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"After getting married, she refused all dance requests, so I thought she was upholding some great principle... I never thought I'd see her dancing with another man, especially my own brother."
Deon, who had narrowed the distance in an instant, leaned towards us and whispered.
"The Duchess's principles were all exaggerated, weren't they? She was such an easy woman."
Deon, one of the men whose dance request was rejected, was bringing up that incident because...
'You dared to reject my proposal and hurt my feelings, so take that.'
Even though he was blatantly revealing such a base intention, Deon was still radiant.
As if to remind me that this man before my eyes was the next emperor.
His gleaming face made me nauseous.
I didn't want to listen to that man's nonsense any longer.
Just as I was about to retort to Deon's words, Idris, who was next to me, stepped forward.
As if to protect me from Deon.
"Well, when you have a partner, there's no need to dance with those who are beneath you, against your will."
"...What?"
"I heard there are men who grope under the pretense of dancing... It's better to be rude than to dance with someone like that."
Idris's bombshell caused a shocking silence in the banquet hall.
Idris didn't directly point at Deon, but saying such words in this situation was tantamount to saying that Deon was the subject of the story.
Then, Deon's eyes, which had been self-righteously criticizing me, sank coldly.
But that was it, he couldn't refute Idris's words.
In this situation, a strong denial would be read as a strong affirmation.
Whether Deon was taking a dumbfounded breath or not, Idris ignored the reaction and turned to me.
"Leticia, you seemed to have sprained your ankle earlier, shall we go rest for a bit?"
Contrary to his words, I didn't sprain my ankle.
It was a lie that he made to be considerate of me, so that I could naturally get out of this situation.
I looked back and forth between Idris's outstretched hand and his face, still stained black.
'If I choose this man, I might regret it.'
But, despite that...
'I want to take this person's hand from the start.'
Only then did I realize.
While my head was thinking that not taking Idris's hand was the wise thing to do, my heart wanted to take this hand from the beginning.
This heart that was considerate of me, the touch that was healing my wounds... it didn't feel like it was all a lie.
"Okay."
I took Idris's hand and vowed.
'Just like I changed my life, this time I'll change this man's future too.'
The moment I thought that.
'...!'
The darkness lifted from Idris's face, which had been stained black, and a sparkling effect was cast upon him.
Just like when I first met him at the Duke's residence.
The effect seemed to be telling me.
The future can be changed.
I smiled at Idris's brilliant, handsome face.
Holding on tightly to the hand I was holding, so as not to let go.
We left the banquet hall and came out into the hallway.
Then, the gazes of everyone, including the servants passing by, were focused on us.
Of course, the presence of me and Idris alone was enough to attract attention, but perhaps more than that, the reason was...
"...Idris. I'm okay now, so can you put me down?"
The influence of Idris carrying me out of the banquet hall in a so-called 'princess carry' must have been great.
"You can't overdo it if you've sprained your ankle, can you?"
I was very embarrassed by the fuss we were making like a couple of the century, but Idris didn't seem to be that way.
"Everyone knows it's a lie anyway."
"Still, I can't just put you down right away, considering the Lady's dignity."
Hey, my dignity is being crumpled even more right now?
However, Idris only smiled as he watched me avoid people's gazes due to embarrassment.
'This person is enjoying my reaction again.'
He's always mischievous.
'But, isn't it heavy...?'
No matter how much of an adult man he is, it was burdensome to hold an adult woman like this for so long, not to mention a child.
But Idris was smiling leisurely, without any signs of being tired.
Looking at that, I suddenly remembered the solid muscles that were glimpsed between his gown.
'Well, if he's trained that much, he might be okay...'
While I was clearing my throat at the embarrassing memories that came to mind without my knowledge, we arrived at a balcony where no one was around.
Only then did Idris put me down.
"Just a moment."
While I was blinking in confusion, Idris, who had briefly left the balcony, returned.
With a wine glass in each hand.
I took the wine glass he handed me.
"Thank you. For this too, and... for what happened earlier."
The face of Deon, who was grinding his teeth and turning his back, came to mind.
The turning point where Idris's image as a beloved prince changed to a notorious prince was the death of the former empress, Deon's biological mother.
There was an incident where Idris, who had returned victorious, went to see the former empress and caused a mana explosion.
Fortunately, it was suppressed early on, so the unfortunate event of Idris killing the empress did not occur...
'The empress, shocked by the accident, became ill and died.'
After that, public opinion towards Idris completely reversed.
He was called a parricide who didn't know the grace of allowing a prince born out of wedlock to be adopted, and dared to try to kill his stepmother.
Deon defended Idris, saying that he was just caught up in an unintended accident, but the criticism towards Idris only became more severe.
Idris, who had such a bad reputation, was insulting Deon in front of people, which would have added fuel to the fire.
He didn't seem to care about that, and shielded me from Deon.
"Are you feeling better now? Your expression has been bad the whole time."
I looked at Idris's face, who was still worried about me first.
Now, the effect that had been covering Idris in the banquet hall had disappeared, and his handsome face was clearly visible again.
Because I no longer wondered about his worth.
But I can't tell Idris that I've regressed.
"I was just... in a bad mood. As you know, he's not a very pleasant person. I'm sorry for making you worry."
"What happened with Deon?"
"Well, it's not something so shocking that I'd be that upset. Something similar to what you said happened once or twice."
Of course, it was an annoying and unpleasant memory, but I didn't want to bring it up and make a big deal out of it now that quite a bit of time had passed.
It was then that Idris's golden eyes sank coldly, after hearing my story.
"...Should I have killed him?"
Idris's muttering was drowned out by the sound of a knock that was heard at the same time.
"Your Highness, are you inside?"
It was Head Butler Heather's voice.
"What's wrong?"
"His Majesty the Emperor is looking for you."
"Just me?"
"Yes. Only Your Highness."
So it meant to leave me behind and only bring Idris.
'It means he will never acknowledge me.'
I wasn't in a good mood, but I understood when I thought about His Majesty the Emperor's position.
"I'll be resting, so go ahead."
I pushed Idris's back, who was sighing with a tired look on his face.
'Perfect timing. I can also reflect on the incident in which Idris was framed for treason.'
It would be good to review the memories of the past and prepare from now on in order to change his fate.
"It's not polite to leave my partner alone, but I can't help it. I'll be back soon."
After Idris left, I was left alone and calmly revisited the memories of the past.
'Idris was charged with treason, but was released, and Deon inherits the next throne.'
If Idris wasn't the real culprit in the emperor's poisoning, then the person who benefited the most from the incident was Deon.
'If Idris didn't kill Azef, then the next most likely person is Deon Zahir.'
But suddenly, a question that I hadn't thought of before arose.
'...Wait. Why does Deon become the emperor? Although he's still young, Crown Prince Rudian is still alive, isn't he?'
As I pondered the question, I recalled a memory that I had forgotten.
The young Crown Prince falls into a pond and becomes unconscious, and doesn't regain consciousness until the day his father dies.
'And the day that incident happened is...'
Having remembered that far, I exclaimed and jumped up from my seat.
'It was Founding Day!'
Right now.
Crown Prince Rudian has an accident while playing alone by the pond.
With the suddenly recalled memory, my heart began to beat rapidly with anxiety.
'I have to stop the accident.'
I have to move now to change Idris's future, and my future holding his hand.
I kicked open the balcony and came out.
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