘But then, he could just say he bought a new one.’

She couldn’t understand why he sometimes spoke in such roundabout ways. Whether it was the noble way of speaking of the upper class, or just his own peculiar way of talking, at times like this, she really wished he would just speak plainly.

“…Thank you for your words, but what would I do with the Duke’s watch? I’ll make sure to bring it next time.”

Fortunately, it seemed he had no intention of continuing to play with words, as he slightly raised and lowered his shoulders, gesturing for her to do as she pleased.

Emilia slowly voiced what she had been hesitating to say, seeing his oddly pleased-looking appearance.

“More than that, there’s something I’d like to request. Should I give it to Fabio?”

“What is it.”

“Three letters have been found now that seem to contain some discussion. I’d like to know where these three people live and what they do.”

“Hmm, do that.”

Enrico answered nonchalantly and held out his hand. She looked at him for a moment with an expression that seemed to say ‘What’s this hand for?’, then widened her eyes at his gesture of waving his hand as if to say ‘hurry and give it to me’.

“You’re going to take care of it yourself, Duke?”

“Yes. Don’t you like it?”

“It’s not that… But since Fabio is the one who actually does this work, I’ll just give it to him directly.”

“Emilia.”

He just called her name without saying anything more. Rather than mocking her like before, calling her name in such a low voice made her unsure how to react.

Emilia eventually placed the three letters in his hand.

“You thought well.”

“…Thank you.”

“Have you searched enough?”

“Yes, I saw before that there were mostly receipts like that. For now, I’ll have to be satisfied with what I’ve found.”

Enrico nodded and held out one hand as if to leave. It seemed a bit much to be escorted just to leave a room inside the mansion.

Emilia hesitated before placing her small hand on top of his.

“The opera ball is soon, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“Should I pretend not to know you then too?”

“…Pardon? Yes.”

What’s going on? To ask such a pleasing question. Emilia nodded with a slight smile.

“Let’s do that. But what if the Crown Prince tries to greet you?”

“That’s true. What should I do?”

It was a problem she hadn’t thought about at all. To begin with, the Crown Prince wasn’t someone she could avoid just because she wanted to, and since she had already rejected him several times at the emergency staircase during the performance, it felt a bit awkward to refuse anything more here.

“I’ll take care of that. He’ll probably be too distracted to greet you right away, so slip away in the meantime.”

Enrico’s interference was quite appropriate in such a situation. Who knew his possessiveness could be helpful like this. Emilia nodded.

“Yes, thank you. But may I ask what you mean by ‘distracted’?”

“I was just thinking of bringing the Second Prince along.”

“Ah… That would certainly be effective.”

The Second Prince, who had left for another country as if giving up on the fight for the throne, suddenly returning in the middle? It would certainly cause a stir.

Emilia left the room completely, happily contemplating how the opera ball might go a bit more smoothly.

And that contemplation turned out to be completely futile.

Emilia stared in astonishment at Alessandro, who was staring intently at her from the middle of the ballroom.

‘To think he would ask to dance here.’

All eyes were on her due to his attitude of looking only at her, as if the Second Prince didn’t matter at all. For someone with a fiancée to throw such an unfavorable thing at her.

When the ballet troupe first came out to dance, Alessandro had seemed somewhat displeased due to the sudden appearance of the Second Prince, Ricardo Treano.

Seeing the two of them standing side by side talking, she focused again on dancing, and finally finished the stage with a waltz that everyone danced together.

While the invited sponsors applauded and waited for the next program, Emilia went back to change into her party dress. When she returned to the ballroom, she saw that now Enrico had joined them, and the three were facing each other, but the atmosphere seemed unusual.

‘I absolutely don’t want to go near them.’

It could be said to be everyone’s feeling. Enrico was showing off his smooth mouth corners, Second Prince Ricardo had a calm face, and lastly, Alessandro had completely wiped off his smile and was looking serious.

“I received the gift you sent last time well. So I brought the brother you most wanted to see with difficulty.”

Their words were audible if one concentrated a little. Perhaps because the surroundings had become quiet as if orchestrated, at this level it was penetrating her ears. Emilia held her breath and focused on their conversation.

“I thought you weren’t coming back. You came back sooner than expected.”

Enrico twisted his lips as if ridiculing Alessandro, who spoke in an arrogant tone.

“I’m not the type to end with just one gift. So to repay, I called Ricardo first.”

“Then what on earth is the second one?”

“You’ll find out gradually. It’s no fun if you know in advance, right?”

“Hah… Where do you think we are right now? Are you trying to make us all lose face?”

“Our nephew is quite ill-mannered. You need to study etiquette again.”

Alessandro glared at Enrico. A quarrel between royals in such a crowded place, it was a situation the reporters would be most excited about.

Emilia turned around, intending to go back and return home early rather than being curious any further. However, at that moment, Alessandro called out to her.

“Emilia.”

“…Yes?”

For a moment, she thought she had misheard. She was tempted to ignore it, but there were too many eyes around for that. Finally, after much hesitation, she slowly turned around to see Alessandro smiling brightly, his cold expression from earlier nowhere to be seen.

“Would you do me the honor of dancing with me?”

She wanted to reject this absurd proposal right away. But if she did, it seemed it would appear even worse in the news. As the woman who refused royalty, and so on.

Already, murmurs could be heard from the surroundings. Emilia finally swallowed a sigh and held out her hand to him. Fortunately, Enrico only raised one eyebrow slightly and didn’t intervene.

Avoiding Enrico’s gaze, which was looking at her with a displeased expression, she began to dance with Alessandro. Unfamiliar hands uncomfortably wrapped around her back and arm.

“Are you very surprised?”

The Crown Prince quickly pretended to be normal.

“Yes, inevitably…”

“I didn’t know our uncle would prepare such a gift. This is troublesome.”

“Is that so.”

“Ah, I watched your dance well today. As always, it was beautiful.”

“Thank you.”

“So I was wondering when would be a good time to have the meal we couldn’t have last time?”

“Ah… I think it might be difficult for the time being, as we have continuous performances.”

Alessandro’s lips seemed somewhat stiff. Although he was smiling, his shiny eyes made his atmosphere a bit unsettling.

“Is it only busy for me?”

“Pardon? No. It’s really a busy period.”

“…Is that so. That’s a shame. I found a nice place.”

He suddenly smiled brightly and lowered the end of his eyebrow. Looking at him uneasily, she hesitated for a long time before speaking as if she had made up her mind as the music was about to end.

“If it’s a nice place, how about going with your fiancée?”

“Hmm, but I want to go with Emilia? And although I have a fiancée, you know, don’t you? That royals are destined to be unable to refuse political marriages.”

Political marriages of royals… For some reason, Enrico came to mind. But no sooner had she thought this than Alessandro mentioned Enrico.

“Come to think of it, our uncle might have someone like that too.”

“A fiancée for Duke Michele?”

“Yes. Recently, a beautiful princess came from Caernt. I heard she’s thinking positively about marriage with our uncle, and I have high expectations that they’ll make a good match.”

Caernt seemed to refer to the princess she had seen from afar at the masquerade ball. But was it progressing not only with parts trading but also with engagement? She wondered if that was why Enrico hadn’t been at the mansion much lately.

As the music gradually slowed down, the dance was coming to an end. Her long eyelashes cast shadows as she lowered her eyes, lost in thought.

“Well, it was an honor. I hope we can have such a time again in the future.”

“…The honor was mine.”

Emilia took a step back, slightly lifting her skirt and returning the greeting.