After the debutante ball, people began openly ostracizing members of the Masipacius family.

According to Heris, no student at the academy would speak to Leila.

I also heard that Pelena and other children had been demoted to the lowest class.

They complained about the injustice, but since there was no clear evidence that Leila had asked them to behave that way, she was excluded from disciplinary action.

But for Leila, the current situation must be hell.

Facing the misery of standing alone in a space where you have no allies for the first time is a very difficult experience.

According to young duke Posilia, Bershua was also no longer hanging out with the three idiots he usually spent time with.

It seemed that no matter how stupid he was, he still had the ability to distinguish between people he should keep around and those he shouldn’t.

Am I being ostracized along with the Masipacius family?

No, my situation was different.

I was the victim who had been bullied by my family, and a femme fatale who had won the hearts of both the crown prince and the young duke.

Every weekend, an enormous number of party and ball invitations flew in for me.

I attended many parties and balls, subtly spreading rumors about Mafi’s recorder, and thus the recorder became an extremely popular item in the underground world, selling out completely.

“But Rowenloa, about the people involved in your kidnapping, are you really okay not looking into it? What if they do something like that again?”

Despite this situation, the Posilia siblings and Brother Rubert worried about me.

I was dying trying to reject their concerns about assigning knights to guard me 24 hours a day, or having tutors come to the house for lessons instead of attending the academy.

Not only did I have suspicions about who was behind it, but I had also left evidence of what they were trying to obtain by kidnapping me, so there was no reason for me to be in a hurry.

There was only one thing on my mind now.

The crown prince.

The fact that the crown prince was the same person as the mysterious man in the cloak, Kresen, left me very confused.

The fact that it was a secret I couldn’t reveal to anyone, despite my confusion, was driving me crazy.

“Haaah……”

People thought my constant deep sighs meant I hadn’t recovered from the shock of the kidnapping, but my mind was completely filled with Detrian Crescent.

…I think I might have said some bad things about the imperial family to him.

No, did I badmouth the crown prince…?

Did I perhaps badmouth the emperor?

Wow, then I might have badmouthed him to his face, and his father too?

I was so worried that I might have unknowingly said terrible things to Kresen… no, Crown Prince Detrian, that I couldn’t sleep.

Considering the crown prince’s frightening actions in my previous life, I couldn’t help but worry.

One day, as I spent each day consumed with worry, an invitation arrived from the imperial palace.

My father was pleased, saying it was good news that an invitation had come from the palace to the currently ostracized Masipacius family, but I could only sigh when I saw the invitation.

“Rowenloa, you need to go to the imperial palace and convey my words well to His Highness the Crown Prince……”

My father has been living in a half-dazed state recently.

This was because most of the important businesses that had partnered with us were beginning to withdraw one by one to distance themselves from the family, and he was busy trying to manage the situation.

The only lifeline remaining was the dam project with official imperial permission that was in Brother Rubert’s name.

Thanks to this, Brother Rubert was living a hectic life, being summoned here and there by my father.

I ignored my father, who was chattering earnestly beside me, and prepared to enter the imperial palace.

I wanted to meet the crown prince as soon as possible to get rid of this uneasy feeling.

* * *

The irregular bumping of the carriage heading to the imperial palace seemed to reflect my state of mind.

Finally, after entering the palace, I was able to face the crown prince again in the same room where we first met.

As I approached him and bowed, the crown prince became flustered, jumped up from his seat, and fumbled about.

Silence flowed between us as we sat facing each other.

After a long silence, I was the first to speak.

“Thank you for agreeing to see me despite my sudden visit.”

“No, that… of course……”

The crown prince thought for a long time after hearing my words, then let out a deep sigh and looked at me with a rather calm expression.

“I’m sorry, I think I need to explain the situation first.”

The crown prince began to tell me various things about why he had been walking around the Gellions Empire at night wearing a cloak, and why he had been dressed as a commoner last time.

To summarize his story, he had been hiding his identity and moving around to gather information needed by the imperial palace.

The moment I heard this, I couldn’t contain my displeasure.

“So, you’re saying I was used for Your Highness’s information gathering.”

Hearing those words, the crown prince pressed his lips together as if he had nothing to say.

“I understand it’s a custom practiced in the imperial palace. Let’s agree that I will never disclose this story.”

I stood up without hesitation.

As I greeted the crown prince and was about to walk out the door, he grabbed my wrist.

“Are you angry?”

I let out a hollow laugh at his words.

“I apologize for saying this, but… I cannot deny that while I understand, it feels unpleasant. If you wanted to obtain information through me, there was no need to build a friendship with me.”

At those words, the crown prince made an expression as if he might cry.

“I… enjoyed talking with you, Miss Rowenloa……”

Hearing that, I squeezed my eyes shut.

Yes, he did look like he enjoyed conversing with me.

Honestly, I enjoyed talking with him too.

That’s probably why I feel this sense of betrayal.

“I’ll take my leave now.”

I hurriedly left the imperial palace, putting my complicated feelings aside.

But even after leaving the palace, my complex emotions refused to sort themselves out.

So I decided to visit the famous bakery in the shopping district, Caramel Factory.

I thought eating something sweet might help organize these complicated thoughts.

* * *

“…Lady Masipacius?”

And there I was able to reunite with a welcome figure.

“Countess Meilon?”

Ah, was this shop Countess Meilon’s business?

It was Countess Meilon who had taught me about imperial etiquette in the past.

“My, how unexpected to meet you here, my lady.”

The countess sat down in front of me, seemingly pleased to see me, and asked a passing employee for two cups of warm tea.

“Your face is full of worries, unlike before. Is something wrong?”

After hesitating for a long time at the countess’s question, I struggled to open my mouth.

Since I couldn’t say that the crown prince was making me feel unsettled, I explained it as feeling disappointed that someone I knew had hidden their identity. Even though I had to twist the story, it felt much better to share it with someone.

“Hmm… that’s a difficult problem. You understand the person’s position intellectually but not emotionally.”

I nodded with a sigh at Countess Meilon’s words.

“I’m supposed to have a simple tea time here with some noble ladies today. The time is approaching—would you like to join us for a chat?”

Hearing this, I was intrigued but couldn’t easily answer.

Countess Meilon was famous for associating with prestigious nobles.

This Caramel Factory not only served as a bakery but also functioned as a connection point between nobles.

And the countess obtained information from nobles in exchange for this role.

It wasn’t for nothing that her nickname was the information merchant.

“Ah… but for me to be in such a gathering……”

“It’s fine. Recently, interest in you has increased among the noble ladies… If I introduce you, they’ll probably welcome you warmly.”

After hearing that, I looked at the countess and finally nodded.

Not long after, noble ladies entered the Caramel Factory.

“Oh, everyone has arrived.”

Countess Meilon stood up to greet them, and I also stood behind her and bowed to the noble ladies.

“My, you are……”

The noble ladies seemed to recognize me.

Countess Meilon introduced me to them.

“This is Miss Rowenloa of the Masipacius family. As you all know.”

The ladies’ eyes sparkled at those words.

“I’d like to invite Miss Rowenloa to join us today, if that’s alright with everyone?”

“Oh, of course. We have so many things we’d like to ask Miss Rowenloa.”

As I was standing there talking with the ladies, the door chimed, and another lady entered the Caramel Factory.

“My, Miss Rowenloa, what brings you here?”

I turned toward the familiar voice that seemed to recognize me and looked at her in surprise.

“Oh, Teacher Camilla?”

Wait, Teacher Camilla was also a member of this Caramel Factory gathering?

Countess Meilon… her connections seem more impressive than I thought.

After confirming that Teacher Camilla had also entered, the countess nodded to an employee, who then drew the curtains on the shop windows and locked the door leading into the bakery.

Suddenly, only the noble ladies and I remained inside the Caramel Factory.

“Well then, shall we begin today as well?”

At Countess Meilon’s words, the other noble ladies began to take something out of their bags with solemn expressions.

…Why are they so serious?

What is this…?