“……That’s right. That’s why people should always be careful with their words and actions. Don’t you agree?”

Karl nodded gently and agreed with his words.

“I agree. Who knows when and where something might happen. A smoothly rolling carriage might suddenly overturn, and fire might break out in a house thought to be safe.”

“……Hohohoho! Hearing it that way makes the world sound quite frightening.”

Though Schultz nodded while laughing, he frowned inside.

‘Unlucky bastard.’

Karl Winger’s words felt thorny.

Could this young punk know something?

If he knew, what exactly did he know, and how did he find out?

He was also curious about what he wanted to do with that knowledge.

‘……But no matter how clever you think you are. That arrogant face will soon be over.’

How should he teach this punk a lesson?

How should he crush that arrogance thinking he could show hostility to Tartien in Levania and survive?

Schultz decided to save this concern for pleasant entertainment.

Though they were internally hurling all sorts of curses at each other, outwardly, it was a lunch full of ‘peace.’

Someone fooled by that ice-cold peace spoke dramatically.

“To think a day would come when I’d dine together with my two favorite people, it feels too much like a dream! I feel full already without eating, Father.”

At the thoughtless Maria’s words, Schultz clicked his tongue while smiling like he was looking at a child.

“By the way, is Landers still upstairs? That boy who was so looking forward to meeting Count Cissus……”

“Ah, come to think of it, he said he’d come down on time but why still……”

“I’m here, everyone. Please don’t scold me too much for not being late.”

Speak of the wolf and he appears, Landers entered the banquet hall with a limping gait.

Even with one eye covered by a patch, the bruises and cuts marring his face weren’t fully hidden.

‘Quite a sight. Almost wish I’d taken a photo.’

Though Karl felt inwardly satisfied at that state, he greeted Landers with an expression showing no emotion while standing up.

“Lord Karl Winger.”

“Young Duke Tartien.”

Unlike their light handshake, their gazes examining each other were sharp.

Landers broke the ice-like silence first.

“Please understand my unsightly appearance. You must have heard, but I was attacked by assailants a few days ago.”

Karl lowered his eyebrows as though he was hearing very unfortunate news.

“I heard. Something terrible happened. You must have been so shocked.”

“Having you worry about me like this feels quite strange.”

“I didn’t realize when just hearing about it, but seeing with my own eyes makes it more tragic.”

……I should have made it more tragic, what a shame.

Karl spoke with a genuinely regretful expression.

However that sincerity was conveyed, Landers frowned.

“Your leg must hurt too, standing so long. Sit down, Landers.”

At Schultz’s concern, Landers slowly found his seat.

All four protagonists sat down.

The meal began under a strange tension.

“By the way, you seemed to be having an interesting conversation before I came, I hope I didn’t interrupt by joining in the middle.”

“Ah, no, Father! That’s not……”

Though Maria hastily tried to change the subject, Karl was faster.

“I heard Miss Lumiere painted Miss Maria’s portrait. We were talking about that.”

“Ah, that painter……”

Schultz glanced at Landers with a face regretting bringing it up.

Landers knew more about that woman than Schultz did.

Landers nodded understanding the meaning in Schultz’s gaze and continued with a relaxed face.

“If it’s a story about Miss Lashantia, it would be better to hear it from me than Maria. Maria spent most of her time dozing off while drawing pictures.”

“Wh-what, Landers……!”

Maria blushed and glared at Landers.

In truth, she had spent a lot of time dozing off, but she spent even more time wandering around with an insincere attitude or irritably disrupting Lumiere’s work.

Particularly, she often played nasty pranks through her dog Ruby, deliberately making it spill Lumiere’s paint or ruining her carefully drawn pictures.

Then if even a little paint got on Ruby’s white fur, she would use it as an excuse to slap Lumiere’s cheek.

‘……Now that I think about it, it’s fortunate that woman lost her memory.’

Back then, she wasn’t in her right mind due to jealousy and irritation.

So she didn’t think that later the woman might tell Karl about those incidents.

In fact, until now, Maria had never considered the consequences before doing something.

She wasn’t originally prone to causing trouble, but even if she did, her family was powerful enough to clean up any mess.

‘But our Lumiere……’

Maria once again glared at Karl with sharp eyes.

‘Could he still be meeting that woman these days?’

From what she heard, Lumiere had something wrong with her head, causing her memory to come and go.

Her first thought upon hearing this was, ‘That’s good.’

‘She’s gone mentally ill!’

She must have lost her mind due to the side effects of exius and the aftermath of the carriage accident.

Maria thought that no matter how beautiful she was, he wouldn’t keep a woman who wasn’t in her right mind.

What if he caught her mental illness?

But now it might not be the case!

Maria could still see that fiery red hair that dazzled her eyes whenever she closed her eyes.

That red hair, intense like flames and captivating like the sunset.

‘My name is Lumiere Lashantia.’

The moment she first saw the woman who came to paint a portrait, Maria had to feel a strange sense of defeat.

Was she from a fallen noble family?

How completely ruined must her family be for a woman to go around working?

Maria couldn’t even imagine such a thing.

She thought she would be too embarrassed to set foot in the capital if it were her.

But the woman’s face showed not a hint of shame or embarrassment.

Rather, no matter what Maria said or what pranks she played, the woman remained composed and calm, which made Maria even more upset.

‘She’s nothing but a vulgar painter after all. She has nothing but a pretty face and an indecent body.’

Maria gritted her teeth to suppress her rising feelings of inferiority.

‘I am a Tartien. I’m far more noble than a woman from a fallen noble family.’

Ah! If she had known the woman would lose her memory, she would have tormented her more persistently.

She should have trampled her thoroughly so she couldn’t raise her head, making her tremble at just hearing the name Tartien.

How did that woman seduce that man?

Did she really behave frivolously with her body?

What about that woman attracted him so much?

Maria wanted to know about Lumiere.

So she bribed a maid working at the woman’s mansion with money.

But that only became poison to Maria.

Her insides would turn whenever she heard news of Karl visiting that woman.

And on days when he visited the mansion, he would spend several days together with her!

Maria looked at Karl with resentful eyes.

‘How can you embrace that kind of woman when you have a woman like me right in front of you?’

Did he feel her sharp gaze?

Karl turned to look at her.

When those golden eyes curved and smiled at her, her resentment toward him melted away like a lie.

‘……Well, men can be like that.’

How could he resist when such a woman let down her hair and deliberately threw herself at him?

In fact, someone of Karl Winger’s status might prefer women who played around passionately without lingering attachments.

Women who could be discarded at any time without raising eyebrows.

‘But I’m different. I am Maria Tartien.’

So he might find her difficult to approach.

He might have felt she was like a flower on a cliff that shouldn’t be touched carelessly.

Thinking about it, she even liked that cautiousness.

‘It’s much better than treating me carelessly. It might be better if he’s a little intimidated by me.’

Her heart swelled immeasurably at the thought of that man looking up to her.

But if that prevented her and this man from being together, it would all be for nothing.

‘……I’ll show him that I can be a passionate woman when it comes to love. Just for today, I’ll be an easy woman for you.’

A fire lit in Maria’s eyes.