There was no need to give those who couldn’t tell if they were predators or prey any opportunity.

“Please take a seat.”  

The seat after the one next to His Majesty. The seat next to the Crown Prince was unmistakably for the Crown Princess.  

She neatly arranged her dress and sat down, not forgetting to give Lucian, who had escorted her perfectly, a bright smile.  

“Everyone is looking our way.”  

“Of course. It’s been almost 7 years since a seat was added. You’re sitting in a coveted seat, so they can’t help but look.”  

“Hmm… Their eyes are gleaming as if they want to tear me apart.”  

Adelia glanced at the nobles behind her fan.  

The glances that kept sneaking peeks this way were blatantly obvious.  

Lucian casually threw out a question.  

“Will they bite you?”  

“No, it’s I who will bite.”  

Adelia showed her teeth behind her fan with a playful grin.  

Lucian covered his mouth and chuckled softly.

“Did His Highness just smile?”  

The nobles below were shocked by his smile, their eyes widening.  

A smile from the Crown Prince. The old nobles rubbed their eyes in disbelief.  

“You’re quite playful today.”  

“When I play around, Your Highness often smiles.”  

How useful it was that the nobles’ perceptions changed with just one precious smile.  

Adelia drew a satisfied arc with her eyes for having easily drawn out his smile.  

Then Lucian leaned slightly towards her and murmured in a low voice.  

“Not ‘Your Highness’, but Lucian. Didn’t you say you would call me by my name?”  

“Oh, right. Lucian. I should go down now.”  

With her ears slightly red, Adelia coughed and abruptly stood up.  

Lucian silently took her hand and briefly kissed the back of it.  

At his provocative action, she internally screamed and turned her head with a creak.  

Unable to speak properly out of embarrassment, she merely twitched her mouth.  

“Take care, Adelia.”  

Lucian left a farewell as if he knew nothing and let go of her hand.  

Adelia sharply turned her head and descended the stairs as if nothing had happened, the tips of her ears still feeling hot. Thankfully she wore gloves; otherwise, her reddened hands would have been exposed too.  

‘What a player!’  

In the original story, there was definitely no lover mentioned.  

It was clear he had met plenty of lovers without the author knowing; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so skilled.  

As Adelia calmed herself down and came down, someone rushed over to her.  

“Lady Adelia!”  

“Lily?”  

It was Lily, whom she had dismissed for theft.  

Lily seemed to have forgotten the days she antagonized Adelia, smiling brightly with sparkling eyes.  

“It’s been a while.”  

“Yes. Have you been well?”  

“Yes! I’ve worked hard on what you told me!”  

If she had a tail, it would probably be wagging vigorously.  

‘It reminds me of Kai.’  

Now that she said it was fine for him to stay by her side because they were in a wide place, he went on a trip, saying he liked traveling—a wolf guy who was tasting the wide world for the first time late in life. Somehow, Lily felt a bit more approachable because she reminded him of that lone wolf enjoying its newfound freedom.  

“Well done. The rumors even reached the palace.”  

Lily’s eyes sparkled at Adelia’s compliment.

Starting with Lily, nobles began to approach her one by one.  

“Hello, Miss Vita.”  

“Pleased to meet you, Miss Vita.”  

Everyone wanted to make a good impression on the Crown Prince’s fiancée.   

Until now, ‘Miss Vita’ referred to Robelia, but now, the ‘Miss Vita’ everyone referred to was Adelia.   

She greeted people with a smile as they came up to her.   

The hostile nobles watched from a distance.   

They were ready to pounce and point out any breach of etiquette at any moment.   

“Pleased to meet you, madam.”   

Adelia did not even glance at those with hostile intentions towards her.   

There was no need to make a good impression on hostile people.   

While exchanging greetings among the crowd, a murmuring was felt from one side.   

Gradually, people made way, and a lady approached.   

“Pleased to meet you, Miss Vita.”   

“Hello, Lady Odor.”   

A woman with enchanting purple hair greeted her with a smile.   

Such an enchanting purple-haired lady was unique in high society, so she was quick to guess her name correctly.   

The lady maintained a faint smile in confirmation.   

“It’s an honor that you know me.”

“How could I not know the only lady of the Odor Ducal House.”

“Then, how about having a chat together? I’ve prepared a place over there.”

“Oh, should we?”

Despite conversing gently and smiling, an invisible tension unfolded between them.

The Lady of Odor had been eyeing the position of the Crown Princess for a long time. She consistently sent proposals and frequented the imperial palace to court the Crown Prince.

Following her, there were a few young ladies gathered around a small table.

‘Do they dislike me?’

The gaze was so blatantly obvious that it could be understood in an instant.

Fortunately, a round table meant there was no head seat.

“Hello.”

“Pleased to meet you, Miss Vita.”

The young ladies greeted with smiles, but their eyes were filled with jealousy and envy.

“Oh my, it’s been a long time since those ladies sat at one table.”

“Indeed. They usually bite each other’s heads off whenever they meet…”

People around whispered worriedly while looking at them with interest.

A meeting between the fiancée of the Crown Prince and the ladies who adored him. There were even nobles who took seats nearby to eavesdrop.

“I thought the Count of Vita’s family only had Lady Robelia.”

“Me too. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her at the banquet hall.”

“Maybe because Lady Robelia’s beauty is so outstanding?”

They mocked her with words that essentially said, ‘You really are insignificant.’

“I’ve been weak, so I lived in my territory. That’s why you haven’t seen me. It’s regrettable. If I had recovered my health sooner, I might have met Luci… no, His Highness much earlier.”

Adelia cleverly retorted as if saying, ‘Lucian is mine whether I am here or not.’

“Oh my… Did you just call His Highness by his name?”

“Surely Miss Vita wouldn’t be that unfamiliar with etiquette.”

They awkwardly laughed, picking on every word she said.

Their blatant intentions were clearly visible.

Adelia gently covered her mouth with her hand, pretending to be shy.

“I’ve become accustomed to calling him by name; it was an inadvertent mistake.”

“Even so, to call His Highness by his name…”

“His Highness has permitted it. He also calls me Adele.”

Adelia blushed, looking truly embarrassed like a shy girl.

With her beautifully curved eyes and slightly upturned corners of her mouth, she looked perfect.

‘Thank goodness it’s hot.’

She thought, forcing a smile.

Even in a world dominated by magic, there was no spell to make one’s face turn red.

Today, the banquet hall was particularly hot, the dress she wore felt suffocating, and Adelia naturally had a higher body temperature than others.

Thanks to these three factors aligning, her slightly flushed appearance added spice to this act.
But even the most perfect act could be doubted by someone.

“I heard you two met at that ball for the first time… It must be hard to become so close so quickly.”

The lady spoke with a hint of sarcasm.

Not only her, but young ladies who had attended imperial parties since childhood did not easily believe Adelia’s words.

“That’s right. His Highness wasn’t interested in women.”

“Not just women. He hardly interacted with other nobles either.”

What had the Crown Prince been like all this time?

Rejecting numerous dowries and not even glancing at countless proposals, he was someone who wouldn’t blink an eye, no matter what.

For such a person to fall in love and get engaged to someone he met just about a month ago was unbelievable.

“Does the depth of a relationship always correlate with time?”

Adelia gave a clear answer that seemed to mock their thoughts.

At her words, some people flinched and avoided her gaze.

Yet, some looked even more hostile towards her.

The lady clenched her fists under the table, suppressing her anger.

‘That’s right, it’s just a momentary amusement. Unlike that girl, I have spent years with His Highness.’

Thanks to her father, a duke in high favor with the Emperor, the lady had frequented the imperial palace since she was young.

She was familiar with the Empress and respected by the palace staff due to her status as a ducal lady.

Other imperials showed no interest in her, but she had no doubt she would become the Crown Princess.

“Time is indeed important in relationships. Nothing is as solid as trust built over a long time.”

“The starting point of all relationships is different. Wouldn’t a relationship with a fiancée, though short but sharing much, be deeper than mere acquaintances known for a long time?”

Hearing this, the lady frowned and raised her voice.

“Are you saying I’m just an acquaintance now?”

“Oh my, surely not. Although I haven’t heard or seen from His Highness about you, it can’t be that the lady is merely an acquaintance.”

Adelia smiled sweetly without missing a beat.

That started to irritate the lady gradually.

The ends of the lady’s lips, forced up, began to tremble.

She didn’t give up and continued to look for words to press down on Adelia.

“Has it been about a month since Miss Vita entered the imperial palace?”

“Yes. Just over a month.”

“Then you must not know much about the imperial palace yet. Let me show you around sometime. I’ve been going in and out of the imperial palace since I was very young.”

The lady smirked at Adelia, boasting.

Her smile, perhaps due to just having completed her coming-of-age ceremony, felt awkward as she couldn’t perfectly hide her true feelings.

Adelia lifted the tea in front of her as if she didn’t care at all.

The sight of her talking about guiding as if she owned the imperial palace was amusing,

‘So what if she appears briefly in the original story.’