The jeweled Lady Dius, dressed in extravagant finery, entered the cramped jewelry shop with her maids in tow.

The atmosphere sank in an instant.

“I was taught that contributing to the circulation of the economy is a virtue of those belonging to the Imperial Household. I merely came to act according to that lesson.”

“So now you call yourself a member of the Imperial Household.”

How ridiculous.

At the openly mocking voice, the maids who had accompanied her burst into laughter. It seemed they had come determined to repay the humiliation they had suffered last time.

“It seems the imperial etiquette instructors these days teach just anyone. I wonder whether they’re free of prejudice—or simply lacking in thought.”

Lady Dius lifted the jewels from the display case one by one, holding them up beside Larinne as she continued speaking.

“After all, everything in this world is decided from the moment it is born, is it not? Stray from that principle? Well, What should one do about such a thing?”

Though her words skirted around the issue, the meaning was clear: The position of Empress belonged only to her — Larinne was nothing more than an impurity. A thinly veiled mockery.

The maids seized the opportunity to join in the conversation.

“Instead of learning imperial etiquette, shouldn’t she learn something like butchering methods?”

“My lady, really. Where would lowborn creatures even find a textbook? They’re probably all illiterate anyway.”

“Oh dear. I was wondering what gift we should prepare for you at the upcoming birthday banquet. A set of books to teach you how to read would be perfect.”

What was so amusing to them?

To Larinne, the noble culture of ganging up on one person and humiliating them seemed nothing more than pathetic.

‘Is this how they’ve been dominating high society all this time?’

Although Larinne had no real connections within social circles, she was aware of what went on through the rumors that circulated.

Such ostracism was often unbearable for young women.

Then again, how could women who were raised like greenhouse flowers possibly withstand emotional distress?

From what she had seen, the women of the Eastern Empire would blush and tremble with anger at the slightest provocation, behaving as though they had lost the entire world over trivial matters.

To Larinne, it all seemed laughable.

‘Without even knowing what it means to lose something truly precious.’

She forced away the face that naturally surfaced in her mind and looked toward Lady Dius and her entourage.

At a glance, it was obvious that Lady Dius wanted Larinne to lower herself before her.

‘That must be why she’s resorting to such childish antics.’

Until now, Larinne had simply endured these things because she didn’t want to make matters worse. But things were different now. What had happened recently at the Lake Palace had changed her.

Kalon had nearly died.

Simply because he was the younger brother of a maid who served her.

The harassment should have ended with her.

How dare they threaten those who were important to her?

She could no longer remain silent.

This was her breaking point.

“Marchioness Lily was personally assigned by His Majesty.”

The lips of Lady Dius and her chattering entourage snapped shut at once.

Yes. No matter how arrogant they might become with the backing of the Dius household, would they really dare to question the Emperor’s choice?

As she watched them awkwardly clear their throats, she felt a small surge of satisfaction.

“If you truly doubt Lady Lily’s qualifications, shall I report the matter directly to His Majesty myself?”

“Lady Larinne.”

Unfortunately for them, glaring like that would achieve nothing.

Larinne was no ordinary noblewoman who would tremble at the slightest intimidation.

Every moment she had spent living in the Eastern Empire had been as agonizing as enduring a raging sandstorm in the desert.

Compared to that, something like this could not even stir the faintest ripple within her.

“It must all be due to my own shortcomings. If I had known it would startle you so much, Your Ladyship, I would have come to see you far more often.”

She noticed a slight tremor at the corner of Lady Dius’s eye.

It seemed that she was angered by Larinne’s refusal to react as she had hoped.

“Oh my, thank you for waiting! The packaging is all fin—oh! Lady Dius, you’re here as well!”

At that moment, the shopkeeper emerged carrying the wrapped earrings and brightened upon seeing Lady Dius.

“You’ve worked hard. I’ll come by again next time.”

“You’re welcome anytime.”

Larinne quickly paid and received the item.

The vicious gazes of those eager to find fault with her and drag her down clung to the package in her hands.

“It’s not something you’d do yourself, of course. Are you planning some sort of bribery instead?”

Larinne armed herself with a smile that concealed even deeper hostility.

“If there’s something you need as well, Your Ladyship, please choose it. I’ll buy one for you as a gift.”

“…You really won’t let the last word go, will you?”

Ah! Their expressions were too entertaining not to share.

She spoke in circles, perfectly executing the noble art of belittling an opponent, and watched the maids’ faces flush red with anger.

‘So I really had been bound by things that meant nothing.’

Those who have something to protect become stronger.

Even though she had been shattered and broken many times, like grains of desert sand, she did not feel sorrow.

This was because she could provide a foundation for the people she loved to continue living on.

Sometimes, happiness grows from the fertilizer of someone else’s sacrifice.

“Then I hope you enjoy your shopping.”

With calm steps, Larinne passed by the fuming Lady Dius and left.

***

In front of the empty chamber in the West Palace, Larinne exchanged an awkward glance with Harry.

“Duke Winterd isn’t here?”

“He left quite a while ago saying he was going to see Lady Larinne… Did you not meet him?”

“It seems we must have missed each other.”

If she returned to the South Palace right now, would she run into him?

Lost in thought, Larinne did not realize the expression forming on her face.

“If you have something you wish to tell His Grace, I can deliver the message for you.”

She felt Harry’s gaze slowly slide down to rest on the back of her hand.

She stopped absently fidgeting with the gift she was holding.

Only then did she realize that she had been acting out of character.

Harry said nothing, yet she felt as if he had somehow read her despite her careful concealment.

Larinne quietly slipped the gift behind her back.

“…Ah, it’s alright. I’ll come again next time.”

“As you wish.”

In truth, she could have simply left the gift with Harry. But for some reason, she couldn’t bring herself to do that.

In fact, she wanted to give it to him herself.

She was curious to see his reaction when he saw the gift.

“If you wait a moment, I can find out where His Grace is.”

As Harry murmured something softly, a bird glowing with white light appeared from somewhere.

It was a bird made of mana.

While she was startled by the mysterious sight, a sudden concern crossed her mind.

“Is it really alright for you to use your magic like that?”

“I think I understand now why His Grace behaves like such a childish boy.”

“Pardon?”

“I meant that you’re far too soft-hearted.”

That man had said something similar once before.

“It seems you’re too soft.”

Even now, she still didn’t know what he had meant.

Libehi Winterd was like that.

So was Harry Zervaoon.

The two men spoke as though Larinne should be cold towards others.

She did not understand why they were so fixated on the way she treated people. Yet she could not stop thinking about that man.

“If you apply the ointment I sent to your wound every morning and evening, it should heal without leaving a scar.”

“Ah, I heard about it from Chardi. She said you brought the ointment at dawn and left it there…”

“You should give your thanks to His Grace.”

For some reason, the feeling in her chest turned strange.

‘When Horus was injured, and this time as well… it must have been that man who asked for it.’

In such a short time, she had received two jars of magical ointment—something even high-ranking nobles rarely obtained.

It felt as though she had fallen into debt once again.

‘How am I supposed to repay this?’

Just as a slightly embarrassing thought flickered through her mind, the distant sound of wings beating reached her ears.

“It seems it found him quickly.”

The bird perched on Harry’s finger reported what it had seen and heard in a language she could not understand.

‘Judging by how effortlessly he uses such difficult and advanced magic…’

He was certainly no ordinary mage.

The curiosity she had long suppressed stirred again and lifted its head.

‘How can he use magic tied directly to one’s lifespan so casually?’

By its very nature, magic consumed life force. Yet Harry seemed unconcerned about exhausting his life force whenever he used magic.

It was as though he had an unusually long thread of life.

She knew it was an absurd thought, but extraordinary things sometimes happened in this world.

‘For example… just as the Duke of Winterd, who resembles that man so much, appeared before me.’

Come to think of it, that man also had something unusual about him.

Was he not living just fine despite carrying a curse that no ordinary human could bear?

‘An ordinary person would have gone mad or died long ago.’

So how was he still perfectly fine?

“His Grace is currently at the East Palace.”

Harry’s voice pulled Larinne out of the chain of thoughts that had wrapped around her mind.

‘Why would His Majesty summon him?’

Unease crept over her.

As far as Larinne knew, the Emperor was supposed to be busy until the day after tomorrow.

With the rain prayer ceremony—a significant national event—approaching, he would hardly have the leisure to sit around enjoying tea with a delegation.

‘Yet the two of them are together.’

For some reason, a faint sense of foreboding stirred deep within her chest.

“It seems he’s having an audience with His Majesty.”

“I don’t know why he was summoned, but His Grace is someone quite difficult to predict.”

“I’ll go see for myself. Thank you.”

Larinne began to walk quickly towards the East Palace.

By the time she reached the Emperor’s audience chamber, her unease had almost become a reality.

Through the firmly closed doors, she could hear the voice of her fiancé, Seidon.

“If there is a woman who pleases you, choose one. To commemorate our first diplomatic exchange, I will present her to you as a gift.”

Had it ended there, she would simply have waited nearby.

However, the following woman’s coquettish tone made Larinne freeze where she stood.

“Duke Winterd… may I come to your bedchamber tonight?”