Chapter 57

Just as Harriet couldn’t ignore the moment she ate the blue grapefruit, this time was no different.

Bleria bit her lip so hard it felt like it would tear as she rang the bell. Lucy appeared in the bedroom almost instantly. How diligent.

“You called… my lady?”

“I’m going out.”

Bleria said so with a trembling voice.

Even though she knew it was irrational, she couldn’t control her body. She hastily threw on any dress and headed to the Allnight mansion without even an invitation.

Since she was engaged to Gopher, she wasn’t thrown out immediately. However, she had to endure the piercing gazes from all around her.

Had the rumors spread while she had been lying idle? The once favorable looks now stung her skin with their sharpness.

“The wedding is less than… a month away…”

“They say she was… unwell. Yet the duke hasn’t…”

“Gopher seems… some strange… request.”

The murmurs from all sides were full of curiosity and ridicule. None of the parties involved had addressed the rumors, so they were just talking for now.

Bleria pretended not to notice the cold sweat pooling in her palms. She could bear it—for now. It was just enough fear and unease to make her want to flee, but nothing she hadn’t anticipated.

Without unease, she first greeted the party’s host, the Duchess of Allnight.

“I thought you wouldn’t come, given your lack of response to the invitation.”

“I wasn’t feeling well and was discourteous. Please forgive my rudeness, Your Grace.”

The Duchess gazed at her for a moment but, as before, said nothing more.

“Scott, show her to where Gopher is.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Bleria followed the servant’s lead. They headed toward the terrace. With each step, the thought of getting closer to Gopher churned her stomach, but she managed to push through. She was surprised at her own resilience.

Finally, as the terrace doors opened, she saw the figure she was looking for. At that moment, Bleria halted the servant.

“That’s enough. You may go.”

After sending him away, Bleria walked forward alone.

Her steps were cautious, as she hadn’t thoroughly steeled herself. The closer she got, the more precise the sight of the two figures became. Their arms were intertwined like those of an escorting pair.

Suppressing a moment of nausea, Bleria was about to make her presence known when Eos smiled radiantly.

“….”

The soft curve of her eyes turned her already gentle demeanor into something angelic. Gopher, who had been smiling as usual, seemed slightly off.

Anyone else might not have noticed the difference. But Bleria, having glimpsed behind Gopher’s mask in their private moments, could clearly sense his unease.

As false rumors surfaced, she recalled Gopher’s denial of any attachment to Eos and the failed attempt to eliminate her. The suspicions she had buried began to bubble up. After all, Gopher was a liar.

Maybe even his claim that he would deal with Eos was a lie.

A man unsettled by another woman’s smile.

That alone made everything seem clear. The fragile resolve she had barely held onto shattered, and Bleria turned away. She exited the terrace and returned to the ballroom, where she fled.

Why am I like this?

Even though she no longer trusted Gopher, she couldn’t confront him properly. Even though she had braced herself for the possibility of giving everything up, she couldn’t bear to see the two of them together. This might be her last chance. There might not be another opportunity to act, yet here she was.

Bleria’s fingertips trembled faintly.

She wanted to leave the ballroom and return to her bed. She tried to bury herself under the covers and await her death. But instead—

She picked up a glass of champagne from the party table. After one, two, and halfway through the third glass, her heart pounded with drunkenness and unease.

I have to go.

No one was left to think for her or make decisions. She had to decide for herself. Dragging her feet, Bleria turned around. At that moment, someone blocked her path.

“Well, well. Who do we have here? I thought I’d leave without seeing you.”

At first, she thought it was someone who had heard the rumors and approached to mock her.

But she soon realized it was a mistake. This grotesque, aged man was someone she recognized. More precisely, someone Mel Slopey would have known.

“Don’t you remember me? Totten. Five years ago, we were almost quite close.”

Baron Totten. The scum who had illegally run a gambling den and tried to buy her from Norma for marriage.

What was a man of such low standing doing at Allnight’s party? Bleria’s expression darkened. As if reading her thoughts, the baron spoke.

“I went through quite the effort to meet you, my lady. An earl I know once owed me a favor, so I secured an invitation. I was shocked to hear you weren’t coming.”

“What does that have to do with me?”

A mere baron was no high-ranking noble, even if he held a title. Hiding her discomposure, Bleria made an exaggerated show of disdain for him.

“Whatever business you have with me, I don’t have time for someone I don’t even recognize. Step aside.”

“Must I bring up Norma’s name here?”

Hearing that name after so long, Bleria was momentarily startled. Not frightened. After five years as a high-ranking noble, Baron Totten looked to her like nothing more than a pitiful, withered old man.

Perhaps misinterpreting her reaction, the baron grinned smugly.

“Well, I must admit I was quite surprised back then. I invested a fortune to welcome a beautiful bride, only to be swindled. I’ve been determined to make that wretched cat pay. But when I heard you’d become a lady of a noble family, I was stunned.”

“Have you drunk so much that you don’t realize how you sound to me right now?”

“Don’t worry. I have no intention of spreading rumors. You must already be quite miserable as it is.”

Why did he suddenly show his face now? So that was it. He must have judged I’d be worth meddling with since I’ve become a kite cut loose from its string.

“I wish to comfort the lady. What do you say?”

Baron Totten fiddled with the edge of Bleria’s shawl. His touch was so repulsive that Bleria gripped her half-empty glass tightly.

I’m still Bleria Heaven.

And Bleria Heaven had no reason to humor such a low-level threat. When she raised her glass, a leg suddenly shot out and struck the baron square in the stomach.

“Tonight’s special, bam!”

Crash! The frail man toppled over a table, causing a tremendous racket. Bleria blinked in confusion, still holding her raised glass.

“Looking at your face isn’t comfort—it’s violence, you crazy bastard!”

The culprit, who kept kicking the baron even after knocking him over, was a familiar face: Mixel Luke Dice.

“…Count?”

“Oh, hold on a moment. Let me land three—no, five more punches, and then we’ll talk.”

“You can’t do this, Count!”

The servants of the Allnight estate rushed over, pulling Mixel Luke off the baron. If Mixel Luke had used a knight’s aura, it would’ve been a different story, but with mere physical strength, he couldn’t fend off more than five men.

The baron, who had been beaten senselessly, lay sprawled in a pitiful state. Only after Mixel Luke was dragged away did he finally come to his senses.

“Wh-what is the meaning of this?! Does Allnight treat its guests like this?”

“This bastard still doesn’t get it!”

“Count!”

“Assaulting a guest who made an effort to visit? I will certainly lodge a complaint! You there, summon the Duchess—or at least the young Duke—this instant…!”

As the baron bellowed, a crimson liquid splashed on his face. Startled, he began frantically patting his face.

“Blood! There’s blood on my face! Wait, no, this isn’t blood…”

“You called for me.”

The baron turned toward the voice. There, Gopher stood, casually tilting a wine glass. He poured the last drop onto the baron’s face and then flexed his wrist back into place.

“Young Duke…?”

“By all means, go ahead. File your complaint.”

Gopher smiled faintly, his eyes narrowing.

“I’m genuinely curious what excuse you’ll come up with for being rude to the woman who will soon become my wife at someone else’s party.”

“Here, in this very place—”

“But you’ll have to be very careful. As you know, we’re nobles. If you spew nonsense without evidence, that will be a direct challenge to my honor.”

Gopher loosened his grip on the wine glass. With a shattering sound, the glass broke as it hit the floor, and shards scratched the baron’s cheek.

“Ahhh!” The baron shrieked, retreating, only to be stopped by the overturned table behind him. Gopher looked down at him, smiling.

“Well? Say something. Speak up.”

The open threat left the baron completely speechless. Even if he had anything to say, he couldn’t. He just sat there, his face pale, hiccuping helplessly as he clamped his mouth shut.