Vergil, the advisor of Sylvester Castle, looked disapprovingly at his master who was lost in thought.

“Your Grace, do you really intend to attend the Founding Festival?”

“Yes.”

The much younger man replied with an expressionless face. Though Vergil had known him for a long time, his face remained unreadable. Feeling uneasy, Vergil repeatedly adjusted his monocle and questioned Theophane again.

“But you know. You won’t be welcomed by His Majesty the Emperor. Going to the imperial palace without the founding meritorious subject’s crest is not a good choice.”

“No, I won’t go empty-handed.”

“Pardon?”

“I will get the crest back.”

For a moment, Vergil doubted his ears, wondering if he had misheard.

Theophane had recently undertaken the unusual journey to Agente territory, saying he needed to confirm the contents of a letter, but he hadn’t shared what had happened there.

“But how… What exactly did you discuss with that Lady?”

At this demanding question, Theophane’s gaze grew distant. By now, Vergil’s voice seemed to have disappeared from his hearing.

Instead, Theophane recalled the gentle voice he had heard recently.

“I plan to break off my engagement to escape my father’s grasp.”

The resolute look in her eyes contrasted with her impression of being like a calm, sunken lake. Her confident attitude without a hint of hesitation. The Agente Lady had an atmosphere different from what he had expected.

“I need your cooperation, Duke. I’m not offering thoughtless kindness. Nor am I playing games.”

“Do you have a proper plan?”

“First, I will retrieve Sylvester’s founding meritorious subject crest from Laskaria and return it to you. Then at this Founding Festival, even His Majesty the Emperor will have to acknowledge Sylvester.”

“And what does the Lady gain from this?”

“I plan to actively use you as a tool of interference, since you won’t be able to ignore me after receiving something from me.”

“…You want me to be your shield.”

“Precisely.”

Not just using him as a tool, but as a shield. It was a bold and even arrogant plan.

“Are you not considering that I could take what I want and then ignore you?”

“You won’t be able to do that, Duke.”

At her utterly firm voice, Theophane could say nothing more.

“Will you reject my proposal?”

Her attitude clearly showed she knew the person before her couldn’t refuse.

That confident gaze and direct look. Was this really the same Lady who had hesitated to come out from behind her father when he saw her as a child?

In the year Theophane turned 15, his parents, whom he respected and loved dearly, were executed. Soon after, relatives and servants he had lived with comfortably all lost their lives or were captured.

The castle where he was born and raised burned and was stained with blood. The reason was that they had allegedly plotted treason, and the one who reported this was the head of House Agente.

But that couldn’t be true. Theophane’s parents valued their loyalty and pride toward Preteria more than their own lives.

He barely avoided the extinction of his family. It was in consideration of the covenant with the founding emperor that the honor of Sylvester’s ancestors would be eternal, and that the treason was planned solely by Theophane’s parents.

Not long after young Theophane inherited the declining family, he heard that the Agente Lady had received Laskaria as a birthday gift from her father.

The land where the blood of Sylvester’s ancestors and parents dwelled, the land they had tried to protect by any means.

To the daughter of the family that had taken everything from him.

Since then, Theophane had lived by suppressing all his boiling emotions. He couldn’t let his suppressed feelings explode and ruin things of their own accord.

Until the opportunity came, until the time arrived, Theophane always had to kill his emotions.

He couldn’t reveal his true heart.

“No. I accept your proposal, My Lady.”

Even if it meant deceiving his own heart and taking her hand.

***

Hearing voices coming from the maid’s room, Rhys listened carefully.

“…such a scandal…”

“Poor thing…”

It was clear the maids were talking about her, but she couldn’t hear properly. Rhys used her slender frame to somehow squeeze close to the door and pressed her ear against it.

“But you know, maybe the rumors aren’t just rumors? How would we know if she’s really locked up in her room all that time, or if she’s secretly going out to meet men?”

“Even with Lord Calles around?”

“It’s a political marriage. It’s common for nobles to marry for love too.”

The conversation that began to be heard clearly was just as she had expected.

One of the maids who was freely spreading rumors about Rhys covered her mouth with her hand, unable to hide her shock.

“So, the Lady… satisfies her unfulfilled desires in that way?”

“I heard there are already widespread rumors among the noble ladies about why the Agente Lady rarely shows her face at social gatherings. Even though she has a fiancé, she lives like that, so at least she knows to be ashamed.”

Soon, sighs could be heard from various corners.

“Lord Calles is the one who suffers.”

“Such a handsome and wonderful person, what a waste.”

The chattering maids each expressed their regret in their own way.

Bang! Soon, the sound of someone roughly hitting a small desk echoed through the room.

“I’ve been listening, but this is going too far!”

It was Lambda, one of the mansion’s maids. Sitting alone, Lambda approached the group with a reddened face.

“What’s so good about spreading such vulgar rumors? Does the Lady look like that kind of person to you?”

“Lambda, why are you getting so worked up again?”

“Leave her alone, she’s always like this.”

Another maid stood up abruptly in response to the sudden outburst, confronting Lambda. The other maids turned away as if tired of such incidents.

“You think you’re something special just because the Lady treats you like a friend?”

“What?”

“No one else would tolerate that fiery temper of yours except the Lady. Honestly, it’s disgusting how you act like you’re her sole ally, Lambda.”

“Did you just say disgusting?”

“Yes. And don’t think we enjoy these rumors either. Honestly, we’re ashamed of the Lady too!”

Finally, as Lambda, whose actions were quicker than words, grabbed her fellow maid’s hair, just as the familiar chaos was about to begin—

With a crash, the small door swung open wide and Rhys appeared.

“Um, wait! Lambda, I can’t find my dress… Could you help me look for it?”

“…My Lady.”

As if she had been waiting outside the door, their Lady, making an awkward excuse, took Lambda out of the room.

The remaining maids stared at the suddenly empty doorway with dumbfounded expressions.

***

“Don’t keep fighting with them like that. It makes it difficult to get along.”

“What do you mean ‘keep’? When have I fought like that before?”

Oops, Rhys closed her mouth. In her previous life, Lambda had also fought with fellow maids in this way, so she had habitually offered advice.

Lambda, still not having calmed down, was roughly rummaging through the dresses.

“Aren’t you angry, My Lady?”

“No, I am angry.”

“You’re lying!”

“But getting angry doesn’t change anything.”

“But nothing changes by staying quiet either.”

That was true. Not just the mansion’s maids, but people who habitually disparaged others had an uncanny ability to identify easy targets.

But for Rhys, getting angry at every instance was also troublesome.

Despite being the only child of the great Duke Mikhail, living in the splendid Agente mansion, the stories that followed Rhys were always close to scandals.

Despite attracting excessive attention due to her family’s reputation and striking appearance, Rhys was inherently introverted. It was difficult for her to actively explain rumors or pretend to be unbothered while chatting among people.

So she had simply decided it was better to hide away rather than deal with the hassle.

“I wonder if things would have been different if mother were here.”

“What?”

“It’s nothing.”

Lambda, who had responded to her Lady’s quiet mutter, soon began to fume again.

“The ones spreading these rumors should all be caught and punished.”

“That seems like too much trouble, doesn’t it? It’s not just one or two people.”

“Really? Are you just going to listen to these outrageous things being said about you?”

Rhys briefly recalled the past.

In her previous life, around the time the Founding Festival was approaching, the same scandal had circulated. That the Lady, despite having a fiancé, secretly went out at night to enjoy indecent activities. But Rhys had ignored it as she had always done before, and eventually the uncontrollable spread of the story became the cause of great humiliation at the Founding Festival.

The one who had rescued her from the hellish, shameful gazes that day was Calles.

A man who, despite hearing things that would justifiably anger him, instead protected his fiancée—people evaluated him as having character more admirable than even the Agente reputation. From that day on, Calles became the most radiant person in the world to Rhys as well.

It was a memory she wanted to forget. Shaking her head, Rhys lightly touched Lambda’s shoulder.

“Lambda, I’m not unaware of other methods. Let’s get ready to go out. I have someone to meet.”