The chilly coldness, as if pouring cold water, vanished, but Erez remained unaffected, moving freely as if unaware of the changes in the atmosphere.

“Could it be that the records are incorrect?”

The lips, tinged with pink, were as lovely as flower petals, contradicting his words that didn’t come out smoothly.

Aneta, who had been obedient so far, forced a laugh, questioning where such mindless contemplation would take them.

The hope for a promising future with Carlos had been shattered by Erez’s thoughtless behavior.
Erez, who was trying to control everything, was like a clueless child playing recklessly without understanding the ways of the world.

“Erez Bauter.”

While Aneta suppressed a smile, Carlos stepped forward in her place. With sharp eyes, he stared at Erez, trying to convey a warning.

“Duke of Baltimor, please stay quiet for a moment.”

Erez Bauter had completely crossed a line.

As if to prove this fact, Duke Clorin, who had been silent until then, intervened, seeking permission to speak over Carlos’s words.

“Answer this, Marquis Bauter. Are you suggesting that the Glory of Observation has recorded incorrect information?”

Erez’s rudeness displayed something that could never be forgiven among them.

“That’s…….”

After meeting the wrathful faces, Erez’s eyes quickly darted around, realizing that something had gone wrong only after facing their angry expressions. He couldn’t understand what was happening.

He assumed that if he smiled and spoke softly, using his innocent face, it wouldn’t matter. The protagonists always got away with overstepping their bounds and were never criticized.

But the current situation was far from what he had anticipated.

“The words that Marquis Bauter uttered carelessly just now are insults and challenges to Adenauer and Clorin.”

Erez’s voice cut through like a knife as his mouth gaped open. Why he was being criticized, he didn’t understand.

He saw the stern faces of the others and glanced around anxiously. It was no coincidence that his eyes met Russell’s at that moment.

If Russell could put an end to the current situation, it would be a relief. As Erez gazed at Russell with a glimmer of hope, his lips twisted dangerously.

“Duke Clorin. That’s enough.”

“As you wish, Your Majesty.”

“We are gathered here today to welcome Erez Bauter, haven’t we? Let’s pardon any mistakes just for today, even if it means enduring my presence.”

As Russell attempted to alleviate the tense atmosphere by appearing to support Erez, Erez’s expression brightened as if his worries had never existed.

“However, if rudeness has been committed, an apology should be made.”

However, contrary to Erez’s expectations, Russell had no intention of completely taking his side.

“Isn’t that right, Duke Baltimor?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

As Carlos gathered his strength, Russell urged him on with a nod of his chin.

“Go ahead and apologize to the Marquis of Adenauer and the Duke of Clorin.”

Erez looked at him and Carlos as if he had been betrayed, but Russell didn’t care.

“My Lady, Your Grace, I apologize for my rudeness.”

Unable to find a way out, Erez eventually had to swallow his pride and apologize.

Bowing to a mere supporting character. Moreover, one of them was Aneta Adenauer. Erez had never been humiliated like this before.

“We didn’t gather here for this kind of atmosphere.”

“Alcohol alone won’t change the mood. Shall we move inside, Your Majesty?”

Teresa intervened, looking for a change in the mood.

“That sounds like a good idea,” said Russell.

As the servants who had been called in left after placing drinks and appetizers on the table, Teresa’s face lit up with joy as she looked at the table.

“Marquis, you might end up tearing your mouth.”

The Marquis’s worry was deepening as the day went on. Sensing the reason behind it, Russell shook his head knowingly.

The welcoming ceremony proceeded in a relaxed atmosphere. The protagonist found themselves facing the consequences of their actions.

As usual, Teresa and Duke Hetchen took the lead in the conversation, engaging actively.

Aneta, who had averted her eyes from the conversation about imports and exports, scanned the room, searching for a familiar face.

The face she was looking for was sitting alone at another table. Considering his somewhat lonely appearance, Aneta stood up.

Carlos also tried to follow her, but she shook her head.

Watching her walk away towards someone else, Carlos found himself holding a glass of wine, urged by those around him.

“Come on, have a drink, and cheer up.”

“Marquis Adenauer is still an unapproachable fortress.”

While the nobles who knew about Carlos’s unrequited love couldn’t hide their sympathy, Aneta approached the person who was drinking alone.

“Serce.”

Upon hearing the call, his shoulders, long and straight, relaxed. His forehead, which was not particularly fond of such gatherings, was subtly wrinkled.

“Would you like to sit?”

Serce Raphaeli. The owner of the Raphaeli Duchy extended a seat to Aneta, her childhood friend.

“I won’t refuse.”

Aneta nodded, as that was her intention from the start. It had been a long time since they had seen each other, and they seemed quite at ease.

Serce looked at Aneta as she sat in front of him and raised his hand, adorned with the Glory of Doppelganger. As the mysterious characters engraved on a rough ring shimmered, his doppelganger appeared beside her.

Serce’s doppelganger silently refilled Aneta’s glass. Accepting it naturally, she opened her mouth while looking at him.

“If I knew you, you would have shown interest in the Glory of Observation and rushed in. Why are you so quiet now?”

He was someone who couldn’t help but speak up if something was beautiful. It was strange that he didn’t even glance over.

“Just because something sparkles doesn’t mean it’s all gold.”

He shrugged his shoulders, but it wasn’t him who answered the question. The Glory of doppelganger sitting nearby quoted a line from a famous literary work in a soft voice.

“It’s pointless to appear pleasant on the outside while decaying within and giving off a foul smell.”

Using the doppelganger’s voice, Serce chuckled lightly. Realizing his deliberate pretense of ignorance, he delivered a sharp criticism of Erez without hesitation.

“I’m someone who loves inner beauty as much as outer beauty. I have no interest in such things.”

Aneta laughed at the sharp words. Serce was now angry for her sake.

“You look pretty when you’re angry.”

Carlos was the first to respond to the genuine compliment. Startled by Aneta’s audible words, which were a compliment she had never bestowed upon him before, he gazed at her with a betrayed look. However, Aneta calmly disregarded his stare.

“Your ex-husband seems to be looking at you with a betrayed expression over there.”

“I know.”

“Why are you suddenly complimenting me like that?”

There was a brief silence. Serce chuckled at the funny comment and turned to Aneta, who wore an indifferent expression.

“You’ve been looking pretty lately; I’m just telling you the truth.”

“…You’re still the same.”

“I’ve always been like this.”

“Come to think of it, you’ve always told me I was pretty since we were young.”

“There wasn’t a moment when you weren’t beautiful.”

Not wanting to hear any more flattery, Serce took a sip of brandy as a toast to praise. The warmth at the tip of his fingers holding the glass was all due to the alcohol passing through his throat.

“Which time do you think I was the prettiest?”

“The first time we met. You were wearing a dress back then, remember?”

“Oh, I remember, my mother forced me to wear it.”

As he reminisced about his childhood memories, he felt the bitterness of passing time on his tongue.

“Sometimes I miss those days. I wish I could go back if I could.”

It was a time when his mother’s persistent focus was on dressing him up. Frustration crossed his face as he recalled his childhood, self-puffing up his cheeks in annoyance.

“Thinking back, those days were really good.”

Despite the heavy responsibilities weighing on him, he had to keep going even when he was exhausted.

It was a cruel world where the moment you gave up on anything, you became a loser. Wondering if there was an end to running, or would it eventually lead to a fall?

His memories, intertwined with numerous anxieties, were far from pleasant, and Serce dismissed them with a casual flick of his hair.

“How about you? Is your father still spending money wisely?”

“As always.”

Aneta nodded without hesitation. This time, it was her turn to ask a question.

“What about your naive brothers?”

“They’re still the same.”

They could have this conversation because they knew each other’s family situations well. Their relationship had started with their fathers’ casual friendship, so there was nothing they didn’t know anymore.

“What sins did we commit in our past lives?”

“Well, you may not know, but I haven’t committed any sins.”

“How would you know that?”

“I just do.”

Serce brushed off sincerity with a joke, and Aneta sipped her drink as if to say so.

As he swirled the potent brandy, his throat burned. The faint, diminishing sweetness of memories held no value.

“My idiot brothers still don’t understand why I chose to take over my mother’s business.”

Even for Aneta, who had seen all sorts of dirty sights growing up, Serce’s life couldn’t be described as smooth. It was evident that, as the youngest, he had become the head of the family.

“Despite my mother earning all the money, my father, who clung to a failing business, held onto it.”

“I also thought that it seemed hopeless over there. You made a good choice.”

“It’s nice to hear you say that.”

The subtle but sincere words comforted Serse.

“I’m not sure what has inspired you to sound so kind.”

“Someone who is crazy about work looks so miserable. I also admired the dress you made.”

Aneta took the bottle from his hand as they continued to drink.

The conversation eventually turned to Serce’s work.

“I recently created a masterpiece, and I’m hesitant to give it away. Maybe I should wear it myself.”

“Go ahead. It must be nice to reminisce about your childhood after a long time.”

It’s not like clothes made for humans have any gender anyway. Aneta handed him a glass through his doppelganger, allowing him to do as he pleased.

“It’s nice to see people who look good, like beautiful things.”

Being similar in height to Teresa and not feeling uncomfortable in a dress, Serce might indeed look presentable. Aneta imagined Serce in a dress and nodded approvingly.

“Don’t imagine it. It was a joke.”

“It’s too late.”

As they engaged in private conversation, the atmosphere among others gathered behind them grew more tense.

When Aneta noticed Carlos, he was already heavily drunk. This didn’t come as a shock to her, as he was the one with the lowest alcohol tolerance among the group.

“Are you going over there? I’m fine here, don’t worry about me.”

“Sorry. I’ll excuse myself first.”

Would he end up kissing Erez in this situation? Despite the swirling thoughts in her mind, her steps remained steady as she distanced herself.

As she leaned in closer, his condition was worse than she’d imagined. His head was slammed into the table and sprawled out like a sleeping person.

“You didn’t stop him from getting this drunk.”

“I thought someone else would help him, so I left him alone, but it was too late. He couldn’t handle it himself.”

Aneta sensed that everyone present was involved in a conspiracy, with Russell likely being their leader.

“I think we should send him back to the mansion.”

“There’s still some wine left for the Duke to drink.”

Pointing to the glass in front of him with a playful grin, Teresa made Aneta sigh.

“The Black Knight?”

When Duke Hetchen asked if she would drink instead, Aneta picked up the glass without hesitation.

“It seems like everyone is hoping for that, so I should fulfill their expectations.”