Serena raised her voice, unable to hold back as she looked into Anna’s childlike, innocent eyes.

“If you were in her position, could you ever forgive yourself? She cherished you; she treated you like a sister! Yet you betrayed her by sleeping with the master and stabbing her in the back. Even after she banished you, you returned, shamelessly taking the role of mistress! How could she ever forgive you? If I were her, I wouldn’t forgive you, even if I died and came back to life. At the very least, learn what you should and shouldn’t hope for.”

At Serena’s words, Anna’s face turned pale.

“Even if you died and came back…? Did I really do something that unforgivable?”

“That’s right!”

“But… Lady Isabel and Lord Cedric are practically strangers to each other.”

“What do you even know about their marriage? Do you think you understand everything?!”

“I didn’t betray Lady Isabel. I just… wanted a little more.”

Serena’s face twisted in disbelief.

There was truly no reasoning with Anna.

It was no wonder Isabel looked utterly exhausted whenever she saw her.

Even as Serena stared at her in shock, Anna only wore a wronged expression, insisting she had done nothing wrong.

“How is that betrayal? I still like Lady Isabel. And she doesn’t love Lord Cedric. They didn’t even share their first night together.”

“…Ha. You really are impossible.”

In the end, Serena gave up, thumping her chest in frustration before abandoning any attempt to make Anna understand the gravity of what she had done.

“Fine. Think whatever you want. Do as you please.”

“Lady Anna.”

As Anna looked at Serena in confusion, a maid entered and bowed politely to her.

The sight irritated Serena even more. She tossed the comb aside in annoyance, while Anna greeted the maid with a bright smile.

“What is it?”

After Serena had nearly been whipped to death for grabbing Anna’s hair, the servants had come to acknowledge Anna as the master’s mistress and treated her with submissive obedience.

Of course, most of them still gossiped behind her back—but none dared openly insult her anymore.

“You have a visitor.”

“A visitor? Someone came to see me?”

At those words, Serena let out a scoffing laugh.

‘A visitor? Please.’

She had been a maid until recently. She didn’t attend social gatherings, nor did she frequent the palace like her mistress.

Who would come looking for her?

Most likely some fool she had met on the street.

“Receive them properly.”

Anna spoke with an air of elegance, as if she herself were Isabel.

Serena watched her with disdain.

As soon as the maid left the room, Anna sprang up from her seat, clasping her hands together, her eyes sparkling.

“Who could it be? Who came to see me? Could it be from the shop again?”

Serena recalled how, just days ago, Anna had complained to Cedric that she had nothing to wear.

Despite spending most of his time at the palace due to the delegation, Cedric still found time to visit Anna—and at her complaint, he had immediately summoned a shop owner.

It was not, of course, Romela’s boutique—the finest in Anita, which Isabel frequented.

Since Anna’s existence had yet to be revealed to Lady Margaret, that had been unavoidable.

Still, Anna’s guess wasn’t entirely unreasonable.

Aside from the shopkeeper Cedric had summoned, who else would come looking for her?

“Serena, hurry up! We can’t keep our guest waiting!”

Anna, her face glowing with excitement at the thought that Cedric might have sent her another gift, urged Serena to finish her preparations.

Serena, looking half resigned, finished arranging her hair.

Once ready, Anna stepped out first, her dress swaying as she hurried toward the reception room, with Serena following behind lazily.

But just as Anna reached the doorway, she stopped abruptly.

“…What? Why aren’t you going in?”

Moments ago, she had been thrilled at the idea of a visitor, yet now she stood frozen at the door.

Serena frowned in confusion.

“Ha ha! You’re as beautiful as ever today!”

A booming voice echoed from inside.

It was loud enough to make Serena instinctively turn her head.

‘What…?’

Her expression stiffened as she looked inside.

A middle-aged man stood there, adorned from head to toe in wealth—his entire appearance exuding an unmistakable air of status.

He was not the shopkeeper from before.

No, he seemed to be of even higher standing.

As Serena struggled to process why such a man would come to see Anna. Anna suddenly swayed, as though she might collapse.

“Hey! Are you okay?”

Startled, Serena quickly grabbed Anna before she could collapse.

But something felt wrong.

Anna’s body was trembling uncontrollably.

It wasn’t as if she had seen a ghost—so why was she shaking like this?

As Serena stood there, confused—

Anna suddenly screamed, her voice breaking.

“W-Why are you here…?!”

❖ ❖ ❖

“That scar… I don’t understand why it won’t fade.”

There was not a single blemish on her skin—smooth and pale like white jade.

Except for one.

A scar on the inside of her right wrist.

Rebecca, who had cared for Isabel since childhood in the Duchy of Lewen, would always bring up what happened when Isabel was ten whenever she saw it.

At her words, Isabel found herself thinking of Arkin.

Now, whenever she saw the scar, she naturally recalled the day they first met.

And along with it the horrifying scene from yesterday.

‘Why was he there…?’

Unable to shake the thought, she had discreetly asked Madame Romela to look into it.

The response came back quickly, the guards were scouring the capital, searching relentlessly for the culprit.

‘Could he… be involved?’

A frown formed between her brows. She resented how Arkin had unsettled her thoughts for no reason, yet at the same time, she couldn’t help but worry.

“What exactly was in that carriage?”

Rebecca’s voice pulled her from her thoughts.

Isabel absently touched the scar on her wrist.

“…I don’t remember at all.”

Back then, she had once gone to the palace with her parents.

While playing there, Isabel had suddenly disappeared, causing an uproar.

Fortunately, she was found not long after.

But according to her mother, Cherbil, Isabel refused to say where she had been. She simply kept her lips tightly sealed, insisting that she wanted to go home.

Though it seemed strange, Cherbil, worried for her daughter, decided to leave the palace earlier than planned.

When they returned, the Duke and Duchess of Lewen had separate carriages, but Cherbil insisted they ride together.

For some reason, she felt uneasy.

Yet Isabel stubbornly insisted on riding alone.

And when they arrived, they found Isabel collapsed inside her carriage, covered in blood.

“I remember that day clearly.”

Rebecca said as she helped dress her.

“Lady Cherbil nearly fainted, and you wouldn’t wake up. Do you think the Duke was any different? He deployed soldiers throughout the capital, searching for whoever attacked his only daughter. It was utter chaos.”

She let out a small sigh.

“But thankfully, you woke up the very next day. Though… you remembered nothing.”

She adjusted Isabel’s clothing.

Fortunately, the sleeves were wide and long enough to conceal the scar.

“How would you like your hair done?”

“I’ll be staying home today, so just keep it simple.”

“There’s a banquet at the palace, isn’t there?”

“Attending once was more than enough. I’m not a court official, after all. And… I’d like to rest today. Maybe it’s the weather.”

Isabel’s gaze drifted toward the window. The sky was heavy with dark, ashen clouds, as though rain might fall at any moment.

“…It won’t be black rain, will it? Water’s already scarce. If it does rain, I hope it’s at least proper rain.”

Rebecca spoke with quiet concern as she smoothed Isabel’s golden hair.

Isabel turned away from the window, her tone as indifferent as ever.

“Just in case, make preparations.”

“Yes, my lady.”

“And bring me some honeyed fruit.”

“You’ve been eating quite a lot lately, you know.”

Rebecca’s expression turned stern as she finished arranging her hair.

Isabel immediately protested.

“When have I ever eaten a lot?”

At her shameless reply, Rebecca scoffed.

“You’ve already finished two jars.”

Rebecca’s words made Isabel flinch slightly.

‘Two jars… in just a month?’

She was startled. Had she really eaten that much? Normally, one jar would last her several months.

“There’s enough going on to make your insides rot, so I let it pass, knowing you’ve been craving sweets. But now I have to say something. Do you want to suffer through another stomachache like before?”

Rebecca planted her hands firmly on her hips, her stern gaze leaving no room for argument.

With a small sigh, Isabel gave in and nodded.

Rebecca was never one to back down in moments like this. And truthfully, she had been eating more than usual lately.

Even now, she craved something sweet from the moment she woke up—but in the end, she had no choice but to give it up.

“…Fine. I won’t eat it.”

“I’ll bring you some tea instead.”

“Do as you like.”

Rebecca smiled faintly, as if finding her childish habit of turning to sweets whenever she felt irritated or sensitive rather endearing, then quietly left the bedroom.

Left alone, Isabel glanced over her shoulder to make sure Rebecca was truly gone.

“…Sorry, Rebecca. Just one more. My head’s pounding—I don’t think I can manage without something sweet.”

Muttering under her breath, she carefully opened the vanity drawer and pulled out a small bundle of paper hidden inside.

From within it, she took a piece of honeyed fruit and slipped it into her mouth.

The sweetness flooded her senses, almost painfully rich.

Isabel slowly closed her eyes.

‘I can breathe again…’

After sneaking another bite, she placed the remaining pieces back into the drawer.

As she did, her sleeve shifted slightly revealing the scar beneath.

Her gaze lingered on it for a moment. And once again, without meaning to, she thought of Arkin.

“Lady!”

Rebecca’s voice burst into the room like a clap of thunder.

Startled, Isabel froze in place.

“I—I only had one piece, Rebecca.”

Feeling inexplicably guilty, she cleared her throat and spoke defensively.

“And besides, Rebecca, you’re no longer my nanny. I’m a fully grown adult now—”

“The Grand Duke Tebrio has arrived!”

“The Grand Duke Tebrio?”

The unexpected words made Isabel pause, her brows furrowing.

The Grand Duke… here?

Tebrio was the younger brother of Emperor Kaidus III.

He revered the Emperor almost like a god—and because of that, he held little fondness for Isabel, who was at odds with him.

And yet he had come to her residence?