Eileen looked at Cordelia, who had become her weapon, and smiled with crescent-shaped eyes.

“Lady Cordelia, today’s mango……”

“Then I’ll have what Lady Cordelia recommended. What about you, Lady Cordelia?”

Eileen quickly cut off Aaron’s words and put on a brazen expression. She heard someone clicking their tongue somewhere but paid no attention.

“I’ll have the mille-feuille.”

“Then Lady Cordelia, shall we share with each other?”

“Let’s do that! I’m so happy to have such a close friend, Eileen!”

“I’m so happy too, Lady Cordelia!”

Eileen slightly rolled her eyes to meet the purple gaze that was so cold it was intimidating.

Of course, Eileen was the winner.

“……”

You enjoyed ruining my memories, didn’t you?

The message clearly engraved in those green eyes displayed hatred.

“Then could we have the strawberry cake and mille-feuille?”

“……Certainly.”

Aaron’s fists clenched at the obvious hostility directed at him. But there was nothing he could do.

Eileen was the winner of this game, and he was the loser.

Aaron bowed his head deeply and slowly backed away. After some time passed, an employee came with a trolley.

“Your cakes are ready.”

The strawberries blooming like red flowers on top of snow-white cream, the thick cream spread between layers of piled pastry, and powdered sugar generously sprinkled on top.

These excessively elaborate desserts evoked a strange displeasure in Eileen.

‘Don’t tell me he makes them this fancy because they’re for Cordelia?’

Encountering Aaron’s one-sided love, which she had only read about in novels, in real life was so painfully earnest that it annoyed her.

Of course, she would personally turn his already difficult unrequited love into a thorny path.

Eileen snickered before picking up her fork.

“Lady Cordelia, say ‘ah’!”

Eileen deliberately stabbed a piece covered with cream with her fork and held it out to Cordelia.

“Close friends feed each other like this!”

“Friends feed each other……?”

“Do you hate it?”

Eileen softened her long eyes pitifully, hoping Cordelia would eat it.

“No. I’m just so moved……!”

Contrary to Eileen’s simple hope that she would just accept the food, tears dropped from Cordelia’s eyes.

‘Why is she crying?’

Eileen racked her brain but couldn’t find the answer.

Could it be genetic? Count Roman did have an emotional personality.

Meanwhile, Cordelia ate the cake Eileen offered, wiped her tears, and gave a bright smile.

“Eileen! I’ll feed you too!”

“What?”

“Say ‘ah’!”

Before Eileen could gather her thoughts, Cordelia cut her mille-feuille and put it in Eileen’s mouth. Her boundless kindness surprised Eileen, making her eyes widen.

Well, whatever. According to plan, Aaron is glaring at me, so that’s fine.

When she glanced around, she saw Aaron in the distance, trembling as he clenched his fists.

“Oh my, Lady Cordelia.”

Feeling the triumphantly sweet taste filling her mouth, Eileen reached out to Cordelia.

“You have cream on your lips!”

Eileen’s thumb slowly wiped Cordelia’s lips. Because Eileen deliberately turned her body slightly so Aaron could see clearly, the entire scene was captured in his view.

“Tsk, how childish.”

Despite thinking it childish, Aaron’s eyes wavered with anger. He gritted his teeth, struggling to suppress the urge to overturn everything.

“Hmm?”

Eileen slowly turned her head, feeling the hot gaze constantly fixed on her back.

“Lady Cordelia, excuse me for a moment.”

A face flushed red and fists turned white.

From any angle, it was the appearance of someone furious to the core.

Indeed, using Cordelia was more effective than any conventional methods. How satisfying and gratifying this is.

Eileen rose from her seat with a smile.

‘Then shall I begin my revenge in earnest?’

Eileen approached Aaron one step, two steps, with clicking footsteps.

“Duke Aaron, why are you staring at me so intently? You’ll bore holes in my back.”

Stopping in front of Aaron, Eileen taunted him with a mocking tone.

“What are you plotting?”

“Plotting? I merely came to eat cake with my friend.”

“Ha. Friend? How did you become friends with Cordelia?”

Of all people, this woman.

Aaron massaged his temples, trying to relieve his throbbing headache.

“Duke Aaron, didn’t you say it yourself? Why interfere? I’ll tell you the same thing. Whether I’m friends with Lady Cordelia is none of your business, is it?”

As if paying him back for what she had suffered, Eileen’s words were filled with sharp blades.

“Ah. Seeing your intense reaction, could it be that, Duke Aaron…… Do you like Lady Cordelia?”

When Eileen finally threw the last knife into his heart, Aaron felt as if all the blood in his body had frozen in an instant.

“……!”

He had revealed his weakness to Eileen.

This simple realization filled Aaron with terror. Because of it, he couldn’t even make a common rebuttal.

“You told me before, remember?”

One step, two steps

Eileen approaching him with a smile resembled a witch murmuring curses with long hair flowing under moonlight, wearing a cunning smile.

“That I should feel the dirty feeling of having something I want taken away.”

Eileen grabbed Aaron’s collar and whispered in a slightly lower voice into his ear.

“Then, you will pay the price for taking my precious thing, slowly and very painfully.”

“What?”

“As long as I’m around, don’t even dream of Cordelia. I’ll do everything in my power to prevent you from conveying even that meager feeling of yours.”

The chilling voice resonating in his ear made Aaron’s breath catch, making it difficult to breathe.

“Well then, excuse me. My friend Lady Cordelia is waiting for me.”

But as if Aaron’s predicament was none of her concern, Eileen lightly wiggled her fingers and returned to her seat with light footsteps.

“I’m sorry, Lady Cordelia. Did you wait long?”

“Not at all, Eileen!”

The fierce demeanor she had just shown toward Aaron disappeared, and only gentleness remained in Eileen’s expression toward Cordelia. Eileen gave Cordelia, who had contributed to the beginning of her satisfying revenge, a bright smile.

* * *

“Miss!”

“Mary, just five minutes……”

At dawn, on a day when the sun could not yet show off its presence and darkness still lingered faintly.

“Really, I’m sorry but absolutely not, Miss!”

Mary shook awake Eileen, who was sound asleep with the blanket pulled over her head.

“Master said important guests are coming this morning! Get up quickly.”

“Ugh……”

Surrendering to Mary’s voice stinging her ears, Eileen sluggishly moved her body and got out of bed.

“Let’s hurry, Miss!”

Mary dragged the half-asleep Eileen and rushed into the bathroom.

“Miss, isn’t the water too hot?”

“……It’s fine.”

The comfortably warm water temperature gradually made Eileen’s heavy eyes close.

How happy would it be to fall asleep like this.

However, Eileen’s little dream disappeared without a trace like a bubble at Mary’s insistent voice saying she needed to finish bathing and get her makeup done.

“Is our daughter still very sleepy?”

Duchess Lia gently stroked Eileen’s head as she nodded off while wearing a light pink dress.

“Yes……”

Still drowsy with sleep, Eileen kept yawning and burrowed into the Duchess’s embrace.

“Hoho, at times like this, you still seem like a child.”

The Duchess looked at her daughter, who always acted spoiled when drowsy, with eyes full of love.

“Master. The carriage will arrive soon.”

“Ugh……”

Eileen, who had been taking a sweet rest in the Duchess’s arms, frowned at the news of the carriage’s arrival.

“My daughter, time to get up now.”

At Duchess Lia’s whisper, Eileen barely opened her eyes, tidied her slightly disheveled hair, and prepared to greet the intruders.

“Pleased to meet you for the first time! Lady Eileen. I am Ian de Berg.”

A middle-aged gentleman who entered the reception room with a low laugh extended his hand to Eileen in greeting.

“Ah, pleased to meet you. I am Eileen Lia de Ceres.”

Wait a moment……?

Eileen, who had mindlessly extended her hand to him, tilted her head in strange familiarity.

Be, Berg……?

The familiar family name gradually, bit by bit, drove away Eileen’s sleepiness.

“Hello? Lady Eileen, pleased to meet you. I am Eden de Berg.”

Finally, the drowsiness approaching Eileen disappeared without a trace due to Eden who entered with the middle-aged gentleman.

‘Why of all people……!’

Wavy brown hair, light red eyes sparkling like embedded rubies, legs a span longer than others.

Eden de Berg.

According to the original work, he was Aaron de Monston’s only friend.

‘I did say goodbye to my peaceful life…… but not like this!’

Her mouth slowly opened and wouldn’t easily close.

God is truly indifferent.

Unable to believe reality, Eileen stood still, blinking her eyes, forgetting what situation she was in.

“Eileen?”

“I’m sorry…… Hello, Marquis Ian, Young Marquis Eden.”

Finally barely holding onto her senses at her father, Duke Kyle’s voice, Eileen greeted the two with an awkward smile.

“But what brings you two here today……”

“Father told me you had deep knowledge of art, so I came to seek your high insight, Lady Eileen.”

“……What? Me?”

The bewilderment on Eileen’s face couldn’t be hidden at something she heard for the first time in her 22 years of life.

“Eileen. I thought it would be good for you two young people to work together and contribute to Bereut’s artistic development rather than us old folks, so I called them. Can you do it well?”

Duke Kyle held his daughter’s hand firmly and gave her an affectionate look.

“Yes, I will.”

Though she should refuse considering the original work and Aaron, Eileen couldn’t resist the Duke’s boundless trust in her. She secretly sighed deeply and slowly nodded.

“Then I’ll leave it to you from today.”

Duke Kyle and Marquis Ian raised the corners of their mouths. Simultaneously, as if they had been waiting, servants opened the reception room doors. In their hands were several visibly thick documents.

‘I’m doomed……’

Eileen stared blankly at the documents the two men had left behind. Even in this situation, Eden showed no signs of being flustered.

“Shall we start? Lady Eileen?”