Just as Ciela was about to force her stiff lips to move, something happened.

Hop. A cat leapt over the wall.

Without even blinking, Ciela continued staring beyond the wall, then lightly pinched her cheek.

‘It hurts.’

Her heart raced as though she had just woken from a vivid dream, still reeling from the sudden turn of events. The sharply pointed ears, the fine, whiskered face, the glossy golden fur, and even the collar—it all felt strikingly familiar.

But.

‘There’s no way Titi would be here.’

No matter how much Titi loved wandering around, the distance from the estate to this place was considerable.

‘It was so quick—I must’ve been mistaken.’

Slap.

To snap herself out of it, Ciela lightly patted her cheeks and looked around. After confirming there wasn’t a single shadow of a person in sight, she eventually boarded the carriage alone.

‘Where on earth did he go?’

Gazing out at the scenery passing by the window, Ciela leaned her head against the wall. Calix’s face, unusually serious, lingered in her mind, replaying over and over.

‘He didn’t seem troubled earlier, not until the bell started ringing.’

Recalling Calix’s relaxed smile just before the sound of the bell, Ciela suddenly straightened her posture with a start.

“Ah.”

Her face, reflected faintly in the window, had lost its usual color and was now flushed a deep red. Pressing her fingertips to her lips, she let out a faint groan.

‘Why am I suddenly thinking about that moment…?’

Unlike how she had pretended to be composed in front of Calix, once the situation had passed, her fingers curled up instinctively in embarrassment. In both her previous and current lives, aside from when she was a child, no one had ever fed her. Even when she was sick, she had forced herself to eat alone.

‘I could never let someone feed me again.’

The awkwardness she had managed to swallow in the moment seemed to creep up her body now, making her feel unbearably flustered. Lowering her head deeply, Ciela tried to calm herself.

“Hoo…”

After some time, she finally regained her composure. Taking a deep breath, she was able to push thoughts of him out of her mind.

‘I have nothing else to do, so I might as well look through this.’

Ciela pulled out a paper envelope from the basket. Carefully tearing open the seal, she found a small wad of paper, less than half the size of her fingertip. Resting her head against the carriage window, she let her eyes follow the printed letters.

Rustle.

She turned to the back of the paper. Her eyes, which had been moving quickly over the text, began to slow down, her focus sharpening.

“There’s really interesting information here.”

The stiff, tight expression on her face softened, and a faint smile appeared. Unlike before, Ciela slowly reread the content. By the time she checked carefully through the last page, the carriage was almost at the Marquis’ residence.

“Miss, we’ve arrived.”

In case of any unforeseen circumstances, she covered the basket tightly with cloth and got out of the carriage, walking towards the mansion. When she saw a figure standing at the entrance, Ciela stopped in her tracks.

“Sister!”

Before Lilia could recognize her, Ciela quickly hid her expression. With a bright smile, Lilia hurriedly walked toward her.

“Why aren’t you staying quietly at the mansion? Where have you been? It seems like you’re out often these days.”

“I’ve just been feeling a bit restless staying at home.”

“I’m worried. Please think about your health.”

“Yeah. Sorry for making you worry.”

To an outsider, it would be heartwarming to see how close they were, both smiling warmly at each other. Though both were wearing masks, concealing their true feelings.

“By the way, what’s with the basket?”

Lilia widened her eyes, her curiosity drawn to the basket. At the same time, her hand reached out towards it.

“It’s nothing special.”

Avoiding the approaching hand, Ciela quickly spoke up to redirect her attention.

“By the way, what were you doing here?”

“What do you mean? I was waiting for you, sister!”

“I’ve been waiting, knowing you’d be here soon.” She added.

“I knew you’d be coming, so I’ve been waiting.”

“Hehe. I just wanted to let you know right away that a guest, who will make you happy, is waiting in the room.”

Lilia smiled happily, her eyes sparkling. It was clear from her expression that she was eager to see if Ciela would be curious about who it was.

“Is that so? Then I’ll go check.”

“Aren’t you curious who it is?”

“It’s not that, but I can’t keep the guest waiting, so I need to go quickly. You can go and check if you want.”

Lilia pouted her lips, making them look like a bird’s beak.

“I want to tell you…”

“You’re kind to understand. Please.”

At the entrance of the mansion, there were other people besides the two of them. In this situation, Lilia knew exactly what to say.

“……Alright.”

“Thank you. We’ll see each other later.”

Ciela gently withdrew her hand and passed by Lilia to enter the mansion, quickly climbing the stairs.

‘I don’t need to do everything Lilia wants.’

And even though she hadn’t heard it yet, she already knew who was there. When she arrived at the main entrance, she remembered the other carriage parked beside her own. A carriage without a family emblem, one that only a person with a close connection to her would ride.

There was only one person like that.

***

“Young lady, it’s been a while.”

His red hair, like a mixture of chili peppers, and his spinach-colored eyes. His sharp nose, like a cutter knife, and the freckles around it.

‘Just as expected.’

The second son of the Count Turtlik family and her fifth fiancé, Turbin Turtlik.

“Why are you in someone else’s room without Youngsik’s permission?”

“This is not someone else’s room; this is the room of my fiancée. And—”

He suddenly pulled out a bouquet of roses, which he had been hiding behind his waist, and handed it to her. True to its name, the roses were fully bloomed and beautiful, easily drawing anyone’s attention. But in his hands, the roses looked like flowers covered in chili paste.

“I’ve only now realized that I’ve been neglecting you lately.”

While holding the roses, he gently cupped her hair in his other hand and softly stroked it.

Pat. His lips brushed against her hair.

“Kyah!”

Titi stuck its head out of the window and hissed, clearly furious after seeing something unpleasant as soon as it returned. Ciela felt the same way.

‘Ugh.’

Before she could intervene, Ciela grimaced and stepped back, disturbed by what had just occurred.

“What is the meaning of this?”

“It’s a vow to treat you better from now on and an apology.”

He gave a cheesy wink with one eye. When Ciela covered her mouth with her hand, feeling sick, Turbin misinterpreted the gesture, his eyes narrowing into crescent shapes.

“There won’t be another match for you like me, so let go of your anger.”

Turbin inhaled the fragrance of the roses, raising an eyebrow.

“It would be a shame to throw away a bright future over something so small. Don’t you think?”

A shiver ran down Ciela’s arm as she rubbed it, her eyes fixed on the bouquet of roses. After a brief moment of silence, as if deep in thought, she slowly extended her hand toward the flowers.

“Nyah!”

“Young lady, will you forgive me?”

Titi’s shocked cry and her fiancé’s excited voice echoed through the air.

“Meow! Meow!”

At that moment, Titi, looking flustered, rushed toward her, still crying. Thud. The roses dropped to the floor, lifeless.

“Oh dear! My hand slipped, and I dropped them by accident.”

Ciela’s eyes widened as she hurriedly bent down. In her rush, she lost her balance, stumbled, and—thud! She stepped directly on the roses.

“Oh no! I accidentally stepped on them. What should I do?”

“This… this…”

Turtlik couldn’t bring himself to speak, his gaze fixed helplessly on the trampled roses. Soon, his face turned bright red, and a flicker of anger appeared in his eyes.

“This is a cruel joke. I brought these for you, and you’re stomping on them like this?”

His voice, however, remained unexpectedly calm.

‘That’s surprising.’

The second son of Count Turtlik, with his father’s influence, had no fear of the world. He was known for his lack of restraint, and his patience was smaller than a grain of sand.

‘But today, he seems unusually good at controlling his anger.’

He wouldn’t be able to maintain his composure for much longer. Ciela, covering her lips with her hand, frowned in clear disapproval.

“Do you think I’m joking? I told you earlier, it was a mistake.”

“…Alright. You say it was a mistake. But don’t you have anything else to say?”

“Is there something I’m supposed to say?”

She asked innocently, as if she didn’t understand, and finally, Turbin Turtlik couldn’t contain his anger any longer.

“You should apologize! Apologize!”

“I think the past should be forgotten for the sake of the future, but fine. I’ll apologize, just for you. Is that enough?”

“That’s not an apology!”

As she watched him point his finger and glare at her with bloodshot eyes, Ciela couldn’t help but sneer.

“Heh. Exactly what I meant.”

She removed her hand from her mouth and bent down to pick up the bouquet of roses. The petals, already crushed, scattered across the floor.

“Do you think that just bringing a single rose and saying pretty words will make everything right?”

“……”

“An apology won’t solve anything. I don’t understand why you keep insisting on it.”

“……”

“Oh, and just to clarify, this isn’t about Youngsik; it’s about some pathetic fool. Seeing you so angry for the same reasons I am makes me think you and I must think alike.”

Unaware that she was echoing his words, Ciela extended the roses toward her furious fiancé.

“They suit you perfectly.”

The distorted roses suited him so perfectly that Ciela couldn’t help but smile openly.

“Why don’t you go see Lilia now?”

“I understand that Young Lady might misunderstand, but please hear me out so I can clear up the confusion.”

Despite the clear dismissal, he remained rooted to the spot, as though his feet were stuck to the floor. In fact, he knelt as if he were genuinely distressed.

“I said that I like Lilia as a person, not romantically. It wasn’t a confession, really.”

Ciela gazed down at him with a cold, emotionless look as he trembled and offered his false confession.

‘If you’re going to lie, at least don’t call Lilia by name.’

That’s the danger of old habits.

‘It seems like he’s not going to leave easily.’

She realized that attempting to have the servants throw him out would be pointless, as he would likely ignore any commands. As she thought about what to do, she remembered the information Uncle Ken had given her and subtly curled the corner of her lips. …A decent idea crossed her mind.

“Sigh, this is so troublesome.”

While gently stroking Titi, whose fur was all puffed up, Ciela let out a heavy sigh, clearly filled with concern.