Harad Viscount Mansion.

“J, did you hear? That woman came to the capital!”

“Who is she?”

“That one. Her! The bastard.”

“What? Really?”

En rushed over with excitement, causing Jay, who was in front of the dressing table, to almost bump his nose into the mirror.

The twin sisters, En and Jay, of the Viscount Harad despised Artia to the point of hatred.

“Oh, she’s supposed to come to the banquet tonight?”

Jay, who was applying highlighter to his nose, stopped.

“Tonight… a banquet?”

“Yeah, hm, seriously! Does she think she’s a real duchess just because she became the duchess?”

“Is she really coming to the banquet tonight?”

“That’s what I heard. Pathetic. Because of her, our family is being humiliated. Being called a bastard is already embarrassing.”

Jay’s forehead noticeably wrinkled.

‘That horrible bastard is coming to the banquet…’

Today’s banquet was more important than usual.

Especially for En and Jay, who haven’t married yet.

Many noblemen from noble families will come, and today, Prince Owen is said to attend as well.

Jay’s goal was to attract attention from the prince and marry him.

So, he had rejected numerous marriage proposals and never married until now.

On the other hand, En wasn’t like that.

She had been living well by marrying a decent man from a good family, but not long ago, her husband, unfortunately, passed away due to illness.

The problem was that the husband had hidden mistresses.

Literally a headache.

En’s husband had squandered his wealth to the fullest just before his death.

The only fortunate thing was that there were no children between En and him.

Still young and with a bright future ahead, En quickly submitted divorce papers to erase her name from her husband’s family.

But after going to another man once, En was not preferred in the marriage market, and she almost gave up on remarriage.

Perhaps that was the reason.

Jay realized that marriage should be handled carefully, and he thought he should not be deceived by a man’s appearance.

And even if he were deceived by appearances and got married, he thought it should be a profitable business on his side.

“Don’t come to the banquet with that appearance… Just stay quiet in the northern outskirts. How much do you think other people hate her? And yet, without fear, she says she’s coming to the banquet?”

“Northern people are barbarians. Ignorant without a single thought in their heads. And their faces probably haven’t changed for the better.”

En and Jay sneered, looking down on Artia.

“Born lowly. How dare she confront us?”

“That’s what I’m saying. Even when we lived together, it was so disgusting that we almost died. We didn’t even want to breathe the same air, so we kept air-purifying plants in the house. Afraid of getting dirty like that bastard.”

“Pfft!”

Especially today, En looked at Jay, who had done his makeup exceptionally well, and burst into laughter.

“Jay, make sure she gets embarrassed properly today.”

“Embarrassed? She’ll get embarrassed without us having to do anything, do we really need to step forward?”
“Puh-hoo, but we can’t just let her become the center of attention at the banquet. Even if she married a barbarian, she’s officially a viscountess. I don’t want her to be noticed for the wrong reasons.”

En narrowed her eyes and said, “Jay, you should be the center of attention at the banquet tonight. All the handsome gentlemen will be there, right?”

Jay of the Harad family.

Her beauty was famous even in high society.

Her beautiful sky-blue hair and always rosy blush fascinated all men.

The gaze that seemed somewhat haughty like a cat was also one of her charming points.

Perhaps that’s why.

Numerous marriage proposals had come flying to her.

Jay lit a candle on a cotton swab to further refine her long eyelashes.

Shaking the sooty cotton swab in the air, she applied it again to her eyelids.

“I’m done. Men are all trivial. Except maybe for Prince Owen.”

While looking at her eyelashes, which were rising higher one by one, Jay lifted the corners of her mouth.

She didn’t like the makeup done by employees, so she had to satisfy herself by doing her own face.

En raised her eyebrows in surprise.

“Prince Owen?”

“Yeah.”

En rolled her eyes with a narrowed forehead.

Even though Jay had a reputation for beauty, comparing herself to Prince Owen was unreasonable.

Prince Owen was highly esteemed even in high society.

Not only a handsome appearance but also tremendous power and wealth.

Nothing was lacking.

He was like a heavenly flower that no noblewoman could surpass.

Realizing the reality of marriage early on, En stuck by her side, tidying her bangs, and casually agreed.

“Well, Prince Owen is still unmarried…”

“He won’t have much choice when it comes to me.”

Jay smiled with noticeable red lipstick on her lips.

“Just stay quiet. The main character today is me, after all.”

As the evening approached.

A banquet was held at the royal palace.

The entrance to the banquet hall was already bustling.