The following morning a formal invitation was sent to the Marquis' estate.
The moment the royal family's invitations were delivered, the entire capital fell into an uproar.
No one knew the true purpose behind the banquet, but that hardly stopped the nobles from speculating.
A royal banquet held only weeks after the Crown Prince's broken engagement?
Most people quickly arrived at the same conclusion.
The royal family was finally preparing to officially announce Lady Rose Mooncrest as the Crown Prince's new fiancée.
The rumours spread rapidly throughout noble society.
Congratulations flooded House Mooncrest almost immediately.
Rose accepted every single one with barely concealed satisfaction.
Yet despite the confident smile she wore publicly, a small part of her remained uneasy.
Unlike Katherine's former engagement, no royal edict had ever officially announced her own relationship with the Crown Prince.
Still...
Surely the banquet would change that.
By the second day, Rose had already begun ordering dresses from some of the most expensive seamstresses in the capital.
Nothing seemed extravagant enough for her liking.
"I want something no one else could possibly compare to," she complained while flipping through fabric samples inside the drawing room.
Lady Victoria sat nearby calmly sipping tea.
"You will be standing beside the Crown Prince before the entire kingdom," she reminded gently. "Naturally, all eyes will be on you."
Rose smiled at that.
"Yes, but I want to be the best dressed. Everyone should see that I'm the better Mooncrest daughter."
Meanwhile, the rest of the estate had grown increasingly busy preparing for the banquet.
Servants hurried through the halls carrying fabric, jewellery catalogues, invitation confirmations and flower arrangements.
Yet throughout all the chaos...
Katherine remained strangely calm.
Most mornings were spent walking through the estate gardens as Ker insisted.
At first, even the light exercise had left her exhausted.
Now, however, Katherine could already feel the difference.
Not dramatic.
But noticeable.
The soreness in her legs no longer appeared after every walk, and her breathing had gradually become steadier over the course of the week.
Combined with the nightly herbal baths and stretches she practiced privately in her room, her body no longer felt quite as fragile as before.
Though it still had a long way to go.
Ker stretched lazily inside their subconscious.
"See? We're improving."
"Barely."
"I'll take barely over collapsing after a ten-minute walk."
Katherine almost smiled.
Her afternoons were usually spent reading.
Sometimes alone.
Sometimes exchanging letters with Aurora regarding their earlier conversation about body enhancement and mana conductivity.
The topic had clearly captured Aurora's interest far more than she initially admitted.
Meanwhile, the servants within the estate had slowly begun finding Katherine's behaviour increasingly strange.
Especially since Lady Katherine had yet to summon a single seamstress despite the banquet drawing closer with every passing day.
"I heard Lady Rose already ordered four gowns."
"Four?"
"Apparently she still hasn't chosen which one shines best under crystal lighting."
Another servant lowered her voice.
"But what about Lady Katherine? She hasn't ordered anything."
"Maybe she plans on reusing one of her older dresses."
"At a royal banquet?"
The servants exchanged doubtful looks.
Lilly quietly continued arranging Katherine's bookshelf without saying a word.
She had no intention of telling anyone that Lady Katherine's dress had already arrived days ago.
And not from just anyone.
From the First Prince himself.
---
Two days before the banquet, another carriage arrived at the Mooncrest estate.
Unlike the royal carriage from before, this one carried no royal crest.
Still, the quality of the carriage alone made it obvious its owner held considerable status.
Rose immediately noticed it from the drawing room window.
Curiosity quickly replaced her boredom as she watched servants unload:
fresh flowers, a velvet-covered jewellery box, and a neatly sealed letter.
Not long after, a tall man stepped out of the carriage.
Rose recognized him immediately.
Nicholas Valecrest.
The First Prince's personal aide.
And the second son of Duke Valecrest.
Even within noble society, Nicholas was considered an exceptional marriage prospect.
Not only was he from a ducal household, but he had also entered the royal court unusually young after completing his academy studies years earlier than most nobles.
Handsome.
Intelligent.
Well connected.
Many noble ladies had quietly set their sights on him over the years.
"What is he doing here?" one of the maids whispered in shock.
"No way..."
"Are those flowers?"
"And jewellery too..."
The servants quickly began exchanging excited glances.
Meanwhile, Katherine had only just entered the hall after being informed a visitor had arrived.
The moment her eyes landed on Nicholas, she paused slightly.
Something about him felt oddly familiar.
Not his appearance.
His scent.
Katherine frowned faintly.
"I've definitely smelled him somewhere before."
Ker tilted her head.
"...Now that you mention it, he does smell familiar."
Before Katherine could think further, Nicholas stepped forward and bowed politely.
"Lady Katherine."
His voice remained calm and refined.
"I've come to deliver these personally."
The servants nearly exploded internally.
Personally?
Flowers.
Jewellery.
A letter.
And delivered by Nicholas Valecrest himself?
The implication was impossible to ignore.
"Oh my God..."
"Could it be—"
"The second young master of House Valecrest?"
One of the maids looked toward Katherine with visible envy.
Lady Katherine had actually managed to attract someone like Nicholas Valecrest?
Even Lady Victoria looked momentarily surprised before her expression slowly relaxed.
Then internally, she began judging.
Well...
At least Katherine had enough sense to attract someone respectable.
Nicholas Valecrest was no Crown Prince, but as the son of a duke and the First Prince's trusted aide, he was still considered an excellent match.
Far more suitable for Katherine than the position of Crown Princess had ever been.
Beside her, Rose silently reached the same conclusion.
In fact...
The more she thought about it, the more fitting it seemed.
Nicholas was intelligent, calm, politically capable and came from one of the highest-ranking noble families in the kingdom.
A perfect match for someone like Katherine.
After all, what noble heir would genuinely desire a woman as dull and emotionally exhausting as her sister?
Meanwhile, Nicholas presented the letter toward Katherine.
The moment she saw the seal pressed into the wax, she immediately recognized it.
The Everhart seal.
The First Prince.
Ker immediately perked up.
"Oh? The sickly prince sent us gifts."
Katherine accepted the letter calmly.
Too calmly.
That was what unsettled the servants the most.
The old Katherine would've turned red from excitement by now.
She would've looked overwhelmed.
Flustered.
Emotional.
Yet the Katherine standing before them now merely accepted the flowers and jewellery as though such treatment was perfectly normal.
Even Rose frowned slightly at her reaction.
Wasn't she at least a little excited?
Meanwhile, Nicholas remained perfectly composed while the misunderstanding spread unchecked throughout the hall.
Though inwardly...
He found himself studying Lady Katherine far more carefully than before.
The reports he had gathered described her as:
Emotionally fragile, overly attached to the Crown Prince, socially timid eager for approval.
Yet the woman standing before him now looked nothing like that.
Even after receiving flowers, jewellery and what most people would assume was a public courtship gesture, her expression barely changed.
No excitement.
No flustered reaction.
No desperate attempt to hide her happiness.
She simply accepted everything with calm composure, as though such treatment was entirely ordinary to her.
Nicholas finally understood why his master had looked so dissatisfied after reading the earlier reports.
The information truly had been inaccurate.
Or perhaps...
Lady Katherine herself had changed somewhere along the way.