“I was so worried when you went back in after barely escaping. I feared that scoundrel might do something to you.”

Seeing Sherry now completely omitting the title “Count” made me realize it fully. Alex had undoubtedly become a public enemy to everyone in Ophelia family.

“I’m truly relieved you’re safe. Really……”

“Thank you for worrying about me.”

“Not at all. But Miss, who is that beside you……”

Sherry’s gaze, trailing off mid-sentence, turned toward Ilina beside me. Her eyes clearly questioned why Ilina was here.

She had been the one closest to me, watching and sharing my pain caused by Ilina and Alex.

So my bringing Ilina must be incomprehensible to her, and perhaps what I planned to do would seem outrageous.

But I had anticipated this, and it was my own choice. Above all, there was something Sherry didn’t realize: Ilina was also a victim.

I cleared my throat a couple of times, addressing Sherry as she kept alternately examining Ilina and me with a peculiar gaze.

“Sherry, I need to speak privately with this girl. Would you mind stepping aside?”

My deliberately firm tone seemed effective. Sherry hesitated briefly before moving away.

“Yes, Miss……”

After Sherry moved to my side, I boarded another carriage with Ilina, directly behind the one where Father was seated.

I signaled to the knight, who closed the door, leaving just the two of us perfectly alone in the carriage.

I was the first to break the silence.

“Why did you help me?”

“……I never helped you.”

The response was rigid. Ilina had turned her head away, avoiding my gaze.

“Then, was it not you?”

“What do you mean?”

Ilina’s question came with a confused expression at my sudden inquiry.

I answered calmly.

“……Bringing my father here.”

At that moment, Ilina’s lips, about to speak, firmly closed. She lowered her head, avoiding eye contact with me. Why?

As I pondered this question, my gaze fell on her hands. Her thin, frail hands trembled on her knees.

I reached out and took her hand. Simultaneously, Ilina flinched in surprise before meeting my eyes.

“You don’t need to be afraid.”

I held her hand tighter as I responded to her trembling gaze. Yet her eyes still wavered, shadowed with deep doubt.

“……I didn’t help you.”

I wondered what words would come from her mouth, but her unexpected statement made my eyes widen involuntarily.

“What do you mean you didn’t help? Wasn’t it you who asked Father to help me?”

“Even if I did…… you wouldn’t understand my reason.”

Her second answer diverged even further from my expectations.

Her eyes seemed full of thoughts, or perhaps somewhat resigned. Meeting her dry gaze, devoid of the relief or shame one might expect from someone I had rescued, stirred strange emotions within me.

This was partly because her eyes also looked somewhat sad.

‘You wouldn’t believe me anyway.’

I suddenly felt she was suppressing something she desperately wanted to say. This might just be my personal impression, but the timing of everything matched too perfectly.

What other servant would be bold enough to bring Father here, and if it wasn’t her, then that scene just now…

Recalling that terrible scene, I had to ask her:

“That sounds like I’m right in my thinking.”

“……!”

“Am I wrong?”

“……”

No answer came from her. But that silence meant affirmation, and I realized she had trembled at the sight of me from the beginning. Her youthful appearance also finally registered with me.

‘Surely Alex didn’t…… with this child.’

If Alex had been treating Ilina the way I had just witnessed, she had ample reason to harbor resentment and do this. What had been happening in the mansion all this time without my knowledge? I couldn’t tell. I didn’t want to know.

‘I don’t know.’

My fingertips began to tremble, and I clutched the hem of my dress. I shuddered at the thought of my transgression—sleeping in the same bed with such a madman. At the same time, I couldn’t deny that the heavy feeling pressing on my chest was guilt. After a moment’s deliberation, I spoke:

“No answer. Anyway, someone definitely helped me, so I must repay that help. My father taught me that ignoring help received creates enemies.”

“……”

Her eyes wavered. Seeing a look that could only come from the person herself, I continued with certainty:

“You’re from slave origins, I heard.”

“……”

“Even if you became the mistress of Count Floredo, your bloodline remains unchanged. The most crucial reward for you would be freedom. Not freedom in name only, but real freedom.”

“What do you……”

“I won’t leave you here.”

“……!”

At that moment, Ilina’s eyes widened dramatically.

As if she never dreamed I would make such an offer.

“……Are you saying you want me to come with you to the capital?”

“Yes.”

At my affirmation, Ilina’s eyes grew even wider. However, it didn’t take long for her surprised gaze to shift to wariness.

“……Why?”

As she spoke, Ilina withdrew her hand from mine. In that moment, I felt the rough texture grazing my palm.

Her hands were quite rough for a count’s mistress. I couldn’t help but smile.

‘So this was the extent of the deception.’

Though I already knew, confirming it again was utterly ridiculous. On the other hand, I worried this seemingly naive girl might make the wrong choice out of pride. Of course, I felt no need to be particularly kind to my husband’s former mistress.

“I’ve already told you why. I’m not foolish enough to send someone who helped me to their death.”

So I intended to persuade her just this once. Hopefully, she would grab the lifeline I had extended.

Looking at her, who gazed at me with incomprehension, I asked one final question:

“Do you refuse?”

As if there would be no other chance if not now. And fortunately, Ilina met my expectations.

After contemplating, she shook her head.

That meant agreement.

❀❀❀

After persuading Ilina and putting her in another carriage, I smiled to myself.

‘I wonder what he’ll think when he learns the woman he brought to manipulate me has left with me.’

I wasn’t a philanthropist. My decision to take Ilina to the capital stemmed partly from my debt to her, but also from the sheer satisfaction of imagining Alex’s contorted face when he heard the news.

‘He’ll probably rage and throw a fit in front of all the servants.’

Imagining his utterly vulgar behavior made me feel foolish for once having sworn eternity with such a man. Even without considering future revelations, his true nature that I had just discovered was shocking enough.

‘To make such an evil move just to make me jealous.’

Bringing in a young girl, abusing her, and pretending they were inseparable to provoke me. Now I understood why Ilina had desperately tried to stop me from leaving.

With these thoughts, I got out of the carriage and went to Father. Through the carriage window, I saw Father with his aide.

Seeing him reviewing documents stirred a peculiar emotion in me. A feeling that swelled in my chest.

‘He’s still so busy.’

Despite his busy schedule, Father had come all the way to Floredo County solely because he was worried about me.

‘I must treat him well when we return.’

With this resolution, I knocked on the carriage door.

Through the window, I saw Father startle and quickly cover the documents he was reviewing.

Soon the knight opened the door, and I faced Father.

“Ah, is your conversation already over?”

“Yes, it’s finished.”

“May I ask what you talked about?”

“Just this and that. She was a maid who treated me well at the count’s residence, so I suggested she come with us to the mansion in the capital.”

In reality, Ilina was Alex’s mistress, but if Father knew that, he wouldn’t stay calm.

He might try to tear Alex apart, and would likely forbid me from bringing Ilina to the Ophelia mansion.

That was why I lied about Ilina being a maid.

“Oh, I was worried that with Alex behaving so poorly, the maids might disrespect him. Fortunately, there was a decent child there.”

Thankfully, Father didn’t seem to notice anything suspicious and merely looked pleased.

“Yes. So I asked her to come with us, and she agreed. What do you think, Father?”

“That’s up to you, isn’t it? You’re a grown adult now, and you can certainly manage one maid as you please.”

A grown adult.

Why did those words pierce my heart so deeply?

Come to think of it, Father was right.

I’m twenty-four this year. Old enough to be considered grown. Yet I’m still asking permission from Father even to take in one maid.

‘Well…… because it’s not mine.’

What truly belongs to me? Not even my name is my own.

Before marriage, I was called “Lady Ophelia,” and after marriage, “Countess of Floredo.”

As if Levedi was a name to be hidden. My name was always determined by the men around me.

If even my name isn’t mine, besides this body, does anything truly belong to me?

Father said a grown adult could take in a maid as she pleased, but that authority wasn’t mine. It stemmed from the authority Father granted me.

Everything felt futile.

“……Why are you making that expression?”

Lost in thought, I snapped back to reality at Father’s words.

“Ah. I was just thinking about something.”

“I see.”

“By the way, Father.”

Father looked at me questioningly at my sudden call.

After slight deliberation, I carefully began:

“If I were a man, perhaps……”

“……”

“……Would I be living independently by now?”

At this unexpected question, Father looked puzzled, as if wondering why I would ask such a thing, but then nodded.

“You would. At twenty-four, you’d already be the head of a household. But why do you ask that suddenly?”

“……Just curious.”

Alex, still at the Floredo mansion, suddenly came to mind. He would soon divorce me, but he had a home. He didn’t need to rely on his parents for shelter.

In contrast, if Father hadn’t taken me in, I might have ended up on the streets.

Both divorced, yet one remains stable while the other becomes unstable. Is marriage truly the only means for a woman to lead a stable life?

Does this mean a wife must endure even if her husband takes a mistress or insults her to her face?

‘This is unfair.’

A sense of injustice rose within me. I bit my lip. But only briefly. I felt strange to myself.

To become emotionally charged over issues I had never considered before.

Isn’t this too normal, the way everyone lives, and am I overthinking it? There was no real problem, right? The Empire hasn’t collapsed because of this.

Perhaps.

‘Maybe I was being too sensitive.’

Fatigue washed over me from these unfamiliar emotions suddenly flooding in. My eyelids felt heavy.

“Father, I think we should start leaving soon.”

“Yes. Go back to the carriage.”

“Alright.”

As I turned to leave, a heavy palm pressed on my shoulder. I flinched in surprise, but soon a voice as comforting as the hand penetrated my ears.

“Life is long, so never let a man like that get you down.”

“……”

“I trust and support whatever decision you make, Levedi.”

Suddenly, pent-up emotions welled up inside me.

In truth, I was somewhat afraid. I had strayed from all the paths society prescribed for women—the path of a virtuous wife, the path of a beloved daughter.

Though I acted cool, I felt as if I was committing a sin, which constantly troubled my heart.

But Father just told me I was right. No, what his words conveyed was beyond that. Even if I wasn’t right, it was okay. He would support me.

My eyes suddenly burned with tears. I felt I might cry at any moment. I didn’t want to show my crying face…

If there was any silver lining, it was that the hand pressing on my shoulder soon disappeared.

This was my chance. I hurriedly walked toward the carriage, almost fleeing.

Upon opening the carriage door and entering, the tears I had been holding back fell freely.

But I had overlooked one thing.

“……Madam?”

……Too caught up in my emotions, I had forgotten Ilina was in the carriage.

❀❀❀

The carriage that departed from Floredo County arrived at the Ophelia mansion in the capital after a full month of travel.

About three months after my return to the mansion.

During that time, Father had sent a letter to Alex regarding the divorce lawsuit, and Father and I were waiting for his reply.

Needless to say, various worries flooded in when the expected reply didn’t arrive.

What if he refused the divorce? Would I have to live with him again because of that?

All kinds of concerns filled my mind.

One late evening.

I had just finished showering after dinner and was changing into my nightgown.

Knock, knock, came a sound at the door.

Who could it be at this hour? Wondering, I fastened the last button of my nightgown and said:

“Who is it?”

The voice that came through the door was familiar to me.

“Miss, it’s Sherry. The Count wants you to come to the study.”

It was Sherry. But Father wanted me to come to the study?

Puzzled by this unexpected summons, I quickly grabbed a shawl from the corner of the room and wrapped it around myself.

“I’ll be right out.”

Father was warm but strict about etiquette, befitting his noble status to the bone. For him to call me at such a late hour meant this was no ordinary matter.

❀❀❀

My prediction that this was no ordinary matter seemed somewhat accurate.

The atmosphere in the study was solemn from the moment I entered. Above all, the family’s legal counsel stood beside Father.

‘What could this be about?’

With even a lawyer present, it certainly wasn’t an ordinary matter…

Just as I was wondering, Father spotted me, stared at me intently, then gestured for me to come closer.

Following his beckoning hand, I approached Father’s side, and the lawyer handed me a large envelope.

“What is this?”

I sensed it was something significant. When I asked, Father smiled slightly and answered:

“It’s the details of your settlement. There are quite a few assets not yet converted to cash.”

“Settlement?”

Could it be?

“Actually, about two months ago, someone came from Count Floredo’s side. They offered to give us divorce papers with half of his assets as settlement, as per the law, if we would drop the lawsuit.”

“What?”

My question contained two meanings.

First, it was strange that Alex had truly accepted the divorce and even paid a settlement.

And second, why had Father only now told me about a reply received two months ago?

As if reading the intent behind my questions clearly, Father chuckled and then spoke.

His answer addressed both of my questions.

“You look like you can’t believe it. Actually, I felt the same two months ago. Finding it quite suspicious, I sent an informant to monitor that fellow’s movements.”

“And?”

“May I borrow your ear for a moment?”

Though puzzled, I sensed he had something to say, so I put my ear to Father’s mouth. What I heard was unbelievable.

The sudden, tremendous news made me cover my mouth with one hand.

“Is that…… really true?”

When I carefully asked, Father met my eyes and smiled contentedly.