Ariadne immediately sent letters to those who had gathered earlier.

She did not send one directly to Princess Sylvia, however, instead having it delivered by Heide. With that, she had finished preparing to teach Lorelei — who had tried to make fools of them — a lesson.

“Madam, I’ve checked and come back.”

Just as she had finished instructing the maid to post the letters, Jay returned.

As he stepped inside and the mailmaid left, Ariadne closed the door.

There was no specific reason to be suspicious, but after the incident with the hidden knife in the envelope, she chose to be cautious. After all, the culprit still hadn’t been caught.

“They say the clothes for you and His Grace are being made without any problems. They asked if you could come tomorrow or the day after to try them on.”

“Really? Alright. I’ll let His Grace know.”

“Yes, madam. But… the boutique’s owner asked if you could come as quietly as possible.”

“Come quietly?”

Ariadne had just stood up to tell Kieron the news when she froze and looked at Jay.

If they wanted her to leave without attracting attention, that meant they didn’t want anyone else to know she was there.

But what was so unusual about a noblewoman visiting a boutique?

She gave Jay a puzzled look, and he hesitated for a moment before speaking slowly.

“I’m not sure how to explain this, but… the owner said the decorations meant for the dress keep disappearing, one by one.”

“The decorations… are disappearing?”

What was that supposed to mean? Decorations going missing? Did that mean there was a thief in the boutique?

“But it’s only happening with your dress, madam—not His Grace’s. The owner grumbled that it’s like someone is trying to keep the dress from ever being finished.”

“Is that so…”

Her dress and only her dress.

“What about the other nobles’ outfits? Nothing strange with those?”

“No. The marquis and the Marchioness had their clothes made there as well, so I asked just in case. The owner said all the other clothes are perfectly fine.”

According to Jay, the outfits of the Marquis and Marchioness Peyton had already been finished and delivered to the marquisate.

Due to ongoing issues with Ariadne’s dress, the owner had prioritized completing the Peytons’ outfits and sending them out first.

After that, Ariadne’s dress continued to encounter problems, while the Duke’s attire remained untouched.

The owner therefore pretended that all the clothes had been sent out and worked alone on Ariadne’s dress late into the night.

“They said they’re working from home right now. If you let them know the date and time before your visit, they’ll bring the dress from their house, so they’d appreciate it if you could come quietly.”

Someone was trying to stop the dress from ever being finished.

Ariadne frowned. She couldn’t help but think that this was connected, at least in part, to what had happened before the wedding.

“Jay. Do you remember Bite?”

“Bite? Of course I do.”

“Are you still in touch with her?”

“Of course. She wrote recently to say she’d just given birth.”

“Then why are you asking about Bite?”

Jay asked, looking at me curiously.

Something still felt wrong.

Ariadne couldn’t shake the feeling that this whole matter was somehow connected to what had happened back then.

So she briefly explained yesterday’s events to Jay.

“Do you remember? A few days before my wedding, one of the people who ruined Bite’s wedding dress said he’d been ordered to sabotage mine instead.”

“Uh… did he? I only remember the Marchioness throwing people out that day.”

“He definitely said it. That’s why Mother got even angrier.”

Ariadne continued talking, trying to help Jay recall the details: the atmosphere at the time, Bite’s expression, what happened afterwards and what the culprits were like.

Jay listened, her brows furrowed as she searched her memory. Then, suddenly, she gasped and clapped her hands together.

“Oh! Oh! I remember now! You mean Mr. Hendel, madam?”

“Hendel? That was his name?”

“Yes, yes! Now I remember. He was the only one making a huge fuss about being treated unfairly. The other two kept their mouths shut, but he didn’t, so I cursed him out a lot back then.”

Jay clapped again, saying Hendel had been scolded even after being thrown out.

“That’s right, that’s right. Mr. Hendel. I heard his wife even divorced him after that. Should I look into him?”

“Can you? I can’t help feeling this might be connected to that incident.”

“Of course, madam! I’ll check right away!”

Jay nodded with a strangely excited expression. Ariadne chuckled as she watched her practically bouncing.

“Do you know where he lives?”

“No. But his son works at the local security unit near here! He used to be at the main headquarters but was transferred recently.”

Jay added that Hendel’s son had been bright enough to earn a full academy scholarship. She still kept in touch with his mother—who had always been kind to Ariadne—so she knew bits and pieces about their family.

“If he were a noble, he would’ve climbed much higher. But since he isn’t, I guess the most he can do is become a precinct captain. Still, for people like us, that’s a huge achievement.”

Jay went on about how the wife had been upset about the limits placed on their son’s future—then suddenly froze and clapped a hand over her mouth.

“I can’t believe what I’m saying… please forget it, madam. Please!”

She panicked, horrified at having let such thoughts slip in front of her mistress. But Ariadne, who had heard countless similar realities from her mother, found nothing strange in Jay’s words.
Seeing Jay flail in embarrassment, she laughed softly.

“It’s fine, Jay. Don’t worry. I’ve already forgotten everything.”

It would be a lie to say that ordinary people never felt any sense of injustice about these things.

Someone bright and capable enough to receive a full scholarship to an academy should have had more opportunities.

Had he been a noble, he might already have been working in the palace under her father or serving the imperial family as a secretary or aide.

But he was a commoner, and that ceiling was impossible to break. Becoming a precinct captain was the highest position he could hope for.

Ariadne understood Jay’s feelings completely.

So, instead of lecturing him, she joked that nothing had stuck in her memory at all.

“Really. Go on and check. I’ll speak with His Grace and contact the boutique. Alright?”

“Yes, madam! I’ll be quick!”

Jay looked relieved and hurried across the room, then stopped at the door and turned back.

“Oh, and madam!”

“Mm?”

“Thank you! Really, thank you every single day!”

Jay bowed deeply and hurried out of the room, beaming with joy. All because she had simply said that she ‘didn’t remember’?

She couldn’t believe that it alone could make her so happy.

Ariadne let out a small giggle as she looked at the spot where Jay had been standing. Then she rose from her seat and left the room.

She needed to tell Kieron what she had just heard.

***

Kieron listened to her carefully. But when she mentioned that only her dress kept running into problems, his brows drew together.

“So you think it’s the same person’s doing?”

“Not exactly the same person’s doing, but the same person’s order.”

“The same instigator… that does make sense.”

He nodded. Events repeating in a similar pattern usually meant there was a reason.

“And you think this could be Lorelei’s doing as well?”

“I’m keeping the possibility in mind. But I can’t say anything definite yet.”

“Well, it’s wise to be cautious.”

He said it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. It was never good to accuse someone without proof.

“Then for now, we should wait for Jay to return.”

“Yes. And if possible, I’d like only the two of us, Derrick, Herald, and Jay to know about this. The culprit from last time still hasn’t been caught, so I’m a little….”

“Last time? You mean when you were cut?”

Kieron asked, but something in his expression shifted slightly, enough to make her wonder if perhaps the culprit had been caught.

“In truth… she was caught some time ago. I meant to tell you, but… with everything that’s happened, it slipped my mind.”

“What?”

When Ariadne looked at him with an almost sulky expression, he cleared his throat—
and even glanced away.

Watching him, she barely stopped herself from laughing.

“So she was caught? Then… it’s safe now?”

“Yes. Though it took longer than expected, since she had no idea she’d done anything wrong.”

“She didn’t know… she’d done something wrong?”

He nodded.

As he explained what had happened, Ariadne couldn’t help but think that events might really have unfolded in that way.

Apparently, the culprit had been a friend of the maid, who had been supposed to be off work that day. She had simply been asked to ‘drop something off’ and had not been told what it was.

Since she had simply placed the object where she was told, without knowing its purpose, it never occurred to her that she had become an accomplice.

Desperate for money, she had accepted the task. After a long interrogation, she finally admitted that she had been hired by someone.

However, the person had pulled their hood so low that she genuinely could not identify them.

Listening to the explanation, Ariadne let out a quiet sigh.

“So in the end… we still don’t know who the real culprit is.”

“That’s true. But that doesn’t mean we gained nothing.”

Kieron explained that he had replaced several members of staff from the estate following the incident. Based on the maid’s testimony, he had managed to produce a rough sketch of the perpetrator.

All things considered, he thought this was a good outcome.

“At the very least, we stopped something that could’ve happened three times… after only once.”

“Well, that’s true.”

Ariadne nodded.

It wasn’t wrong.

And with that settled, she opened her mouth again—ready to return to the main subject.