Nearly exhausted, Eurene was quietly dropped off at the count’s mansion. She shuddered as she recalled the man’s heat and excited sighs that had entered her until the very last moment. After hearing his rough panting and unfiltered moans for quite some time, she came to her senses to find herself in front of her home. Van had dressed her while she was half-unconscious and kissed her swollen lips, telling her to slip out through the back door as he would explain that she had gone home early due to feeling unwell. Everything after that happened quickly.

Eurene frowned slightly as she trudged into the count’s mansion, almost crawling. She still felt as if something was dripping between her legs. Her lower abdomen felt tingly. Crazy, really. How much had they done since broad daylight? Fortunately, she didn’t encounter anyone on her way to her room. She didn’t have the mental capacity to come up with a plausible explanation for why she had returned early. Her body, overworked by Van, just felt limp and tired. She wanted nothing more than to lie in bed and sleep to her heart’s content.

Now almost on all fours, she was about to pull back the bedcovers and crawl in when she paused. Come to think of it, her entire body was covered in sweat, saliva, and Van’s scent. Her neck had countless marks from bites and licks. After grimacing and contemplating for a moment, she reluctantly made her way to the bathroom again. Ugh, so exhausting! Her entire body ached. Stepping on the cold tiles with her trembling feet, she spent a long time struggling to wash away the man’s scent from her b*ttocks, chest, and hair.

After washing two or three times with herbal scented soap in hot water and applying thick layers of fragrant oil, she felt clean again. However, her body, having been under hot water for so long, felt even more languid. She could barely tell if her eyes were open or closed now. Finally, it was time to rest. Eurene crawled into bed, hugged a thick pillow, and curled up. Whew, she closed her eyes with a sigh.

And not long after, she opened them again.

Someone was vigorously shaking Eurene’s limp arm.

“Eurene! Eurene! Wake up!”

Oh geez, what now? With her face completely scrunched up, she rose to find Rona, perfectly adorned with a hat and waist-cinching corset, clicking her tongue. The elaborate feather fan in her hand was clearly new, as Eurene had never seen it before. If she had owned such a thing, she would have been carrying it around constantly, busy making proud expressions and praising the fan.

“What is it, did you come for dinner?”

Hearing Eurene’s drowsy mumbling, Rona made an incredulous face. She elegantly spread her fan and waved it gently, clicking her tongue like a refined lady. Normally she would have slapped Eurene’s forearm repeatedly, but seeing her behavior now, it seemed she was in a good mood, clearly satisfied with her recent shopping.

“Dinner? It’s morning right now. It’ll be noon soon. How long have you been sleeping?”

“What? Morning?”

Impossible. She jerked her upper body up and craned her neck to see the curtains drawn by the maid and the bright, clear daytime sky. Chirping sparrows were flying around. It wasn’t the just-setting sun from a moment ago(?). Eurene covered her cheeks with both hands, her mouth agape. Wow, I closed my eyes for a moment and it’s morning! How long did I sleep! I completely passed out. Well, I was extremely tired. Even for Van, it was rare for him to pounce so passionately. As she sat there dazedly with her hair sticking out in all directions from not being dried, her assigned maid Maria arrived with a breakfast tray and clicked her tongue.

“So you’re finally awake. Last night I tried to wake you for dinner, but you showed no signs of stirring, so the count himself came up to check. Seeing you sleeping deeply, even drooling, he clicked his tongue and went back down.”

“Oh, really?”

More nagging coming. He’ll ask what this girl has been doing to sleep like a hippo for half a day. Her brother, probably anxious to know how she fared at the duchess’s tea party, might have been dying to interrogate her. Eurene yawned extensively and stretched. With her disheveled hair and puffy face, she looked every bit the idle layabout. Rona and Maria clicked their tongues, sharing the same thought. And they knew well that Eurene shared this sentiment almost exactly.

Though Rona was a childhood friend, a guest was still a guest, so maid Maria muttered about needing to fix Eurene’s appearance, lifted her limp arms to put on a robe, gathered her hair to one side, and braided it to achieve a minimal presentable look. Yawning widely again, Eurene murmured, “Oh right.”

“Have you had breakfast?”

“The sun is high in the sky, of course I’ve eaten. A future merchant guild master must be diligent.”

Unlike her whose entire life was that of an idle person, Rona was the official heir who would inherit her father’s large merchant guild. As such, she had much to learn and many responsibilities as the future guild master. Eurene thought her ambitious and sharp-witted friend was impressive and felt proud of her in a way.

Though she wasn’t certain, Rona’s father had only Rona as his child, but it still couldn’t be common for a daughter to inherit her father’s business. Then again, Rona had always been good with numbers and quick-witted since childhood. Eurene nodded repeatedly.

“Oh my, Miss, please have your breakfast. You must be hungry, right?”

“Yes. Thank you, Maria.”

Maria clicked her tongue and set the breakfast tray on Eurene’s knees. There was white cheese bread, cream soup with garlic bread pieces, preserved fruits and strawberry jam, scrambled eggs, and slightly burnt bacon and sausages—just as Eurene liked them. Smelling the savory aroma, she felt hungry as Maria had said. Right, I didn’t even have dinner! My precious dinner! She felt needlessly upset. Missing a meal gave her a sense of loss somehow.

As she began hastily spooning up the soup, Rona patted her back, telling her to eat slowly. The bread, soup, and bacon were quickly and cleanly emptied. While eating the sausage and eggs, she gave Maria a look asking for more, and Maria pulled over the tray she had prepared, taking out a bread basket and a larger soup bowl and placing them firmly before her. It was like feeding a starving hamster. Rona, sitting beside Eurene who was almost burying her face in the bowl, took a sip of her tea and asked.

“So, how was the party yesterday? Did you make any mistakes? I mean, was it bearable enough to stay seated, you fool.”

“Oh, yes. Just, well.”

Nothing special. She swallowed a mouthful of bread and said. Yes, apart from rolling around enthusiastically with Van, there wasn’t much else. The duchess and her friends had somewhat mocked Eurene, but she had already completely forgotten about that. In some ways, she truly had a conveniently forgetful memory and mindset for navigating life. Rona squinted, seemingly dubious about Eurene’s answer.

“Really? I rushed over at the crack of dawn because I was worried.”

“Mmm. The duchess was very kind.”

“Hmph! How do you know if that kindness is genuine? No one in social circles speaks without falsehood. Pretense is basic. Half of what they say is fake. Understand? Hey! Don’t just half-listen!”

“Ouch! Why are you hitting me?”

As soon as Eurene’s eyes drooped, Rona’s sharp hand struck her forearm. Eurene whined. Rona, with her eyebrows raised like a strict clerk, spoke firmly.

“Pay attention and keep your eyes open. I don’t know why that woman is interested in you, but I have a bad feeling. In my view, she’s definitely a massive b*tch. That’s my instinct.”

Perhaps due to her merchant blood, Rona was quick-witted with good intuition. Unable to say “you’re saying exactly the same thing as that woman’s husband,” Eurene simply nodded obediently. Only then did Rona look satisfied. Sometimes she was even more nagging than Eurene’s brother.

“By the way, you need to fix your hair too. What kind of lady’s hair is this…… Huh? Were you bitten by mosquitoes?”

“Huh?”

A chill ran up her relaxed nape. When Rona’s hand touched the red marks on her neck, Eurene jumped as if pricked by a needle, exclaiming and pulling her robe closed. These were traces of Van biting, sucking, and licking all day yesterday. Geez, really. I told him not to leave such marks. Rona, whose hand had been suddenly pushed away, furrowed her brow in bewilderment. Eurene rolled her eyes and said.

“Ah, it’s a rash. A rash. Don’t touch it, it’s contagious.”

“Huh? What rash? Do you have a skin condition?”

“Um…… Yes. I must have eaten something wrong at the party yesterday, it was itchy all day.”

Well, you should have said so. Rona accepted this very plausible explanation for Eurene and softened her slight disappointment. Phew, Eurene sighed. That was a close call. She subtly wiped her chest in relief.