“You know, old sayings are never wrong. You must have heard that walls have ears?”

“What are you saying?”

Lyudmila staggered, unable to maintain her balance. Eve, accustomed to the revolving stage, remained comfortably seated in her chair, while Victor, an excellent knight, didn’t move a muscle.

Ivan, who had also been an actor, stood without wavering. He seemed to have sensed the situation, as he was vigorously shaking his pupils with a bloodless face.

‘She turned this into a revolving stage? Eve, you’re insane.’

In an instant, the backdrop changed, and hundreds of audience members appeared before them.

Since Eve and Lyudmila’s conversation had been fully transmitted to the audience on the other side, the expressions of those looking at Lyudmila were filled with anger and contempt.

“What’s happening? Why are people glaring at me like that?”

“What do you think? The walls had ears? You’ll be arrested on charges of conspiracy to kidnap and murder the legitimate Princess of Hessen.”

“Th-that’s absurd! You’re not even really of Hessen blood!”

Eve gripped the armrests of her chair and stood up with an “oof.”

“That’s just your opinion.”

“Y-you have no evidence! Everyone, this woman is vulgar to the core. You’ve heard the rumors, haven’t you? She just cornered me and provoked me to extract a forced confession.”

“…Hmm.”

“Ahem.”

But people avoided Lyudmila’s eyes and didn’t respond to her.

No matter what she said with her own mouth, this couldn’t be happening.

Lyudmila let out a shrill cry:

“I’ve fallen into a trap!”

But her voice thinned out into the silence and was buried.

At that moment, two brave individuals stood up and spoke:

“Marchioness, Eve has been revealed to be the lost twin Princess. That’s enough.”

One was Zinnia Dawson, and the other was Abigail.

“That’s right. Monica, King Peter Gion’s maid, is a witness.”

“Yes, that’s enough.”

“For a Lurie to show such disgrace… tsk tsk.”

Voices of nobles agreeing could be heard from everywhere.

“Haha, that’s impossible. That woman is of real royal blood?”

Lyudmila stepped backward, clutching her trembling hands.

“B-but where’s the evidence that I ordered the kidnapping? This is slander!”

True to her Lurie nature, Lyudmila didn’t collapse immediately despite her confession.

“We have more evidence.”

When Eve clapped once, knights brought in Canon Hampshire, tied with ropes.

The emaciated man looked at Lyudmila with eyes full of fear and jumped up.

“Th-that woman l-leaked information that the P-Princess would take a rental carriage from a certain place.”

“Shut your mouth! Canon!”

When Lyudmila glared at him, Canon flinched, his shoulders trembling as he shrank back.

‘I wondered where he was hiding, but Canon Hampshire was captured by Hessen.’

“I just told you about it, I never said to go there? You can’t arrest a Lurie like me for this!”

“It would be better if you just admitted it…”

Eve shook her head and clapped twice.

Before the triumphant Lyudmila appeared a familiar woman and an unfamiliar man, led by knights.

“Ann Costner?”

Ann, pale with fear, looked around and then, seeing Lyudmila, began to sob.

“M-Marchioness. Please say something to the Princess. You ordered me to follow Joan, that person!”

“When did I ever?”

“Huhuhu. I told you I paid extra to the rental shop owner to find out when Joan rented a carriage, and you said I did well, so why are you denying it now?”

“Watch your words, Ann Costner. Are you blaming me for something you did out of jealousy?”

“Uhuhuhu. That’s so cruel.”

Eventually, Anne Costner sat down on the floor and began to cry.

Lyudmila, confident she could escape, regained her composure.

But the former rental shop owner, who had been standing blankly next to Ann Costner, pulled out a ledger from his chest.

“Here is evidence that Marchioness Lurie paid me for information.”

“I see.”

Eve took the ledger from his hand and read it aloud.

The rental shop owner, being meticulous, had even obtained a witness’s signature.

“Sale of personal information in the name of Lyudmila Lurie, 100 Lofran. Witness, Ann Costner.”

“What?”

Lyudmila glared at the crying Anne.

With trembling shoulders, Ann sobbed:

“Just in case. I was only doing what I was told.”

“You!”

“And here is the Lurie family seal as well?”

Eve smiled with her eyes and showed the ledger to the people.

“When did she take that? Ann, you thief!”

Lyudmila had completely forgotten that Ann Costner was skilled at pilfering things.

She was the very person who had silently stolen her father Baron Costner’s rocky land deed.

“Th-thief? When I went to your residence before, you gave it to me, Lofran. To use it.”

Of course, that had never happened. But Ann Costner was weaker than Lyudmila in this regard.

Just deny everything. It was also a method her husband had taught her.

Eve raised both corners of her mouth and said:

“It’s crystal clear.”

Lyudmila, falling into panic, screamed:

“Ahhh!”

Eve gathered the evidence and turned toward the people.

With elegant steps, she moved to the center of the stage and said with an exaggerated bow:

“The lead roles are Princess Eve Gion and Marchioness Lyudmila Lurie, extras are Ivan Child, Ann Costner, and John, the former carriage rental shop owner, with a special appearance by my guard knight, Victor.”

“Guard knight Victor?!”

“That Victor!”

Dozens of nobles rose from their seats in shock.

Victor smoothly placed his arm on his stomach and bowed to the audience, then straightened up.

The sound of people collapsing into their seats could be heard from various places.

Lyudmila, assessing the situation, realized she had been deceived by Eve and walked quickly toward her with her hand raised high.

“How dare you!”

However, she was pushed back by Victor, who appeared like the wind.

Shing. With the sound of a sword being drawn.

“B-Brother Victor!”

Lyudmila couldn’t reach Eve.

Feeling wronged, she glared at Eve and Victor with bloodshot eyes and screamed.

“Protect Her Highness.”

And from all directions, knights jumped onto the stage, grabbed Lyudmila by both arms, and dragged her away.

Lyudmila’s end was ugly.

Ah. It’s finally over.

As the intense tension eased, Eve’s eyebrows relaxed comfortably.

Just as Eve was feeling relieved:

“Where have they all gone?”

Caught by the knights, Lyudmila frantically shook her head and called for someone.

She seemed to be calling for the Black Bulks.

Seeing that no one appeared, it seemed the special knights had captured them well.

“Leader!”

Finally, Lyudmila twisted her body and shouted.

In that moment, Victor sprang like a coil and parried a crescent-shaped blade that cut through the space.

Clang.

“Ahhhhh!”

People screamed as a large man suddenly appeared on stage.

The Leader and Victor were pushed back by the impact of their collision, then clashed again.

The uniquely inward-curved blade caught Victor’s long sword and made a scraping sound.

Sparks flew from the gazes of the two men.

“So you’ve finally appeared. Were you hiding near the stage?”

“…”

Though Victor raised the corner of his mouth and asked, the large man didn’t answer.

Even Victor, who was tall, was sizeable, but the Leader was like a bear.

His tanned skin in black clothes and the crescent-shaped shamshir in his hand suggested he came from a distant foreign country.

“Why not stop? It’s all over now. Your master’s crimes have been exposed.”

The Leader silently applied more force to the hand holding the sword hilt, pressing down from above.

Victor, who had calmly received the Leader’s sword, raised the corner of his mouth.

Is this about pride?

Interesting.

‘I’m also someone who would be hurt if called second when it comes to pride.’

‘The tip of the sword is curved, so I’ll need to apply twice the force.’

Victor put strength into his shoulders and swung upward to deflect the Leader’s sword.

He expected an immediate attack, but the Leader rushed at the two knights holding Lyudmila.

“Ugh.”

“Kuh.”

The ordinary knights quickly fell to the ground from the unexpected attack.

The Leader easily snatched the Marchioness.

‘Is he trying to escape with her!’

As Victor had predicted, the Black Bulk Leader tried to leave the stage with the Marchioness.

“Grand Knight Commander!”

Eve had anticipated this and had stationed knights around the grand banquet hall.

The Grand Knight Commander and the Knight Commanders rushed forward to block his path.

No matter how great a mercenary the Leader of the Black Bulks was, he couldn’t easily overcome Hessen’s Knight Commanders. However, the Leader was no pushover either. Even while holding the Duchess’s wrist, he didn’t give an inch to Victor and tried to escape several times, looking for openings.

“Please!”

Victor shouted.

The Grand Knight Commander rushed forward with his sword, blocking the Leader’s escape route. The Leader released the Marchioness’s hand and swung his sword to parry the attack.

Clang!

“Ahhh!”

Lyudmila fell face-first onto the stage floor.

While the Grand Knight Commander desperately held the Leader in place, Victor placed his sword against the Leader’s Adam’s apple.

“Do you surrender?”

“Ugh.”

Finally, the Leader dropped his sword onto the wooden floor.

“Leader!”

Lyudmila wailed with a shrill scream, but the Leader of the Black Bulks had done his duty.

The Leader, who had only been wielding his sword until now, opened his heavy mouth:

“Marchioness, please stop now. It’s over.”

This was the end of a relationship forged with gold coins.

Eve breathed a sigh of relief. She had been anxiously following Victor and the castle knights with her eyes as they fought the Leader. She had been boiling inside, unable to approach for fear of interfering, but she was truly glad that no one was hurt.

‘Thank goodness.’

Having lost his fighting spirit, the Leader was obediently captured by the knights.

Lyudmila, sitting on the floor, was trembling with unfocused eyes.

‘She wouldn’t have expected this. She must have thought she could bring me down.’

Eve looked at Lyudmila and then turned her gaze to Victor.

He was talking with the Grand Knight Commander a few steps away from her.

“You!”

Just as the knights approached to tie Lyudmila’s hands with rope, suddenly, Lyudmila rose to her feet with a terrifying glare.

Without time to dodge, she picked up the fallen crescent sword from the floor and rushed at Eve.

“Die!”

Lyudmila’s red eyes, filled with malice, shone like a demon’s.

“Lyudmila! Stop!”

Victor shouted and rushed forward like an arrow.

Eve tried to turn and run away to avoid her, but Lyudmila was faster. She instinctively covered her face with both arms.

“Eve!”

“Daughter!”

In the moment her vision was blocked.

She saw her uncle and father running toward her with pale faces.

Victor was also rushing toward her, screaming madly.

‘I wanted to spend more time with Victor… if we had.’

‘Would we have been different? I want to hear more love confessions.’

In that fraction of a second, Eve sensed death approaching her throat and squeezed her eyes shut.

She was grateful that the last thing she saw in her closing vision was Victor.

‘At least I’m relieved I introduced Monette to her father.’

Thwack.

“Ugh.”

Warm blood poured over Eve’s crossed arms.

“Ahhh!”

“Someone’s been stabbed!”

The grand banquet hall became chaotic with people’s screams.

Her father’s voice calling for the royal physician, her mothers’ screams.

But she felt no pain.

An ominous feeling that something was wrong ran down Eve’s spine.

When she lowered her arms, Victor was in front of her, covered in blood, wearing his characteristically handsome smile.

“…Victor?”

“A-are y-you alright?”