“There’s an emergency!”

A maid burst into the bedroom, causing a commotion.

Karen, who had been standing beside Lucilia to prepare her for the purification ritual, shouted at the ill-mannered maid.

“What kind of improper behavior is this! How dare you fling open the young master’s bedroom door without permission!”

“I’m sorry. It’s very, very urgent.”

“What’s the matter?”

“F-f-fire! There’s a fire!”

“If there’s a fire, you should quickly go and call people! Why are you stupidly running here?”

Despite the continued scolding, the maid didn’t leave and stamped her feet anxiously.

Seeing this, Lucilia turned away from the mirror.

“It seems you need to check on this.”

Karen, her eyes still sharply raised, asked the maid:

“Is that really the case?”

“Yes. Smoke is coming from the greenhouse. People are already rushing there to put out the fire. But the perg… pergola…”

The moment she mentioned the pergola, Lucilia, Karen, and the maids helping with the preparations were all shocked.

The maid’s anxious voice, stumbling over her words, had already shattered any hope for an optimistic situation.

Hearing the devastating conclusion in the midst of this, everything went dark before their eyes.

“Don’t touch the pergola set up in the greenhouse. I brought the bench my mother used before our family’s downfall here.”

Aaron’s words rang in her ears.

An ominous feeling cut coldly down her spine.

The pergola burning right before the purification ritual…

It had been such a short time since they received news that Aaron would arrive in two days.

Her heart pounded at the thought of Aaron’s fiery anger.

What if he pointed at her as the culprit who brought this disaster?

No matter how much she protested her innocence, the situation seemed to be targeting Lucilia.

The future seemed predetermined, and it was unbearably bleak.

At that moment, Karen rushed out hastily.

Seeing the usually calm head maid’s urgent movements, Lucilia grabbed her flowing skirt and ran after her.

After passing through the front yard and turning toward the greenhouse, she could see black smoke rising high like a chimney.

It felt as if a gloomy energy was descending upon her as well.

With that much smoke, wouldn’t the interior be completely burned?

The imagined scene of the fire violently pushed against her body.

She felt dizzy thinking about Aaron’s devastation at the damage to his mother’s keepsake. The figures of servants running around frantically with water buckets swayed slowly before her eyes.

Hans, who had just arrived, caught the staggering Lucilia.

“Why did you come out when you should be inside? You shouldn’t be exposed to impure energy when you need to go to the prayer room.”

“What about the pergola? The young baron cherished it so much… Please go quickly and check the condition of the pergola.”

Regardless of impure energy or anything else, Lucilia urged him again, her face pale.

If nothing else, the keepsake had to be protected.

Hans released her arm and respectfully replied:

“I’ve been informed that the fire inside is almost contained. We’ll be able to check soon, so please leave this to us.”

“Excuse me, Butler…”

The greenhouse caretaker cautiously interrupted their conversation.

From the caretaker’s dejected face, it wasn’t hard to guess that the worst had happened.

Lucilia’s voice came out in broken fragments.

“The pergola… what happened to it?”

“Well…”

The caretaker could only look back and forth between Hans and Lucilia without continuing his words.

By this point, even Hans’s voice carried a faint tremor as he urged:

“What are you doing, not reporting quickly? She’s asking what happened!”

The conversation couldn’t continue, creating a gap.

The low silence tightened uncomfortably around her chest.

Under Hans’s stern command asking why he wasn’t answering quickly, the caretaker finally squeezed out his voice.

“…Only the frame remains; everything else is burned. There was a heating device installed to maintain a constant temperature to prevent frost damage to the plants. It seems the fire started there.”

“Everything burned? The bench too?”

“I’m deeply sorry. It’s all due to my negligence.”

The caretaker couldn’t lift his head.

Though fear of punishment was surely part of it, he seemed to feel considerable guilt for causing property damage to the family due to poor management.

Hans also sensed that he wouldn’t escape responsibility.

Most of Tudra Castle’s overall operations went through Hans. From execution details to various expenditures, there was nothing Hans didn’t know.

Moreover, since a fire in the greenhouse couldn’t be classified as a natural disaster, there was clearly responsibility for this man-made calamity.

Lucilia felt a sense of emptiness standing between the two men.

Her rush to quickly suppress the fire and minimize damage had been in vain.

Lucilia stood motionless, staring at the greenhouse with soot seeping out. It felt like mud had blocked a spring that had been brimming with hope.

“I’ll be going now. I mustn’t be late for the ritual.”

The black smoke distorted in her eyes, swollen with tears.

As soon as she turned her back, she painfully bit her lip.

She couldn’t show tears in front of them, as it would be almost the same as admitting she was the arsonist.

Even though she hadn’t actually set the fire, it would be like acknowledging herself as the source of misfortune.

She intended to diligently complete today’s tasks.

Though thinking of Aaron was very painful, she decided to put it off for later.

Just as she was about to move her heavy legs, Bessie came hurrying with a heavy water bucket, taking small steps.

Upon seeing Lucilia, she put the bucket down on the ground and bent her waist.

Bessie stood before Lucilia, with servants covered in soot in the background.

“My lady, why are you out here where it’s dangerous?”

Lucilia had no strength to respond.

When she answered with a sigh, Bessie wiped her dirty hands on her apron.

Lucilia remained still as Bessie extended her hand to support her. The dizziness that had subsided was returning, and she felt like she might collapse after walking just a short distance.

The moment Bessie’s eyes naturally attached to Lucilia’s complexion, trying to examine it, Lucilia’s mind suddenly cleared with an insight that pierced her crown.

‘It was you, Bessie.’

Regardless of status, there were foolish people in every class.

Some beggars had their own noble philosophy, while some noble practitioners were steeped in l*stful and dirty greed.

This was experience gained from looking into people’s inner thoughts.

Ugly and terrible natures too easily entered and multiplied within humans.

This child called Bessie was different from simply lacking qualitative knowledge due to limited education.

Regardless of her upbringing environment, she was incomparably gloomy.

Like uneducated people often are, she was recklessly brave.

No, even calling her brave was too generous. She was a reckless human to the point of frustration.

As Bessie’s hand touched her, Lucilia sat down, complaining of dizziness.

Bessie gasped, showing surprise.

“Oh! Are you alright? Did you inhale smoke? This is serious… I’ll take you to the physician, so hold onto me and stand up.”

Bessie crouched down to help her up. At that moment, Lucilia firmly grasped Bessie’s hand.

“No. I’ll feel better if I sit and rest for a moment. Everyone’s already in chaos, so I shouldn’t cause more commotion.”

In the midst of the confusion, Lucilia suddenly raised her gaze.

Unexpectedly, their eyes met.

Bessie’s soul was captured by the saint’s eyes, which emitted a mysterious radiance.

Bessie herself was unaware of this.

As Lucilia had sensed, Bessie’s arrogant inner thoughts were absorbed by the saint without any filter.

‘Are you very shocked? But you shouldn’t be surprised by something so trivial. This is just the beginning. You’ve burned the pergola that the young master cherishes most. Aren’t you curious about how this will end?’

Along with the voice reciting inwardly, scenes from memory created by instinct appeared like afterimages.

The image of her crouching in a corner of the greenhouse, looking around. The sight of her taking embers from the heating device and setting them in various places. The sudden image of her stepping onto the railing of the pergola and pouring oil on the roof.

The series of scenes was truly shocking.

Was she innocent or without conscience?

Having committed an unforgivable sin, yet approaching with a mask of kindness instead of feeling guilt.

It was wickedly appalling.

Lucilia shuddered at Bessie’s evil habit of deriving pleasure from oppressing the weak.

‘What should I do with you…’