“Then why did you bring me all the way here if this was how it would be?”

Her tone was filled with resentment.

Sitting on the edge of the bed with his head lowered, Lavi softly muttered, “Sorry.”

Flora, who had her upper body exposed, slipped her arms back into her dress, which had slid down to her waist.

She felt ashamed of how she had quickly undressed herself as soon as she entered the room.

Thinking back on the time she spent preparing herself for him brought tears to her eyes.

“No one has ever treated me this coldly before.”

“…You are a very attractive woman, Flora.”

“Ha!”

Flora scoffed, taking a slow step forward.

She moved between Lavi’s knees as he sat on the bed.

Her slender fingers brushed through Lavi’s dark hair.

Lavi lightly grabbed her wrist.

“…Stop it.”

“You used to at least look at me.”

“……”

“You’ve changed.”

“What’s impossible is impossible.”

“That’s a lie. There must be another reason. I heard from Eric recently that your illness briefly improved. That’s why I came by more often.”

“…Don’t listen to what Eric says.”

“Even if he’s a bit eccentric, Eric isn’t one to lie.”

“I heard that the long-delayed succession of the duchy will soon take place. You recently went to the capital to discuss it. The rumors have already spread throughout the city. So, what will you do about an heir?”

“That’s none of your concern, Flora.”

“Why shouldn’t it be? I’ve stayed by your side longer than anyone else! Who else would be able to endure beside you? Others fled, frightened and disappointed!”

“That’s insolent. I said it’s none of your business.”

Lavi growled in a low, heavy tone.

His sharp gaze pierced through Flora.

She gasped, stiffening. It wasn’t hostility—it was an overwhelming pressure.

Her once steady neck now trembled.

Though Lavi hadn’t laid a hand on her, she felt as though he was pushing her away.

Flora took a step back.

“I’ll leave the door open. Leave on your own. And don’t let me see you again.”

Lavi swung the heavy iron door open effortlessly and left the room first.

The sound of his angry footsteps gradually faded.

“How can you drive away someone who came all the way from the capital like this?!”

Flora shouted after him, but Lavi didn’t return.

—

Flora didn’t leave Lavi’s room right away.

She stayed, hoping he might return, but no one came by, even as night fell.

“I am the one who will be the duchess. I have to secure that position and make him mine.”

Flora’s eyes gleamed with a fierce resolve.

As she bit down on her well-manicured fingernail, she sensed someone entering the room.

Turning around, Flora cheerfully called out, “Lord Lavirus!”

But it wasn’t Lavi who had entered.

It was Sel, the new mercenary she had encountered on the first floor earlier.

“…I came because of the accounting ledgers. Is the Commander not here?” Sel asked cautiously as he looked around the room.

Usually, this was the time when Eric and Lavi would be in the room.

However, the two men were gone, leaving only the woman in the room.

Although she felt a strange sense of disappointment, Sel didn’t mind seeing Flora’s face again.

Looking at her reminded her of faint memories of her mother.

But it was only a brief moment. When she glanced at Flora again, she froze.

Flora was glaring at her fiercely.

She gritted her teeth. Thinking back, Lavi had started treating her coldly early this year. It was around the time he was pleased to recruit some talented young boy.

Until then, he hadn’t been so aloof.

It was that wretched mercenary who had caused Lavi’s attitude to change.

Even on the first floor, hadn’t Lavi shown some odd atmosphere toward that new recruit? Her intuition told her that this mercenary had corrupted Lavi.

“You’re not allowed to enter Lord Lavirus’s room so carelessly. All the mercenaries know that, but apparently, you don’t,” Flora sneered, addressing Sel as “just anyone.”

Sel blinked, hesitating before she spoke.

“My duties are related to accounting. I only came here because the ledgers are all stored here. If I made you uncomfortable, I apologize.”

Sel gave a slight bow and turned to leave.

But then Flora grabbed her shoulder.

“Do you think you can treat me lightly?”

“…Pardon?”

“What kind of excuse is that? Accounting? Ha. Do you think anyone can just do that?”

“I never lied. I truly came to check the ledgers…”

*Slap!*

Before she could finish speaking, Sel’s head snapped to the side.

Startled, Sel blinked rapidly.

“You must be getting cocky because of your pretty face. Get a grip. You’re a man. Stop trying to climb trees you can’t reach.”

“I don’t understand what you mean…”

For a ballerina, she had surprisingly strong arms.

She could taste the metallic tang of blood, feeling as if her lip might’ve split.

It had been ages since Sel had been slapped, but strangely, her chest hurt more than her cheek.

The anger of the person she had once reflected her mother in left a deep wound on Sel’s heart.

What had she expected, foolishly? A fire of rage surged within her, but Sel struggled to calm herself.

Flora took a bold step forward, stopping inches from Sel’s face.

Then, she reached out with both hands, groping Sel’s torso.

It was an incredibly disrespectful move. Snapping back to her senses, Sel grabbed Flora’s wrists firmly, halting her rude actions.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Sel glared at Flora, warning her in a low tone.

“Hah, you’re really funny. I’ve been in ballet long enough to understand anatomy well, you know? You’ve got no chest, but you’ve got the body line of a woman. You’re even shorter than I am.”

“………..”

“So, is this how you seduced Lord Lavirus? With that pitiful body?”

Flora tried to pull her hands free from Sel’s grip, but she couldn’t overpower the strength Sel had gained through mercenary training.

Fueled by anger, Flora grabbed onto Sel’s clothes wherever her hands could reach, yanking with a vengeance.

Rip—her grip was so strong that Sel’s shirt tore up to her side.

The lower part was almost completely ripped off, left dangling.

With wide eyes, Flora stared at the torn clothes.

More accurately, she was staring at the dark tattoo visible through the gap.

“Disgusting. So you have a tattoo? You have such a cheap, disgraceful body!”

Flora laughed coldly, sneering at Sel.

Nobles and wealthy commoners had always viewed unmarked, clean skin as a sign of nobility.

They went to great lengths to keep their skin flawless and to avoid any blemishes.

Tattoos were something associated with slaves or those who sold their bodies.

Such people had markings on their skin, often to show their owner or to indicate crimes they’d committed.

Sel released Flora’s wrist, practically flinging it away.

Her heart raced wildly with rage.

The intensity of her fury made her vision go white.

Sel knew she needed to leave before she lost her composure completely.

She turned around.

“How dare you turn your back on me!”

Flora lunged forward, grabbing a handful of Sel’s hair and yanking it back.

Sel staggered, barely managing to regain her balance as she glared back at Flora.

In Sel’s eyes was a wrath so intense it was nearly murderous.

She despised herself for projecting her mother onto this woman.

“How dare a low-born thing like you glare at me!”

“Take that back. Now.”

“What? Was it your mother who inked that tattoo on you? Disgusting trades do get passed down, don’t they?”

Sel’s pupils trembled violently, unable to respond.

Her childhood memories, once suppressed, burst forth like a jack-in-the-box.

She recalled herself, hiding in a closet with her hands over her ears, unfamiliar men visiting her mother on moonless nights, and her mother’s screams.

Snap. Her grip on sanity snapped.

Engulfed in rage, Sel knocked Flora’s hand from her hair, pulling the pistol from her waist.

Click. The gun’s pin clicked into place.

With her finger on the trigger, Sel aimed at Flora’s chest.

“Take back… what you said about my mother and apologize.”

“From how worked up you are, I guess she did give you that tattoo, huh? And with that pretty face of yours, I bet your mother was just as lovely. Was she popular with her clients?”

Ha! Flora cackled, mad laughter spilling from her lips despite the barrel pointed at her.

“Shoot me, then! Go on, shoot me!” she goaded.

“Did Lord Lavirus teach you to aim at civilians? Do you even know who I am? You’re finished tomorrow—you’re getting kicked out for this! Good riddance, you wretched thing!”

Flora tapped Sel’s forehead with her fingers.

Sel’s hands trembled violently as she lowered the gun and aimed at the floor where Flora stood.

Bang!

Flora jolted back, glancing at the bullet hole in the floor in alarm.

It seemed she hadn’t thought Sel would actually fire.

“Are you insane? What kind of person fires a gun?”

“You told me to.”

“And you think you can just drop your speech? Who do you think—!”

Flora raised her hand again to slap Sel.

But this time, Sel didn’t let it happen.

She grabbed Flora’s wrist and slapped her in return.

*Smack!* Flora’s head snapped to the side with the force.

“You’re right. I lived disgracefully.”

‘Sure, I was a miserable wretch, a pathetic, worthless creature just like you said.’

“You… you dare hit my face?”

Flora’s face flushed with anger.

Sel looked at her with cold, narrowed eyes, clenching her jaw.

“But whether someone has noble blood or not, you don’t disrespect others. It’s the people who treat others like trash who are the most disgraceful of all.”

“…Disgraceful?”

Flora, her own words turned back on her, lost control of her anger.

Yanking her hand free from Sel’s grip, she slapped Sel’s cheek with the back of her hand.

She wore rings, and deliberately hit her with the back of her hand to make the most of them.

*Smack!* The stones on the rings scraped Sel’s cheek, leaving scratches.

Crimson droplets from her pale skin trickled down.

“Dirty, disgraceful… loathsome brat!”

Flora panted, glaring at Sel.

But Sel didn’t make a sound of pain.

Instead, she let out a hollow laugh that seemed to echo through her whole body, giving Flora the impression that Sel was tougher than she was.

Silently, Sel covered her bleeding cheek.

She couldn’t allow her filthy blood to defile Lavirus’s room.

Sel left, neither hastily nor slowly.

Behind her, Flora screamed insults at her, shouting, “Disgraceful wretch!”

Sel, who knew all too well how to ignore such words, shut her ears out of habit.

“Yes, this was always my life. I must’ve been dreaming too sweet a dream all this time.”

Sel’s despair only forced her to close her ears tighter.

Flora’s voice no longer reached her.