Roselia froze at Klaus’s sudden question.

What kind of nonsense was this?

Blinking in confusion, Roselia carefully asked while trying to suppress her unease.

“W-Why are you asking that?”

At first, it was just a question raised to meet Roselia a few more times to confirm his identity as a man.

But seeing Antonio visibly tense up, a strange feeling arose.

A damn thought that he wanted Antonio to get angry or jealous.

“Because I’m interested.”

Though his tone was indifferent, as if demanding repayment of a debt, the meaning of his words was enough to make Roselia faint.

She had gone through all this trouble to change Roselia’s fate of being manipulated and dying as the duke’s woman!

Wouldn’t this be going back to square one?

With her alarm bells ringing, Roselia hurriedly blurted out without thinking.

“That’s not possible!”

Klaus’s eyebrows furrowed quizzically at Roselia’s firm rejection.

“Why not?”

“Because… um… well…”

Klaus quietly waited for Roselia to continue.

Backed into a corner, Roselia finally spoke with her eyes tightly shut.

“Roselia has a true love.”

Roselia clenched her eyes shut and bit the inside of her mouth.

Though regret washed over her belatedly, perhaps there was no more definitive rejection than this.

In truth, the most important thing was to cut off the duke’s interest, so her thought was to escape the immediate crisis no matter what.

But upon hearing her answer, Klaus frowned disapprovingly and stared at her intently.

“A true love, you say… So he just stood by and watched her live like that?”

Klaus asked coldly, misunderstanding that Roselia was working at a tavern.

And what about the crumbling house on top of that.

Klaus was confident that if he were Roselia’s true love, he would have immediately pulled her out of that house.

Meanwhile, Roselia continued speaking as gruffly as possible while meeting Klaus’s suspicious gaze.

“As it’s a true love from childhood, he’s currently living far away. But regardless, since we promised a future together, a true love is a true love.”

It was a very plausible excuse for a non-existent true love.

Klaus, still unable to shake off his suspicious gaze, asked stiffly.

“When exactly did this talk happen?”

“When doesn’t matter! What matters is Roselia’s heart! My sister absolutely has no intention of meeting another man besides that true love! No, she won’t!”

At Roselia’s resolute words, Klaus, who had been staring at her intently, suddenly curled up the corners of his mouth.

“If there’s no guard at the city gate, can’t one just break in?”

Roselia’s eyes widened at Klaus’s sudden metaphor.

Could he mean something like shooting freely at an unguarded goal?

Roselia, who had been frozen in speechlessness, quickly came to her senses and shook her head.

“T-That’s clearly trespassing!”

In response to Roselia’s vehement protest, Klaus asked calmly with his fingers interlocked.

“Do you dislike that I’m showing interest in Roselia?”

“Of course!”

At the immediate answer, Klaus looked at her meaningfully.

“Why? I should be lacking in neither looks nor background, shouldn’t I?”

Is he praising himself right now?

Roselia was dumbfounded by Klaus’s expression, which was serious as if stating an objective and realistic fact rather than boasting, even while saying such things.

“What kind of elder brother would be happy about his younger sister being held hostage by a debt collector?”

“Hostage… Well, the younger sister’s opinion might differ, no?”

“Roselia will surely agree with me!”

At her unhesitating affirmation, Klaus stared at her intently.

“Why are you so averse to it?”

“I told you just now. As I am that child’s elder brother…”

“Is there no other reason?”

At his sudden question, Roselia looked at him with a bewildered expression.

He was staring at her intently, as if waiting for a different answer.

“Another reason?”

As Roselia looked at Klaus in confusion, he suddenly brushed up his bangs and changed the subject, avoiding her gaze.

“Never mind. Our business is done, so you may leave.”

Roselia stood there dumbfounded as he abruptly changed his words.

“I said you may leave. Did you not hear?”

At his cold tone, Roselia finally came to her senses, bowed her head slightly, and turned to leave.

Only after Roselia had left through the door, still tilting her head in confusion, did Klaus irritably rub his face.

“Haa…”

What words had he wanted to hear from him?

No, perhaps it was even more confusing because he could guess what reaction and words he wanted from him.

Wasn’t he attracted to Roselia?

Surely, the attraction he felt towards Roselia was an intense and certain emotion.

What confused him was that this attraction was responding similarly to a completely different being, one to whom such feelings should absolutely not arise.

Even he was on the verge of going mad from these incomprehensible emotions.

“Damn it, get a grip.”

Muttering to himself, he leaned back in his chair with his hand on his forehead.

His broad shoulders, left alone in the spacious study, looked particularly lonely that day.

The three days passed quickly.

The day of the welcoming banquet for the Rapelios delegation, which Ikelia had been singing about so much, had arrived.

Closet and Roselia were entering the imperial palace in the duke’s carriage, dressed in the Rapelios-style dresses gifted by the crown princess.

Not just them, but the carriages of numerous nobles invited by the crown prince and princess were lined up all the way to the palace where the banquet was being held.

“My goodness, Roselia. It seems like all the nobles of the empire have gathered for today’s banquet.”

Closet exclaimed in admiration, pressed against the carriage window at the endless parade of luxurious carriages.

Roselia looked at Closet and then let out a deep sigh.

“I don’t think this is a place I should be attending.”

“What are you saying! You’re also a distinguished guest invited by Her Highness the Crown Princess, aren’t you?”

“But I can’t even be considered a noble anymore.”

At Roselia’s dispirited voice, Closet retorted with a sulky expression.

“What does it matter if you’re a noble or not? If you received an invitation, you’re all the same guests.”

Comforted by Closet’s blunt words, Roselia looked at her and smiled softly.

Closet, whom she had thought was just a haughty young lady, often said such mature things that belied her age, as always.

Perhaps it was because she had matured early, having grown up without receiving affection from her family since childhood.

As that thought occurred to her, Roselia’s heart grew heavy, and she smiled even more brightly at Closet.

“You’ll be the most beautiful at the banquet hall today, young lady.”

It was Roselia’s honest opinion, but Closet responded with a mischievous smile.

“Roselia, you don’t know how beautiful you are today.”

At Closet’s meaningful words, Roselia looked down at her own attire with a sullen face.

The Rapelios-style dress gifted by the crown princess was complemented by emerald accessories around her previously bare wrists and neck.

Moreover, unlike her usual voluminous, loose artificial blonde hair, today she had her blonde wig elegantly styled in the Rapelios fashion.

Her slender, white neck and round shoulders exposed beneath the updo, adorned with emerald accessories matching Roselia’s eyes, made her stand out even more.

Unlike Closet’s satisfied expression, Roselia, feeling bare with her exposed shoulders, simply stroked her arms with an unimpressed look.

“Is the duke coming separately?”

At Roselia’s attempt to change the subject, Closet replied gruffly.

“It seems he went to the imperial palace first to greet the delegation.”

Well, Klaus was not only busy with his personal business but was also a high-ranking noble, counting among the top three in the aristocratic hierarchy.

He must have many imperial matters to attend to besides his business.

As she was thinking this, it was finally their turn to disembark from the long line of carriages, and they alighted with the coachman’s escort.

Perhaps because it was not just a simple banquet but one welcoming a delegation from another empire, the path leading to the banquet hall was dazzlingly splendid to the point of blinding.

It was just as they were about to enter the banquet hall, treading on the red carpet glittering under the lights.

“Lady Closet?”

Their gazes turned towards the familiar yet unpleasant voice.

At the source of the voice was Jusid, lavishly dressed in a red gown, covering her mouth with a folding fan as she smiled.

Just when they thought they’d had some peace without seeing her for a while, it seemed that Delmont Juice had also managed to participate in this banquet.

“It’s been a while, Lady Jusid. How is your waist?”

Recalling the past when she had been kicked in the side by Closet’s foot and fallen, Jusid’s face turned red and blue, seemingly overcome with indignation.

But being in no position to speak, having been caught behaving in a manner unbefitting a noble young lady, she could only fume inwardly.

As Closet snorted at her, looking at her like that, Jusid, who had apparently composed herself, casually spoke up.

“It seems you didn’t bring your il domestico today?”

Jusid’s gaze, saying this, turned to Roselia standing beside Closet.

“This young lady is…”

“My friend.”

At Closet’s proud expression that seemed to say ‘What, got a problem?’, Jusid frowned and looked Roselia over once more.

“There’s no way there’s a noble young lady I don’t know. I suppose she’s from a lower noble family?”

“What does her background matter? Roselia is a proper guest invited by Her Highness the Crown Princess.”

At Closet’s confident words, Jusid’s eyes widened as if truly surprised.

“By Her Highness the Crown Princess? That’s unexpected. But…”

Saying this, Jusid suddenly narrowed her eyes and scanned Roselia’s face.

“This is certainly a face I’m seeing for the first time, but strangely, it feels familiar.”

At Jusid’s words, a chill ran down Roselia’s spine.