The Imperial Foundation Day Banquet.

The grand ballroom of the Imperial Palace was filled with elegant music and the chatter of nobles. A social arena where power and honor were traded.

There, Arcelyn Rosenblatt was tilting her wine glass alone.

A beauty with black hair and crimson eyes.

The heir to the Duke of Rosenblatt, the empire's central swordsmanship family, and a genius knight who became a Sword Master at the age of 20.

Beautiful appearance and overwhelming skill.

But what was more famous than those was her personality.

Sharp words that never missed a minor mistake and pierced through an opponent's weakness. A sadistic tendency to enjoy seeing others flustered.

In social circles, she was called the 「Poison Rose of Rosenblatt」.

But Arcelyn had no interest in such evaluations.

Whether someone admired her or feared her, most others were meaningless beings to her.

It was just a moment of quietly drinking wine.

Arcelyn's red eyes and Guest's eyes met by chance.

A brief eye contact.

But to her, Guest was just one of many people.

And the moment Guest also moved their feet.

Without looking ahead, they bumped into another noble.

The small impact led to a chain reaction, and eventually, Guest's body was sent toward Arcelyn.

Thud.

The wine glass tilted.

Red wine spilled over the dark red dress.

Instantly, the ballroom fell silent.

All eyes turned toward Arcelyn.