“……!”

“Oh my goodness!”

“You should break up with such a man immediately!”

“They say he even had several other women. He rotated them by day of the week! Really, that tainted blood never changes, I tell you!”

Seira downed another glass of whiskey.

It seemed she was reminded of an ex-lover from Montvert who had given her a similar experience.

Meanwhile, angry women began gathering around the sofa one after another.

“Such a despicable scoundrel! Oh, I apologize. Was I too vulgar? Please forget what I just said.”

“Not at all vulgar. What courtesy does such an idiot deserve?”

“And she was quite impressive for her first time.”

“Then that’s fortunate.”

Though none of them knew any truly crude words, the fervor with which they each hurled their harshest known insults was fierce.

However, everyone shared the same concern for Lady Shelbier.

“I had no idea this was happening.”

“Indeed. Lady Shelbier was so fond of that man… Poor thing.”

“Sigh. But what can we do? Sad as it is, Lady Shelbier has no choice but to give up.”

“Give up? Lady Shelbier was clearly the one who ended things first.”

“That’s right. He was the one who got dumped.”

“……!”

Audrey finally understood Charlotte’s grand intention.

‘She wanted me to learn how to get dumped!’

Yes. To be dumped by someone, this kind of shock therapy must be necessary.

Having four children.

Or having designated lovers for each day of the week.

Who wouldn’t fall out of love after something like that?

‘Yes, this is it!’

It was a brilliant method she never would have imagined on her own.

Audrey’s face grew completely serious.

‘But would he believe me if I said I had children?’

Artificial lies eventually get exposed. Between the two options, pretending to be promiscuous seemed more natural.

Audrey imagined the scene.

‘Ah, if you wish to be my seventh lover, I won’t particularly object.’

‘Seventh?’

‘Well, the more lovers, the better, don’t you think?’

‘……You have many lovers?’

‘Hmm, hmm, hmm. Let me see. What should we do? Sunday is my only free day.’

‘I want to see you every day.’

‘What? Then when would I meet Charlie, Maxim, Delph, Louis, Will, and Andres?’

‘……Ha.’

‘I can’t give them up either. They’re all such charming men.’

‘Simple enough.’

In her imagination, Duke Frith immediately drew his sword and approached.

‘Charlie? Maxim? If you want to meet them so badly, I’ll let you see their faces.’

‘……!’

‘I’ll behead them daily and present them as gifts.’

No!

This didn’t seem right after all.

Before Duke Frith’s affection could fade, innocent men’s heads would roll first.

‘What should I do to make him fall out of love?’

Audrey turned her attention back to the salon, seeking to learn.

The tea had disappeared somewhere, and whiskey had taken its place.

At the table where everyone huddled together, talk about men and sharp criticisms never ceased.

“If he had just said he wanted to break up, I wouldn’t have been so angry.”

“My goodness! Who sells things to their lover? How petty!”

“Don’t even mention it. There’s also the one who suddenly claimed to have received divine revelation and stopped all contact.”

“Well, at least that’s better than a man obsessed with money. Money, money… claiming to be doing business and asking to borrow money every day, how tiresome!”

Lady Shelbier’s story seemed to have sparked it all.

Audrey, the only one without a story to share, sat like a decorative piece.

But she wasn’t bored.

‘Oh. So there are methods like that too?’

She was captivated by the outrageous stories pouring out like an inexhaustible fountain.

How each tale was perfectly designed to make one fall out of love… She wished she could write them all down in a notebook.

“Audrey, have another drink!”

“Ah, yes.”

The atmosphere gradually grew livelier.

Excited by how much she had learned, Audrey was already quite intoxicated.

‘Duke Frith! I’ll make you fall completely out of love with me!’

This happened after emptying no less than two teacups.

***

Audrey changed her clothes with her eyes half-closed.

Her powerless body swayed limply following her maid’s touch.

It was truly a terrible Monday morning.

“Miss, we have a dinner appointment with the Emilton family this evening.”

“That’s today……”

“There! All done.”

“Mmm……”

“Ah, Miss! Just a moment!”

Jena, who had just finished dressing Audrey, approached her again.

She was unusually busy rummaging through her pocket.

‘Why is she doing that?’

While Audrey was watching in confusion, Jena pulled out a butterfly-shaped hairpin.

“I’ll put this in your hair.”

“……”

“Hehe.”

Adorable cream-colored hairpins were placed on top of her neatly braided pink hair.

It looked like butterflies had gathered on a soft pink flower.

“Do you know? They say wearing white butterfly hair ornaments brings good luck in love.”

“Mmm? Who says that?”

“An astrologer, or was it a prophet? Anyway. A famous person shared this tip.”

“……”

“Now men will flock to you like bees! My friend told me after seeing the effects herself.”

A strangely familiar pattern.

It reminded her of that “Confession Day” that supposedly had a 99.99999% success rate.

‘……Suspicious.’

Naturally, Audrey’s face was filled with distrust.

How much trouble had she gone through for believing one ridiculous article?

Unaware of this, Jena chattered excitedly.

“You’ll be getting married before long, Miss, so you should choose someone good!”

“……”

“If several men are interested, at least one of them should be decent, right? Statistically speaking.”

“……!”

Several men flocking to her?

Does that mean there would be multiple men like Duke Frith?

‘Wh-what a horrible thought!’

Audrey, now wide awake, urged her maid.

“Je-Jena! Take these out, quickly!”

“What? But-“

“We can’t let that happen!”

Even though it might be an unfounded rumor, it sent chills down her spine.

It was already troublesome enough trying to make one person fall out of love with her…

She absolutely refused any additional complications.

“Oh dear! I-I’m sorry. I’ll remove them right away!”

Jena seemed to have belatedly remembered Claude.

The butterflies that had been dancing on her pink hair disappeared following her nimble hands.

Only then did Audrey breathe a sigh of relief.

It was a chaotic start to the week in many ways.

***

‘Now. Now is the time.’

Rustle.

Derek had been cutting with a knife since Monday dawn.

The blue blade slid smoothly along a precise angle.

Pulling the corners of his mouth into a smile, satisfied with the perfectly cut newspaper piece, his villainous face instantly turned grim.

‘This is quite pleasing.’

But his joy didn’t last long.

The reason was that he simply couldn’t understand Dodori’s heart.

《Imperial Newspaper Survey》

1. Which man would you want as your lifelong ally?

1st Place: Derek Frith

Derek unconsciously sighed as he put down the newspaper clipping he had just cut out.

‘……If only I could enter Dodori’s heart.’

Since falling in love with Dodori, he hadn’t slept peacefully for a single day.

Love, which others claimed was only pleasant, felt somewhat overwhelming and difficult for him.

One moment, he would be so excited by a single magic stone that he couldn’t sleep, and the next, his heart would drop at a message contained in flowers.

‘Is love always this difficult?’

Dodori seemed both close yet distant.

One day, she would seem to have softened her heart, only to shatter his the next day.

The way she controlled Derek’s mood like a seesaw was truly audacious.

“Haah……”

Duke Frith looked at the vase on his desk with a troubled face.

The globe amaranths filling the vase looked especially luscious, as if responding to the anemone across from them.

‘Yes. If she sees these flowers, she’ll understand. That Dodori is my only one.’

Derek firmly believed that Dodori would recognize his sincerity.

Wasn’t it their secret signal to convey feelings through the language of flowers?

Globe amaranth was a flower he had chosen after careful consideration.

Globe amaranth’s flower meaning: Unchanging love.

This was truly what he wanted to convey to Dodori.

No matter how coldly Dodori turned her back on him, Derek would forever remain in that place.

Of course, this didn’t mean he would also protect the man who had snatched Dodori away.

Knock knock.

“Your Grace, it’s Lucas. There’s something urgent that requires your attention. Please forgive my rudeness.”

Fling.

Lucas barged in before Duke Frith could answer.

Derek, who was about to stick the newspaper clipping on the wall, frowned and turned around.

“What is it?”

“The sheriff of Pelios has sent a dispatch.”

“……”

At this early hour?

Derek immediately took the paper.

This is Bernard from Pelios.

Missing person cases in the region have been unceasing lately.

Most return home within about 3 days of their disappearance, but there are still concerning aspects.

I will compile and report back once the data is organized.

I earnestly request that you look after Pelios, and I’ll end here for today.

His face hardened as he confirmed the contents.

“……Missing person cases.”

“Here are the reports sent from Pelios over the past year. There have been occasional mentions of missing person cases, but they weren’t frequent.”

“How about recently?”

“Just last week, there were already ten people.”