“I’m Karen Rymont.”

It was exactly as Selina had expected.

The list had noted her as Calix’s childhood friend. She had thought she might see her today, but she hadn’t expected her to be someone who radiated such a bright and lively energy.

“Ah, it’s nice to meet you. I’m…”

For some reason, unlike when she greeted others, she felt a strange sense of intimidation. Without meaning to, her voice came out small—like that of an ant.

Karen, smiling as though she already knew all about Selina, spoke cheerfully.

“I’ve long heard about you, Madam. You’re Lady Selina Ilios Axell, the daughter of Bryson Ilios Axell, Marquis of Axel, aren’t you?”

Nothing she said was incorrect. Yet Selina couldn’t explain why her shoulders trembled upon hearing it.

“Ah… yes. So you already knew about me—”

“Selina Silas.”

Selina had intended to simply agree with Karen’s words, but the man beside her cut in, correcting her.

“Since you’ve married me, that’s what you’ll be called from now on.”

Calix stepped closer to Selina and took her hand.

Her gaze, almost unconsciously, shifted to his arm. The arm that had been locked around hers earlier was now neatly at his side, no longer holding her.

Why seeing something so trivial brought her a sense of relief was something she could not understand.

“Oooh, are you already showing off that you’re married? I suppose you don’t even see me here—someone who’s been so loyal to His Grace that I’ve never even had a proper romance.”

Rocheste gave a thumbs-down, making a mocking gesture.

Zenfri replied with a look of pure exasperation.

“You should at least make your lies believable, my friend. Word’s already spread through Thalia’s marketplace that you meet a different woman every day of the week.”

Alter and Victor, who had been silently listening, nodded.

“That’s right! I’ve heard it too! They say on Mondays it’s a redhead, Tuesdays it’s an orange-haired woman, and so on. That’s why your nickname is ‘Rainbow Rocheste’!”

“Do you have any idea how much I love rainbows? And you give me a nickname that disgraces them?”

As if they had planned it in advance, everyone joined in to tease Rocheste.

“Ahaha, Rocheste, you brought that up for nothing and ended up worse off, didn’t you?”

Karen tapped Rocheste’s arm with an amused grin.

“Karen, won’t you get in trouble if you show up to the party like that? I remember last time you wore your corps uniform instead of a dress and your mother gave you a good scolding.”

With his arms crossed, Zefri eyed her and asked.

“Ah, I’m already so nervous as it is. If you see my parents anywhere, tell me, alright? So I can hide.”

“I think Captain Karen looks great in her corps uniform!”

“See? Only our dear Alter gets me.”

Karen, as if indulging a child, gave Alter a playful pat on the backside for raising his hand enthusiastically every time he spoke. Then she finally got to the point she’d meant to raise from the start.

“So, wasn’t the trip back from the Empire exhausting? I heard you didn’t even get into the Imperial Palace.”

“Didn’t get in? I chose not to go in!”

Rocheste’s lips jutted out as he refuted her words.

“Do you have any idea how rough it was from the start? An assassin suddenly barged in, trying to threaten His Grace the Grand Duke… don’t even get me started.”

“I heard about that. And on top of that…”

Karen cast Selina a brief glance before continuing.

“I heard they even changed the original agreement, which ended up making things worse.”

Naturally, the conversation shifted to matters concerning the Empire. It was only natural for them to be curious about what had happened there, given that they’d just returned.

‘Should… should I just step away?’

As the knights’ conversation grew livelier, Selina began to feel increasingly out of place.

For now, she pretended not to notice, quietly stepping back and reaching for a grape from the table.

All the other fruits had been neatly prepared so one could simply pick them up and eat them, but the grapes were still in bunches—perfect for idly fiddling with while feigning distraction.

She had been toying with the same bunch for quite some time when—

“If His Grace hadn’t stopped us, we would have overturned the wedding hall.”

Alter burst out, bristling as he recalled the events in the Empire.

“Changing one’s word like that is an insult to His Grace. Everyone knew it, yet they all pretended otherwise. Even the Emperor himself, the greatest in the Empire.”

“I didn’t want to just sit back and watch, either. If it came down to it, I was ready to cause a scene—even if it meant risking my life.”

The heated exchange began with Alter and Viktor, and before long, the vice-captain and several other knights had gathered around to join in.

Selina quietly toyed with a grape, waiting for the right moment to slip away. It wasn’t that she disapproved of their anger towards the Empire — far from it. She simply felt that her presence wouldn’t contribute anything to their ongoing conversation.

The scene stirred an unwelcome memory of her days at the Marquis’s estate. Even at the dining table, with the Marquis and his wife seated beside her, they — and Iden — would carry on their conversations as though she didn’t exist. The only times they would speak to her were when the Marquis or Marchioness wanted to ensure that she wouldn’t embarrass herself in front of Thalia, instructing her in the ways of proper noble etiquette.

Other than that, she was always present yet treated as though she were invisible. In fact, if she were being honest, Iden probably spoke to her more than the marquis and marchioness combined — though only to nitpick her every word and action as if her very existence offended him.

‘Maybe… now would be a good time to leave.’

She was just lifting the grape she had been rolling between her fingers when a sharp, resentful voice rang out.

“That old Marquis Bryson must have lost his mind. What else could explain it? How could he possibly think to hand over his daughter to His Grace the Grand Duke?!”

Selina’s fingers froze.

She didn’t recognize the voice, but the resentment toward the marquis and his daughter was unmistakable. Her shoulders hunched instinctively under the weight of it.

In an instant, the lively atmosphere turned ice-cold, as though a bucket of water had been poured over the group. Selina had her back to them, yet she could feel every gaze fixed squarely on her.

‘I didn’t hear it. Just pretend I didn’t hear it.’

It was the same way she endured the maids whispering behind her back, or Iden marching up to her just to pick a fight—by acting as though she hadn’t heard a word.

Popping the grape into her mouth, she chewed slowly. The burst of sweet-tart juice on her tongue seemed to loosen the tension in her head, just a little.

Keeping her expression composed and neutral, she turned her head slightly.

“Um… I think I’ve had a bit too much fruit. I’ll just step out for a moment.”

She forced a small, sheepish smile, but the faces watching her were stiff and uneasy.

“Ah… Yes, of course, my lady. Please, go ahead.”

Fortunately, Rocheste answered in her place, allowing Selina to give a small nod and make her escape from the banquet hall. While she slipped away almost in a rush—

“Do you… do you think she heard that? She must’ve, right? Is that why she left?”

“Probably not. If she had, do you think she’d have just sat there? With a marquis like him as her father, it’s only natural the daughter would be the same.”

“She’s been eating fruit the whole time. I bet she was too distracted to notice anything!”

As they murmured among themselves, Calix’s gaze drifted toward the table where Selina had been sitting. On the plate with the grape cluster, several grapes lay plucked but uneaten, rolling idly against one another.

“Haah…”

By the time she reached the hallway, Selina sank weakly against the wall, sliding down until she sat on the floor. Every muscle in her body ached from the tension—oddly, it felt more exhausting than spending over a week riding in a carriage.

Now that she was away from the crowded hall, alone at last, the sharp, pricking sensation in her chest began to set in, as though tiny needles were poking her heart.

Could it be that she’d been hurt by what the knights had been saying?

‘Oh, come on. What’s there to be hurt about? You’ve heard far worse. And they weren’t even trying to wound you. You already knew the people of Thalia wouldn’t take kindly to someone from the Empire.’

The idea of being wounded by something so trivial was absurd. She decided it was nothing more than the nerves of adjusting to a new environment and closed her eyes.

When she’d been living alone at the convent, she had longed for the company of others. Yet now, surrounded by people, she found she could only breathe freely when she was by herself.

She had been resting with her eyes closed for quite some time when—

“My lady?”

A bright voice called out to her.

Opening her eyes, she saw Karen Rymont standing before her.

“So this is where you were resting. I was worried you might not be feeling well.”

“Ah… I’m fine. I just thought I’d rest for a bit before going back in.”

“That’s a relief.”

Karen smiled cheerfully before explaining the reason she had stepped out of the banquet hall herself.

“My mother finally saw how I was dressed. She’s been insisting I change immediately, so I’m on my way to do that…”

“I see.”

“Yes. I can tolerate wearing a dress, but draping myself in accessories from head to toe… that’s just not my style—”

Karen, grumbling as if the whole affair were a nuisance, suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

Her gaze had fallen to Selina’s wrist.

Noticing the bracelet set with a deep red gemstone, Karen’s expression shifted to one of surprise.

“My lady… did you receive that bracelet from Calix?”