According to Martha’s message delivered through a maid, she would call for her when the banquet was in full swing.

So she still had plenty of time left.

‘Should I go back to sleep…?’

She considered it but somehow couldn’t fall asleep at all.

Eventually, she spent time with her eyes open before having a light meal.

After taking a bath, maids knocked on her door and entered carrying a dress.

“The head of the family said to escort you to the banquet hall as soon as you’re ready.”

‘Finally…!’

After changing into a snow-white dress densely studded with light pink jewels like stardust, the maids offered to style her hair.

She obediently sat in the chair and entrusted her hair to them.

After some combing and styling…

“Miss Lize… you look like an angel.”

The reflection in the mirror truly was beautiful.

The hairstyle, with the sides of her long silver hair braided and half-tied, matched the dress perfectly.

The hair accessories the maids had added weren’t too excessive but still caught the eye nicely.

“If you’re ready, we’ll escort you to the banquet hall. Everyone is waiting.”

“Alright, let’s go.”

With that, she made her way toward the banquet hall.

❖ ❖ ❖

The banquet hall was a hall even larger than the ballroom.

She entered on the second floor, and the number of people visible below was quite large. It seemed more nobles had attended than expected.

Since the banquet was already underway, the atmosphere was appropriately lively.

Martha, with her hair neatly tied back and glasses removed, was waiting for her.

“Where’s Arkle?”

Martha asked a servant beside her.

“Well…”

The servant, looking hesitant for a moment, whispered something to Martha.

“……”

Martha glanced at her and spoke as if annoyed.

“Nothing to be done. I understand for now.”

‘What’s that about?’

She wondered briefly, but before she could think deeply, Martha gestured to her again.

“Are you ready?”

She nodded slightly.

“I’ll go down first and introduce the topic, then you come down when I give the signal.”

After finishing, Martha went down to the main hall on the first floor.

She hid behind the railing, peeking down at the scene below.

Fortunately, everyone seemed too busy talking to each other to notice her.

Moreover, when Martha stood in the center of the main hall and opened her mouth, all the guests’ attention focused on her.

“The reason I arranged this banquet today… let us raise our glasses to celebrate His Majesty the Emperor’s recovery.”

When Martha raised her wine glass high, those who were drinking followed suit.

Those who weren’t drinking placed a hand on their chest to show respect.

“To the imperial family and the empire.”

“Cheers—”

After the toast, Martha placed her empty wine glass on a servant’s tray, wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, and spoke again.

“And there is one more thing I’d like to say.”

The guests’ attention focused on her words once more.

“I know there have been rumors about Cayenne recently. Related to Lady Allenheim.”

Silence fell over the banquet hall.

Everyone seemed surprised that Martha would bring up such a hushed topic so directly.

But Martha’s direct approach didn’t end there.

“The rumor that the missing Lady Allenheim is at House Cayenne.”

An even colder silence descended than before.

Some nobles had noticeably frightened expressions.

‘They must be the ones who spread the rumors.’

They seemed terrified, thinking Martha might be planning some sort of retaliation.

“I will speak clearly about that rumor right here.”

The guests waited tensely for Martha’s next words.

“The rumor that Lady Allenheim is here… is true.”

Shock spread throughout the hall.

No one dared to speak first.

Once again, it was Martha who broke the silence.

“However, there are clear differences from the rumor. I want to make this clear here. Lize.”

Martha called my name.

This was the signal.

She quickly rose from behind the railing where she had been hiding and slowly descended the stairs.

She could feel all eyes on her.

After reaching the first floor hall and standing beside Martha, she could see the shocked faces of the guests more clearly.

“This can’t be…”

“……”

“It really is Lady Allenheim…”

She could hear murmurs of astonishment.

And then.

“Duke Cayenne!! What is the meaning of—!”

An elderly noble at the back of the hall shouted in a voice full of bewilderment.

“What exactly are you doing…!! Are you confessing to a crime at an event meant to wish for the imperial family’s well-being? The crime of kidnapping Lady Allenheim…!”

“Crime?”

Martha looked in the direction of the voice and cut him off sharply.

“I haven’t finished speaking yet. I only said that Lady Allenheim is here, I never said anything about kidnapping.”

“Then why is Lady Allenheim…!!”

“Lady Allenheim has married Arkle Cayenne.”

“……?!?!!”

The elderly noble’s face instantly went blank with shock.

He wasn’t the only one surprised.

The guests, who had already received one shocking piece of information, now faced a second in succession, and their faces showed their brains couldn’t keep up with processing it all.

Martha, sensing this, kindly explained to them again.

“I’ll announce it officially once more. My brother Arkle Cayenne and Lize Allenheim are married. She is no longer a young lady of Allenheim but has become a lady of Cayenne.”

“……”

“So Lady Allenheim being here isn’t kidnapping, she’s simply in her home.”

Still, the guests looked dumbfounded.

“My, I thought there would be at least a few words of congratulations.”

Martha murmured, licking her lips.

“B-but Duke Cayenne…!”

Among the stunned guests, a woman called out to Martha.

“When you came to the capital before…! You clearly said you would arrange a match between your brother and me—!”

“Ah, at that time I didn’t know my brother already had a fiancée… He had hidden that fact from me too.”

“But—”

“I’m sorry. To make amends, I’ll introduce you to one of my relatives instead.”

The woman didn’t look convinced, but she had to close her mouth at Martha’s sharp answer.

This time, a middle-aged man asked.

“By fiancée… do you mean Lord Cayenne and Lady Allenheim had known each other before?”

“More precisely, they knew each other and had promised to marry.”

Questions came from elsewhere too.

“Then Lady Allenheim’s disappearance…!”

“She didn’t disappear, she got married.”

“Then why wasn’t Allenheim informed?”

At the familiar voice, she unconsciously looked toward its source.

“Are you saying that the devout Lady Allenheim abandoned God and her family to choose Cayenne?”

The man who walked firmly toward her and Martha with a sharp tone was definitely someone she knew.

“W-wait. Lord Baron—”

The silver-haired man who urgently followed him was also a face she hadn’t seen before, but she felt she knew who he was at first glance.

“…It’s been a while, Lize.”

The man with snow-white silver hair and pink eyes looked at her with an awkward smile.

“I was a bit surprised… but I’m glad you’re safe.”

‘Jean Allenheim—’

This man with a face identical to Lize’s was undoubtedly Lize’s older brother and the male protagonist of the original work, Jean Allenheim.

And the person beside him….

“It seems I was rude back then.”

Emerald eyes looked at her.

“Not knowing you were already married. I meddled unnecessarily.”

With his unchanged prickly tone, she smiled and responded without backing down.

“Didn’t I tell you? That there was no need for you to worry, Sir Knight.”

“I apologize. But since you, the maid—no, the Lady—also deceived me, let’s call it even.”

Martha and Jean on either side looked confused about the meaning of this conversation.

Just as Martha was about to lose patience, Baron brought the topic back.

“Anyway, Duke Cayenne, are you saying Lady Allenheim left without a word to her family?”

“……”

“I find it hard to believe that Lady Allenheim, even if she had a secret fiancé, would disappear without telling even her family.”

Baron’s gaze toward Martha was sharp.

However, Martha’s aura was no less chilling.

“I said she’s not Lady Allenheim but a lady of Cayenne.”

“……”

“And since she hasn’t committed any crime, is there a reason she needs to reveal all her personal circumstances here? Perhaps she was being overprotected at home and ran away… there could be reasons that can’t be spoken of.”

Martha’s cold gaze turned toward Jean Allenheim, making him flinch.

This was the first meeting between the original female and male protagonists.

Although the original story had been twisted, she had still somewhat expected the female and male leads to walk the same path as if by fate….

‘Nope, this definitely won’t follow the original.’

Far from romantic tension, Jean Allenheim looked completely intimidated by Martha, and Martha was looking at Jean with contempt.

She ultimately had to bid farewell to the remaining original plot in her mind.

‘Goodbye~ I loved your relationship… even though I ruined it.’

While she was wistfully saying goodbye in her heart, Baron looked at her and said.

“Then I’ll ask the lady directly. Is what Duke Cayenne says true?”

“B-Baron…”

“Please understand, young master. I need to hear the answer from the lady herself.”

She quietly faced Baron.

She couldn’t understand why he was with Jean Allenheim, but that didn’t really matter.

‘This works out perfectly.’

She had been waiting for a question like this that would focus everyone’s attention on her.

“I will tell you everything.”

As she declared in a resolute voice, silence once again fell over the banquet hall.

Martha, Jean Allenheim, and Baron were all looking at her.

“The reason I left Allenheim without saying anything is…!”

Just before stating the exact reason, she paused and signaled to the second floor.

Then…

Flap—

Two maids holding each end dropped a large white cloth from under the railing.

And with a clap of hands, the curtains of the banquet hall were drawn, and all the lights went out.

“W-what’s this?”

“What’s happening?!”

The guests were bewildered by the sudden situation.

Only Martha, who knew about this situation having granted permission in advance, remained calm.

And onto the large cloth, an image was projected.

“The reason Lize Allenheim left home! First, let’s watch this video!”

It was a preview of her movie.

Of course, the content of the movie had nothing to do with that… but it was definitely capturing people’s attention.

‘Even if the content is unrelated, first attach a provocative title.’

It was a method taught by YouX.