As if to prevent her from accepting the first invite, another man also offered the same. “I am Young Marquis Remus Kreedy. I believe your barony would mean you will work as a vassal for my father, who is the territory lord of the eastern territories. Would Baroness Burton like to be my dance partner so we can talk more about our noble houses’ future alliance?”

While a number of people were interested in her as a woman, more were eyeing the fact that the young woman was publicly acknowledged by the royal family.

‘If this lady puts in a good word for me, my future success will be guaranteed!’ they could not help but think.

Seeing a couple more men approaching her, Esther didn’t know what to do. They had surrounded her, one trying to outtalk and outperform the other, boasting about their family pedigrees and fighting prowess. Some even told Esther that they wanted to ask for advice and spar after hearing that she’s good with a sword, and they began to schedule meeting with her in the next few days without even listening to her consent.

Esther found herself unable to pull away from their circle. When she tried to say she was thirsty and excuse herself, three young men jumped in and offered her three different drinks. When she said she was feeling exhausted, a different set of people offered to accompany her to the lounge in one of the side halls. They refused to leave her alone. Just then, she heard movement and the group of men stepped aside. Esther saw Prince Theron coming towards her.

‘Things are getting worse!’ Seeing his cold handsome face, she felt her palms turn sweaty as her smile stiffened nervously. ‘I should have left as soon as I received the royal decree!’

After that night, Esther did her best to not recall what happened. However, just the sight of the Crown Prince was enough to trigger a strange mix of feelings inside her chest—recalling how he promised to punish her, there was fear, worry, and even…anticipation. That was why aside from the inevitable chance meetings whenever she accompanied the Queen, she tried her best to avoid Prince Theron… but now, there was no way she could escape this situation.

Prince Theron stopped in front of her, and like a gentleman, offered her his hand in a courteous gesture. She had no choice but to put her gloved hand on his palm, and then Prince Theron kissed the back of her hand to show the utmost respect for the young lady. “You look wonderful tonight, Lady Esther.”

“I do not deserve the Crown Prince’s kind praise.”

Esther curtsied to greet him and stood with her gaze lowered as it was not right to look straight into the Crown Prince’s eyes. She was about to retract her hand, but she realized that his grip tightened around hers.

“Can I have the privilege of dancing with my saviour?” Prince Theron asked, but since he was already pulling her away from the group of nobles, he was in fact not giving her a chance to reject. Not like she would ever dare to reject and disrespect the Crown Prince under the public gaze.

“I would be extremely honoured, Your Highness,” she responded with a sweet smile.

The Crown Prince and Esther went towards the middle of the ballroom just as the last musical piece ended, and they started dancing as soon as the next music was played. All the young ladies who were saving themselves their first dance with the Crown Prince and rejected other young men felt extremely envious of her.

The first daughter of the Hart Marquisdom, the niece of Duke Candace, the young lady of Count Brayden’s household, the youngest sister of the commander of the Royal Knights, the third lady of the House of Rulf…

In particular, these young women were the cream of the crop, famous for their beauty and excellence in various arts while having a background of the upper nobility, their families loyally serving the Kingdom of Megaris since its foundation. They were the candidates for the Crown Prince’s future royal harem. From birth, these young noble ladies were educated by their parents that they were each other’s greatest rivals, as only one of them would become the next Queen of Megaris.

However, the moment Prince Theron pulled Esther to be his partner in the first dance, their intuition told them that a new competitor had appeared. Among all these ladies, one particular young woman was gritting her teeth so hard, she had to cover her beautiful face with a fan to hide her hideous expression. Envy and hate could be seen spewing from her pretty blue eyes.

“Mother! That little b*tch needs to get her lesson. How dare she seduce the Crown Prince?!”

Words unbecoming a lady could be heard behind her silver fan. With dark hair flowing down in soft curls and eyes as blue as the summer sky, the young lady wearing a silver gown reminiscent of an elegant swan had a beauty that could be said to rival Esther’s. The rumoured most beautiful pearl of Megaris, she was no other than Lady Clarisa Walter, the only granddaughter of Duke Walter, the trusted advisor of King Esteban.

“Clarisa, my dear, calm down,” the middle-aged lady standing next to her rebuked. “She is just a passerby with no family and origin. Baroness? How can a newly appointed barony compete with our ducal house? She is only a noble in name, but she is nothing but a lowborn commoner.  From what I heard from your grandfather, before becoming the Queen’s servant, she’s nothing but a forest scavenger. You don’t have to feel anything towards such a barbaric girl. The place next to the Crown Prince belongs only to you.”

Clarisa’s sky blue eyes remained fixed on the bodies of the Crown Prince and Esther while they were moving around the ballroom along with the music.

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