The red wine spilled on the snow-white dress spread thick like blood around the woman’s chest.

Since the area was what it was, he quickly averted his eyes, unable to keep staring. Then, hastily pulling out a handkerchief from his inner pocket, he extended it toward her. Uncharacteristically flustered, his fingertips trembled slightly.

“Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere…?”

The woman didn’t take the handkerchief. Just then, as he lifted his head, a crowd rushed over.

“Your Grace! Are you alright?”

It was clearly him who had bumped into her first, yet people were more concerned about him than her.

Kyla Bailey.

The woman with elegantly styled silver hair looked more mature than usual today.

She naturally drew attention.

“You didn’t break anything, did you? Well, it’s lucky our Duke is sturdy!”

The nobles, acting like Haiden’s personal attendants, took the wine glass from his hand.

“I’ll get you a new one, Duke.”

“No, that won’t be necessary,” he declined again, shifting his gaze.

But the woman he half-expected to slap him was already walking down the stairs.

‘Why is she just walking away like that?’

The sight of her casually brushing off her dress and walking away as if this had happened many times before got under his skin.

‘That wasn’t how she used to be.’

‘She always lingered to talk to Queen Renezielle. Why not today…?’

Haiden’s eyes darted around uneasily. Another noble approached with a freshly filled wine glass, prompting him to quickly escape down the stairs.

After slipping into a secluded corner of the palace garden, Haiden looked around to make sure no one had followed. Luckily, it seemed he was alone.

“Haa…”

He exhaled and finally took out the handkerchief to vigorously wipe his hands.

Even though the area was already clean, he scrubbed at his skin until it almost peeled. The soft fabric tore with a ripping sound, yet his hand didn’t stop.

“You really like being clean, don’t you?”

A voice suddenly came from behind.

“…!”

Haiden immediately hid the handkerchief and spun around. So shaken he hadn’t noticed her presence, he now stood frozen.

Kyla slowly approached him, her gaze calm and unflinching.

A strong scent of wine wafted from her.

“I thought you’d never talk to me again.”

“Are you stupid? After what just happened, how could I not talk to you?”

With a faint smirk, Kyla crossed her legs and sat on a bench.

“You owe me now. What are you going to do about it?”

She gripped the stained part of her dress where the wine had soaked in near her chest, wringing it slightly.

Haiden couldn’t bear to look and turned his head, clutching the handkerchief tightly.

“Ah, if it were any other lady, I’m sure you would’ve offered compensation. But because it’s me, you won’t even apologize? Is it because my father is Count Bailey?”

“If I seemed that rude to you, then you’re misunderstanding me. Do you always jump to conclusions like that?”

When Haiden shot back, Kyla laughed brightly as if she were having fun and stood up from the bench.

As she walked closer, she looked up at him with a calm, confident smile.

“You really shouldn’t treat me like this.”

What did she mean by that?

His palms were sweating. The closer she got, the more intense her scent became—so much so that cold sweat broke out and he felt faint.

“Are you feeling unwell?”

Haiden shook his head. 

“No.”

But before he could finish his response, Kyla stepped right up to him and placed a hand firmly on his chest.

“Revenge.”

She said it clearly.

Startled by the unexpected contact, Haiden stumbled back. His face had gone pale, and he clutched at his damp chest.

“W-What are you…?”

“I said, it’s revenge.”

The man, lit by moonlight, stood frozen in place, his hands trembling uncontrollably with fear.

“Don’t apologize to me from now on. If you don’t apologize, I can keep getting revenge.”

Her voice was already growing distant, barely audible. But the chilling sensation spreading from his chest across his body was unmistakable.

With trembling hands, he gripped the handkerchief and began scrubbing his chest again—desperately.

He thought he’d dried up all emotions of fear, but apparently not.

Who would’ve thought?

That a knight who had seen so much blood on the battlefield would tremble like this… over this?

Under the white summer moonlight, a slow smile of triumph crept across Kyla Bailey’s lips.

“Your Grace,” she called softly.

“Tell me—”

“…”

“You’re afraid of wine, aren’t you?”

The moment she said it, Haiden’s scrubbing hands froze.

From a distance, music from the ballroom began to play, signaling the official start of the ball.

***

The royal palace had guest rooms prepared for situations like this, allowing attendees to change clothes.

But instead of using one herself, Kyla had her maid send for Mary and Isabelle to go to Haiden’s room.

As the commander of the White Lion Knights and a trusted figure of the king, Haiden had access to nearly every part of the palace. He also had multiple private rooms at his disposal—an unheard-of privilege for nobles who were out of favor with the royal family.

“Is it really okay for us to be here?”

“The Duke gave permission. He said we could use this room however we want.”

“…Are you talking about Duke Blake?”

Mary, who had entered dragging a rack of dresses, couldn’t stop letting out gasps of amazement. Isabelle also looked around nervously, clearly still in disbelief.

“Don’t worry. I told Lord Ort before coming here, so Father will know. We’ll be using this room every time there’s a ball, so make sure to remember where it is.”

“Did something happen?”

“Can’t you tell? The Duke did this.”

He spilled wine on an expensive dress.

“Just take it as his way of apologizing.”

“Aha… Still, he seems rather kind to you! Honestly, I was kind of scared of him since he’s the White Lion. He’s huge, so serious, and hardly ever smiles.”

Mary looked surprised as she walked over and stood behind Kyla, helping her out of the dress one layer at a time while chatting.

“Remember the last time he came to our estate? You wouldn’t believe how tense it was. Did you see the Count’s face? I thought my head was going to roll off any second!”

“Father always hates anyone connected to the royal faction.”

“And he gets especially sensitive when it comes to you.”

“Mary.”

Kyla didn’t want to hear any more of that.

She moved instinctively with Mary’s hands, changing into a new dress. Just as the finishing touches were being made, a servant from House Ort knocked on the door.

“My Lady, the Count has been looking for you.”

Mary and Isabelle hurried to help her get ready.

Kyla stepped out into the corridor in her newly changed dress, walking calmly with a peaceful smile. It felt like a dream to finally have a place in the royal palace where she could relax.

‘I need to brag to Everett about this.’

The gloomy mood she had earlier, after seeing Queen Renezielle, had already lifted.

But then she ran into the Duke, dressed just like her, walking down the hall from the opposite side.

“Oh.”

Haiden stopped momentarily, frowned, and turned back the way he came.

What was that? Did he just avoid me?

“Hah, seriously. So now you don’t want anything to do with me? After ruining someone else’s cherished dress?”

Unbelievable.

He must not realize the situation yet. She was the only one who knew the Duke’s secret weakness.

The one not even the King knew — a wine phobia that had developed just the day before.

‘But why? It tastes so good.’

Back in the ballroom, Kyla made sure to show her father she wasn’t causing trouble. Then she casually kept sipping her wine.

When she saw the Duke again from afar, she suddenly felt the urge to tease him.

After some hesitation, Kyla set down her empty glass, grabbed a new one, and made her way toward the Duke.

“Duke.”

He was clearly avoiding any place that served wine.

And then…

“Duke?”

Now, even she was weaving through the crowd, trying to chase him down.

“Duke!”

Every time she got close, he disappeared into the crowd.

“Where does he keep vanishing to?”

Kyla deliberately walked around holding a glass of wine in each hand, glancing around. People who saw her clicked their tongues.

“Gosh, she really has no fear. Now she’s messing with the Duke?”

“Everyone’s already talking. They say she’s doing this because he spilled wine on her earlier.”

“She’s probably planning to dump it on him or something.”

That wasn’t it. She was merely preparing for their next negotiation in peace.

While changing her clothes earlier, she’d had time to think. These days, most noblewomen ended up naturally paired with royalist noblemen.

Supposedly, it was for the sake of “peace.”

Though if you looked at how politics actually worked, it wasn’t peaceful at all. Still, as a noble lady, she would eventually have to marry someone.

But if that someone turned out to be Gellensid?

‘I’d rather die…’

She swore to the heavens — she had no confidence she could live happily. How could she share a life with someone who once tried to kill her?

Once the prince’s house arrest ended, the topic of marriage would come up again. Even if she broke off the engagement, she’d need another suitable match to replace him.

And didn’t she already have the key to that?

If it were the Duke, even Gellensid would have no choice but to step back.

If the Duke proposed first, the royal family wouldn’t strongly object. And even her father, who believed that becoming the old King’s 23rd wife was still better than Gellensid, might change his mind.

She wanted to show her father—

‘That she had options too!’

Besides, the Duke looked like Cabil. Even if he was part of the royalist faction, she could bear at least a kiss… or even having a baby.