“Why don’t you accept an invitation to dance at least once? If you keep refusing, everyone will be disappointed.”

Her tone was gentle and soothing. But Alice unconsciously furrowed her brow.

‘…Ha. Worse than Jade.’

Surely some men would have been disappointed because she accepted, not because she refused.

Unlike Jade, who mocked her openly, Selena’s innocent expression made it impossible to tell whether she was sincere or just pretending.

But since so many eyes were on Selena, Alice swallowed her words. She wasn’t in a position to argue anyway.

“Hoho, Lady May! She’s not alone because she keeps refusing. It’s just that no one asked her to dance. I only came over to console her.”

The tactless Jade said this, glancing at the champagne glass in Alice’s hand.

“Oh my. I’m so sorry. I didn’t even realize…”

When Selena covered her lips in fluster with her innocent face, Alice could feel the sharp gazes of the young men stabbing into her.

Then suddenly, a clear voice chimed in from behind.

“No one asked me to dance either. This is already the third ball in a row.”

Immediately, the sharp gazes of the young men shifted to the newcomer.

Selena’s expression nearly froze at their blatant change of heart, but she quickly recovered and curved her lips into a warm smile.

“It’s been a while, Marchioness of Sopore. I didn’t get to greet you properly earlier because I was dancing.”

In truth, they had already exchanged proper greetings at the start.

The fact that she said this now only meant she wanted everyone to know that Katrina was so busy accepting dance requests that she couldn’t even greet her.

But Katrina, with a gloomy face, meekly gave her the reply she wanted.

“Wow, I’m jealous. Since no one asked me to dance, I’ve just been eating and drinking the whole time.”

It wasn’t a lie. Tonight, not a single man had asked Katrina for a dance.

But everyone here knew the reason all too well—including the silly young men who couldn’t take their eyes off her.

It was because of the dark-haired man stuck in the crowd across the hall, his gaze locked firmly on her.

When even the slightest brush of her fingertips could make the Marquis of Sopore’s expression turn icy, who would dare ask her to dance in his presence?

“So then… Alice, would you keep me company? I feel bad about stealing you away, but I’m really, really lonely.”

‘Huh. What’s that about?’

Selena, who had gotten every answer she wanted, suddenly felt annoyed. Her tone was too forthright—it was irritating to watch.

What’s more, the men who had been looking at her were now staring only at Katrina. They couldn’t touch her, so their gazes clung to her all the more stubbornly.

Whenever Daniel wasn’t by her side, and she actually came to a ball, such a strange spectacle always unfolded.

“No, Marchioness. I didn’t plan to dance either. And no one asked me anyway.”

When even the so-called “queen of high society” claimed she was “really, really lonely,” Alice felt suddenly lighter. She admitted the truth more easily.

“Perfect! Then I’ll borrow Alice for myself. Thank you, ladies.”

Katrina flashed a smile and quickly looped her arm through Alice’s, turning to leave.

It was so sudden that the two left behind didn’t even get to say proper goodbyes. Still, the waves of young men’s gazes followed Katrina’s every step.

“Thank you, Marchioness. It was t*rture standing there.”

As they walked toward the terrace, Alice whispered. Katrina chuckled and replied just as quietly:

“I figured as much. Oh, and just call me Katrina, Alice.”

“Ah… since we’re on the subject, may I ask you something?”

As they stepped onto the terrace, Alice looked straight at her.

“How do you even remember me? I’ve always been so invisible in society, I thought you wouldn’t know my name.”

“Of course, I know you—we just greeted each other, didn’t we? The youngest daughter of Viscount Vinia. Independent and strong-willed, with hobbies in reading and farming. Right?”

“How could you possibly know that—”

“Katrina.”

“Ah, yes. Katrina. But… did you perhaps investigate me?”

“Hm. Well, you could call it that. Socializing requires study, after all.”

Katrina smiled brightly as she spoke. Something about that smile was so likable that Alice simply nodded in silence.

“Still, you don’t have to force yourself to keep me company. You can go back to the Marquis if you’d like.”

“What do you mean, force? I told you, I’m really lonely, Alice.”

Katrina quickly hooked her arm around Alice’s again and pointed across the ballroom. Following her pale fingertip, Alice locked eyes with a tall, dark-haired man surrounded by people.

Well, it must have been her imagination. Surely his eyes were on Katrina.

But when their gazes met, he grinned broadly. Clearly, even in conversation, he had been stealing glances at his wife.

To see that rare smile of the Marquis of Sopore head-on—Alice suddenly thought the moment felt unreal.

But even thinking of him as attractive felt like a discourtesy, so she quickly turned away.

“See? He just laughs it off again.”

Katrina pouted, then looked back at Alice.

“For some reason, he’s always busier than I am. So tonight, at this ball—”

She held out the champagne glass Alice had been carrying.

“I’m going to focus on eating and drinking. With a new friend.”

Her eyes crinkled as she smiled so innocently.

At the Marchioness’s playful words, Alice let out a soft laugh and clinked her glass against hers. The clear chime of glass marked the start of an evening spent chatting together on the terrace.

***

“But who could have known it would turn out like this? An explosion? If I imagine it happening to me, it’s horrifying.”

While Alice was lost in thought, the other young ladies, who had belatedly understood Jade’s calculation, began to chatter all at once.

“Good thing it wasn’t Lady May.”

“Of course, it was a much greater loss that it wasn’t Selena’s marriage in the first place.”

At the blatant flattery, even the Duchess of Luminous forced her lips into a twitching smile.

With deliberate elegance, she said:

“Why else would I have opposed it? From the beginning, no one should have spoken of marrying our Selena into such a house. All they had was that barren canyon.”

To join the flow yet flaunt her intimacy—it was a skillful way of speaking.

As everyone inwardly clicked their tongues, Jade took the chance to side with the Duchess as well.

“Exactly right. Even if the Marquis of Sopore becomes Duke of Gnotician, will that canyon ever change?”

“Oh my. Isn’t the land supposed to change hands?”

A countess nearby asked in puzzlement.

It was natural to wonder. Why would someone destined to rule lands as vast as Bloodyfield bother holding on to a troublesome territory?

“That land isn’t like yours. It isn’t an honorable title—it’s a burden to shoulder.”

The Duchess lifted her chin proudly as she answered.

“Ahh, you’re right. Who would take on such a place unless they were mad?”

The lady who had asked quickly nodded in agreement. Jade eagerly added more:

“By the way, did you hear the rumor? Another ‘Black Cave’ supposedly opened recently.”

“It’s no rumor, it’s a fact. That land is nothing but trouble. I have no idea why the Empire insists on giving such importance to that canyon. Tch. I thank the stars, it isn’t mine.”

The Duchess muttered discontentedly, failing to realize that “that canyon” was precisely the source of his achievements.

“In any case, it’s for the best. He’ll keep his title as Marquis of Sopore, after all.”

“Though it’ll still be under Count May’s management.”

“Do you think the new duchy will also be added to the Count’s register of managed lands?”

“Yes. Father manages all Imperial lands outside the capital. That includes Gnotician.”

At a young lady’s question, Selena answered with a serene, confident smile.

Something about her calm yet assured demeanor made the other young women shrink back.

They gossiped out of habit, but the truth was, Daniel Blackwood was a man every woman had noticed at least once.

No—“noticed” wasn’t the right word. He was an unattainable tree. More like “the man everyone had dreamed of at least once.”

But Selena was different.

With the May family’s long-standing closeness to the Sopore marquisate, the two had been matched for marriage from early on.

The man all others only dreamed of, she had won easily, as if it were nothing. That made her the object of much admiration.

And with her delicate air, like a lily of the valley, she could always capture everyone’s attention the moment she entered a ballroom.

At least, that was true until the day Katrina Rubelline, the second daughter of the Hereidin family who had studied abroad, returned.