Then Andrea sighed and confessed:

“It’s not like I didn’t worry before confessing. I thought I might be crazy too. But what can I do when I like someone?”

‘Ridiculous.’

She didn’t even know whether the other person was a woman or a man.

It wasn’t Andrea’s fault, and he didn’t particularly want her to know the truth. But the fact remained that her feelings didn’t seem genuine.

“How much do you actually know about that person?”

“I don’t.”

He asked cynically, unable to hide his twisted feelings, but Andrea answered readily, surprisingly.

“But I know well the parts I like about them.”

The confidence that crossed her face was unfamiliar.

Gillian couldn’t understand what made Andrea so certain.

“The abyss runs deep.”

“Your abyss too?”

“We’re done with each other anyway.”

Sensing he had no intention of continuing the conversation, Andrea gathered her basket and stood up.

“Thank you, nameless passerby.”

Gillian swallowed a small sigh. A name should be fine.

“It’s Gillian.”

“Gillian.”

Andrea smiled as she repeated the name he had given her.

“If we pass each other on the street, I can greet you, right?”

Gillian just nodded slightly. Then Andrea bowed politely and turned away, looking much more relieved.

Her refreshed expression, like she had unburdened herself, somehow didn’t sit well with Gillian.

***

“That’s exactly why you can’t go around alone!”

The maid Anna stood with both hands firmly planted on her hips, gritting her teeth as she shouted. Though it looked like the roles of employer and employee had reversed, Andrea, knowing she was in the wrong, apologized sheepishly.

“Okay. I’m sorry.”

She had indeed been ditching Anna and going around alone too much lately. Even though she had her reasons, from Anna’s perspective, it must have been both infuriating and worrying.

Since that day, she hadn’t seen Gillian—probably because their living areas were different. And thinking that Priscilla might not be comfortable seeing her after the confession, she had avoided attending gatherings as much as possible, so they could only meet during the biweekly lessons. 

Because of that…

‘Not enough beauty.’

Andrea swallowed tears inwardly.

‘I want to see that thick, lustrous black hair. I want to see those slightly upturned cat-like eyes. I want to see that white, clean skin, those eyes with their cool temperature. I’m lacking elegant cool beauty…!’

You could probably describe Andrea like this: ‘Extreme face-brightening syndrome that wouldn’t budge for any compromise.’ Perhaps she had chosen to abandon preference for a specific gender rather than love something ugly.

She particularly favored elegant beauties with a melancholic air, though of course she didn’t blindly like someone just because their exterior was beautiful. Priscilla was not only beautiful but had an attitude that never cowered before anyone, eyes full of dignity, and even a glimpse of sadness—all combined to give a definite and clear impression of ‘beauty.’ 

Even her distinctive tall stature and refreshing bone structure created synergy with her graceful beauty.

“You’re promising not to go around alone anymore, right?”

Anna still seemed suspicious, but her expression suggested she would trust her once more. Andrea nodded.

“Yes.”

Only then did Anna look relieved, apparently willing to drop this topic for now.

“Then let’s go in.”

Today they had come out to a bookstore. They had received word that a book Andrea had ordered some time ago had arrived. She had once mentioned wanting to give Priscilla a book she had enjoyed reading as a gift, but it had been difficult to obtain and took quite a while.

‘Will she like it?’

The timing was awkward since it came right after her confession and rejection, but since she had ordered it intending to give it as a gift, she planned to deliver it.

Andrea entered the bookstore with Anna. When they came out, she was carrying not only the book she had ordered but an armful of other books as well.

“I really wonder when you’ll ever finish reading all these,” Anna said, shaking her head as she walked out carrying a bundle of books. Andrea, also carrying a bundle of books, smiled.

“It’s only a few books. I’ll read them quickly.”

As she approached the carriage, a group of men passed by her side. Whether by chance or fate, a familiar name from their conversation struck her ears sharply.

“Priscilla…”

‘Lady Priscilla?’

Her ears perked up. Like a dog greeting its master, her entire nervous system reacted to that name, and she unconsciously turned around.

All four men had unfamiliar faces.

‘Foreigners?’

Their attire was ordinary, but somehow she got that feeling. Then another man’s words caught her ear.

“Take care of it.”

She was startled. When the men seemed to sense her gaze and started to turn around, Andrea quickly returned her head to its original position. Anna looked at her with a puzzled expression.

‘Take care of it?’

Her spine tingled.

Well, the name Priscilla wasn’t unique, and they might not have been talking about the Priscilla she knew.

But Lady Priscilla had said she lived in Kirak briefly. She had learned the Kirak language then. And the men had spoken in Kirak. Of course, since this was a place where many merchants and travelers came and went, it wasn’t unusual for Kirak people to be around, but…

Andrea watched with serious eyes as the men disappeared into an alley.

Could this really be just a coincidence?

Soon Andrea looked at Anna.

She couldn’t possibly take Anna along.

Thinking this, she spoke urgently, like she had swallowed fire.

“Anna, I just remembered—I’m supposed to meet Camilla right up ahead, so I’ll chat with her briefly and then go. Take the books home. Call a carriage and ride back. I’ll return soon. I promise. Don’t worry.”

“What? Then let’s go together…! Miss!”

She set down her bundle of books next to Anna and ran off before Anna could follow. Incidentally, Andrea was faster at running than expected.

“Miss!”

Anna could only make distressed sounds from behind, unable to follow because of the luggage.

Andrea followed the men going deeper inside, maintaining some distance for quite a while. Finally, the men entered a club deep in the alley, guarded by a doorkeeper.

Her following steps hesitated. It was a place of poor quality that combined gambling and prostitution.

Since it was nominally land ruled by the king, it wouldn’t be dangerous, and people living in the back alleys frequented the club to sell things or provide various services even if they weren’t customers. But it was still a place Andrea felt reluctant to enter.

She wasn’t even sure they would let her in. Andrea’s attire clearly marked her as a young lady from a high-ranking family, and such a woman would have no business at a club. So she was looking and pondering when a woman dressed in a pretty dress like Andrea’s, accompanied by two maids, naturally entered the club from the opposite direction.

Her outfit was no less than that of any noble young lady, but she wore a black choker around her neck. It signified a high-class pr*stitute.

Andrea looked around, then retraced her steps a little. Then something caught her eye and she approached.

“Excuse me.”

When she spoke, a young girl turned to look at her.

“Yes?”

“Want to trade your ribbon for mine?”

The girl looked at the mint-colored ribbon Andrea offered. With its delicate embroidery, it was obviously expensive at first glance.

“Don’t change your mind.”

The girl quickly grabbed her black ribbon to trade and ran off. Andrea, who was rather grateful the girl had made the exchange, tied the black ribbon around her neck and returned to the front of the club.

As she passed through the entrance, the doorkeeper glanced at her. Andrea’s heart pounded, worried she might be caught. But she passed through safely.

“Hey.”

Just when she thought she had made it, the doorkeeper called out to her. Andrea was inwardly startled.

“Y…?”

Unsure whether she should speak formally or informally here, she swallowed her pronunciation and turned around. The doorkeeper blatantly looked her up and down, then grinned, showing rotten teeth.

“I’ll call for you later.”

The disgusting smile gave her goosebumps.

“O…”

Andrea smiled awkwardly, again mumbling her pronunciation and turning away. Behind her, the doorkeeper muttered suspiciously.

“Is she mute?”

Anyway, since real upper-class young ladies had no reason to come to this place, the doorkeeper apparently never even considered that she might not be a pr*stitute. Thanks to this, Andrea safely entered inside.

She never thought she’d visit a place like this in her lifetime, but the interior looked more complex than it appeared from outside. There were corridors connecting in all directions, and inside the first floor, there were spaces that seemed to be a restaurant and gambling hall where noisy sounds could be heard. 

The stuffy atmosphere with poor sunlight and somehow smoky, decadent air made her hesitate to take another step.

The men who spoke Kirak were nowhere to be seen.

Then someone in the gambling hall, who had been nervously peering at the entrance, spotted Andrea turning to leave, but she didn’t notice.

Just as she was about to turn the corner after passing through a corridor, someone suddenly grabbed her wrist from behind.

“What are you doing here?”

Startled, she turned around to see Gillian standing there with a dumbfounded expression.

“Gillian…!”

She felt relief at seeing a familiar face, and simultaneously, realizing that person was Gillian, she felt even more delighted.

Moreover, in her recent situation lacking beauty, seeing Gillian made her previously dim vision—like a cataract patient’s—brighten like a miracle of a blind person opening their eyes.

‘Ah, blessed…’

When Andrea looked at him with eyes like she had met a savior, Gillian actually hesitated. Why was her expression like that?

“Why did you come to a place like this?”