But Kristin, who had already decided to face whatever came, carefully removed the arrow from the letter and began reading its contents.

[Dear Lady Kristin,

It seems that you didn’t feel any fear from the second letter I sent.

Well, let me show you what you should fear at today’s banquet.]

It was another threatening letter, just like the previous ones.

However, Kristin ripped it up and calmly spoke to the butler.

“The banquet will not be canceled. I’ll proceed as planned. Please keep the letter for now, as I need it for the Emperor.”

* * *

As the scheduled time approached, the nobles began arriving at the Edith family estate.

The gates had already been opened wide, and carriages continuously rolled in.

The guards and servants at the gate kept their eyes on the noble guests, vigilantly watching for anyone suspicious.

Most of the guests arriving were young noble ladies and gentlemen around Kristin’s age, but there were also many titled women—baronesses, countesses, marchionesses, and viscountesses.

Among them was Lady Beatrice Charlotte, who was particularly moved to see Kristin now, as an adult, entering the Edith family gates for the first time. Beatrice dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief, touched by the moment.

It had been nearly six years since she last visited the Edith estate, and her feelings were overflowing.

After reading the newspaper article about Kristin becoming the owner of the diamond mine, Selena Scarlet was most delighted.

Selena, wearing a brighter expression than usual, had come to the estate to genuinely congratulate Kristin on her success.

Standing beside her was Marquis Winston Zenon, and the two watched Kristin greet the other nobles in the garden.

Kristin, seeing Winston smiling beside Selena, felt reassured. She assumed they must have come together since they had known each other since childhood.

As Selena had been particularly attentive to Winston, Kristin could smile seeing them together.

“Kristin, congratulations! I’m so happy for you,” Lady Isabella said, greeting her.

“I felt so sorry for you last time I saw you. I’m sorry for not reaching out sooner,” Lady Venice added.

“I couldn’t believe it when I read the article about you. But really, congratulations! This is a gift for you, Kristin,” said Lady Ellen.

Rather than bringing withered flowers as she had last time, Isabella handed Kristin a beautifully wrapped box of cookies from the most famous confectionery in the Empire.

Additionally, Venice and Ellen, who had come empty-handed to the tea party before, had prepared gifts for Kristin this time. Venice brought a box containing a hair accessory that could be used to decorate the head with flowers, while Ellen, knowing that Kristin liked embroidery, gave her a box with a set of embroidery threads.

Kristin spoke to the noble ladies.

“You didn’t have to bring gifts, you know.”

“Well, it wouldn’t make sense to come to the house of a noble lady empty-handed, would it?” Venice replied with a smile.

Lenci, who had been standing next to Kristin, stifled a chuckle, trying not to be noticed. To cover it up, she pretended to cough as she subtly glanced at the noble ladies, but none of them seemed to mind.

Kristin sensed that they knew well enough how cowardly their actions were, otherwise, they wouldn’t have smiled awkwardly in front of her like that.

When they had been invited to the first tea party at the estate, none of them had brought any gifts like this before.

“Hehe, well, let’s continue to get along in the future,” Venice said.

“By the way, Kristin, I heard you took care of the Vincent orphanage issue. Is that true?” Isabella and Ellen asked.

At that moment, Selena Scarlet, who had been standing a little farther from Kristin, walked over and answered in her place.

“Yes, Lady Kristin handled it. Duke Raphael also helped out, though,” she explained.

However, Kristin noticed that Marquis Winston Zenon was no longer standing next to Selena Scarlet.

“Lady Selena Scarlet, where has Marquis Winston Zenon gone?” Kristin asked.

“Oh, Winston?”

As soon as Isabella, Venice, and Ellen heard Winston’s name, their faces brightened with excitement.

Just then, Marquis Winston reappeared before them and spoke.

“Thank you for your hard work in preparing the banquet. There’s so much food, I’m not sure what to eat first. And the champagne is lovely—this apple-flavored one is particularly good,” he said, smiling gently at Kristin.

The noble ladies exchanged looks of envy, alternating between glancing at Winston and Kristin, until Winston bowed his head and greeted them. At that, they couldn’t help but smile widely.

“Anyway, I hope the banquet goes smoothly tonight. Just to be safe, I’ll keep an eye on the estate,” Winston said carefully, looking at Kristin.

Winston cautiously asked Kristin, “There hasn’t been another letter like last time, has there?”

“Of course not. No letter came,” Kristin replied.

“A letter? What letter? What kind of letter came to Lady Kristin?” Isabella asked curiously.

As she spoke, her gaze shifted, and she noticed someone standing in the corner of the room.

“Isn’t that… Lady Elena?” Isabella said, pointing.

At her words, everyone turned to look at where Elena was standing.

Elena was wearing ragged clothes, and her face looked gaunt. Her once smooth, glowing skin had become dull, and it appeared she hadn’t washed for days, making her look disheveled.

Despite her appearance, Elena was hungrily grabbing food off the table.

It was impossible to consider her a noble lady in that state.

When Elena’s eyes met Winston’s, she suddenly blushed and tried to run away in embarrassment, as though she didn’t know how to react.

It seemed she had been extremely hungry, as she had sneaked into the mansion and quickly devoured the food without drawing attention.

Kristin felt uncomfortable seeing Elena in such a state.

“Elena, wait a moment.”
“Don’t follow me.”

When Kristin tried to follow her, Elena dropped the plate and champagne she was holding and ran toward the gate.

But perhaps due to her lack of stamina, she stopped after a short distance, breathing heavily.

“I told you not to follow me. I just came to the mansion because of a party, and I thought I’d quietly eat some food and leave. I swear, that’s all I wanted.”

“Are you okay, Elena?”

“Well, I’m just so envious of you. Sigh… Let me catch my breath.”

After Elena finally managed to calm her breathing, she looked up at Kristin again. However, her usual sharp and indifferent expression seemed to have changed.

“I have something to say.”

“Forget it. I’ll prepare a dress and your adornments, so go inside and get ready. You’ll want to take a shower first, won’t you?”

“Wait, really? A dress and adornments too?”

Lenci and Cindy, who were standing beside Kristin, were clearly surprised, their eyes widening.

But Elena, instead of showing her usual animosity, seemed to have lost her bitterness. For the first time, she offered Kristin a smile.

“Lady Kristin, are you sure you don’t need to be cautious with Elena? We still don’t know who sent those letters.”

Lenci asked with a worried expression, but Kristin shook her head and answered.

“Elena isn’t the type to send such threats, nor would she harm herself in the process. If it were her, she would have used a more convincing method. She probably just came to the mansion because she was hungry.”

“What? Who said they were going to take your life?” Elena asked in surprise.

Kristin glanced at Elena, sensing that the person who had sent the threatening letters wasn’t her. Elena’s expression was innocent as if she had no idea what was going on. She looked worn out, as if she had been through a lot recently, her eyes showing a deep change.

The Elena before her now wasn’t the one obsessed with power and beauty, but rather, it seemed like someone struggling to survive. Therefore, Kristin couldn’t find any motive for her to want to kill her step-sister.

“No, Elena. Go ahead and wash up with Cindy’s help.”

“Me?” Elena asked hesitantly.

“Cindy, since you’re close to Elena, help her out. I’m sure she won’t cause trouble like before. Right, Elena? If you do, you won’t be able to live here at the Edith estate anymore.”

“Well, if that’s the case… Wait, did you just say I could live here at the Edith estate?”

“That’s right. You have enough value to live with the Edith family. Besides, if not here, you have nowhere else to go. I’d like you to stay in this mansion.”

Kristin decided to forgive Elena, who, like herself, was now alone.

She could no longer harbor hatred for her.

Furthermore, Elena had clearly changed compared to before, so Kristin decided to give her a chance.

“Kristin, sister…”