The waltz had yet to begin. Stepping forward, Maude and Kyle bowed gracefully before Emperor Leopold and Empress Celeste. The emperor nodded in satisfaction, as though he had never doubted her success. Maude’s confident smile in return only deepened that warmth between them.

Celeste, however, looked as if she were barely restraining herself. Kyle caught her expression and allowed himself a quiet, knowing smirk — the kind of mockery that turned her fury into ice. The tension hung between them like a drawn bowstring, invisible but sharp.

That night, beneath chandeliers and summer moonlight, four people dreamed four entirely different dreams.

When their brief formalities ended, Maude and Kyle returned to the center of the ballroom. The orchestra swelled, and as the first measures of the waltz began, it became impossible to call what they shared anything but love.

His unexpected skill in dancing left everyone astonished. For someone said to have no experience in social gatherings, his steps were near perfection.

Maude glanced up at him with a teasing smile.

“You’re even better than I am, Your Grace.”

Her voice glided with the melody, bright and lilting.

“You flatter me,” Kyle replied calmly, meeting her eyes.

Of course, a lack of experience at banquets didn’t mean he lacked experience with women. From the confidence in his movements, Maude could easily imagine him having danced with many ladies before. Most soldiers were like that — lovers in every port, as the stories went.

Still, she forced herself to focus on the rhythm rather than the flickering image of foreign women under sunlit seas. The longer they danced, the smoother her movements became, until the two of them seemed to melt into the music itself.

Kyle’s gaze was relaxed, almost leisurely, even as his eyes flicked briefly toward the empress. He hadn’t wanted this wager in the first place, but the prize now resting in his arms was far too lovely to regret.

He looked down at her — this woman who moved like a summer flower, radiant and alive.

‘Unlike the Empress’s schemes, Miss Maude has no interest in power. That’s why she’s all the more tempting. So rare. So untouchable.’

As he recalled Felix’s words, the final turn of the waltz arrived. They came to rest beneath the grand chandelier, bathed in its dazzling light — desire and fury flickering together like a warped reflection on crystal.

“Your Majesty! Your hand—there’s blood!”

Gasps rippled through the servants nearby. Celeste’s expression froze into cold command, and a single look from her silenced the hall. The music surged toward its climax as she gripped her fan tightly, her knuckles pale.

‘Desire…’

Kyle’s lips curved faintly at the thought, his gaze clashing with the Empress’s sharp, venomous eyes. The last turn ended, and the waltz faded into silence.

Maude lifted her head to meet his gaze. In her eyes shimmered the green of a summer forest, and the faint fragrance of figs hung in the air between them. Light rippled across her smile — fleeting, dreamlike, as if the night itself would dissolve if either of them breathed too hard.

“Thank you, Your Grace,” Maude said softly.

Kyle inclined his head in return, his expression unreadable. She was probably thinking of a graceful closing remark — something polite, beautiful, final. But Kyle asked himself instead:

‘Do I really want to hear her say goodbye?’

“Wait,” he murmured.

Did he really intend to surrender her — to let this woman fall into the jaws of other men’s hunger?

His hand brushed her ear.

“It’s fine,” he said quietly.

With a gentle motion, he freed a strand of hair caught on her earring. All eyes turned to them. No one could look away from his hand or from her stunned yet serene face.

For an instant, Maude faltered — surprised, but not offended. If anything, it felt like a soft breeze had brushed her skin. The gesture might even help his reputation, she thought wryly. Sarah always said a man who treated women kindly was destined to become a bestseller.

“You’re very considerate,” she whispered.

“Though I suppose that was against etiquette,” Kyle replied, his tone mild.

Under the chandelier’s glow, her laughter bloomed like a flower in full light — and within the still waters of his gaze, waves of longing began to rise.

The prize of the wager had been claimed. But he had no intention of selling that prize away in some political marriage.

No — it was far too soon for goodbyes.

The red curtain of a new stage was rising.

***

Later, claiming thirst as an excuse, Maude slipped away. From behind a marble column on the second floor, she looked down at Kyle below.

Her purpose was clear: to step away from him. She had played her part as his companion, his supporting character. And she had played it well. This — this was her final bow.

As she watched him surrounded by other women, a small, satisfied smile curved her lips. The debutantes’ stares were blatant, almost greedy, and Maude found herself wondering if the emperor might start assigning them prices like jewels at auction.

‘He really is handsome,’ she thought, amused.

Already, the noble ladies were moving in. A few, having convinced their mothers to intervene, blushed furiously as they greeted him. Maude blinked, genuinely impressed.

“Goodness…” she muttered under her breath.

Kyle’s expression, meanwhile, was utterly miserable — his face drawn tight like a soldier in enemy territory. The sight made her stifle a laugh… and fail.

“Pfft.”

She bit her lip to keep from laughing outright. The empire’s most eligible bachelor paraded before the marriage market of the season — no wonder he looked like a man under siege.

It wasn’t what he’d wanted, surely, but there was no avoiding it. Born into the royal family, cursed with beauty and status — he could only endure it with dignity.

Still chuckling, Maude turned to leave, her smile lingering as lightly as perfume.

***

Beyond the ballroom, Maude found herself in the quiet garden bathed in summer moonlight. The open air felt fresh and clean; she leaned back against a white bench, utterly at ease.

Tomorrow, every fool who’d once mocked her as “unrefined” would be silenced. Everything tonight had gone perfectly.

Victory had its own sweetness — the kind that filled every breath. The roses were in bloom, their fragrance mingling with her satisfaction. Closing her eyes, Maude let the warmth of the night cradle her.

She didn’t notice the silence breaking until a shadow fell across her.

“It’s been a while.”

Her eyes flew open. Rhaion stood there, a cigar between his lips, smoke curling in the moonlight. The perfect summer night cracked, just like that.

“My apologies for not greeting you sooner, Your Highness,” Maude said calmly, rising and bowing.

By the time their eyes met, he was already standing close enough that she could feel his breath. He exhaled a slow stream of smoke toward her face, the scent sharp and heavy — almost suffocating.

The look in her eyes — calm, steady — only tangled his thoughts further.

“You came with Kyle.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Her answer was clear, unflinching. Rhaion’s mouth twisted in a bitter smile.

He had never once not wanted her. Not since the day she’d entered the palace beside the crown prince. Every single day, he’d burned for her. If it had been a fleeting, boyish infatuation, he would’ve ended it long ago. He could have taken her easily — but he wanted more than her body. He wanted her heart, freely given.

And yet—

His face hardened with fury.

“Have you already been with him?”

The insult was crude, vile — one that no noblewoman should ever hear. But Maude merely drew a steady breath. She refused to let him ruin this night.

“You go too far, Your Highness.”

Her calm voice only enraged him further. His hand shot out, gripping her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes. He had long since lost control; anger had devoured what little reason remained.

He could still see that smile — the one she’d shown Kyle under the chandelier — bright and devastating. It burned him alive.

“You should’ve smiled at me like that. When did you get so expensive?”

“Your Highness—”

“Don’t tell me you gave yourself to him and not me. Do you have any idea how unfair that is?”

“You always did like fairness, didn’t you?” Maude replied coldly. “But I’m afraid I’m just one of many things you ‘like.’”

“No. You don’t understand.”

Her eyes — green as deep forest shade — didn’t waver. They were calm, endless, impossible to read.

“You could never understand me,” he murmured. “Not that it matters anymore.”

The descent was fast — too fast. In a sudden, violent motion, he pressed the burning cigar against her skin.

Maude’s breath caught. The sharp scent of smoke mingled with pain as she bit back a cry.

“Every time you see this mark,” he whispered harshly, “you’ll remember me.”

His obsession had rotted into madness. Her tears blurred the world, her heartbeat loud in her ears — until, through the haze, his weight suddenly lifted.

The hand pinning her down was gone. When her vision cleared, she saw him — Kyle — standing over her.