Of course, he didn’t. If he did, he wouldn’t have been so reclusive from society. But at least he knew how to act more appropriately than Helia.

Ruben’s gaze rested on Helia’s lavish sapphire hairpin. The tiny fingers in his grip felt unfamiliar with the presence of her ring. The silk of her dress softly brushed his ankle as they moved. And he knew these things would never again be a part of her.

The princess’s extravagant tastes were well-known, so they no longer stirred gossip among the noblewomen. The kingdom’s struggling finances were not her concern.

She hadn’t always been this way, though. That’s how Ruben remembered it. The transformation of the once-innocent girl began after her grandfather, Arphon Helferion de Bailey, the first king of Bailey, passed away.

As Rigel Edgar Bailey’s oppressive reign began, Helia, too, began to change. She grew arrogant, foolish, extravagant, and vicious. People said that the true nature of the family, which King Arphon had suppressed, was finally surfacing. One by one, those around her started to leave.

Yet Ruben remained by her side. He tolerated her increasingly harsh temperament, believing she would eventually return to her former self. He thought she was simply struggling to accept her grandfather’s death and that he needed to support her all the more. But it was Helia herself who shattered that belief.

Her violent nature only intensified. She tormented her maids endlessly, doubting them at every turn. Her obsession with Ruben grew as well; she drove away anyone who came near her, leaving only him by her side. The day she met the saintess, her viciousness reached its peak. Helia, unable to accept the saintess’s existence, branded her a liar and eventually tried to kill her. Ruben could no longer tolerate Helia after witnessing her attempt to take the life of the saintess, having already cost the saintess her family.

“It’s over.”

The music, which had reached its crescendo, finally quieted to a gentle tone, marking the end of what had felt like an endless nightmare for Ruben. He was about to release her hand without offering an escort when she tightly clasped his more significant hand. Ruben looked down at Helia in surprise.

“Sorry, but we’re not quite finished,” she said, her face devoid of remorse. She held firmly onto his hand and led him forward. He allowed himself to be pulled along, unable to hide his discomfort. A strange, sticky warmth emanated from her touch, an unpleasant sensation that made him want to hurt his hand away.

Everyone around them watched intently, curious about where the princess led the duke. Their gazes burned into their backs, and Helia seemed to revel in the attention as she ascended the stairs slowly. Murmurs grew among the onlookers.

Their destination was the second floor, reserved exclusively for royalty, at the very center. King Xeroth, who had been watching the pair approach, welcomed them warmly as if he had been waiting.

“Welcome, Duke Effenberg.”

“I am honored to be in the presence of the kingdom’s Sun. It has been some time, Your Majesty.”

“I know how busy you’ve been with your duties,” Xeroth responded nonchalantly, brushing it aside. Then, with a gleam in his eye, he chuckled in a way that made one feel immediately uncomfortable.

“Now, aren’t they truly a perfect match? Don’t you agree, my queen?”

“Yes, indeed, Your Majesty,” she replied.

“Now I see why my sister has rejected marriage for so long. It must have been to keep herself for you,” Xeroth said.

The crowd couldn’t contain their reactions. Ladies froze in shock, young men whispered excitedly, and elderly nobles fluttered fans or cleared their throats, struggling to mask their surprise.

Ruben was just as stunned. He had been notified, but he never expected it to be announced in such a manner. It was unthinkable that they would treat an engagement like a casual greeting in the middle of a ball.

“I am relieved that you have accepted the royal proposal. My sister is overjoyed to be with the kingdom’s finest man.”

Helia smiled radiantly, exuding her beauty.

“I owe it all to Your Majesty’s grace.”

Ruben could hardly even force a laugh. This way of announcing the engagement—it was absurd. He wondered how far the king intended to sink, disregarding the dignity and decorum the royal family should uphold. Those who had criticized him as vulgar had long given up, having exhausted their reproaches.

And Helia, agreeing to such a display, was certainly not a typical woman. She didn’t care that she’d become a mere spectacle for others to gossip about later. As long as she had the attention now, that mattered.

Ruben could neither understand nor want to understand this mindset. He found the vulgarity of this royal family utterly repulsive.

“Having the Duke of Effenberg join the royal family makes me feel secure,” Xeroth openly expressed his satisfaction with their engagement. Ruben knew full well what the fox-like king intended. Xeroth had eagerly accepted Helia’s insistence on this engagement to draw the Effenberg family into his influence.

Besides, Helia, as the only child of the late king and nominally holding a claim to the throne, posed a potential threat. Getting rid of her was an ideal solution for Xeroth, who, though foolish, saw any challenge to his rule as a significant threat.

Not knowing the power she held, not knowing how to wield it, and only fixated on her desires—Helia was a card that must have been all too easy for Xeroth to manipulate. Reflecting on this foolishness, Ruben felt a renewed wave of anger.

“I will see to it that the preparations for the engagement proceed as quickly as possible. I’ll send a messenger, so be ready.”

No, the truth was, Ruben understood the reason all too well. Helia’s foolish obsession was one of the very things that reinforced this foolish royal authority. Even a young noble who hadn’t debuted in society yet would understand how much prestige the royal family would gain from this engagement.

“Understood.”

“Good.”

Xeroth smiled in satisfaction, responding benevolently. Nothing more was said. Now, Ruben was expected to take Helia’s hand, invite her to dance, and descend to the ballroom.

But Ruben had no intention of playing along with such a ridiculous charade. With a polite yet firm manner, he bowed to Xeroth.

“Your Majesty, I must apologize, but I have pressing matters to attend to. Before taking my leave, I only intended to greet Your Majesty and Her Highness at this ball. May I be excused?”

His manner conveyed that he’d still made time to come here just for them, although he was busy. That alone was enough. Ruben Effenberg was a man with that kind of influence in the kingdom. Xeroth maintained his easy smile as he graciously granted permission for Ruben to leave, utterly unconcerned with the darkening expression of his sister standing by his side.

Without so much as a formal farewell to Helia, Ruben turned and walked away. He could feel her gaze drilling into his back, but even the stares from the other nobles were already paralyzing. Everyone was eager to know more about the situation. Ruben quickly exited before any clueless individual could strike up a conversation. Now, there was only one person left to bear all the scrutiny.

✥✥✥

As expected, news of the princess’s engagement spread rapidly. Among the commoners, who were indifferent to the circumstances behind it, it was simply celebrated as a royal event. But among the nobles, it was anything but.

The engagement became a long-standing topic of gossip at ladies’ teas, accompanied by thinly veiled mockery. Men pretended to be concerned about the royal family’s future, criticizing the foolish Xeroth while singing Ruben’s praises. The royal family’s already low reputation plummeted even further.

Of course, the person who became the hottest topic of all was Helia Bailey herself. She is known as the sole princess of the Bailey Kingdom and is famous for her arrogance and pride. Yet, nearly every noble had heard rumors of her obsessive fixation on Ruben Effenberg. Even though no one had ever seen them share a conversation or a greeting in the past few years, these rumors persisted.

And now, those baseless rumors had finally manifested in reality. Helia Bailey, unable to let go of her obsession with Ruben Effenberg, had ultimately made him her fiancé.

“To think the princess, who always acted so aloof, was working so hard behind the scenes.”

“And all for none other than Lord Ruben Effenberg.”

“Well, honestly, no one wouldn’t seem lacking as a match for His Grace Effenberg.”

Someone who had once been intimidatingly unattainable suddenly became a source of ridicule. Helia, who had always looked down on and mistreated the nobles, now claimed Ruben, the man they all admired. Bitterness and disdain toward her spread rapidly. Helia became a common enemy at every tea gathering and party, someone all the ladies despised—and would continue to despise.

There was even someone who directly benefited from her engagement. That person was the Countess of Iver, who had been in a difficult position due to a scandal involving Marquis Nate just before the engagement news broke. She could have sung a full opera aria in gratitude at Helia’s engagement. She would likely be the first to spread malicious gossip about Helia.

Of course, none of this talk ever reached Ruben’s ears. Not that he wasn’t aware of the stories circulating in high society—he simply didn’t care to listen.

And another person didn’t listen either: the one responsible for causing all of this.

Xeroth promptly sent a messenger to notify Ruben of the engagement date. The chosen date, which was supposed to be auspicious, arrived much sooner than Ruben had expected.

“Two weeks from now?”