By appearing together at the Founding Day ball, Leonhardt had effectively announced to everyone that he deeply loved Anaïs. Yet he called it “not so bad a challenge.”

For Anaïs, whose position was already precarious, those words were particularly hurtful.

But she couldn’t argue about every little thing. Right now, she had no choice but to follow Leonhardt’s lead. She decided to focus on the moment, thinking she could gently persuade him later.

As Leonhardt had promised, the dress she received was truly remarkable. With this dress establishing her dominance and the young duke’s backing, she certainly had a chance.

This ball was her opportunity to shed the label of a villainess who stole someone else’s property. Just in time, she noticed young ladies casting interested glances at her splendid dress.

Anaïs surveyed the room with a knowing smile. She quickly spotted a young lady she had already won over to her side.

After briefly greeting Leonhardt’s friends, Anaïs approached the group where this young lady stood.

“Hello?”

When Anaïs greeted them first, the young lady who was adorned with jewels Anaïs had given her welcomed her warmly. Seeing this, the others in the group hesitated before including her.

As previously arranged, the young lady asked Anaïs:

“Your dress is absolutely beautiful.”

“Yes… It’s quite unique.”

When the other young ladies reluctantly agreed, the first one became even more enthusiastic.

“If I may ask, where did you have it made?”

They couldn’t take their eyes off the teal dress that seemed to be covered in diamonds.

“I wish I could tell you, but it was a gift, so I don’t know the details.”

Anaïs smiled shyly while subtly showing off.

“Was it a gift from the young duke of Mücke?”

When the desired question came, Anaïs nodded slightly.

“…If those are real diamonds, it’s an extraordinary gift.”

“I suppose they are. But what means more to me is that the young duke designed it himself.”

“My goodness, himself?”

“I had no idea the young duke had such a tender side.”

However, one young lady who still harbored resentment asked accusingly:

“There are limits to extravagance… This seems excessive.”

Anaïs responded with a gentle smile:

“Perhaps that’s why it’s a gift? I had no choice in the matter from the beginning.”

Anaïs subtly reminded them of her position as a princess from a small country. The implication was that Leonhardt had pursued her first, and she had no choice but to accept.

The young ladies’ gazes softened as they were reminded of her circumstances.

After that, the conversation flowed exactly as Anaïs wanted.

Even those who had initially turned away with cold stares began to join in, unable to contain their curiosity.

Before long, Anaïs was surrounded by quite a few people.

With her polished conversational skills, magnificent dress, and beauty, people soon began to understand why Leonhardt was so infatuated with her that he would disregard conventions.

Daphne observed this scene carefully.

She could now see what she had failed to notice in her previous life due to the overwhelming shock.

Anaïs was prettier than anyone else in the ballroom and skilled in conversation. But could she really change the atmosphere this quickly?

Noble society was frighteningly exclusive.

‘Winning their hearts with a pretty dress and smooth talk?’

It seemed impossible. Yet Anaïs was accomplishing it.

Just then, their eyes met. Anaïs smiled faintly and slowly approached.

“Lady Daphne, how have you been?”

Anaïs had asked the same question in her past life. Unable to honestly say she was fine, Daphne had shed tears then.

But this life was different. Daphne nodded slightly with a composed expression.

“Yes, I’m doing well.”

“Really?”

Anaïs began to provoke her deliberately.

“Well, I shouldn’t have asked. You must be feeling terrible because of me…”

Daphne tilted her head in response.

“Why would you think that?”

Anaïs shook her head with an extremely sympathetic expression. The gesture suggested she found Daphne’s denial pitiful.

“I’m truly sorry, my lady. I tried to dissuade him, but Leon—I mean, the young duke—was so insistent that we come together. I really didn’t intend this. Please forgive me now.”

It was obvious how this would appear to others.

So Daphne decided to play along.

“Are you saying you didn’t want this, but the young duke committed all these acts?”

Anaïs had provoked Daphne hoping to see her cry, but instead found herself counterattacked.

However, Anaïs was skilled at improvisation, and her acting to deceive others was innate. She responded with an appropriately dejected appearance.

“‘Committed’? That’s quite a harsh expression. You seem very displeased, perhaps you should calm down a bit…”

She transformed from a confident villainess into a princess from a small country caught between the heirs of the Empire’s two great noble families.

To someone unaware of the situation, she might appear to be a hostage suffering ab*se.

But Daphne was no longer the same as before.

The Daphne who would cry speechlessly, appalled by Anaïs’s detestable acting, was gone. She also felt no need to worry about her family or her wandering fiancé.

“No. Compared to what you two have done, I’m being euphemistic. Still, if you meant those words to comfort me, I truly appreciate it.”

“If it helped, even slightly, to soothe your wounded heart, then I’m glad.”

The expression was harsh, yet she claimed it helped—what could that mean? The seemingly satisfied smile playing at Daphne’s lips was concerning.

But having started this, Anaïs decided to see it through.

“Anyway, I apologize for appearing alongside Leon. Please understand I had no intention of hurting you. You must be on edge, and I’ve only confused your feelings with my long-winded talk.”

“If matters could be settled with a single apology, what need would there be for right and wrong in this world?”

Daphne persisted exactly as Anaïs wanted.

But not a single part of her body or voice trembled. Rather, she was calm and elegant, like someone instructing a subordinate.

“Princess, don’t fabricate stories to hide your shame. Trying to cover your flaws with various excuses will only make you more pitiful. Painting over a blemish with different colors will only make it darker.”

“Blemish?”

“I’m referring to how you caused such a scandal after coming here to study. Remember that your title of ‘princess’ contains not just you but the Kingdom of Lucia.”

At that moment, Leonhardt, who had been watching from a distance, strode over.

He had thought he could make someone like Daphne run crying from the ballroom with just a few words. But listening to the exchange, he found no room for rebuttal.

He stood in front of Anaïs as if to protect her.

“Now you’ve resorted to viciousness? I’m increasingly disappointed.”

At his appearance, people’s eyes sparkled with interest.

By now, every noble in the capital knew the rumor that Leonhardt had gone to Daphne to confess his love for Anaïs, and Daphne had suggested breaking off the engagement first.

Yet here was Leonhardt, inserting himself between the two rivals and criticizing his fiancée!

No one wanted to miss the chance to witness such a thrilling event in person. Those who couldn’t push to the front of the gathering crowd stood on tiptoes and craned their necks.

Leonhardt was clearly not in his right mind. He didn’t stop reprimanding Daphne, his fiancée, despite so many watching eyes.

“They say a person’s true nature is revealed in crisis. Daphne, I never knew you were like this. What do you gain by publicly tormenting someone weaker than yourself? If you’re doing this because you’re afraid I’ll abandon you, stop. Thanks to your family, that won’t happen.”

In a word, he meant he would do as he pleased.

Leonhardt wanted to possess both women—the woman he truly loved and the person from a family that would strengthen his position.

But he would soon realize how futile that dream was.

A fanfare sounded at the entrance, and the doorkeeper announced in a loud voice:

“The Empire’s Sun, Her Majesty the Emperor!”

The Emperor, who typically arrived last, had come earlier than usual.

As she appeared, preceded by the newly appointed chief chamberlain, people held their breath.

For such occasions, the Emperor typically chose purple attire, symbolizing absolute power. But today, she wore something completely different.

The Emperor’s dressmakers called this dress “Thunderbolt.” They had spent over half a year creating a dress for today, only for the Emperor to reject it.

Moreover, she had ordered them to make a new one.

For something made by dressmakers who had cried through the night due to a girl’s whim, the result was remarkably splendid.

The problem was that this “Thunderbolt” dress was strikingly similar to what Anaïs was wearing.