Robelia smirked and walked into the terrace.

Walking up close to her, Robelia rudely grabbed Adelia’s shoulder.

She lowered her hand to her back and fumbled with her fingers.

She could feel uneven scars with her fingers.

Even though she matched the tone with cosmetics and covered it with a thin cloth, its existence hadn’t disappeared.

“You think you can become the Crown Princess with such defects?”

Why had she made these scars on her back?

Adelia’s existence had always been an annoyance. She coveted her white hair and pure blue eyes too much, and couldn’t stand that she was more attractive than herself.

So, she personally inscribed her defects that would make all her superiorities useless.

“I don’t know how you seduced His Highness, but you’ll be thrown away soon.”

She quickly withdrew her hand as if she had touched something dirty and took out a handkerchief to wipe her hands.

The handkerchief was trampled under Robelia’s high heels as it hit the ground.

“Leave the palace before you’re discarded like this handkerchief. Then, I’ll send you back to the territory.”

She kicked the dirtied handkerchief towards Adelia’s silver shoes.

Without saying anything, Robelia held her head high with a victor’s smile.

Then Adelia covered her mouth to stifle a burst of laughter.

“Pfft, ah, too funny. Thanks for entertaining me when I was getting bored.”

Her laughter couldn’t be contained by her hand.

Adelia brought forth a big laugh, even letting out tears.

Until just moments ago, Robelia’s face, which had been confident, now occasionally showed signs of embarrassment.

“What… What is this? Are you crazy?”

“No, if you think so, go ahead and say it. It’s good timing since everyone is outside. You can try talking to them.”

When Adelia leaned forward to speak, Robelia subtly backed away.

As she moved back, Adelia also stepped forward.

“You…!”

“You can’t do it. If these scars are exposed, your entire family will be engulfed in scandal, so Father must have warned you.”

That was right. Robelia hadn’t really thought about the scars until Father sternly warned her on the way to the banquet hall.

— No matter how she managed to charm His Highness, as long as she obediently sat as the Crown Princess, who would try to defy my words? If you handle things well, they’d offer money and bring a good marriage proposal. So don’t even make a fuss about her defects.

Robelia’s father had warned her not to speak of it, but she had no such intention.

Even if it meant not receiving any money, she absolutely couldn’t stand Adelia becoming the Crown Princess.

But she didn’t have the courage to expose her family’s shame in front of others.

“You don’t want to expose your shame but can’t stand me becoming the Crown Princess, so you come in like a rat and threaten me to leave the palace.”

Like returning her earlier action, Adelia tapped Robelia’s shoulder lightly.

Where her hand touched twitched and goosebumps rose.

“His Highness already knows about my scars. Instead of being so brazen, shouldn’t you be begging for your life?”

Unlike Adelia, who was smiling leisurely, Robelia’s face had hardened stiffly, a far cry from her previous confidence.

She delivered the final blow right to her face.

“Father would be so pleased if the dowry decreases because of you.”

At those words, Robelia’s face turned pale.

In the Count’s family, only the Count himself had reacted positively to Adelia’s engagement.

She was just thinking of being sold to an old Count, but then she suddenly got engaged to the Crown Prince, which even sparked some affection that hadn’t existed before. Disgusting as it was that this affection was motivated by money.

And it was true that Father’s affection for Robelia had waned after Adelia’s engagement.

‘If that really happens…’

Maybe I’ll end up being sold to that old count after all.

She firmly believed that Adelia was still beneath her. She thought the last time was just a fluke.

But that was a mistake. The timid Adelia from before was nowhere to be found.

Like a completely different person.

‘It can’t be…’

Adelia hated the idea of enjoying luxury as the Crown Princess, but the thought of being sold to the old count was even more terrifying.

Robelia’s face twisted at the thought of the worst-case scenario.

She stepped back, pushed past the young count standing in front of the window, and fled the terrace.

“You can’t even talk properly. Where do you think you’re going?”

Adelia chuckled as she watched her leave.

The girl who had been pampered in a noble flower garden couldn’t stand against Adelia.

“You’ve become interesting, haven’t you?”

“Ah, you were here too.”

Turning her head, there was the young count leaning on the railing, chuckling.

Adelia looked at him with a somewhat indifferent face.

‘I should have sent Robelia away if I knew this would happen.’

Unlike the Countess and Robelia who had abused her, the young count hadn’t really done anything. No, it would be more accurate to say he wasn’t interested.

He occasionally spouted harsh words, but compared to the other family members, it was almost cute.

However, there was a separate issue.

“It seems you like the palace better. Your face has completely bloomed.”

Young count Vita entered the terrace with a sneer.

He looked Adelia up and down, eyeing her clothes and accessories as if she were an object.

Her brow furrowed at his blatant gaze.

“If you have something to say, say it quickly and leave.”

“Ha ha. How cold. Not even a single letter from the sister who’s worrying her brother’s heart. How could you twist it like that?”

He tapped Adelia’s chin as he spoke.

‘Disgusting creature.’

Whether it was because he had been pampered since childhood or it was just his nature, he treated women like objects and was reckless with his desires, just like the count.

And now it seemed he even considered meddling with his own blood.

Adelia’s eyes shone strangely at the young count.

“You’d better move away.”

She warned him in a voice much lower than usual.

“Ha ha. Why so harsh? It seems we haven’t spent time as a family for a while, so your brother came all this way to spend some time with you. Yeah?”

“Get lost.”

Adelia harshly shook off the young count’s hand from her chin.

His touch felt as if bugs were crawling over her skin.

‘That bastard is not worth associating with…’

What can I do?

The young count, whose hand was shaken off, smirked as if he found something amusing.

“Really. If you’re this indifferent to family relations, what’s the use? I guess I’m just happy that my useless sister is finally useful.”

“Indeed, in that house, I was the only useful one. A father who procrastinates, a mother who indulges in luxury. A younger sister who knows nothing but social activities, and a younger brother who can’t manage his own affairs.”

“What did you say!”

“Oh dear. Now there’s no one useful left in that house. It’s not easy to ruin a household like this.”

With the contract with the Crown Prince finalized and today’s marriage announcement, Adelia had nothing to fear anymore.

A marriage this far along couldn’t be overturned by the count, so there was no longer any need to watch out for that household.

Especially not for this libertine’s opinion.

As Adelia verbally attacked him, he opened his eyes wide in surprise.

Then, with a lazy smile, he began to laugh, seemingly amused.

“You’ve changed a lot. It’s a pity. If you were as submissive as before, we could have had some fun.”

“What?”

“I’m not as foolish as Robelia. Ah, but if the Crown Prince doesn’t care for you because of those scars, let me know. I have plenty of friends willing to help.”

Snap. Adelia’s rationality snapped.

She couldn’t misunderstand his intentions. Her disgust for him treating her this way till the end was unbearable.

Partly impulsively, and partly with premeditated rationality, she reached out her hand.

‘Falling from the terrace is common.’

At least his mouth would remain shut if he fell from here.

At that moment, when magic began to swirl at her fingertips,

“Do people spout nonsense these days?”

The window opened, and someone entered.

The moment she saw him, the deep furrows on Adelia’s forehead smoothed out. She opened her eyes wide in surprise and called out to him.

“Your Highness?”

“Haven’t I told you to call me by my name?”

“…Lucian.”

His small joke brought her back to her rationality.

Adelia withdrew her magic and lowered her hand.

Lucian stepped onto the terrace and stood in front of Vita.

“Greetings to Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”

“I came in wondering which lunatic was spouting such nonsense…”

“Ha ha… It was just a small joke among family.”

“It seems the count of Vita’s household considers treason a joke.”

The young count bowed his head deeply and swallowed hard.

His whole body shivered under those fierce red eyes looking down on him.

“It’s not that…”

The young count was sweating profusely, laying out his excuses.

But his words did not reach Lucian.

Lucian, who had turned towards Adelia, extended one hand.

“Adelia. The dance will start soon. I would like to ask you for a dance, so let’s go out.”

“We should.”

Adelia placed her hand in his.

His calloused hand enveloped her white hand.

Leaving the frozen young count behind, they stepped out onto the terrace.

* * *

Lucian went to the terrace purely because of a promise.

He had agreed to obtain a card that would appease Ariana’s anger in return.

The dance request was also part of the promise.

He had been watching the terrace Adelia entered and approached it around the time the first dance was about to start.

“Really. If you’re this indifferent to family relations, what’s the use? I guess I’m just happy that my useless sister is finally useful.”

It was no trouble for Lucian, who was more physically developed than others, to hear the conversation on the terrace.

“What?”

Lucian’s hand, which was about to open the terrace window, stopped.

He tilted his head slightly, as if he found it absurd.