However, her expression as she looked at me was truly calm, and judging by the atmosphere, it didn’t seem like she had said it out of hostility toward me.
‘Then this must be something she wanted to tell me.’
Of everything she had said just now, there was only one thing that came across to me as actual “information”: that the Imperial Family had never even brought up the idea of a marriage match between Rastan and the Princess.
The moment I realized that, goosebumps ran over my entire body.
‘…Then does that mean Rastan lied to me?’
The man I knew would never do such a thing?
But at the same time, the Princess had no reason to lie to me about her own marriage prospects.
It was shocking to consider that Rastan might have done so, but the very first question that arose in my mind was this.
‘If the Emperor wasn’t pressuring him to marry, then what was the real reason Rastan proposed to me?’
At the time, he wouldn’t even have known for certain that I could cure his nightmares.
With so many tangled thoughts in my head, my expression must have grown complicated.
Princess Selene, who had been watching my face with interest, spoke again.
“Everyone wears different social masks depending on the person and the situation, do they not? Even the same Duke Blake would be a different person when dealing with me versus when dealing with you, would he not?”
“That… could be.”
I answered vaguely to change the subject. I wanted to sort my thoughts on my own while the Princess talked with others.
Fortunately, another noblewoman, a bit indiscreet, stepped in at just the right moment.
“Oh my, Your Highness the Princess will surely meet an even better match. Of course you will.”
That was when it happened. Without a sound, the reception room door opened and someone strode in confidently. Everyone naturally turned that way, their eyes widening.
“Y-Your Highness the Crown Prince…!”
All present except Princess Selene hurriedly rose to their feet and bowed as they welcomed Prince Joel.
Perhaps coming straight from work, he was dressed in a neat uniform. As usual, he approached with a cheerful face, lifting one hand in greeting.
“Haha, I was trying to come in quietly.”
After everyone sat back down, the Princess asked with a slightly sharp expression,
“What brings you here?”
There was a faint hint of displeasure at his sudden intrusion into a gathering she was hosting, but Prince Joel answered as if it were nothing.
“I was curious whether anyone was bothering my sister, and who had come. Just checking in.”
There was, quite frankly, no one here who could harass the legitimate Imperial Princess.
Which meant that his real purpose was clearly to look over the attendees of the tea party. And coincidentally, his gaze was directed at me.
‘So we’ve met privately once, and that’s why.’
Since our eyes had met, I had no choice but to give a polite greeting with my eyes.
I did it expecting the Crown Prince to acknowledge me in kind, but instead he went as far as raising a hand and breaking into a bright grin.
At the same time, the gazes of everyone attending the tea party turned toward me all at once.
‘Oh my.’
I could clearly feel the mix of curiosity and faint hostility in those looks, and it felt as though cold sweat was running down my back.
Paired with what Prince Joel had just said, it almost sounded as if he had come here specifically to see me.
I forced an awkward smile and gave a small bow.
After a few exchanges of polite, superficial conversation and the atmosphere had loosened a little, a young lady seated roughly across from me looked my way and spoke.
She wore a suitably pleasant smile, but couldn’t completely hide the slight sharpness at the corners of her eyes.
“Lady Krone, that latest fashion design dress suits you very well.”
I was about to absentmindedly thank her when it suddenly dawned on me why her face looked familiar.
‘I probably saw her at the last imperial banquet too… right, I’ve met her before at a social gathering. Lady Terrent… was she a Count’s daughter?’
It must have been around two years ago, back when I occasionally attended small social gatherings.
At the time, I used to wear repaired old dresses, so what this young lady was saying now…
‘So she’s mocking me for only wearing worn-out clothes before, and now acting high and mighty.’
And saying this now likely meant she disliked how I had somehow ended up looking like I was receiving the attention of both Duke Blake and the Crown Prince at the same time.
‘I get why she’s acting like this, but…’
To someone who had already experienced death and come back, words like this didn’t even register as a blow.
Still, if she was deliberately being rude, I had no intention of just taking it quietly.
‘If you look kind and harmless, people don’t like you more. They see you as an easy mark.’
I put on a harmless smile and spoke with deliberate cheerfulness.
“Thank you. His Grace, Duke Blake said that anything I wear suits me well, though.”
Which was to say, “No matter what you say, the Duke Blake you so desperately admire is taken with me.”
Sure enough, her remark had indeed come from resentment and jealousy over the fact that I had been Rastan’s partner. Her face flushing red and then pale made that obvious.
‘She understands exactly what I meant, so she’s not clueless. Since the reaction’s good, should I add one more line?’
I softened the corners of my eyes into a gentle curve and spoke in a sweet voice.
“It seems you are very interested in the latest fashion, my Lady. I am sure your fiance must really appreciate that side of you.”
At that, Lady Terrent’s face flushed even deeper.
That remark meant, “You weren’t born with natural beauty, so you have to pay extra attention to fashion just to barely catch other people’s eyes.”
On top of that, she was probably still not engaged.
‘If she were engaged, there’s no way she would have shown such blatant jealousy over the fact that I was Rastan’s partner.’
For a noble young lady with a fiance to openly express interest in another man was considered taboo.
“T- that…!”
Since failing to secure an engagement even after turning twenty was considered a disgrace for a noble young lady, Lady Terrent couldn’t hide her flustered expression.
“I am not engaged! I was not trying to block anyone else’s marriage…!”
‘Then why pick on someone who was minding her own business?’
I would have liked to tease her a bit more, but given the setting, I decided to stop there.
Of course, not without offering a lightly barbed word of advice at the end.
“I see. I hope your father finds you a good match soon.”
Which meant, “As a noble, leave your marriage matters to your parents, and don’t waste your energy picking fights with the wrong person.”
Having gained nothing and only hurt herself by picking a fight with me, Lady Terrent could only bite down on her lower lip.
“Haha, it is truly nice to see young ladies having such a friendly conversation.”
Unlike me just moments ago, Prince Joel’s voice was sincerely clear and untainted.
‘Would it really be fine if this man became the next Emperor…?’
I almost pinched the bridge of my nose. Just then, the sound of someone else approaching from the door reached my ears.
I naturally turned that way, and this time, I was genuinely surprised.
“Ra- no, Your Grace.”
Rastan, who had said he would use the tea party time to attend to some duties in the Imperial Palace he had been behind on, was walking in.
He came to a stop right behind me and offered brief formal greetings to Prince Joel and Princess Selene.
Watching this, the Princess lightly shook her head as if in disbelief.
“So many distinguished uninvited guests have graced my tea party.”
Rastan gave a faint smile, then lowered his gaze to look at me.
Since our eyes met, I quietly asked him,
“Why did you come in?”
I had meant, “Why did you come in here,” but it seemed Rastan took it as asking why he had come at all.
“I was about to come in earlier, but I did not want to cut you off, so I waited for a moment.”
That was practically the same as saying that Rastan had heard everything Lady Terrent said just now from outside. It seemed the reception room door that had been opened when Prince Joel entered had remained open.
“You handled it well. So well that I did not even need to step in.”
As he drove the final nail in, Lady Terrent’s complexion turned pale.
After all, she had ended up showing an unsightly spectacle of trying and failing to take a jab at me right in front of the very Rastan she admired.
She had likely been trying to assert dominance over me, a young lady from a poor family, but she had chosen the wrong opponent— judging by the icy look in Rastan’s eyes as he glanced at her.
As I silently offered her my condolences, Prince Joel spoke again in his usual bright voice.
“It is the first time the four of us have gathered together since the last banquet. I did not even get to properly talk with Lady Krone then, since her partner whisked her away right away. It was a pity.”
Rastan’s expression hardened at those words, and he asked coldly,
“Did Your Highness have something to say to Lady Krone?”
