Having finished the dance with Reynard—albeit awkwardly—Evelyn emerged from the dance hall with a slightly flushed face.

As soon as the two of them stepped out of the dance hall, several nobles approached Reynard. Reynard’s gaze naturally shifted toward Evelyn.

Seeing the worry in his eyes, as though concerned for a child left near water, Evelyn gave a faint smile and nodded. 

No matter how unfamiliar she was with this kind of gathering, she couldn’t expect Reynard to stay by her side like a child needing constant supervision. Since she wasn’t acquainted with anyone else anyway, she figured she would simply return to her seat and wait quietly for the ball to end.

Only after confirming Evelyn’s nod did Reynard begin mingling and conversing with the other nobles.

As Evelyn imprinted his departing figure in her mind and turned to head back to her seat, just as planned—

“Your Majesty the Empress.” 

A voice called out to her from behind. Turning to see who it was, she found a noblewoman in an elaborate blue dress approaching with a pleasant smile.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty. I’m Adelheid Lorenharts.”

“Nice to meet you.”

Evelyn accepted the young lady’s greeting, doing her best to appear calm.

“If it’s not an imposition, may I speak with you?” 

Adelheid asked carefully, her expression full of goodwill. Though Evelyn, once a maid, felt unsure whether she could hold a natural conversation with nobility, she couldn’t bring herself to refuse.

Evelyn gave a faint smile and nodded.

“Of course.”

Once she granted permission, others who had been hovering nearby cautiously began gathering around her.

To say it wasn’t overwhelming would be a lie—but it was still far better than being deliberately avoided.

One by one, they approached Evelyn, stated their family names, and introduced themselves. To avoid forgetting their names, Evelyn repeated them quietly in her mind.

Contrary to her worries, the mood was quite friendly. Relieved, Evelyn allowed herself to be drawn into the sea of conversation.

Just then, Adelheid picked up two glasses of wine from a passing servant.

“Your Majesty, you must be thirsty—here, please have this…”

As Adelheid extended a glass toward Evelyn, before she could take it, the wine fell to the floor. Clang!—with the sharp shattering sound, Evelyn’s pristine white dress became soaked with red wine.

“Oh no! I’m so sorry, Your Majesty. My hand slipped.” 

Adelheid apologized, looking even more shocked than Evelyn herself. Judging by her flustered expression, it didn’t seem as if she had dropped the glass on purpose.

Evelyn, knowing how meaningless it would be to assign blame over an accident, gave a faint smile and shook her head.

“It’s alright. No need to worry.”

“Are you really okay? Your whole dress is soaked…”

Adelheid asked, unable to hide her remorse. Her downcast expression looked genuinely pitiful.

“It’s just a dress. I can change into another.”

“Thank you for saying that.”

“I’ll go change quickly. Will you wait for me?”

As Evelyn asked for their understanding, the group that had gathered around her all nodded in agreement.

“Of course. We’ll be here.”

“Then, if you’ll excuse me.”

With those parting words, Evelyn made her way through the noblewomen and started walking quickly toward the dressing room to change.

Her maids, seeing the wine stain on her dress, immediately bustled about to prepare a spare. Given the unexpected nature of the situation, only simpler dresses had been prepared.

With the maids’ help, Evelyn changed clothes and returned to the entrance of the ballroom.

“Shall we announce you?”

“No, it’s alright.”

She had already entered once, drawing plenty of attention. She had no desire to attract eyes a second time.

So without notifying anyone, Evelyn stepped back inside.

To show that she was fine, she sought out the group of young noblewomen she had been with earlier.

“The way that red stain spread across that white dress—so ridiculous!”

“And then she says, ‘No need to worry.’ Isn’t she just stupid?”

Laughter bubbled between the mocking voices aimed at Evelyn.

As Evelyn was walking toward them, her steps stopped mid-way. She stood still and listened to their conversation.

“Still, for a princess of an invading nation to become the Empress—it’s appalling.”

“If it weren’t for her, Lady Emmett would have become Empress.”

“She doesn’t even know her place, claiming the position of Empress…”

Some among the chatting group noticed Evelyn and urgently signaled to the others.

Only then, sensing the strange atmosphere, did the group of gossiping young ladies notice Evelyn and clamp their mouths shut. Among them was Adelheid, the one who had spilled the wine.

Evelyn’s heart pounded quickly. The woman who had approached her with such a kind face had, in truth, shattered the glass of wine on purpose to harass her.

“Your Majesty, just now…”

Adelheid stammered, flustered.

Evelyn, staring at her with a wavering gaze, opened her mouth hesitantly.

“Did you spill the wine on me… on purpose?”

Even in her shock, Evelyn found herself wondering how Princess Ophelia would have reacted in this situation.

The real Princess Ophelia had a fiery, impulsive personality. So if someone acted rudely toward her, she often responded with swift retribution.

Had Princess Ophelia been in this very situation, she likely would have slapped Adelheid across the face the moment she overheard the insult.

But Evelyn could not act like Princess Ophelia. It was partly because she understood all too well the reality of her current situation—and partly because she simply didn’t have the same boldness.

“No, Your Majesty. You saw it yourself earlier, didn’t you? I was handing you the glass, and it slipped from my hand by accident.” 

Adelheid hurriedly offered an excuse.

Evelyn did not find her the least bit pleasant in that moment. If she was going to be caught so easily—if she was going to panic and change her attitude so quickly—then perhaps she should never have tried something like this to begin with.

Questions began rising one by one, tangling into a mess in Evelyn’s mind.

‘What should I do?’

She was flustered and couldn’t find an answer.

That was when—

“What’s going on here?”

Reynard’s voice came from behind Evelyn.

Turning her head, she saw that at some point, he had approached and was standing right behind her.

“Th-that is…”

Adelheid stammered, her face pale as she stared at the floor. To her, this had probably been a petty prank meant to tease Evelyn. She had never imagined it would spiral this far.

“Lady Lorenharts seems to have spilled wine on Her Majesty because of me.”

It was then that Greta Emmett, who had been watching the situation all along, interjected. Everyone’s gaze now turned to Greta.

“L-Lady…”

Adelheid looked at Greta with an even paler face, her expression full of regret and confusion.

“Your Majesty, I will apologize on Lady Lorenharts’ behalf.”

Greta bowed respectfully toward Evelyn.

Even so, Reynard’s stern expression showed no sign of softening.

“To disgrace the Empress is to disgrace me, her husband. And to humiliate her at the very celebration of our union, then think it can be glossed over with a few words?”

Reynard growled lowly.

Greta looked at Reynard, then at Evelyn, seemingly puzzled. But after a moment, she accepted the situation and nodded calmly.

“Of course, that would not be acceptable.”

With that, Greta walked over to a nearby servant, picked up a glass of wine from the tray he was holding.

“What are you—”

“Oh my, Lady Emmett!”

Before anyone could stop her, she poured the wine boldly over her own sky-blue dress. The onlookers gasped, staring in shock, but Greta remained composed throughout.

“Would this be a fair equivalent?”