Margaret quickened her pace to catch up with Laina as she walked over to the cocktail bar. She could not have been more proud of her princess. She had hoped that the evening would continue smoothly.

But as soon as she caught sight of the familiar grinning face who was walking up to her, Margaret knew she had her work cut out for her. After handing Laina her drink, she excused herself.

“Your highness, I just have some matters to take care of, I will be right back,” Margaret said as her eyes followed Marius’s every movement.

Just as Marius was about to get the jump on them and introduce himself to Laina, Margaret dragged him away. She pulled him by the sleeve of his black suit into an empty balcony. She wanted nothing more than to threaten him with her concealed dagger but she did not want to cause a scene.

“What do you think you’re trying to do, Marius?!” Margaret gritted her teeth, seething in anger.

Marius’s lips coiled into a grin. He loved to see her all fired up. It was his favorite side of her. He attempted to embrace her, only to receive a flying kick from her. Despite her rigid dress, she was surprisingly agile.

Marius pretended to be badly hurt, clutching his abdomen with an expression of agony.

“Moira-” as soon as her name left his lips, he could see her even angrier than before. So, he quickly switched.

“Miss Margaret, you’ve hurt me so badly! Weren’t you worried about the potential conflict between both of our nations should something bad happen? Does this not count?” he asked inquisitively.

His face was still twisted in pain.

For a moment, Margaret felt a little guilty. She wondered if she had really kicked him that hard. But she quickly regained her composure. She was not about to fall for his sneaky tricks yet again. With her hand on her hips, she continued to glare at him.

“If you continue to help that King of yours to approach Princess Laina, you and I are going to have an even bigger problem,” she warned.

Marius feigned an expression of shock as he gasped. He covered his mouth with both of his hands.

“Oh my, this is entirely a misunderstanding, Miss Margaret,” he said in an overly exaggerated tone, “I was simply heading towards the cocktail bar.”

From his tone of voice, she knew very well it was not his true intention to get a drink.

“I said this once, and I will say it again,” she grabbed him by the collar and got up close to him.

Margaret did not realize it herself, but her heart was palpitating as she did so.

“Do not come close to her. And do not let that King of yours anywhere close to her, or else you and I are going to have a problem,” she warned him sternly before letting go.

Marius saluted to Margaret and said with vigor, “Yes, Miss Margaret. Understood! But…”

She rolled her eyes as she folded her arms, “But what?”

The sneaky little grin appeared on his face once more, “But I cannot be accountable for anything that happened in the last few minutes… ”

“What do you mean…” the moment it dawned upon her, Margaret widened her eyes in shock.

How could she have been so careless?! The realization hit her hard. Margaret cursed beneath her breath as she rushed back into the crowded ballroom. But by the time she waded through the royals and nobles who stood around, interacting with one another, it was too late.

Crown Princess Laina was no longer standing by the cocktail bar.

She was nowhere to be seen.

After Margaret had left hastily with a mysterious man in tow, Laina stood by the cocktail bar, sipping her glass of chilled rose wine. The sweet notes of the alcohol lingered on her tongue. She could feel the heat on her cheeks.

“I should probably drink this slowly,” she muttered to herself.

As the rhythmic live orchestra music continued to play across the ballroom, many royals and nobles were dancing away merrily. At the corner of her eyes, Laina could see some of the men looking in her direction.

Maybe it was the rose wine she was having, but Laina did not seem to be bothered by any of them at all. While she would have loved to dance, she wanted to dance with someone who tickled her fancy.

It did not help the fact that as soon as she was thinking of someone to dance with, his face surfaced in her mind. Her cheeks immediately felt warm. Was it the wine or was she blushing? Laina could no longer tell the difference.

Just a few meters away from where Laina was standing, a handsome duke was clearly charmed by Laina’s beauty. He had witnessed her witty quip from earlier during her exchange with Prince Radford.

Feeling brave from the three glasses of red wine he’s had with his friends, he decided to approach her. He could barely walk in a straight line but he remembered her name. He bowed politely and introduced himself.

“Princess Laina, my name is Duke Harris of House Lackerwood,” he was about to kiss her hand when she slipped it out of his.

“I am charmed to meet your acquaintance, Duke Lackerwood. To what do I owe this pleasure,?” Laina replied his pleasantries while holding her hand out for a handshake instead.

The Duke did not shake Princess Laina’s hand, he attempted to move closer to her and wrap his hand around her waist. Laina noticed what he was trying to do immediately.

In the distance, Dante had been observing her from afar. Marius had done a fantastic job of luring Margaret away from her. All he needed now was to approach Laina on his own. But when it was time to do so, he found his feet rooted to the ground.

When he noticed the drunk Duke walking up to Laina, he cursed at himself. He was the Dragon King of the Dracona Kingdom! He had spilled the blood of his enemies on the battlefield, led armies to victories.

Yet in the face of meeting the one he loved, he was shy?

When he saw the duke reaching for her hand, Dante’s eyebrows furrowed in distaste. In that moment, he wanted nothing more than to burn the Duke on a stake. Seeing Laina remove her own hand from his, put the smile back on his face.

“That’s my girl,” he muttered to himself with a grin.

With his keen sense of hearing, Dante could hear almost every single conversation in the ballroom. He was also able to tune into specific conversations. Needless to say, he could hear the entire conversation between Laina and the Duke.

He could see Laina putting her hand out to shake the Duke’s hand. But the moment, he saw the Duke’s movements, Dante knew what he was trying to do. All the Dragon King could see was rage and fire.

His feet were no longer rooted in the ground. He jumped into action, moving through the crowd swiftly. His right hand was already curled into a fist. But just as he was about to put one hand on the Duke’s shoulder, the Duke completely disappeared from where he had once stood.

Instead, he was on the ground, writhing in pain.