In the midst of her confusion, Diana realized she couldn’t see that man. Edwin Lauderdale, her first love.

Diana’s gaze kept searching for her first love. Since he often went on expeditions to deal with monsters, it had been two weeks since she encountered him in this life, but that wasn’t the reality. After her marriage, she hadn’t been able to meet him at all, so in practical terms, she hadn’t seen his face for over three years.

That’s why she wanted to meet Edwin after such a long time. Just seeing his face seemed like it would calm her current confusion.

However, no matter how much she looked, his figure was nowhere to be seen.

He couldn’t have not come today…

Today was definitely the day Edwin attended the ball. Diana had memorized all the days he attended, so she couldn’t be wrong.

Diana looked around even outside the ballroom to find Edwin, but his figure wasn’t visible anywhere.

Why on earth…

Since it was a ball hosted by the Emperor, he should definitely have been assigned to guard His Majesty’s side. But the one currently guarding His Majesty was the vice-captain.

He and Edwin took turns going to eliminate monsters, so this expedition should have been the vice-captain’s turn while Edwin stayed to guard the capital. So she should have been able to meet Edwin today, but why had her expectations been wrong?

Not everything was the same as the past? Just when she was thinking that, Diana heard people’s conversation reaching her ears.

“The number of monsters that need to be dealt with this time is considerable, so the knight order is struggling, isn’t it? I heard the number exceeds 200.”

“The war hasn’t been over for long, and now monsters are running wild too. How can we live in such fear?”

Looking at the face of the young lady trembling with fear, Diana thought of Edwin. Him, the empire’s hero.

Even before making a truce with neighboring countries, the empire had been exposed to the danger of war. The reason the Imperial Knights first appointed Edwin, a commoner, as a knight was also because of them.

In the face of war, birth status wasn’t necessary. What was practically needed was someone capable of governing knights and soldiers and controlling them.

That didn’t mean a commoner could easily become a knight captain. Even so, Edwin could rise to the position of knight captain thanks to the Crown Prince.

He valued skill over status and wanted someone who would work hard for the empire. Edwin proved his skill by winning the swordsmanship tournament hosted by the imperial family. 

That’s how he gained the Crown Prince’s favor and could rise to the position of knight captain.

Having become the top commander, Edwin took the lead and led numerous knights to victory in the war against neighboring countries. And for that merit, he was able to receive a noble title.

One might think peace would come after agreeing to the truce, but that wasn’t the case. Monsters often appeared in border areas. Even if they built solid barriers to prevent monsters from invading, it was impossible to completely block them.

Since they couldn’t determine the reason why they kept invading, the imperial knights would go there two or three times a month to deal with the monsters.

Each time, Edwin continued to accumulate merits, so everyone expected that his final title wouldn’t end at being a baron. Since monsters existed, he would continue to accumulate merits endlessly.

The more Diana listened to people’s conversations, the more she felt an indescribable sense of unease.

200? Why had it changed from her previous life?

In her previous life, about 80-90 monsters had infiltrated. But now it had doubled. It wasn’t a good sign since it meant the empire’s peace was being threatened.

Why had it changed from the past? It couldn’t be that the empire’s peace was being broken because she returned, could it?

‘No. That can’t be. If I do nothing and stay still, things would flow just like my previous life, so how could the empire fall?’

Considering it just a coincidence, Diana had to return that day without finding a young master she liked at the ballroom.

However, at the next ball too, Diana couldn’t find a man she liked. And she couldn’t see Edwin either.

“I heard there are people targeting monster cores these days. I’m worried they might touch them.”

“I heard rumors that touching them increases the number of monsters, so why would they touch them?”

“Why else? Because word spread that monster cores have special power in them.”

“But no one who went to get them ever returned alive.”

“Aren’t the monsters running wilder because of them?”

Stories Diana didn’t know in her previous life poured out. She didn’t know much about what happened outside the empire, but she could tell that Edwin was busy because of it.

She wanted to see his face after such a long time…

Perhaps because her disappointment was great, other men didn’t catch her eye at all. Diana’s mind was filled with only one person.

But the more she thought of Edwin, the heavier her heart sank. What was the point of thinking about a man who had no interest in her?

Even though she was in a position where she could have everything she wanted, Diana couldn’t bring herself to covet Edwin. Having already been rejected, she lacked confidence in winning his heart.

She shouldn’t look at trees she couldn’t climb from the start, so she tried hard to erase him from her mind. At the same time, she struggled to think of which man could lead the Winchester family well.

‘No matter how much I think about it, I don’t know…’

But no matter how much she pondered, not a single man came to mind as a suitable partner. At this rate, she wouldn’t be able to decide on a spouse by herself.

Should she ask people around her to help her choose who to select again?

If she compiled their opinions, at least one decent person would emerge. 

With that thought, Diana immediately checked all the invitations that had come to her as soon as she returned to the Winchester house.

* * *

Three days later, the moment Diana entered the ballroom, she stopped in her tracks. When a man came into her view, it felt like all noise in the world had disappeared.

‘Lord Lauderdale…’

Upon encountering the man she had harbored feelings for in her previous life, all her attention focused on him. 

He was standing beside the Emperor, but only he entered Diana’s vision. In the ballroom right now, it felt like only he and she existed, just the two of them.

His figure sparkling and radiating brilliance alone in the ballroom was so dazzling that she couldn’t bring herself to look at him directly.

Just being in the same space made her heart pound. It was strange that her heart hadn’t beaten this hard before.

“Lady Winchester.”

Diana could barely come to her senses at the sound of someone calling her from nearby. Just when she was about to turn her gaze away from Edwin, their eyes met.

Diana’s pupils shook in surprise. When she panicked about what to do and slightly nodded her head to greet him first, he also lightly nodded back. This was the first time they had exchanged greetings since her rejection.

In her previous life, she hadn’t even dared to approach him. So they hadn’t even exchanged greetings, but in this life, they were exchanging greetings.

‘What should I do? I’m so nervous…’

Just from greeting him, her heart pounded like it would burst. Her face had also turned bright red, so anyone who didn’t know the situation would probably mistake her for being drunk.

Her prediction wasn’t wrong, as she could see Young Master Tankerville approaching Diana with worried eyes.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m, I’m fine.”

Contrary to her words, Diana staggered like she had stepped wrong. Just greeting Edwin made her feel like all strength had left her body.

Even after coming to the lounge with Young Master Tankerville’s help, her excited heart showed no signs of calming down. Diana, left alone in the lounge, let out a deep sigh.

“I came to the ballroom to choose a husband candidate, but what am I supposed to do if I fall for a man I didn’t even consider as a candidate?”

‘What am I supposed to do, coveting him when I was already rejected long ago? This won’t do.’

‘Could you become my knight?’

‘I’m sorry. That would be difficult.’

She had once mustered courage to ask Edwin to become her knight. Knights could make a vow of lifelong devotion to one woman, and Diana had made that request hoping that Edwin’s partner would be her.

Actually, she had wanted to confess but was afraid of being rejected, so she had indirectly asked him to become her knight.

With her face completely red, she had finally mustered courage, but the answer that came back was rejection. She couldn’t bring herself to ask the reason from him who looked sorry.

How hurt she had been then. But what if she still couldn’t let go of her lingering feelings? 

‘He would never like me. I know that well, so why am I like this?’

How great had been the wrong she committed against him? Because of that day’s mistake, she couldn’t be seen as a woman. But why did she keep having lingering feelings?

Diana let out a deep sigh and recalled the day she first met Edwin.