Betty’s pupils trembled. The Arne that Betty remembered couldn’t do anything no matter how much mana perfume was added.

“Betty, do you think I could not break your wrist? Or did I choose not to?”

“……”

“Choose one. Ankle, leg, arm, or neck?”

“……”

Betty’s heart pounded. Though Arne’s core was broken, and she was someone who couldn’t do anything before, the fear of possibly dying consumed Betty’s entire body.

Arne’s eyes shone sadly.

“I’m truly sorry it came to this. I just came to ask if you could testify about what happened at the Wayne family banquet.”

“I’ll do it! I’ll do anything! I’ll grant any request!”

Fear seeped into Betty’s eyes. The fierce gaze she had directed at Arne disappeared, and she crawled on her knees to beg at her feet.

Arne descended from the table and moved slowly. She whispered into Betty’s ear while grabbing her right arm.

“Betty, this is no longer a request.”

When Arne pressed down on Betty’s right arm, Betty’s arm trembled.

“It’s an order. If you don’t comply, I’ll take what was meant for Julia. The punishment for stealing the pearl earrings, and for you putting in the mana perfume, all of it.”

With a flick of Arne’s hand, the vines surrounding the thug leader, Darren, disappeared.

“Go. If you don’t want your neck broken.”

The thugs quickly disappeared, supporting Darren. Only Betty and Arne remained, creating a suffocating silence.

“Betty, I could even help you work at Duke Xenon’s residence. But someone who steals from their master cannot work. Unless you’re a maid who was driven out for revealing the truth against the Duchess’s wickedness trying to cover up Bianca’s misdeeds.”

It meant spreading rumors as Arne commanded under the surveillance of the Xenon ducal family. Having done such things countless times, Betty couldn’t misunderstand the implication.

‘How does she even have connections with Duke Xenon? Duchess Ronia is frightening, but Duke Xenon is incomparable.’

The moment Arne looked into Betty’s eyes, which simultaneously showed fear and greed, she sensed it. The war was already over.

“Well, will you do it?”

“Lady Arne.”

As those words escaped Betty’s trembling lips, Arne’s red lips curved upward.

Having heard the answer she wanted, Arne stood up and walked gracefully. As she boarded the carriage and closed the door, the cough she had been suppressing erupted. Arne wiped the blood flowing from her mouth and staggered, grasping the carriage handle.

When another cough followed, bringing the thick smell of blood, Arne slid down against the carriage door and collapsed.

‘Betty, do you know why I win wars that I’m clearly destined to lose? Because by the time the war ends, everyone believes I’ll win.’

She had used more mana than expected. Without Cedric’s spirit mana, she might have truly become a corpse.

Arne burst into laughter. Despite the pain spreading achingly throughout her body, she was happy.

‘Vivian, my child, if these small victories accumulate, will I be able to meet you again?’

As seen at today’s banquet, there are no allies for Arne among the aristocratic society. No one would listen to her words. They would only disparage her.

Moreover, with her engagement to Kale already announced, if Arne continued pursuing Cedric, it would only fuel malicious rumors and tarnish Cedric’s honor.

‘That can’t happen. I’ll bring you back completely unscathed. The infamy is mine to bear alone.’

Though things had become complicated due to the rumors the Duchess spread in the salon, it gave her a sense of how to manipulate society. She plans to break the engagement with Kale using the same methods the Duchess employed.

‘Madam, I may not have a reputation, but I have plenty of gold coins. Let’s have a blast.’

“Coachman, go to Ella’s dress shop.”

“Do you mean Ella Roine Boutique?”

“That’s right. Penny and Agatha should be there too. I gave them advance notice.”

Soon the imperial banquet will be held, so Ella will look for Cedric to finish the fitting.

Serena had told her. She promised to deliberately visit Ella’s boutique to help with sales.

‘I don’t know if I’ll run into you, but at least you’ll know my efforts to break the engagement with Kale are genuine. Ella will see it.’

Arne completely wiped the bloodstains from her mouth and stared blankly at the carriage ceiling. The ring on her ankle vibrated regularly, but with her mana significantly depleted, she thought it was just her ankle trembling. Her mind was distant and hazy.

Before she knew it, the carriage stopped in front of Ella Roine. Arne gathered her wits and rose from the floor.

The moment she opened the door, Arne’s body froze. Because of the intense red eyes staring at her.

“Cedric……”

I expected to see you, but I never thought I’d meet you here like this.

As if he had been looking for Arne, to encounter him right in front of the carriage door.

Arne grasped the carriage handle tightly and took a deep breath. She straightened her back, holding onto her distant consciousness.

Soon after, she gave Cedric a perfect, formal greeting.

It was a flawless courtesy, but Cedric’s brows slightly furrowed at the stiff formality, as if she were a lady meeting him for the first time.

“I greet you, Young Master Renigrad.”

“……”

Arne gazed steadily at Cedric’s red eyes, which resembled Vivian’s. After briefly nodding once more, Arne moved her steps.

She passed by him.

When nothing registered in Cedric’s enlarged pupils, his body reflexively turned. He caught sight of Arne’s back again, but that image was growing distant.

Tap. When Arne felt the thick knuckles grabbing her hand, she turned her body.

“Where are you going in that state?”

“……”

What does he know to say that? No bloodstains remained on her mouth. Arne’s eyes quickly scanned her dress.

Light blood droplets had splattered, but they were so small they seemed just part of the dress pattern.

They were too insignificant traces to discover in that instant.

“I’m a knight, so I’m sensitive to the smell of blood.”

“Ah……”

Cedric lightly grazed Arne’s flinching palm. The bloodstain that Arne had failed to wipe off in the carriage due to her hazy consciousness smeared onto Cedric’s fingertips.

Cedric took a step forward, close enough that their bodies almost touched. His head tilted sideways, and his twisted lips opened in front of Arne’s mouth.

“You coughed up blood.”

Cedric’s red eyes deepened as he deeply inhaled the faint scent of blood mixed with her scent. His breath touched her face, creating a subtle warmth.

“In just the time it takes to empty a bottle of wine, you nearly went to hell. Or perhaps heaven. Since you didn’t run away.”

“……”

“Why are you always so desperate to die?”

“I’m doing this because I want to live.”

Desperately and urgently. Because in a world where Vivian has disappeared, if she doesn’t cling to that hope, she can’t breathe.

You wouldn’t understand.

Arne gazed endlessly at Cedric’s red eyes.

“And you dare to do this in this state.”

Cedric tightly gripped Arne’s hand and gritted his teeth. The ring Cedric wore around his neck vibrated regularly.

When mana drops dangerously low, near death, the ring vibrates. The regular intervals shorten, and once past the limit, teleportation occurs.

Now the intervals were gradually lengthening, but Arne had clearly been in danger.

She should have returned to the ducal residence to rest instead of coming to Ella’s boutique.

‘Or she should have come to find me.’

Grind. His red eyes, resembling a beast’s, gleamed sharply.

“And yet, you calmly pretend nothing is wrong, greeting me perfectly as if I’m some young master of a grand ducal family, and just pass by?”

As Cedric lifted Arne’s bloodstained hand, Arne gazed at him intently. Meeting those clear eyes that seemed unaffected, Cedric felt like a thousand fires were burning inside him.

“You’re so convincing I almost believed it. If it weren’t for the smell of blood. Do you really want to live?”

“I didn’t want to tarnish your honor. With engagement talks between you and Lady Leverun circulating, if you hold my hand, it will cause a scandal.”

Arne’s clear eyes showed no wavering.

“I’m gathering evidence to break the engagement with Kale. I want to reclaim you completely. Without you being damaged because of me.”

“……”

After speaking, Arne withdrew her hand from Cedric’s. Meeting his wavering gaze briefly, she turned away without hesitation.

The warmth that vanished rings an alarm in his mind.

Cedric stared at his empty hand.

Arne had never pulled her hand away first, not even once.

* * *

“Ella, why are you only coming now? Lady Ronia is coming! What should we do?”

Ella Roine Boutique’s chief designer, Jena, stamped her feet.

“Ella?”

“Ah, I was just thinking for a moment. What did you say?”

“Lady Ronia is coming! You told us to screen troublesome customers. You said it harms the boutique’s reputation. She’s called the mad villainess of the empire, what should we do?”

“Jena, serve her with your best.”

“What?”

Ella wrote Raniarne’s name on a card and placed it at the very front of the special member list.

Ella Roine Boutique operates on a membership system. There are regular customers, members who pay membership fees, and very special customers who make enormous donations.