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Prologue
“Retina Cecillika, my lady.”
The Crown Prince pronounced her name clearly, stepping toward her one deliberate step at a time.
“Your Highness… what brings you to me?”
Almost without realizing it, Retina stumbled back, retreating as he advanced. The change in his demeanor told her instinctively that the Crown Prince had recovered memories she wished he hadn’t.
“What brings me here? Don’t you know that better than anyone?”
Instead of answering, the Crown Prince replied with a question, smiling faintly—the satisfied smile of a predator that’s finally cornered its prey.
It was obvious he had come knowing everything. Retina held her tongue. She had always known the day would come when he found out.
It was her own fault. She should have left the moment she realized the Crown Prince was turning every party upside down in search of a mysterious woman. She’d told herself to avoid him, and yet… she’d stayed.
“I can’t exactly tell him now that I’m the woman he’s been looking for.”
She had her reasons too. At first, she’d avoided him because he frightened her. By the time she realized her own feelings, there was already another woman by his side.
“About last night. You have nothing to say?”
Retina froze as her back hit the wall.
Ah, she hadn’t even thought of a proper excuse yet. No longer able to run, she lifted her chin stiffly, her brows twitching nervously. Cold sweat soaked her back, trickling down her spine.
She had no choice but to feign ignorance.
“L–last night? I only went downstairs to bring you a wet towel, Your Highness. It was just a mistake…”
“Mistake?”
“You mistook me for Lady Genferno because you had a fever. So let’s just pretend it never—”
“Mistook you for Marie Genferno?”
Herald swept his hand up through his hair and let out a low, incredulous laugh.
“No, let’s say it properly.”
He reached up, tugging on the loose wig perched on Retina’s head. She flinched as shadows fell across her face. Before she could grab the wig as it slipped off, he’d already trapped her in his arms against the wall.
“How could I possibly mistake you for anyone else?”
Herald gazed down at the cascade of silver hair that spilled out from beneath the false locks. The sight of Retina’s true hair—the hair of the woman he had fallen for at first sight—filled his vision completely.
“So this is where the woman who dared leave scratches on my back ran off to.”
He stepped closer, closing the distance between their faces. Retina couldn’t meet his burning gaze; it was so close it reminded her of their kiss from the night before. He knew everything now. Even her secret.
“I was searching for you all this time… not realizing you were this close.”
He gently lifted the silvery strands that had fallen over her chest, laying them on his palm and pressing a reverent kiss to them. In the moonlight, her hair looked even more dazzlingly silver.
“You kissed me last night… and then acted like you didn’t even know me this morning.”
He smiled again, the same satisfied smile as before.
“So tell me, how does it feel… to steal the Crown Prince’s first kiss?”
Chapter 1 – I Stole the Crown Prince’s First Kiss (Part 1)
The Penelti family’s villa was still alive with music, laughter, and the sounds of dancing feet late into the night.
Unable to adjust to the party’s increasingly lively atmosphere, Retina had slipped out onto a terrace hidden behind the curtains. She’d only attended because her father insisted, but she knew this world wasn’t one she belonged to.
Holding a champagne glass to avoid suspicion, Retina leaned against the railing and gazed at the moon—round and bright, casting its glow over the mansion.
“…Miss! Please, come back inside!”
From the silent garden below, she heard a faint voice hidden among the shrubs. It wasn’t the sort of sound you’d expect from a carefully maintained garden. It was the kind of sound one might hear… from a bedroom.
Her face flushed bright red as she realized what it was. So that’s why the terrace had been so empty tonight.
She quickly tore her gaze away from the garden and stared up at the sky, finishing her wine in one gulp to cool her heated face.
“The books were right… things like this really do happen during parties.”
Retina fanned her face with her hand, embarrassed. Having grown up in a small countryside town in the Duke’s northern territory, this kind of decadent capital-night party was overwhelming.
I should just go back upstairs.
She turned back toward the hall, even more tired than before.
The Penelti villa, located just outside the capital, provided guest rooms for overnight visitors. After the main banquet, guests were free to retire to their rooms.
My brothers will probably look for me…
She glanced toward the center of the crowded ballroom, where her twin brothers surely held court, and shuddered. She had no desire to wade through that sea of people.
I’ll just head to my room first.
She climbed the stairs to the second floor. From above, she could see the ballroom clearly. A large crowd was gathered in one particular area.
The reason? The Crown Prince of the Ludenheim Empire was there, drinking every glass offered to him without refusal. He looked as if he might collapse at any moment, but no one intended to let him leave.
And what does that have to do with me?
Unlike her sociable brothers who mingled across all factions, Retina was a wallflower. She turned away, longing to escape her corset and tight shoes.
Before entering, she checked the number on her assigned guest card several times, worried she might walk into the wrong room.
“Haa… finally.”
Closing the door behind her, the first thing Retina did was remove the pins holding her wig in place. As the tawny wig came off, long silver hair spilled free.
She tossed the wig on the table, stripped off her dress and corset, and threw her shoes aside. Wearing only a slip, she collapsed onto the bed, looking visibly relieved.
“The capital just isn’t for me.”
Her voice came out weak and tired.
She thought of the noble girls of the capital—always beautiful, intelligent, skilled in the arts, and endlessly watchful of gossip. Retina, with her secret silver hair and lack of interest in aristocratic marriage games, didn’t fit in at all.
She had no interest in marrying for status or wealth. As the duke’s youngest daughter, she had no obligations and could live comfortably even unmarried. What she truly wanted was a quiet life in the countryside, surrounded by books.
Besides, you can’t hide something like my hair forever after marriage anyway.
The silver hair—like the icy snows of the North—was unique to her alone, and considered cursed. Her existence had been hidden since birth to avoid political upheaval.
She muttered drowsily, “I’ll only stay here until my debutante… Once that’s over…”
Her eyelids grew heavy. She’d drunk more than she thought at the banquet. Warm and tipsy, she soon drifted into sleep.
(Nighttime scene)
[The passage then depicts a romantic but intense scene where Retina, half asleep and drunk, ends up kissing and embracing a man who enters the room—the Crown Prince—without fully realizing who he is until it’s too late. Their first kiss happens that night, setting off the chain of events that lead to the confrontation in the prologue.]
At the end of the night, Retina whispers softly against his shoulder,
“Once tonight ends… let’s forget everything, Your Highness.”
The two, harboring different intentions, spent the night confirming each other’s existence.
