“This is why I am grateful for the empire’s consideration.”

With these final words, the princess bowed her head and headed toward Duke Ivanstein. Rudrich kept watching and watching the princess’s retreating figure. Duke Ivanstein extended his hand to the approaching princess, and she took his offered hand. When the duke whispered something in her ear, she lightly tapped his shoulder and laughed brightly.

“……”

During his  brief dance with the princess, Rudrich came to see the sight of Duke Ivanstein and the Reibritton princess together in a different light.

* * *

After finishing her dance with Rudrich, Mel moved away from him while receiving the gazes of all the nobles. She tried to put strength into her trembling eyes. This was her first time acting as princess at a party with so many people. When Mel acted as Amelia’s stand-in, it was always at times when the princess needed to show wisdom.

Those occasions were mostly small-scale parties where the princess would receive talented individuals who had shown outstanding abilities at academic exchanges or academies. Even then, the anxious Amelia would disguise herself as a maid and stay close to Mel’s side, whispering various instructions.

“How dare you smile at mere scholars?”

“Can’t you speak in words I can understand? If you make them try to recognize me later at parties, I won’t let you off easily.”

“Don’t show your common breeding. Just blink and smile here. Pull your lips up more, I said.”

Mel moved as Amelia instructed. According to Amelia’s taste. She smiled when told to smile, and didn’t smile when told not to.

While Mel had to perfectly act as Amelia, she couldn’t become too perfect for Amelia’s sake, who would feel unpleasant seeing herself being imitated too closely. Therefore, it was quite troublesome for Mel to act as the perfect princess in front of others now that Amelia wasn’t here.

“How was your dance with His Highness the Second Prince?”

Genoa approached Mel, who was catching her breath from nervousness, and handed her a wine glass.

“It would have been better if you had told me beforehand that I needed to approach the Second Prince too.”

Mel grumbled while accepting the wine glass from Genoa. Then she examined his handsome face with a fresh feeling.

Genoa’s face, which seemed otherworldly, had the power to make people unable to easily let their guard down. When meeting his purple eyes staring intently at her, her heart would race and her chest would flutter, requiring her to deliberately put strength in her legs just to stand.

But for some reason, at this place, this moment, being near Genoa felt comfortable.

“How did you find His Highness the Second Prince, princess?”

“He was a good person.”

That’s why Mel’s voice sounded more relaxed than when she was dealing with Rudrich.

“He wouldn’t have been a bad first dance partner for the princess. Since the Second Prince showed such respect for the princess, no one would dare to treat the princess carelessly.”

“Is that why you suggested I dance with His Highness the Second Prince first? I thought my first dance partner would be Duke Ivanstein.”

“I might be mistaken, but you sound disappointed, princess. How about now?”

Genoa smiled and extended his hand to her. Noticing that he wasn’t sincerely offering, Mel smiled and swatted his hand away.

“Why are you testing such a person? When you’re already certain.”

She recalled Genoa’s words declaring that the Second Prince would become emperor. While Duke Ivanstein of the Raon Empire was said to be the emperor’s loyal hound… Mel had never heard of or seen a hound that tested its master like this.

Was it truly right to call this man the emperor’s hound? Did other nobles really see Genoa that way?

Mel looked around the venue with fresh eyes. In the numerous eyes that pretended not to look while secretly glancing this way, she could only see pleasure excited by light entertainment.

“It’s fun, isn’t it? Watching him always provide consistent answers within my expected range.”

At Genoa’s nonchalant words, Mel openly gave him a sidelong glance.

As someone who was also on Genoa’s testing ground, Mel felt genuine sympathy and kinship with Second Prince Rudrich. Wondering if it was acceptable for a slave to harbor such feelings toward a noble prince, Mel sighed.

“Do you ever plan to fix your habit of constantly doubting and testing people?”

“I feel hurt when you say that, princess. Right now, I’m the one who trusts you more than anyone else.”

“……How shameless you are, Duke Ivanstein.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

Genoa seemed to enjoy Mel’s sidelong glances at him. Taking a sip of wine while narrowing his eyes, he slightly curved the corners of his eyes and smiled. At that annoying sight, Mel took an indignant breath and followed him in drinking the wine.

“……!”

When she tasted pure fruit juice instead of the bitter yet sweet taste of grape wine that should have spread in her mouth, Mel’s eyes widened. What Genoa had handed her wasn’t wine but a beverage.

As she blinked for a moment and looked at Genoa, he shrugged and said,

“Since you’ve never ordered alcohol at the Ivanstein mansion. I prepared this thinking you didn’t enjoy it.”

“……Thank you.”

Mel quietly sipped her drink. Just until a moment ago, she had been tired of Genoa’s habit of doubting even the smallest things, but conversely, she welcomed this kind of attentiveness.

She realized in this way that the Genoa she had liked when she was young was still the same. When a feeling of inevitable nostalgia seemed to surge in, Mel cleared her throat unnecessarily.

“I wasn’t always this distrustful by nature either.”

“……!”

It felt like Genoa had clearly seen through her thoughts of reminiscing about his younger self just moments ago. Mel realized she had been too shocked to respond for a while.

“I see. I wonder why you grew up to be… like this.”

Mel barely managed to answer while trying to appear as composed as possible.

She couldn’t exactly say that she knew what he was like when he was young and that he hadn’t changed much. But no matter how hard she tried, she apparently couldn’t completely hide her awkwardness. Hearing Mel’s response, Genoa laughed out loud and said,

“You don’t believe me.”

“No, I should believe you. When you say so yourself, who am I to question whether to believe it or not?”

Mel turned her gaze away and kept sipping her innocent drink.

As Genoa watched her, his eyes seemed to look somewhere distant for a moment before he continued in a low voice.

“I have never truly felt that I had failed.”

“……That’s quite an arrogant statement, but I can believe that from you, Duke.”

“Of course. I always believed without doubt that I would be the victor.”

At Genoa’s words, Mel recalled his younger self. The one who had declared he would be the final survivor in that terrible place.

“I’ll create a position for you at the Ivanstein mansion. So you and your mother can live comfortably. You won’t have to wander around anymore. So Mel, make me your master and follow me.”

“Tell me that I’m your master now, Mel. Not my father, but me.”

In his appearance when making promises to Mel about what would happen after he survived, there was no trace of fear of death. Mel resented herself for being helplessly drawn to such a Genoa. Because she shouldn’t have.

“That slave was the only one who gave me a taste of defeat, just once.”

“……!”

“The slave who resembled the princess, who betrayed me.”

Mel almost dropped the glass she was holding. Only after meeting Genoa’s eyes did she realize that he was looking at her while recalling the small girl beyond her.

“I hadn’t expected her betrayal at all.”

Mel had never heard Genoa’s voice crack so bitterly. She couldn’t even understand why he was telling her these things at this moment.

“Because she had nothing. Because she had nothing in her hands, she had no reason to betray me. That’s why I trusted her.”

“……”

Mel wanted to cry out that it wasn’t true. Feeling like she might reveal the truth to him at any moment, she firmly bit her trembling lips. Unaware of her  feelings, Genoa continued speaking casually.

“But that wasn’t true. She did have something after all.”

“……What was it?”

Mel asked while hiding her trembling voice. Genoa smiled gently and answered:

“Life.”

“……!”

“I had forgotten she had that.”

Even the most insignificant person possessed precious life. And to everyone, their own life was precious.

“So I realized. There’s no such thing as a person with nothing to lose in this world. Anyone could choose to betray me.”

As Genoa explained that his habit of constantly doubting and testing things stemmed from Mel’s betrayal, she felt a sharp pang of realization—her childhood memories had been instantly branded as a crime in his eyes.