“I’ll call you when the meal is ready. Please rest.”

“Okay. Thank you, Mari. I only have you.”

Hearing the listless reply, Mari narrowed her eyes and retorted.

“That’s a lie. I know you say the same thing to Siena, and to Master Markops, Miss Ena, and Master Barhan.”

“Wow. When did you investigate me? As expected, our Mari is an outstanding talent.”

“Haha. Yes. I am an outstanding talent. Well then, I’ll be back later.”

Mari left the room, leaving behind a playful laugh.

The aftermath of the silly conversation left my heart feeling fuzzy.

“Yaaawn.”

I opened my mouth wide and let out a long yawn.

Ah. I’m sleepy.

Being alone made me drowsy.

The fatigue from riding in the carriage all day yesterday still seemed to linger in my body.

I dozed off, nodding my head while surrendering to unconsciousness.

How much time had passed like that?

“…Gasp!”

I opened my eyes with a short scream.

My heart was pounding, and cold sweat was streaming down.

The hot water bottle Mari had given me was rolling on the cold floor, perhaps thrown off while I slept.

After panting for a while, I buried my face in my hands.

“Damn it all.”

I’ll say it again, the site of the ballroom must have been unlucky.

To have such a terrible nightmare.

In the dream, Count Adeline and his wife, and Laura appeared.

In front of them, I became a tiny insect, desperately rolling my body to avoid being crushed by their giant feet.

The dream was so vivid it almost made me nauseous.

And I realized it was something like a premonitory dream a few days later.

To Serpina Richter.

The letter with my name clearly written as the recipient was sent by Countess Adeline.

The letter contained instructions, mixed with a commanding tone, to send an invitation within a reasonable time.

“…One might think she’s the emperor.”

I don’t understand how unpleasant people can act so similarly.

I rested my chin on my hand and sent the letter into the fireplace that had started burning early.

A couple more letters arrived after that.

Each time, I crumpled up the letter and threw it into the fireplace, using it as a basketball hoop.

Hmm. I must have a talent for basketball.

Watching the letters go into the fireplace with perfect accuracy, I suddenly realized my talent.

After that, no more letters arrived. They must have realized I wouldn’t reply.

I felt relieved and uneasy at the same time.

Those people wouldn’t give up this easily.

And my ominous premonitions were never wrong.

A few days later.

“Madam. Some guests have come to see you.”

“…Guests?”

“Yes. They claim to be Madam’s mother and younger sister. What should we do?”

Instead of letters, uninvited visitors had come.

Laura was in a very bad mood.

“When is she coming anyway?”

It had been a while since they had been guided to the reception room by the maid, but the arrogant Serpina had not shown herself.

“Is it okay to keep such noble guests waiting like this?”

“That’s right. Even as a duchess, she’s still as dimwitted as ever.”

The Countess, Letasha, elegantly added to Laura’s fuming.

“Just like her lowly bloodline.”

However, despite the elegant tone, the content was nothing but scathing.

It was about 10 more minutes later when Serpina finally made an appearance.

“Why are you so late?”

“You’re late.”

“I’m sorry for the delay. I was hurriedly preparing since your visit was so sudden.”

With a calm reply, Serpina sat down opposite the two.

‘…Well, look at this.’

Letasha was displeased by Serpina’s lack of strong reaction.

That wench used to tremble like a mouse before a cat whenever she saw her.

But now, she didn’t show any of that behavior from before.

Really, what an unlikable wench.

It seems her liver has grown bigger after not seeing me for a long time.

If that’s the case, I’ll have to discipline her again.

“Your mother-in-law has come, but why isn’t your husband coming to greet us?”

“He’s not in the mansion right now. He went out on a reconnaissance to the northern forest.”

“When will he be back?”

“I’m not sure exactly, but it will take at least three or four days.”

Upon hearing that the Duke was away, Letasha’s lips curved into a smile.

Truth be told, she had been worried about the monster Duke when they came unannounced.

She knew well from rumors how terrifying a person he was.

But now, he happened to be away from home.

She thought this was a good opportunity to thoroughly discipline that wench again.

Meanwhile, Serpina was also relieved that Dante was away from home.

Just thinking about how rudely these horrible people would behave towards Dante…

Tsk. It’s better to deal with them alone.

That’s when it happened.

“Hey. Is that really true that he went on reconnaissance?”

“What do you mean by that?”

Laura snickered at Serpina’s serious question.

“I mean, isn’t he out doing something else under the guise of reconnaissance? All men are like that. Besides, you two don’t have children yet.”

“Thank you for your concern, Laura.”

Laura’s lips twisted at Serpina’s bright smile.

“What?”

“But it’s okay. My husband isn’t a shameless person like someone who would hide the fact that he’s married and go around seducing innocent women.”

At that moment, both Laura and Letasha’s faces hardened simultaneously.

They couldn’t help it.

The ‘someone’ Serpina just mentioned was clearly describing Count Adeline.

“Ugh. You…!”

Just as Laura, unable to contain her anger, rose from her seat seething.

Splash.

Serpina tightly closed her eyes as a splash of water hit her directly in the face.

The scent of black tea permeated from her soaked face.

She must have thrown the tea she was drinking.

Fortunately, the tea had cooled to lukewarm, so there were no burns.

Only. It felt disgusting.

Huh. Serpina wiped the tea off her face with the back of her hand, a mirthless laugh escaping.

“Pfft.”

Laura, who had jumped up in anger, sat back down snickering at Serpina who now looked like a drowned rat.

Clank.

“Oh my.”

Letasha put down her empty teacup and sighed as if in pity.

“Oh my. As I get older, my hands keep slipping.”

“…I understand. You’ve aged a lot too, Madam. But you should be more careful when eating. If you slip twice, the dining table might become a mess.”

Letasha’s face turned cold at Serpina’s unflinching retort.

How dare that worm.

“So why have you come here?”

“Why? Do parents need a reason to visit their child?”

Oh, my goodness.

Serpina couldn’t hide her amazement.

“Parents and child… Isn’t that a bit funny coming from you?”

“What? You? Are you going to keep being disrespectful to our mother?”

“Laura. Being disrespectful is what you call people who show up uninvited.”

Letasha raised an eyebrow at Serpina’s deliberate, instructive tone.

“You’ve changed a lot since getting married. Having endured a monster, is there nothing left in the world for you to fear?”

“No. It’s what I realized after getting married. The real monsters weren’t my husband, but you people.”

Letasha could no longer contain her anger.

Slap!

“Your impudence reaches the sky towards the benefactors who fed and sheltered you!”

It took only a moment for her to shed the mask of an elegant lady.

As her sharp voice flew, a stinging pain was felt on the cheek. Serpina was at a loss for words.

As expected, they haven’t changed at all.

However, it seemed that it wasn’t just the Countess and Laura who remained unchanged.

The fist on her knee began to tremble involuntarily.

Though she was facing the two head-on and retorting as if nothing was wrong, she couldn’t completely hide the trembling.

Serpina quickly hid her hands behind her back, lest anyone see.

But.

“Fortunately, it seems you haven’t become completely impudent.”

It was already too late.

A crooked smile spread across Letasha’s lips as she watched Serpina desperately trying to hide her trembling hands.

Yes. That’s more like it.

How could the fear instilled by the beast for so long disappear so quickly?

Crossing her arms and leaning back on the sofa, she nodded towards the door.

“I’m hungry. Hurry and tell them to prepare a meal.”

“…You’re going to eat as well?”

“Of course. Surely, you’re not thinking of turning away guests like this? As a hostess, your manner of treating guests is quite terrible.”

“Well, I didn’t learn much growing up.”

“Oh my. This is rather fortunate. I’ll take this opportunity to thoroughly teach you the manners I couldn’t before.”

Judging by her brazen attitude, it seemed she had no intention of leaving unless forcibly pushed out.

Whatever her purpose was, she came fully prepared.

“Go ahead. Do as you please.”

Instead of continuing a meaningless fight, Serpina stood up.

“I like beef. And prepare herbal tea instead of black tea after the meal.”

“I’m tired, so I’ll need a bath after the meal. Tell the maids to prepare the bath water. We plan to stay for a few days, so prepare rooms as well.”

Huh. I wonder who the real host is here.

Serpina snorted as she left the reception room.