When they returned to the street where Ariadne and Jay had been shopping earlier, Ariadne found that her spirits had lifted for no apparent reason.

“This place really has a lovely atmosphere.”

It made sense, every corner of the street was pulsating with energy.

From wealthy commoners to impoverished nobles, anyone could stroll here without worrying about their social standing.

Perhaps that was why the district had a relaxed, unpretentious atmosphere that she had never experienced in the crowded streets of the capital.

Jay seemed to like it for that very reason: it was a place where she could walk around freely and never feel out of place.

“You’re right. Everyone looks so cheerful.”

“They all look comfortable, don’t you think?”

Jay nodded in response to Ariadne’s question. She had noticed the same thing yesterday: a relaxed brightness and ease on people’s faces that made the place pleasant.

As they stepped out in front of the same restaurant as the previous day, Ariadne and Jay persuaded the coachman, Martin, to join them.

“My lady… I think I’ll sit this one out. This place is a bit…”

Martin hesitated, fidgeting nervously. He looked painfully awkward, as though he couldn’t imagine setting foot in a place like this. But Ariadne gently soothed him.

“Jay is coming with me too. I just don’t want to eat alone, Martin.”

“But still…”

“It’s fine, Martin. There are plenty of commoners here.”

Ariadne and Jay eventually persuaded Martin to come inside, and he ended up being half-dragged in.

“Welcome!”

The moment they entered, the staff greeted them warmly.

Martin flinched as though he had been struck, while Jay’s eyes widened in surprise.

Only Ariadne laughed quietly as she asked for a table.

“A table for three, please. Do you have a spot by the window?”

“Of course! Right this way!”

A smiling server, whose smile was almost dazzling, guided them to a window seat.

The restaurant was on the second floor and its large windows offered a full view of the street below — exactly the kind of spot Ariadne loved.

“Thank you.”

“Not at all! Here are the menus. Once you decide, you can ring this bell for service!”

His voice was as energetic as his smile; after explaining everything kindly, he hurried off to another table.

“There are more dishes here than I thought.”

“Right? I didn’t realize there were this many yesterday.”

Having been here once already, Ariadne and Jay opened their menus without hesitation.

“So… uh… do I just pick anything?”

Martin, still stiff as a board in unfamiliar surroundings, stared down at the menu with visible discomfort.

Ariadne looked up at him and smiled warmly.

“Order anything you like, Martin. You can choose several. See the pictures? Just pick whatever looks good to you.”

“Yes, my lady.”

At her words, Martin buried his face back into the menu, while Jay flipped through her own pages in awe.

“This is incredible. How did they draw pictures for every single dish?”

“Right? It’s such a good idea. First-timers can pick easily this way.”

Even Jay, who had never been to a place like this before, and Ariadne, who hadn’t eaten out in a while, found the menu inviting and easy to understand.

Each dish was accompanied by a simple description and clear illustration, as well as its name and price, all laid out neatly.

They spent quite a long time lingering over the menu before finally choosing two or three dishes each to order.

“Will we really be able to finish all this?”

Jay asked nervously. She had ordered what she wanted without hesitation, but now that she saw the number of dishes, she worried they might have overdone it.

Ariadne simply smiled.

“It’ll be fine. Places like this don’t serve huge portions. And besides—Martin is here, isn’t he? Men always eat more.”

She waved her hand lightly and said that, even when she came with her brothers, they each ordered two or three dishes with no trouble.

Martin nodded with confidence, too.

“Of course. I’m probably the one who eats the most in the whole estate.”

“Oh, that’s right. Everyone says so. They all told me Martin is a real big eater.”

“Then there’s nothing to worry about! Let’s just enjoy the food.”

The three of them were feeling more relaxed than when they arrived and were chatting pleasantly while they waited for their meal.

Their dishes arrived faster than expected, and they began eating with delight.

Jay gasped the moment she tasted her first bite.

“My lady, this is amazing!”

“I know, right? I swear it tastes better than last time.”

Ariadne and Jay, who had already tried the place once, couldn’t stop praising the flavors.

“Wow… my lady, thank you. I’ve never eaten anything this delicious in my life.”

Martin appeared to be in a dreamlike state as he savored the food, before suddenly starting to eat with great speed. They were sharing such a light, joyful moment when it happened.

As Ariadne ate and listened to them chatting about trivial things, her gaze drifted towards the window.

She tilted her head slightly.

Why is that person here?

She blinked, wondering if her eyes were deceiving her. But in the brief moment she took to rub her eyes, the figures outside had already disappeared into the crowd.

“…What was that?”

“What’s wrong, my lady?”

Jay asked when she heard Ariadne murmur.

Ariadne smiled faintly and shook her head.

“It’s nothing. I must have imagined it.”

Right. A man as busy as he was would never be here.

She thought so and reached for her utensils again when—

“Rene?”

A familiar voice—one she would never have imagined hearing in a place like this—called out to her.

“Honestly, what are the odds we’d run into you here?”

“Ha… I know.”

Ariadne forced an awkward smile as she faced the woman seated across from her.

“Jay can join us too, you know.”

“Haha, brother. Jay would feel uncomfortable. And it’s not just Jay who’s with me.”

She offered an equally awkward smile to her other brother, Heidel, who was sitting beside the woman. His expression remained as stoic as ever.

“Well, Del, it could be awkward, I suppose.”

The woman seated next to him — his fiancée — patted his shoulder lightly and smiled gently at him.

She was Princess Sylvia Delphina El Aristar, the Empire’s second Imperial Princess.

With her jet-black hair and clear amethyst eyes, she embodied the Aristar bloodline perfectly. Although she was second in line to the throne, she was also one of the quietest members of the imperial family.

Ariadne had never imagined that she would meet her here of all places.

“Either way, this is good. Sylvia wanted to meet you for a while now.”

“Me?”

“Yes, I was curious to find out what kind of person the youngest and most famous Peyton sibling might be, the one your brothers practically revere.”

Sylvia had a warm voice and an even warmer smile. Everything about her, from her tone to her expression, radiated gentleness. And yet, after dealing with Princess Lorelei, Ariadne couldn’t shake off a faint prickle of discomfort.

This was particularly true of the word ‘revere’, a word so rarely used, and almost never casually.

Heidel immediately noticed the change in her expression and raised his eyebrows.

“Sylvia just wanted to get to know you.”

He said quickly, hoping to ease the tension before his sister became any more uneasy. He had completely forgotten the tension Ariadne had once experienced with Lorelei.

Considering how little she knew about politics, it was only natural that she would feel wary around another imperial princess.

While he silently scolded himself, Ariadne offered a faint, reassuring smile and shook her head.

“It’s all right, brother. I know what she meant.”

However, her thoughts did not match the polite tone she had forced herself to adopt.

The moment she heard the word ‘revere’, Lorelei’s face flashed through her mind: Lorelei, who hid sharpness behind gentle smiles and dished out cruelty in the guise of sweetness.

But Sylvia was different. Her eyes held real warmth. Her expression was filled with unmistakable goodwill.

Ariadne, who had spent years reading people’s moods just to survive, could easily tell the difference between sincerity and malice.

No, it wasn’t Sylvia herself that unsettled her.

It was that single word.

Revered.

What on earth had her brothers been telling people?

How much had they exaggerated for someone who had only ever seen Ariadne from a distance to form such a mistaken impression?

She suppressed the urge to sigh and forced a smile.

“My brothers must have exaggerated. You’ll see for yourself that I’m not impressive at all.”

It was the same feeling she had experienced every day at the Marquisate.

Although her family loved her deeply, their affection could not erase the emptiness within her.

Whenever they praised her in public and boasted about how remarkable she was, she recoiled instead of flourishing.

After hearing so much about her from her brothers, people always approached her with high expectations, which were inevitably dashed when they finally met her.

“The young lady is very different from your brothers.”
“Your brothers must adore you a great deal.”
“Growing up so sheltered, you probably don’t know how the world really works.”

She had been subjected to comments like that her whole life; it was endless and predictable. She had endured this kind of treatment for as long as she could remember. This is why she hated it so much when her brothers spoke about her to people outside the family.

However, knowing how much they cared for her, she could never bring herself to snap at them. So she simply endured. Every single time.

This moment was no different.

Ariadne forced a faint, uneasy smile and belittled herself once more, insisting that she was nothing special.

“I think you’re the impressive one, my lady. I’ve heard a great deal about you.”

When she got married, she had hoped—perhaps foolishly—that being with someone like her, a woman who always tried her best, unlike her brilliant brothers, might make things a little better.

But her husband never tried to understand her.

He refused to give her any responsibilities.

Not wishing to dwell on those sad memories, Ariadne quietly changed the subject.

Addressing Sylvia as ‘my lady’ — since it was clear that she was hiding her identity — Ariadne asked her a gentle question instead.

Sylvia tilted her head with a soft smile.

“Oh, I’m nothing special. Everyone already knows my story. I’m just a princess in name, someone who exists simply to pass the time.”

She recited the cruel rumors about herself as if they meant nothing.

Despite none of them being true.

Ariadne couldn’t hide her astonishment.

How could anyone speak of such things so casually?

Even if you have heard such words countless times over many years, how can you not be wounded by them?

Noticing her expression, Sylvia laughed brightly.

“You look too shocked, Lady Ambrose. People gossip however they like, there’s no point taking it to heart.”

She said it lightly, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Her smile was calm and carefree — almost dazzling in its ease.