Kikozellia, who came after hearing from Sokol that he had returned the inheritance, threw everything in the room. Sokol had returned the inheritance, but she didn’t want to acknowledge him.

If she couldn’t get Olentia’s inheritance, she was going to harm her.

Of course, she had to wait for the right time, and everything had to be done behind Sokol’s back. It seemed Sokol still had some lingering affection for Olentia as his cousin.

Kikozellia asked her personal maid with a venomous look.

“Is there a suitable place to kill Olentia? At this year’s National Foundation Day ball?”

The maid, who knew how much Kikozellia hated Olentia, was startled and shook her head.

“That’s too dangerous. The Emperor, Empress, and countless nobles will be gathered there.”

“I want to get rid of her right away, so what should I do!”

As Kikozellia failed to hide her agitation, the maid calmed her down.

“My lady, there’s a hunting competition in the summer! You might be able to harm Lady Olentia then, pretending to aim at game in the deep forest!”

It made sense. Kikozellia went to find Sokol, harboring sinister thoughts.

She glared at Sokol with fiery eyes.

“Did you really have to return the inheritance?”

Kikozellia could understand Sokol’s actions, but she couldn’t control her boiling rage. She only found Olentia, who had become even more famous through the marriage of the century, loathsome. Moreover, it was hard to bear the situation where Olentia came to mind when mentioning the Armeniaca family.

Even though Olentia was married, it seemed people thought of her as Armeniaca rather than part of the Belial family.

“You tucked your tail without even fighting properly.”

At Kikozellia’s words, Sokol emanated a cold aura.

“Then what should we do? Do you know how many Armeniaca dishes are being supplied to the Belial territory? The inheritance is great, but not enough to give up that profit forever.”

Sokol had acted with thorough calculation. He had already heard that the relationship with the church was becoming strained, and several churches in the Bonus Cathedral or Geranium had changed their dishware suppliers to somewhere other than Armeniaca. It must be the will of His Holiness the Pope.

To go this far for being involved with Grand Duke Dimidius Belial. Sokol felt like he had poured cold water on his thriving business.

But he couldn’t completely turn his back on the Belial family without returning the inheritance.

Kikozellia brushed her long hair back and let out a deep sigh.

“Sigh… Will the sales for the first half of this year be okay?”

Sokol pressed around his eyes with one hand and said,

“No, it won’t be okay. My lady. That’s the situation right now.”

“I see. There are even rumors that the archbishop is stepping down from his position.”

All kinds of rumors circulated in the salon Kikozellia attended, and recently, the most stimulating one was that the archbishop might change.

Since the archbishop had pushed ahead with Olentia’s marriage to the half-demon grand duke, he must be under pressure from above.

Sokol blinked his eyelids as if tired.

“We’ll have to wait and see about that. I should go see His Holiness the Pope.”

He found it tiring to listen to Kikozellia’s words. These days, he felt irritated just by her approaching him. It was hard to be sure if he could continue this precarious married life.

Sokol stood up and straightened his clothes. He wasn’t sure if he could meet the Pope, but he was going to try.

Even though Olentia had married the grand duke, he couldn’t continue to have a strained relationship with the church.

Olentia often came out to the rose garden. The weather was refreshing, the luscious roses were nice to look at, and the surroundings were fragrant.

Olentia spoke to Bobby in an excited tone.

“What should I do first? Actually, I want to do charity work like my mother.”

Olentia’s mother, Malisa, had devoted herself to helping the poor through charity work. Olentia vividly remembered how often charity bazaars were held at the Armeniaca estate. She thought it would be really nice if she could live giving like Malisa.

Seeing Olentia’s bright face, Bobby smiled broadly and said,

“You’ll do well, my lady. Of course, I’m worried you might be scammed.”

At the mention of being scammed, Olentia’s eyes widened.

“Right. Since I’ve never done business before, I could be scammed.”

“Why don’t you seek advice from someone who knows business well? There’s no need to rush.”

As soon as she heard that, Dimidius came to mind. He was the only one around her who knew business well.

Olentia shook her head, thinking of the always busy Dimidius.

She felt uncomfortable asking Dimidius. She also felt like she had to give something in return for taking up his time.

“I guess it was a pointless thought after all.”

As Olentia made a sullen expression, Bobby tilted her head.

“Why is that?”

“It’s nothing! Bobby, as you said, there’s no need to rush so I’ll think about it slowly!”

Olentia just wanted to make good use of the inheritance left by her parents. She didn’t want to spend it on something meaningless.

The day of the National Foundation Day ball arrived.

Olentia put on a light pink dress and went down to the first floor hall. Dimidius was waiting for her in a sharp three-piece suit.

Arriving in front of him wearing velvet boots with embroidery, Dimidius held out his hand and said,

“You are as beautiful as ever today. My lady.”

Now Dimidius seemed to say she was pretty or beautiful very easily. It wasn’t bad. No one dislikes being complimented.

Olentia, who was in a very good mood these days, smiled right away.

“Is that so? You look great too, Your Grace.”

Black suited Dimidius particularly well. It seemed that way because he was wearing a white bauta mask.

Will there ever come a day when she sees Dimidius’ face?

In her prophetic dreams, his face was very handsome. Especially his red eyes were pretty, but now they weren’t very noticeable because of the mask. Someday she really wanted to clearly see his unmasked eyes.

Although they lived together in the grand ducal residence, Dimidius had never shown his face without a mask. As someone who took pride in her own appearance, it was something she could never imagine. Moreover, it seemed very uncomfortable, so she was curious if he was really okay.

Olentia took his hand after endlessly thinking and got on the carriage. It felt like she had practically been living in the grand ducal residence in Geranium for the ball. She felt strangely excited at the thought of attending the ball tonight as Dimidius’ wife.

Olentia modestly clasped her hands in the carriage and said to Dimidius,

“Aren’t you nervous? Since it’s the National Foundation Day ball, most nobles will be attending.”

Dimidius shrugged.

“Well. I’m not really the type to get nervous.”

“How long has it been since you last saw His Majesty the Emperor?”

“About 3 years, I think.”

Only adults could attend the National Foundation Day ball, and this was Olentia’s third time going. Unfortunately, she didn’t seem to have seen Dimidius those times as they kept missing each other. But meeting like this was also quite a fate.

‘Our chance encounters continued. 3 times? Or 4 times? That much can be considered destiny.’

Suddenly, what Dimidius had said in the garden of the Odor estate came to mind.

Olentia burst into laughter and fanned her face for no reason.

Then Dimidius asked her,

“What’s so funny?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. I just remembered something from the past.”

Since then, neither Dimidius nor Olentia said much. Olentia didn’t know if it was because she was in a good mood, but Dimidius didn’t feel uncomfortable like before. Perhaps they had become accustomed to each other’s silence.

It wasn’t far from Green Park to the Imperial Palace.

After passing through the checkpoint, the grand ducal carriage soon stopped.

They had finally arrived.

Olentia stepped onto the ground, escorted by Dimidius. Looking straight ahead, she saw the wide open ballroom and the long staircase connecting to it. In the dark night, light seemed to sparkle only near the ballroom.

Olentia held Dimidius’ hand and slowly climbed the stairs. The crinoline made it uncomfortable to move, but it was still bearable. It was an inevitable choice to look pretty.

Arriving in front of the ballroom, the attendant announced in a loud voice.

“Grand Duke Dimidius Belial and Grand Duchess Olentia Belial!”

Entering the ballroom, the chandeliers, pillars, and decorations were all golden. It had a truly magnificent and glamorous beauty.

Olentia swallowed her saliva and entered the ballroom she had returned to after a year. The gazes of countless nobles were fixed on them, and whispers could be heard.

“Oh my! His Grace the Grand Duke has arrived. I guess he has no intention of taking off his mask even after getting married.”

“Indeed. Hasn’t it been almost 3 years?”

“I think so. I still can’t believe the two of them got married.”

At least it wasn’t cursing, so that was fortunate. After all, they wouldn’t openly gossip in front of Dimidius.

Olentia walked with her arm linked in his. People naturally made way for them, and Dimidius seemed to only look towards the Emperor and Empress.

Soon, they arrived in front of the Emperor and Empress seated on the splendid stage. The Emperor was stroking his white beard, and the Empress, who had been looking elsewhere, shuddered upon noticing Dimidius. She didn’t seem very welcoming.

Meanwhile, Dimidius bowed his head to the Emperor and Empress and said,

“This is our first greeting to Your Majesties after getting married.”

Olentia also politely greeted them, detaching her hand from Dimidius’ arm. It wasn’t her first time seeing the Emperor and Empress, but her heart was pounding for some reason. The atmosphere felt like meeting Dimidius’ family after all.

Soon, the Emperor spoke.

“Yes. I heard. That you two suddenly got married.”

Dimidius respectfully clasped his hands and replied,

“Yes. I apologize for not informing you in advance.”

“No. You must have had your reasons.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

However, the Empress never opened her mouth. For some reason, she was looking at Dimidius with displeasure. Olentia swallowed as she felt more intense hatred than expected. Her neck and shoulders seemed to stiffen more as she was already nervous.

Although the Emperor didn’t show it well, her heart ached at the thought that they weren’t welcomed.

That’s when it happened.

Crown Prince Regalis appeared where the Emperor and Empress were, wearing a fancy white suit.

The crown prince’s blue eyes sparkled as he said to Dimidius,

“Well, well. If it isn’t my cousin.”

It was an action that anyone could see as friendly, but Dimidius didn’t respond. He even turned his head the other way. It was a clear snub.

Olentia spoke to Regalis in surprise without realizing it.

“Has it been a long time for you too, Your Highness?”

Then Regalis smiled cleanly and brightly, like a cool waterfall pouring down.

“Yes. It’s been a while, cousin. Lady Armeniaca. No, I mean Grand Duchess, you’re practically part of our family now, so please show your face often from now on.”

Olentia nodded with an awkward smile. A cold wind was blowing from Dimidius, and she really couldn’t stand the embarrassment.

Moving away from the Emperor and Empress with him, Olentia sighed.

“Haa… Does it have to be this suffocating?”

To Olentia’s question, Dimidius crossed his arms and looked down at her.

“So you smiled and spoke to the crown prince like that?”

Olentia raised the corners of her eyes in absurdity.

“Why? He seemed to approach me in a friendly manner first, so I just spoke to him. Are you two on bad terms?”

“We’re not on good terms. Her Majesty the Empress… No, it’s nothing.”

“No, why do you keep stopping mid-sentence. What about Her Majesty the Empress?”

“It’s nothing.”

Olentia felt like she was going to go crazy with frustration. Dimidius had many things he hid and was reluctant about, making him a truly uncomfortable man. She clearly felt good in the carriage on the way to the palace and didn’t find him uncomfortable, but as expected, Dimidius made people uncomfortable.

She wondered how many times she had heard him say it was nothing until now.