《The Lady You Want to Kill》 CH 1 ¡°My lady, run away!¡± Lily¡¯s voice echoed with desperate cries that turned into screaming. When she came close, her thin body crumbled when she saw a blade covered in blood. Red blood began to pool on the gray-stained floor while silver iron shoes stepped on it. The expression of the man, with a corpse of a small woman under his feet, was full of visible hatred. A woman stood on the staircase of the hall and watched the whole scene in a way which seemed that she was out of touch with reality. The garden outside the castle was trampled down by the iron shoes of the knights, and so were the servants protecting her. Shrieks that come into the ear, for a short or long time, are all looking for the same person. Miss, miss. Run away. Please run away. However, Beatrice, the girl they cry for, was just looking at a man who wore an expression of disgust as if he were looking at a cheap landscape painting. His face, which shows no agitation or emotion, was reminiscent of a death mask modeled after the face of a dead person. ¡°Beatrice Amber, a witch should kneel before God and confess her sins.¡± The man¡¯s blue eyes fluttered like fire. Beatrice learned for the first time today that he could have those scorching eyes even with such a cold color. I knew that he had never shown me such enthusiasm. Beatrice, who looked at him in a gentle manner, soon turned her head. Her gaze paced between the castle and the garden, and beyond. It was a pity to see that what I had improved all on my own was being trampled on by their feet, but that was all I felt. She was worried about her own safety and had no sorrow to send to those who died. Even more so, she has no heart to worry about her own life. She would just let this situation go by with her attitude towards her acts. The man in front of her was the most proud and beloved knight of the Empire. He said that the number of knights following him was more than a hundred. Yes, it was too many to hunt just one single witch, but considering his reputation spread across the Empire, it¡¯s not difficult to understand. ¡°If I kneel down and confess my sins, it doesn¡¯t mean that my sins will disappear, so why should I do that?¡± There was only one charge against Beatrice Amber. The crime of murder. A number of two hundred people got their lives taken away by her hands. She is even willing to shake her head if she was asked whether she was framed or if it wasn¡¯t true. It¡¯s true that she killed all of them. If you ask her if she feels guilty about it, she will shake her head once again. ¡°Your sins are immeasurable.¡± ¡°Do you think I know the depth of my sins?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t.¡± ¡°How can you say so?¡± ¡°Because you don¡¯t see humans as humans.¡± Beatrice did not deny it because his words were true. She doesn¡¯t see humans as humans. No, she didn¡¯t exactly feel that humans were the same ¡°species¡± as her. At the end of the frivolous question and answer, Holy Knights who swarmed into her mansion came in alone. All the servants who rushed towards the knights to protect her seemed to have lost their lives. They all glared at Beatrice, the witch on the stairs, their eyes gleaming. Francis, the high ranked Holy Knight of the Temple, pointed his white sword out and aimed at the witch as a sign of their advance towards her. ¡°The judgment of God will come.¡± ¡°Why does your judgement belong to God?¡± It¡¯s like hearing a funny joke. The sound of a light chuckle rang through the blood-soaked hall. With that, the woman was immediately taken to the central plaza of the Empire and was placed on the guillotine. If she has the status of nobility, she won¡¯t receive the trial she deserves. Beatrice¡¯s notoriety, which lasted for 10 years, ended with 182 male commoners, 32 female commoners, 13 noble men, and 2 noble women. One of her small misfortunes was the fact that the witch¡¯s neck was so strong that she didn¡¯t die in a single hit, and only after hitting her half-crushed neck five more times, that¡¯s when she completely lost her breath. Beatrice opened her eyes. I saw a familiar ceiling. To describe her current situation, the two lame sentences were most appropriate. I got up and sat down, a situation where I don¡¯t know how many times had happened. She was getting sick of seeing the old, deep red duvet and the scenery of my room, where people couldn¡¯t easily catch a glimpse of, and dust that was piled up in every nook and cranny. I felt a terrible sense of emptiness in this life that I don¡¯t know how long it will end. Without turning her head, she stretched out her hands to get something and accidentally fumbled the side table. That being said, something fell and shattered on the floor. It was already obvious without even looking at it. A clock. The damn clock pointing its hands to nine o¡¯clock After rummaging through the table¡¯s drawer a few more times, she was able to get what she wanted. As soon as she got five or six matches, she lit them up without hesitation and threw them onto the bed she laid on. Even if the old duvet is expensive, it burns in an instant. Even though she was caught as a witch, they did not burn her alive. It wouldn¡¯t hurt to try it once. She experienced one more death with a terribly twisted smile. Beatrice, who opened her eyes again, got out of bed roughly. Being burned to death was an experience that I couldn¡¯t do twice. I expected it to be painful, but it hurted more than I had ever imagined. I strode over to the table in front of the window, picked up a bottle of water, and drank it in haste. It was old water that she doesn¡¯t even know how long it was placed there, but it was as cold as fresh water. It was said that her room was cold, but the temperature of her room was not important to her. She set down the glass violently and turned around to grab the match on the table again. But this time, she threw the lit match under her closet and not her bed. Clattering. Clattering. Inside the closet, there were small noises that could be heard if you listened carefully. Thanks to returning back in time over and over again, she already knew what was in it. She left her room in her pajamas without even checking if it was on fire. I think it would be better to get some fresh air. As the door swung open, the bluntly carved handle slammed against the wall, making a loud noise. One of the servants passing through the hallway looked at her as she saw something strange. Beatrice walked down the hallway without even giving her a glance. While passing by all her servants and her maids, they pretended not to see her or just gave her audacious scornful glances. Beatrice Amber. The illegitimate child of the late Duke Amber. As she walked down the stairs of the hall for a while, she heard a scream behind her. She heard them shouting in fear, telling them to get some water. She smelled something burning. It seemed that the fire was lit up properly She stepped out of the main gate, barefooted, with no emotion written on her face despite what she had done. There was a carriage standing at the main gate. It was the Duke who had been preparing to go out since the morning. He furrowed his brow as if he had seen something he didn¡¯t want to see, and proceeded to look up and down at her, barefoot in pajamas. Whatever. She slowly took a deep breath and began to check herself. How many lives has this been? It¡¯s not accurate, but it¡¯s probably the 12th time. It could be the 13th time. She was doubting her memory in her head, but the sharp voice of a maid burst her ears. ¡°Duke! The lady¡¯s room is on fire!¡± ¡°What?¡± Calex, Amber¡¯s current head, shot Beatrice a quick glance at once. He snarled at her, demonstrating that he could further shrivel his already distorted face. ¡°What is she saying, Beatrice?¡± ¡°Because there¡¯s a rat in the closet.¡± The voice I answered with was overly dry and calm. It meant that she wasn¡¯t the one who set the fire in her room. The footsteps of the servants, running in a hurry to pour water, were bustling. It seemed wrong to quietly organize her thoughts, so Beatrice went to go back to her room. But Calex, who was standing in front of the carriage, came right behind her and stared at her. The height difference between Calex and Beatrice was not even a span, and so their gaze naturally met. ¡°Are you calling that an excuse?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not an excuse.¡± Their gazes collided for a long time, a ferocious and heartless one. It was disturb by the voice of a servant who says that the fire has been extinguished after a long time. Calex commanded in a voice that clearly suppressed his anger. ¡°Leave Felix to take care of the cleanup. Don¡¯t make Mother worry too much.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± After completing his work, Calex soon passed Beatrice, so fast that she could hear a whiff. The ordered servant also disappeared into the mansion, paying no attention to her standing there. The servants, who were struggling to put out the fire, started going back to their stations one by one. Of course, no appropriate measures are taken after the fire is dampened down. I¡¯m getting hungry. She climbed the stairs again, as if she had never expected anything, and went back to her own room. The door was wide open. A musty smell creeps out of the bedroom. The room was almost burnt down and a half collapsed closet stood still. Even the traces of the fire were stagnant after pouring water on them. The window was wide open as if they didn¡¯t want to die from the smoke, but that was the only way to deal with the fire. I flick the bell beside the bed past the closet. No matter how many times the tense bell rang, a maid did not show up. Slowly, she sat down at the table by the window, counting to twenty inside her head, until Mai, her exclusive maid, appeared at a sluggish pace. She bowed in front of Beatrice with an expression that she was reluctant to pretend. ¡°Did you call for me, Miss?¡± ¡°Prepare a meal for me.¡± Mai forgets the idea and raises her head. Her face clearly showed the intention of why she wanted to eat after committing the scandal she had made just this morning. However, Mai went out of the room to faithfully carry out the order without complaining about it. It will take at least an hour for the meal to be ready, but the wait won¡¯t be boring. This is because there is still one person left to see. He¡¯ll appear soon. ¡°Beatrice!¡± Exactly fifteen minutes later, a charismatic voice rushes into the room. It was my second brother, Felix. He approached her without hesitation and shamelessly grunted. He immediately looked at her with a disgusted look as she was sitting on a chair and glanced at the burnt closet attached to the wall. CH 2 ¡°I thought you were just crazy.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Your head always spins in vain like a clock without a single cogwheel missing.¡± There was no need to react because what he said wasn¡¯t wrong. Felix just snickered at the fact that she accepted it. He walks up to the closet she burned down. The wooden closet was old, yet it was quite luxurious because it was used by the Duke. However, it was burnt frugally. He looked closely at the burnt block of wood, barely maintaining its shape, as if it were a piece of art. He quickly turned around and asked. ¡°So why did you do that?¡± ¡°Because there was a rat.¡± Beatrice responded with the same answer to Calex¡¯s question earlier, and looked at Felix. It wasn¡¯t because she wanted to look at him, rather it¡¯s because she wanted to simply turn her head around. Felix¡¯s eyes widened when he saw something disgusting. Of course, neither of them cared. ¡°Crazy bitch.¡± I didn¡¯t answer back. I was right, so I didn¡¯t have much to say. I just picked up the water that had been around for a long time, took a sip, and looked at him. When there was no response from me, he turned his interest back to the burnt closet. Yes, her handling in this mansion was not as good as dealing with an old closet. The former Duke Amber, who is now dead. The Father of Calex and Felix was a rare case of an affectionate marriage to the Duchess of Amber. Of course, their relationship was good and the four of them were living a happy life. Up until 19 years ago, Duke Amber went missing on a business trip to quell the disturbance of different species in a distant estate. The sudden disappearance of the Duke plunged the family into a pit of sorrow. With only two young sons and the Duchess remaining, the Duke¡¯s Mansion had an atmosphere where it felt like you were walking on thin ice. I chuckled forcibly. When someone brought up the Duke¡¯s story, the thin ice cracked. Fortunately, however, the duke returned alive after two years. The two sons and the Duchess were genuinely delighted. She was truly happy that her husband had returned. Perhaps it would have been a more perfect reunion without the one-year-old girl in his arms. ¡°Argh!¡± I was deep in my thoughts until it was interrupted by a scream. Why are there only things that disturb you in this house? With a sigh, she placed down water and looked into the situation. Felix had opened the door of the burnt closet. Oh, that. She speaks in a cold voice. Felix, who urgently looked back at her, pointed his finger inside the closet and made another loud noise. ¡°That, what is that!¡± The closet he pointed to was full of burnt rat corpres. About 10 to 20 of them. You must have had a hard time collecting them. ¡°Rats.¡± ¡°I¡¯m asking because why is there such a thing in the closet?!¡± ¡°My maid must like rats. It happens often.¡± It was clear that her maid, Mai, was very fond of rats. So she would always carefully collect the rats that may be in the basement and place them in Beatrice¡¯s room. I¡¯ve seen stories in books that cats, who love their owners, come with rats to give them as gifts. I tried to think it was in that context, but unfortunately, my personal maid simply hated me. Yes, humans and cats are quite different species, so their behavior patterns may be different. After convincing myself to look at Felix again, his expression of bewilderment was obvious. What else do you not like about that? ¡°The maid often puts rats in your room?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°And you¡¯re not doing anything about it?¡± ¡°What would you do then?¡± Felix shuts his mouth. As he looked into her golden eyes, he gave a faintly confused look . Beatrice didn¡¯t care what he was confused about, so she turned her head forward and began to wait for her meal. After staring into the thin air for a while, I soon heard the sound of thumping footsteps going out of the room. Now, I can quietly carry on my thoughts. Beatrice was the evidence that Duke Amber betrayed his beloved wife. At first, she was satisfied that her father and husband had returned alive, but as time went on, her presence began to gnaw between them. The Duchess and her two sons are not bad people. She remembered that she was treated like a human being, in her own way. Regardless of whether you like it or not, a little girl is innocent. However, as the years passed, they began to dislike her. Their relationship was irreversibly ruined when the duke died when she was thirteen, from the disease he had suffered at the time of his disappearance. From the time when the Duchess, who was preoccupied with grief, slapped Beatrice at the funeral, and the two sons, who were stopping the Duchess, had a look of embarrassment and slight disgust in their eyes. ¡°Miss, I¡¯ve prepared your meal.¡± It seems that Mai has arrived. When I looked up, I saw the new noodle dish placed on the table. Mai always brought the dishes after they had cooled down. I don¡¯t know if she¡¯s slacking off or just making fun of me, but that¡¯s not what¡¯s important right now, so let¡¯s move on. ¡°You try it first.¡± ¡°What?¡± I would have eaten it without saying a word if it was just a dish that had cooled down. I was used to it in the first place. However, if there was an accident today, there would be no such thing as a hot noodle dish on the table, and I did not feel like receiving it because I was just burned alive to death. As I stared into Mai¡¯s trembling eyes in bewilderment, she opens her mouth as if she was trying to change the situation. ¡°If you don¡¯t like the food, I¡¯ll change it.¡± ¡°You know that¡¯s not what I mean.¡± Beatrice picked up the round plate and threw it at Mai¡¯s feet. A solid plate fell on the floor with a clattering sound, and round things that were laid down under the red noodles spilled out. Mai¡¯s expression turned blue. I can¡¯t tell if it¡¯s anger or embarrassment. She usually only puts one or two in. As she silently stares at over ten dead bugs, like her rats, Mai shamelessly opens her mouth. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m sorry. It must have been there in the middle of cooking.¡± With a quivering voice, she spat out excuses that weren¡¯t her usual ones. As the red sauce wets the floor, the corpses of ten bugs, that rolled out together, are also wet. Her face, which had turned blue in embarrassment, was now burning red. She must be angry. Because she¡¯s a girl who usually eats food with bugs. ¡°You clean that up.¡± Her glaring eyes are starting to burn a hole on me. Mai was a child with a strange sense of duty. She feels obligated to punish her master for tormenting the Duke¡¯s beloved wife and the two handsome masters. I never wondered why she had such a sense of duty. You won¡¯t understand even if you know it anyway. Beatrice stands up with a short sigh. No matter how much her family hated her, they didn¡¯t give Mai direct orders to harass her. So, it means that everything Mai does to me is at her discretion. I don¡¯t know how it can be called a punishment to keep shoving rats and bugs, as I compared them to cats earlier, but so did all the servants who messed around. I left the room without any regrets because I wouldn¡¯t do anything stupid other than to leave the spilled food as it is. I went out to the garden, crawling out barefoot again. It was cold. It had been a week since it had snowed, and there was no snow piled up, but the grass was dead and the dirt floor was ice-cold. Instead of wearing her shoes, she sat under the largest tree in the garden and hugged her knees. I could see a white carriage coming into the main gate of the mansion. Maybe it¡¯s the priest¡¯s carriage that the Duchess called. The Duchess, who was a faithful believer, would call the priest to her house once a week to hold a small prayer meeting with her family or consult personal concerns about her family. Originally, prayer meetings were most common in which the temples were opened and aristocrats gathered, but it is also possible to call in the temple to pray if you are the Duke of Amber of the Empire. Of course, the power of huge donations will be included. Well, the prayer meetings had nothing to do with her because she doesn¡¯t belong to the Amber family, or ¡®her family¡¯. Beatrice began to trace back to her past. She did not know exactly how much time had passed since she started to return back. The standard of her regression is her own death. In one life, she died at the age of 32 and in another, she lived to be over 70 years old. She has committed suicide and has been murdered. Once she loses her breath and close her eyes, she will surely open her eyes at 9 a.m. in January when she was eighteen years old. When I first returned, I thought I had a very long, long dream. I thought that it was a precognitive dream when things that seemed like I had been through continued. In that life, I lived a normal life until I married a man arranged by my family at the age of 23 and was executed by killing my husband. And it wasn¡¯t until I opened my eyes again that I realized that I returned back. On my second return, I lived far away from my family and lived my whole life in the territories on the outskirts. I must have lived to be over seventy at that time. The third time I opened my eyes, I was stuck in bed. I didn¡¯t feel like doing anything at all, so I didn¡¯t do anything except lie down and breathe. Maybe I starved while staying on the bed? I don¡¯t remember in detail. I repeated my life that way. And right before my current life, I was angry as soon as I opened my eyes. I don¡¯t know how much I would have to repeat this fun and meaningless life to the end, so the pointless anger bubbled up from the bottom of my stomach. So if I wanted to kill, I just go for it. I lived the life of a witch who was to be punished. I must die to go to hell. And so does the servants who killed people in the territories that the Duchess owned. CH 3 As a result, she was called a witch outside the mansion and became notorious. Usually, it¡¯s not a crime for a noble to kill a commoner in his or her territory, but it seems to have gone too far. The Holy Knights came to arrest me, so I admitted everything. I killed everything I wanted to kill in my last life and did everything I wanted to do. What else should I do with this life? Can¡¯t I just die? I searched and searched for a way to stop my return from my past lives, but I couldn¡¯t find anything. Old books, Bibles handled in the temple, and even foreign magic books. It would have been nice if I could find a single clue, but there was nothing. Although there are only two places she hasn¡¯t looked. The hidden library of the Imperial family and the original Bible of the temple. It is said that the hidden underground library of the Imperial family contains very old historical records that haven¡¯t been beautified or altered, and that the Bible we are seeing has also been modified and transformed. It was a fact that I came to know from seeing numerous records in the past. It isn¡¯t entirely non-existent because it was written in a book banned by the empire found in a foreign country. Wouldn¡¯t it be possible to find something hidden in the history books and the original Bible? She sincerely wanted to end her own life. But how can I access those two things? In the case of the library, I may be able to see it if I marry someone from the Imperial family and become one of them, and in the case of the original Bible, he should be a high-ranking official belonging to the temple, but unfortunately, only men were selected. That¡¯s when someone¡¯s voice pierced through my thoughts. ¡°It¡¯s cold.¡± ¡°Really?¡± I think I was too deep in my thoughts. Seeing that I didn¡¯t notice the presence of the priest who was just around the corner. A man wearing an official white priest¡¯s uniform is a high-ranking priest who is quite famous even in the Imperial Capital, and the one who visits the Duke¡¯s house once a week. It was Theodore Delman, a faithful servant of God. ¡°Are you worried?¡± ¡°Do you think people in the world live without worries?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, but¡­¡± There¡¯s an embarrassed smile on his well-groomed face and white blonde hair. Come to think of it, it¡¯s been a long time since we talked like this. Of course, it¡¯s only a story of a previous life, but it¡¯s the first time in this life that started again. Now he sees her as just an illegitimate child of the Duke¡¯s family. Even at the age of 18, I must be known as a shy girl who hasn¡¯t entered society. He knelt quietly on one knee in front of her feet. ¡°There aren¡¯t many people who are so worried that they¡¯re barefoot on a cold day like this.¡± ¡°I just couldn¡¯t find the slippers the maids hid.¡± Theodore furrowed his brows in confusion. ¡°The maids hid your slippers?¡± ¡°It must be somewhere. It looks like you¡¯re done with your work with the Duchess.¡± It means that you shouldn¡¯t mind it and go back if you¡¯re done with your work, but the priest probably didn¡¯t know what I meant or pretended not to know my intention, but he just looked at my face and immediately took off his shoes. As he watched silently, he carefully grabbed my pale feet and tucked his shoes in. Unlike the girls of other noble families, Beatrice is tall, and has big hands and big feet. It¡¯s loose, but it fits her feet enough so that it doesn¡¯t get taken off. ¡°Do all servants of God interfere too much with others?¡± ¡°I would appreciate it if you could call it kindness rather than interference.¡± Even with her dry and rude remarks, his smiling face is the epitome of a priest. Beatrice¡¯s empty, golden eyes peer into the other person¡¯s blue eyes meaninglessly. After seeing the priest¡¯s face, she decided to solve her curiosity and opened her mouth. She has nothing to lose, so there is no reason for her to be hesitant or harsh. ¡°I heard that the original Bible was kept in the temple.¡± ¡°Yes, it is kept in a room that only high-ranking officials can enter.¡± ¡°I heard it¡¯s different from the Bible manuscripts that circulate around the empire.¡± A slight frown intervened his lips that were previously smiling brightly. ¡°Because it¡¯s written in ancient language, it may be slightly different from the original, but it¡¯s not entirely different.¡± Lies. Beatrice is certain. However, without any answer, she blinked slowly and nodded in response. It¡¯s not known that the contents of the Bible manuscript and the original Bible are different anyway. It means that there is no way to answer ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right¡±, so I pretended to be convinced. ¡°Did you solve the Duchess¡¯ troubles well?¡± ¡°All I can do is give advice. No matter what the problem is, no one else can solve it.¡± ¡°What are the Duchess¡¯ troubles?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t tell anyone for the sake of the Duchess who believed in me and told me.¡± ¡°Trust me.¡± ¡°So, if you have any concerns, don¡¯t hesitate to tell me.¡± ¡°You speak well.¡± Beatrice, who had no way of resolving her situation anyway, began to think about telling this priest about her affairs. It didn¡¯t matter if I was treated like a crazy woman, and even if something goes wrong, I just had to die again. However, it was troublesome to explain the long story, so I explained the situation very briefly. ¡°I won¡¯t die.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°No matter how many times I try to die, I don¡¯t die.¡± A bewildered light flashed across Theodore¡¯s face, but Beatrice didn¡¯t mind at all and began to spit out her own words. ¡°I want to die, but I can¡¯t.¡± Beatrice was a person who had so many worries and hypotheses about why she returned after dying. First of all, She was punished by the gods for killing a priest in her very first life. ¡°Is it because of my sin? Could it have provoked the wrath of God?¡± However, the priest was not a member of the temple, but a person who evaded taxes under the pretext of running an orphanage in a local temple. Would such a person be loved by God? If not, the second reason was because she was cursed by someone. ¡°Is it because there are so many people who are unhappy because of me?¡± Beatrice was so crazy about her repeated life and killed more than two hundred people in her previous life.She was just that kind of person. She did not accept that human beings were the same as herself, and as a result, she did it without hesitation even if taking their lives was necessary. Because of her nature, Duke Amber was quite enthusiastic about her education when he was alive, but unfortunately it didn¡¯t seem to have much effect. If it¡¯s not a curse, number three. I have a mission that I¡¯m unaware of. ¡°Am I still alive because I have something to do? But I couldn¡¯t find anything like that. There¡¯s no way I¡¯ll ever need anything.¡± Like any other novel, there is a great danger to the world or to the empire, and she was born with a great mission. I¡¯ve imagined that, but even when I lived for more than seventy, there was no such threat to the empire and the world. Therefore, the fourth one. She¡¯s actually a devil. The devil is a creature that only appears in the Bible and hasn¡¯t appeared on human land for a very long time on record. According to the Bible, the devil does not die by the hands of humans, but is destroyed only by the divine power handled by the priests. He said that they would not die in any other way, and that if they died, they would come back to life. Of course, it is one of the hypotheses that I made just in case because it was very far from regression, but I think it¡¯s similar to immortality. Come to think of it, she has never died because of divine power. Beatrice immediately remembered a thought, and grabbed Theodore¡¯s hand with both of her own and held them tightly. ¡°By the way, wasn¡¯t there a way to save lives without suffering among the powers of the priests?¡± Of course, it wasn¡¯t an overused force. It is a power that is carefully used only for those with an incurable disease who cannot die for a very long time. The process of obtaining permission is very tricky and can only be used by high-ranking officials, so if it has been used three times a year throughout the empire, it belongs to one of many pillars ¡°I don¡¯t want to be sick anymore.¡± I still got goosebumps thinking about how I was hit five times because my neck was not cut off by the guillotine. Of course, it goes without saying that it hurts to death. ¡°Can you use that power on me? Of course the case is¡­¡± ¡°No, no. My lady, calm down. Please.¡± Beatrice closed her mouth shut and looked at Theodore who interrupted her words. That straight, shiny face was stained with an unknown embarrassment, sadness, and anger, and I couldn¡¯t figure out why. Did I talk too much about myself? The priests are kind, but on the other hand, I decided to listen to him for a while because I thought it might be because of his high pride. ¡°First of all¡­ I can¡¯t use that power personally, and you won¡¯t be allowed to use it unless you¡¯re really terminally ill.¡± ¡°Does that mean you can¡¯t use it for me?¡± ¡°Yes, so don¡¯t think about it.¡± Yeah, I knew it. Beatrice stood up from her seat without hiding her disappointed look. I didn¡¯t expect him to really listen, but it¡¯s disappointing to be disappointed. Should I try and get terminally ill? ¡°I see. Thank you for listening. Since we wasted a lot of time, you¡¯d better leave now. I¡¯ll return your shoes on your next visit.¡± She left Theodore behind, who said nothing for some reason, and walked a little uncomfortable because of his big shoes. Beatrice didn¡¯t know that Theodore¡¯s gaze was stuck behind her back and didn¡¯t drop. The Duchess, Agatha Amber of the Amber family, had a small problem. Of course, her two sons have grown wonderfully, and the eldest has safely inherited the title of the Duke and is running the estate with a stable business, and the second son joined the Imperial Order because he was recognized for his skills at a young age, so you might ask what she was worried about, but she had another child. The youngest daughter who is not her own blood. CH 4 How happy I was when my missing husband came back. She greeted him with tears of joy because of how they cared and loved each other unlike your usual noble couple. Of course, the happiness stopped when she saw the little child in his arms. During the two years he went missing, his sudden appearance of holding a child he had from another woman made me feel the pain of betrayal.. But that¡¯s the adult¡¯s case, and the child is innocent. Because I knew it, I was confident that I hadn¡¯t been able to treat him kindly, but raised him without fail. If it were like everyone else, I would have abandoned the illegitimate child as soon as my husband died, but I thought I was a good stepmother who was still thinking about her child¡¯s future while living with it. My daughter is eighteen years old now. Usually, if a noble is a woman, she would be in the society after completing her debutante at the age of 17, but her daughter, who does not see her face once in a month, did not even hear about her own debutante. Of course, I could go and ask her first, but as I said, we weren¡¯t very close and I didn¡¯t want to encourage myself because I didn¡¯t want to. However, it is time to decide as I am an adult. Whether to keep this child in the family like this or decide whether I should marry her off after her debutante. Ah, I sighed unconsciously. I actually knew that he hates his daughter. I hated the face of a child who didn¡¯t show a single sadness even though his father, who had taken him back from his husband¡¯s funeral, died. Since then, the relationship, which has become more awkward, has not recovered, and it has been more difficult to deal with because of the guilt and hatred pressing down on my chest when I accidentally encountered it. Maybe I¡¯m thinking about this because I want to get rid of it quickly. Ordinary noble women get engaged in their late teens and get married in their early 20s, so it may not seem strange to others. When I consulted with a trusted noble wife or mother, they said that if I had done this to a child who I¡¯m not related to, I would have done well, and if I found a good marriage partner, you¡¯ll be doing good. All of them are just answers that understand one¡¯s mind. I knew that it was a statement that I had only thought about my own position, but it was also true that I felt a little relieved. So I called the priest who I always asked for prayers and shared my worries. Priest Theodore, who has been taking care of the family¡¯s prayers for a long time and roughly knows the situation, smiled kindly and asked if it would be good to ask her daughter for her thoughts, but she couldn¡¯t easily answer that. The kid has a knack for making people uncomfortable, so I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll be satisfied with any answer. Knock, knock There was a knock. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°The priest is asking for another meeting.¡± ¡°Theodore?¡± Why did he come back today after he had finished his prayers and counseling? Agatha accepted, puzzled, to let him come in immediately. Theodore opened the door and as if he was waiting in front of it, he came in quickly and closed the door himself. ¡°What happened?¡± His face was serious. He just had a gentle smile on his face when he was praying with me, but something happened during that short period of time. I had known him for a long time, so I offered him a seat on the sofa and he sat on the other side. ¡°How is the lady doing?¡± As soon as I sit down, I feel a little unfamiliar with the person who asks about my daughter in a voice full of impatience. Of course, I consulted him until a while ago, but Theodore and the child basically don¡¯t know each other. He knew roughly where the child was in the family, so he never asked about my daughter so directly. And unfortunately, Agatha had nothing to say much about his question. As I said, it is difficult to see each other even once a month. I didn¡¯t ask about how the child was doing and what she needed. I just guessed that she was doing so well that it could be solved between the butler and her maid. ¡°Well, she¡¯s just a quiet kid. She¡¯s doing fine, no major problems.¡± ¡°No problem, you say?¡± A glimpse of anger flashed across his face. Of course, it wasn¡¯t completely out of anger towards himself, but it was enough to upset Agatha. Before she can say anything, she opens her mouth once more on Theodore¡¯s side. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to tell you this, but I just met the lady in the garden.¡± ¡°That child?¡± She was usually a child who was locked up in the room and did not come out at all. Although she often strolled through the gardens. Oh, by the way, did I mention that my daughter¡¯s room caught fire today? I remember hearing that the closet burned a little bit due to carelessness, but the fire was wiped quickly so I don¡¯t have to worry about it too much. Maybe she was out for a while because she had to clean the room. ¡°She was sitting barefoot under a tree in her pajamas.¡± ¡°Pajamas?¡± In the middle of winter? ¡°Barefoot?¡± On this cold day? I don¡¯t understand at all, so I ask again with my eyes wide open. No, there must be maids attached to them, but what are they doing to keep the grown-up girl in pajamas, and barefoot outside? Agatha¡¯s common sense couldn¡¯t quite comprehend, so she blinked one after another to show her embarrassment. Theodore sighed and nodded his head. ¡°No, what are the maids doing?¡± ¡°When I asked her, she said the maids hid her slippers.¡± ¡°Slippers?¡± No, what¡¯s going on. I know it looks stupid but I couldn¡¯t stop asking. I hated his child. However, this is hatred to the extent that it is difficult to see her face, not a hatred that you want the child to be bullied. I was paying my employees a sufficient salary, and that pay means to do the job faithfully, not to bully anyone. Agatha pondered that far and rested her forehead for a moment. ¡°Looking at your reaction, I guess you didn¡¯t know.¡± ¡°It¡¯s embarrassing, but not at all. Not a bit.¡± ¡°And¡­¡± Theodore licked his lips as if he had something more to say, and Agatha seemed to have a headache, no, it was happening, she pressed down on her temples tight as she waited for his next words. No matter how unwelcomed her daughter was, she was still a member of the duke¡¯s family, but the servants were presumptuously harassing her. This fact alone almost made her throw up, but the fact that there are more has been tormenting her mind. ¡°It may not be just bullying.¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± ¡°The lady¡­¡± As soon as Theodore finished speaking, Agatha screamed the maid¡¯s name. ¡°Linda, Linda!¡± Her voice, mixed with anger and embarrassment, were deeply divided, and Theodore sat in front of him with his mouth shut and his face still. At 6 o¡¯clock sharp, his eldest son, Calex, returns. She was so nervous that even the sound of the clock¡¯s quiet second hand felt like a noise. Agatha sat in her room with her head on her head. Linda, a maid standing next to her, is rolling her eyes, unable to hide her anxiety. I don¡¯t know where my second son went, but I told a servant to get him right away, so he¡¯ll probably arrive home around 6 o¡¯clock as well. A deep, long sigh sticks to the floor. After she talked to him, Theodore returned to the temple, and said that it was unlikely that he would intervene. Of course, she was asked to make a wise decision before she returns. In her heart, she wanted to find out the truth about the servants right away, but she couldn¡¯t act hastily. Basically, I don¡¯t think my daughter, who is not interested in others, would have lied to a priest who doesn¡¯t even know her face, but it was too long for her family and daughter to come to an immediate conclusion. First of all, it would be appropriate to talk to the two sons and solve them as quietly as possible. ¡°What? What¡¯s going on?¡± The first person who opened the door was her second son, Felix. He had a day off, and his face was a little red from where he had been drinking. Agatha doesn¡¯t hide her headache and points to the sofa opposite to her. Fortunately, Felix sat on the couch as if he wasn¡¯t drunk much. ¡°You said there was a fire in Beatrice¡¯s room this morning?¡± ¡°Oh, that? Well¡­¡± The feisty second son takes his time scratching his head. ¡°It was a fire that Beatrice had set herself. It was a bit strange, so I was going to talk about it when the whole family gathers in the evening.¡± ¡°She set the fire herself?¡± All I had heard from the maid was that the fire had been accidentally set on fire. She was not convinced, so she shot her maid a look, and Linda bowed her head in haste as if to apologize to her. I tried to stare at her like I was scolding someone, but no words of rebuke came out. It was the wife¡¯s job to manage household affairs and it was her will to be openly indifferent to the child. I know that things have come to this point because he told me not to put Beatrice¡¯s work on him as much as possible and I never asked him first. ¡°She was half out of her mind, so it¡¯s not strange that she did it.¡± ¡°Felix.¡± As Agatha gave him a warning, Felix ruffles his hair wildly and shakes his head. ¡°No, listen. Mother. It¡¯s not something that she should have set fire to. But she said weird things, too.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± ¡°When I heard about the fire, I went to look through her room, and there was a bunch of burnt rat carcasses in her closet.¡± Agatha seemed to feel dizzy. ¡°She said that her maid likes rats, so she often releases them in her room.¡± ¡°Linda!¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ Madam¡­ That¡¯s my¡­ I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ll look into it.¡± I wanted to be polite, but I couldn¡¯t be more angry because even the head maid in charge of the house didn¡¯t know. It¡¯s my fault. It¡¯s all my fault. It¡¯s obvious that the servants acted like that because they didn¡¯t care and didn¡¯t hide any signs of hatred for the child. CH 5 The servants knew the Duchess well. Even though she was fully aware of how to act accordingly, she pretended not to be interested, so it was irrelevant to say that half of this was her responsibility. ¡°I don¡¯t like that child, but I didn¡¯t think I wanted her to be bullied to that extent.¡± ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± The sound of the door opening and Calex¡¯s voice were heard together. As soon as he arrived, he was still in his outdoor attire, perhaps questioning what Agatha said. His brow furrowed slightly, as if he didn¡¯t like the fact that his mother and brother were talking about his youngest sister, who is a pain in the neck. Yes, until now, that child has been like that to ¡®our¡¯ family. A topic that is undesirable, reluctant, and a topic that we do not want to bring up as much as possible. ¡°Sit down for now.¡± Agatha told Calex to sit across from her and began to ponder about how to bring up the story. Each member of her family had their own reasons for being indifferent to her daughter. Beatrice was actually a little, or rather a very unusual child. As the child grew older, her facial expressions faded. At first, I thought she wasn¡¯t good at expressing her emotions, but the more I encountered her, the more I caught on to them And it got stronger as time went on. It¡¯s not that the child isn¡¯t good at expressing emotions, but it¡¯s almost nonexistent. I thought I was mistaken and just felt that I hated that child, but I was able to confirm it at my husband¡¯s and her father¡¯s funeral. The face that bore quietly without shedding a single tear even after her father died. It wasn¡¯t a kind of facade that hid sadness, but a face that didn¡¯t feel sadness. The family, who loved the Duke, couldn¡¯t accept it and began to push Beatrice away little by little, reaching the present day. Agatha shook her head once as if she was in denial. Passing the blame on the child in this situation doesn¡¯t help at all. It was the same thing as beating around the bush. ¡°It seems that Priest Theodore, who came for the prayer today, had a brief conversation with the child.¡± ¡°Did that nosy person ask you to take care of the child who is distant from the family?¡± Calex snorted, but when Agatha spoke. His smile died and the look in his face hardened. ¡°I heard that Beatrice asked him to kill her.¡± A chilling silence befalls between the three of them. Calex looked at his mother with his face frozen, and Felix, who was looking out the window while he was listening, widened his eyes as if he had heard it correctly. He even picked his ears a few times with no hesitation. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re saying.¡± ¡°You heard what I said.. At first, she told him she wanted to die, but then she said she couldn¡¯t die. She also asked him if he could kill her without any pain with his divine power because she didn¡¯t want to be sick anymore.¡± Calex was flabbergasted. If someone said they wanted to die but won¡¯t die, it means that they¡¯ve already tried it several times, and if they said that they don¡¯t want to be sick anymore, it means that they¡¯ve been in pain a lot of times. ¡°Do you know how she¡¯s doing?¡± ¡°That¡¯s it¡­¡± There¡¯s no way I can answer. She was a complete eyesore to the family yet after years of looking into her, she didn¡¯t really cause any troubles. Like Agatha, Calex also knew nothing, but they just guessed that she was going to live well on her own. It seemed the same for Felix, so he kept his mouth shut and said nothing. ¡°For now¡­ Let¡¯s find out more details. Linda, where¡¯s Beatrice?¡± ¡°Please wait a moment.¡± ¡°Haa, okay.¡± The three waited for Linda without saying a word. A heavy energy descended between the three of them like a damp room on a rainy day. Neither Calex, Felix, nor Agatha liked the child, but they didn¡¯t hate or dislike her enough to want to kill her. As Beatrice puts it, they aren¡¯t all that bad. ¡°The lady is eating in the dining room.¡± ¡°What brings her there?¡± Beatrice didn¡¯t usually come out of the room. Even her own meals are taken to her own room. However, Felix later recalled that her room was on fire and assumed that she had come down to the dining room to let the servants clean up her room. I was so focused on other things right now that I didn¡¯t find it strange that the cleaning of Beatrice¡¯s room, which had only one closet in the first place, wasn¡¯t finished this evening. The other two nodded as if they¡¯re all thinking the same thing. ¡°Prepare our meals in the dining room. We¡¯ll have a meal together.¡± * * * The duke¡¯s dining room is quite big. A long time ago, it was like that because it was a place where cousins, their spouses, and their children lived together, but now there were only four members of the Amber family. It was natural to think that it was a useless large space, and especially now, Beatrice sitting alone in the center of a long table, it looked bigger than usual. Beatrice somehow fixed her room. However, closing the windows as the sun was setting became a problem. The room was mixed with the smell of the burnt closet that had not been removed, the smell of dead rat carcasses in it, and the smell of food that had been spilled earlier, so it was impossible to eat in the room in that state. I should sneak into the guest¡¯s room and sleep there. Beatrice thought so and waited for dinner. Although I came down to the dining room because I had nowhere to eat, the chef of this house doesn¡¯t cook for me. It is obvious to see Mai cooking by herself every time. Beatrice thought about it. What will Mai do to the food this time? Serving rotten food was done several times a long time ago, and mixing soil or insects was a very basic recipe. She must have harbored a lot of hate because she wasn¡¯t treated as calmly as usual this morning. The dining room door opened without a knock as I thoughtlessly glanced down at the white tablecloth of the spotless table. Mai, who came in with food in one hand, put the plate down in front of Beatrice with a soft smile. It was a risotto with meat cut into bite-size pieces. However, unlike usual, it did not seem to have cooled down or was served spoiled. The plate was perfectly warm, and the rice and meat were shiny. You will know once you try it. Beatrice, who has been playing with her food for so long that she has a knack of picking out the right amount of food, picked up the spoon without thinking deeply. As she lifted the spoon, Mai, who was still standing next to her, had a glint on her eye. Well, that¡¯s easy to understand. ¡°Wait behind my back. A servant stares at their master while they eat.¡± As soon as Mai heard it, she scrunched up her face, uncertain if she wanted to see Beatrice¡¯s hideous face, but she stood behind her back, murmuring. I usually just leave the meal and go out, but because I was upset earlier in the day, I believe I¡¯ll be able to congratulate you for having the confidence to act around. I thought I was about to start eating when the door swung open again without a knock. I¡¯d forgotten that knocking is a basic etiquette. When I looked up, I saw Felix. We made direct eye contact. For some reason, he slipped inside the room and sat down. Looks like he¡¯s here for dinner. Since this dining room is theirs, the uninvited guest would be her, but she didn¡¯t want to get kicked out during her meal. She placed down the spoon when she saw two men coming in. From the current Duke Calex to the Duchess. I have a feeling that this won¡¯t be a very comfortable meal time. ¡°Good evening.¡± ¡°Yes, good evening.¡± The Duchess, who was seated across from me, greeted me for some reason. Even if we happened to make eye contact in the hallway, we usually ignored each other, creating an awkward atmosphere in the hallway. Are you greeting me formally because we¡¯ll be sharing a meal together? On either side of the Duchess, her two sons sat. Beatrice seemed to do nothing when they sat in front of her. Agatha, who had remained silent as though unsure, spoke out once again. ¡°Your meal appears to have already been made, so please go ahead. We¡¯ll have ours out soon.¡± Beatrice¡¯s dish draws Agatha¡¯s attention immediately. It¡¯s not an unusual dish, but it¡¯s far too basic for a duke¡¯s meal. It¡¯s not awful, but it doesn¡¯t appear to have been prepared by the family chef. When she looked up to see Beatrice¡¯s personal maid, she wondered whether she was the one who was looking after her master¡¯s meals. She noticed the maid standing behind Beatrice, her face blue. What¡¯s that? Agatha¡¯s eyes squinted. Beatrice would have asked the Duchess for permission, but she started shoving food into her mouth without hesitation, intending to leave the room as she finished. There was no strange taste, and no foreign materials were mixed in. What exactly is it? Is it poison? However, killing a noble is an entirely different story, no matter how much she enjoyed tormenting her. The two sitting across from each other were arguing on how to bring the matter out while Beatrice was absorbed into her own world. Calex only glanced at Beatrice, as if he hadn¡¯t yet accepted Agatha¡¯s story. However, Beatrice¡¯s lifeline was torn, and she was uninterested in them, so she was completely unaware that Calex was staring at her. Felix and Agatha exchanged glances. ¡®Baby, you should bring it up first.¡¯ ¡®No, you still refer to me as a baby, no matter how old I am, Mother . And don¡¯t expect me to do something if you think of me as a baby.¡¯ ¡®No, I shouldn¡¯t be talking back to my mother.¡¯ Calex was the one who eventually spoke up in the midst of such a quiet argument. ¡°Beatrice, I want to ask you something.¡± However, the following few words were unclear. It was due to Beatrice¡¯s unusual behavior of spitting out what she chewed in her mouth onto the table out of nowhere. ¡°What a mess¡­¡± But it was only an instant that her expression, which had been frowned upon, was dyed with embarrassment. The food she spat out and her inner lips were dripping with blood. They thought she accidentally chewed her tongue, but Beatrice didn¡¯t just spit out food, but put her finger into her mouth. CH 6.1 In a situation she didn¡¯t quite grasp, all three of them were watching the scene with great anticipation. Beatrice, who had been swirling her fingers around in her lips, scowls and pushes out her tongue. A needle had punctured the tip of her tongue, and scarlet blood had pooled around the needle. Beatrice used her index and thumb to grab the needle¡¯s tip, pulling out whatever was caught in her flesh, and pressing the damaged area with a clean napkin to remove it. It wasn¡¯t a huge amount, but the bloodstains on the white cloth drew attention. ¡°Tsk.¡± Mai, who was behind her, had a face that looked like she was going to faint as Beatrice was busy pushing her tongue around, but there¡¯s no way to see Beatrice¡¯s face, so she¡¯s a bit surprised this time. She removed the needle onto a napkin with the food she spat, then began scanning the meal with a spoon for another needle. Agatha¡¯s face turned white, and her two brothers¡¯ expressions, soiled with humiliation and rage, it was too much for her to bear. I found five or six more needles after rummaging through the food, and tried to continue eating, but someone slammed the table and got to his feet. ¡°Right now, this¡­¡± Felix was the one who slammed the table hard. ¡°Let me eat,¡± Beatrice said calmly. The three were completely stunned and couldn¡¯t say anything. Her attitude showed someone who is surprisingly used to being in this situation. She just removed the needles from her food and ate it again, despite the fact that the needle had slit her tongue. Agatha started to feel dizziness. ¡°I¡¯ll leave if you don¡¯t like me dining here.¡± Calex and Felix are probably undergoing dizziness as well. Agatha stared at Mai, Beatrice¡¯s personal maid, and calmed Felix down. ¡°Don¡¯t you have anything to say?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s.. This is, like¡­¡± ¡°No, forget it. Why do I need to hear from the likes of you?¡± Agatha rang the tiny bell on the table. She walked up to Beatrice for a chat, but she wouldn¡¯t have done it if she hadn¡¯t known how things would turn out like this. She took a deep breath and ordered the servants to escort Mai out. ¡°Madam, Madam! Please listen to me!¡± Despite the maid¡¯s pitiful screams, Agatha ignored her and turned her gaze to her flawless daughter in front of her. Beatrice was looking at Agatha with one eyebrow furrowed, and asked what was going on. Agatha was frustrated because she couldn¡¯t figure out what went wrong or how to fix the problem. ¡°Explain.¡± ¡°Calex, you should shut up for now.¡± Agatha caressed her dry face even in this moment, restraining her first son from speaking sharply. ¡°Beatrice, I believe we have a lot to talk about.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± The Duke Amber¡¯s bright yellow eyes, which showed that his blood flowed in hers, glanced at the three of them with a sour expression. Agatha¡¯s habit of shutting the door to everyone else¡¯s hearts reminded her of her past mistakes. Eventually, even if the problem is not addressed soon enough, you must accomplish everything you desire. Beatrice¡¯s brow furrowed slightly as Agatha stared at her daughter with warm eyes. ¡°All the time we were apart.¡± I had to listen to Agatha. CH 6.2 With the arrival of the Duchess, the affair at the dining room came to an end. The Duchess summoned every doctor to treat Beatrice, while Mai, her personal maid, was whipped 100 times and assigned to dispose of the garbage. After that, Agatha went to Beatrice¡¯s room in the annex. She also noticed a burnt closet and abandoned rat carcasses. It was the first time in my life that I saw the Duchess pour out her anger and smack everyone in the annex, even the butler, maids, and other servants. What exactly is going on here? She then moved my room to the main building for some reason. So Beatrice sat in the new room, bored. The Duke¡¯s annex was likewise impressive, although it bears no resemblance to the main building. Not only was the furniture in the room changed, but so was the wallpaper, the floor, and even the decorations. Knowing that the servants of the annex were being shoved one by one by the Duchess, the servants of the main building were courteous to Beatrice. I blinked slowly as I savored the tea Laura, the temporary assigned maid, had brought me. I¡¯m not sure how this happened, but because Mai went off too soon, I need to get ¡®that child¡¯ to my side as soon as possible. * * * I grew accustomed to the life of the main building as the months passed. I¡¯d never entered the main building so quickly as before, but I¡¯d lived here my entire life, so it didn¡¯t bother me. However, I had a vague feeling. When I entered the main building, it was usually after all of my family members had perished or been expelled by my hand. It wasn¡¯t because I have any ill feelings for them. To get what I wanted, all I needed was a title. It was difficult due to the tremendous loyalty of its vassals, since it is an established family. It may have been reasonable, but Beatrice despises and doesn¡¯t understand sophisticated procedures. So, she murdered and buried the majority of those who resisted her ascension to get the position. Since then, the duchess has made regular, if not frequent, visits to Beatrice. It was like having tea time or dining together once a week. Calex and Felix unexpectedly paid her a visit and asked about her well-being, but they didn¡¯t explain why they had suddenly changed their minds, leaving her with doubts about the situation. She¡¯s never been close to her family in her previous life, come to think of it. They pretended they didn¡¯t know each other and lived as if they didn¡¯t know each other, but all she did was escape or murder them in a hostile way to drive them away. When she has taken the title in an immoral fashion in the past, the majority of her vassals have turned against her. There were many who stayed and pleaded to save the family in some way, but the majority of the troublesome things were slain, so it was only logical that the money and information available were minimal. This time, I¡¯d rather find a way to retain a positive relationship with my family. I set the empty teacup on the table and gazed out the window. Although it was still cold, I began to feel the signs of spring. The sky was clear, and the branches, which had dried up in the cold, seemed wonderfully alive. It¡¯ll start sprouting shortly. While staring at the flower tree in front of the main building, I tilted my head. From her shoulders to her forearms, she had long black hair. Those tree¡¯s blossoms used to be so hideous that they would catch fire. I heard a knock while I was absorbed in a minor thrill. ¡°The Madam is here.¡± ¡°Tell her to come in.¡± It had been a week since they had visited, so it was time to return. Agatha entered through the door opened by her maid after her approval was given. The Duchess wore a warm-looking yellow dress and had pleasant sand-colored hair and blue eyes. She returned a nice motion to sit down as I tried to get up. ¡°Did I appear out of nowhere?¡± ¡°No, I was sitting here since I had nothing to do.¡± ¡°As you can see, I came here to talk about your debutante party.¡± ¡°My debutante party?¡± Beatrice answered slowly and with a skeptical look on her face. When did you care about that? I thought she was being more kind than she had been in the past, but I had no idea that she was thinking that far. She paid just enough for me to get married in most of my previous lives. Beatrice lowered her head for a moment, as it was the first time she had been asked so deeply about her debutante party. Agatha continued to talk more cautiously about the actions she made. ¡°It¡¯s a bit late, but not too late. I apologize for not caring enough.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure why you feel sorry for me, but I¡¯m curious as to why you¡¯ve become so nice all of a sudden.¡± She had always gone through it with care, but Beatrice felt that she should take this opportunity to express her opinion. This time, she wanted to benefit from maintaining a good relationship with her family. It¡¯s risky to rely on favors that will vanish overnight, so it¡¯s best to get a thorough understanding of the situation. With that in mind, Beatrice gave Agatha a cold stare. ¡°How can I deny the favor you give to me on my matter? I¡¯ll received it since you gave it to me, but I¡¯m still confused as to why you¡¯ve changed your mind so quickly.¡± Agatha bit her bottom lip. After allowing her daughter into the main building, Agatha was informed on her whole life. And she discovered that Beatrice¡¯s state was far from normal. Beatrice always got up at 9 o¡¯clock in the morning, ate breakfast, and then sat in her room all day, doing nothing. She responded okay when asked if the maid could get her some tea and if she could bring her book, but she refused to do anything on her own. She went so far as to say that she can not even take a bath. She was anxious that she wouldn¡¯t come out for several hours after entering the bathroom, so when she checked it, she discovered that she was sitting still in the cool water, staring into the air. The servants¡¯ discomfort worsened by the lady¡¯s strange behavior. Servants who knew even a bit about her situation whispered to one another. It¡¯s no surprise she¡¯s devastated after living like that. Agatha remembered the things she had shouted when she smacked the servants of the annex, she seemed to be on the verge of passing out with the thought. ¡°I just realized what I have done.¡± Take a deep breath. ¡°How come you didn¡¯t inform me the servants were abusing you?¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Beatrice only realized why their attitudes had changed after that. I¡¯m not sure how she found out, but she must have been aware that I was being harassed by the servants. CH 7 That¡¯s true, they were always like that. They hated her, but they weren¡¯t inherently evil people. The family¡¯s vassals must have only been worried and tried to protect them. ¡°Well, I just didn¡¯t feel like talking much.¡± Beatrice¡¯s words sounded like ice piercing the ground. She was, in fact, unimpressed by their bullying. Putting shattered glass pieces under her bed sheets or needles under her shoes did not pose a threat to her. Unlike her outer skin, her inner skin was identical to ordinary people, leading to cuts on their tongues, but it was not a body that was harmed by such things. She did not, however, appreciate the idea that she was not bothered by the bullying. But if that was why her family¡¯s interested in her, it would not be a terrible idea to use it to her advantage. Of course, an effort was needed to maintain that interest. Proper deception needed effort as well. ¡°I figured if I created a commotion, you¡¯d hate me even more, which is a problem to the family.¡± I didn¡¯t really care whether they hated me or not. ¡°But I want to stay here.¡± While I spoke, I thought that human pity wasn¡¯t a long-lasting emotion. There must be something more dramatic to draw attention aside from that. ¡°I¡¯m used to being hated anyway, so I don¡¯t want to bother the Duchess and my two elder brothers.¡± Ah, yeah, that. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve hated me since my father¡¯s funeral.¡± Beatrice attempted to recall the funeral, but nothing came to mind. ¡°I couldn¡¯t do anything at that moment¡­ It didn¡¯t feel real¡­ I just went back and cried a lot.¡± I lied, I didn¡¯t cry. But wouldn¡¯t it be useful in any case? The image of a kind daughter who had been misunderstood till now¡­ Pretending I was feeling empty, I glanced at Agatha with my attention fixed on the teacup and saw her face distorted in a grimace ¡ª as if she was on the verge of crying. Oh, did it work? Beatrice responded with an uneasy smile, like someone who didn¡¯t know how to smile since they had never even done it before. ¡°I¡¯m happy enough, so it doesn¡¯t matter if you don¡¯t care about me any longer.¡± What should I do with the final blow? Maybe do something a little more saddening¡­ ¡°Just please allow me to stay here.¡± Pathetic. That would be a nice way to wrap things up. It seemed like Agatha¡¯s heart was broken, but she cried as if she were her na?ve and pitiful youngest daughter who knew nothing. I had never done any acting before, but wasn¡¯t that fantastic? Life became a reality in which I must continue performing, even though life was originally pretty boring and annoying for me. It wouldn¡¯t hurt to put on a pretty smile ¡ª I got so much free time that I didn¡¯t want to waste it. There was a long pause between the two of them. Beatrice had no desire to talk further, and Agatha was pondering about what to say. A surge of remorse came washing over Agatha as she discovered that the main reason she had been hesitant to accept her daughter was a misunderstanding. It took her a long time to recover from the sudden emotion. Yes, what would a child know at that time? I¡¯d never witnessed such a person¡¯s death before, so I couldn¡¯t even tell you what it was. Of course, Agatha and her family were wary of Beatrice when she was younger, but the past gets diluted and forgotten sometimes. She felt so ashamed she had forgotten the exact feeling of rejection and unusual isolation she had that time completely. ¡°Here¡­ You can stay here. Please, do.¡± Fortunately, the Duchess appeared to have fallen for my terrible acting. She¡¯s not a horrible person, as predicted. Not like me. After reaching that conclusion, Beatrice voiced cautiously what came to mind when Agatha mentioned her debut. ¡°I¡¯m happy that you¡¯ll oversee my debut party, though I¡¯m a bit concerned that I¡¯ll be making my debut without knowing anybody. Is it my greed?¡± But the fact that she didn¡¯t have a friend wasn¡¯t the major concern, however, Agatha imagined that she didn¡¯t get along well with her family, of course she¡¯s hesitant to enter that huge social circle without any friends. And so, she agreed by nodding her head. ¡°Yes, I haven¡¯t thought about that¡­ Do you have any family in mind?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t hear much news from outside after all.¡± It was evident which family would be suggested if Beatrice mentioned this, and she was hoping for it. ¡°Then how about Count Billander?¡± Billander was a family that had been a vassal of the duke¡¯s household for a long time and was now one of the places that¡¯s mentioned as the wedding place of Calex, the current duke. Count Billander had a son who was younger than Felix and a daughter who was the same age as me. The family¡¯s reputation was not terrible, and I recalled that his children were pretty well-known in the social circle. Fortunately, word has it that they were pure gold-like siblings as they did not resemble their father, the count. In fact, I had the impression that it was made by melting gold. But of course, we¡¯ve never met in this life. ¡°If it¡¯s Count Billander, I believe you may feel at ease since our family has a good relationship with them.¡± ¡°Yes, and his daughter has an excellent social standing, so I think it would be beneficial to you. I¡¯ll put you in touch with her.¡± ¡°Thank you, Duchess.¡± Agatha smiled at her words of gratitude for a while but then faltered as if she was ready to say something but quickly hesitated. The thought of Beatrice calling her by her title, ¡°Duchess¡±, struck her. However, she was embarrassed to call her mother since she had been ignored for so long, so she gave up and stood to ponder after gradually winning her heart. She stood up from the sofa as the Duchess was about to depart to see her farewell. ¡°If there is anything more that I can do for you, please let me know through your maid. Are you comfortable with the etiquette and the dancing?¡± ¡°Have you forgotten how long the tutor has been away from the family? Don¡¯t be too worried. I had a nice relationship with the teachers.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s good. Let¡¯s eat dinner together when Calex returns today.¡± ¡°Yes, I will. See you, then.¡± Beatrice returned to the sofa she had been sitting on after seeing Agatha depart and began to think. It was already early February, and the royal family¡¯s debut banquet was scheduled for May. It wasn¡¯t enough time to get to know the Billander Family, but she wanted them for reasons other than their young daughter. Beatrice already knew what she wanted, despite that she would have to wait another two years to meet her naturally. Rather than wasting two years, it would be better if it was done quickly. I needed someone to be my hands and feet in order to quietly lurk and move, and no one was more suited than their young daughter I¡¯m now talking about. The woman who showed up to me at any of my lives. ¡°Lily.¡± I¡¯m going to approach her first this time. Regardless of the fact that she was not the sort to become overly attached to herself. I would visit you after a long time because I¡¯d had empty thoughts and feelings. * * * The Duchess addressed a letter to Floria, the Count¡¯s daughter, immediately after parting ways with Beatrice. She mentioned that her youngest daughter was having a late debutante party and asked if she could be her companion and also wished that the two would maintain a deep friendship. When Agatha, the Duchess, sent a letter herself, the response came in less than a day. The matter was, of course, accepted. Floria Billander¡¯s bright and beautiful handwriting will be the pride of her family more than anything else. She stated that she intends to visit her at the Duke¡¯s home whenever a date is decided. Agatha, of course, meant to bring Floria to the mansion for her daughter, who knew nothing of the outside world ¡ª but when she heard the news that she would be going to Floria instead, Beatrice shook her head. The thing is, they thought that she might¡¯ve want to go out and breathe some fresh air since she¡¯s been in closed doors for so long. That¡¯s why Agatha accepted it without hesitation. Beatrice agreed to pay a visit to Billander barely a week after the letter was exchanged. What a week it had been. I didn¡¯t have many dresses, so I called a tailor to sew roughly six pieces and got a jeweler into the house to match twelve sets of jewelry. I guess I picked about eight pairs of shoes as well. The Duchess ordered to fit just the dress she needed right away and prepare the rest little by little, Beatrice nodded in response. She said that she was first uninterested in her appearance, such as wearing dresses and jewelry, but she grew used to it throughout her long life. I couldn¡¯t help it since it was considered careless and disrespectful for a noble lady to disregard her appearance. I guess I was feeling a little laid back when I went to a relatively remote area. Beatrice walked through the mansion¡¯s front gate, which was elegantly decorated. The family knight reached out his hand to assist her as she stood in front of the Duke¡¯s largest carriage, which was decked in brown and green. She took his hand in hers and went into the carriage, trailed by Laura, the temporary maid. Considering that she was the Duchess¡¯ maid, she agreed to look after Beatrice just until she got a new personal maid. When the carriage departed after the coach had calmed the frantic horses, Beatrice straightened her back and lowered her gaze. It was more of a warning sign that no one should speak to her in the sense that she was thinking quietly alone. Laura, who has keen vision, knew what that meant not long after they were together inside while she sat across from her, carefully shutting her mouth. Lily used to work as a maid for Count Billander. She would be sixteen before the end of the year, and she¡¯d be sharpening her blade in full swing. She¡¯s one of those people who was enraged by Count Billander. CH 8 The current head of state, Heliot Billander, did not have a bad reputation among the nobles, but it was the opposite among the servants. It¡¯s not on a bad level, but it¡¯s almost crawling on the floor. His son, Gallot Billander, was quite smart. He seemed to be paying attention to rumors and sorted it out in his way. Although, it was a rumor that spread even without the birds and mice knowing. Lily was one of the victims¡¯ families made by the Count and worked as their maid for revenge. And after enduring five years, she then escaped after succeeding in killing him. The relationship between the two began when Beatrice accidentally found Lily avoiding the Count¡¯s knights and fleeing from the capital¡¯s siege. Thinking of the first meeting looking like a dirty rat, the corner of Beatrice¡¯s mouth curved into a smirk. ¡°I can¡¯t wait to meet you.¡± ¡°Are you that excited about meeting your first friend?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± When Beatrice opened her mouth as though she had finished thinking, Laura, the maid, responded as if she had waited. It would be quite uncomfortable and frustrating if you didn¡¯t say anything in the carriage with an unfamiliar lady. I lifted the carriage¡¯s curtain a little bit and looked out the window. The white streets of the pristine capital were dazzling in the winter sunlight. * * * ¡°Is it true that Lady Amber will be visiting in a little while?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right, Lady Floria.¡± ¡°I was so embarrassed when I first got the letter.¡± Floria Billander recalled the Duchess¡¯ letter. The Amber and Billander family had been on good terms for generations ¡ª Floria had been interacting with the Duke ever since childhood because of that. Thanks to this, Floria knew his sons, Calex and Felix, well. However, she had never met his daughter, Beatrice. They were ranked the second strongest family in the empire after the imperial family. Ever since the former Duke married from the imperial family, their treatment was also comparable to that of theirs. At this point, an illegitimate child was the only stain on the family. I did hear a rumor that a child was brought home by the missing Duke, but she couldn¡¯t be seen outside for some reason. Now that the former Duke had passed away, only the vague sound of this nuisance that couldn¡¯t possibly disappear could be heard around the house. Only families who were close to the Duke knew about this. I wanted to know more, but it appeared that everybody¡¯s lips were sealed. Even if I asked Calex or Felix, a frown would be the only thing I¡¯d get back, and no one would dare ask the Duchess. But then suddenly, I received a letter of the Duchess¡¯ request for her daughter? ¡°What happened, Emily?¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know. What would I know about these things? But when I look at this letter, it was written exactly as how you would treat your beloved daughter.¡± ¡°Right? I thought she was being left out in the family since they didn¡¯t even talk about her, but it was actually the opposite?¡± Emily remembered an old rumor. ¡°Like the rumor that the former Duke didn¡¯t want to show her outside because he loved her so much?¡± ¡°Otherwise, the situation doesn¡¯t make sense.¡± But there were also rumors of the complete opposite, so Emily shook her head. ¡°Hmm, but if she is such a precious daughter, wouldn¡¯t there be no reason to postpone the debutante party by a year?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it possible that it is because they cherish her way too much that they postponed it?¡± Short speculations went back and forth between the two, but there was nothing to confirm exactly. Eventually, Floria leaned against the sofa, sighing heavily as she looked at the ceiling. ¡°What are we going to find out by guessing? It¡¯s best to just meet her in person.¡± As Floria was lying on the sofa, the maid, Emily, carefully touched her disheveled hair to straighten it. By the time she was done, a servant¡¯s voice was heard with a knock on the door. ¡°Lady Amber is arriving soon.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t help but meet each other. I¡¯ll be right out.¡± Floria rose from her seat and left the room. Since they couldn¡¯t use the garden table because of the chilly weather, she¡¯s going to invite her to talk in the living room instead and stay there until the evening. While she slowly walked down the hallway, she saw her brother, Gallot, on the other side. As soon as their gazes met, the siblings¡¯ faces turned sour. ¡°The Lady of the Amber family is arriving today, so you better stay there and don¡¯t even look around.¡± ¡°I just saw you today, but your words are already harsh.¡± ¡°Do you really want me to say something nice to you? Anyway, don¡¯t even stand out. Lady Amber seems to be adored by the Duke¡¯s family.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t Lady Amber an illegitimate child?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think the she is disrespected since the Duchess asked me directly. Stop bothering me. If you want to know more, just find it out yourself. Didn¡¯t I tell you? Don¡¯t talk to me as much as possible.¡± Floria hated her brother and father more than anyone else. But she always tried to not cross the line because of course, everything she had ¡ª from the clothes she wore, the food she ate, to the house where she lived ¡ª they all came from her family. Although, she couldn¡¯t help but frown every time she saw their faces. And the two men always scolded her for being overly emotional and unladylike. Funny. Who the hell was it that¡¯s not noble and vulgar? I ground my teeth and walked past him so fast it created a whistling sound. I could feel him looking at me from behind, but I never looked back. ¡°I wish I could die.¡± ¡°Lady, you never know who¡¯s going to hear it.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not telling me not to do it?¡± ¡°You just have to do it secretly so that only us can hear.¡± Thanks to Emily joking around, I was able to soften my rigid expression. My luck wasn¡¯t very good today. I couldn¡¯t believe I saw Gallot¡¯s bloody face on my way to greet guests. I might end up seeing my father¡¯s face at this rate, then today would be the worst day for me. It should be hard to see his face once a week because I was always avoiding him. I walked while chatting with Emily until we reached the main gate, however, I was a little late because of the brief argument I had with my brother ¡ª oh, that bastard who really doesn¡¯t help in life. I could already see Lady Amber holding the knight¡¯s hand as she got off the carriage. As I approached at a quickened pace, our eyes suddenly met. ¡°Hello.¡± The person who got off the wagon greeted her first. Originally, she should¡¯ve greeted the guest first, but she was embarrassed for a while and blinked, hurriedly grabbing the hem of her dress to respond to the greeting. ¡°Hello. I¡¯m Floria Billander of the Billander family.¡± ¡°Thank you so much for inviting me here, I¡¯m Beatrice Amber of the Amber family.¡± Floria looked at Beatrice Amber in front of her. The Amber family was famous for their good looks, so I expected her to be pretty, but the woman standing in front of me was more beautiful than I had imagined. Her long, black hair that cascaded down to her waist shone like silk as her warm, deep golden eyes were staring at her so dull that it overshadowed the color¡¯s vibrancy. Although she had a slight smile, there was no warmth in her gaze. I thought it might be similar to Calex, who always built a wall around others. ¡°Please, come in. Shall we go to the living room together?¡± As Floria took a step inside, Beatrice naturally began to follow her. For a moment, only the clacks of their shoes were heard across the hallway. Floria wanted to cast a sideways glance to be familiar with her, but doing that to a noble was considered impolite. Therefore, she endured it and walked wordlessly towards the living room, where a servant opened the door for them. Only after letting Beatrice enter first did she ask Emily something so that she could not be heard. ¡°How am I doing?¡± ¡°Your steps are straight and elegant, and you did not once look sideways while we were walking. You seem well-educated.¡± ¡°Really? I knew it. Bring the tea.¡± After a quick chat, Emily left to get the tea while Floria entered the living room to meet Beatrice and offered her a seat. Her golden eyes had been looking down for a while, but when Floria gazed at her, her eyes quickly met hers. She didn¡¯t seem to be interested in people yet it looked like she had no problem making strange eye contact. ¡°I was surprised when the Duchess suddenly sent me a letter. It¡¯s my first time being asked for a favor like this.¡± ¡°Oh my, that must have been rude.¡± ¡°No, no, it¡¯s rather an honor to be asked by the Duchess for something. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Amber.¡± Beatrice¡¯s tone was kind, yet somehow dry. It¡¯s not without an accent, but I¡¯d say it was overly plain. Floria blinked slowly as she maintained a smile. Beatrice did not reply for a moment and lowered her gaze again. Was it a little uncomfortable to talk to people since she didn¡¯t get out much? As she was waiting for an answer, a clumsy but bright smile was plastered on her pale face. Floria forgot that it was rude to stare because Beatrice had a completely different look from what she had before. ¡°I¡¯m pleased to know that you¡¯re happy. Actually, my relationship with the Duchess has improved recently.¡± ¡°R¨Creally?¡± As if they were not interested in others, the eyes that looked like shards of glass under the shade wandered somewhere else ¡ª golden eyes sparkling like sunlight. ¡°I was very nervous about meeting a stranger on my way here, but I shouldn¡¯t stay still because the Duchess began to take care of me in many ways. I want to meet your expectations.¡± I glanced up, she seemed to be thinking a lot every time she lowered her gaze. So she appeared stiff because she was nervous¡­ As soon as she said that she¡¯s happy, she smiled ¡ª the kind of smile that could melt anyone¡¯s vigilance. It was such an innocent appearance that didn¡¯t suit a noblewoman. Floria waved her hand out with a bit of concern. Oh my, how could you survive in society with such a personality? ¡°If the Lady thought about it that way, the Duchess will surely be delighted to know that .¡± ¡°Shall we?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± CH 9 Looking at the clumsy smile still up, Floria sighed inwardly as she seemed to see a girl ten years younger than her, not someone of her age. But since the Duchess herself asked for this, she should take good care of her. She thought about it without being aware that Beatrice had copied her smiling face. After that, the conversation didn¡¯t go smoothly since Beatrice didn¡¯t know much about the outside world ¡ª or at least that¡¯s what Floria thought. Little did she know, Beatrice lived a long life and was well aware of the scandals and events that became the talk of the town during this time. However, she didn¡¯t feel the need to speak first, so she continued the conversation by just responding to Floria¡¯s words. ¡°By the way, do you already have a dress for your debut party?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t have any dresses before, but I¡¯ve got quite a few new ones now.¡± Floria smiled but furrowed her eyebrows when Beatrice informed that she didn¡¯t have any dresses before. She just talked about how her relationship with the Duchess had improved recently, but then said she never even had a dress? The Duke was wealthy. No matter how bad having an illegitimate child was, I couldn¡¯t understand why she was so neglected when she also lived in the same mansion. ¡°Of course, it¡¯s not that the Duke didn¡¯t support me financially ¡ª it was because the servants in the annex had secretly stolen the budget allocated to me.¡± ¡°They stole your budget?¡± ¡°Now the Duchess had either sent them out or punished them all and then moved my room to the main building.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a relief¡­¡± It¡¯s a common story where they only provided financial support to the illegitimate child on behalf of their beloved husband but they, themselves, didn¡¯t care about them at all. Besides, providing financial support was close to being generous in the first place. You usually don¡¯t even see it. However, Floria was concerned about how Beatrice could sit in front of her and just talk about it so calmly. Her voice remained the same as if she didn¡¯t feel wronged or sad ¡ª it had no trace of even a little bit of resentment. I could now see why the Duchess suddenly took care of her daughter¡­ She¡¯s such a gentle and kind young lady that it makes you feel somewhat guilty. Floria saw the Duchess as someone slightly intimidating but was not a bad person. She was both human and a noblewoman. ¡°Do you mind if I give you a little advice?¡± ¡°Yes, go ahead, Lady Billander.¡± ¡°I¡¯m giving you this advice as I decided to be the Lady¡¯s companion on the party at the request of the Duchess. Don¡¯t tell that story at the party or to any nobles other than me.¡± The high society was a place where people were like snakes hiding their venomous fangs under the cover of dressing up beautifully like a peacock ¡ª those who were passionate about gossip and scandal and were more interested in bringing someone down rather than up. With the Duchess dominating the social circle and her two sons having a high reputation, no one could easily touch Beatrice¡­ But it would be a different story if rumors of mistreatment spread from her family. They couldn¡¯t touch the noble duchess, so they would bite the illegitimate child to suffice their dirty pleasure instead. ¡°Society is more than you think¡­¡± ¡°Are you saying it¡¯s okay to talk to Lady Billander?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°You told me not to talk to any nobles other than the Lady, that means I can talk to you, right?¡± Floria¡¯s blue eyes were tinged with mild embarrassment as her golden eyes tilted and met hers. She blinked several times before nodding with a short laugh. ¡°Of course. I know we just met but my family has a long-term relationship with the Duke. I¡¯m not on bad terms with Duke Amber and his second son, Lord Felix, so I¡¯m certainly not going to do anything bad to you.¡± A knock was heard. With Floria¡¯s permission, her maid, Emily, pushed her tray into the living room. She seemed to be waiting for the conversation to end. Beatrice briefly gave Emily a look. A loyal maid who had always been by Floria¡¯s side. Floria was at the center of society in any life and mostly stood on the side of good faith. Yeah, for the most part. ¡°I like the tea scent.¡± As Emily poured tea into their teacups skillfully, the subtle scent of tea filled the living room. Fortunately, it wasn¡¯t sweet, so Beatrice picked up her teacup and took a sip right away. The angle of her finger holding the teacup, the angle of her arm, how she drank ¡ª there were all flawless. There was also not a single sound when she put it down. Although neglected, she seemed to have received as much education as Floria had. Floria lifted her own teacup. ¡°This tea is from another country, it¡¯s made of flowers that do not exist here in the Empire. I imported this when I learned about it at Marchioness de Flora¡¯s tea party.¡± ¡°I still haven¡¯t drunk much, but it definitely feels like a great tea.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you like it.¡± Beatrice was not very interested in tea throughout her life. She didn¡¯t drink well in the first place, but if she had to, she just drank whatever she had. She remembered her maids paying attention to it before serving them, but she never asked for the names of the tea. To be honest, she was initially more interested in alcohol than tea, she¡¯s not fascinated with water that was made from grass or flowers. A knock was heard again, disrupting them as they drank their tea. Floria¡¯s maid was already inside, so she glanced at the door ¡ª but it opened without permission. ¡°Damn, I¡¯m late.¡± ¡°¡­Gallot?¡± It was Gallot Billander, the eldest son of the Billander family. Floria had a bewildered expression on her face, barely managing to call out his name. It¡¯s shameless of you to say that you¡¯re late ¡ª as if you were originally supposed to be here! ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but who are you?¡± Beatrice obviously knew who he was, but pretended not to know. Even if you didn¡¯t know him, Floria and Gallot had the same bright blonde hair and looked like twins who¡¯d rather not show it, so it¡¯s easy to guess. They had eyes that resembled the sea and blonde hair that seemed to be made by pure molten gold. One of the reasons for his popularity in the social circle was his appearance. ¡°I am Gallot Billander of the Billander family. When I heard that the daughter of Duke Amber was coming, I asked Floria to meet with her, but I had to do something for a while.¡± ¡°I hadn¡¯t heard of such a thing.¡± ¡°It looks like you forgot. Right, Floria?¡± Floria kept her mouth tightly shut, not answering Gallot¡¯s grinning face. It felt like her guts were twisting and turning inside her stomach when she saw him enter the room even though she told him not to ¡ª but she shouldn¡¯t show the problems within the family to outsiders. She didn¡¯t want to be seen arguing with her brother, especially in front of the Duke¡¯s family member. To come without consent was a thing only between close friends. It¡¯s rude if you¡¯d just met them! But considering Floria¡¯s silence as a yes, Gallot walked confidently into the living room and sat next to Floria. He didn¡¯t even pretend to ask Beatrice for her permission. Beatrice emptied her teacup and put it down. She knew this was rude, but she was too lazy to point it out, so she just sat there quietly and stared at Gallot who suddenly intervened. This brother and sister¡­ It¡¯s amazing how they almost had the same face, but completely different impressions. Though, it had been like that for a long time. ¡°I am Beatrice Amber of the Amber family.¡± Beatrice greeted him formally at least. She knew from the beginning that he would come to her. A handsome face and a neat attitude. This was not the first time he had visited the daughter of the Duke himself, he had an excellent talent of looking for people he could manipulate to get what he wanted. It was the same in her previous life and the lives before that. He turned his back on Beatrice without regret after learning that she was being neglected in her family, but that might not be the case now since her relationship with her family had become smooth. In her last life, he married a young girl from the Marquess¡¯ family, except this time he might try to marry me. ¡°It¡¯s an honor to meet you. You¡¯re so beautiful.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Beatrice shivered in response, not because it was dry, but because of Gallot¡¯s compliment. Her curved eyes flinched, but it was so short that it was easy to miss. She averted her eyes from him and peered down at the teacup Emily had filled. If it wasn¡¯t for her plan, she would have thought about marrying him. Unfortunately, Lily was more valuable to Beatrice, so she didn¡¯t pay any attention to him. Looking at her indifference, Floria bit her lower lip, stopping herself from bursting out laughing. Ordinary people were attracted to Gallot¡¯s handsome appearance and confident attitude, however, Beatrice reacted as if a servant had come in. ¡°I heard that my younger sister will be attending as your companion at your debut party.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°She¡¯s a nice kid with a good reputation, so she¡¯ll be of great help to you.¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°¡­Haha, I want to help you with things that my sister might not be able to help you with.¡± ¡°I doubt that.¡± Gallot¡¯s voice that remained firm despite her indifference began to falter. He was a little embarrassed. Ordinary young people always responded with a gentle voice when they first talked to him. But the woman sitting in front of him right now only spat short answers, as if she had no desire to talk. He glanced at Floria, wondering if she might be acting like this in response to his sudden rudeness, but she only had a face that seemed to hold back laughter. Yeah, that¡¯s not going to help me. There was no displeasure on Beatrice¡¯s face when Gallot caught a glimpse of it again. She was looking down on her teacup and didn¡¯t even make eye contact with him. It¡¯s almost the first time you¡¯d ever been out of the house, so maybe you¡¯re still not used to dealing with people? CH 10 ¡°If you don¡¯t have a partner to go to your debut with, I¡¯d like to ask for it.¡± ¡°A partner of the debutante?¡± ¡°Because the debutante herself cannot have her family be her partner.¡± ¡°Why is the Young Master asking me?¡± ¡°Hey, the Duke and the Count have been on good terms for a long time, and my younger sister decided to help the Lady, so I can¡¯t stand still.¡± Then, Floria intervened between the two. ¡°It¡¯s something to think about slowly. Brother, would you like to talk for a moment?¡± Floria had a smile on her face, but a shadow was cast over it. No one other than the siblings would be able to read what it meant. Gallot shot the same smile and stood up from his seat. ¡°My sister must be very worried.¡± ¡°Perhaps because it¡¯s his first time meeting you. Lady Amber, could you wait a moment?¡± Beatrice also stood up, feeling the strange energy flowing between the two. ¡°May I be guided to the mansion by the maid while you two are talking?¡± Usually, this is the part where the owner is supposed to guide you to the mansion, but Beatrice said it in a way implying that they should talk and left her seat. As if understanding what she meant, Floria nodded and called Emily. ¡°No, she¡¯s already in charge of you, Lady Billander. I can¡¯t let her handle me, too.¡± Emily was like her hands and feet, so Beatrice¡¯s refusal seemed to be considerate of Floria, but it was actually meant for a different purpose ¡ª her rejection of Emily, that is. ¡°Then I¡¯ll put my maid on it.¡± Gallot butted in. Floria¡¯s undesirable gaze caught him, but he spoke to Emily regardless. ¡°Go get Lily.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Emily answered bluntly and walked out of the living room. Beatrice brought out Lily¡¯s image in her memory ¡ª it would be her first time seeing her this young. The child was employed by the Count and assigned her to Gallot. Since she¡¯s young, she¡¯s still doing chores like cleaning the rooms, but she¡¯s smart and quick-witted, so you¡¯d soon like her. Lily¡¯s hatred was directed at the household head, Count Heliot, but she also despised Gallot as she was helping him. She crouched down under those she hate, looking for an opportunity to strike, and eventually, she got what she wanted and then ran away. Despite her praise, Beatrice found her strategy not suitable. The way she wanted it was faster and simpler. ¡°I brought Lily.¡± ¡°Lily, show Lady Amber around the mansion.¡± ¡°Yes, I will serve you with all my heart.¡± As Beatrice followed Lily out of the room, Floria snapped at Gallot. ¡°What is it now?¡± ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°I told you to not even come close to us.¡± ¡°I¡¯m home, so I might as well say hello to the Duke¡¯s daughter.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous. You didn¡¯t come here to say hello, you came here to play tricks ¡ª to propose being her partner at the first meeting.¡± ¡°She would ask a close family member to be her partner anyway, isn¡¯t that strange?¡± ¡°You still asked her if you could be her partner after knowing she would do that? You just went to see Lady Amber.¡± ¡°Why can¡¯t I do that?¡± Words went back and forth quickly. Floria had a heavy frown on her face, but Gallot rather had a casual smile. She hated almost everything about him, but she hated his attitude the most. He had a good-looking face and not a bad family. He¡¯s kind to women who might be useful and he¡¯s not shy about taking advantage of them and then throwing them away when he¡¯s done ¡ª cleverly, so that they wouldn¡¯t even notice it. He couldn¡¯t do anything to the Duke¡¯s daughter, but what he wanted was obvious. He wanted to seduce her and take over being the son-in-law in the Duke¡¯s family. What he had done now was probably the first step of his huge trick for Beatrice. With his shiny outer shell, he would take the place as the partner of the Duke¡¯s daughter, collect her information little by little, and then play the ideal type that seemed to match her. ¡°Lady Amber is the youngest daughter in the family. Her older brother is no one to beat.¡± ¡°Her family cares about her? That¡¯s even better! If she had been despised by her family for being an illegitimate child, I wouldn¡¯t even look at her.¡± ¡°Are you crazy?¡± ¡°You¡¯re being talked about as a candidate for Duke Amber¡¯s fianc¨¦e, but can¡¯t it be me? After all, you don¡¯t want to be engaged to Duke Amber, so shouldn¡¯t I be associated with that family, too?¡± The way he squinted his eyes was sweet to other people, but to Floria, it¡¯s more disgusting than a crawling centipede. Beatrice Amber was bad at dealing with people. That was what Floria concluded when she recalled her attitude as Gallot had just entered the living room. When she thought about the young lady sitting quietly, unaware of the rudeness Gallot had committed, Floria grew even more furious. He tried to do something to the woman who didn¡¯t know anything. The way she didn¡¯t even make eye contact may seem disrespectful for Gallot, but considering her attitude a while ago when she smiled at me for the first time, she was probably just feeling awkward and didn¡¯t know how to deal with it. We¡¯re both women so she¡¯d be more comfortable with me. I could tell how uncomfortable she was with Gallot without even asking. However, I don¡¯t know how long that attitude would last. Gallot had a pretty appearance. I hate to admit it, but he knew how to make himself look attractive, so the innocent Beatrice Amber might really fall for him if he continued to play his tricks on her. The odds were even higher given that she¡¯d never met a man outside of her own blood. ¡°Can¡¯t you stay still?¡± ¡°What are you going to do if I don¡¯t stay still?¡± ¡°Do you think the lady is someone who would bring in commoners and sacrifice them just because her father told her to? No, she¡¯s just not like that. Those people like you shouldn¡¯t get married. You know why? Because who wants to ruin someone¡¯s life!¡± ¡°So you¡¯re going to let outsiders know?¡± ¡°Let it go.¡± ¡°What are you going to do about it?¡± Floria shut her mouth at Gallot¡¯s slurred tone. It¡¯s not a crime in the Empire for nobles to kill commoners. Of course, an intentional massacre could be brought to trial, but it was because of the excessive damage it brought to the people from the imperial family, not because of the murder of the commoners. It¡¯s not a sin to kill a small number within one¡¯s territory, and it¡¯s even worse if you don¡¯t kill. Floria began to nibble her lower lip. Gallot tricked good-looking commoners, both men and women, by giving them jobs and then threw them into his father¡¯s room. Her own father was literally a scum who liked taking people by force, and what¡¯s even more disgusting here was that he couldn¡¯t have such a reputation with those he couldn¡¯t win. ¡°How long do you plan on doing that disgusting thing?¡± ¡°Floria, you are too emotional. Why do you care about the commoners so much?¡± ¡°Is that a matter of being a commoner or not now?¡± Gallot and her father did not regard commoners as human beings. How funny and disgusting. To get them drunk by force without being considered human¡­ Trash bastards. Even hell can¡¯t accept you! Floria glared at him sharply while Gallot heaved a deep sigh as he looked at his immature sister. ¡°Someday, you will understand me, too.¡± ¡°That day will never come.¡± Gallot didn¡¯t respond to her and went out of the living room. He thought his sister was still too young to understand. She¡¯s nineteen, it¡¯s time for her to mature. Tsk, he clicked his tongue. Gallot kept his father¡¯s dirty hobbies from spreading as much as he could and chose only those commoners who could not get rid of them, then he dedicated them to him. It¡¯s also his job to give them a decent amount of money and put it away after work. Those who didn¡¯t listen to him had no choice but to be killed, yet he only thought that they brought this upon themselves. He would be the next Count Billander, he had to stop the family from having a scandal. He wasn¡¯t good at what he did either. Although he was only carrying his father¡¯s job for the honor of the family, his younger sister did not understand him at all. It¡¯s not that bad in the first place. * * * Beatrice walked down the hallway with Lily. She was a very good employee, she moved minimally and gave the guests a tour of all the facilities inside the mansion. Beatrice said she wanted to see the study as she sat by the window displaying the best view of the garden¡¯s fountain ¡ª but since it was winter, there was no water. The decorated statues were delicate and worth seeing without water, but not worth looking at for a long time. At Beatrice¡¯s words, Lily bowed her head and began to guide her again. From here we had to go through a long hallway to arrive at the study. Perhaps because of the large windows in the hallway, the trees in the garden outside were well maintained even in winter. I could hear the cold wind cracking through the sharp coniferous leaves. Suddenly, Beatrice stopped in her tracks. When she stopped walking, Lily noticed and looked at her like she had seen a ghost. A guest of the Count and the daughter of a noble family. She knew she was visiting today, but Beatrice was the lady¡¯s guest, so she¡¯s not someone she¡¯d ever see once more. A woman who was somehow involved with her due to Gallot¡¯s orders, someone she would have no connection with after today. Nevertheless, to Lily, Beatrice was a woman who gave her a strange feeling. The Duke¡¯s daughter looked inside the mansion with such indifference for a person who asked for guidance. She nodded her head as if she was listening when Lily gave her explanation about the mansion, but she didn¡¯t ask any more questions or show interest at least. CH 11 While working in the Count¡¯s mansion and seeing many nobles, there was only one person who showed this kind of attitude. It¡¯s Calex Amber, the current Duke. It must be because they¡¯re blood-related that they resembled each other, but his indifference and her indifference weren¡¯t the same sort. It couldn¡¯t be explained exactly, but Lily, who had a keen sense, could feel it. She stopped and examined Beatrice meticulously. Maybe she didn¡¯t like something? She¡¯s a lady who rarely goes outside, so her heeled shoes might be uncomfortable. But she showed no signs of displeasure or discomfort to her. She simply turned her gaze out the window as she stood still. As I looked at the same place, I saw a small tangled web of spiders above the large window. Small flying insects were stuck between the transparent lines, making them very ugly. The window was so big, it was a corner that no one would seem to find easily. ¡°I made you see something unpleasant. I¡¯m going to ask someone to clean it right away.¡± ¡°Leave it alone.¡± ¡°Pardon?¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t it look good?¡± Beatrice turned to look at Lily. She blinked her eyes, not yet grasping the situation. In fact, it was difficult to understand this situation in the first place. Beatrice knew Lily, but Lily still didn¡¯t know Beatrice, so she could say whatever she wanted regardless of the context. ¡°It is the law of nature for spiders to eat other insects using their webs, it is natural for the weak to be eaten by the strong, and that is life.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Lily kept her mouth shut. The only reason she got this job was that she wanted revenge. Her family became victims of the Count merely because they were commoners ¡ª because they were weak and easy. She felt resentment towards her, but she was smart enough not to show her true feelings just by these words. Beatrice didn¡¯t care about Lily¡¯s feelings and continued to talk. ¡°It is inevitable for the weak to die in nature. There¡¯s no one we could blame for it.¡± Lily¡¯s gaze lifted from the floor and soon reached Beatrice. She was trying to kill the mood as much as she could so she could see the waves of emotion across her face. Beatrice laughed. She took off the bright smile she copied from Floria and raised the corner of her lips as long as that of a snake ¡ª lips that could make anyone who sees it feel uneasy. ¡°But humans don¡¯t eat unconditionally just because they¡¯re weak. It¡¯s meant to be given only to the same species¡­ There is a reason why law and morality were created, so that you wouldn¡¯t live like an insect.¡± The quick-witted Lily understood right away. ¡°But unfortunately, there are insects in this mansion.¡± Who was it that this woman in front of me was referring to? She couldn¡¯t understand why Beatrice was telling this story herself. Her green eyes showed vigilance. ¡°You have to obey the insect¡¯s rules.¡± Beatrice spoke to Lily as if she wanted nothing and put her finger on the glass, rubbing the cold surface meaninglessly. Beatrice knew, even if she¡¯s on her guard right now, she would eventually follow her like her previous lives. ¡°When the opportunity comes, don¡¯t miss it.¡± Beatrice said something she couldn¡¯t understand at all and walked past her. Lily followed her immediately after pausing for a while. There was no more conversation between the two. Lily was smart, so she wouldn¡¯t miss what Beatrice said is an opportunity. The reason why she didn¡¯t want her to understand was that she believed Lily would do her best anyway. After that, Beatrice seemed to be looking at the study and then returned to the drawing room. Lily¡¯s head was a mess as she walked with her. I didn¡¯t know what the late Duke Amber¡¯s daughter knew or what she wanted from me, but it was certain that she didn¡¯t have a good feeling about Count Billander ¡ª even if she seemed to not have a bad feeling either. Her eyes shone brilliantly whenever it caught sunlight, yet it contained nothing enough to make the light dull. Those were the eyes of someone who had nothing to wish for, someone who was just looking back at what they had to do. Lily had never seen anyone with such eyes. She would rather be able to anticipate and prepare for how she would act if there¡¯s something she wished for or desired, but she had no idea with those eyes she¡¯d never seen before. Another maid with brown hair passed by Lily as she quietly walked down the hallway. ¡°Go to my room at eleven.¡± As she whispered in a breathless voice, the brown-haired maid glanced past her. She didn¡¯t know where things would go, so she had no choice but to talk to like-minded people. If it¡¯s an opportunity that would help us, we have to seize it, and if not, we have to avoid it. * * * Floria and Beatrice faced each other in the drawing room and said nothing. While they had been away for a while, Floria¡¯s face was completely tired, and Beatrice saw it and said that she had to go back. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry that you came to visit me.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. We¡¯ll see each other often anyway.¡± Floria nodded at her words that weren¡¯t soft but were delivered in a smooth tone. There was a lot to prepare to hold her debut party together, so they would have to see each other more often in the future. But now that her own damn brother had openly declared his interest in Beatrice, the more she visited her, the more she would encounter him ¡ª and the more likely she would stay by his side. She had to do something about it. Floria liked Beatrice quite a bit, she was supposed to invite her for dinner today. She felt upset that she had to let her go in a hurry since that dog Gallot intervened. ¡°Let¡¯s have dinner together next time.¡± ¡°I¡¯d love to. Can I write you a letter next time?¡± ¡°As much as you want.¡± Floria and Beatrice stood up. Beatrice would be going home while Floria went to see her off. She sent a maid first to prepare for the carriage, so if they walk slowly, they would arrive just right on time. There was no conversation between the two as they walked. Beatrice was so used to silence that she had no thoughts, but Floria, on the other hand, was entangled with countless thoughts in her head. Floria thought she should warn Beatrice about her brother. She wouldn¡¯t be able to sleep with guilt if the naive lady fell under Gallot¡¯s charms. If she ever fell even after being warned, she would also be willing to grab her hair and dry it with her own hands. By the time the two reached the front gate of the mansion, Floria carefully opened her mouth. ¡°Uhm, Lady Amber.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°This might sound weird, but¡­¡± Beatrice¡¯s eyes glowed golden like the sun under the sunlight, but they glowed yellow in shaded places like inside the mansion. It was like a predator¡¯s. ¡°Be careful of Gallot Billander, my brother that you just met.¡± ¡°I will.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± Beatrice¡¯s voice was relatively simple compared to Floria who spoke so seriously. It showed complete indifference to her. Floria noticed that she was not that interested in Gallot, however, she didn¡¯t expect her to respond to her sudden warning without any questions. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to ask why?¡± ¡°You must have said that for a reason.¡± ¡°Well¡­ yes.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say the only one I could trust is Lady Billander?¡± Floria remembered telling her not to tell people other than her about the unfortunate past. Did that make sense? No, that¡¯s not what she meant. She understood the context of her answer instantly, but she didn¡¯t understand why she could tell such a story and trust her so easily. ¡°We haven¡¯t met before today.¡± ¡°If you were a person who would deceive me, you wouldn¡¯t even say that. And¡­¡± Beatrice walked a short distance and reached the front of her carriage. Floria followed and stared at her. Amber¡¯s knight, who was waiting for her, reached out his hand to escort her. Beatrice took it and put her foot on the tread of the carriage. ¡°Your smile is pretty, so it¡¯s not bad to trust you.¡± With those words, the door closed and the carriage departed. She had left without even receiving Floria¡¯s greeting. Floria stood still and blinked her eyes. ¡°Huh?¡± Beatrice only said that because she thought her smile that she copied was useful, but there was no way for Floria to even know that. Beatrice looked at Laura sitting opposite her. She told her to not follow her and spend time around the Count¡¯s residence, but she seemed to have faithfully waited in the carriage. She told her to not follow because of that short conversation she had with Lily. Laura was a person of the Duchess, not hers, so all Beatrice¡¯s actions would¡¯ve been reported. She may not understand a short conversation that was out of context, but it doesn¡¯t hurt to be careful. ¡°Shall we go in together next time?¡± ¡°All right, Miss. Did they treat you well at the Count¡¯s residence?¡± ¡°Yes, Lord Billander took great care of me.¡± ¡°Oh, Lord Billander has a good reputation.¡± ¡°The Lord asked to be my partner. Of course, I haven¡¯t answered yet.¡± ¡°Lord Billander did?¡± Beatrice did not miss Laura¡¯s faint frown. Just as Count Billander¡¯s reputation was not good among servants, Gallot, who¡¯s helping him in his dirty hobby, was also similar. He seemed to be paying attention in his own way to prevent the story from spreading, but the nearby Amber family had already noticed it. This maid, one of the Duchess¡¯ hands and feet, must be vaguely aware of it. CH 12 Laura made the prudent decision to not create any special connections. The Duchess, on the other hand, will undoubtedly be enthralled by this story. Although the Duchess disapproved of what their family were doing, she did not think it was a flaw enough to cut off their interaction. But what will happen this time? The carriage arrived at the residence, and Beatrice went straight up to her room. Laura asked other maids to attend to Beatrice and headed straight to the Duchess¡¯ room. When she announced her arrival, Agatha immediately called Laura into the room. ¡°How was she at the Count¡¯s?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t with her because she ordered me to wait in the carriage.¡± ¡°Really? Why did she part with you?¡± ¡°She seemed a little excited to see them while she was in the carriage. Maybe it¡¯s because she wanted to talk with them comfortably, but she said she¡¯d go in with me on the next visit.¡± ¡°Hmm, Lady Billander isn¡¯t shallow, so it doesn¡¯t seem like she¡¯ll be blamed for trivial things. That¡¯s a relief.¡± ¡°Oh, and¡­¡± Laura hesitated for a moment and spoke. ¡°I heard that Lord Billander asked Beatrice if he could be her escort.¡± ¡°Gallot Billander?¡± Agatha remembered Gallot Billander. The Billanders are long-time vassals and close friends of the Amber family, their land is fertile and they do not charge heavy taxes from the people in their territory. Local fruit and flower specialties were popular teas among the aristocrats, giving them a decent income. Heliot, the current head, and Gallot, who would succeed him, were not geniuses, but they¡¯re far from incompetent. He was not bad at investing and reaping in the right places, and his position in society was not bad either but¡­ ¡°Did she accept it?¡± ¡°No, she hasn¡¯t answered yet.¡± She was bothered by the fact that Count Heliot Billander has a terrible hobby, and that his eldest son is carefully helping him with that. It was clear that he¡¯s not a bad partner for an arranged marriage, but he¡¯s not very reluctant to marry Beatrice, who was in the midst of misfortune in the Duke¡¯s family. ¡°Did Beatrice like it?¡± ¡°No, it didn¡¯t look like that.¡± ¡°Try your luck in telling her to decline.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± After that, Agatha dismissed Laura and began to worry about Beatrice¡¯s escort for her debut. There were not a few vassal families that remained loyal to the Duke¡¯s family, and there were many families that had ties with them. Being the daughter of a duke, he should not be a man of a title too low, nor should he be a man with problems with his appearance, attitude, and reputation. After that, there¡¯s Marquis Richard and Count Bertram, and a whole lot others to decide from. ¡°Duke Marquez¡­¡± The current Duke of the Marquez family is about the same age as Calex, so he wasn¡¯t a bad choice. However, the only thing they have in common is that he had the same swordsmanship teacher as him, so there¡¯s a slim chance that he would grant this request of mine. But who I like the most right now is Duke Marquez, so it wouldn¡¯t be too bad to invite him. ¡°I should make something delightful for his eyes. Prepare my stationery.¡± As she wrote the letter, Agatha grew curious. She wondered if the popular and proud Duke Marquez would answer her invitation. ¡°I hope you take my bait¡­¡± Kahneman Marquez. In Empire Rosentium, there are three duke families. The pro-emperor, Duke Amber, the aristocratic family, Duke Virante, who was promoted from marquis to duke after winning a previous war, then there was the neutral Duke Marquez, who inherited the blood of the Empire¡¯s combined royal bloodline. Except for the Crown Prince, these three are well-known as the best grooms in the Empire. But because the Crown Prince is confined to the palace and usually does not come out, he ¡ª who is a blood relative of the Emperor ¡ª is rarely addressed. The Duke of the Amber family now has a twenty-four-year-old Duke Calex Amber, the Virante family has twenty-year-old Duke Eilet Virante this year, and the Marquez family to whom Agatha has currently sent a letter is a twenty-three-year-old Duke Kahneman Marquez. The Ambers and Virantes are in a confrontational relationship, so they do not interact with each other. The Marquezes, who is neutral, is well-favored on both sides ¡ª but it only seems like Duke Marquez doesn¡¯t want to stir their relationship, so he¡¯s continuing to be on good terms with them. No one tried to change the power structure at stake, that¡¯s why the Amber family¡¯s letter, which had arrived at Marquez¡¯s household, was a surprise. Kahneman Marquez looked down on the dark green envelope with the family¡¯s seal. It was clearly the mark used by the Ambers¡¯ lady of the house. When one becomes a duke, he makes a separate mark in addition to the seal of his family to inform the location of the sender. The seal of the entire family or the duke¡¯s letter is written as it is, but the lady of the house and direct descendants add their own set of markings. Kahneman Marquez stared at the laurel wreath on the seal of Duchess Amber. This mark was definitely hers. ¡°Was I close enough to exchange letters with Duchess Amber?¡± ¡°Not really.¡± Jenaim, the commander of the Marquez Knights, who had come up to Kahneman¡¯s office to report last month¡¯s training, responded involuntarily. As Kahneman¡¯s gaze shifted from the envelope to him, he shrugged once more. ¡°Why don¡¯t you read it? There¡¯s no way it¡¯s a love letter.¡± ¡°Is Calex Amber married? If so, this must be a love letter from the young duchess?¡± ¡°Duke Amber is not married yet. The wife of the late duke is still the duchess.¡± ¡°She¡¯s still the duchess?¡± When he turned the envelope, he saw the letters ¡®Agatha¡¯ elegantly written in gold instead of her family name. Usually, when sending a letter for family affairs, only the name of the family is written, not the name of the individual. This is because if you write your name, it becomes an exchange between individuals, not between families. And if you use only the first name without the last name, it goes beyond what we deem as private. ¡°Until her son gets married, doesn¡¯t he treat her more or less like a wife? No matter how much you like older people, you couldn¡¯t possibly want to be a godfather, right?¡± ¡°I guess you don¡¯t want to eat the food your lovely wife cooked recently.¡± At the Duke¡¯s dry, brutal remark, Jenaim quickly turned away. ¡°It doesn¡¯t have the family name on it, but isn¡¯t it kind of bad to ignore the letters of Duchess Amber?¡± Kahneman simply flipped over the envelope and opened the seal instead of answering. There was a light green paper inside with elegant handwriting, a faint scent of flowers could be smelled. As Kahneman began to read the letter, he took the teacup prepared in front of him. Jenaim pauses for a moment, he waited for the Duke to finish reading. Kahneman thought that no matter how much he drank, the taste of tea would be indistinguishable. ¡­Until he put down the teacup. The bitter taste lingered on his tongue as he read the letter, tossing it on the table when he finished. ¡°I need to stop by the Ambers¡¯ home.¡± ¡°What? What for?¡± ¡°It said that she has my grandmother¡¯s necklace.¡± Kahneman¡¯s great-grandmother was the last princess of the now lost kingdom, Lancel. His grandmother Elsanna is her daughter. Originally, there was a necklace handed down from generation to generation for the princesses of that kingdom, but it disappeared when King Lancel gave up the kingdom after receiving the promise of a duchy and was absorbed into the Empire. Elsanna struggled quite a bit to get her necklace back after her mother passed away, but in the end, she could not find it. She often talked about it with him, even if she was over eighty years old and her body was already weakening. Smitten with his grandmother, Kahneman decided to accept the invitation. It was Elsanna who raised him with sincerity instead of the Marquez couple who died early in an accident. He wanted to give her what she wanted back before she ran out of breath, ¡°Send a reply that we will schedule a visit.¡± ¡°All right.¡± The butler, who was waiting at the door, took the letter and went out of the office. Originally, it was polite to reply through a letter written by one¡¯s own hand, but the butler was so good at copying Kahneman¡¯s penmanship you wouldn¡¯t even notice that it wasn¡¯t written by him personally. ¡°Will she just give it to you?¡± ¡°No way.¡± The letter from Duchess Amber said that she has the necklace Grandma was looking for, and if I still want it, she wants me to come find out. It was not written directly, but she would definitely ask for something in return for the necklace. I don¡¯t know what Duchess Amber would ask of me, but I think it¡¯s not family-related since the letter she sent didn¡¯t include their family name, her name was written instead. However, there¡¯s no way to predict what that ¡°personal¡± request would be. * * * Duchess Amber, who had just begun to grow the garden in March, had been busy these past few days. This was because Duke Marquez came at the Duchess¡¯ invitation. We didn¡¯t exchange often, to say the least it¡¯s just ¡®You¡¯re doing well in the new year, right? I¡¯m doing well, too.¡¯ Duke Marquez only came and went with formal greetings. It was surprising that the Duchess had invited him and even more surprising that he agreed to visit, but the servants diligently finished cleaning and decorating the mansion. It¡¯s fantastic as it is, but I suppose she wanted to make sure there weren¡¯t any flaws since they¡¯re both a ducal family. Two o¡¯clock was the time Duke Marquez had decided on for his visit, so it would be difficult for them to invite him for lunch or dinner. Half past one o¡¯clock, Agatha was having tea with Beatrice. ¡°Do you know who¡¯s coming today?¡± ¡°I heard it was Duke Marquez.¡± ¡°Yes, I invited you because I have business to do with him. Would you like to say your greetings for a moment?¡± ¡°Okay, I will.¡± Agatha smiled bitterly at Beatrice¡¯s obedient reply with her gaze slightly lowered. As she spent time with her daughter these past few days, she had learned more about her. One of which was that she never says no. She should¡¯ve known from the moment the maids did everything they asked of her. CH 13 Translated by worry Edited by SipsTea Her daughter didn¡¯t know how to say no, that¡¯s what Agatha concluded. Beatrice said that she didn¡¯t care much about anything, so it didn¡¯t matter if she did this or that, but in other people¡¯s eyes, she looked just like a good listener. That¡¯s why Agatha was worried. ¡°I heard that Lord Billander asked if he could be your partner for your debut?¡± ¡°Yes, but come to think of it, I couldn¡¯t give him an answer.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. I don¡¯t think he meant it anyway, seeing that you didn¡¯t answer him on the spot.¡± Agatha replied negatively. She doesn¡¯t like Gallot Billander, and Beatrice is a person who can¡¯t refuse, so she¡¯d rather pass it on like this and pretend as if nothing happened. Agatha ordered the maid to clear the table as she saw that Beatrice¡¯s teacup was empty. In any case, the time promised with Duke Marquez was approaching. ¡°Duke Marquez has a very good reputation.¡± ¡°I heard that he is very handsome, too.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Where did you hear that?¡± ¡°From Laura. She said he is tall and handsome.¡± ¡°Yes, a lot of young ladies are eager to be his partner at the party.¡± Agatha glanced at Beatrice as she spoke. She couldn¡¯t find a single hint of interest in the way she sat quietly with her eyes down. She bit her tongue inwardly in regret. Usually, the girls her age are interested in men of noble status ¡ª especially if the guy is handsome. However, Beatrice listened as if it were someone else¡¯s story and did not ask a single question. Maybe it¡¯s because she grew up unappreciated. Agatha thought it¡¯s all her own karma. ¡°How about him as your escort on your debut?¡± ¡°Even if you ask me about him, I don¡¯t know who he is.¡± Of course, Beatrice and Duke Marquez have no ties with each other in this life ¡ª unlike her previous one. She blinked as her thoughts strayed back to the past. He loathed her so much. Actually, there were more people who hated Beatrice than those who liked her. She was neither merciful, kind, nor lovable. Given that in the past, in their first meeting, both of them were ignorant of each other¡¯s existence, similar to water and oil. Beatrice assumed it would be the same in this life. ¡°Can you think about it after seeing him?¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll try. But is he willing to be my partner?¡± Duke Kahneman Marquez was known for being a man who didn¡¯t get involved with women. Beatrice thought of him in the past. After all, they would have the same temperament, the only thing different now is their age. He often accompanied ladies of the imperial family as his partner, but no woman had been his partner more than three times. He also had never been a partner of a debutante. ¡°You should find another man if he doesn¡¯t accept. He¡¯s one of the most reputable men, but he¡¯s not the only one.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Agatha invited him to be Beatrice¡¯s escort, but she didn¡¯t tell her that. Even then, she had been a quiet child. She thought it was too much for her to know that she lured the Duke using something important to him and then having him be her escort. If Beatrice knew, she would¡¯ve felt bad for Duke Marquez. Originally, a noble relationship is more significant than an emotional one, even between a man and a woman ¡ª but she didn¡¯t want to tell her pitiful daughter that the world was cruel already. She had known for a long time that she became overprotective because of her urge to keep this girl safe, but who would dare disrespect the Duchess just because she¡¯s a little overprotective of the young lady? ¡°I¡¯ll call you after I finish talking to the Duke, so go to the library and read a book in the meantime.¡± Agatha let Beatrice go and looked through the large window in her room. The front door of the mansion was open so it wasn¡¯t difficult to see a dark-colored carriage approaching from afar. ¡°Duke Marquez is coming, go out and meet him.¡± ¡°Yes, Milady.¡± One maid went out to see Duke Marquez while the other took a necklace out of Agatha¡¯s jewelry box. The necklace was made of gold decorated with large shiny green gemstones. It looked old, but it had that much elegance nonetheless. Before, when Elsanna Marquez was looking for the necklace, Agatha wasn¡¯t the Duchess yet. The moment she found out that this necklace is very special after she married Duke Amber, a long time had already passed and she had no desire to go return it anymore. I¡¯m glad I didn¡¯t return it then. I didn¡¯t know I could use it so lightly. ¡°We¡¯ve brought Duke Marquez to the drawing room.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m coming.¡± Agatha, who had been sitting on the sofa in her room leisurely, stood up only after hearing that Kahneman had arrived. Her maid followed her, putting the green necklace in a dark green velvet case. Although she thought the idea of calling her guests in and arriving late was a bit excessive, she didn¡¯t think it was that horrible. The fact that Duke Marquez cares for his grandmother was known to all socialites. The fact that he came all the way here for a necklace, as someone who doesn¡¯t respond well to other people¡¯s invitations, proved that he¡¯s more desperate than Agatha herself. Of course, the reason for accepting this invitation was that she sent a letter in her name. If he thought she had a favor to ask of his family, he wouldn¡¯t have accepted the invitation. Since it was a personal request, there¡¯s a high possibility that it would be accepted lightly. And, as he expected, Agatha¡¯s request was very light. When she arrived in front of the drawing room, the maid gently knocked on the door and opened it. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m a little late.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s all right.¡± Agatha entered the room with a gentle smile on her face. A man with dark navy hair sat there, leaning against the sofa. It¡¯s a strange attitude that goes against the rules of etiquette, but it didn¡¯t seem arrogant. With that little effort, she was going to show up like that. Agatha smiled and bit her inner lips. As she sat across him calmly, the maid who had brought her necklace case put it down on the table right away. ¡°This is the necklace.¡± ¡°Can I open it and check it out?¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± As soon as permission was granted, Kahneman picked up the case and opened its lid. He nodded slightly as he saw the necklace, gleaming in green color, placed carefully at the bottom of the case, lined with a black fine cloth. The necklace was exactly how his grandmother described it. He had to show it to his grandmother to see what she thinks, but Duchess Amber made him a deal, so the search for this necklace must have been serious. Kahneman put the case back together and placed it on the table. ¡°So, what do you want from me?¡± ¡°Oh, my. How straightforward.¡± Agatha¡¯s smile, which had been gentle, had narrowed slightly. ¡°I like it.¡± There was a knock on the door and a tray of tea was delivered to the drawing room. Its fragrance filled the room, mild but not sweet. Kahneman and Agatha waited until the tea was completely settled before speaking. ¡°You know that there will be a debut party hosted by the imperial family this May, right? The seventeen-year-old princess is coming, so it¡¯d be the most grandiose party of the year.¡± ¡°Do you want me to be the Princess¡¯ debut partner?¡± ¡°No way.¡± ¡°Then, the Duchess?¡± ¡°You must have lost your mind.¡± Kahneman raised one eyebrow as if he¡¯s uncertain of what she was asking for, but then furrowed his brows as soon as he realized. ¡°Perhaps, the daughter of the Amber family?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe you just realized it. It¡¯s good that you¡¯re so quick-witted.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be sarcastic. Were you looking after an illegitimate child? That¡¯s quite different from what I¡¯ve heard.¡± ¡°I have my reason. Try not to dig deep into other people¡¯s family stories.¡± ¡°I understand, for now. But she¡¯s not a duchess ¡ª she¡¯s someone who hasn¡¯t even gotten her coming-of-age party yet. Don¡¯t you know that I¡¯m not comfortable with such a position?¡± ¡°Yes, I know it¡¯s uncomfortable, but don¡¯t you want to hold onto that necklace?¡± Kahneman quietly narrowed his eyes and looked at her while Agatha slowly turned her gaze over with a smile. Their silent face-off continued for a long time. Behind them, the gazes of the maids went back and forth. When do you think it will end? I don¡¯t know, I think it¡¯ll be over soon. Milady treats her snack time like a ghost these days. Ah, then it will be finished soon. Those who had worked for more than five years as servants in the Duke¡¯s mansion were only enhancing their strange talent of communicating with just their eyes. ¡°If I go out as the debutante¡¯s partner of the Amber family, rumors about me would be unavoidable.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we will take care of that on our side.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you think I¡¯m going to be in trouble?¡± ¡°Duke Marquez, you¡¯re a powerful man, so I¡¯m confident that you¡¯ll take care of yourself. Are you willing to marry in the first place? It¡¯s clear that you¡¯re considering ending the marriage or rather preventing it as an excuse.¡± ¡°I wondered who Calex takes after, apparently it was his mother.¡± ¡°If he had taken after my husband, he would be as soft as a week-old mango. Thank you for letting me know.¡± When they were young, Kahneman and Calex were the same age as they had the same swordsmanship teacher, so they got along quite often ¡ª if not, always. After reaching a certain age and realizing their own responsibilities, they began to distance themselves from each other, and family interactions became less frequent. Kahneman sighed and picked up the necklace case. Agatha, who was looking at him, smiled. ¡°You should say hello to my daughter before you go.¡± ¡°I suppose it¡¯ll only take a moment.¡± There was absolutely no way for the current duke to be idle. Knowing why her oldest son always had dark circles on his handsome face. Agatha gladly stood up with him right away. Neither of them drank even a sip of the tea her maid prepared with great effort. CH 14 Kahneman ended up following Agatha, along with the maid, as they got out of the open door. Agatha opened her mouth again as she walked along the red-carpeted hallway at a constant speed. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t say that I asked you to be her escort, just pretend to be kind. She¡¯s someone awkward with people, so do take care of her. Please talk to her first, she isn¡¯t the one to start the conversation, and her answers are quite brief. She may not look interested, so even if her answer is late, please wait a little¡ª¡± ¡°Did I just get engaged to her by any chance?¡± ¡°¡ªAnd don¡¯t stop talking.¡± Kahneman¡¯s expression looked like he was fed up with Agatha¡¯s continuous demands. He knew a bit more about Amber¡¯s illegitimate child than other people because he¡¯s a duke. Not only does she live like she doesn¡¯t exist, but she¡¯s also utterly neglected by her family, and the servants loathe her ¡ª according to what he¡¯s heard. Yet Agatha¡¯s attitude was far from that. It seemed like she was treating her like a daughter she really cares about ¡ª no, it was a little more than that. ¡°I¡¯m not going to ask her what happened¡ª¡± ¡°¡ªShe wouldn¡¯t answer me even if I ask her.¡± In response to her, Kahneman gave up talking and shut his mouth. Only the sound of their footsteps continued in the hallway where their silence descended, and then they finally stopped. They stood in a hallway near the library, where Agatha looked at Kahneman and pointed her finger at the door. ¡°Beatrice will be in the library now. I told her to go there and read a book, so she probably did.¡± ¡°Is she that obedient?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a problem that she listens too often. I believe you¡¯ll do well.¡± ¡°Will I be greeting her alone?¡± ¡°Then, would you like me to get in between the two of you?¡± Agatha lowered her hand and gently lifted the hem of her dress as a sign for him to greet Beatrice, she said not to waste time any longer. With that, Kahneman sighed. Should I pinch his nose right now? Agatha thought as she watched Kahneman¡¯s clean face while he rubbed his temple with his outstretched fingers. ¡°The only time parents should be together with you is when you plan to get married. Are you thinking of proposing to my daughter?¡± ¡°I will do well on my own.¡± Ever since he was a child, he¡¯s always been someone who doesn¡¯t get jokes. Agatha moved back down the corridor, a small nod to the words falling like a knife. All that remained were Kahneman Marquez and his attendant. Kahneman thought for a moment without going straight into the study. What should he do so that he can ask Lady Amber to be his partner naturally? As Duchess Amber points out, her daughter must be a timid, quiet woman. Fitchell, who appeared to be behind him, murmured the entire time as he stood there, agonizing. ¡°What are you so worried about?¡± ¡°How should I ask her to be my partner without being strange?¡± ¡°Do what you always do.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± ¡°Win her over with that face of yours.¡± Kahneman realized that he had immediately opened the door to the library after that. * * * Beatrice was reading a book called ¡®100 Ways to Deal with People¡¯ at the largest table in the study. To put it bluntly, it was a kind of torture book. It described in bizarre detail what a person¡¯s muscles and bones looked like and the places where they were most painful. She started reading it because it caught her eye, but it contained useful knowledge that can be used in her own way, so she was able to concentrate. Beatrice has killed quite a few people, but there¡¯s nothing technical about it. Most of them just break and tear as they can, but it¡¯s normal because I didn¡¯t need tools in the first place. Beatrice is a fast reader, so she read more than half of the book in less than an hour. When she reached the two-hundredth page, she heard the door open. She placed down the book for a moment and raised her head. She immediately made eye contact with the person who came in. Kahneman Marquez, The Duke of Marquez. Beatrice narrowed her golden eyes. She felt very strange seeing his face after a long time. If you look at his face closely, his younger appearance and his old one, which was busy grimacing, naturally overlapped. ¡°I am Kahneman Marquez, milady.¡± ¡°I am Beatrice Amber, Duke Marquez.¡± His navy blue eyes examined her carefully. With an uninterested expression, Beatrice averted her eyes elsewhere. Beatrice thought he had been sent by Agatha. Before he arrived, she was blatantly asked if she wanted the Duke to be her partner, so it¡¯s obvious that she doesn¡¯t have to look. However, she thought he would refuse. Seeing that he came all the way here, he must have received something in exchange. ¡°I stopped by because I had a book to borrow, but I didn¡¯t know that the lady would be here.¡± Marquez told a natural lie and approached the table where she was seated. His gaze went to the book¡¯s title. Has she read ¡®100 Ways to Deal with People¡¯ because she isn¡¯t good at communicating? Kahneman shifted his gaze to her face without showing any expression, ignoring the fact that he knew she wasn¡¯t looking at him. ¡°Did I interrupt your private time?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Then can I sit down for a while?¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± Kahneman sat across from her and leaned his back on the chair. Beatrice pushed the book she had placed next to her a little further away. Kahneman presumed that she was ashamed of the title of the book. It¡¯s because he thought they were simply indifferent if a person acted docile and avoided eye contact. Beatrice Amber wasn¡¯t the perfect woman in Kahneman¡¯s imagination. Duchess Amber has warm, sandy hair, her eldest son Calex resembled his father with silver hair, and her second, Felix, has hazy blonde hair. A woman with raven black hair that¡¯s reserved but not timid. She¡¯s acting uninterested in him, merely responding to the question as if she doesn¡¯t care. ¡°Come to think of it, I heard you¡¯re going to make your debut this year.¡± Kahneman, who contemplated on how to bring up his proposal, eventually decided to face the challenge with his attendant¡¯s advice. He tried to display a natural smile. ¡°Somehow it was a year late, but that¡¯s it.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t particularly enjoy debut parties, but because milady is making her debut at this one, I should at least show my face.¡± As Kahneman¡¯s fingers lightly tapped on the table. Beatrice¡¯s gaze, which was wandering somewhere else, reached him. Looking at the golden eyes he encountered, Kahneman realized that he thought wrong again. ¡°I don¡¯t have a partner yet. Does milady have one?¡± He thought she only felt awkward around people, that¡¯s why she couldn¡¯t maintain eye contact ¡ª but that wasn¡¯t the case. She looked dead in his eyes. It¡¯s not that she doesn¡¯t care, it¡¯s that she¡¯s genuinely not interested herself. Strange. Where did the timid and awkward daughter the Duchess said go? Of course, she wasn¡¯t anywhere else, but right in front of him. A person who is good with people wouldn¡¯t do anything that does not pay attention to them just because they are not interested, especially among the nobility. ¡°I don¡¯t have a partner yet. Lord Billander has asked me to, but I have not accepted it.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t accept his offer?¡± She didn¡¯t refuse, she didn¡¯t accept the offer since it was something unexpected to her. When she was asked again, Beatrice just shook her head, to imply that she wanted to accept but couldn¡¯t. ¡°It¡¯s a story that is over before it has even started because there was no time for me to even respond. My mother said that it must have been only out of courtesy. If he was sincere about it, then he would¡¯ve gotten my response immediately, so she said I mustn¡¯t worry about it.¡± Kahneman seemed to understand why Agatha had said that to Beatrice. Gallot Billander, the next Count Billander, has a bold personality and a handsome face. And since he could lead and invest in his family, he had a good reputation only among the nobles ¡ª yet he¡¯s believed to be helping the current count with his awful hobby. Even if it had been done strategically, it wouldn¡¯t be an acceptable status in the Duke family. Someone who has an overprotective nature like Agatha wouldn¡¯t appreciate that. ¡°Then Lady Amber, can you be my partner?¡± ¡°If you really are Duke Marquez, you would have many options besides me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, but Duke Amber and I have been friends since we were young.¡± Of course, they¡¯ve been close friends since they were seventeen. ¡°I hadn¡¯t seen the Duchess in a long time, and she expressed disappointment that there were less exchanges between us.¡± She offered him the necklace with regret and proposed a deal. ¡°I was reflecting.¡± And now, he¡¯s doing this because he received it. ¡°When I heard that milady hasn¡¯t found a partner yet, I decided that I¡¯ll try and ask her one of these days. So, you could say I¡¯m very happy to meet you like this.¡± Beatrice smiled at Kahneman Marquez, worried. What should you do if a man with a familiar face acts unfamiliar to you? She formed the smile she copied from Floria Billander. She felt a little clumsy, but unlike back then, she had a bright smile that was undoubtedly imitated. There is only one reason why she reacted the same as then. Whether it was genuine or not, the other person said they were happy. Isn¡¯t it the most basic human rule to respond to people who express happiness with empathy? Beatrice lowered the corners of her lips and closed her eyes for a while before opening them to look at him. Was he really that slow? He was a little different from her own memory, and that made her raise a question in her head. I felt like he was a different person when I was talking to him. He was someone who always acted like a sharpened knife, it was funny. It¡¯s like seeing someone you haven¡¯t seen in a long time. Of course. ¡°I see. Thank you for asking me.¡± If people were to know the real truth, their eyes and voices would melt away like midday snow. He¡¯s pretending to be modest now that he¡¯s decided to get along with her family, but he was a man who¡¯s always been at odds with her in the past when he didn¡¯t hide his true nature. CH 15 Translated by worry Edited by SipsTea When she thinks about her past, another man immediately comes to mind. She snapped out of her thoughts. He¡¯s someone you¡¯ll meet again even if you don¡¯t think about it, so there¡¯s no need to worry about him. Her golden eyes shone brilliantly in the sunlight. Whatever kind of impression her gentle smile made on the man was beyond her interest. Kahneman pondered as he stared at her smile. She remained indifferent to me yet she grinned like a warm sunbeam when I mentioned the word ¡®happy¡¯. Now I think I understand what Agatha meant when she said her daughter was quite awkward. Beatrice is bad at expressing her feelings properly, as if she was a torn picture. These were traits seen only in those who haven¡¯t talked with other people for a very long time. In his head, he recalled the information he got about Beatrice Amber and realized that it made sense, her composure must have only recently improved. ¡°Me too, thank you for accepting my proposal.¡± There was no one there to correct his misunderstanding ¡ª which was mostly wrong. * * * Early in the morning, the Count and his son left the mansion with their servants due to business problems. Lily, Gallot¡¯s personal maid, had to clean up. It was normal to peek at documents while cleaning Gallot¡¯s office and private room. Amanda, the maid of Count Heliot, might be doing exactly the same. They were not wary of them at all since they expected that lowly commoners couldn¡¯t read. Since their respective masters were absent, the maids had complete freedom. Floria would also be leaving soon for her visit with Lady Amber, so she would be able to relax for a while. After cleaning every nook and cranny in Gallot¡¯s and the Count¡¯s room, Amanda came downstairs with her bucket and mop. ¡°It¡¯s break time after cleaning, right? Do you want some cookies or something?¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s head to the break room.¡± They placed the bucket and the mop they were holding back where the servants reside. Most of the servants were still working, so the break room on the first floor was empty. It¡¯s only natural for both of them to have time to follow their respective masters. Lily shut the door and took a cookie from the shelf while Amanda made cheap tea for the servants to drink. There were no words said between them, yet they shared an unusually pleasant atmosphere. ¡°Is Lady Floria visiting the Amber¡¯s estate today?¡± ¡°Yes, she¡¯s staying there for the time being.¡± ¡°This is because Gallot showed interest in Duke Amber¡¯s daughter, right?¡± ¡°Precisely. She doesn¡¯t like the men in her family after all.¡± ¡°Do you know Lady Floria that well?¡± ¡°¡­Well, yes.¡± It was likely that Floria didn¡¯t know what purpose they had ¡ª that she and Lily were some of the maids who share the same purpose. Count Billander had destroyed their family and friends, so they returned to seek revenge. There were once eight maids, including Lily and Amanda, but three had since vanished, leaving only five. One gave up revenge and ran away, the other was caught trying to steal information and died, and the other committed suicide because she could not withstand depression. Rosa, the person caught stealing information, chose not to report it to keep the rest of the people safe, but what she found couldn¡¯t be used to incriminate the Count and his son. It was, for example, a dog¡¯s death. Rosa found a ledger that was a breakdown of the amount of money from the sexual exploitation of commoners ¡ª who were taken away by force. However, it appeared to be nothing more than a record of employing prostitutes at first glance. And even if there was evidence that they had been forcibly taken away, it was not enough evidence for commoners to accuse and punish the nobility. As much as their family and friends were destroyed, the maids had anticipated a reasonable punishment at first. It was like that when Rosa was alive, however, no one wanted the Count and his son to be punished that way now. ¡°You don¡¯t know her intentions yet, do you?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t even visited the Count since then.¡± ¡°It¡¯s hard to believe that a duke¡¯s daughter like her holds a grudge against a count for the same reason we do.¡± ¡°She didn¡¯t seem like she had a grudge in the first place.¡± ¡°But she said to grab the opportunity when it comes.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°Should I believe it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t know how that woman knew what we were up to in the first place, especially since even the Count¡¯s family don¡¯t know about this. I¡¯m not sure what opportunity she was talking about.¡± ¡°Grab that opportunity when it comes. If it doesn¡¯t, then go ahead and do as we¡¯d planned. Don¡¯t give up.¡± They no longer wanted the country to punish them, they wanted to kill them all with their own hands now. The pain their families, friends, and themselves were going through was real, and no law in the Empire could earn them justice. What if they did put their lives on the line and begged in front of the palace gates? The Count would just have to pay a small fine even if their situation reached the imperial family¡¯s ears. They couldn¡¯t believe that their crimes would be forgiven so quickly. So no, they didn¡¯t consider a mere punishment as enough. Lily, Amanda, and the rest of their companions were still maids in charge of their respective masters. To poison the glass, they needed to build trust with them first. It¡¯ll take a few more years, but no one was willing to give up nonetheless. ¡°Oh, she¡¯s leaving.¡± Lily glances out the window with her head raised. A carriage of the size of a dot could be seen coming out of the Billanders¡¯ main gate in the distance. The only member of the family who had no ill will. Lily was resentful of their miss at first. She was of nobility, unlike them who were commoners with no power. With her resentment, she assumed that if they knew what her father and brother were up to, she wouldn¡¯t intervene. However, after seeing Floria being slapped by her father, she quietly gave up her expectations. It wasn¡¯t because she didn¡¯t understand her, it was because she knew then that no one would risk themselves for the sake of others. So, they must settle this on their own. All they had left were themselves. ¡°Amelia looks depressed these days. We¡¯re staying in the same room, so please take care of her.¡± ¡°Okay. See you later.¡± When Amanda and Lily parted ways after the conversation, Floria sat in the carriage. Beatrice sent her a letter inviting her to the ducal estate without visiting the Count¡¯s residence first, possibly because she warned her about her brother. Floria thought that it would be better if she went to her instead. She would do that even a hundred times than to let her meet Gallot, so she replied that she would visit as soon as she received the letter. Emily, the maid across from her, has a box on her lap covered in a luxurious cloth. ¡°Will the Duke or his brother be at the estate right now?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t believe so. The Duke is constantly summoned to the palace, and Felix is a member of the Royal Order. He¡¯s most likely doing his work by now.¡± ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve seen those two.¡± ¡°I¡¯m used to seeing their faces when I was young.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Are you tired of seeing them often?¡± Floria had frequent interactions with the Duke since childhood, which was one of the main reasons she¡¯s being considered as a candidate for his fianc¨¦e. Count Billander was a vassal of the Duke, so he made Gallot, who was around the same age as Calex, his playmate. Floria always followed her brother, so she became close with Calex, too. Later on, the two interacted even without Gallot. The relationship between Calex and Gallot was not bad, but that¡¯s about it. An ambiguous relationship that was neither good nor bad. ¡°Neither Calex nor Felix have any feelings for me. It¡¯s just that we¡¯ve been so close since childhood that it¡¯s quite strange for me to become a candidate for Calex¡¯s fianc¨¦e.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it better than marrying a man you don¡¯t know at all?¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather marry a man I don¡¯t know. We¡¯ve been close for too long.¡± ¡°Oh my, I¡¯m sure the Duke will be disappointed to hear that.¡± ¡°Unfortunately, Calex should get married soon. He¡¯s already old enough yet he doesn¡¯t even have a fiancee.¡± As a child, Floria really hated Felix¡¯s teasing, but thanks to his frivolous personality, they became friends pretty quickly. Calex maintained his politeness despite drawing a line between them when he was older, but it was especially hard to get closer to him now. It was also Felix¡¯s fault that Gallot wasn¡¯t very friendly with Calex since he said that he didn¡¯t like him ¡ª simply because he, unfortunately, looked like an unlikeable person. He was known to be vocal about his likes and dislikes ever since he was a child. While chatting with Emily, the carriage reached the ducal estate. Floria gazed at the door as the knight escorted her down the carriage. There, she saw Beatrice with her maid, her raven black hair flowing under the shade. ¡°Welcome, Lady Billander.¡± ¡°Thank you for the invitation, Lady Amber.¡± Floria smiled softly, a bit different from the previous time they met. As she brought her inside, Beatrice noticed her hair gleamed like gold silk in the sunlight. She smiled as she averted her gaze. ¡°It¡¯s a little less chilly today, so I told them to make room inside the garden¡¯s greenhouse.¡± ¡°Ah, you¡¯re talking about the former duke¡¯s greenhouse, right? It was full of red flowers when I last went because it was summer, does it still have those?¡± ¡°There must¡¯ve been red flowers before, but it¡¯s mostly full of yellow flowers right now.¡± Floria heard Beatrice¡¯s reply, but she shut her mouth and avoided her gaze for a moment. She asked her without hesitation, knowing that her treatment had been lacking until recently. She really should¡¯ve given it more thought. She was uncomfortable even just walking around the greenhouse. CH 16 Side glances are usually considered to be rude, but it was just her way of secretly checking Beatrice¡¯s expression. Emily, who was walking behind her, tapped her on the back as her glance persisted. Beatrice looked indifferent to her as she continued walking ahead, and that made Floria feel uneasy. Pursing her lips slightly, she took a silent sigh. Why does she appear so blank? ¡°Do you have a favorite flower?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have enough knowledge about flowers to have a favorite.¡± ¡°Then, may I teach you a few things? I like to garden so I know more than most people.¡± ¡°¡­All right.¡± Floria presented some ideas to her, and as Beatrice answered, the conversation progressed. As soon as entering the greenhouse, one could already feel the warmth it harbored, and so, Floria removed her coat and handed it to Emily. The spring flowers were bright and vivid, complementing the yellow tulips. And yet, the borders were naturally messy and loose as if they had been grown directly in the greenhouse. Floria liked it better that way. Glass greenhouses are expensive to build and difficult to maintain. Only a few families in the capital could afford them. Those were the imperial family, dukes, and one of the marquises. It would be easier to build it small, but with the nobles having the constant need to show off what they had, they simply could not make it that way and enjoy it. ¡°Those are trumpet daffodils, aren¡¯t they?¡± Instead of the feast of bright red flowers that Floria had last seen, the greenhouse was filled with soothing colors that complemented her shiny blonde hair well. Beatrice, on the other hand, paid special attention to her gestures and expressions. She then took a seat and ordered her temporary maid, Laura, to fetch them some tea. Floria had been staring at the flowers for quite a while, but hearing Beatrice¡¯s voice made her realize something she had forgotten. She glanced at Emily, who then placed the box she was carrying on the table. ¡°It¡¯s floral tea that¡¯s popular in my family¡¯s estate. I brought a selection of them, including the one I loved the other day.¡± Beatrice gazed upon the box and then called out to Laura, who approached the box with familiarity. ¡°Bring this tea out. Can I drink it right now since you gave it to me?¡± ¡°Sure! Emily, help me with the tea.¡± ¡°Yes, miss.¡± ¡°Come to think of it, Lady Amber, let¡¯s say my brother didn¡¯t ask to be your partner, who would you want to bring? I don¡¯t think the Duchess will make a fuss about it, so I¡¯m not concerned. Although just in case, may I know if you found someone else interesting?¡± Floria asked as Emily and Laura took out the tea from the box and brought it to the prepped table in the greenhouse. ¡°Oh, I forgot to mention that in my letter. Duke Marquez will be my partner.¡± ¡°Duke Marquez? Are you talking about Duke Kahneman Marquez?¡± Beatrice nodded, and Floria blinked in surprise. ¡°Oh my, why him?¡± ¡°I¡¯m aware of the rumors concerning Duke Marquez. The Duchess seems upset because it¡¯s been a while since he last kept in touch, perhaps that¡¯s why she is trying to bring our families together again.¡± Floria knows that the Duchess would not be upset by such a thing, and that Duke Marquez would not fall for such a ruse. She presumed that some type of agreement was made, although it didn¡¯t seem like it to Beatrice. She merely smiled and said, ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Apparently, the Duchess had intentionally kept it from her lovely youngest child, so revealing it would be pointless. She didn¡¯t want to spite her nor did she want to ruin this quiet young lady¡¯s mood who was shy even with other people. ¡°I¡¯m not sure about his interests, but I believe he must be at least a teeny bit interested in you if he made the request?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Beatrice responded coldly, aware that Floria was over-interpreting it for herself. Floria, on the other hand, saw her reluctance as a lack of confidence. She had witnessed Kahneman Marquez come and go from the Amber estate as a child. I couldn¡¯t imagine him approaching a woman with genuine interest¡­ That¡¯s why she couldn¡¯t say she¡¯s completely convinced that it was just because of a mere interest. However, it was bemusing to watch Beatrice simply taking things as they were. Perhaps if it had been any other young lady, she would¡¯ve bragged about it the moment she became Kahneman Marquez¡¯s partner, secretly hoping that he would have a heart, whether they were true or not. ¡°But wouldn¡¯t you be able to build a connection with him if you attended the party together?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not very talkative.¡± I feel like I¡¯ve seen this kind of situation before somewhere¡­ Floria felt a bit of deja vu. This reminded her of her own attitude whenever she had to deal with her brother, Garrett. Indifferent and unenthusiastic. Floria realized she made another mistake. If a woman is obviously uncomfortable and uninterested, she should not talk further about it. But then she began questioning herself. Still, if she was this beautiful, wouldn¡¯t that prompt some type of connection? When she glanced at Beatrice again, she mentally shook her head. Let us not hope for the impossible. At that moment, Beatrice spoke. ¡°Have you decided on a partner yet, Lady Billander?¡± ¡°Oh, I haven¡¯t chosen yet, but I¡¯m thinking about going with Count Talia¡¯s son since we¡¯re already acquainted.¡± ¡°Have you already made a promise?¡± ¡°No, not yet.¡± ¡°Then, aren¡¯t you going with the Duke?¡± ¡°You mean Duke Amber? Calex? Oh, no.¡± ¡°You two have been friends for a long time, right?¡± ¡°Yes, but¡­¡± Beatrice stared at Floria as she dragged on her words. She had already witnessed Calex and Floria¡¯s marriage several times. Although they went through minor struggles with each other, the two usually end up getting married. She couldn¡¯t wrap her head around the fact that their story was unfolding right in front of her eyes. There was silence between them until Emily and Laura finally served the floral tea. Beatrice was still looking at her when Floria lowered her gaze thoughtfully, probably thinking of something to say. A thought suddenly came into Beatrice¡¯s mind. Come to think of it, what struggles did they have in common during my past lives? ¡°There were a lot of rumors spreading about me being a candidate for the Duke¡¯s fiancee, right? But the two of us are really just friends. Arriving with him as partners would just worsen the rumors.¡± ¡°Aha.¡± So this was it. They did not struggle with marital problems. The Countess Billander isn¡¯t the best match for the Duke, but she isn¡¯t the worst either. Both of them are attractive, too. So, what¡¯s the problem here? It¡¯s their attitude towards this. And that¡¯s not a problem with Floria only, Calex, too, lived with the words that they were ¡®just friends¡¯. Of course, it¡¯s difficult to be aware of their feelings for each other at first, but it later became one of the things that he himself regretted. Beatrice pondered, calmly lifting her teacup before taking a few sips of the warm tea. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to, that¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mean that I don¡¯t want to. I¡¯ll think about it.¡± She said she¡¯d think about it, her heart lightened immediately. Determination was evident on her face. Remembering the times she had to watch Calex fall in love with Floria in her past lives made Beatrice shiver. She thought they might be similar to her, but they turned out to be completely different, which was unpleasant. It wouldn¡¯t be very nice to witness their cheesy romance once again for a long time, so it might not be so bad to hope that the two of them would get married soon. ¡°I think the two of you are a good match.¡± Floria was usually the type to do good in her previous lives, but she once had gone insanely bad. And of course, Beatrice was the cause of it. Time had already passed and it became something that cannot be undone. And since it¡¯s yet to happen in this life, there¡¯s no need to feel guilty. Even so, the woman in front of her suited a genuine smile. She recalled the look of insanity Floria had from her past lives, and it seemed so out of character that she almost found it amusing. The corners of Floria¡¯s mouth softly lifted up in response to her praise. She copied her smile more precisely. It was in Beatrice¡¯s best interest, and Floria, that it stays like this. ¡°Oh right, wouldn¡¯t they set off fireworks at the palace on the last day of the debutante ball?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. The princess will attend this year, so the fireworks will be more spectacular than ever.¡± ¡°I want to see those fireworks from the Count¡¯s estate.¡± The last day of the debutante ball, hosted by the palace, is when the most people attend. All the noble young ladies who have finished their debut, along with their partners and families, gather together. The palace guards and servants would struggle to manage the crowd, even nobles would find it difficult, so it would be nice to come back early and enjoy the fireworks in peace. Although Duke Amber¡¯s estate was much larger, the Count¡¯s estate was located a little closer to the palace. It was because they needed a wider area to build the Duke¡¯s mansion, and there was no such land near the palace. He could just buy all the land he wanted and destroy all the buildings on those properties, but Duke Amber was not that heartless. ¡°Very well.¡± ¡°Shall we bring some wine?¡± Besides that, the windows of the Count¡¯s mansion faced towards the palace. Floria felt happy at the thought of enjoying the fireworks while sipping some wine. At the debutante ball, it is common for nobles to stay until the end to socialize, but with someone like Duke Amber, there¡¯s no need to do so. It is also common for friends to leave early and spend time together outside the palace.