It was because Lady Ceres had appeared at the imperial palace looking rather modest.

She was the only daughter of Marquis Ceres, of all noble houses, the daughter of a marquis, and more specifically, the only child of the Marquis Ceres, whose family was arguably the fastest-rising power in the Alyssium Empire.

After that day, the nobles’ interest in her quickly faded.

They had secretly hoped a new queen of high society would emerge, but Lady Ceres had fallen far short of their expectations.

Recalling the news he had heard about that time, Kassian watched Evelyn’s retreating figure, already some distance away, for a while before finally turning his head.

***

The weather has been especially hot over the past few days.

Fortunately, contrary to Viscountess Schneider’s concerns about planning an outdoor tea party, the weather had cooled considerably today.

The sunlight was warm, but a fresh, cool breeze was blowing through the air.

It was the perfect day for conversation in the open garden rather than indoors.

“My lady.”

Viscountess Schneider had been enjoying a pleasant conversation with the noblewomen she had invited when the butler approached and whispered something into her ear.

“Someone has come from Madame Charlotte’s dress shop.”

The dresses could not possibly have been finished already.

If that was the case, perhaps they had come to request an additional payment beyond the deposit.

But something like that could easily have waited until after the tea party was over.

The fact that they had hurried to deliver the message suggested that something had gone wrong.

“Please continue your conversations for a moment.”

With a smile, Viscountess Schneider politely excused herself from the noblewomen and rose from her seat.

She then walked away at an unhurried, graceful pace.

Today’s tea party was quite important to Viscountess Schneider.

It was meant to serve as a stepping stone for Beatrice to enter high society.

The butler knew that perfectly well.

He also knew how long and how painstakingly Viscountess Schneider had prepared for this tea party.

Stepping away for a moment would not ruin everything she had arranged.

But what the noblewomen might discuss among themselves during her absence was another matter entirely.

“Can’t you handle a simple bill on your own?”

Only after they had walked a considerable distance away from the noblewomen did Viscountess Schneider glare at the butler.

“I apologize, my lady. But… I believe you should see this first.”

Looking deeply troubled, the butler held out a piece of parchment.

With a sigh, Viscountess Schneider snatched it from his hand.

The moment she read its contents, the colour drained from her face.

***

As Evelyn walked toward the carriage, she glanced at the noblewomen seated around the round tables, chatting together in small groups.

Her gaze soon shifted to Viscountess Schneider, who stood not far from them.

The butler kept bowing his head to Viscountess Schneider as though he had committed some grave offense, while Viscountess Schneider’s chest rose and fell sharply.

The corners of Evelyn’s lips curled upward slightly.

‘It looks like the bill from the dress shop has arrived.’

The last time Evelyn had visited Madame Charlotte’s dress shop, she had brought along the dress designs she had prepared herself.

While the Schneider mother and daughter were completely absorbed in Madame Charlotte, Evelyn had slipped the designs to one of the dress shop’s employees.

And they were designs she had never once worn in her previous life, lavish, extravagant designs.

She would never have done something like that in her previous life.

It meant going against Viscountess Schneider’s wishes.

Back then, Evelyn hated causing trouble more than anything.

She didn’t want to create unnecessary conflict and make her family worry about her.

She had worked tirelessly to avoid becoming a burden to her family, who were dedicating themselves to the empire.

Instead, she endured every unreasonable treatment inflicted upon her, swallowing her pain and keeping it to herself.

But the result had been disastrous.

So this time, Evelyn had decided she would no longer endure it.

She would openly oppose those who oppressed her.

She had made up her mind to stand against them without compromise.

And the first step she had chosen was to separate herself completely from House Schneider.

“Number Three, Metton Street.”

As soon as Evelyn gave the carriage driver her destination, the escort knight startled and asked,

“Did you say Metton Street?”

Evelyn merely nodded without taking her eyes off the road ahead.

After staring intently at her profile for a moment, the escort knight finally spoke.

“Ah… Understood.”

He climbed onto his horse, and soon the carriage began to move.

As she watched the scenery outside rush past, Evelyn tightly gripped the hilt of the dagger hidden inside her clothes.

Metton Street was notorious for being one of the least secure areas in the capital.

All kinds of crimes flourished there.

It was such a lawless district that people even called it a place the emperor himself had given up on.

The thought of entering such a dangerous area with only one escort knight was frightening.

But Evelyn had to go there today.

Only then could she change the future.

***

“Father went… where?”

Harrison’s brows drew together sharply.

It was his first leave in two years, yet it seemed destined to begin badly.

“Brother… just pretend you don’t know. No matter how much we try to stop him, he never listens…”

“Where is it?”

“Brother, don’t go. What are you planning to do if you get there?”

Jen tried to stop Harrison, whose face had turned red with anger.

But instead of calming him, it only fanned the flames of Harrison’s temper.

He had inherited their hot-blooded father’s personality almost perfectly.

“I asked where!”

Harrison finally raised his voice.

Jen squeezed his eyes shut and sighed.

After hesitating for a moment, he finally confessed where their father’s gambling den was.

“Number Three, Metton Street… He’ll probably be there again today.”

Their father was frightening enough, but at that moment, his older brother was even more terrifying.

And despite himself, Jen felt a small flicker of hope.

Perhaps his brother could finally break their father’s gambling habit.

“That d*mn old bastard…!”

Bang!

Harrison slammed the door shut and stormed out.

Jen watched his brother’s retreating figure through the window for a long time.

He could only hope, however foolishly, that this would finally be the chance for their father to give up gambling for good.

“I’m not letting him get away with this…”

Harrison picked up his pace as he absently toyed with the sword at his waist.

To put it simply, the father of Harrison and Jen was a worthless excuse for a human being.

Whenever he drank, he abused his family.

Their mother, tormented by him for years, eventually left the house one day.

She abandoned Harrison and Jen behind.

Harrison had been young at the time, but he had been forced to fend for himself and his younger brother.

Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, Harrison had inherited his father’s sturdy build and had a natural talent for fighting.

He had survived in the rough world of mercenaries until he caught the attention of Marquis Ceres.

The man truly deserved to be called a war hero.

Unlike the other nobles who cared only about family name and bloodline, Marquis Ceres had judged Harrison by his abilities.

After joining the knights, Harrison found a place where he could truly put his skills to use.

Not in Metton Street.

On the battlefield.

He survived countless brushes with death and endured through the war.

The pay was high precisely because the work was so dangerous.

There was little difference between swinging a sword and cutting down a person on the battlefield and doing so elsewhere.

But at least on the battlefield, there was honour attached to it.

He was recognized as someone who had devoted himself to the empire.

After several years, Harrison finally returned to the capital, and was met with a devastating shock.

He had faithfully sent the salary he received from the knights to his younger brother.

Yet Jen’s circumstances had somehow become even worse than before.

The dark blue bruises scattered across his small face told Harrison exactly what had happened.

And knowing what those bruises meant only made his anger burn hotter.

As he imagined everything his younger brother must have endured alone while he was away, Harrison found himself unable to forgive their father, even if they shared the same blood.

“I really won’t let him get away with this…”

Whenever Harrison became this emotionally agitated, he tended to get himself involved in trouble.

Whenever that happened, either Marquis Ceres or the Young Marquis would step in and calm him down.

But both men were currently on the battlefield.

Which meant that, for now, there was no one around to rein in the furious Harrison.

Harrison spat onto the entrance of the gambling den his father had recently begun frequenting.

Then he strode inside without hesitation.

***

“My lady. We’ve arrived at Metton Street, but…”

When the carriage came to a stop, the escort knight looked around uneasily as he spoke.

The fact that he kept fidgeting with the hilt of his sword made it obvious that he was far more on edge than usual.

“Don’t worry too much. We won’t be staying long.”