Ciela, with Titi by her side, made her way to the Arcel family mansion. True to its reputation as a prestigious noble household, the grand and ornate facade stood before her, exuding an air of elegance and authority.

‘In the past, just looking at this mansion made it hard to breathe, and my body would shrink on its own.’

Well, it was nothing short of revolting.

Ciela straightened her back and relaxed her shoulders. With a noble’s elegant stride, she stepped into the mansion.

“…The young lady…”

“…What nerve…”

“…Should we inform the master?”

The sharp gazes of the servants bore into her back, and occasional whispers reached her ears, but she paid them no attention. Carrying her luggage, she was just about to climb the staircase when—

“Meowww.”

Titi’s ears pricked up as it let out a sharp, irritated cry, clearly bothered by something.

“What’s wrong?”

Before getting an answer, Ciela understood the cause.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The sound of heavy footsteps echoed loudly, drawing closer with every second. She lifted her gaze to see a familiar face.

“You!”

It was the Marquis.

“Where have you been all day, only to casually stroll in now?”

His flushed face contorted with fury, making him look almost demonic.

Standing behind him were Lilia and the Marchioness, their expressions unreadable.

“Tsk. She’s utterly hopeless, forgetting her place and dragging the Marquisate’s name through the mud like this.”

The Marchioness said with a sharp click of her tongue, crossing her arms. The dissatisfaction in her narrowed eyes was so obvious she didn’t even bother to conceal it.

“…Sister… where were you? You have no idea how worried everyone was when you disappeared.”

Clutching her chest, Lilia’s voice quivered with emotion as she tearfully asked her question.

‘Did the sun rise in the west today?’

It was unusual for her family, who typically didn’t even notice her absence for days, to suddenly show such collective concern.

At that moment, the Marquis’s massive hand, as broad as a pot lid, grabbed her roughly.

“You’ve been acting especially reckless lately. Staying out overnight is bad enough, but how dare you send a letter to break off the engagement with Lord Turtlik without my permission?”

“Ugh.”

Ciela groaned in pain, unable to endure his grip. But instead of letting go, the Marquis tightened his hold on her shoulder and began to shake her violently. Her frail, emaciated body swayed back and forth like a paper doll.

“Go to Lord Turtlik immediately, beg for forgiveness, and fix your mistake. Now!”

As soon as the Marquis finished speaking, he released his grip abruptly. The sudden motion sent Ciela staggering, and she nearly tumbled down the stairs. At the last second, she managed to steady herself by grabbing onto the railing, her fingers clutching it tightly to keep from falling.

Sigh.

Seeing their shameless faces, unchanged as ever, Ciela let out a dry, hollow chuckle.

‘All this time, I clung to these pathetic excuses for people.’

Her face burned with humiliation. Biting her lip in shame, she quickly regained her composure, masking her emotions with a practiced smile.

“It wasn’t a mistake.”

“…You…! Do you even realize how many engagements this makes? And you still have the audacity to say such things?”

“It’s my engagement, so of course, I know.”

“And yet you still—!”

The Marquis, notorious for his temper, was quickly losing control. Once he started, he became blind to everything around him.

“Fine. It was my mistake for trying to reason with you. After all, there’s only one way to deal with a beast that doesn’t understand words.”

The veins on his massive hand bulged, vividly visible as he raised his clenched fist, prepared to strike.

But just as he was about to lash out, Ciela, who had silently endured until now, finally spoke.

“Your Grace, the Marquis.”

The Marquis widened his eyes, momentarily doubting his ears. The unfamiliar term that slipped from Ciela’s lips struck harder than he expected. Your Grace, the Marquis? Not Father? But before he could linger on the strange formality, her next words seized his full attention.

“There’s actually a specific reason why I must break off my engagement.”

“…Sister?”

Lilia called out softly, her voice trembling with unease. Her wide eyes reflected a single thought: No way. It can’t be.

That brief moment of hesitation was all it took for the storm to break.

“My fiancé is meeting another woman.”

It was an unprecedented step for Ciela, who had never before dared to reveal the truth. A suffocating silence fell over the room, freezing everyone in place. It was as if time itself had stopped and no one dared to breathe.

Thud.

The fan slipped from the Marchioness’s weakened hand, clattering noisily to the floor. Regaining her senses, she spoke sharply, her voice trembling with disbelief.

“Is this true?”

“Yes.”

“You’re telling me this is the truth, with not a shred of falsehood?”

“Yes. I even heard it directly from the woman herself—that my fiancé confessed to her.”

“…My goodness…”

The Marchioness staggered, clutching the staircase railing for support, before pressing a hand to her neck in shock.

“…That man dares…!”

The Marquis, his face flushed and his veins bulging with rage, roared furiously. His voice echoed through the hall, reverberating with unbridled fury.

‘They care so much about appearances; they must be utterly shocked and furious right now.’

In the Empire, infidelity was considered a valid reason for both annulment and divorce. While it was not uncommon for men to discreetly have affairs after marriage—since women were regarded as part of their husband’s household by then—engagements followed a completely different set of expectations.

‘But with an engagement, it’s a whole other story.’

During an engagement, the woman wasn’t yet considered part of her fiancé’s family. If either party were caught in an affair at this stage, it could easily escalate into a conflict between the two families.

“If they let this slide, it’ll look like the Arcel family is yielding to the Turtlik family. There’s no way they’d let that happen.”

Ciela leaned back slightly, watching the unfolding chaos with a smirk. Her eyes gleamed with amusement as the drama played out before her.

‘Until now, I’ve used my bad reputation to break off engagements because I didn’t want to be hated by the heroine. But not anymore.’

“Good heavens! What kind of shameless, insane girl chases after an engaged man—”

“The fact that you heard this from the woman herself means you must know who she is. Who is she?”

His expression made it clear – once he knew the woman’s identity, he wouldn’t hesitate to act. With the power her family wielded, making someone disappear without a trace would be no challenge.

‘Since they can’t get rid of the fiancé, it seems they’re considering eliminating the other woman instead.’

She cast a glance at Lilia, who was trembling pitifully. Unfortunately for her, the Marquis and Marchioness were too consumed by their anger to notice anything unusual about her behavior.

“Don’t be too harsh, that woman claimed she couldn’t help it because my fiancé kept insisting on meeting her.”

“Hah, how absurd!”

The Marchioness clicked her tongue sharply and snapped, her voice high-pitched with indignation.

“Don’t you recognize an excuse when you hear one? She met with him more often than you did! If she truly had no choice, she should have come to you the moment he first approached her!”

Quite right, Marchioness.

“This isn’t just your problem—it’s a matter of the family’s honor. We’ll handle it, so just tell us who she is.”

Ciela lowered her head slightly, her expression unreadable, as if hesitating.

“Hurry up!”

Frustrated, the Marquis barked at her. Finally, as if reluctantly conceding, Ciela parted her lips and spoke softly.

“Lilia.”

The Marchioness gasped sharply, her hand clutching the railing so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Her dilated pupils trembled uncontrollably, betraying her shock.

“…I must’ve misheard, probably because I didn’t sleep well last night. Say it again. Quickly. Who was it?”

‘If you insist.’

Ciela slowly opened her mouth, carefully enunciating each syllable, her tone deliberate and firm, ensuring there would be no room for misinterpretation this time.

“Li-li-a.”

“……”

“My fiancé confessed to her—Lilia told me herself.”

“Lies!”

The Marchioness let out a scream so piercing it felt like shattering glass, her voice echoing through the mansion.

“Now you’re stooping so low as to falsely accuse Lilia?”

Her bloodshot eyes burned with unrestrained fury as they bore into Ciela.

“Lilia, tell us the truth right now. We’ll believe every word you say.”

“We trust you.”

Their unwavering faith shifted entirely to Lilia, their protective gazes focused solely on her.

“…”

Lilia stood frozen, her lips quivering as if searching for words but finding none. Under the intense weight of their stares, her eyelashes trembled before her lake-like eyes fell shut, hiding their depths. Moments later, tears began to trickle down her cheeks, one after another, splashing softly onto the floor.

“It’s all true.”

“…Lilia…?”

“I told sister that Lord Turtlik confessed to me.”

“R-really?”

The Marchioness, looking as though she might collapse at any moment, staggered toward Lilia. Her face, pale and drained of all color, crumpled like fragile paper.

“Sweetheart, please say it again. You couldn’t possibly have done such a thing.”

“…I’m sorry. B-but it wasn’t like I deliberately kept it a secret, like you said. I just… I just… hic…”

Lilia clutched the hem of her skirt, her lips quivering as she tried to form her words. Unable to piece her explanation together, she eventually buried her face in her hands.

Her figure, so pitiful and vulnerable, resembled the classic image of a heroine tormented by a villain. The sight evoked an instinctive urge to shield and protect her from further harm.

“…”

The Marquis and Marchioness exchanged a quiet glance, their expressions firm with sudden resolve.

“We’ll consider this matter as if it never happened.”

Their attitude shifted abruptly, as though the events moments ago had simply never happened.

“What do you mean, ‘as if it never happened’? Even Lilia admitted it!”

Ciela exclaimed, her disbelief plain on her face. But the absurdity of the situation had only just begun.

“What are you talking about? What exactly did Lilia admit to?”

“…Excuse me?”

“There is nothing to admit. I have no idea what nonsense you’re talking about.”

The Marchioness said coolly, pulling Lilia protectively into her embrace, as if shielding her from harm.

Turning to Lilia, she asked in a syrupy tone.

“Do you understand what your sister is talking about, sweetheart?”

“…That…”

Half-hidden in her mother’s arms, Lilia hesitated, as though unsure how to respond. When her eyes briefly met Ciela’s, she flinched and buried her face deeper into the Marchioness’s embrace.

But not before twisting her lips into a subtle, mocking smirk—visible only to Ciela.

Then, in a voice dripping with false innocence, she said, “I don’t know why sister is saying such things.”

Sigh.

Ciela let out a dry laugh, glancing around. When the Marquis and Marchioness had arrived, the servants had scattered like frightened mice, eager to avoid getting caught in the turmoil. Now, aside from her, Titi, the Marquis and Marchioness, and Lilia, the hall was completely deserted.

‘I expected this would happen, to see it play out exactly as I predicted…’

Her gaze remained fixed on Lilia.

‘You’ve always known exactly how to humiliate me, haven’t you?’

She had assumed Lilia would reveal the truth rather than outright lie, knowing it would deepen her despair. After all, Lilia always had the unwavering support of the Marquis and Marchioness, who would side with her no matter what.

“Meow.”

Titi’s sharp cry broke the tense silence, its tone full of disapproval.

Ciela glanced down at Titi, whose fur was bristling with anger. The little cat looked ready to pounce at any moment, its demeanor unusually fierce. Gently, Ciela stroked its fur, trying to calm it.

“It’s okay, Titi.”

As Titi’s ears drooped and it gazed up at her with wide, questioning eyes, she moved her lips silently.

‘This is exactly the situation I wanted.’

“Meow?”

Titi’s eyes widened even further, a mixture of surprise and confusion flashing in its gaze.