“Yes, how did you know about that? Wait. Who told you that? Tell me right now! Even if it happened years ago, I’ll make sure he pays!”

“Is that really what matters?”

“…….”

“I could have lost you.”

No — she had lost him.

Just as Cordelia had been murdered before she could file for divorce, Ruird had died before he could present the evidence.

Cordelia had been murdered before she could file for divorce properly.

How bitter and wronged he must have felt!

Those painful emotions surged within her once more, making her eyes sting.

Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. Ruird raked his hands through his hair as though her tears were driving him mad.

“Ah, this is driving me crazy. Hey, stop crying, would you?”          

“Don’t call me ‘hey.’”

“Then what?”

“Call me your older sister.”

“Argh!”

Ruird groaned helplessly, at a complete loss for what to do. Then, just as Cordelia had done earlier, he pulled his sister tightly into his arms.

“Seriously… I’m going to lose my mind.”

His large hand settled awkwardly on Cordelia’s head before slowly stroking her hair.

“Hey, please stop crying. I don’t know what I’m supposed to say when you cry like this. All right?”

And at last, he admitted it.

“Hey, hey. No, I mean… about taking the poison—fine. I get it. I was wrong. I said I was sorry.”

‘I was wrong, Sis…….’

***

Ruird von Bluerose felt as though he were going mad.

His sister was so trusting that she was not just innocent, but foolishly naive.

Unable to bear the emptiness left by their parents’ death, his sensitive twin had ended up placing her trust in people who did not deserve her affection.

This was why Ruird had chosen to endure everything for the sake of his only remaining family member.

Although he had been humiliated by his failure to stop his seemingly innocent aunt’s schemes, he only needed to hold on a little longer.

Just a few more days.

‘Because we’ll finally become legal adults.’

It was all because of the Empire’s damned laws.

As the young head of a ducal family yet to reach legal adulthood, he was at the mercy of his relatives’ constant interference.

However, if he could just endure a few more days, he would finally be able to drive them all out.

Yet his sister had changed.

In an instant.

It was as though she had truly gone mad.

He was slightly frightened, but…

“Have you stopped crying now?”

“Yes. I’m sorry. I startled you, didn’t I?”

“No, well… I’m fine.”

Perhaps this side of her wasn’t so bad after all.

Ruird looked somewhat intimidated as he studied Cordelia, who had finally calmed down.

She was still pale, but her composed expression was starting to resemble the Cordelia he knew.

He couldn’t help but wonder what on earth had happened to her. How could someone change so completely in an instant? What had happened to the timid Cordelia who used to cry so easily?

“Ruird, I have a favor to ask.”

That was precisely the expression he meant.

Whenever she looked at him with such solemn determination, his heart sank.

‘Ah, d*mn it.’

Cordelia looked as though she had finally returned home after enduring years of hardship.

Even more absurdly, he could never bring himself to say no when his sister spoke to him so quietly. However, he had no choice but to object to what she said next.

“Are you insane? Do you even know what kind of place that is?”

“I know.”

“You know? You know what kind of place it is, and you still want to go?”

“Get me an invitation. I have to go there.”

Ruird’s lips trembled.

Although they had grown apart unintentionally over the past few years, she was still his other half. Yet today, she felt like a complete stranger. Why was she looking at him like that? Ruird suppressed his frustration and explained patiently.

“Sis, you haven’t even made your debut yet, and now you’re saying you want to go there? Do you have any idea what that means?”

Cordelia calmly nodded.

As though this were not merely a momentary impulse.

“If anyone discovers that I went there, my reputation in high society will be ruined.”

“……Then why would you go when you already know that?”

‘Do you have any idea how hard I worked to protect you?’

The resentment about to burst from his lips died away when he met his twin’s clear eyes. Though still wet with tears, her gaze did not waver.

It held unwavering conviction.

“That place has ties to the Imperial Family.”

“That’s exactly why I have to go.”

‘What is she talking about now?’

As Ruird furrowed his brow, his twin dropped a bombshell with a perfectly composed expression.

“I have no intention of marrying into the House of Kierre.”

“……What?”

“I’m going to break off my engagement to the count’s family.”

‘What is she talking about this time?’

“I can’t explain why right now, but that’s what I want. It’s what I have to do.”

Cordelia smiled calmly at the horrified Ruird. Yet somehow, that smile only made her seem more dangerous. Naturally, he intended to refuse.

“Ruird, do you trust me?”

But when she put it that way……

‘D*mn it. How could I possibly refuse after hearing that?’

He sighed. Overnight, his twin had become inexplicably mature—and remarkably shrewd.

In the end, he raised the white flag.

“……When are you planning to go? You don’t mean today, do you?”

“Tomorrow.”

‘This is driving me insane. It truly is.’

In a voice that sounded as though he were on the verge of death, Ruird asked,

“What else do you need?”

“A false identity. And afterward, erase every trace of it.”

He had no choice but to nod.

Yes, whether she was angry or not, this was still better. It was infinitely better to watch his sister glare fiercely and slap her opponent than to see her curl up and silently endure those unspeakably cruel words.

“Once you’re inside, don’t get caught. And……”

He growled a warning.

“Please. Don’t do anything dangerous.”

“All right. I’ll try my best.”

Cordelia’s answer once again made Ruird sick with worry.

***

Cordelia continued to consider her options.

How could she deal a devastating blow to Julius, her despised husband?

She knew him better than anyone.

Beneath his gentle façade, he was consumed by greed and was never satisfied with what he already possessed.

He would never willingly give up his position as fiancé to the House of Bluerose. He would undoubtedly resort to any means necessary to get close to Cordelia again.

But what if she stripped him of all the power he was destined to obtain in the future?

‘I know more than enough.’

Cordelia had not spent the last ten years suffering without learning anything.

While investigating Julius’s infidelity, she had found out almost everything about him. She had also memorised the identities of those he had kept hidden, along with all the information he had tried to conceal.

Ultimately, if Julius had one true nemesis in this world, it was Cordelia herself.

Initially, she had considered choosing Julius’s older brother, Keith von Kierre, instead of Julius.

After all, Julius suffered from an overwhelming inferiority complex towards his older brother.

“Don’t tell me even you’re comparing me to that man.”

“Julius, why are you getting so angry……?”

“Don’t praise him in front of me!”

Recalling how violently he had reacted back then, to the point of casting aside even his gentle mask, the idea was quite tempting.

However, there was a problem with that plan.

Cordelia would once again become entangled with the House of Kierre.

‘Becoming a daughter-in-law of the House of Kierre again……’

She could still remember it vividly.

The unmistakable hostility in Countess Kierre’s eyes whenever she looked at Cordelia, her daughter-in-law.

“I cannot fathom how your behavior can be so vulgar. You have no manners whatsoever. A proper wife should naturally revere her husband and help him shine. Just how intelligent do you think you are to dare make remarks that belittle my son?”

“But, Mother.”

“Do not call me that! You keep hesitating instead of transferring the estates and specialty businesses into your husband’s name. Is that not proof that you look down on Julius?”

Unlike the current countess’s incompetent son, Julius, Keith von Kierre was the former countess’s son and an accomplished man.

Could her bitterness towards Cordelia have stemmed from the fact that Cordelia had once served the former countess as a maid? Burdened by an inferiority complex over her humble origins, the countess took out all her bitterness on Cordelia.

She was a daughter-in-law born into a prestigious ducal family.

A duchess who bore the name Bluerose.

This treatment was unjust, yet Cordelia once believed that she had to endure such cruelty for Julius’s sake.

‘I will never do that again.’

That was why she had come here.

To put an end to the marriage negotiations between the two families, she desperately needed the cooperation of a young member of the Imperial Family.

‘The Rubiette Masquerade Hall.’

This establishment was secretly run by the Second Prince, who was set to ascend the throne upon the death of the current Crown Prince.

It was, more precisely, a clandestine gathering place where he recruited promising individuals who might one day become his allies.