Chapter 3
He had been formally proposed to, yet that man with the charming voice refused to become the emperor’s son-in-law.
Saying something like that to a man who’s already turned down such a proposal? It’ll only make him dislike you more.
Telling someone to obediently marry you just because you know their secret… That’s not a proposal, it’s a threat.
As expected, the man responded with a voice even colder than before.
“I am not a dog of the Imperial Family.”
“That’s not what I meant!”
“It’s your attitude that disgusts people.”
Whoever he was, his merciless tone felt oddly refreshing.
Even if she was a princess, this really crossed the line. The man clearly and methodically pointed out the princess’s faults and stated his own stance.
“Marrying you, Your Highness, brings me no benefit, and I’m not interested in how powerful my future wife’s family is.”
“But—!”
“I will choose the person I marry with my own hands. It certainly won’t be you, so please leave.”
His cold statement struck like a nail into the girl’s heart.
Just as she was carefully trying to slip away from this tense situation—
“Ack!”
Her foot caught her skirt, and she fell flat on the floor.
The scream she let out as she hit the ground instantly silenced the conversation that had been going on in the distance.
She was doomed.
As the sound of footsteps grew closer, a wave of dread washed over her.
If she stayed like this, she really might die. Her instincts screamed at her to run.
She tried to scramble away, but the man was faster.
With long strides, he closed the distance and grabbed her wrist before she could escape, pulling her up to see her face.
Was this what it felt like to be prey caught by a predator?
Terrified, she chose the only option she had—begging for her life.
“Please spare me!”
Before he could even get a good look at her face, she bowed and desperately pleaded for mercy.
“Raise your head.”
Fighting back tears, Prizia slowly lifted her head.
But the moment her eyes met his, it felt as if a bell rang out from far away.
“No way…”
There he was—the man whose face she had seen on countless covers and fan art.
Even though the story described him as incredibly handsome, he was far more stunning than she had ever imagined.
She never dreamed she’d be standing face to face with him.
“Who are you?”
“I—I got lost…”
Rather than being starstruck, her survival instincts kicked in.
Desperate to make it clear she hadn’t been eavesdropping on purpose, Prizia did her best to look utterly pitiful.
“Where am I? I just want to go home.”
“The ballroom is the other way.”
The princess’s sweet voice echoed from a distance.
How could she be so gracious to someone who had just overheard her secret?
Grateful to be spared, Prizia tried to excuse herself and insist she hadn’t heard anything.
But just then, a familiar voice called from down the hallway.
“Sister, are you here?”
Apparently, Lily had come looking after Prizia had been gone for over an hour.
Just as she opened her mouth to reply, her eyes met the sharp gaze of the Duke of Cromford.
Wait. If those two meet…
What would happen if Lily, the most beautiful woman in the world, and Duke Cromford, the strongest man in the world, met?
Even if he wasn’t interested at first, if he fell for Lily at first sight, the entire plot could be derailed.
It wasn’t just because she was her sister—Lily Deblanc’s beauty was already the talk of high society.
And if the Duke, who was known to be looking for a bride, fell for her…
The mere thought was terrifying.
“I’ll be going now.”
As she turned to flee, one of her shoes slipped off.
But there was no time to pick it up.
Shoes can be replaced. Life can’t.
She hadn’t even told him her name. There was no way that man could find her now.
Leaving only one cream-colored shoe behind, Prizia bolted.
“What’s with the shoe?”
Jade, the head butler of the Cromford household, looked bewildered at the item in the Duke’s hand.
“I picked it up.”
Even now, the Emperor’s deadline loomed closer.
Duke Wilfred Cromford set the cream-colored shoe, adorned with elegant ribbons and pearls, on his desk and reviewed the list of potential brides Jade had compiled.
“Is this the one?”
“Yes, the file on top is for the most ordinary lady in the capital.”
Jade, ever loyal, had taken the Duke’s words literally—even to the point of death.
Curious about who had been chosen, Wilfred opened the file—only to recognize the woman in the portrait.
“I—I got lost…”
The frightened girl who looked like a startled deer. There was no mistake—he’d seen her before.
And the shoe alone already gave away clues to her identity.
Today’s ball had doubled as a gathering of high-ranking nobles.
While even baronets could attend, very few households could afford such finely made shoes. Likely a count’s house or higher.
And the fact that she could afford to run without the shoe implied she lived nearby—probably within the capital.
Then there was the voice calling out for her sister.
A noblewoman of similar age, attending the ball with a younger sister—that alone narrowed it down considerably.
“Prizia Deblanc, huh.”
“But I think the younger sister would be more—”
“Hold it.”
Wilfred cut off Jade mid-sentence and began reading Prizia’s profile.
Nobles below the rank of count didn’t need to marry to inherit titles. Women inheriting titles wasn’t uncommon either.
But the elder nobles had used today’s meeting to attack Rose Deblanc over exactly that issue.
“How can an unmarried woman lead a noble house? Tsk, tsk!”
They couldn’t go after Cromford directly, so they made the Deblancs a scapegoat.
And now, as fate would have it, that younger sister was on his bride list.
The family record showed three sisters—but curiously, there was very little information on the second daughter.
“Is the investigation lacking?”
“We mobilized all our resources, but no information surfaced. However, if you’re open to considering the younger sister…”
For some reason, Jade pushed hard for him to at least look at the younger sister’s portrait.
But Wilfred only glanced at it before shaking his head.
Overly eye-catching beauties did not meet his criteria for a wife.
“Prizia, was it.”
He gave Jade a sharp look and skimmed Prizia’s file.
His subordinates had done their job perfectly—she was average in every way.
Average height, weight, education—everything about her was plain and unremarkable.
Not even something to nitpick.
And yet, she’d eavesdropped on a sensitive conversation and then fled.
“I just so happen to need to return this shoe. Perfect.”
He gazed at the emotionless portrait of Prizia and gave a cruel smile.
“That’s what you get for eavesdropping on other people’s conversations.”
If word got out about the incident with the princess, things would get complicated.
He hadn’t cared for marriage before—but now, he was just a little interested.
“Where the heck did you go?”
Matthew was fuming, saying she had vanished while he was dancing with another lady.
“I told you, I got lost.”
“That’s why I said I’d stay by your side.”
“I even lost my shoe…”
Normally kind, Matthew turned into an overprotective older brother during times like this.
It was a shame to lose her favorite cream-colored shoe, but Prizia put on her spare pair and returned to the ballroom.
“You always get lost, so stick close to me from now on.”
Lily, now feeling triumphant, even took on the role of bodyguard.
Rejecting a flood of dance invitations, the sweet younger sister stuck to Prizia like glue, making sure she didn’t wander off again.
This wasn’t how things were supposed to go.
She’d only come to the ball like usual, but today nothing was going as planned.
“By the way, why hasn’t our sister come yet?”
“Yeah. Father’s already here too.”
The Marquess of Napier, Matthew’s father, had already joined the ball—but there was still no sign of Rose or Duke Cromford.
Prizia had hoped to go home with her sister, but at this rate, she figured she should just quietly slip out early.
“Let’s go home.”
“Already?”
“It’s getting late.”
The attention Lily was drawing from nearby nobles was intense.
None of the young lords who came to see Lily today seemed worth considering.
Even as they left the ballroom, Rose never showed up.
With no other option, Prizia decided to return home first.
“Sister, I’m sleepy…”
“I knew it.”
It was already past 2 a.m.
Having danced all night, Lily began nodding off.
Leaving two young ladies alone at this hour would be dangerous, so Matthew personally carried Lily into the carriage.
“I’m always grateful, Matthew.”
“Come on, we’re practically family. Lily’s like a real little sister to me.”
“Do you like anyone, Matthew?”
Even if they were like siblings, whoever became the future Marchioness of Napier might feel jealous of the three sisters.
Their parents were worried too—maybe he should settle down soon.
Come to think of it, Prizia had never heard Matthew talk about who he liked.
“Of course I like someone.”
“Who is it?”
“Someone. A very oblivious and indifferent woman.”
