Pound, pound.

Elphie could feel sweat start to bead on her back as she struggled to stop herself from clenching her hands. After she woke up with none of Elphie’s memories, she feared that others would discover that she had changed. However, neither of her parents nor the servants mentioned anything.

After some time, she had been lulled into a false sense of security, believing that perhaps she and the original were very similar in temperament. Although their tastes differed slightly, both of them seemed to have many things in common. Now, it appeared that she had thought too simply.

“Am I? Then maybe I’ve decided to treat life with more care now that I’ve almost died.” Elphie closed her eyes and shrugged, walking over to Ariadne and smiling. She looked into Ariadne’s purple eyes as she asked, “Right?”

The more nonchalantly she acted now, the more it would seem like this whole situation shouldn’t be taken seriously.

Ariadne seemed to study her for a moment before averting her eyes towards the ground. Finally, she too smiled and relaxed, “I guess.” She took a few steps forward again, “Come on, let’s go to the fountain, Elphie!”

Elphie smiled and followed along, but inside, she wondered if this episode was really over. As the pair continued to stroll through the gardens, Ariadne seemed to have forgotten about the matter, instead talking about all kinds of interesting happenings from the noble ladies and the charity she was running.

Like dancing a waltz, Elphie moved to the pace of the conversation, forming a stable limbo. Lightly stepping around the minefields, and subtly maneuvering back to the intended position.

At last, Ariadne clapped her hands and stated, “Looks like it’s getting late! Why don’t we head back now?” Elphie smiled and agreed.

As they walked back, Elphie took one last look around the gardens. She was sure that the Northern Duke had appeared, but was not interested in two young ladies’ conversation. For now, the first meeting where the Northern Duke took interest in Ariadne had been avoided.

Elphie smiled silently to herself, opening the door up to the banquet hall. Although the night couldn’t be called wholly successful, she had accomplished what she had set out to do. Now, the only thing left was to safely escort Ariadne back to her parents and see them set off away from the palace.

The hall was still quite busy, with many nobles still dancing under the glistening chandeliers. She didn’t catch sight of him earlier, but Crown Prince Troy could now be seen amongst the crowd, socializing with some ministers.

He was a tall young man, with blonde hair and red eyes that were characteristic of the royal family. His demeanor was calm and regal, befitting his noble upbringing. The ministers he was chatting with rushed to gush praises at him, but he simply gave a calm smile and returned polite comments. An impeccable demeanor.

Elphie subtly moved to stand between Troy and Ariadne’s line of sight. She looked up in another direction and nudged Ariadne, “I think I see the Count there.”

Ariadne happily ran off with Elphie in that direction. Strangely, Elphie seemed to sense a gaze boring into her back, but she acted like she wasn’t aware, walking away. Moments later, the gaze vanished.

The last hurdle to the night was Crown Prince Troy. If she remembered correctly, Ariadne first caught the interest of Prince Troy during the farewell. Before each family left the palace, they would go brush up with the royal family, who were also the hosts of this banquet. As one Count’s family was leaving, the Countess would raise her hand to bid farewell, where she would suddenly notice her missing ring.

The missing ring had quite a big jewel on it, and the Countess had spent a majority of the night showing off to her peers. Her actions slowly garnered resentment, and a noble lady took advantage of a lapse to swipe the ring, casting it under a table.

Upon noticing the missing ring on her finger, the Countess frantically accused the other women of stealing because they were jealous of her. The other noblewomen grew angry at the accusations and a huge fight erupted right in front of the Crown Prince.

At some point, magic began to get thrown around, and finally, one noblewoman was injured. She fell with a great shriek, and the surroundings immediately fell silent. The Crown Prince stepped forward to calm the situation, and everyone tried to distance themselves while claiming they weren’t the one who caused the injury.

As the Crown Prince began to grow irritated from the chaos, one person finally stepped forward. It was Ariadne who came forward to treat the injury. A white halo began to shine from the palm of her hands as she held it over the injured area, and the noblewoman quickly recovered. Like seeing a savior, the Crown Prince’s eyes couldn’t leave Ariadne, her visage imprinting itself in his mind.

It was at that point that he fell for her.

Elphie ran through the final plot hurdle of the night. After thinking over a plan, she removed her bracelet and tossed it under a table while walking past. Then, when they had crossed almost half the hall, Elphie suddenly called out to Ariadne: “…I think I might’ve dropped my bracelet.”

Ariadne immediately turned around and looked at Elphie’s wrist, exclaiming, “It’s gone! Don’t worry, do you know when you lost it? Let’s go look for it!”

Although the original plot grew worse and worse, Ariadne was quite a supportive friend at this time. Elphie smiled and said, “It’s okay. Isn’t it too much trouble?”

“What are you saying? Of course not!” Ariadne came and grabbed Elphie’s hand, “Do you think it dropped in the hall?”

“Maybe, I think I still had it when we came inside.” Elphie lifted up a tablecloth slightly. Ariadne watched her actions and did the same. The two went back along the same path, checking the floor for lost items.

As they backtracked, they suddenly came across Elphie’s parents. Her mother asked with a smile, “Oh, darlings! What are you looking for?”

“Elphie lost her bracelet. It should be somewhere in the hall.” Ariadne gave a small curtsy to greet the couple.

Marquess Diana Elraba laughed while holding on to the Marquis’ arm. Seeing the two girls staring at her, she contained herself and called over a servant: “Hello, we seem to have dropped a bracelet. Can you please let us know if you find any lost items?”

The servant bowed, “Of course, ma’am.”

After the servant left, Marquess Diana chuckled and taught them, “Wouldn’t more hands be useful in this case? Or do you plan to continue searching one by one?”

Despite searching for a while, the two hadn’t even managed to check 1/4 of the hall. Elphie sighed, smiling ruefully, “Mother is smart.”

Marquess Diana’s eyes seemed to say “That is right!~” The Marquis coughed and changed the topic, “Miss Ariadne, would you like to join us? We just happen to be searching for your parents.”

“Sure!” Ariadne smiled and looked at Elphie, “The servants will let us know if they find your bracelet. Don’t worry, it’ll be fine!”

“Mm, that’s right.” Elphie nodded. With that, the group of four set off in the direction of Ariadne’s parents.

However, as they neared the palace door, they suddenly heard a commotion. By the exit, a Countess was waving a giant feathered fan, screaming at another lady. The other noblewoman was no lightweight either, retorting back with equal firepower.

Crown Prince Troy stood awkwardly in the middle, trying to appease both sides without any force. Marquess Diana exchanged a glance with the Marquis, and went to a noblewoman nearby to ask about the situation. Soon, she returned and whispered, “It appears that Countess Frieda lost quite an expensive ring.”

“But that is no excuse to cause a scene in front of the Crown Prince,” the Marquis shook his head.

“I agree, but the Countess is adamant that someone had stolen her ring. She wants the servants to search all of the guests.”

The Marquis frowned, “That’s preposterous.”

“Indeed, there’s no way the Crown Prince will agree to that.” Marquess Diana sighed.

Ariadne looked at Elphie, as if asking if there was anything they could do. Suddenly, a lightbulb seemed to go off as she grabbed Elphie’s hand and whispered, “The servants! Maybe they found the ring?”

She quickly rushed off to the nearest servant with Elphie. The servant went to check with another, and after a few minutes, the one who Marquess Diana originally spoke with returned. He held a small velvet box and presented five lost pieces to them.

Inside the box, there were two rings, a handkerchief, an earring, and also Elphie’s bracelet. Ariadne first took back Elphie’s bracelet, saying, “Look! They found your bracelet!”

She handed it to Elphie, who put it back on and replied, “Thank you both for finding my bracelet.”

“Of course!” Ariadne answered and the servant bowed his head. Next, they turned back to look at the rings in the box. “So which ring is the Countess’?”

For the first time, Elphie revealed a slightly mischievous smile, “No problem, simply bring both.”

One ring contained a large emerald while the other had a sapphire gem. Both were luxurious enough for the Countess to flaunt endlessly throughout the night. Even though Elphie didn’t know which ring it was, the Countess herself surely would.

Elphie beckoned the servant to follow them back to the entrance, where flickers of light were beginning to expand. Some noblewomen had begun to cast spells at each other, but most were harmless stings so far. However, the atmosphere was heating up.

The Crown Prince was still standing in the middle, urging the noble ladies to calm down. Despite the royal’s presence, the noblewomen only grew more enraged, and many would take advantage of the chaos to strike behind their backs. As more and more minor attacks were launched, no one cared how the situation originally came about.

At this time, Ariadne and Elphie arrived back by the Marquis couple’s side. When it looked like Ariadne wanted to rush up to quell the situation, Elphie held her wrist and shook her head. She couldn’t allow Ariadne to deliver herself into the Crown Prince’s line of sight.

Her plan was to have the servant present the missing jewelry and calm Countess Frieda’s anger. Although many noblewomen would still be mad that the Countess accused them of stealing, it wouldn’t be any worse than the shameful ending in the novel. Either way, the group of noblewomen would be embarrassed today, but at least it wouldn’t continue to escalate until injuries happened.

Furthermore, the Crown Prince could use this opportunity to contain the situation. The presentation of the missing ring was key for a momentary standstill.