The group led by Cantad was not far away.

They had already stationed themselves around after discovering me.

I came face to face with Cantad, but I was unsure whether to call him “Sir Cantad” as usual.

The way he looked at me was different from before. It was a gaze that was both welcoming and displeased.

I bowed my head first, and he followed suit. This was behavior I had never seen from him before.

‘He knows my identity.’

I wasn’t certain, but it seemed I had indeed fainted in his arms. Cantad was secretly quite affectionate, so he probably stayed by my side until I woke up. He may have even directly confronted Hertian.

“Isn’t that the blacksmith’s daughter?”

“Young lady! It’s been a long time!”

“We were so surprised when you suddenly disappeared.”

The other soldiers didn’t seem to know my true identity. Seeing all their familiar faces made me smile involuntarily. But there was no time for idle chat with them now.

I went straight up to Cantad and said:

“I’d like to talk for a moment.”

Cantad looked me over with his eyes, then briefly replied:

“Very well.”

We stood face to face a few steps away from Osen.

“I thought you might be dead since there was no word after taking the money.”

He was the first to speak.

“A guest arrived at the castle and I didn’t have time to leave. I should have contacted you first, I’m sorry I couldn’t.”

“Your apology is accepted.”

“And thank you for overlooking the one day I missed.”

I was grateful to Cantad in many ways.

After all, he had traded herbs for a large sum without making many demands.

“That’s fine.”

“But Sir Cantad.”

I casually broached the subject, calling him by name as before.

Time was of the essence. Ali could be attacked by wild animals.

I looked at him with wide eyes as I spoke.

“I need your help.”

“What is it?”

“There’s a horse collapsed at the edge of the forest right now. Its leg is broken and it can’t walk. It’s too much for us to move the horse on our own.”

“So you want me to rescue the horse?”

He asked without refusing. I nodded with hopeful eyes.

“Yes. There’s not much time. If you could just help load the horse onto that cart over there, that would be enough.”

They had brought a cart to carry their game. It looked large enough to transport Ali to the camp without issue.

“Is this a favor?”

“It’s a deal disguised as a favor.”

His eyebrow twitched.

“Think of it as payment for freely using this forest. It’s quite reasonable, actually.”

Pfft. He burst out laughing. It was a relaxed expression I hadn’t seen in a while.

“You’re a born businesswoman.”

“Then would you like to buy some more herbs?”

“That’s enough.”

I shrugged and added that I could find more herbs anytime.

Cantad gladly promised to bring some soldiers to help rescue Ali. Thanks to that, we were able to move without delay.

And just as we were about to enter the forest, Cantad approached and asked quietly:

“Didn’t you say it was a political marriage?”

It seemed he had indeed met Hertian.

“I said it was similar to a political marriage.”

It was a contract marriage, after all.

“It’s quite different from the political marriages I know.”

“That’s because you haven’t given serious thought to a wife, Sir Cantad.”

“Ahem. Anyway.”

He cleared his throat, seemingly flustered.

“I was envious.”

It seems he’s been lonely, being apart from his wife for so long.

For him to suddenly say something like that.

[This is the timeline separator]

Ali was quickly rescued.

Anette sent Cantad’s group back before reaching the camp.

If others saw them, it could cause more problems.

Shortly after, Violet arrived and we safely transferred Ali.

The carriage arrived at the Grand Duchy.

Osen planned to report what had just happened to Hertian immediately and await his judgment. He had failed in his duty as a knight, after all.

At that moment, Anette, who had been quiet for a while, sidled up next to Osen.

“Don’t worry too much. This happened because I failed to properly look after Leah. I intend to tell the Duke that as well.”

“It was clearly my negligence.”

“Come on, don’t be so rigid. Actually, let’s keep this a secret between us. Please don’t tell anyone else that we asked the Kursians for help. I won’t mention that you arrived late either.”

Anette whispered, lightly pressing her index finger to her lips.

“Alright then! You worked hard today.”

Then she wrapped her cloak tightly and entered the castle.

She truly was an unpredictable lady.

Osen had only thought of her as his lord’s long-time first love and the only person who occasionally made his lord look foolish.

So Anette didn’t appear particularly favorable in Osen’s eyes.

Just as the maids often gossiped, she was a noble young lady raised delicately in the capital. Nothing more, nothing less.

Perhaps slightly more beautiful than most young ladies?

But the lady’s recent actions have been quite unusual.

Making clothes for the maids with expensive fabric from her dowry, earning 3 billion gold in just a month.

It was surprising that she could manipulate the Kursians, who were from an enemy country, as she pleased.

‘She’s certainly different from other young ladies.’

Of course, there was no major change in his feelings. Even so, there wasn’t much she could do with her weak body. Osen simply hoped the lady wouldn’t worry his lord with health issues.

[This is the timeline separator]

The maids were shocked by the dreadful state of the room.

The pink Sertia flowers were crushed beyond recognition on the floor, and white cream was smeared on the walls. Finally, after destroying even the ribbons Anette had gifted, Leah sprawled out on the sofa.

“Hah… I’m so annoyed I could die.”

She had just been scolded by Hertian and was on her way back.

Thanks to Osen reporting everything as it was, she couldn’t avoid his anger.

Anette had rushed in to cover for her, but she was still angry. It was the first time Hertian had ever been angry with her.

Moreover, not only did she deal with the Kursians whom she extremely disliked, but this time she even asked for a favor. She also didn’t like how her fake elder sister was acting like family.

“Young Lady Leah… But the lady worked hard to prepare this for you.”

“So what? Should I be grateful in this mood?”

She had made a mess of the beautiful cake and gifts that Anette had prepared.

It was because she felt it would help her feel better.

Of course, she still wasn’t over her anger, but she didn’t want to wear the ribbon Anette gave her in her hair and act like family with a forced smile.

“Don’t you think it’s strange too? She keeps doing things with the Kursians like she’s being held by them or something.”

The maids looked at each other with troubled expressions.

“But she’s doing it to rescue our imperial citizens.”

“You too. Aren’t you uncomfortable with people who ate, slept, and settled comfortably in Kursia coming here? If it were me, I would have just died there.”

The maids each drew in a breath at her bold and unrestrained words.

Some of the things Leah occasionally said were difficult for them to understand.

But there was nothing they could do about it.

“You all go out. Have someone else clean this up.”

“Yes, young lady…”

Outside, the maids each heaved a sigh.

“Young Lady Leah. It seems she’s not getting along well with the lady at all.”

“I know. I didn’t think she would tear up the birthday gifts the lady prepared for her.”

“I was a bit scared, honestly.”

“You’ve got some cream on you here.”

The maids helped each other remove the cream that had gotten on them when Leah threw the cake. And at that moment, a shadow appeared behind them.

“Did Leah tear up my gift?”

It was Anette.

[This is the timeline separator]

The image of Leah crying her eyes out is still vivid in my mind.

Not only did she bicker with me, but Hertian pushed her as well, so by now her eyes must be swollen from crying so much.

This is why I sent Leah alone to the room with the gifts. She wouldn’t be in the mood to open birthday presents with me feeling like this.

“Still, we should blow out the birthday cake candles together, right?”

After deliberating in my room for a while, I hurried my hesitant steps.

And I headed to the room I had decorated beautifully before going out hunting. I saw two maids just coming out in front of it.

Thinking they might already be cleaning up, I quickly approached them.

“Young Lady Leah. It seems she’s not getting along well with the lady at all.”

“I know. I didn’t think she would tear up the birthday gifts the lady prepared for her.”

“I was a bit scared, honestly.”

She tore up the gifts?

For a moment, I thought I must have heard wrong.

No matter how much Leah dislikes me, she’s not so ill-mannered as to tear up gifts.

So thinking it must be wrong, I asked:

“Did Leah tear up my gift?”

The faces of the maids who turned to look at me turned pale white. As much as I didn’t want to believe it, it seemed to be true.

“My, my lady.”

“I’ll go in and check for myself.”

The maids couldn’t bring themselves to stop me and followed behind. As soon as the door opened, they tightly shut their eyes. I could immediately see why.

The sweet smell that hit me. The cake was broken apart beyond recognition, making it impossible to put candles on it together. The ribbon strings I had hung around the room were in tatters, making a complete mess. And in the middle of it all was Leah, sprawled out.

I was at a loss for words.

“Should I take the jewel since it’s a waste?”

Leah plucked out only the jewel from the center of the ribbon I had given and examined it from various angles.

That sight looked quite spiteful to me.

“I’m glad at least that was to your liking.”

“El, elder sister?”

“You must have really liked the gift. Someone might think we had an end-of-year party.”

Sarcastic words came out naturally.

“The jewel is usable. I’ll make good use of it.”

Leah said as she stood up. Her voice was unabashed. She didn’t even look surprised.

“Sure, use it well.”

I turned around immediately. I no longer had any desire to get along well with Leah.

“Oh, and that’s your last allowance, so use it sparingly.”

I shot back coldly. I didn’t care whether Leah came to her senses or got angry.

“Are you cutting off my allowance? Go ahead then. I’ll just go ask Elder Brother Hertian for money.”

“Go ahead. Keep going to the Duke with your hand out. Then the Duke will quickly realize how wasteful your spending is.”

Leah frowned. It seems she realized she was in no position to overpower me with words or authority.

I looked around the messy room once and blurted out:

“I told you to take responsibility for your actions, didn’t I? If you clean up the entire room, I won’t touch your allowance.”

As I turned around again, Leah shouted as if screaming:

“Elder sister! You don’t know, do you? That Elder Brother Hertian has another woman he likes.”

What kind of novel nonsense is this?