“…”

“Julia and Marcel are both already dead. Everything they had is now in Louise and Alec’s hands.”

“…”

“Who will be destroyed next? I keep getting a strange feeling. I can’t shake the thought that Duke Brent and his wife are not the same as they used to be…”

Olivia’s eyes flickered unnervingly.

Even after stripping them of their titles and wealth, and casting them out into the streets, they had returned, living in even more splendor.

And not just that, but even the people who provoked them didn’t fare well.

Though Marcel had taken his own life, everyone knew that Louise and Alec had played a decisive role in pushing him to do so.

The series of events unfolding now seemed unthinkable for the former Duke and Duchess of Brent, as Olivia had known them.

“So, Father… please get rid of them quickly.”

“What did you say?”

“Are you going to just let future threats be?”

“Olivia.”

“You’ll do it, right?”

Olivia gazed at her father with desperate eyes.

If it were Brody, she wouldn’t even need to take action herself; he could easily dispose of Louise.

However, Brody gritted his teeth and spoke firmly with a stern gaze.

“If His Majesty is interested in that woman, we must tread carefully. Set aside any personal feelings. If we act rashly, our family could be completely wiped out.”

Olivia pressed her lips tightly together.

She had tried to get closer to the emperor for the sake of her family’s heir, but it had been in vain.

Now, the emperor seemed intent on killing her.

The fact that there was no longer any hope for her felt painfully clear.

“So, are you saying you’re going to abandon me?”

“Your life is not yours alone. Don’t act rashly. Let’s pretend this conversation never happened.”

With that, Brody bowed stiffly and turned away, leaving abruptly.

Olivia leaned weakly against her chair, glaring at Brody’s retreating figure.

“Coward.”

No matter how frightening His Majesty might be, in the end, her father cherished his own life above all else.

Rather than protecting her, he was terrified of doing anything that might anger the emperor.

“All that I’ve done for the family…”

Grinding her teeth, Olivia summoned all her strength to rise from her chair.

The maids quickly approached to support her.

Was there truly no one left to stand up for her?

Surely, it wouldn’t be that difficult to get rid of someone like Louise.

Finally, she singled out one of the maids and gave her instructions.

“Find out the former Duchess of Brent’s schedule for today.”

“I will comply, Your Majesty.”

Olivia looked down fondly at the bowing maid.

She never wanted to become ashes without ever burning bright.

* * *

After finishing my preparations to go out, I stepped out of the mansion with a feeling of lightness.

Both my body and mind felt refreshingly light.

I had been shivering with endless joy from last night until this morning, yet my entire body was free of any pain.

‘If it weren’t for Alec’s power, I wouldn’t even be able to walk properly.’

I couldn’t help but smile at the thought of his abilities.

I liked the past Alec, who practiced without giving up his name, but I also felt a thrilling fondness for the changed Alec of now.

As I got into the carriage, the servants saw us off.

“Then, have a good trip, my lord, my lady. The people at Howard’s textile factory will be very welcoming to both of you.”

“Thank you. I’m a bit nervous, but your words make me feel reassured.”

“Thank you, my lady. Then please take care!”

“Okay.”

At last, the carriage door closed.

As I turned to Alec and smiled slightly, he looked back at me and gently caressed my hand.

From now on, we were going to visit Marcel’s textile factory to greet the workers as the new owners.

It wouldn’t be good if the vacancy of the factory owner lasted too long, so I wanted to reveal ourselves as soon as possible.

What would people think of us?

We were nobles whom even other nobles looked down on, and we knew nothing about textiles…

We weren’t under the Emperor’s favor, so they might think the factory could go bankrupt soon.

However, at least unlike Marcel, we could provide sufficient ventilation facilities for the health of the factory workers.

* * *

On the way to Howard’s textile factory, Alec felt his lips twitching as if they were trying to smile, so he had to keep them tightly closed.

It was because of what had happened last night and this morning.

“I think I’m in love with you… the way you are now.”

Louise had confessed her love to him.

Until now, he had felt a considerable amount of affection from Louise toward ‘Alec’, but this time it felt entirely different.

He could feel her heart directed at him, not ‘Alec’.

He hadn’t expected it at all, so when he heard her say she loved him, he was so surprised that he even asked back.

“What? Is that true?”

“Would I say something I don’t mean?”

“…Louise.”

To think he would be so moved by a woman’s confession…

It was a phrase he had always longed to hear from her.

His heart fluttered strangely, feeling like spring air was bubbling up inside him.

Is this what it feels like to have the world?

In that moment, his affection for her surged tremendously.

Thinking of how much Louise loved him made his heart race with excitement.

He cleared his throat softly in the carriage, unnecessarily placing his hand over his lips.

His current level was 22.

Inside the carriage coming to the capital, his affection had increased by about 500,000, and since arriving in the capital, it had increased by around 1,000,000 up to today.

This was the total from the time they spent together at night, the gifts exchanged, and the usual rise in affection.

The more Louise did, the more she seemed to like him, and he couldn’t help but admire her this morning as well.

The system gave him special points for the affection and experience he gained, and the previous rate of experience rising by 30% of affection rose to 50%.

The system even calculated experience points when Marcel died.

Thanks to recognizing Marcel as an enemy when he threw gunpowder at his carriage.

The system assessed Marcel’s social status, reputation, and wealth, calculating the experience points.

Unexpectedly gaining a large amount of experience, he reached level 22.

However, at this level, the numbers needed for leveling up had become absurd.

To rise from level 23 to 24, about 120 million experience points and approximately 12 million in affection were needed.

Those were daunting numbers, yet they didn’t feel entirely out of reach.

The scale of the affection and experience he was gaining was also steadily increasing, and fortunately, the system was giving him special rewards as well.

“……”

Feeling a strange sensation, Alec subtly lowered his hand that had been fiddling with his lips.

The words “I’m in love with you” from Louise had already filled his heart with joy.

Along with that, his strength was steadily growing as well.

When he first came to this world, he had never imagined he would grow this much, making him feel somewhat nostalgic.

However, Alec was already more interested in Louise’s love than in his own strength.

TL NOTE: More advanced chapter of this story is already up to the site. Visit dusk blossoms for more advanced chapters and stories