Four days later, the group that had departed from the southern region of the Duchy of White arrived at the outskirts of Penecia, the capital of Pensia.

Feeling the carriage gradually slow down, Karsten lifted the curtain covering the window just a little and spoke.

“It looks like we’ve arrived.”

He had just let the curtain fall back into place when—

“Your Highness, it’s Tess.”

Tess, who had gone on ahead, now knocked urgently on the carriage door, saying it was something important. Karsten quickly opened the door.

“What is it?”

“Your Highness, it’s urgent.”

“What is?”

Tess glanced briefly at Breti before answering.

“Rumors about the young lady have already spread all through the capital.”

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Penecia, the capital of the Pensia Empire—most of the largest shops in the Allecci district were run by the House of White. Among them was a particularly grand and luxurious building: the Lorin Dress Shop, famous for setting the fashion trends among the noble young ladies of the capital.

Today, as always, many young noblewomen visited Lorin to purchase dresses for the upcoming imperial ball. After fittings, there was even a lounge where they could chat, and as usual, several ladies had gathered there.

“Did you hear the news?”

As always, when women gathered, gossip flourished, and today was no exception—the latest topic was all over town.

“What news?”

“Oh, right! They say the young lady who disappeared has returned?”

Today’s subject was the missing noblewoman, Laterna—meaning, Breti.

The last young woman to finish her fitting asked in a surprised voice.

“Oh my, has the missing daughter of the House of White really come back?”

“Yes, the rumor has been spreading everywhere for the past four days. Haven’t you heard yet?”

“No, but I heard the madam became very ill because of it. It’s late, but I’m glad she’s finally returned.”

“Is it really a good thing, though?”

The woman sitting in the place of honour on the sofa spoke up, her tone filled with doubt, and drew everyone’s attention.

“Do you really think it’s fortunate for the lady bedridden by illness?”

“What do you mean…?”

“She’s been away for over ten years, not even knowing who she was…”

At the words of the woman who clearly outranked the others, everyone fell silent.

“Do you really think she has the dignity befitting a noble? Don’t you agree?”

It was Vanessa Fletcher speaking—the cherished youngest daughter of the Marquis of Fletcher and a leading candidate for the flower of the social season. No one dared argue, and the young ladies simply exchanged glances.

“Well, the young lady does have a point.”

Joy said, eldest daughter of the Viscount Bell family, chiming in with an awkward smile.

Buoyed by Joy’s agreement, Vanessa gave a satisfied little shrug.

“I just hope she doesn’t tarnish the House of White’s reputation.”

But every young lady present knew Vanessa didn’t mean it sincerely.

The real issue was that Breti, who was changing in a nearby fitting room, had overheard everything. While some of the other girls could sense Vanessa’s insincerity, Breti was deeply shaken by what she had heard.

“Young lady.”

Bagi, who was helping her dress nearby, looked at her with concern.

“I’m fine, Bagi.”

Breti forced a smile, then pulled up her hood to hide her face and stepped out of the fitting room.

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The Lorin Dress Shop was one of the most popular boutiques for young women in the capital. Renowned for setting trends, the shop employed many highly skilled artisans. In fact, it was so successful that it accounted for a significant proportion of the duchy’s business profits.

But Lorin wasn’t just an ordinary dress shop.

Beneath it, in the basement, was the secret hideout of Foldron, an information guild secretly operated by the House of White. Disguised as a boutique, it was actually a key hub where all kinds of intelligence were exchanged.

Today, every member of the guild had been summoned to the Foldron hideout, and an inexplicable tension hung in the air.

Every gaze in the room was fixed in the same direction—toward the man seated at the head of the table: Karsten.

Still seated, Karsten began scanning the faces of the guild members, each one cloaked in a cape bearing the guild’s emblem. The room was thick with silence until his low voice broke through the stillness.

“When did Foldron’s internal information start leaking out to the marketplace?”

At his curt question, everyone in the room flinched at once. With no one offering an answer, Karsten slowly rose to his feet.

“When a rat finds its way into the grain storehouse, the damage is never small.”

“……”

“So you set a trap. But the clever ones know better—they won’t even go near it.”

He moved among the guild members, his tone dropping even lower.

“That’s why you need a cat.”

“……”

“A cat that will sink its teeth into any rat’s neck and snap its spine, no matter how cunning it is.”

Karsten’s cold voice echoed through the room.

“When did this Foldron—the guild I’ve spent eight years building—become as ordinary as any common storeroom?”

“……”

“You all know what happens if anyone who isn’t Foldron ever gets inside.”

Karsten had built the Foldron Guild with painstaking care and secrecy, ensuring that not a single detail or scrap of information could ever leak out. He had made it clear from the start: anyone caught leaking information would face only one fate.

“Their tongue cut out so they’re left just barely alive, their limbs hacked off and thrown to the beasts for food.”

“……”

“I can’t help but wonder what kind of face a rat makes when it nibbles away at secrets, knowing exactly what is coming to it.”

At Karsten’s icy, fleeting smile, everyone in the room swallowed hard.

“You’ll have to decide for yourselves—whether you’ll end up as rats, or as cats.”

“……”

“I can only hope you don’t make the wrong choice. Dismissed.”

As soon as Karsten finished speaking, everyone rushed out of the hideout, desperate not to be the one left behind. Only Tess and Benon remained by Karsten’s side.

Once he confirmed everyone else was gone, Karsten spoke in a low voice.

“Laterna’s true identity must never be revealed to outsiders. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I understand, Your Highness.”

Upon hearing their unwavering responses, Karsten let out a deep sigh.

He had originally planned to bring Breti, disguised as Laterna, into the capital quietly. His sole focus was on having her devote herself to improving his mother Meliover’s condition.

If news spread that the House of White had found Laterna, he intended to use her supposed frailty as an excuse to keep her away from society. This would make it easier when Breti eventually left the ducal residence, and any potential unrest could be contained.

‘I never intended to get caught up in this kind of mess.’

But now…

“D*mn it.”

Karsten muttered under his breath just as one of the knights who had accompanied them from the Servien estate approached.

“Your Highness.”

“What is it?”

“Well…”

Watching the knight hesitate, Karsten’s brow furrowed.

“Stop stalling and speak.”

“The madam has arrived.”

At those words, discomfort immediately washed over Karsten’s face.