The maids clicked their tongues as if Yuria was being dramatic.

“It’s natural for men to look at women.”

“That’s right. Enjoy it while you can get those looks. When you get older, they won’t even glance at you.”

Yuria bit her plump lower lip. The capital’s maids took everything she said as mere whining.

‘This should have been done by your mother originally.’

Duke Seigan hired Baroness Whipft and the maids for his precious daughter. They were recommended by Count Trow as people with extensive experience in the capital’s social circles.

‘These experienced ladies will teach you the proper etiquette of the capital.’

However, after falling into their hands, Yuria cried every night.

‘If it was Lady Leah Piert, she wouldn’t be like this.’

Yuria envied Leah’s confidence. She wanted to speak her mind like that too.

But her reality was so different.

She hated everything – the sticky gaze of Baron Durford who was twice her age, the way his eyes lingered on her chest, having to wear deeply cut dresses to parties despite knowing this – but the adults said these were necessary things if she wanted to be called Peirose.

They said building fame as Peirose would help the Seigan Ducal Family too.

The young girl who had to endure incomprehensible things buried her face in the fur muffler. As if its warmth was the only comfort she could cling to, Yuria clutched the end of the muffler and hunched her shoulders.

Baroness Whipft pointed out.

“My lady, you must keep your chest and shoulders straight. Beautiful and elegant. Like Peirlily.”

Similar words.

Yet they sounded so different from what Leah had said.

***

A few days later.

Baroness Whipft secretly delivered news to the anxiously waiting Baron Durford.

“It seems Peirose was quite moved by the gift. She says she’ll meet with you.”

“Oh, really!”

“At tonight’s party at the Seigan mansion, she asks you to come out to the back garden around midnight secretly.”

Baron Durford gulped.

“At midnight, secretly?”

“Haven’t you had a secret rendezvous before? You know what this means?”

He nodded gravely.

Wearing his best clothes, applying musk oil to his hair, and sprinkling rose perfume on his collar.

The baron eagerly waited for night to fall.

“So this is where she told me to come…”

The back garden of the Seigan mansion’s banquet hall was more secluded than he expected.

It wasn’t a place just anyone could enter, and it seemed neglected and untouched since the hasty purchase of the capital mansion.

“…”

There wasn’t a sign of life between the overgrown trees and bushes.

Feeling somewhat chilled by the night wind, Baron Durford shivered.

Rustle.

It was a small sound like a rabbit stepping on fallen leaves. Baron Durford turned his head with a bright expression.

“…Peirose!”

On a night with just a thin sliver of moon.

He saw a girl with lovely red hair peeking out from behind a tree.

The baron’s mouth went dry.

“My fairy!”

Peirose, who was coming out from behind the tree, turned her head sharply at those words and started running away.

“Why are you running?”

The baron shouted as he gave chase.

‘The young lady called me here.’

‘After receiving such expensive jewels, she should at least do this much. Does she know how much those cost?’

‘Why is she running away?’

Just as his incredulous feelings were about to turn to anger, the fleeing Peirose looked back at him. The girl who met the baron’s eyes flinched and trembled.

Then she turned and started running again.

In the darkness, Peirose’s pink dress trailed long behind her as she disappeared into the bushes. The sight resembled the tail of a herbivore.

Baron Durford got excited.

Like a handkerchief hoping to be picked up, like dress hems hoping to be stripped away. The pink dress fluttered, enticing him.

He realized.

‘She wants me to chase her!’

How shy. Well, Yuria Seigan was young and innocent.

Unable to show her feelings in front of others, this must be how she expressed them.

‘You adorable thing.’

The baron chased after her, panting.

Just as he pushed through the shrubs into a secluded spot.

Thwack!

Something heavy struck the back of the baron’s head.

***

“…Eek!”

Yuria hid her body behind a pillar.

‘Ba-Baron Durford… got hit!’

It was a powerful strike that looked like it could crack his skull. Even Yuria, who had never seen someone get hit before, could tell this was serious.

Frozen in fear, Yuria trembled.

‘Wh-what should I do! Who…’

When she quickly turned around, a familiar shadow blocked her way.

“My lady, you saw that?”

Yuria’s eyes went wide.

***

Lady Yuria Seigan had disappeared.

While the Seigan Ducal Family kept their mouths shut, reliable rumors circulated in the capital’s social circles.

“The lady must have been kidnapped.”

Baroness Whipft said while wiping away tears.

“She was there during the party! But we couldn’t see her from that night on!”

“Were her dresses and money still there?”

“Of course! All her clothes except the dress she wore to the party were still in the closet. Her jewelry and cash were all there too.”

Another witness said they thought they saw the lady in the backyard of the Seigan mansion.

“Though I saw from far away, it was definitely a girl with red hair in a pink dress. She was running in her dress…”

People in social circles speculated. The culprit had boldly kidnapped the lady from the Seigan mansion during the party.

“Who could have done this?”

“Why kidnap Lady Seigan? They don’t seem to be demanding money either…”

While attention was focused on the whereabouts of the culprit and the lady, an unexpected item was found in the backyard of the Seigan mansion.

A snow-white fur muffler stained with blood.

People with sharp eyes recognized whose item it originally was.

“Wait, isn’t that the fur muffler Peirlily used to wear?”

The rumors swelled rapidly, changing direction.

Peirose’s disappearance must be Peirlily’s doing, didn’t Peirlily always look at Lady Seigan with disapproving eyes whenever she received bouquets, she must have done this out of jealousy for having attention stolen from her.

While the Piert Ducal Family strongly denied the snowballing false rumors, people’s suspicions didn’t cool down. Above all, Ruyan Piert, who should have come running in a rage ready to grab someone by the collar when something like this happened, didn’t appear.

While Ruyan was actually being careful due to after-effects from sleep magic, they couldn’t exactly tell that to social circles.

Moreover, Lady Yuria Seigan wasn’t the only one who disappeared.

“By the way, hasn’t Baron Durford been unseen lately too?”

At first, people didn’t think much of it.

Baron Randall Durford.

With his toad-like face where beauty remained only as a vestigial organ and his loud voice always emphasizing his royal lineage. He was someone who might earn small grudges, but not important enough to have his life threatened.

But even after several more days passed, he was nowhere to be seen.

“Well now. Where could he have gone?”

The nobles who had bet on roses started getting anxious.

“I bet on Peirose accepting the bouquet this week, but what’s going on? Both Peirose and Baron Durford are gone.”

“Could something have happened to Baron Durford too? Otherwise…”

Lord Trow looked around and lowered his voice.

“He must have met with misfortune.”

“Misfortune?”

The nobles’ expressions turned serious at the ominous implications.

“Who would do that? What reason would there be to do that to Baron Durford?”

“Why wouldn’t there be?”

Lord Trow subtly glanced toward where the high nobles were gathered. People’s gazes followed his.

Young Lord Rikeil Piert. A handsome man with platinum blonde hair and blue eyes that looked exactly like his sister’s was there.

Gulp.

The nobles swallowed.

“…Did Ruyan Piert take care of him? For insulting Peirlily?”

“Is it normal for a noble to disappear without a trace like this? Given that the capital guard force hasn’t been able to find any leads despite surely doing something, unless it was someone with elusive swordsmanship…”

Elusive swordsmanship.

It was a subtle way of pointing to Ruyan Piert, the kingdom’s greatest swordsman.

“Well if it was Ruyan Piert…”

“I knew something like this would happen someday!”

The nobles who found it plausible nodded their heads. Those who agreed gradually increased.

Peirlily’s bloodstained fur muffler. The inactive Ruyan Piert. The unseen Baron Durford.

The public opinion in social circles grew increasingly heated.

“The Piert siblings must be involved in Peirose and Baron Durford’s disappearance, right?”

“Of course! Peirose wouldn’t run away with Baron Durford, and the baron wouldn’t be bold enough to kidnap a noble lady in the capital. Yet they both disappeared like this.”

“It must have been done by Peirlily and Ruyan Piert together. Peirlily was jealous of losing attention! So she whispered to Ruyan Piert and…”

“Well, Ruyan Piert can’t resist anything his sister says after all.”

Count Trow and Yan Trow were excited.

“Hahaha. Did you hear?”

“Did I ever! How everyone is criticizing Peirlily this way and that!”

Seeing Peirlily’s reputation smoothly falling to the ground, it was hard to maintain their expressions as they felt like something that had been blocked was finally flowing freely.

“How about it, Yan? Don’t you think Peirlily’s reputation has hit rock bottom now?”

“Father, do you know what Peirlily was doing at the ball I went to yesterday? She was standing against the wall because no one asked her to dance. The great Peirlily!”

Count Trow smiled with satisfaction.

He felt the groundwork had been sufficiently laid. He made his decision.

‘I should contact Prince Archaik Oken.’