At the time, there were two brides-to-be in the Peyton household.

Ariadné Peyton and Bite, the Marchioness’s maid.

The marchioness had arranged for Bité’s wedding to take place in the manor’s rear garden exactly one week after Ariadné’s.

As she had worked at the estate since childhood, the Marquess and Marchioness wanted her wedding to be just as heartfelt as Ariadné’s. They even had a dress made for her.

“I truly don’t know what to do with myself, my lady.”

Although she served the marchioness, Bité had also been helping prepare Ariadne’s wedding at the marchioness’s request.

Every day, she repeated how she didn’t know how she could ever repay such kindness.

“You deserve it, Bité. You’ve done so much for Mother.”

“I only ever did my job. I’m not sure I deserve all this, my lady.”

If you asked who the hardest worker in the household was, nine times out of ten people would say Bite. She had a warm and sunny disposition and a talent for making everyone she met laugh.

Whenever the Marquis was away or working late, she would sit with the lonely Marchioness and read to her all night.

Her family had served the Peytons for three generations. Her loyalty and sincerity were unmatched. Knowing this better than anyone, the Marchioness naturally wished to give her as much as she could.

“Mother has been grateful to you all these years. Think of this as repaying that kindness.”

“I’m the one who received kindness, my lady. Thanks to you, even someone like me gained a sense of taste. It all feels like a dream.”

A garden wedding adorned with beautiful flowers and ribbons, rather than being confined indoors, was everything Bite had wished for.

She told her fiancé every day how grateful she was to the Marchioness for her kindness and how elegant and beautiful Ariadne was.

Of course, there were those who disliked her for that very reason. She boasted whenever she received gifts from the Marchioness or Ariadne and constantly sang the praises of her mistress’s benevolence.

For that petty reason alone, some hated her. They tormented her relentlessly, mocking, striking and bullying her at every opportunity.

“There are always people like that anywhere..”

Kieron murmured quietly.

Ariadne paused briefly to catch her breath before continuing.

“So at first, I tried keeping Bite close to protect her… but that seemed to make things worse. Then, when I tried putting some distance, they targeted her again, saying she’d fallen out of favor.”

Despite fair rewards and treatment equal to or better than any household they hated Bite simply because she was in the marchioness’s good graces.

“Bite’s wedding dress was ruined around that time.”

Her dress had been destroyed three days before Ariadne’s own wedding. With only one week and three days left until Bite’s ceremony, it was far too little time to make a new one.

Bité was devastated, and the marchioness was furious.

“How could something like this happen in my household? How ungrateful!”

To the marchioness—always fair and generous, granting each person the greatest reward their work deserved—this was nothing short of betrayal.

Openly retaliating against someone who had received the greatest favor from the household was unthinkable. And yet, from that moment on, a full investigation began.

The Marchioness, the Head Butler and the Head Maid collaborated and, within half a day, identified the culprits.

“But they insisted until the very end that Mother favored Bité too much. That it was unfair.”

There were three of them: They were the same three who had tormented Bité the most.

What made it worse was that each of them had benefited from the Marchioness’ generosity. Two had sick children whose treatment was fully funded by the Marchioness herself.

The third had a son who attended the academy on a special scholarship, an opportunity granted entirely through the Marchioness’s personal recommendation.

Yet these very same people, consumed by jealousy over Bité’s lavish wedding, had dared to commit such a deed.

Naturally, the Marchioness was furious.

They were expelled without a single letter of recommendation.

All financial support was cut off that same day, including medical expenses and scholarship funding.

Only then did they collapse into tears and beg for forgiveness, but it was far too late.

Later, one of them claimed that she had been manipulated into ruining the young lady’s dress. But to everyone, it sounded like nothing more than the desperate excuse of a woman in a tight spot.

“But thinking back, it was strange. Anyone could’ve predicted they’d be the first suspects, yet they acted so blatantly.”

Ariadne had wanted to investigate that claim more thoroughly, but she had held back. What help could she offer by getting involved? She focused instead on comforting Bite.

“So someone initially instructed them to ruin your dress?”

“At first, I thought, ‘Who would hold a grudge against someone like me?’ But hearing about Her Highness’s dress today… I’m starting to think maybe it wasn’t entirely impossible.”

Ultimately, Bite wore one of Ariadne’s old dresses, which had been altered and refitted to resemble a wedding gown.

Tilting her head, Ariadne murmured gently.

“I suppose it’s not impossible. But Her Highness has many more options than Bite did, so she’ll be fine this time too, won’t she?”

Hearing this, Kieron sank into deep thought. She was right, the most likely culprit was someone holding a grudge against the princess.

From what he knew, the boutique had refused all outside commissions for months, dedicating their entire staff to crafting the princess’s dresses and accessories.

Even if the intruder had planned to steal something, the only items worth taking would have been those intended for the royal wedding.

And if the intention had been sabotage, then the target could only have been the ceremony itself.

Otherwise, why break into a boutique that wasn’t taking any orders?

Whatever their motive — greed or malice — the culprit would face harsh punishment the moment they were caught.

“Did they say the culprit was caught?”

“I only heard that they were searching. I’m not sure if they’ve been caught yet.”

They were still searching.

As soon as they arrived, he intended to inquire about the culprit before anything else.

He nodded to himself.

“We’ll know more once we get there.”

“I think so too.”

“I just hope Her Highness is all right…”

Ariadne murmured, worry filling her face.

Kieron resisted the urge to scoff.

‘That woman? Suffer a setback?’

Hardly.

Still, the truth would become clearer once they arrived and assessed the situation.

***

By the time the two of them arrived at the boutique, the entire building was lit up, with a crowd gathered outside and peering anxiously through the windows.

Most of them had probably been drawn by the sudden commotion in the middle of the night, but this kind of attention would not help Her Highness at all.

Kieron instructed the coachman to circle around to the back, and they stepped down from the carriage at the dimly lit rear entrance instead of the front door.

“With so many people out there, rumors will spread in no time, won’t they?”

She must have had the same thought.

Ariadne sighed as she stepped down. Worry clouded her face as she wondered what they could possibly do.

For some reason, she was convinced that the princess would be devastated and paralyzed by the blow. But the princess Kieron knew would have devised countermeasures by now.

“News will spread through the social circles quickly. The boutique’s reputation will plummet.”

Any boutique that damaged the princess’s dress would not survive for long. Inside, staff members were scattered around the store, many of them quietly weeping. They were probably envisaging the same outcome.

Kieron guided Ariadne through the hall, glancing around sharply as he did so.

“May I ask… are you the Duke and Duchess Ambrose?”

One of the staff approached and bowed politely.

Kieron simply nodded, and the man bent deeper.

“I am Henry, the manager of Ezell Boutique. Her Highness and the owner are upstairs.”

“Lead the way.”

Following Henry’s instructions, the two of them went upstairs, where the princess and the boutique owner were waiting.

The floor still bore the raw aftermath of chaos. Rooms clearly intended for receiving clients had their doors slashed, as if cut open with a blade. Drag marks streaked across the floor. Droplets of blood were scattered around.

“Was… the intruder injured?”

Noticing the stains, Ariadne’s face turned pale.

With a hint of fear in her voice, she asked Henry, who forced an awkward smile and nodded.

“Fortunately, several staff members were on night duty. One of them knew how to wield a blade and managed to inflict a deep wound.”

He added that the culprit would likely be caught soon, given the severity of the injury. Then, pausing before a door, Henry stopped.

“Here we are, Your Excellency, my lady.”

“Thank you.”

Henry knocked softly.

“Your Grace, my lady—the Duke and Duchess Ambrose have arrived.”