“His Grace, the Grand Duke is now your fiancé, so I thought it wouldn’t be proper for me to return this handkerchief to him directly. I felt it would be more appropriate for you to pass it on in my stead…”

“Oh, there’s no need to be so formal.”

Liriope smiled as she waved her palm downward in a dismissive gesture.

“You can give it to him yourself.”

For a moment, Rosearin’s eyes widened.

“Pardon?”

“It’s fine. You can give it to him directly.”

“But…”

Rosearin looked quite flustered.

Her confused expression made it clear that she hadn’t expected Liriope to so readily allow her to return the handkerchief in person.

It was understandable.

After all, one of the rumors surrounding Liriope was that she had a crazy possessiveness.

She was the one who had branded a young noblewoman as a “homewrecker” at a ball just for dancing with the Crown Prince—even though he wasn’t even her man.

So Rosearin probably decided to give the handkerchief to Liriope instead of Theo, out of consideration for that possessive image. And the way she acted was so much like the original heroine of the novel that Liriope found herself smiling without even realizing it.

Since this was her favorite novel, she adored the female lead just as much as the male lead. Her fangirl heart was fluttering again.

“I said it’s fine, so it is. It’s more proper for you to return it yourself and thank him. Go ahead and do that.”

“Th-thank you, My Lady.”

Rosearin’s cheeks turned a light shade of pink as she carefully put the handkerchief back into her purse and looked at Liriope.

Her lips moved slightly, as if there was something she wanted to say. Liriope, noticing this, looked at her curiously.

When their eyes met, Rosearin looked startled and then quickly lowered her head once again.

“Um… truly, thank you.”

Liriope was surprised that something as simple as permitting to return a handkerchief and say thank you was received with such overwhelming gratitude. But considering the things she—the original Liriope—had done, she supposed it made sense.

Still, the fact that Rosearin’s image of her was this low made her feel a little conflicted.

“I don’t think I did anything worth thanking me for,” Liriope said with an awkward smile.

“No! Truly, I mean it!” Rosearin exclaimed, shaking her head furiously.

Her overly earnest response, perhaps a result of nerves, made Liriope widen her eyes in surprise. But then she just nodded and gave her a gentle smile.

“Okay. Sure.”

Rosearin once again parted her lips slightly as if she had something more to say.

Sensing it, Liriope grew a bit frustrated by her hesitation and asked directly:

“Do you have something else you want to say?”

“Huh? Oh, no. Not at all.”

But as if she regretted being asked, Rosearin quickly shook her head and stepped back.

At that moment, a good idea popped into Liriope’s head—a way to grow closer to Rosearin.

‘The Marchioness’s tea party…!’

“Um, Lady Rosearin,” Liriope called out.

“Yes, My Lady?” Rosearin responded as if she had been waiting for it.

“Are you going to the Marchioness’s tea party?”

“Pardon? Oh, yes.”

“Oh, really? That’s great.”

When Liriope smiled brightly, Rosearin’s eyes widened in surprise.

It was odd to think that her attendance at the tea party could be a good thing for Liriope. Her expression stiffened with suspicion—

‘Was she planning to gang up with the other ladies there and humiliate me?’

But Liriope’s next words made Rosearin wonder if she had misunderstood her all this time.

“I wanted to have a real conversation with you.”

“…”

“This place, as you can see, isn’t exactly the most relaxed setting for a proper chat. I was a little disappointed, but we can talk more at the tea party. So make sure you come and spend some time with me, okay?”

Liriope’s face, lit up with a playful smile, carried no hint of malice.

Surprised but oddly touched, Rosearin smiled with her eyes.

“Yes, I’ll definitely attend.”

“You’ve been waiting long, haven’t you?”

Just then, Feroce burst through the atelier door with her arms full of fabric.

“There were just so many materials that suited you, My Lady! I had to think and think, narrowing it down as best as I could,” she said, excitedly laying the fabrics down on the table where Liriope was seated.

Even though Rosearin was standing right next to Liriope, Feroce only acknowledged her after she’d finished speaking to Liriope.

“Oh my, Lady Rosearin, I didn’t see you there.”

But after that brief greeting, she immediately focused all her attention back on Liriope.

“Now look at this one, My Lady. Doesn’t it suit you just perfectly?”

Rosearin, unbothered by Feroce’s dismissive treatment, smiled and gave a small bow.

She really admired Feroce’s dresses and respected her as a designer.

Later in the original novel, there was an episode where the Crown Prince, trying to win Rosearin’s heart, brought Feroce to her personally to design a gown. Because of that, Rosearin ended up facing harsh backlash from the noble ladies of the Empire.

Naturally, the one who stirred up that backlash was Liriope herself.

“Sally, please take care of Lady Rosearin,” Feroce said.

Pointing at the awkwardly standing Rosearin before quickly turning her attention back to the fabrics on the table.

“This color really is perfect for you, My Lady,” she said confidently, holding up a shimmering ivory fabric that stood out from the rest.

“Your neckline is so slender and elegant—I’d love to make a ball gown that highlights the décolleté. What do you think?”

“Uh… I see,” Liriope nodded awkwardly.

As someone who had been just an ordinary commoner in a backwater country and knew nothing about dresses, she couldn’t make heads or tails of what was being said.

“We’ll remove the seam at the waist and insert vertical panels, so the bodice will fit snugly and then flare out from the waist,” Feroce explained.

“…Right.”

“You look stunning in the dress you’re wearing now, but with your petite frame, I can say with all the pride of Feroce’s name that a ball gown made from this fabric would suit you beautifully.”

“Ah, okay…”

It felt a little excessive to bring up something as serious as “honor” just for choosing a dress, and Liriope was a bit taken aback. Still, since Feroce was someone who even made clothes for the emperor, it sort of made sense.

Not knowing anything about dresses herself, Liriope wished they would just stop asking and handle it however they saw fit. She absentmindedly scanned the dresses on display.

Truthfully, she just wanted to go home already. That’s why her face wasn’t hiding her boredom very well. But Feroce seemed to misunderstand her expression, thinking Liriope didn’t like the fabric, and began offering more.

“Would you take a look at this fabric, My Lady?”

Liriope immediately shook her head and pointed at the shimmering ivory one with her index finger.

“This one’s to my liking. I’d never doubt your taste, Feroce.”

As she forced a smile, Feroce’s face instantly lit up.

“Oh my! To hear such praise from you, My Lady—this means more to me than any compliment!”

While awkwardly smiling at Feroce’s overly enthusiastic reaction, Liriope accidentally made eye contact with Rosearin, who had been browsing through ready-to-wear dresses. Rosearin flinched as if caught doing something she shouldn’t.

She quickly lowered her head in a polite bow and turned her attention back to the clothes. Watching her back, Liriope couldn’t help but feel puzzled for a while.

***

The Day of the Tea Party Hosted by Marchioness Selzionel.

As soon as Liriope took her seat, Selzionel came straight to her side and asked about the newspaper article.

“Lady Liriope, is the headline on the front page true?”

In the original story, Selzionel was the one who sided with Liriope and encouraged her to torment Rosearin even more. There was even a brief mention that when Liriope was eventually executed by the crown prince, Selzionel had long harbored feelings for him, too.

‘Well, people always have their own reasons when they decide to bully someone.’

After confirming with a glance that Rosearin hadn’t arrived yet, Liriope turned to Selzionel, who was looking at her with curiosity, and smiled sweetly.

“Yes, it’s true.”

Murmur, murmur.

The ladies started murmuring as soon as they heard it directly from Liriope.

“Oh my, when did you and the Grand Duke become like that?”

“Scandals with both of the most handsome men in Gardea? Lady Liriope really is different.”

“Then what about the crown prince?”

“What else? He’s lost Lady Liriope to the Grand Duke, hasn’t he?”

“Aren’t they rivals? Could this turn into a battle for her affection…?”

Everyone was throwing in their own comments.

They were just flattery, things meant to please Liriope’s ears, and she couldn’t help but let out a dry chuckle.

A rivalry between the Northern Duke and the Crown Prince over her? Even a passing dog would laugh at the idea.

Kaiden practically despised Liriope’s very existence, and Theo wouldn’t have had any connection to her if not for this recent situation.

In the original story, Theo and Liriope had absolutely nothing to do with each other.

Of course, when he later came to care for Rosearin and learned that Liriope was not only bullying her but threatening her life, he did try to intervene.

But Kaiden got to her first and eliminated her before Theo could do anything. So there was never any real encounter between Liriope and Theo.

‘Now that I think about it, Liriope was a character hated by both of them.’

A bitter smile tugged at one corner of her mouth.

‘Well, all I have to do now is eliminate every reason that Liriope might die.’

Liriope once again resolved to grow closer to the heroine, Rosearin.

And almost as if summoned by that determination, Rosearin appeared.

“I’m sorry I’m late.”

Selzionel looked at Rosearin with a displeased expression.

“Really, Count’s daughter, do you even know what time it is?”

But before she could say more—

“Oh my, Lady Rosearin! Why do you look so stunning today?!”

Liriope cut Selzionel off loudly and immediately called out to Rosearin.