In the high society of Ellarion, the capital of the Cardian Empire, opinions of Helena Winston varied widely.

At first, her friends described her as a “fun friend” – not a fun friend, they were quick to point out, but a fun friend.

The more respectable members of society often referred to her as “the troublesome young lady of House Winston”, usually with an affectionate but slightly awkward smile.

There were also a few men – those who had (allegedly) been played by her – who couldn’t forget her and referred to her as a “bewitching woman”, proudly claiming to be her admirers.

Conversely, some women, believing that Helena had stolen their lovers, cursed her with a simple phrase: “That b*tch”.

But Helena herself had a different opinion:

“For someone like me? I think I’m just ordinary.”

That, of course, was Helena’s claim to fame.

With her sharp wit and eloquence, she was the darling of high society – and a striking beauty who was always mentioned among the most glamorous women in the capital’s social circles.

She inherited both her charm and her beauty from her mother, Sandra.

Sandra had once been a stunning dancer who caused a sensation in the capital’s high society.

She was such a renowned beauty that even the Emperor was rumoured to have tried to court her.

But the man she finally chose was none other than Adrian Winston – an unassuming man who held no titles at the time and attracted little attention.

This scandalous marriage once again turned the capital upside down, but sadly it did not last long.

Just five years after the wedding, she left the Winston household, abandoning her husband and daughter.

And she did it in secret, with a new lover at her side.

Sandra left her husband with an unforgettable stain on his past, and her departure cast a long shadow over the prestigious House of Winston.

But she left one good thing for her daughter Helena.

That was her stunning beauty – an exact replica of her mother’s.

But Helena had never been particularly grateful for it.

In her opinion, handsome men were rare, but beautiful women were as common as pebbles on the road.

The fact that she didn’t get along with Mia, the stepmother who had come into the household after her mother’s disappearance, seemed perfectly normal.

Helena was the child of a runaway who had disgraced the noble name of the Count’s family.

Not only did she look exactly like her mother, but she had inherited her fiery personality, making her an exceptionally difficult child to raise.

If anyone had claimed that Helena and Mia, the epitome of a refined lady, had got on and lived happily together, it would have sounded like pure fiction.

For Helena, it only made sense that she had lived through a stormy, chaotic adolescence.

That was why even the gentle Count Winston had sometimes been driven to fiery rages by her.

And why her stepmother – who always acted like a hedgehog, but was soft inside – had shed tears for her more than once.

But as for Helena herself? She often felt indifferent.

After all, it wasn’t called the storm and stress of adolescence for nothing.

Still, even Helena began to wonder if she had gone too far this time.

Her father’s refined, noble face had often blushed at her antics – but this time the blush seemed different, more serious.

“…Helenaaaa…!”

Count Winston cried out hoarsely, as if wringing the name from his throat, then clutched the back of his neck and staggered.

“My love!”

Mia Winston cried out in alarm as she rushed to the Count’s side.

While supporting him, she shot Helena a fierce glare.

Helena, who had reflexively been about to glare back—as she had always done in the past—suddenly flinched.

‘Yikes.’

When she was younger and didn’t know any better, she had fought tooth and nail with her stepmother.

But now Helena knew exactly what was happening to her.

She slumped her shoulders and bowed her head, putting on the most pathetic expression she could manage.

Her stepmother, who still harboured a quiet guilt for not being kinder to young Helena, broke down instantly.

Helena could see the energy draining from her eyes.

In the end, the Countess – clutching her own neck like her husband – cried out in despair:

“I swear you’ll be the death of me!”

The reason Count Winston and the Countess were so angry was none other than the scandal involving Helena and the Empire’s Crown Prince, Rufus Arpend.

The Imperial capital was in an uproar over the rumours surrounding them.

The scandal was this:

“Lady Helena and Crown Prince Rufus have been seen together – witnessed by none other than Her Majesty the Empress and the Crown Prince’s fiancée, Lady Bayard of the Ducal House.”

The problem was the vague phrase “seen together”.

Rationally, it sounded like nothing to make a fuss about.

But thanks to the social prominence of both individuals, the rumour – which had already begun to spread – was now spiralling out of control, fuelled by the wild imaginations of the more vulgar-minded gossips.

And yet Helena felt deeply wronged.

After holding her head down for a moment, she raised it and spoke clearly.

“But for the record, I didn’t sleep with His Highness the Crown Prince.”

At her words, Count Winston’s face turned not just red, but a dark, prune-like purple, while the Countess let out a piercing scream.

“Eliza, Aira, Henry! Get out! I said get out immediately!”

Helena turned to see the curious faces of her beloved younger siblings peering through the crack in the study door.

Little Henry exclaimed happily, “Noona says she didn’t sleep with him!”

Clever Eliza quickly put a hand over Henry’s mouth and pulled him away.

After making sure the study door was closed, Helena continued to explain.

“So if we think of the whole thing as steps A, B and C – we haven’t even got to A…”

Count Winston, his face now a deep, anguished red, shouted, “Helena, enough! I have no interest in hearing the details of your love life!”

Helena rolled her eyes and said.

“R-right, of course. I just wanted to make it clear that I would never do anything serious enough to cause such a scandal…”

When the Count looked like he was going to faint, it was the Countess who spoke in his place.

“Helena, whether it was A or C – that’s not the point. What matters is that the Crown Prince is already engaged and that you were seen with him by both Her Majesty the Empress and his fiancée!”

Helena fell silent, speechless.

To be fair, she could have said more in her defence.

Adela Bayard, the fiancée of Crown Prince Rufus Arpend, was a woman so famously stiff that, although only nineteen, it was rumoured throughout high society that she was more like ninety-one.

And it was equally well known that the Crown Prince detested her.

He acted as if marrying Adela would be his death sentence and spent his days romancing every eligible lady in the capital’s high society.

Helena thought that if you gathered all the women who had fallen for the Prince’s charms, you could easily fill the Imperial Grand Ballroom.

Of course, she was not one of them.

Her relationship with the Crown Prince was… different.