“Lady Blante!” 

Ariel paused and turned back to the man who had called to her and hurried over. 

He was a middle-aged man with neatly combed grey streaked hair, dressed in an immaculate suit. 

It was none other than Bart Prouanchelle, owner of the Prouanchelle Bakery. Catching his breath, he stepped smoothly in front of the manager, pushed him aside with his shoulder and bowed deeply to Ariel. 

“My deepest apologies, my lady. Our servant has made a grave mistake. Lady Blante does not need to make a reservation. You are welcome to purchase a tart whenever you wish. My sincerest apologies for any inconvenience caused.” 

His words were completely at odds with what the manager had said a few moments earlier. 

Had the manager really made a mistake? 

Ariel looked at him. Seeing the manager’s clearly confused expression as he looked at the owner, it didn’t seem like he had acted on his own. 

So why had their attitude changed so suddenly? 

As Ariel hesitated, struck by a strange sense of déjà vu, the clerk, who had been looking at Bart nervously, bowed deeply. 

“My apologies, Lady Blante. I made a mistake due to my misunderstanding. Please forgive my rudeness.” 

With the clerk now apologising as well, Ariel knew she couldn’t stay silent any longer. Refusing to apologise would only fuel more rumours. 

“It’s all right. You can lift your head.”

“Thank you for your kindness, my lady. I’ll bring the cake right away.”

Bart straightened up with a polished smile before heading for the kitchen himself. 

Ariel watched his retreating figure in silence, a slight uneasiness settling in her mind. 

‘There’s definitely something going on that I don’t know about.’ 

Had someone spoken on her behalf, warning them not to treat her badly? 

But that seemed unlikely, for the looks of the surrounding nobles were anything but friendly. 

As Ariel pondered Bart’s sudden and puzzling change in behaviour, she felt a sharp tingling at the back of her neck. 

It was the distinct sensation of being watched. 

While many people had looked at her surreptitiously, the gaze she felt now was different. 

She couldn’t quite put it into words, but it was intense – almost unnerving. 

Ariel slowly scanned her surroundings, but no one was openly staring at her. Instead, those near her quickly averted their eyes, as if to avoid any chance of contact. 

Perhaps she was overreacting, her nerves heightened by the unexpected turn of events. 

As she turned her attention back, Bart approached, perfectly timed, holding a neatly wrapped box of cake. 

“My lady, your order is ready,” he said, bowing politely as he handed her the package. 

The beautifully wrapped box felt strangely unfamiliar today, though she couldn’t quite figure out why. 

“Please feel free to visit us anytime. We will always have desserts ready for you, my lady.”

The owner bowed deeply, almost excessively, as if to make up for his earlier rudeness. 

The more he acted like this, the more uncomfortable Ariel felt, but it was uncomfortable to address her directly. 

It seemed strange to ask why he was being so polite when he was just being nice. 

‘This isn’t a bad situation.’

It was only a dessert. Nothing serious could come of it. 

But maybe because of her current circumstances, even the smallest things seemed suspicious now. 

She didn’t usually think like that. 

Remembering her father’s constant advice to *learn to trust people before you doubt them,* Ariel gave a wry smile. Trying to shake off the uneasy feeling, she accepted the cake box. 

“Thank you.” 

“Then please take care, my lady.” 

Bart bowed deeply again, an overly polite gesture. This time, however, Ariel tried not to over-analyse his behaviour. 

Although she still couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched, she quickly scanned the area once more. 

But that was it. Ariel left the bakery without seeing anyone suspicious. 

* * * 

Bart only raised his head when the Blante carriage had completely left the Prouanchelle Bakery. 

The people around him looked at him with puzzled expressions. 

They couldn’t understand why he was showing such reverence to the Blante family, who had lost their status. 

Ignoring their confused looks, Bart made his way straight to his office. 

More specifically, he entered the VIP room within his office – a room reserved for royalty and high nobility. 

Bart walked up to the man standing in front of the glass in the VIP room, which blocked the view from outside but gave a clear view of the bakery. He bowed respectfully.

“Lady Blante has departed safely, Your Highness the Grand Duke.”

Ariel’s instinct was right. Bart’s politeness wasn’t just out of kindness, and the feeling of being watched wasn’t a mistake.

While Ariel couldn’t see inside from the outside, Kylance had been watching her all along.

From the moment she entered the bakery to the moment she was humiliated, he had seen it all.

It was Kylance who spoke first.

He expressed his cold anger, wondering when a mere merchant had the audacity to disrespect the Marquis’ family.

But as soon as Bart left the VIP room in a hurry, Kylance paused.

A thought crossed his mind – he remembered what he had done before coming here.

“Your Majesty, please revoke the title of Marquis of Blante. He is a traitor who has committed an unforgivable crime.” 

“I have heard from Melish. Not only was the Marquis involved in the rebellion, but he also killed Arnold.” 

“Yes.” 

Kylance’s voice was heavy, and the Emperor let out a thoughtful hum. 

“Hmm… Kylance, as you know, I found it hard to believe that the Marquis of Blante had joined the rebels.” 

“…” 

“Despite his rigid nature and the frequent conflicts between us, his loyalty to this nation has always been unshakable. The idea that such a man would betray us is more than shocking. And now… to learn that he also killed your father…” 

The Emperor rose from his throne and walked towards Kylance, placing a strong hand on his shoulder as he spoke. 

“Kylance Seyerd.”

Kylance looked up and met the Emperor’s gaze. 

“I trust your words more than Melish’s. The fact that the Marquis was plotting treason, I fully believe, because the proof came from you – my only nephew, the one I trust and cherish. I believed it beyond a shadow of a doubt. And I will believe it this time. 

The Emperor then asked him.

“Are you sure that the Marquis of Blante killed Arnold?” 

“The only person missing on the day of the incident was Deobic Farkal, who had been my father’s knight. As I prepared to send condolences to his family, believing him to be dead, I found out that Deobic’s father had been a knight in the service of the Marquis of Blante.” 

Kylance continued without hesitation. 

“The Marquis of Blante had saved Deobic’s family from ruin. But Deobic never mentioned the Marquis. So no one knew about his deep connection to the Blante family.” 

“…” 

“From that moment on, I had suspicions and began to investigate Deobic further. And I found out that he had met with the Marquis just before the incident.” 

A cold anger began to creep into his tone.

“I was sure that Deobic wasn’t dead, and after years of searching I found him. He told me the whole truth. 

Deobic explained that he had done it because he feared that the Blante family’s business would collapse because of the canal project. 

At the time, his father was in charge of the canal project. 

Kylance struggled to contain his rising anger as he recounted Deobic’s words. 

“He said he had carried out the carriage accident at the request of the Marquis of Blante. He couldn’t refuse. His family owed their survival to the Marquis, and he felt he had to repay the favour.”

“The Marquis of Blante killed my parents, Your Majesty.” 

Kylance’s gaze remained fixed as he added, 

“How could I have killed the late Grand Duke? This is an absurd plot! Your Majesty, I did not kill Arnold… no, I did not kill the late Grand Duke!”

He shook off the image of the Marquis of Blante’s last cry that flashed through his mind for a moment. 

It was the last image he had seen of him. He had taken his own life the next day.

If he was really innocent, he wouldn’t have killed himself. He would have tried to prove his innocence. 

So Kylance had no doubt of the Marquis’s guilt. Following his aunt’s advice, he had presented his case to the Emperor, and the Emperor had accepted his request. 

To think that after he’d completely destroyed the Marquis of Blante’s household, he couldn’t ignore Ariel being disrespected in a bakery. 

It was absurd, but he couldn’t let it go. 

If he had to do it all over again, he would make the same decision. 

He couldn’t bear the thought of Ariel Blante being disrespected by anyone but himself. 

The only one who could break that was him. 

No one would dare take that away from him. 

He must be losing his mind. 

But what could he do? 

From the moment he realised that it was the Marquis of Blante who had killed his parents, he had slowly gone mad. 

If he had been sane, he would never have come here. He didn’t even have a taste for desserts. 

This place… was a bakery that sold the desserts Ariel liked. 

That’s how it was fixed in his mind. 

And yet, here he was. Having begged the Emperor to destroy the Blante family. 

Isn’t that completely insane? 

Reason and emotion were pulling him in completely different directions. 

Kylance couldn’t take his eyes off Ariel’s retreating figure as she left the bakery, his mind racing with thoughts. 

The Blante family was supposed to be the one that crumbled, so why did it feel like it was me, not you, that was getting unhappier? 

And at the end of this revenge… what will happen to me? 

Weak, pointless questions. They were thoughts that a man who had sworn brutal revenge, who had already crossed a point of no return, should never entertain. 

But suddenly a question crossed his mind. 

Was this really what he wanted? 

Perhaps that’s why the words the Emperor had casually let slip were still ringing in his ears.