Surprised by the Prince’s words, Neil looked up at the man before him. His large pupils were filled with astonishment.

“Let’s go, Edith.”

The Prince stretched his long legs and quickly returned to Edith’s side, regardless of Neil staring at him with shocked eyes.

After returning to his place, the man wrapped his hand around the woman’s waist. Though Edith looked startled, the Prince acted with complete naturalness.

And seeing the two of them like this, the Duchess began to smile as brightly as a fully bloomed flower.

**

In the carriage, Edith quietly gazed at the man in front of her.

The man was looking out the window, not giving her any attention.

“Judging by your resentment toward the family, you must have been kept confined, which means you probably don’t know any information about the ducal estate.”

Perhaps aware of her gaze, the Prince carelessly threw words at Edith.

‘I should only use the information I know about the ducal family when absolutely necessary.’

Edith did know some things because Neil would come to her room at night and speak to her.

Though nothing significant enough to help her escape the ducal household, Edith did know some minor details about the Koeller family’s private soldiers.

But there was no need to waste such information as mere entertainment when it wasn’t even necessary.

At the woman’s silence, the Prince seemed to think his assumption was correct and looked back out the window.

They continued riding in the carriage quietly until evening came.

“Your Highness, it seems we’ll need to stay at Baron Verden’s estate tonight.”

The carriage stopped, and the Prince got out first. Then he extended his hand toward Edith as she was about to step down from the carriage.

‘Could it be he’s offering to escort me?’

This was the same Prince who had made her sleep on the floor last night to avoid wrinkling his clothes.

Edith raised her gaze to examine the people visible behind the Prince. Judging by their fine clothes, they must be members of the Baron’s household.

Beside the Baron and his wife stood a beautiful young lady of the Baron’s family, gorgeously adorned and immediately capturing attention.

The Prince clearly didn’t want to get involved with the Baron’s daughter.

‘Perhaps His Highness finds these situations bothersome?’

Even if the Baron’s daughter was beautiful, she wasn’t a suitable match for the noble Prince who might become Emperor.

Edith put on a familiar, affectionate smile for the Prince and naturally took his hand.

And she showed no surprise at the Prince’s behavior as he embraced her fully and helped her down from the carriage.

“Your Highness, I hope your journey was comfortable.”

The Baron offered an awkward greeting. Though his tone was friendly, he couldn’t hide his confusion as he glanced sideways at Edith.

“Yes. The Duke’s household gave me a gift.”

The Prince smiled naturally as he placed his hand around Edith’s waist.

The Baron’s daughter, who had curled her black hair inward to emphasize her cuteness, scrutinized Edith up and down with intense eyes that seemed to pierce through her body.

‘I’m just a maid, not even a mistress.’

But being in a position where she had to be mindful of the Prince, Edith couldn’t explain that this was a misunderstanding. She couldn’t go against the man’s mood.

Edith simply bowed her head and remained silent, regardless of whether the Prince touched her or not.

Not incurring the Prince’s displeasure—that was the most important thing for now.

**

“You’re more useful than I thought, Edith.”

Baron Verden had, quite naturally, prepared for Edith and the Prince to share a room.

Whatever misunderstanding they might have, Edith kept her mouth firmly shut and tried her best not to upset the Prince’s mood.

“I’m grateful you think so.”

“I’ll need you like this until we return to the imperial palace.”

Edith bowed her head as she answered. The Prince spoke naturally while unfastening his belt, as if he truly considered Edith a maid.

Though she had already seen the man’s n*ked body, having grown familiar with it didn’t mean she could brazenly watch it.

“If there’s a lady you fancy, please give me a signal anytime. Perhaps by tapping my arm, something like that.”

Though the Prince was currently returning home with a lover received as a gift from the ducal residence, they might visit more prestigious households where she could become useless.

Edith carefully mentioned such a situation in advance.

“That’s not something for you to worry about.”

Had his mood soured because a mere maid had made an unsolicited request? The Prince’s voice had a somewhat sharp edge to it.

“Just undress me. Since you’re in the room, they won’t send in a maid.”

The Prince spoke roughly as he loosened his cravat.

Edith obediently approached the Prince. Dressed in formal dinner attire, the Prince wore a smooth silk shirt.

She slowly unbuttoned the shirt one by one.

A firm chest. Edith glanced at the man’s body while undressing him. It was merely a passing glance.

“Are you attracted to me?”

Ludwig laughed languidly. His voice was filled with confidence.

“I was just looking because you have a splendid body.”

Edith answered with her head bowed. It was a reluctant response given in an awkward atmosphere where denying would have been equally uncomfortable.

The Prince lifted her chin with his slender fingers as she looked at the floor.

“Why make such provocations? What if I embrace you tonight, grow tired of you, and sell you as a pr*stitute tomorrow?”

“Ah.”

Edith didn’t particularly show a surprised expression upon hearing his words.

The Prince had clearly changed his mind about taking her when she mentioned Neil’s story. Moreover, he had paid jewels to the ducal family as compensation.

It wasn’t a loss that could be recouped by simply selling her to a brothel. Even her mother, who had been a successful pr*stitute, hadn’t been worth that much.

Edith thought the man’s words were merely a mischievous joke.

“Now you don’t even show surprise.”

The Prince looked at Edith with eyes containing a hint of fondness. Like a man accustomed to wearing only jewels who had found a somewhat peculiarly colored stone by the roadside.

But his curiosity didn’t last long. The undressed man slowly entered the prepared bath.

Edith quickly followed behind him.

“No, you’re not a maid here. Pull the bell rope to call a maid to assist with the bath.”

The Prince entered the bath alone.

Edith quickly pulled the bell rope to summon the maids.

“His Highness has finished his bath. He has summoned you to his room.”

A maid informed Edith, who had been diligently imagining the situation.

Edith entered the Prince’s room following the maid’s guidance.

Though they would sleep in the same room to appear as lovers, there was a high probability she would sleep on the floor again tonight, so Edith had requested the thickest cardigan and was wearing it over her nightclothes.

“Did you wash?”

“Yes.”

While the Prince was bathing, Edith had also washed and even received a massage. A subtle rose fragrance emanated from her body.

Today again, the Prince had draped his upper garments over the sofa.

The maids had probably asked if they should put them in the wardrobe, but seeing them left like that, it was clear he didn’t intend to let her sleep on the sofa tonight either.

Edith slowly moved to the carpeted floor.

“Come up.”

“Pardon?”

“Don’t make me say it twice. The maids who come to clean the bedding in the morning will see, so we should be lying in the same bed.”

“Ah. Since it would be uncomfortable for someone lowly like me to enter the bed, I’ll climb up just before the maids arrive in the morning.”

“How insolent. And yet you begged to be my mistress earlier.”

Ludwig spoke with derision, but Edith merely smiled faintly. Regardless of what he said, the man went to the bed and lay down completely.

Edith went to the bed only near dawn, sitting on the edge with just her b*ttocks touching it.

**

“Ah—”

At breakfast, the Prince pushed food into Edith’s mouth.

The Baron’s daughter glared at Edith with jealous eyes, but to Edith, this seemed foolish.

‘He’s probably doing this to see if there’s poison in the food.’

The Prince handed the first spoonful to Edith without tasting the food himself. It wasn’t because the food was delicious and he wanted his mistress to taste it.

Though he was acting affectionately on the surface, it was merely an outward behavior.

‘What will happen to me when His Highness returns to the imperial palace?’

Hopefully, he wasn’t planning to use her in a deal with the young duke…

Edith smiled back at the Prince with complex feelings, like devoted lovers deeply in love with each other.

“I heard that the commander of Sper tried to flee as soon as he crossed swords with Your Highness. You truly achieved a remarkable feat.”

Though he had failed to make his daughter the Prince’s consort, the Baron tried hard to please Ludwig.

“Well, it wasn’t quite like that.”

It was true that the knight of Sper had fought a few rounds and then turned to flee. But it wasn’t because he feared Ludwig.

It was because the Crown Prince of Sper had already crossed the valley, so there was no need to waste more time.

“Anyway, he did flee.”

“I didn’t know such rumors would reach as far as the Sachsen threshold.”

“Pardon?”

The man who had been cautiously trying to please Ludwig widened his eyes.

“Baron Verden, weren’t you a vassal of the Sachsen family?”

The Baron’s shoulders instinctively shrank.

‘What is Sachsen?’

Edith had heard about Sachsen from Henrietta’s mouth. But having lived confined to rooms, Edith knew nothing more about the Sachsen family.

Noticing Ludwig’s expression slightly distorting as he uttered the word “Sachsen,” Edith perked up her ears.

“A vassal? I merely conducted a few transactions with Young Duke Leonard Sachsen.”

The Baron answered while rolling his eyes uncomfortably. He seemed to be racking his brain to change the subject.

“The young lady is truly beautiful.”

Suddenly, Baron Verden looked at Edith and complimented her appearance. He apparently couldn’t think of any other topic to bring up.

“She is pretty. Quite useful at night.”

‘All I do is help him change clothes at night.’

Ludwig answered while looking at Edith with sticky eyes, as if introducing a mistress with whom he spent passionate nights.

“She’s an incredibly beautiful woman, truly.”

Baron Verden truly seemed to have no other words coming to mind. He had brought his daughter, finely adorned, to the dining table, yet was complimenting the Prince’s mistress.

“You’re too kind.”

Edith answered reluctantly.

Her striking appearance had only brought misfortune to the woman thus far.

**

“Is this the child?”

“Yes. Look at her hair color. This pink shade is… cough.“

When Roxanne coughed up blood while answering, the Duke quickly moved his body backward.

“She does indeed have Koeller blood. Since she’s certainly my daughter, I’ll take her. However, once she enters the ducal residence, you must cut off all contact. Understood?”

Though he had known about the illegitimate child for ten years, Duke Koeller had never once sought out Edith.

But now Roxanne, dying from illness, had nowhere else to entrust her child except to her biological father. If she left Edith with people around her, they would only think of turning the child into a pr*stitute.

Roxanne, Edith’s birth mother, nodded.

‘He’s her biological father, so surely he won’t harm her. And her bloodline is certain.’

The Duke thus brought Edith to the ducal residence. And not long after arriving, Edith began to gain fame among the servants.

This was because rumors spread that Edith, merely an illegitimate child, was more beautiful than Henrietta, the legitimate daughter of the legal wife. Plus, she was born with rare pink hair.

[The flower of the East, Violet; the jewel of the West, Henrietta.]

Until Edith appeared, Henrietta had been the greatest beauty of the West. She was the legitimate daughter of the Koeller ducal family, three years older than Edith.

When Edith first saw Henrietta wearing a beautiful dress, she seemed as beautiful and mysterious to Edith as a princess from a fairy tale.

Until she opened her mouth.

“Why is this girl’s hair color like this?”

Henrietta complained irritably, then approached Edith closely to examine her hair color.

Henrietta reached out to the eleven-year-old Edith, grabbed her hair, and slammed her to the floor.

The well-developed fourteen-year-old Henrietta was too much for the skinny eleven-year-old Edith to handle.

Edith collapsed to the floor like a paper doll. And Henrietta immediately climbed on top of Edith’s stomach and shouted:

“Why does this damned girl have pink hair?!”