The room Sched had left.

Riana was left alone, curled up on the bed.

The air was cold, and the blanket touching her skin stung like thorns.

Riana hugged her injured leg. Tears fell onto her knee.

‘How stupid…’

She wiped away her tears with the back of her hand and criticized herself dryly.

When Sched approached her, foolishly, her heart started beating as if it had grown accustomed to him.

Like a moth diving into flames, knowing it would be burned.

Sched wouldn’t know.

That when she first recognized his face, her initial feeling was relief.

When she realized he was alive and breathing, she felt as if a long-held burden in the corner of her heart had been lifted.

She had always been curious.

The slave-turned-duke called the undefeated hero.

Whenever she heard the name ‘Sched Lester’, Riana recalled the slave she had known.

That infinitely kind and loyal slave.

She glimpsed his name in the tabloids and newspapers that came to Baron Godwin’s house.

After hearing about Lupus saving the duke’s life, soon the name of Lester Duke’s adopted son ‘Sched Lester’ became renowned.

After the previous Duke Lester’s death, ‘Duke Sched Lester’ graced newspaper front pages for months. His name was always bookmarked in news of victories.

It was brilliant. Not even a hero from any legend could outshine his story.

Riana looked up at that beautiful star from the mud.

She loved the star, but that’s where it had to end.

She had no right to face Sched Lester.

Nor should she meet him.

So she hid in a low position in a corner of this vast empire.

Believing it would be fine since Baron Godwin had no deep connections with the Lester family.

But as misfortune had always cursed her, she was eventually led here by the leash of fate.

Remember your sin, Louise.

The cold air seemed to whisper in her ear.

Riana curled up and covered her ears.

Then, click, a sound pulled her from thorny memories back to reality.

Riana hurriedly wiped her wet eyes.

Turning towards the door, she saw a middle-aged man looking at her while slightly adjusting his monocle.

Werner sighed as he saw the woman curled up crying on the bed.

Disheveled clothes, trembling body, cheeks wet with tears.

‘…Seems she failed to satisfy the master.’

Werner shook his head, roughly guessing what had transpired in the bedroom.

“You missed a good opportunity.”

Werner approached her and handed her a thick robe to put on.

Riana simply lowered her head at his words.

A good opportunity. That’s how it must appear to others.

As if to say that a lowly maid should be grateful that the great duke from the Grand Elector’s family gave her a chance in bed.

Riana had suddenly become a pitiful woman incapable of seizing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Ah… perhaps she was seen as someone who couldn’t become any more pitiful to begin with.

Riana wiped her tears with the back of her hand and sneered.

Werner looked at Riana with a sympathetic gaze.

Whatever happened, he thought her circumstances were truly unfortunate.

“Stay here for now until the master’s orders. You probably have nowhere else to go anyway…”

“I have somewhere to go.”

Riana raised her head sharply and looked up at Werner.

Her moss-green eyes, brimming with tears, now held a firm light.

Somewhere to go? In truth, there was no such place.

She had no intention of returning to that filthy Godwin family.

But in any case, she didn’t want to stay in Sched’s household.

‘If I leave, everything will be solved.’

Riana clenched her fist over her chest.

“I don’t think you’re going back to the Godwin family. From what the master said, you don’t have any family either. Where do you plan to go?”

Werner asked, looking at the small and skinny woman.

It was obvious she wouldn’t last a day or two on the streets before collapsing.

Moreover, her leg and other parts of her body were not in good condition.

“Alright. I understand your desire to run away after experiencing this on your first day.”

The head butler nodded.

Having suffered this as soon as she arrived in a strange place, she probably didn’t have the face to stay.

Left alone in the master’s bedroom, it would be difficult for her to continue staying here.

“But you’re now part of the Lester household, so stay here and wait until a decision is made.”

Werner pointed to the emblem embroidered on the robe she was wearing.

A clear mark of Lester ownership, a wolf biting a sword.

Without realizing it, she had become completely owned by Sched Lester.

Years had passed since she abandoned her position as a noble lady, but her teeth still clenched with helplessness when her fate was decided by a few words from those above her.

“Follow me.”

Werner turned away as if to say he wouldn’t bother talking more.

Eclas’s head turned along the second-floor corridor.

A woman with dark brown hair wearing a white robe was following Head Butler Werner.

‘My eyes weren’t wrong.’

As expected, she was beautiful when cleaned up and dressed in proper clothes.

‘It seems Duke Lester isn’t uninterested in women, but rather has high standards.’

Eclas thought, habitually fiddling with a gold coin with his fingers.

Was his taste in women picky and refined?

His calculating red eyes glanced towards where the woman had come from.

‘Isn’t that Duke Lester’s bedroom…?’

Coming out of there at this hour?

Staring at the firmly closed door with narrowed eyes, Eclas caught the passing head maid Caroline.

“That woman. Is she the one Duke Lester brought in during the day?”

He asked the head maid in a fairly polite and gentle tone.

“Yes, she is.”

“I heard she was brought from Baron Godwin’s household?”

“That’s correct.”

The head maid answered stiffly.

Eclas touched his chin, raising the corners of his mouth.

“It’s still early, the Duke seems to have short bedtime. At such a vigorous age…”

It was still only nine at night. Considering the time Sched had dinner, bathed, and went up to his bedroom, it was too early for a woman to be coming out of the bedroom.

I thought his blood was boiling like Lupus after a long time.

“This is why unsavory rumors spread.”

Tsk, Eclas clicked his tongue, shaking his head.

Maybe the rumors that he’s impotent are true.

Perhaps disliking Eclas’s attitude, Head Maid Caroline’s brow furrowed.

“Did you send that woman back?”

Caroline asked, recalling the woman Eclas had brought in tucked under his arm earlier in the day.

A woman wearing messy clothes that revealed her back and legs.

The vulgar swaying walk, the white powder thickly applied to her face, the overpowering perfume that hurt the nose, the bright red painted lips, and the deep cleavage flaunting her abundance. It was obvious at a glance what kind of woman she was.

At Caroline’s thorny question, Eclas’s eyes curved gently.

“Of course, I sent her back. I couldn’t keep a precious young lady here at this late hour, putting her in danger.”

At his smooth answer, the wrinkles between Caroline’s brows deepened.

Precious young lady? How dare he use such words for that kind of woman.

“It’s troublesome if you bring such women into our Lester household carelessly.”

As head maid, Caroline had a duty to keep this household pure.

“Such women? It’s disappointing to hear you talk that way about our cute little songbird.”

“S-songbird…”

The head maid let out an exasperated sigh at the ridiculous pet name.

She clearly saw her happily leaving with a purse of money, what nonsense…!

In fact, Caroline already knew that woman had left the mansion before evening.

She pressed him about sending the woman back to warn Eclas.

“Don’t be so rigid, Caroline. That’s why Duke Lester can’t even bed one woman. At this rate, the Lester family line will end.”

Eclas shrugged and laughed.

Caroline’s face turned bright red as if she had been insulted.

“Our master is already engaged. There’s no reason for him to bring such women to his bedroom!”

At her firm and solemn reply, Eclas burst out laughing.

“Of course. Our Duke must protect his chastity and purity. Certainly. That’s a virtue after all.”

Caroline pressed her lips together in displeasure at Eclas’s frivolous tone.

‘How frivolous…!’

Caroline disliked the Viscount Eclas Bitel before her.

‘I shouldn’t expect dignity from a merchant…’

The Bitel family was originally merchants.

The Bitel family, who were commoners but had a lot of money, bought their title from the imperial family – nominally for greatly contributing to the economy or some such reason.

It was an unprecedented breakthrough.

The label attached to the first family to obtain a title using money was obvious.

‘Although our Duke comes from Lupus, he’s different from such merchants.’

If one were to compare, Sched’s origins were lower than Eclas’s, but Caroline had great loyalty towards Sched Lester.

‘His Grace saved the life of the previous Duke and His Majesty the Emperor.’

Gaining a title through meritorious deeds is traditional honor.

Sched had obtained his title in a just and honorable way.

Eclas saw Caroline’s expression full of antipathy.

It was obvious what she, with her strong pride, was thinking.

‘She’s probably rationalizing because it would be embarrassing to look down on the master she serves.’

While looking down on Eclas who came from commoner origins, she has pride in Sched who came from slave origins.

Eclas knew how impure the source of that pride was.

She’s just rationalizing because looking down on Sched would be like spitting on her own face.

If she hadn’t worked for the Lester family, that woman would have been one of the many people who looked down on Sched Lester.

Generally, those who look down on Eclas Bitel tend to look down on Sched Lester as well.

“It’s gotten late. Bring a cup of warm water to my room.”

Therefore, Eclas calmly ordered.

Whether Caroline looked down on him or not, he was a viscount and she was just a head maid.

Translation complete. 100% of original text translated.