Scolded by her mother, Lilia hunched her shoulders and bowed her head.

“I told you to be considerate of your sister, who’s struggling with the shock. Didn’t I make myself clear?”

“I’m sorry.”

The Marchioness sighed deeply and pressed a hand to her forehead.

“Apologise to your sister and go back to your room at once.”

“Yes. Sister, I’m sorry.”

With tears streaming down her face, Lilia apologised. As she turned to leave, an unspoken look passed between the Marchioness and Lilia. Once Lilia was out of sight, the Marchioness turned her gaze to Ciela.

“Sigh. I thought a single warning would be enough, but it seems Lilia didn’t listen. Are you all right, Ciela?”

Her voice was soft, as were her eyes, which scanned Ciela’s expression carefully. Ciela blinked as she met her mother’s gaze.

‘This is the first.’

The sight of the Marchioness scolding Lilia was unprecedented and lingered in Ciela’s mind. But she couldn’t forget how many times she had dared to hope for her mother’s rare kindness, only to have those hopes cruelly dashed.

‘I knew better then, but I still wanted to believe, just once more.’

She had been betrayed to the point of exhaustion, left without the strength to hope. No wonder she had been taken so lightly. Reflecting on the past felt like confronting a series of dark regrets, and the heated frustration bubbled up in her throat. Swallowing a sigh, Ciela answered the persistent look.

“I’m managing well enough.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

The Marchioness said with a relieved smile before she spoke again.

“Some tea, said to be very good for the body, has just arrived. Would you like to share a cup with me?”

“Sure, let’s have some together.”

“Then let’s go to the terrace!”

The two of them made their way to the second-floor terrace, a place the Marchioness was particularly fond of and where only a select few were allowed to go. From there they could see the vibrant array of flowers, meticulously tended by the gardener, their colours painting a picturesque scene. The sweet scent carried on the breeze was so enchanting that it gave the illusion of standing right in front of the flowerbed.

‘Occasionally the sound of tea being enjoyed broke the silence. Otherwise there was only silence between Ciela and the Marquise as they sat facing each other.’

After a while, Ciela was the first to break the silence, put down her teacup and speak.

“You didn’t bring me here just to drink tea, did you?”

She gave a subtle, questioning look, and the Marchioness’ eyes crinkled into a smile.

“Did it seem that way? You’re right. I’ve been thinking a lot about how to bring this up with you.”

The Marchioness lowered her head slightly, her gaze fixed on the tea in her cup, as if still unsure how to proceed. Reflected in the reddish hue of the tea was Lilia’s face, her features tired and troubled these past few days.

‘My poor daughter.’

Ever since the birthday party, the scandal surrounding Lilia had been nothing short of humiliating and infuriating for the Marchioness. To make matters worse, Calix had ignored all her attempts to reach him. There was no response to the messengers she sent, and even when the Marquis Arcel himself tried to visit the Duke’s estate, he was met with the excuse that Calix was unavailable.

The thought of Lilia, once overjoyed at the Duke’s apparent interest, rising to the surface of the tea made the Marquise’s eyes sting.

‘I must find a way to clear up this misunderstanding and convince everyone that it’s all a mistake.’

For that she needed Ciela, who was perceived as the biggest victim in the situation.

‘For Lilia’s sake, I’ll take the trouble to play the doting mother.’

The Marchioness tightened her grip on her teacup.

“Seeing you retreat to your room after your collapse made me think a lot. I realised that I want to spend more time like that with you.”

“I see.”

Ciela’s lips quivered as if she was about to say something, but instead she tilted her head down and let out a sigh. She fidgeted with the handle of her teacup, running her thumb over it several times before speaking again.

“…To be honest, I was worried that you two might mistake me for the culprit again. It’s happened often enough.”

“What are you talking about? Besides, this time we know exactly who the culprit is – that damned man!”

“My fiancé, you mean?”

“Exactly!”

Turbin Turtlik. The very mention of his name made the Marchioness’ eyes narrow with fury. He was the one who had dragged Ciela out of her room, caused chaos in the party hall and slandered Lilia.

There was even a witness who had seen Turbin in Hanta Park on the day Lilia met Calix. It was clear that he had acted out of spite, anonymously tipping off a reporter and making sure the scandalous article was published on Lilia’s birthday.

“Sigh. He’s nothing to you anymore, so never call him your fiancé again.”

“That’s right. We’ve called off the engagement.”

With such a scandal, it would have been humiliating for both families to continue the engagement. The annulment was swift.

Afterwards, the Marquis of Arcel had begun to press Turbin to repay the money he had previously covered for him. It seemed that the Earl of Turtlik had completely washed his hands of Turbin, leaving him to deal with the debt on his own.

No one would have guessed that it was Ciela, not Turbin, who had orchestrated the whole affair.

“And even if we didn’t know who the culprit was, we would never doubt you again.”

“….”

“It seems that my shortcomings as a mother have made you feel that way. I’ll do my best to make sure you never feel that way again.”

The Marchioness met Ciela’s blue eyes, so different from her own. Behind the wavering gaze, she saw the child Ciela once was, desperate for affection and clinging to her mother for it.

‘How simple.’

Just a few words – that was all it took to convince her. No matter how many times it happened, Ciela always held out hope for such sweet promises. Foolishly.

“Instead, I’d like you to stop avoiding Lilia. I understand how you feel, but I can’t stand by any longer while there is discord between you two sisters.”

“….”

“You are her older sister, so please consider her feelings and support her.”

The Marchioness, masking her intention with sweetness, stroked Ciela’s hair with a touch that felt as sticky as a snake’s coil. Ciela’s hesitant gaze shifted, and after a moment of contemplation, she nodded slowly.

“All right, I’ll make peace with Lilia.”

Just as the Marchioness was about to curl her lips into a smile so broad it seemed almost unnatural, Ciela’s next words stopped her in her tracks.

“But words alone aren’t enough for me to believe that you will really treat me well. Can you show me that by your actions first?”

Ciela, who had seemed completely convinced, suddenly stepped back from the precipice. The Marchioness, alarmed, replied hastily.

“Don’t I already show you through my actions?”

Ciela’s eyes widened and she tilted her head slightly, as if genuinely confused.

“This much?”

A small sound escaped her lips as she exhaled sharply.

“Phuh. You’re joking, right? I know how much you’ve done for Lilia, so you can’t be serious.”

“Hoho… Of course it was a joke. Did you find it amusing?”

“Not at all.”

The Marchioness winced, her shoulders stiffening as her smile faltered. Her trembling lips struggled to keep their composure.

“Not… amusing?”

“I was just playing along with a little joke of my own. Did you enjoy it?”

“Hohoho! How amusing!”

The Marchioness forced a hearty laugh, clearly overexerting herself for Lilia’s sake. Watching her, Ciela smiled weakly in response.

‘Thankfully, it’s a familiar pattern.’

Seeing the Marchioness scold Lilia earlier had made Ciela wonder if something had changed, but it seemed her concerns were unfounded. Now that she understood what the Marchioness wanted, the real question was how best to use it. Thinking for a moment, Ciela’s gaze sharpened slightly.

“How far would you go for me? Could you love me more than Lilia if I asked you to?”

“My, what a silly thing to ask. Of course I love you more than her. That goes without saying.”

“Then you’ll treat me better than Lilia from now on, won’t you? And give me everything I want. Isn’t that right?”

“Stop dragging it out and just tell me what you want.”

“I want…”

Hearing Ciela’s request, the Marchioness stood up without hesitation, as if it were no trouble at all.

“Let’s go right now!”

Following the Marchioness, Ciela entered her private storage room. Inside, the room was meticulously organised, housing an impressive collection of items – from various works of art to rare minerals and ancient artefacts, all neatly categorised.

Thanks to the Marchioness’s extravagant personality, which saw her impulsively collect anything she liked, the storeroom contained items of considerable value.

“Just looking at everything feels like a task in itself.”

“We have plenty of time, so take your time and choose what you want.”

As Ciela looked around the room, she turned back to the Marchioness with a question.

“How many can I take?”

“I’ll make an exception this time and let you take three.”

Hearing the Marchioness’s answer, with the emphasis on *especially*, Ciela turned without hesitation. She walked towards the door, muttering to herself in a voice tinged with sadness.

“Lilia said all she had to do was mention what she wanted and she could take anything…”

“Ugh. Lilia told you that?”

“Yes.”

The Marchioness bit her tongue and clenched her fingers into a fist. While she hesitated, Ciela moved steadily towards the door. The Marchioness grew more anxious by the second and began to chew her lip in frustration.

“F-fine, five items!”

“….”

“No, ten! You can take ten!”

At that moment, Ciela reached out and pushed open the door.

“It was all a joke! Take as much as you want!”

“Really?”

Fearing that this rare opportunity would pass her by, the Marchioness blurted out the words impulsively. Regret followed almost immediately, but by then Ciela had already taken her at her word. To change her mind now would be to risk losing this chance to help Lilia.

I can always rebuild the collection.

Besides, even if Ciela took a few dozen items from the hundreds stored here, it wouldn’t make a noticeable difference.

“Yes, you can take whatever you want.”

“Wow, how generous of you. I’m touched.”

In the brief moment of silence, the lines on the Marchioness’s face deepened as she asked, “Why don’t you look around?”

“Because I don’t have to.”

Before the Marchioness could ask what she meant, Ciela raised her index finger and extended her arm, pointing to one end of the storeroom.

“From here.”

She began, sweeping her finger across the room and slowly pointing to the opposite end.

“To there.”

She finished, pointing to the farthest corner of the storeroom. A small smile tugged at her lips.

“Give me everything.”

The Marchioness blinked, tracing the path of Ciela’s finger.

From here… to there.

In other words, she asked for everything.

Instead of going back to inspect the collection, Ciela closed the door and approached the Marchioness. Standing directly in front of her, she made no move to continue browsing.

“Why don’t you look around?”