As Rosé read Hans’s letter, carefully taking in each word, the longing for her family tightly knotted in her heart began to unravel mercilessly.

Tears dropped onto the inked words, causing the letters to blur in small, round smudges.

The fact that Lady Audrey, the queen of Solstern’s social circles, had withdrawn from society was practically akin to a death sentence.

That single line alone was enough to paint a clear picture of how grim and somber the atmosphere at home must be.

‘I’m sorry. But please, just wait a little longer.’

Swallowing back her sorrow, Rosé wiped away her tears.

Then, a particular passage from the letter caught her attention.

She blinked and carefully reread the section.

‘The Mundo family…?’

A name she recognized.

‘Mundo? …Mundo!’

Just as something clicked in her mind—

Thud, thud, thud!

Natalie’s light, energetic footsteps echoed as she climbed the stairs.

Rosé quickly hid the letter inside her dress and wiped away the lingering traces of her tears.

“My lady! They said there’s nothing to take from here, so we should just pack a few essentials.”

“Oh… right. Okay.”

Rosé responded as calmly as she could, gazing at the window. The cool breeze helped erase the last remnants of her tears.

“Well, at least His Majesty isn’t completely devoid of sense. Once you’re officially married, our relationship with Hellevant should improve, thanks to you, right? That means we might even get to visit home again.”

“A few days ago, you were ready to beat him to death with a club. And now, suddenly, he’s ‘our lord’?”

Rosé teased with a laugh.

“Sigh, what choice do I have? I have to accept it. This is my home now~ I might as well figure out how to live well here.”

Rosé chuckled at Natalie’s quick shift in attitude and impressive adaptability.

“In that case, my lady, as soon as you’re married, you should hurry and have a beautiful baby. That’s the surest way to secure your position as mistress of this kingdom. Can you imagine how adorable the baby would be if they took after both of you?”

Rosé was taken aback at the mention of a child—something she had never even considered before.

“Natalie. Please, stop saying such nonsense!”

“Hehe, I was just saying.”

***

As Pieri walked through the courtyard with the elder council members, his face stiffened when he saw something in the distance.

Katriona was marching forward with a terrifying sense of purpose.

“Well then, I’ll take my leave here.”

Quickly excusing himself, Pieri hurried toward Katriona, grabbed her by the arm, and turned her around.

Katriona spun around with a fierce expression, but upon seeing her husband’s face, she immediately pounced as if she had been waiting for him.

“You! What on earth are you doing, idling around like this?!”

“What do you mean? And where exactly are you headed in such a rush?”

“Where else? I’m going to see His Majesty!”

Pieri quickly pieced together why she was so agitated.

“Calm down. Let’s talk this over somewhere private first.”

“Let go! How am I supposed to stay calm right now?”

“Katriona!”

“Do you think this makes any sense? Do you know how much we’ve sacrificed—how much we’ve bled to serve His Majesty?”

“Just listen to me first.”

“Bringing in that Stern wench—while completely ignoring my niece, Aila?”

“Forget about Aila. It’s already decided. There’s nothing we can do.”

“This is a blatant insult and a mockery of us!”

Katriona had always focused on placing her niece, Aila, by Maxim’s side.

She had expected Stern to send a woman, but she had assumed they could simply ignore her, and drive her away if necessary. She had even prepared other means to ensure the girl would leave on her own accord.

She had done everything she could to secure her precious niece’s position.

And now, an uninvited outsider had come and stolen it all away!

“This won’t stand! I have to go to His Maj—Ah!”

“Shh!”

Just then, Pieri abruptly grabbed Katriona’s arm and pulled her behind a large tree.

“What are you doing?” she snapped.

Pieri motioned for her to be quiet and gestured toward the garden.

A small group of people was walking across the garden.

From between the trees, the couple fixed their eyes on one person in particular—Rosé.

Unlike the tall and cold beauty of northern women, she was petite, warm, and radiated a lovable charm—anyone could tell she was a woman from the South.

As soon as Pieri saw her profile, he was struck by the resemblance to Olivia, Maxim’s late mother. He couldn’t tear his eyes away.

“That wench must be that sly Stern woman.”

Katriona bit down hard on her molars, glaring at Rosé with an intense gaze that looked like it could burn her alive.

Unaware that the two were watching from afar, Rosé followed Freddy, diligently walking toward the main castle building.

She could feel the murmurs and cold, unwelcoming gazes of the people she passed by.

‘So, to them, Solstern people are nothing more than monsters.’

Both sides saw each other as monsters, eager to tear apart. The absurdity made her lips curl slightly into a faint smile.

Not knowing the meaning behind that smile, Lady Katriona only became more infuriated at the sight of Rosé’s expression.

‘Let’s see how long that smile lasts.’

Though Rosé felt a bit nervous, she consciously carried herself confidently and gracefully.

There was no point in regretting anything now—returning to Solstern was no longer an option.

She had no idea what unexpected challenges awaited her in this place.

Perhaps the trials ahead would be even more dangerous and grueling than those she had faced in the Solstern imperial court.

She had to think of this as eliminating Kasiax—no matter what happened, she would overcome each obstacle.

***

“What on earth is that?”

When Natalie pointed at something, Rosé and Freddy turned to look.

A young woman dressed as a maid, was precariously balancing on a pile of rocks stacked on top of a stone wall, placing yet another stone on top.

Her footing wobbled dangerously on the unstable pile.

“Ahem.”

Freddy cleared his throat loudly, making sure she could hear him.

But the maid was so absorbed in what she was doing that she didn’t even notice.

“Ahem!”

This time, he cleared his throat even louder. The maid, startled, lost her balance, and the next moment—

Thud!

“Ahhh!”

‘Oh no!’

‘Ouch…’

Rosé and Natalie instinctively winced, imagining how painful the fall must have been.

“What exactly were you trying to spy on up there…?”

Freddy began to question her sternly, but the maid, her face flushed red like a beet, hastily covered her mouth with both hands and pleaded desperately.

“P-please… j-just… wait… a moment!”

Her knees were scraped raw and bleeding, yet she seemed more flustered and embarrassed than in pain.

Rosé found the situation odd but soon noticed a small group of young men passing along a nearby path—the very spot the maid had been peeking toward.

One of them, a well-groomed young man with neatly combed dark brown hair, spoke while the others nodded in agreement.

Since the men were walking along a higher path, they wouldn’t have been able to see what was happening below. And yet, the maid looked as if her deepest secret had been exposed.

Rosé glanced between the blushing maid and the sharp, intelligent-looking young man she had been secretly watching.

‘This scene… I’ve seen something just like this before.’

As the déjà vu settled in, a realization struck her.

‘That’s it. She looked exactly like Helen when she used to watch my brother Hans from afar secretly.’

Freddy’s stern voice cut through her thoughts.

“What do you think you’re doing? What were you spying on?”

He scolded the suspicious maid.

“I-I… I’m so sorry. I… I w-won’t do it again…”

The frightened girl stuttered so severely that Natalie looked at her with a sympathetic expression, as if wanting to speak up on her behalf.

Her platinum blonde curls bounced slightly as she trembled, her large, downturned eyes glistening with distress. Her ears had turned red from embarrassment, making her look like a pitiful and helpless lost puppy.

“Be more careful from now on. You may go.”

Before Freddy finished speaking, the maid hobbled away, limping on her injured leg.

The three of them resumed their walk as if nothing had happened.

Rosé, reminded of her friend Helen in Solstern, turned back for a moment to glance again at the retreating maid.