Feeling the gazes of Shanie and Benita, Celitia stood on the platform with flushed cheeks.

She smiled apologetically at Shanie and Benita:

Sorry...

Shanie and Benita both sighed, then smiled at each other.

Though they had worried unnecessarily, the result was quite satisfying.

This was enough!

Marianne finished pinning the brooches on both of them, stepped back, and clapped her hands with satisfaction.

"I'm delighted to announce to everyone that my daughter Sophia has finally found the person she wants to spend her life with. Though there was a small disturbance midway, order has been restored and our ball continues normally. Now, the ball is nearing its end—it's time for the finale performance. Have you all found partners willing to dance the last dance with you?

Come now, let us begin—may everyone reach the end with their beloved, may everyone's life be as perfect as this finale."

As Marianne's words fell, the crystal chandelier in the center of the dance floor reopened, and the prelude to the dance music flowed like clouds and water.

"Come on, Lily." Sophia showed Celitia a brilliant smile. "This is our perfect curtain call finale."

She suddenly remembered something and laughed mischievously, drawing out her tone: "Ah, but perhaps someone's legs are still weak and might not be able to dance."

"Nonsense!"

Celitia's cheeks flushed red. She gritted her teeth and glared at Sophia with embarrassed anger. "Don't underestimate me—of course I can dance!"

Her voice paused slightly as she stepped back half a step, creating some distance from Sophia.

"Besides, this time, it's my turn to invite you."

Celitia bowed elegantly, left hand behind her back, right hand extended to Sophia in perfect gentlemanly posture.

"Would you care to dance with me, dear Sophia?"

"My, Lily really won't accept the slightest loss, even insisting on getting back at who invites whom."

Despite saying this, Sophia showed an indulgent smile and gently placed her hand in Celitia's palm.

"Of course I'm willing."

Under countless gazes, the two walked hand in hand down from the platform into the dance floor.

People nearby made way for them, watching the black and white figures dance gracefully.

Their steps were perfectly synchronized - who was leading and who was following no longer mattered.

The music's rhythm became increasingly light and spirited, offering them a perfect finale.

In a corner of the ballroom where the light couldn't reach, Ileana gazed at those two intertwining figures.

Her face, beautiful as a young girl's, maintained a gentle smile, while her eyes, deep as a starry sky, churned with countless complex emotions.

There was tenderness and joy; there was jealousy and madness.

Though she made no movement, her entire being emanated an extremely suppressed aura that made the officials beside her afraid to breathe.

Finally, someone couldn't bear it and asked her carefully:

"Lady Ileana, would you like to join the final dance?"

The smile faded from her lips, her gaze like unmelted ice and snow as Ileana swept them with a cold look.

The official who had rashly spoken immediately panicked, his body trembling involuntarily.

Damn, the Regent was in quite a bad mood!

Ileana had never been a harsh person, always treating others with a gentle and warm demeanor.

But for some reason, they always felt instinctive fear from their bones.

Just when the official thought he was probably doomed, Ileana looked away and withdrew the aura she had unconsciously released.

"Let's go," Ileana said flatly. "Our ball is over."

Without lingering further, Ileana led the delegation members out of the ballroom.

The delegation's departure naturally caught Marianne's attention.

Marianne whispered a few words to Count Berendil behind her. Berendil looked shocked and hurriedly followed after them.

Besides the delegation, there were two other unnoticed people in the ball who had also disappeared without anyone knowing.

One was Bren, who had turned into black shadows and completely vanished under Celitia's hands.

The other was Charlotte.

After being questioned by Celitia in front of everyone, Charlotte's heart raced, suspecting whether Celitia already knew about their plan.

But what Charlotte didn't understand was why Celitia had reacted so strongly to the gift for Sophia—wasn't it just an ordinary hair ribbon and some love poem of unknown content?

In Charlotte's view, their actions so far hadn't caused any major trouble.

Even if Celitia discovered the connection between her and Bren, as long as she didn't direct Bren to act, it wouldn't implicate her.

Charlotte's original plan was to have Bren kidnap Celitia and force-feed her the aphrodisiac pill.

Then she would have bribed servants lead a group of nobles to witness Celitia's disgraceful state, making her lose all face and never dare show herself in high society again.

After discovering Bren's hatred for Celitia and his barely concealed lust, Charlotte had temporarily changed her plan.

She decided to go all the way and simply have Bren defile her, ensuring Celitia could never recover.

But the cooperation had just begun when some incomprehensible accident occurred.

At worst, she'd abandon the current plan, Charlotte thought. There would be plenty of opportunities in the future.

She planned to go back and find Bren, tell him the commission had encountered an accident and couldn't be completed, and have Bren refrain from acting rashly for now.

But after lingering at the agreed meeting place for a long time, Charlotte never saw any sign of Bren.

As she waited, somehow Charlotte suddenly felt drowsiness attacking, her eyelids fighting uncontrollably.

Her body swayed and she leaned powerlessly against the wall, slowly sliding to sit on the ground.

Charlotte had actually fallen asleep.

When she regained consciousness and opened her eyes again, what she saw was that bottomless darkness from her dreams.

In front of her, the 'Witch' sat lazily in a high-backed chair, supporting her chin with one hand, legs crossed, casually swinging one foot.

"Miss Charlotte, how delighted I am that we meet again."

"Wait," Charlotte was startled with alarm, "how do you know my name?"

When making the deal with the "Witch," she had clearly given a false name.

"Because," the 'Witch' answered softly, "our contract has been fulfilled, so naturally I would know your real name."

"No, I clearly haven't done anything yet!"

Charlotte retreated three steps in fear, looking around for an escape route.

The Witch stood up from the high-backed chair, walked down the steps, and approached Charlotte step by step.

"Oh my, did I not tell you? The moment you proposed a deal to me, our contract was already made."

"What?" Charlotte stared in disbelief, her eyes wide. "Could it be... could it be...?!"