“You’re going to receive the guests? Are you serious?”

A voice thick with disbelief cut across the reception room. It was Drisena’s reaction to Martiana’s sudden declaration.

Understandably so. Only moments ago, Martiana had firmly opposed the idea. Had it really been less than five minutes since she had threatened to cancel everything?

And now she was abruptly changing her stance?

Of course it would seem strange to Drisena.

Martiana was well aware of that.

“Yes, I’m serious. I’ve changed my mind. Since you wished for it so much, Mother, I thought it might be acceptable to hold it on a modest scale.”

“I wished for it? Why are you suddenly putting this on me? Are you doing this for my sake?”

“You personally sent the invitations, after all. I assumed you must have been longing for such a gathering.”

“What?”

“Wasn’t it difficult for you to say so directly? Isn’t this your way of expressing it? I should have realized sooner. I’m sorry.”

Martiana looked at Drisena as though she had simply been careless. On the surface, she seemed to be the perfect daughter-in-law, always considerate of her mother-in-law’s feelings.

But this was far from the truth.

As if she would change her decision for Drisena’s sake! The two of them were far from being a harmonious mother-daughter-in-law pair.

Drisena had arranged this tea party from the outset with the intention of troubling Martiana.

In a sense, agreeing to go through with it felt like walking straight into a trap.

She wasn’t even sure she could prepare everything perfectly in such a short time.

And yet, what choice did she have?

Martiana had no choice but to accept the invitation.

Because—

“By the way, since when have you been acquainted with Baroness Basel?”

—of this person.

More precisely, from the moment she touched the envelope bearing that woman’s reply.

As she flipped through the envelopes, intending to cancel the event—

“…!”

A strange sensation brushed her fingertips.

How could she describe it? It felt as though a needle were mercilessly stabbing her or a blade were lightly slicing her skin.

She couldn’t explain it clearly, but one thing was certain: it was unpleasant enough to raise goosebumps on her arms.

For a moment, she almost threw the envelope away without thinking.

If Drisena had not been standing there, she might well have done. She restrained herself only because she could not afford to give her mother-in-law another reason to criticize her.

Instead, she quietly lowered her gaze and examined the envelope.

“…!”

There was something there.

On the seal pressed into the wax that closed it.

‘This is…’

It was a strikingly familiar shade of black.

Pitch-black, as though it had been painted.

It was the very symbol of heresy that she had seen several times before.

It was smeared across the envelope.

She truly doubted her own eyes. She had never imagined that she would see it here.

On a reply from a baroness whose face she could barely remember?

And so suddenly?

Did she understand what it meant?

‘A heretic.’

The person who sent this letter is a heretic.

She had been closer to one than she realized.

When she realized this, her heart began to pound wildly. There was no room for hesitation. Her resolve to refuse the tea party disappeared instantly.

How could she possibly decline?

After all, it was not just anyone who was willingly coming to seek her out, but a heretic.

Who knew when such an opportunity would arise again?

‘I have to meet her.’

No matter what. Even if she had to run out barefoot to greet her.

This person might hold the key to finding Licorice.

For that reason alone, Martiana reversed her decision. She willingly stepped into the trap that Drisena had set.

She would let her torment her if she wished. She would let her nitpick to her heart’s content.

What did it matter?

To Martiana, this was an opportunity.

‘Still…’

She cast a quiet glance at Drisena.

Her gaze swept meticulously and searchingly from head to toe. It was as though she was trying to confirm something.

In truth, she was.

Since returning home, she had been looking for any trace of black.

The same kind that she had just seen on the letter.

She had decided to do this from the moment Lawrence realized that his attacker was a heretic.

Until now, Martiana had believed that Drisena had tried to have her killed.

If she were involved, surely there would be some sign of it?

But—

‘There’s nothing.’

Nowhere.

Not on the seat she occupied. Not on the table her hands had touched. Nowhere at all.

Which meant—

‘She wasn’t the one who tried to k*ll me.’

Drisena was not a heretic.

If there had been the slightest hint of heresy, Martiana would have spotted it a long time ago. Black marks would have been scattered throughout the ducal residence, as they were in the annex where Ramelata had once stayed.

Martiana could no longer suspect Drisena of heresy.

‘But…’

One thing was troubling her.

The pair of red earrings owned by the man who had attacked her.

They were an heirloom of the House of Vandyk that Siliar had said he intended to pass down to his daughter.

How was she to explain that?

Martiana had assumed that Drisena was the culprit because of that jewel. But if she wasn’t responsible, then something didn’t add up.

“Hey! Hey!”

“….”

“Hey!”

“Yes?”

Lost in thought for a brief moment, Martiana lifted her head at the sharp voice that pierced her ears.

Drisena was staring at her with a distorted expression, apparently having called her several times already.

“What are you doing? Are you ignoring me now? I asked you several times how you know Baroness Basel!”

“Oh.”

It seemed she had not heard while she was deep in thought.

Martiana shifted her gaze slightly before looking back at Drisena.

“I’m sorry. I was thinking about the tea party. Baroness Basel… is someone I was acquainted with in the past, so I asked.”

She answered vaguely.

In truth, they had barely exchanged more than a passing nod, but that was irrelevant.

Whether they truly knew each other was irrelevant. The social world was never a place where truth always prevailed.

What mattered now was how she would approach the woman.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen her. I wonder if she has changed much. What does she enjoy these days?”

“Oh my, listen to this child. Why are you asking me that? Figure it out yourself!”

Drisena narrowed her eyes as she stood up. Judging by how angry she was, things had clearly not been going her way since earlier.

When she looked down at Martiana, her gaze was full of irritation.

“Don’t expect anything from me. You said you would manage the household yourself, didn’t you? Then go on—handle it as much as you like!”

Just moments ago, she said that she had sent the invitations to offer help. Now, however, her words were very different.

Martiana nodded slightly as she looked at her mother-in-law, who was snapping at her.

She had never expected anything from Drisena anyway.

She had never believed that her mother-in-law would ever do anything for her. All she had been thinking about was how to prepare well enough to finally silence her sharp tongue.

Now that she had agreed to receive the guests, she could not afford to be careless.

***

Bang!

The entrance doors were thrown open with a loud bang and a man strode inside.

It was Siliar, who had returned to the guard headquarters after hearing accounts of the incident from the royal palace and the temple.

“We greet Your Excellency!”

When Siliar entered without hesitation, the guards rose from their seats and saluted.

Not a single movement was out of place.

On ordinary days, there might have been the slightest hint of slackness. But today, not one of them dared.

And for good reason.

“Nobil, bring all department heads to the conference room.”

Siliar’s face was set in grim severity as he returned.

Each time he passed, the guards swallowed hard; his intensity was overwhelming. Their eyes darted and their breathing stopped.

It was almost instinctive.

When their leader wore that expression—

“Someone’s going to die.”

—it usually meant something like this.

He had never been particularly approachable, but this was different, even by his standards. The department heads, who had been summoned, shared a glance and clicked their tongues.

“Not just one. Several, at this rate.”

“What is it? Has the young lady been found?”

“If it were that, it would almost be better.”

Nobil, who had been waiting at the foot of the stairs for the department heads before ascending, replied with a sigh-laced voice.

“I’ll explain briefly before we go up. You’ve heard about Priest Lawrence being attacked, I assume?”

“Yes.”

“His Majesty has assigned that matter to His Excellency.”

“Ah…”

As soon as Nobil had finished speaking, there were quiet exclamations all around them.

From that moment on, every member of the guard would focus on the case in question.

Once the king’s name had been invoked, there was no alternative. The fact that Siliar had accepted the case made this all the more certain.

A man who had, until now, only dealt with cases of missing children had taken on something else.

This alone spoke to the gravity of the situation.

“If you understand, then move.”

Adjusting his glasses, Nobil was the first to start walking.