After hearing the news of the broken engagement, all bridal lessons were suspended. With nothing to do suddenly, Violet locked herself in her room and sobbed uncontrollably.

She felt so wronged and angry that she could barely stand it. She tried to wash away these bitter feelings with tears, but failed.

“My lady, please don’t be so sad. It seems the Duke and you weren’t meant to be together.”

For several days, everyone in the mansion had left Violet alone to process her emotions, but when this period stretched too long, Margaret entered her room to comfort her.

“You don’t need to say that. I know. I’m not attractive enough.”

“That’s not true. Your heat cycle is just coming late. Your body is gradually changing, so you’ll experience your first heat soon.”

“My body has been changing for three years now, but it still hasn’t come.”

After crying alone for so long, Violet’s resentment toward the Snake Duke had given way to self-loathing.

Her self-esteem had hit rock bottom, and despite crying for days, she couldn’t shake off her melancholy feelings and lingering attachment to what was lost.

“My lady, how long will you stay confined to your room? Please cheer up now. You should let go of the past and move forward. Won’t you attend today’s social gathering?”

“Today is the day of the gathering?”

“Yes.”

When Violet asked between sniffles, Margaret answered with a look that clearly said she must attend.

The gathering where all species participated was held four times a year, and since it was a major event hosted by the king, attendance was obligatory unless there were special circumstances.

“I don’t want to go.”

She had no desire whatsoever to go to the gathering for fear of running into the Snake Duke or Leon. Of course, the Duke would likely not attend, but Leon would certainly be there.

When Margaret approached to help her get ready, Violet curled up under the covers, pulling them over her head.

“My lady, I understand how much you’re suffering. I wish you didn’t have to go either, but the Countess insists you must attend this time.”

Margaret approached the bed and gently patted the bulging back under the covers.

“Tell her I can’t go.”

Violet peeked her face out from under the blanket.

“Oh my goodness! You certainly can’t attend the gathering looking like this!”

Margaret’s eyes widened when she saw Violet’s face, swollen from excessive crying.

“Right? How can I go looking like this? Tell mother exactly what you see. Tell her I can’t attend with such an unsightly face.”

Tears that had momentarily stopped threatened to flow again, and Violet sniffled with a tearful expression.

“We can reduce the swelling. Why don’t you attend the gathering today?”

At that moment, a familiar voice interjected between the two.

“Even without the swelling, it won’t make a difference.”

Violet shook her head at the Countess who had entered the room.

“No. Today you absolutely should attend.”

The Countess sat on the bed and gently stroked Violet’s face.

“Since people don’t know about the broken engagement yet, it would be better to attend today’s gathering and skip the ones after the engagement is officially broken. What do you think?”

The Countess had a point. If Violet attended after the engagement was officially broken, she would face all kinds of mockery and ridicule.

There had been quite a few ladies who made snide remarks out of jealousy and envy while she was engaged to the Duke.

‘Why would he maintain an engagement with a woman whose heat cycle hasn’t even started? I guarantee the marriage will never happen.’

At first, they had hurled insults because they couldn’t accept that the Snake Duke had chosen Violet. As the period without her heat cycle grew longer, many became convinced she would never marry him.

Just imagining how much they would laugh when news of the broken engagement spread was horrifying. She also didn’t want to see their smug “I told you so” expressions.

“You’re right, Mother. You’re absolutely right.”

The more she thought about it, the more Countess Mori’s words made sense. Violet decided it would be better to attend today’s gathering and avoid future ones, so she got up from her bed.

“It will take time to reduce the swelling, so I should hurry.”

“Yes, my lady.”

Seeing Violet trying to gather her strength after so long, both the Countess and Margaret’s lips curved into faint smiles.

After barely reducing her puffy eyes with ice compresses, Violet deliberately chose a dark navy silk dress and headed to the gathering with the Count and Countess.

The moment she entered the hall, intending only to avoid the faces she didn’t want to see, she realized the gazes directed at her were far from kind.

Their watchful eyes and whispers contained obvious mockery. They looked like they already knew about the broken engagement.

Strange. How could they know?

Despite the odd feeling, Violet ignored their stares, maintained a smile, and greeted acquaintances alongside the Count and Countess.

No matter how hard she tried not to pay attention to her surroundings, the disapproving glances toward Violet persisted. As they were finishing their greetings, the hedgehog lady who had always looked down on her approached.

“I heard rumors that your engagement is being broken off. Is it true?”

Violet’s forced smile instantly froze. She needed to appear calm, but she was so shocked that she couldn’t control her expression.

The engagement hadn’t been completely broken yet; they had only received the notification letter. How could rumors have spread already? Surely the Snake Duke hadn’t been talking about it?

Though she didn’t understand the situation, Violet regretted attending the gathering. If only she had stuck to her refusal… It was too late for regrets now.

She agonized over how to respond but ultimately couldn’t give any answer. She didn’t want to lie, but she didn’t want to admit it either.

“Oh my, it must be true then. The rumor that Duke Queensberry will be engaged to the fox Count’s daughter.”

When no answer came, the hedgehog lady’s expression showed she had found something to mock.

Engaged to the fox lady? Did he break off their engagement to become engaged to someone else?

Shocked by this unexpected news, Violet again couldn’t respond.

Someone must have been eavesdropping on their conversation because suddenly all the surrounding ladies, including the two of them, turned their attention to one spot where the fox lady could be seen.

Anyone could tell at a glance that the fox lady, with her youthful figure, had not yet experienced her heat cycle either, and in that moment, Violet felt a strange, indescribable emotion.

Could it be… Judging by his choice of women whose heat cycles hadn’t started, was the Snake Duke some kind of pervert? No, that couldn’t be right.

Though she felt uneasy, Violet immediately rejected her own thoughts.

Except for the occasional request to fulfill her role as a fiancée, she had been largely neglected, so Violet could confidently say he didn’t like her.

Yet why would he only choose women who hadn’t experienced their heat cycles? No, it must be a coincidence.

Violet wasn’t the only one who found it strange. Some of the gazes directed at the fox lady were filled with questions, but the fox lady didn’t seem to care. Instead, she proudly boasted about her time with the Snake Duke.

“Duke Queensberry has already been inviting me to his castle.”

“Is that true?”

The engagement hadn’t even been officially broken yet, but he was inviting another woman to his castle… That was disrespectful to Violet.

“Yes, it’s true. You have no idea how well he treats me! He prepares everything I like in advance before inviting me. As you know, the fox clan and snake clan villages are close to each other.”

When her eyes met Violet’s at that moment, the fox lady flashed a winner’s smile.

“Oh my, I heard that Lady Mori never even set foot in his castle. Isn’t that right?”

“What’s the difference?”

“You still smell like milk. How could you appeal to the Duke? You probably just seemed like a child to him.”

“And what about you, Lady Fox?”

“This must be true love.”

The conversation’s sparks flew toward Violet. The constant mischievous comparisons with the fox lady were clearly meant to humiliate her.

It would have been fortunate if it had ended there, but as Violet remained silent, the insulting remarks directed at her grew increasingly severe.

“I heard something. The Duke never intended to marry Lady Mori from the beginning.”

“Then why did he get engaged to her?”

“You know how the snake clan puts unusual pressure on their heirs for succession. He probably used her temporarily as a shield. It’s strange that he would choose Lady Fox as his next fiancée candidate, isn’t it?”

“Surely not. He must have found true love at last and decided to discard his previous fiancée. Perhaps he’s the type who enjoys taking a pure woman as his wife and gradually training her to become an adult.”

Whether he had rejected her because her heat cycle hadn’t come, or because he had no intention of marrying her and was just using her, whatever the truth was, all these words were cruel and hurtful to Violet.

If he was looking for true love, he shouldn’t have gotten engaged to her in the first place!

If he had announced his engagement to an ordinary lady, she wouldn’t have felt this devastated. But the fact that he chose another woman without a heat cycle among so many ladies made her feel twice as miserable.

Was there any need to say such embarrassing things so openly? What benefit did they gain from it?

Violet carefully observed the ladies who were spouting these insulting words.

Looking closely, they were ladies who had shown interest in the Snake Duke. They had been jealous of her engagement to a man they couldn’t have, and now they felt triumphant because she had been rejected.