Taking Leonie’s hand, Taylas pressed a brief kiss to it and murmured in a low voice.

“I can’t dance.”

Leonie almost laughed and replied that she already knew but she barely managed to hold it in.

Taylas Ramon Menes was the lord and duke of the Menes region. He was also a knight stationed on the frontier, famously known to care about nothing beyond guarding the border.

The fact that he was even in a ballroom was remarkable enough. That he was poor at dancing was something anyone could guess, even without having read the book.

“Then…”

The man drew in a deep breath, offered a proper bow, and lightly took hold of Leonie’s body. The steps they had agreed upon began.

By the time both of them had found the rhythm without stepping on each other, Leonie finally spoke.

“I hope it wasn’t improper of me to ask you for a dance.”

Taylas smiled as though amused.

“How could a dance with a beautiful lady ever be improper?”

He narrowed his brows, briefly glaring at the floor as he concentrated on the more complicated steps. Once the precarious part passed, he exhaled again and said.

“You look even more beautiful tonight.”

At the polite, obligatory compliment, Leonie’s laughter spilled out at last. In the quiet ballroom, her clear laugh rang out and once again, people’s attention shifted toward her.

“But you don’t even know who I am.”

“Ah, that is…”

The handsome man blond hair, blue eyes froze in visible embarrassment.

Seeing how frankly every emotion showed on his face, Leonie had to lower her head and steady her breathing just to keep from laughing again.

‘He’s exactly who I thought he was.’

Taylas Ramon Menes held the title of duke, yet refused to remain in the capital a rigid, upright man. Rather than indulging in aristocratic pleasures, he found joy in fighting alongside his knights at the border. He was righteous, and he had a warm heart.

‘The only person who protected Leonie to the very end. Without asking for anything. Without conditions.’

He had no interest in wealth, rank, or even a stable family. He worked only for the country. He rarely came to the capital at all, fighting at the frontier until a friendly treaty made border defense unnecessary only then did he finally return to court.

‘That was when Amber entered as a concubine and gave birth to a princess. When all power tilted toward Amber… and I was abandoned in the cold palace, dying of loneliness.’

They had been little more than acquaintances. And yet Taylas had raged and grieved for the discarded empress and offered her aid. When the empress had not even been granted proper guards, he had selected men from his own order and personally formed a protective unit for her.

‘If anyone in this country deserves to be honored, it’s you, Taylas Ramon Menes. My future ally. My one true friend.’

Leonie had no intention of becoming empress.

But she did intend to become Taylas’s friend.

In a society where she could trust no one, he was the only man who was honest and sincere. And soon he might become someone she desperately needed.

‘How do I bring this up?’

He cared about almost nothing. If anything, it was the duke’s duty and the knight’s duty—

‘No. There’s one more.’

A triumphant smile flickered across Leonie’s lips as she met his eyes.

“You’re returning south soon, aren’t you?”

Taylas looked startled.

The season had only just begun, and he had not been in the capital long. With no siblings and the burden of his house solely on his shoulders, his family had been pressuring him to marry as quickly as possible.

Because of that, people were spreading rumors that the Duke of Menes would remain in the capital until the season ended and that he intended to find a duchess during that time.

And yet this small, rabbit-like girl with cream-colored hair and pink eyes had accurately predicted his quiet plan to return to the frontier.

Taylas found himself intrigued by how she had guessed.

“You seem to know much about me, while I know nothing about you.”

He added, sotto voce, as if mildly offended.

“That’s unfair.”

Leonie laughed again. Just thinking that she was with someone who had stayed loyal to her in the end loosened something tight in her chest. For the first time since possessing this body, she felt her nerves begin to settle.

Leaning closer, she whispered.

“When you return… please visit my estate.”

“Your estate?”

Though surprised, Taylas’s expression turned conflicted. Visiting a family estate was an act reserved for couples courting with an engagement in mind. Taylas felt a certain interest in her, but it was closer to curiosity. He did not feel romantic desire.

An invitation like this left him deeply uncomfortable.

“I want to share genuine affection with you purely as friends. I also have something to discuss about the briar rose. So when you go, please come to the Bastian estate.”

Taylas’s eyes changed instantly.

The briar rose was the symbol of his knight order. It made no sense for a mere young lady to have anything to say about it yet his curiosity swelled.

“What do you know about my order?”

“Not the order. One person.”

Leonie’s smile remained calm.

“One person Your Grace cares about.”

The moment she finished, Taylas’s grip tightened around her hand.

The strength was so crushing she nearly screamed. Swallowing her gasp, Leonie pleaded through clenched teeth,

“It hurts. Please—let go, Your Grace.”

“…What do you know?”

“I’ll say it again. I only want to be your friend. I have no ill intent.”

Leonie knew exactly what she had touched.

That person was one reason Taylas remained unmarried well into his late thirties, and one reason he would later be condemned.

But that person was precious.

She regretted bringing it up so easily. Yet she did not regret bringing it up at all. Without a hook like this, a man who cared only for duty would never travel to the Bastian estate. And without that, persuading him to accept the proposal she needed to make would become far more difficult.

“Let’s end our dance here. The music has finished.”

Slipping her hand from his, Leonie gathered her skirt and performed the closing bow.

“Wait.”

Taylas reached out as though to stop her.

But Leonie froze instead staring in disbelief at the tall man who blocked her path.

‘His Highness… the Crown Prince?’

Yulgen stood in front of her, cutting off her escape from the ballroom.

Leonie’s mind went blank.

“It’s my turn now.”

Golden eyes drank in the sight of the pale lady in the red dress. With a smile that looked almost entertained, Crown Prince Yulgen tilted his head and extended his hand.

“Will you refuse?”

She couldn’t possibly.

Hastily, Leonie placed her hand in his. He slowly traced her palm with his fingertips, then kissed the back of her hand with deliberate slowness.

The embers she thought had died rekindled somewhere deep inside her.

Leonie bit her lower lip and faced him.

“Lady Leonie.”

With the formal greeting before a dance, their bodies drew close. One hand met the other; Leonie’s free hand settled on his shoulder, while his other hand came to rest at her waist.

“You’re bolder than I expected. You spend a pleasant night with me then immediately fall into another man’s arms.”

Leonie’s eyes widened in shock.

“Fall into his arms? Don’t describe dancing with such vulgar words.”

Yulgen chuckled low, his face close to hers. His voice, deep and resonant, brushed against her ear.

“But dancing is like that.”

The hand that had only supported her waist suddenly pulled her in with force. At the same time, he slid his fingers into hers and interlaced them tightly.

“Y-Your Highness… this—”

Leonie reflexively arched backward.

But their bodies did not separate. Their abdomens remained pressed together by sheer force.

She tried to stop moving, but his lead did not allow it, so she could not stop either. Every step he guided her through made her thigh brush his, again and again, far too intimately.

Heat flared across her face.

This was not a dance suitable for a ballroom.

The onlookers’ eyes widened. Whispered voices quickened, multiplying in the air.

Among them was Amber Delia Magnus her face already twisted beyond recognition. Fortunately for her, all eyes were fixed on Leonie and the Crown Prince. No one noticed the devilish distortion on Amber’s face.

“Your Highness, let go of me.”

“Do you still not think you were too much?”

The music ended.

But the Crown Prince merely glanced at the orchestra and gave a single nod and another song began, identical in tempo.

Leonie danced on, feeling her face and other parts of her awakening with every movement.

The tension and strength of his body made her nearly lose her senses. She found herself, against her will, wondering about the night she could not remember.

“Your body is honest.”

“Your Highness…”

“Move as I lead. Just as you drowned in pleasure when I led you before.”

She wanted to cover his mouth, but one hand was trapped in his grasp, and the other was busy pushing against his chest.

So instead, she bit down hard on her own lips.

As the second song neared its end, he signaled the orchestra again. Without hesitation, the second became the third.

Leonie realized then that he had no intention of letting her go.

Now, the only ones still dancing in the ballroom were Leonie and Crown Prince Yulgen.

“Why are you doing this to me?”

Even resisting had its limits. Leonie no longer had the strength to lean away; she was moving with her body pressed fully against his. Countless eyes watched them.

She would not be dragged into that scandal anymore—

But she could already sense another kind of rumor forming.

And despair settled over her.