‘What did he send me?’

Evelyn tore open the gift Derrion had sent.

Inside the box was a small diary with a Confession Journal written across the cover.

Evelyn burst out laughing at the absurd gift.

“Pfft.”

“Evelyn?”

“Ahaha! What is this?”

Beneath a brief note instructing her to write down her sins whenever she felt the need to repent was a beautiful silver brooch.

Evelyn held it carefully in her hands.

‘Derrion actually went through the trouble of sending me something like this. Was it really a good thing that I met him at the princess’s birthday party?’

It wasn’t flashy, but it had the delicate design of something crafted by a master artisan, a tiny bird ornament worked into the silver.

Evelyn pinned it to her dress.

Then she noticed the gift beside it, the one sent under Hisman’s name.

‘Perhaps Aint sent something on Hisman’s behalf.’

When she tore off the wrapping, she found a small dagger that looked as though it had been meant for self-defense.

‘Is he seriously expecting me to carry this around?’

Evelyn stared awkwardly at the rather murderous-looking gift.

Afraid someone might see it, she hurriedly tried to put the dagger back into its box. But then she remembered what Adonea had done, and her hand stopped.

Instead, Evelyn slipped the dagger beneath her sleeve.

Adonea seemed determined to behave herself today as well, but there was no telling when she might reveal her true colors.

Evelyn headed toward the terrace connected to the banquet hall to catch her breath for a moment.

A warm spring breeze drifted through the bustling maids and servants.

Normally, since it was the youngest daughter’s birthday party, custom would have dictated inviting all the surrounding nobles.

But Evelyn was a troublesome young lady under the temple’s supervision, the kind of girl people were even reluctant to encounter.

Despite that, Evelyn actually liked this ridiculous party where there were more servants than guests.

‘It’s not like I enjoy being surrounded by people anyway. It’s actually nice and quiet.’

Evelyn was just about to stretch with a little grunt when a young servant passing by accidentally bumped shoulders with her.

“Ah! I-I’m sorry!”

A small box fell from the boy’s arms.

Evelyn hurriedly picked it up.

“If this broke, I’ll replace it with the exact same.”

“That belongs to you, Young Lady. Keep it.”

Evelyn froze at the boy’s amused voice.

‘That voice… Could it be…?’

“You’re… Bavil?”

“Shh. You’re too loud.”

Evelyn mouthed the words in surprise.

Somehow, Bavil’s hair and eye color had both changed.

“Your appearance changed. Did you use magic?”

“I told you. Money is practically overflowing in my house. Finding an expensive artifact isn’t difficult.”

Bavil tapped the ring-shaped earring hanging from his ear.

For a moment, Evelyn was impressed to learn that there were all sorts of artifacts besides glasses.

Then she suddenly snapped at him.

“Even so, how can you just sneak into someone else’s mansion?!”

“What choice did I have? I wanted to come.”

“Evelyn, is something wrong?”

Locke called out from a distance.

Evelyn quickly put on a bright expression and shouted back.

“Oh, no! Don’t worry, Brother!”

“Lucky you, having brothers like that. I’d like to get one of those kind smiles, too.”

“Stop saying useless things and go! Before someone catches you!”

Bavil shrugged and casually moved away from Evelyn.

“Well, it’s not like this is my only chance. See you next time.”

Just as mysteriously as he had appeared, Bavil vanished.

Before anyone could notice, Evelyn opened the little box he had left with her.

Inside was, surprisingly, a ring.

“But it looks way too big.”

The moment she slipped it onto her finger, the ring shrank to fit perfectly.

Evelyn simply assumed the ring must have some kind of special magic on it and didn’t think much of it.

“Evelyn, come inside. It’s time to eat.”

Sachi called out to her.

Evelyn hurried toward her.

The gemstone set in the ring shimmered with a clear light, almost as though it were protecting Evelyn.

***

As the meal continued, the sky gradually darkened.

Evelyn spent more time talking with her family than she ever had before.

Even Adonea seemed to be genuinely enjoying herself, which slowly allowed Evelyn’s tense nerves to relax.

‘I’m exhausted from watching everyone’s reactions all day.’

Evelyn discreetly stifled a yawn.

Even though it was already late, gifts were still occasionally arriving from outside.

Apparently, people were continuing to send presents simply because they were wary of Duke Chantalis.

Adonea spoke to Evelyn in a friendly tone.

“Evelyn, are you all right? You look tired.”

“Yes… I’m fine.”

“There are still so many presents left. Would you like to open the rest together tomorrow?”

“Sure. I’d like that.”

Whenever Adonea spoke to Evelyn, Sachi would narrow her eyes suspiciously, though she never actually stopped Adonea.

Evelyn was grateful that at least Sachi was keeping an eye on Adonea for her, but as her eyelids grew heavier, she could barely even muster a grateful glance.

‘Am I going to be the first one to collapse?’

Noticing Evelyn’s condition, Duke Chantalis spoke to Sachi.

[Sachi, take Evelyn to her room first and come back.]

“Yes, Father.”

“No, Brother. I’ll take her instead. I haven’t seen Evelyn’s maid around, so she must still be busy. Someone needs to help Evelyn change.”

Adonea personally moved to support Evelyn.

Sachi did not back down so easily.

“Then the two of us can go together. It’ll be too much for you to support her alone.”

Evelyn raised a hand to stop Sachi.

“No, Brother Sachi. It’s okay. I’m not sick or anything. I can walk by myself.”

Besides, since it was a special occasion, there were more eyes watching the mansion than usual.

If Adonea was foolish enough to do something crazy out in the open where so many people could see her, Evelyn would actually welcome it.

Perhaps because she was so tired, Evelyn kept rubbing her eyes.

When she finally managed to stand, Adonea carefully placed a hand on her shoulder.

As they walked, Evelyn did her best to stay alert.

‘But why am I so tired? Was the last tea I drank just too warm?’

Even so, Evelyn reminded herself to stay cautious.

The sword from Aint tucked beneath her sleeve strangely reassured her.

‘Well, at least I have the sword Aint gave me.’

Of course, she had no intention of simply stabbing Adonea with it.

But if the worst came to pass, it might at least help her escape a dangerous situation.

After receiving farewells from her brothers and Duke Chantalis, Evelyn headed toward her room.

There were still plenty of servants and maids in the corridors.

Seeing so many people around made Evelyn let down her guard a little more.

“Evelyn, you looked so happy today. Were you really happy?”

“Yeah, Sister. Are you jealous?”

Even though Evelyn spoke to her blatantly informally, Adonea didn’t seem bothered in the slightest.

“Of course not. What do I look like to you?”

“I don’t know.”

“I look very happy. Extremely happy.”

Adonea giggled softly.

But as they entered the eastern wing of the mansion, the number of maids and servants gradually dwindled.

The main event had been held in the western wing, so this area appeared to be much more deserted.

Half-asleep, Evelyn glanced cautiously at Adonea.

Adonea looked genuinely excited, as though she were thrilled about something.

‘Surely she isn’t actually planning to do something…’

For an instant, Evelyn felt completely awake.

Something about this felt wrong.

“Sister, I’ll go by myself from here.”

“No. I’m your older sister. I should help you all the way to your room.”

Evelyn tried to pull away from Adonea, but Adonea refused to release her shoulder.

Evelyn looked around.

There were still one or two servants wandering nearby.

As Evelyn glanced around, Adonea suddenly spoke in a cheerful voice.

“Oh, your maid was taken away by the head maid. She’s receiving some special training.”

“What?”

“I happened to see her carrying a rather hefty purse several times, so the head maid asked where the money came from.”

“What?”

“Ever since the head maid found out that your maid was being paid more than she was, it seems she’s been giving that girl quite a hard time. You really didn’t know?”

The color drained from Evelyn’s face.

‘So that’s why Alpi looked so exhausted these past few days?’

Evelyn roughly slapped Adonea’s hand away.

The two stood frozen on the landing, an ominous tension filling the space between them.

“You really haven’t changed. Don’t think I’m going to let you get away with bullying my maid.”

“And what are you going to do if you don’t let it go? Stab me with that knife hidden in your sleeve?”

Evelyn flinched.

Adonea smiled sweetly, as though she had finally seized the upper hand.

“I already know what gifts you received. How? Because I have a god on my side.”

A gleam of delight appeared in Adonea’s eyes.

“And He told me something interesting. Even the High Priest Derrion has fallen under your wicked spell.”

Adonea reached toward the brooch pinned to Evelyn’s chest.

“The only things I can trust now are myself and my god, Chara. Evelyn, you’re destroying everyone in this family.”

Adonea’s beautiful face twisted for an instant.

“Yes. Even Brother Oden.”

Apparently, she hadn’t been pleased with Oden’s gentle attitude toward Evelyn today, the only person who had once openly defended her.

Evelyn anxiously stepped backward.

Just then, she spotted two maids coming up the stairs.

Evelyn raised a hand, intending to call for help.

“Excuse me, I..”

In that instant, Adonea pulled the dagger from Evelyn’s sleeve and slashed the palm of her own hand.

Evelyn’s eyes widened in shock.

“…!!”

“Ah, aah…!”

With a sharp clang, the dagger fell to the floor.

It landed precisely at Evelyn’s feet.

The maids coming up the stairs screamed.

“Eek! Lady Adonea!”

“Lady Adonea, are you all right?!”

The maids hurried to support Adonea.

Adonea looked terrified as she pleaded with Evelyn.

“E-Evelyn. I’m so sorry. I only wanted to wish you a happy birthday…”

“What? No, I…”

Tears spilled from Adonea’s eyes.

Then she covered her mouth with both hands.

To anyone watching, she was the very picture of a frightened, helpless girl.

“Please… don’t punish me. You hate me because I saved the talking parrot…”

Evelyn stared blankly at Adonea before frantically shaking her head.

“What are you talking about? I would never..!”

“Lady Adonea, please wait here! We’ll bring more people!”

One of the maids hurried away from the staircase.

Adonea grabbed the hand of the maid supporting her.

“Go quickly. We don’t know what Evelyn might do next.”

The maid’s trembling eyes fell upon the blood covering Adonea’s hand.

Terrified, the maid muttered an apology before hurrying away.

Once they were alone again, Adonea slowly straightened and smiled.

“Evelyn, if you were still the sensitive, foolish little girl you were before, I wouldn’t have had to go this far.”

“Adonea?”

“So remember this.”

Adonea’s smile widened.

“This is all your fault.”

“……!”

Adonea thr*st her hand straight into Evelyn’s chest.