“Actually, I came here to hide, too. People kept offering me drinks everywhere, and it made me dizzy.”

Ian spoke, still sounding excited for reasons she couldn’t quite grasp.

Come to think of it, he was wearing formal party attire.

Diana straightened up from where she’d been slumped over the table.

She pressed her hand to her head, but the headache had vanished as if it had never been there.

As soon as she sat up properly, Ian also straightened his legs, which he’d bent to match her eye level.

Because of that, Diana now had to crane her neck to look up at the tall Ian.

“This place… right now, what exactly is going on?”

Ian watched Diana, who looked confused, with concern.

“Are you alright? Are you feeling unwell somewhere…?”

As he reached out a hand toward her forehead, Diana instinctively swatted it away.

“Ah… I’m sorry.”

Ian took a step back, looking somewhat embarrassed.

“I’ll call your attendant.”

“Wait.”

Diana grabbed his arm just as he was about to turn away.

But now that she was holding his arm, she found herself at a loss for words. No, in fact, she didn’t even understand what was happening or how she’d ended up in this situation.

“So, you’re…”

‘I died. I died, and so did he.’

But the sensation of his touch at her fingertips felt all too real.

“Ah.”

Ian let out a small groan, then stood up straight with proper etiquette.

“Please forgive my rudeness for not introducing myself at our first meeting. I was so glad to see Your Highness here, whom I’d only ever seen from afar, that I… I was out of line.”

He furrowed his brow and moistened his lips before speaking again.

“It’s late, but my name is—”

“Ian.”

“…”

“I know your name.”

At Diana’s words, Ian blinked in surprise, eyes wide.

Feeling as if she’d gone back in time, Diana repeated his old name, as if compelled by some irresistible force.

Ian…

Ian Paolle.

That was the name she knew him by, back when they were in Erden.

Ian, who had been quietly standing across from her, smoothed back his black hair, tousled by the night breeze, and cleared his throat softly.

Then, with a smile she thought she’d never see again—a smile she had once missed so desperately—he replied,

“Yes. I am Ian Leheits, Your Highness.”

“…What?”

Diana frowned at the unexpected name.

“Leheits? The Leheits I know?”

Leheits was a distinguished noble family from the southern region of the Kingdom of Erden.
Hearing the name of the Leheits family, which had supported the Ahiel royal family for
generations with their accumulated wealth and connections, Diana couldn’t hide her confusion.

“Yes. The Duke is my father.”

In the heavy silence that followed, Ian hurried to add,

“I was surprised you remembered my name… Most people are only interested in my family, but Your Highness is the opposite.”

Diana was so flustered she couldn’t respond. She could only blink as he continued his introduction.

“I’m about to graduate from the Royal University and currently work at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. That’s why I occasionally saw Your Highness from afar.”

“Wait, so this is our first meeting, and you… I mean, you’re a member of the Leheits family?”

So, she had gone back in time, but the past had changed.

Originally, the two of them should have known each other since childhood. They weren’t
supposed to be introducing themselves so formally like this.

And suddenly, Leheits? Why was Ian now part of the Leheits family? He was supposed to be…

“Princess Diana!”

Just then, someone pulled back the heavy curtains behind Ian and shouted loudly.

The young man’s face was clearly visible under the bright full moon.

“Jerome?”

Diana jumped up reflexively, delighted.

Jerome narrowed his eyes—a look he always wore before starting a lecture.

But upon seeing Ian standing in front of Diana, he simply cleared his throat instead of scolding her.

“Good evening, Sir Aide.”

Ian greeted him politely with a bow.

“Hello, Lord Ian.”

Jerome replied awkwardly and then shot Diana a reproachful look, scolding her in a low voice,

“What are you doing here… Why, why are you smiling like that? It’s scary.”

Normally, Diana would have brushed off Jerome’s nagging or snapped at him for being annoying.

But now, she was smiling at him more brightly than ever before.

Jerome, unable to understand her joy, found her smile almost frightening.

“No, go ahead. Keep nagging.”

Jerome hesitated, unnerved by her expectant gaze.

“…It’s the princess’s birthday celebration, but the princess herself is missing! Do you know how long I’ve been looking for you?!”

As Jerome began to scold her in earnest, Diana stared blankly and looked up at the night sky.
The brilliant full moon, carrying the clear energy of spring, shone brightly over the terrace.

“Which birthday is this?”

“Excuse me?”

Jerome, confused by her sudden question, glanced at Ian, who was still standing nearby.

“Why are you acting so strangely… There’s someone else here, you know.”

Jerome whispered so only Diana could hear, almost like a ventriloquist, but seeing her resolute expression, he realized she wasn’t joking.

“…Congratulations on your nineteenth birthday, Your Highness.”

With his usual quick wit, Jerome offered a formal congratulation, ensuring that anyone overhearing would not take the princess’s odd words seriously.

Thanks to him, Diana realized exactly when she had returned to.

It was three years before the war broke out. Back to a time when no one knew war was coming.

So Ian must be twenty-one now.

Diana looked at Ian, who stood a step away gazing at her, and recalled the time when he and she were this age.

She could no longer be sure of his true feelings, but at the very least, Diana had loved Ian passionately then.

“…Let’s go back. Like you said, everyone must be waiting.”

Not wanting to sink further into her memories, Diana returned to the ballroom where the festivities were in full swing.

It seemed to be near dawn, but the partygoers were still lively, laughing and chatting under the dazzling lights as if they knew nothing of war.

Watching them laugh so freely, Diana felt strangely isolated.

“Jerome, I think I really should go and rest…”

As she looked around, thinking she should step away for a while, someone in the distance immediately caught her eye.

“Teacher!”

“Your Highness! Oh dear, you mustn’t run like that.”

“Gilrod…! I missed you so much…”

Diana rushed into the arms of the gray-haired old man, struggling to hold back tears.

“I’m honored you’re so glad to see me. Has it really been so hard not seeing me for a few days?”

“Yes… Yes, I suppose so. I really must have missed you…”

Gilrod, whom she’d called teacher since childhood, had been taken to the Kargen Empire right after the war, and she’d never heard from him again.

Gilrod, smiling kindly as he wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes, had always been misunderstood as angry because of the deep frown lines on his brow, but Diana knew better than anyone that he could smile so gently.

“Happy birthday. And congratulations on coming of age, though your coming-of-age ceremony will be held next year.”

“I didn’t want to become an adult, you know.”

Diana spoke her true feelings without realizing it. It was true—she had liked the time when she knew nothing.

Seeing her act so childishly, Gilrod smiled and replied,

“Come visit the laboratory from time to time. At least there, you’ll always be my student.”

“Yes. I’ll definitely come soon.”

After meeting Gilrod, Diana naturally started looking for Ian.

Scanning the ballroom, she easily found him. She didn’t know since when, but Ian was already looking at her.

Following her gaze, Gilrod also looked at Ian.

“So… you and Lord Ian… do you know each other?”

Diana, quickly averting her eyes from Ian’s, asked.

It was a strange question if you thought about it. Ian, who attended the Royal University, and
Gilrod, the university’s vice dean, would surely know each other.

But Diana couldn’t help but ask, because originally, Ian should have been Gilrod’s maternal grandson.

Gilrod Paolle’s grandson—Ian Paolle.

“Of course. He’s an excellent student. He’s about to graduate early, which is quite unusual.”

Gilrod praised Ian as if he were a distant acquaintance. It really seemed like their relationship had been severed.

“Ian Leheits is… an outstanding young man.”

The way Gilrod looked at Ian as he spoke made Diana feel an inexplicable mix of confusion and regret.

At that moment, Ian, surrounded by people, approached her.

“May I have this dance?”

Because he acted with perfect manners, Diana had no reason to refuse the hand he offered.

When she hesitantly took his hand, Ian led her to the center of the ballroom.

As Diana stood in the very center, the music paused, and all eyes turned to them.

In the expectant silence, Diana reluctantly assumed the proper stance, following Ian’s lead.

Soon, music began to play for the main character of the evening.

Diana knew this song all too well. It was a piece she’d grown up hearing since childhood.

It was said to have been her late parents’ favorite—a song painting a beautiful moonlit night, just like the meaning of her name.

It was so famous that anyone would think of Princess Diana when they heard it, but no one knew that she could never dance joyfully to this tune.

As people who knew nothing of her sorrow admired the dancing pair, Diana spotted her aunt,

Queen Isabella, watching them from the spiral staircase.

“…!”

The moment their eyes met, Diana was reminded of her aunt’s final moments right after the war, and she missed the beat.

Fortunately, Ian caught her before anyone noticed and smoothly led her into another step.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing…”

He pulled her close, wrapping his arm around her waist, and she couldn’t finish her sentence.

“…!”

Their faces were so close their noses almost touched, and Ian’s subtle gaze left Diana flustered, making her inhale sharply. In contrast, Ian smiled leisurely.

It was clear.

He was trying to seduce Diana.

The moment she realized this, Diana pushed him away forcefully.