🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 01 …
Prologue
“Her Highness, Princess Delfinium, the daughter of Duke Delfinium, and Crown Prince Eryan Winston Peshtain, enter!”
Every noblewoman dreams of a debutante ball.
I, Yoon Se-A, an ordinary university student, found myself attending the very debutante ball that I had only seen in novels, after 11 years of being reincarnated.
And not just any debutante ball, but one where I was escorted by the Crown Prince himself — the man every noblewoman in the Empire dreams of holding hands with.
I glanced at Eryan, who was escorting me. His golden blonde hair sparkled even more under the lights, contrasting with his striking blue eyes. He looked like a prince even while riding a KTX.
Did Eryan notice my gaze? He lowered his head slightly and quietly asked, “Princess, what made you accept this proposal? I thought for sure you would refuse.”
“It’s the same reason you proposed it to me, Your Highness,” I answered.
“I had a bit of personal interest in the matter, but I didn’t expect you to have any personal interest in me,” he replied with a charming smile.
I responded to his playful words with a calm demeanor, not letting him get to me. I replied through ventriloquism, “Let’s keep it strictly business. Just business.”
As if he expected my response, Eryan shrugged and extended his arm toward me, “If we’re doing this, let’s do it properly, shall we?”
“Yes, yes.”
Even in such an important situation, I couldn’t help but feel annoyed by Eryan’s laid-back attitude. I intentionally crossed my arms tightly over his, squeezing it with force. It was then I felt a piercing gaze.
Someone was glaring at me from somewhere—intense and sharp.
Turning my head towards the source of the gaze, I saw Rashid, looking uncomfortable, his brow furrowed more deeply than usual.
‘Why am I receiving such a burdensome glare while entering with the Crown Prince? This is absurd.’
I glared back at Rashid, and it seemed like my reaction surprised him, as he looked flustered.
The debutante entrance ceremony, which had been so nerve-wracking, ended. As the Crown Prince, Eryan needed to take the higher seat, so he handed me over to my elder brother, Theodore.
Now that I had received all the attention I could from the debutante entrance, I was drained and just wanted to rest. I grumbled to Theodore.
“I’d be fine alone.”
“A lady must always be accompanied by a gentleman at a ball,” he replied.
‘Why can’t they just leave me alone for once?’
“If I stay in such a crowded place for too long, people will drain my energy. I need to go to my room and rest by myself…”
Before I could finish my sentence, Theodore shot me a sharp look, exuding a dangerous aura. Because of that, the noblemen who had been trying to approach us began to back away slowly.
“I’ve never heard of such magic. Who exactly is sucking your energy? Should we kill them so your energy is not stolen?”
Theodore’s sudden outburst made me sigh deeply. And just when I thought things couldn’t get worse, three more troublemakers approached.
“Well, well. So you did debut as Delfinium. You could have debuted as Marmelo too, you know. It’s not too late, you should reconsider.”
“Hello, Duke Marmelo. I appreciate your offer, but I must decline.”
“It seems the one who needs to reconsider is you, Duke Marmelo, not our Lissetia,” Theodore replied in a sharp tone.
Just then, Duke Delfinium appeared, his face full of anger.
‘Why are they suddenly fighting?’
I tried to escape the commotion by stepping back, but my heel caught on something.
“Ah, sorry…”
“A beggar’s made it big, huh.”
“Hello. I was getting bored, so this works out well. It’s a pain to visit, so why not just come to our house?”
When I turned around, I saw the Marmelo princes standing in a row, arms crossed, all staring at me.
“Hello, Prince Marmelo. I appreciate your offer, but I must decline,” I said, repeating the same response like a robot.
“Especially my little sister… well, I’ll make her my subordinate, but no promises.”
“Don’t flirt with my sister,” Theodore cut in, making the commotion worse.
‘What are you guys fighting about now?’
I let out a deep sigh, but before I could even collect my thoughts, someone else approached.
“Princess, I need to speak with you about research.”
“Hello, Duke Douglas. I appreciate your offer, but I must decline.”
“You haven’t even made a proposal yet.”
“Yes. I decline.”
I turned my head to see Rashid, who looked sullen with a pale face, and beside him was his sister, Bacaris, laughing at him.
I greeted Bacaris with a tired smile and glanced around. For some reason, all the people around me were men.
I had been worried about the rumors spreading among the noblewomen, and today it seemed like they were about to escalate.
“Aren’t any of you busy? Go do your own thing, or have a conversation with each other. Just not around me.”
At that moment, Prince Marmelo’s second son shouted.
“Wait! Everyone disperse!”
The attention of those arguing immediately turned to him.
‘Finally, someone who understands my situation…!’
“Everyone’s gathered here, making it look like she’s popular! Why are you all crowding around? Disperse, now!”
“…Huh.”
I stayed still, but they all came to me.
Completely ignoring my bewildered expression, the first prince of Marmelo nodded and distanced himself from me. Theodore and Lucian were angrily questioning the meaning of his actions, and Duke Delfinium and Duke Marmelo continued their silent power struggle over my affiliation.
“….”
Ugh, this is so tiring. Someone, please, send me home.
As I splashed my face with water, I thought about the beginning of all this.
