I met Edwin before I started dating Kaien.

I found Edwin collapsed and injured on the street, brought him home, and treated him.

Edwin treated me with great respect, calling me his benefactor, but we remained friends, and even after I learned he was a Count, our friendship didn’t change.

Could Edwin, with his puppy-like good nature, be the villain’s sinister helper who acts like an information broker?

I shook my head in disbelief as Edwin smiled gently.

“Ivy?”

“Ah, what were we talking about?”

“You said you had a favor to ask me. Shall we go to a café and talk over dessert?”

“Didn’t you say you were buying a gift?”

“I can do that another time.”

As Edwin spoke shyly, I could almost see the illusion of a wagging puppy tail behind him.

To think such a handsome man likes me so much—it makes me feel warm just looking at him.

‘Could Edwin really be…? No, surely not.’

I wanted to have a deep conversation with Edwin right away to find out if he was truly the villain’s helper, but unfortunately, the story from the novel was unfolding behind him.

“What do you mean by that, Lady?”

A sharp voice caught my attention.

“This is outrageous!”

“Say it again so everyone can hear what you said.”

The three young ladies spoke loudly, as if wanting the other customers in the dress shop to hear.

“Um, was there something wrong with what I said? I only said that because the dress is really pretty……”

Rebecca was flustered and didn’t know what to do.

She probably approached them thinking they were peers, but they were typical noble ladies with strong pride and self-love.

“Are you saying there was nothing wrong with what you said? You think I’m being oversensitive.”

“Don’t bother with such a rude person, Lizzy.”

“You, state your family and name. As the daughter of Baron Ingberd, I cannot overlook such rudeness.”

“I, I really don’t understand why you need my name and family……”

Say it. Just say it.

My heart raced as I eavesdropped on their conversation.

The Ingberd family ran a large trading company, giving them financial power and influence comparable to many Count families.

Rebecca, raised as a commoner, feared the nobility and worried that her family might be harmed because of her, so she couldn’t reveal her name in this situation.

If she had simply identified herself as a daughter of the Hemington family, the young ladies who had heard rumors would have understood or been more careful with their words due to her family status, but Rebecca hesitated.

In the novel, the young ladies assumed she was from a humble family and became emotional, which Countess Hemington, the female protagonist’s mother, witnessed.

“How dare you treat my daughter like this! After how long it took to find her!”

The Countess became furious, slapping the young ladies who were tormenting her daughter, and the young ladies grew to hate the female protagonist because of this incident.

It was the starting point of the female protagonist’s harassment in social circles.

The young ladies looked Rebecca up and down, sneering at her inability to state her family name.

“Must be some nouveau riche or newly ennobled family. You may dress up with fancy dresses, but you can’t hide the details.”

“Indeed. Your uncared-for skin and unmanicured nails reveal your origins. Along with the vulgarity ingrained in you.”

“Ugh! That’s…!”

Wow, those words hurt even me as a bystander—how must Rebecca feel with her background?

Rebecca’s eyes reddened, and tears welled up.

‘How will you handle the harsher things to come if you show such weakness already, Rebecca?’

Though I knew what would happen, watching from the side made me anxious.

It would be good to intervene and defuse the situation before the Countess entered, but someone else was meant to help Rebecca.

The only red-haired man in the dress shop was Edwin beside me.

‘Is Edwin really the villain’s helper?’

I firmly pressed my elbow into Edwin’s side.

Like a dog whose name was called by its owner, Edwin looked at me with sparkling eyes.

“What is it?”

“Aren’t you going to help?”

“But I don’t know her.”

If Edwin helped before the young ladies got slapped, it might make it easier for Rebecca to adapt to social circles.

In the novel, at the moment when the commotion escalates with the Countess slapping the young ladies, Edwin helps and introduces himself to the female protagonist.

Afterward, he helps the villain by selling information about Rebecca whom he secretly loves, while agonizing with regret: ‘I met her first.’

“It seems like a misunderstanding because she doesn’t know better. Edwin, please help.”

“Hmm.”

At any other time, he would have acted without hesitation, saying, “If Ivy wants it!” but strangely, he was dawdling.

“What did I do wrong?”

“So you think you’ve done nothing wrong.”

“That’s not it. I think I made a mistake without realizing it. If you tell me what it was, I’ll apologize. When so many people say something……”

“Are you saying you’re not at fault because you didn’t know? Do you feel sorry for yourself after humiliating others and getting humiliated in return?”

“She’s about to cry. She probably thinks crying will solve everything.”

“How shameful!”

I pushed Edwin toward the young ladies, but he didn’t budge.

“Hurry, if the Countess comes in and sees this scene, things will escalate!”

“Right, seeing her long-lost daughter being attacked like this would upset her.”

If he knew, he should go help, but Edwin remained still, looking at me.

“Then what will you do for me, Ivy? This is helping a stranger, so I should get something out of it too.”

“What?”

This wasn’t like him at all.

His serious face as he looked into my eyes held the cruelty of a child who had found an interesting toy.

As I stared at him in surprise, Edwin narrowed his eyes and smiled.

“Let’s go for tea afterward. We haven’t seen each other in a while, and a lot has happened. We have much to talk about. I also have things I need to hear from you, Ivy.”

“Fine, just hurry and help her.”

“Anything for you, Ivy, my life’s benefactor. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be here.”

“Hurry up.”

I had only treated some bruises when I found him, but Edwin consistently thanked me as if I had saved his life.

I saw the Countess approaching the dress shop. Edwin slipped between the young ladies before she entered.

“Oh my, isn’t this the miraculous Lady Rebecca Hemington, who returned to the Count’s family after 15 years? Pleased to meet you.”

The young ladies looked back and forth between Edwin and Rebecca in confusion.

“Lady Elizabeth, Lady Christian, and even Lady Rosita. What a gathering of famous people.”

The young ladies whose names were called blushed and looked at each other.

“Count Edwin, is this young lady really Rebecca Hemington?”

“Does the Hemington family have a daughter?”

“Why, she was lost long ago and recently found. It was headline news not long ago.”

“Ah, that young lady!”

The young ladies finally understood the situation and bit their lips in embarrassment, but even knowing the circumstances, their gaze toward Rebecca wasn’t entirely kind.

“Then she should have said she was from the Hemington family. Why didn’t she speak up……”

“She really put us in an awkward position.”

From their reactions, the immediate conflict was averted, but the feeling of ‘being insulted’ seemed to remain in the young ladies’ hearts.

‘At least three people were saved.’

“What were you discussing? I hope I didn’t interrupt needlessly.”

“Count. We were just about to leave. You’re not interrupting.”

“Yes, we can’t lecture on etiquette to a young lady who knows nothing, having just returned to the Count’s residence.”

I saw Countess Hemington entering the dress shop, adjusting her hat.

The young ladies and Edwin hadn’t noticed the Countess yet, so I approached her first to greet her.

“You must be Countess Hemington?”

“Oh, who are you?”

“I’m Ivy from the Rabbit baronet—no, Rabbit baronial family. I heard the good news. Congratulations.”

“Oh my, thank you.”

The Countess wasn’t surprised, as if strangers approaching to congratulate her was a common occurrence.

Hearing my voice, the young ladies exchanged glances and approached.

“Countess, congratulations. Your daughter is beautiful. She’ll certainly stand out in social circles.”

“Congratulations, Countess.”

Countess Hemington smiled broadly, not hiding her joy at the flood of greetings.

“Thank you. Let me introduce you to our Rebecca.”

“We’ve already greeted her.”

“She has an eye for dresses, and we sought her opinion. She has excellent taste.”

“Oh, I see. Please be good friends with her. We’re planning a reception to introduce Rebecca soon, so please attend and grace the occasion. Rebecca would be delighted if you young ladies attended.”

“It would be our honor.”

“Then enjoy your time with the young ladies.”

“We’ll be going now.”

The young ladies bowed slightly and left the dress shop.

Though the young ladies weren’t slapped, the events didn’t seem to deviate much from the novel’s plot.

“Rebecca, you’ve already made friends with these young ladies! That’s right, that’s how you should do it. You truly are my daughter.”

Haa, I understand her joy at finding her daughter, but the Countess is oblivious. Rebecca’s eyes are red.

Rebecca smiled at her mother, not wanting to worry her.

I’m concerned because her heart is too tender.

“Yes, Mother. They’re very kind people, though we just met.”

“Yes, they’re all well-mannered, cultured young ladies from distinguished families. Get along well with them.”

“Yes.”

The Countess eagerly took Edwin’s hand and invited him to the reception.

“Count Glee, how have you been? I received your congratulatory bouquet. How can someone be so thoughtful?”

“You flatter me, Countess. Congratulations once again.”

“Please attend the reception to introduce Rebecca. You too, Lady Rabbit.”

“Yes. I’ll attend.”

“I’ll certainly attend such a joyous occasion.”

“To meet such wonderful people, I’m glad we came out today. I’ll talk with the madam for a moment, so look around, Rebecca.”

After the Countess went inside, Rebecca approached me.

“Thank you for your help, Lady.”

“Me? It wasn’t me, Edwin helped you.”

Rebecca smiled as if she knew everything, and it felt like the surroundings brightened as if she were a protagonist under a spotlight.

“You sent the Count to help me. Thank you so much.”

“What made the young ladies angry, Lady Hemington?”

Rebecca bit her lip uncomfortably and sniffled.

“I don’t know either. I just wanted to make friends and spoke to them……”

She genuinely seemed not to know, so I decided to offer some help.

“Lady Hemington said the dress the young ladies were looking at was so pretty that she wanted to try it on too.”

“Ah, I see……”

Edwin sighed with regret.