For her, truth wasn’t important. What she wanted and wished for was her truth.

“Of course, that position is mine. Not that woman’s. Mine… My place….”

She kept repeating the same words.

A small voice mixed with trembling breaths sounded chillingly mad.

Golden eyes shimmering with intense murderous intent.

That was when she felt someone’s presence in the dark corridor, where she thought she was alone.

The lady quickly covered her mouth and looked around.

There was a large pillar right next to her, big enough to hide her body and her voluminous dress.

‘There shouldn’t be anyone coming up here.’

She gnawed on her nails quietly as she cast her gaze towards where the sound came from.

The sound of men’s shoes clacking and high heels tapping came closer.

As the sounds approached, Lady Odor’s eyes narrowed further.

“How can I stand looking at that!”

“Robelia. Stop it. You’ve been nagging non-stop.”

The voices of man and woman echoed in the corridor along with their footsteps.

Two individuals with deep blue hair. The sharpness of their eyes and their aura were exactly like siblings’.

They were speaking without hesitation, as if they thought no one would come here.

‘Robelia? That must be the name of that thing’s sister I don’t know about.’

Lady Odor suddenly lifted her head that she had been keeping down.

Her lips curled up sinisterly.

‘Good. Families that don’t know their place need to be trampled down before they climb up.’

A gleam danced in her golden eyes.

Although she didn’t like it, Adelia was currently the crown prince’s fiancée. If she openly grabbed her hair or slapped her face, it could be considered treason.

But what about her family? They were still ordinary nobles.

‘That woman is cunning. If I touch her, she’ll definitely bite back. But that side seems a bit dumb. If their status falls among nobles, there will be backlash, right?’

Lady Odor lightly dusted off her dress.

She was about to step out from behind the pillar to approach them when a conversation stopped her in her tracks.

“Are you going to let that become the crown princess? How dare she?”

“What can I do? The national marriage has already been decided. Even if you throw a tantrum, it won’t change.”

Robelia walked ahead, grabbing the young count’s sleeve and whining.

The young count shook off her hand with an annoyed look on his face.

Then Robelia stood still with an angry red face filled with irritation.

“But! Having that flawed thing above me? I can’t stand it! Do something about it, brother!”

“Seriously! Be quiet. Do you want to get in trouble with Father?” 

The young count quickly covered Robelia’s mouth.

He looked around, turning his head this way and that, to see if there was anyone nearby.

Having confirmed that there was no one around, he glanced at Robelia.

Her turquoise eyes, visible above the hand covering her mouth, were glaring at him, filled with anger and annoyance.

Robelia bit his hand sharply.

“Are you not letting go? What do you care, brother!”

“Is this for real! Do you really want to be kicked out of the house? Do you want to go to Count Kala’s house where Adelia is supposed to be sold?”

The young count shook off his bitten hand in the air, shouting in an angry voice.

Robelia crossed her arms and spoke in a sarcastic tone, dumbfounded.

“Huh? What about you, brother? Last time, after going out at night, you got a girl pregnant and borrowed money from me because Father wouldn’t take care of it!”

“Are you crazy? What if someone hears you! Be careful with your mouth. You could end up dead by the crown prince’s hand without anyone knowing.”

The young count gritted his teeth, threatening his sister in a calm voice.

For some reason, Adelia was favored by the imperial family. Touching her was no different from jumping off a cliff with both feet.

“And you might not like it, but honestly, I don’t care. After all, I’m going to be the head of the Count of Vita’s family. Maybe it’s good for me if Adelia raises the status of our family?”

“Brother!”

“So take care of yourself. You could benefit without doing anything, so why make a fuss.”

The young count waved his hand with an annoyed expression on his face.

He welcomed the fact that Adelia was going to be the crown prince’s wife, but he had not shown it until now.

For him, who would become the head of the count’s family instead of going to another family like Adelia or Robelia, producing an empress and raising the family’s status would also elevate his own status.

“I’m going back down. Calm down and come down.”

The young count left Robelia and went back down to the banquet hall.

It was better to use Adelia’s name to build connections than to listen to his sister’s tantrums.

“So annoying! Why is he so nonchalant!”

As the young count walked away without looking back, Robelia stomped her feet and raised her voice.

Neither her father nor brother listened to her. Her father boasted around as the crown prince’s father-in-law, and her brother treated it as someone else’s business.

The only one who sympathized with her was Mother, but Mother had no power to stop Father and her brother.

“I can’t stand it… How can that mere thing become the crown prince’s wife. Absolutely not.”

Robelia’s turquoise eyes held strong contempt.

She stomped on the rug on the floor and kicked the innocent wall to express her anger.

‘This… The situation is turning quite interesting?’

The lady watched everything from behind a pillar, holding her breath.

She saw all their actions and even heard all their conversations.

The corners of the lady’s eyes turned sharply.

‘Maybe they could become good allies?’

It was very easy to tell that they disliked Adelia.

Not just from their conversation, but also from the way they referred to her, she could feel her disdain.

She liked the fact that they despised Adelia just like she did.

Instead of a bizarre smile, she wore a proud and brilliant smile.

Dusting off her clothes, she stepped out from behind the pillar.

“I happened to overhear your conversation.”

“Kyaa! Oh… Lady Odor!”

Thud—

Robelia was startled by the sudden appearance of the lady and fell backwards.

She sat on the floor with a loud noise and trembled all over.

She rolled her eyes around with both hands tightly clenched.

“Since when….”

Robelia’s voice trembled weakly.

She looked like a cowardly animal, too anxious to lift her head.

The lady’s shoulders rose with a sense of superiority as she observed Robelia’s state.

“I came before you, young lady.”

“Could it be….”

“Did I tell you? I happened to overhear your conversation.”

“I… I was crazy for a moment and spoke nonsense! I’m sorry.”

Robelia buried her face on the floor.

Regardless of the reason, the words that came out of her mouth could be construed as treasonous at any moment.

Her fear was even greater since the person in front of her was a lady from the Odor Ducal family, the leader of the emperor’s faction.

However, what reached Robelia’s ears was a pleasant laugh.

“Oh my, that would make me quite sad. I thought we could be good friends.”

“What?”

Robelia lifted her head in surprise at the unexpected words.

The lady in front of her was wearing a very pleased smile.

Her eyes were so narrowed that they almost disappeared as she drew a curve on her lips.

“Your sister. Adelia, right?”

“Ah… Yes.”

Robelia grimaced at the mention of her sister.

Her expression was unpleasant, as if she didn’t even consider her a sister.

“I just can’t stand seeing that.”

“Lady?”

“I’ll help you. To make sure that thing that doesn’t know its place ends up right back at the bottom. How about it?”

The lady extended her hand to Robelia, who was lying on the floor, whispering.

Robelia hesitated to take her hand. Instinctively, she felt that taking that hand would be dangerous.

But eventually, she took the lady’s hand.

No matter how dangerous it was, she couldn’t stand to see that thing climb up.

The lady helped Robelia up and dusted her off.

“Now, why don’t you tell me everything you know? Tell me all about how inadequate and unworthy that thing is.”

The voice ringing in her ears was so sweet that Robelia opened her mouth as if enchanted.

* * *

After the Harvest Festival banquet. Adelia became the talk of all rumors.

The crown prince’s fiancée and future crown princess. And someone with such close ties to the Master of the reclusive Eileen Merchant Guild that even gifts were exchanged.

Adelia now held more power in her hands than anyone else.

Dozens of invitations poured in every day, and dozens of people requested to meet her.

A week after the party had ended, countless invitations arrived in her room every day.

Yet, none of the invitations could return with her acceptance.

Adelia had too much to do to even show her face in the social circles.

Adelia’s morning came earlier than others.

“Ah… I’m sleepy.”

Struggling to overcome sleep, Adelia barely woke up, rubbing her eyes and stretching.

It was still the time when the morning moon had not yet faded away. A time when even the sun was lazily preparing to rise.

A slight pull on the bell cord would quickly bring in the maids.

“Did you sleep well, miss?”

Maid Gina entered with a bright smile, holding a tray with various newspapers, coffee, and some light snacks.

She placed what she brought on the table, saying,

“It seems you wake up earlier now than when you were at the Count’s estate.”