It was an unexpected move, unlike Adrian.

As I raised my head in surprise, under the sunlight seeping through the folding umbrella, his eyes looking at me sparkled even more brightly.

We exchanged glances without saying a word for a while.

Adrian, who had let out a small breath, folded the umbrella and handed it to me.

“I just said I would wait coolly, but… I’m embarrassed.”

As he spoke, his neck had turned slightly red.

After a short while, Adrian quickly composed his expression and shook his head with a smile.

“But please take it as a cute joke.”

“…A joke.”

Smirking, Adrian, with a smiling face, led me to the main gate.

And finally, we arrived at the main gate.

“I was really happy today.”

Adrian, who had stopped walking first, smiled widely at me.

“Being able to be with Lady Bee here, not in the Twins family castle, not as a servant but as a man.”

It was a beautiful smile, overflowing with happiness, as if happiness would be revealed when he touched my hand.

Meanwhile, in a dark alley, there were eyes hidden, watching Rebecca and Adrian.

Dressed in a shabby outfit that didn’t fit Deltein Street, with messy hair and a sickly skinny body.

The man’s face showed nothing.

No eyes, nose, mouth, nothing.

With his head deeply bowed, the man who was swaying slowly turned his face towards one place again.

There was Rebecca entering the townhouse with Adrian’s farewell.

Then, the man who had been looking at her all along slowly opened his eyes.

His eyes, like a camera lens, carefully captured Rebecca’s movements.

At the same time, in a hidden underground room.

Under the thick velvet fabric of royal purple, a woman was reflected in a large crystal bead.

It was the appearance of Rebecca, who was seeing off Adrian in front of the townhouse.

The young woman who had been watching Rebecca through the crystal bead shouted nervously.

“I told you I could kill that woman as soon as possible… Why is she still alive openly!”

The woman stomped her feet like a madwoman.

Then, an old woman with a grotesquely wrinkled face and a disgustingly large nose slowly opened her mouth.

“That day, after summoning the cursed doll, an invisible barrier appeared around that woman.”

“What does that mean?”

The old woman glanced at the young woman.

“…It seems that the Duke himself has intervened since that day.”

As expected, the woman’s face began to burn reddish-purple.

Squelch—

The sound of teeth grinding echoed eerily in the damp underground room.

“Why on earth did that woman do something like that for a lowly concubine? This… This is really strange… The situation is going strangely…”
The woman couldn’t hide her uneasy expression as she wandered around the table. So she did for quite a while.

Bang! Kwang―!

The woman forcefully slammed the table with both hands, expressing anger.

“You don’t know what humiliation I’ve endured! Enduring those stupid and arrogant humans has its limits!”

The old woman, as if accustomed to such situations, just slowly closed her eyes and sighed.

The woman, eyeing the old woman, lowered her voice.

“You promised to help me return to my original place. But until when do I have to endure this tedious life?”

“…”

“You should know that my patience is not endless, too, right?”

The woman calmly closed the gap between her face and the old woman’s face.

In her calm eyes, a glint of light appeared.

Squelch. When the sound of teeth grinding echoed, the old woman slowly opened her eyes.

“…Everything has its right timing, Lady.”

“So when the heck is it?”

The old woman, as if waking from a daze, glared at the approaching woman.

Then, the lips of the woman, who had been busy moving all along, momentarily stopped when she looked back at the old woman.

“Haven’t you been waiting patiently until now? Now that you’ve almost arrived…”

“…”

“Haven’t you waited well until now? Now that it’s almost over…”

“…”

“Because of a momentary impatient heart, you don’t want all your efforts so far to go to waste, right?”

Although the tone of the old woman’s words was polite, there was a clear warning within.

The woman, finally turning her head back with a nervously annoyed gesture, retreated.

Her face showed a suppressed rage, trying hard not to explode.

The old woman, watching the retreating woman, made a soft, indistinct sound.

“How could I not understand Lady’s heart?”

The old woman spoke with a more compassionate tone, trying to comfort the wounded heart.

“Please wait a little longer, Lady. I will surely help you return to your original place.”

When the woman turned her face, looking less angry, the old woman spoke again.

“But it seems you have already grown tired of waiting. So, I’d like to offer a small gift.”

“…A gift?”

The old woman’s wrinkled lips slowly formed a benevolent smile.

“This old woman… would like to remove one trouble that makes it difficult for Lady to endure.”

Finally, the lips, now fully raised, revealed a set of blackened, sticky teeth.

“Soon, at the Emperor’s birthday celebration…”

Slurp. Slurp.