Before he knew it, Damian had approached silently, like a shadow.

The usual lazy expression, as if he were a sluggish bear, was nowhere to be seen. His gaze had sharpened, as keen as his sword.

“There’s hardly anyone left. Should we stop?”

“Prince Helios ordered us to annihilate them. If the losses aren’t severe, have the 4th Division under Lute pursue them.”

“Yes, sir.”

Lute was as cold and capable a swordsman as Alex. Alex believed that leaving the final cleanup to him would ensure a neat resolution to the war.

Without asking a single question, Damian immediately bowed his head, adjusted his grip on his sword, and moved away from Alex.

Watching his subordinate retreat, Alex recalled Helios, who had given him the order.

Though he always wore a mask, making it less obvious, Helios had been a conqueror from the very beginning—arrogant and self-righteous.

Unlike others who feared Alex, Helios never hesitated to issue commands to him.

Alex didn’t dislike that. In fact, he welcomed it. A leader who was truly worthy of being followed was something to appreciate.

However, the problem was that he assigned too much work.

Ever since the battle had begun in earnest three days ago—and even during the preparation period—Alex had no time to write a letter.

…But was it really because he had no time?

No, that was just an excuse.

He stared indifferently at his own hand gripping the sword.

For days and nights, he had killed without rest. The dried blood staining his hands was repeatedly covered by fresh blood, only to dry again—a grotesque sight.

The stench of death had numbed his nose, and the echoes of screams and curses rang endlessly in his ears.

Someone like him could never properly express affection. It was only natural that he hadn’t written to Elicity.

In the distance, a war horn sounded once more, signaling the start of battle.

Alex, who had been staring at his hands for a long time, readjusted his grip on his sword.

His greatest wish was simply for this time to end quickly.

***

Despite only a few days passing, Elicity had grown fond of Serad.

Even without considering his handsome appearance, his cheerful personality and diligent nature earned him favor among the household staff.

Even Bella took a liking to him.

Thinking about it, the Bleam family had many children. Having grown up with them since childhood, Serad could easily hold a conversation with Bella.

Moreover, despite being a noble from a prestigious family, he showed respect toward Lorraine, a fallen noble, which pleased Elicity.

Even Retia, who was usually strict with new servants, seemed to be lenient toward him.

Whenever Elicity tried to assign Serad a task, Retia would step forward and insist on delivering the instructions herself.

Each time, Olivia seemed as if she wanted to say something to Elicity, but she never did.

That was likely because Alex’s letter had yet to arrive, even after nearly two weeks.

The delay made Elicity increasingly anxious.

And then, one day, as she was waiting for that letter, an incident occurred.

***

Calix Lawrence, Elicity’s older brother, was a man of great pride.

Setting aside the fact that the Lawrence family had once held the esteemed role of senators who reviewed legislation—

His brother-in-law, Alex, was a duke, and his niece, Isabella, was rumored to become the princess consort of Salita.

Even though none of these accomplishments were his own, Calix firmly believed that he had played a part in them.

“Wasn’t it I who educated Elicity, whom Alex Zeroden is so infatuated with?”

That insignificant girl, Elicity Lawrence.

Since he was the one who had fed and clothed her, Calix was convinced that he had created both the brilliant Alex and Isabella.

But then, what was this?

He hadn’t received an invitation to the victory banquet that was supposed to be held after Alex’s conquest of Tutania.

At first, he assumed that his foolish sister had simply forgotten while raising her child.

So, he decided to be generous and wait a little longer.

However, the letter that finally arrived read as follows:

<Brother, I have decided to reduce the family’s maintenance allowance to one-tenth of the original amount.

I have also done the same for the Reten County family, my in-laws, so please don’t feel wronged.>

Calix was seething inside, but he remained composed for the sake of his dignity.

There was someone else to act vulgarly in his place—his parents, Baron and Baroness Lawrence.

As expected, his mother couldn’t bear it and immediately took a carriage to the duke’s residence.

‘That child has always thought dearly of us. What choice does she have? She’ll yield soon enough.’

However, the one who yielded was the Baroness herself.

For some reason, she returned looking significantly older. She rambled on incoherently, uttering words no one could understand, and soon shut herself away in the baron’s estate.

‘What the hell…!’

Calix couldn’t stand it.

‘Do you know how much effort I put into that girl, and she dares to treat me like this?’

Driven to the brink by rage, he immediately wrote another letter.

However, since there was a chance that her husband, the duke, might read it, he kept his tone exceedingly affectionate.

Calix was perceptive and well aware that the duke cherished his sister deeply.

<My dearest sister, Elicity.

It seems there’s something on your mind that has disappointed you. I’d like to see you and talk things over.

I also miss Bella… May I come visit?>

Even after several days, there was no reply from his sister. This made Calix hesitate slightly.

Traveling from Lawrence territory to Zeroden territory required a significant amount of time and money, and he had to manage the Lawrence estate in place of his lazy, pig-like father.

Moreover, his cunning nature told him that the best way to reconcile with someone who was deeply upset was to wait.

However, a few days later, everything changed.

After being mocked at the Gentlemen’s Club, where he had gone to gamble, Calix resolved to go see that wretched girl.

—Oh, our dear young baron of Lawrence! I heard your niece turned down the position of Salita’s crown princess?

—Hahaha, these days even fallen noble ladies are teaching young women. Was it mathematics?

—Kkk. What happened to your sister? Even if she’s a duchess, shouldn’t she be re-educated?

‘What the hell is this nonsense!?’

He had no choice but to go.

***

It was an ordinary day like any other.

After completing most of her daily work in the study, Elicity was waiting in the dining room for Bella to have tea time with her daughter.

“Mom!!”

Bella, her hair tied up with a red ribbon, came running into the dining room.

Elicity got down from her chair to meet Bella at eye level and kissed her cheek twice.

“My love, did you have a good morning with Teacher Lorraine? Did you study well?”

“Yes!”

Bella beamed as she pulled something from her dress pocket.

“Mom! Do you know what I did with my teacher this morning?”

“What did you do, my dear?”

“Tada—.”

Bella held out a piece of paper with both hands. It was a worksheet filled with numbers.

“We did math this morning! We learned about ‘division and multiplication’!”

“Math?”

“Yes! I knew such a subject existed, but this was my first time formally learning it. I finished all the exercises and got all 20 questions right. I did well, didn’t I?”

“Yes, my darling. You did wonderfully.”

Just as she was about to kiss her daughter’s cheek again, a familiar yet displeasing voice rang out from the doorway.

“So the rumors were true.”

The voice, restrained with suppressed anger, made Elicity’s eyebrows furrow.

‘Of course, I was wondering why he hadn’t come yet.’

Her older brother, Calix Lawrence, had arrived.

Elicity gently folded Bella’s worksheet in half and placed it on the table.

The gaze that had been on her daughter now turned cold and hardened.

“Brother, why are you here?”

“I came because I heard something ridiculous.”

Although Calix was smiling, Elicity could tell he was quite angry.

The glint in his violet eyes was eerily similar to the look he had as a child—right before he pounced on her.

Elicity instinctively checked if a guard was nearby. Serad was there. Feeling a sense of relief, she gracefully lifted her chin.

“Ridiculous? What are you talking about?”

“You rejected the position of Salita’s crown princess? You’re teaching her horseback riding? You hired a tutor from the Academy? What nonsense is this?”

‘And what does that have to do with you?’

Elicity’s lips itched to retort, but realizing Bella was present, she forced a smile instead.

“Olivia, please take Bella to the study room.”

“It’s against etiquette to send a child away when there’s a guest, Lity.”

Calix was cunning.

He was certain that Elicity would watch her words in Bella’s presence, so he quickly turned to his niece.

“Isabella, it’s been a while since your uncle visited. Won’t you have tea time with me? I missed you so much. Melina and Aunt Chelsea came too.”

At the mention of ‘Melina,’ Bella’s face lit up.

“Melina came?”

“Yes. It wasn’t allowed at first, but your uncle made a special exception just for you.”

Elicity once again felt the urge to send Bella upstairs, seeing her brother’s deeply patriarchal attitude.

However, Bella adored Melina. Among her cousins, Melina was the closest to her in age.

Bella hesitated for a moment before nodding.

“Yes, I want to play with her.”

“Good. Oh, look, here they come.”

The sound of footsteps echoed from the door, and two women appeared.

Nothing had changed—whether in her previous life or now.

A stifling hat that covered half the face like a curtain. Dresses that concealed the wrists and neck without a single jewel or lace in sight. Hair tightly braided and pinned up.

“Hello, Sister.”

Elicity’s sister-in-law, Chelsea, was no different.

“Greetings, Lady Elicity.”

Pressed lips, eyes cast downward, hands neatly clasped. Standing precisely one step behind her husband.

Seeing her sister-in-law’s subservient posture made Elicity feel suffocated, as though something were lodged in her throat.