Of course, it was a very brief moment, so Luna couldn’t realize whether the Crown Prince had smiled at her; she had no interest in the first place.

So, unintentionally ignoring the Crown Prince, Luna returned to the side of Marquis. Naturally, every step she took drew eyes.

Most were filled with envy, jealousy, or amazement, but someone couldn’t hide their anger, saying something unbelievable had happened, like the family of Duke Roderian, or the family of Marquis Granada.

Upon arriving at her seat, Luna stuck close to Antes, who was facing her, and asked:

“What exactly did you say to have my name called out?”

“As soon as you discovered gold, you shouted ‘This beautiful gold must be used for the imperial family!’”

“When did I…! What if you tell such lies!”

She hit Antes’s arm in anger, but her voice was no louder than an ant’s. She wanted to shout out loud, but the presentation wasn’t over yet, so she couldn’t.

“And, you should’ve told me beforehand…! It was a surprise!”

“You can’t say that it was because of me that you were called. Being a noble with one of the few gold mines in the Empire, you deserve being called.”

It wasn’t strange that a family owning a gold mine was given the opportunity to present at the New Year party. Of course, it was somewhat unexpected that it was Luna, not the Baron.

Anyhow, selling Luna for good intentions? Since it was true that they had a contract for the gold mine, Antes tried to console her.

“Think positively. The gold approved by the Emperor himself will now double in value.”

“…Double in value?”

Mentioning that only good fortune awaited, and that the value would double, the displeasure disappeared from Luna’s face. She seemed to ask why he had only mentioned it now.

I should have started with this story earlier, Antes, who stifled a laugh, said with a bit of exaggeration.

“Probably. At least we could circulate it cheaper than now. It’s gold that was coveted and praised by the Emperor himself, without it, we could hardly live.”

“Is that okay?”

Upon hearing the intention to boldly capitalize on the Emperor’s name, Luna showed a very slight concern. It was very slight indeed, more like verifying if it was okay or not.

“It’s just talking about what happened, so it doesn’t matter. Maybe it might sell more expensively in other countries than in the Empire. I should check that route this time.”

Luna’s worries seemed to wash away with the assurance of making more money whichever way.

The praise received from the Emperor didn’t matter anymore. As someone who had once felt honor pierce through and drop to the core, such things weren’t important to her in the first place.

“What exactly are you talking about?”

Unable to bear the long conversation, Rosemary interjected. She wanted to converse with Luna, but Antes was dominating the conversation, which irritated her.

Considering they were in a relationship, she understood, but she was Luna’s only friend too. Typically, friendships last longer than romantic relationships.

So Rosemary, armed with the logic that she should have more conversation, intruded between Antes and Luna.

“Please enjoy the party to your heart’s content.”

Once the presentation was over and the Emperor left the banquet hall after instructing to enjoy the party, Rosemary, now free, pushed Antes aside and linked arms with Luna.

Of course, Antes wasn’t someone to be pushed away easily, so for Luna it was more like being wedged in between, similar to last time.

Especially after being bothered by Seira and Flory since morning, and having a conversation with the Emperor, she was exhausted.

Just as the siblings seemed to be ready to jump into another argument, Luna tried to calm them down and suggest going home when-

“Lady Luna Peils.”

Someone called Luna’s name.

Turning her head, unexpectedly, a man she never thought she would converse with, stood there, his eyes bright.

“Your Royal Highness…?”

“If you have time, I’d like to have a conversation, I wonder if that’s okay?”

The Crown Prince, with a face implying ‘answer quickly, I’m the Crown Prince so you can’t refuse’, rushed Luna’s response with a smile.

What on earth is happening?

As characters emerged everywhere, bursting onto the scene as if fireworks had been set off, Luna lost her words for a moment.

“The lady said she wasn’t feeling well earlier and was about to leave, but if it’s not urgent, I’ll ask later.”

In the meantime, Antes rejected the Crown Prince’s offer on behalf of the speechless Luna.

The way he looked at the Crown Prince was quite hostile. As if he didn’t like the fact that he spoke to Luna.

No matter how recognized a madman of the Empire he was, how could he act like this to the Crown Prince!

“Really?”

Between Luna’s shock, the Crown Prince’s gaze shifted from her to Antes, also looking unfavorably at Antes who dared to reject his offer on Luna’s behalf.

Suddenly, the atmosphere turned tense. It was baffling how a suggestion for a conversation turned so hostile.

Especially when Antes mentioned being in pain, although it wasn’t entirely untrue, it was a precarious situation. Why put people in such discomfort by acting recklessly!

While Luna was pondering what to do, she suddenly yelled ‘ah!’ and held her head.

“I’m sorry. My head hurts…”

Thanks to that, the two men, who were glaring at each other with hostile eyes, turned their gaze to Luna.

But there was no significant reaction. It felt weak, so Luna closed her eyes tight, frowned, and pleaded a headache.

“Oh, my head hurts so much…”

“…”

The awkwardness became palpable in a moment. A silence flowed due to the poorly acted headache.

Even Rosemary, who adored Luna more than anyone in the world, turned away from her for a moment.

Luna, too, realizing her poor acting, couldn’t dare open her eyes.

Worrying that the Crown Prince might take her to the prison, accusing her of deceiving him, she shut her eyes tighter. After a brief silence, Antes wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

“As you can see, the lady is not feeling well, so we’ll excuse ourselves for now. If you have important matters to discuss, please arrange a schedule for later.”

Without waiting for a response, Antes, supporting Luna, briskly left the banquet hall.

Luna, feeling like hiding in a mouse hole or a needle hole, buried her face in Antes’s chest.

* * *

“Why did you lie about me being sick! I tried to match it and it ended up like this!”

As soon as the carriage door closed, Luna shouted. The Imperial Palace was so vast, and there was nowhere to hide her embarrassed face.

Everything was fine until they had to present themselves to the Emperor. Even the memory of being happy about being able to sell gold at double the price vanished.

“What if we get arrested!”

Though they didn’t actually assault royalty, and it wasn’t likely to come to that, Luna, with her mind paralyzed with shame, could only think of extreme situations.

Antes, hurriedly hiding his smile with his hand, gazed out the window to compose himself.

He figured that if he made light of the situation now, Luna might burst into tears. A little later, he, with a very serious face, spoke to Luna.

“That might be a possibility. I should visit your mansion often just in case. In the worst-case scenario, I’ll have to take you and run away.”

“Is that your idea of a solution?!”

Just when she had managed to fend off Fersen and Seira and found a gold mine to improve her fortunes, she unexpectedly ended up on bad terms with the Crown Prince.

“What should I do now?”

Luna was genuinely worried, which made Antes recall the situation just before.

The last expression he saw on the Crown Prince was not anger. Rather, he seemed to be holding back laughter.

Explaining this would probably alleviate Luna’s concerns, but it wasn’t a life-and-death matter to tell her right now. Luna’s current state was too amusing and cute, making him want to tease her a bit more.

Once again, Antes, with a serious face, said to Luna:

“Don’t worry. If need be, I will save the lady even if it means knocking down all the knights.”

But this didn’t help Luna at all. She wrapped her head with her arms, saying she didn’t need such help.