It was an ambush unlike Adrian.

When I looked up in surprise, his eyes gazing at me sparkled even more brilliantly under the sunlight filtering through the parasol.

We silently locked eyes for a long moment.

Adrian softly exhaled and handed me the folded parasol.

“After saying so gracefully that I would just wait… How embarrassing.”

As he said this, the nape of his neck had already turned slightly red.

After a moment, Adrian quickly composed his expression and joked.

“But please accept this as a cute prank.”

“…What a joke.”

As I pouted my lips, Adrian led me to the main gate with a smile.

And when we finally reached the front gate.

“Today, I was truly happy.”

Adrian, who stopped first, smiled brightly at me.

“To be able to spend time with Your Highness not as a butler, but as a man, in a place other than the Twins family mansion.”

It was a beautiful smile that seemed like happiness would rub off if touched.

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

Shabby attire and messy hair that didn’t fit the Delta Street, a body so thin it was unpleasant.

There was nothing on the face of such a man.

No eyes, nose, or mouth.

The man’s face, which had been swaying slowly with his head bowed, turned towards one place again.

There was Rebecca, entering the townhouse while being seen off by Adrian.

Then, pupils slowly engraved themselves on the man’s face, which had been constantly facing her.

Those eyes persistently captured Rebecca’s movements like camera lenses.

.

.

.

At the same time, inside a damp basement.

In a large crystal ball on a table covered with deep purple velvet cloth, a woman was reflected.

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

The young woman who had been watching Rebecca through the crystal ball soon shouted irritably.

“You said you could kill that woman as soon as possible… So why is she still alive and well!”

The woman stomped her feet like a madwoman.

Then, an old woman with grotesquely wrinkled skin and an unpleasantly large hooked nose slowly opened her mouth.

“Since that day, after controlling the voodoo doll, an invisible barrier has appeared around that woman.”

“What does that mean?”

The old woman glanced at the woman’s expression.

“…It seems His Grace the Duke has personally taken action.”

As the old woman expected, the woman’s face began to burn even redder and bluer.

Grind―.

The sound of teeth grinding echoed eerily through the damp basement.

“What on earth is so special about that wench that he would go to such lengths?”

The woman who had been muttering in an eerie voice nervously bit her thumbnail.

“Rebecca Twins was someone he used to shudder at the mere mention of. This… This is really strange… The situation is turning strange…”

The woman paced around the table, unable to hide her anxious look. This went on for a while.

Bang! Crash―!

The woman slammed both hands on the table roughly and screamed.

“You don’t know what kind of humiliation I’ve been enduring! I can’t stand those stupid, arrogant people any longer!”

The old woman, seeming used to such situations, simply slowly closed and opened her eyes.

The woman who had been glaring at the old woman ground her teeth lowly.

“You said you’d help me return to my original position. But until when… do you expect me to continue this miserable life?”

“…”

“You know very well that my patience isn’t that deep, don’t you?”

The woman thrust her face deep into the old woman’s face, who had her eyes calmly closed.

A flash of murderous intent gleamed in the woman’s eyes.

Grind. When the sound of teeth grinding rang out clearly in front of her, the old woman’s eyes slowly opened.

“…Everything has its proper time, my lady.”

“So when exactly is that!”

The old woman raised her eyes towards the woman who was demanding an answer.

For a moment, the woman’s lips, which had been moving busily, stopped.

“You’ve waited well until now. It seems we’re almost there…”

“…”

“You wouldn’t want to render all your efforts so far useless because you couldn’t control a moment of impatience, would you?”

The old woman’s tone was casual, but it clearly contained a warning.

The woman eventually turned her head irritably and stepped back.

Her face clearly showed signs of trying to suppress the boiling anger.

The old woman stared at the woman who had turned away for a while, then made a small deflating sound.

“How could I not understand your feelings, my lady.”

The old woman spoke in a more affectionate voice, as if trying to soothe the woman’s hurt feelings.

“Please wait just a little longer, my lady. I will surely make it possible for you to return to your original position.”

When the woman turned back with a face of subdued anger, the old woman continued.

“But since you seem quite tired of just waiting until then, I’d like to give you a small gift.”

“…A gift?”

The old woman’s wrinkled mouth slowly curved upwards.

“This old woman… will remove one of the main culprits making it hard for you to endure.”

Finally, black stained sticky teeth were revealed between the old woman’s fully raised lips.

“At the upcoming Emperor’s birthday banquet…”

Gulp. Gulp.

Unpleasant sounds flowed from between the old woman’s black teeth.

It was already the day of the Emperor’s birthday banquet.

The carriage carrying Cedric and me finally entered the imperial palace.

Until then, I had been conversing with Cedric, but I signaled him to pause for a moment.

“Just a moment, Cedric…”

Cedric showed a disappointed look, but I had no time to pay attention to that.

It was because my gaze was captivated by the magnificent view of the imperial palace.

The vast garden, where twilight had settled, was brightly lit by the light emanating from the pink statues nearby, and elegant music flowed from various places.

When the carriage finally stopped in front of the banquet hall building, Cedric stepped out first.

“Keep talking, Rebecca. What did you say after mentioning that the Monter family’s townhouse is on 3rd Avenue? What else did you say?”

Cedric stood beside the carriage door, holding out his hand and urging me again.

“Ah, Cedric… Do you really have to do this even after coming all the way here?”

As I chided him, he held my hand as I got out of the carriage, but kept pouting his lips.

“…Adrian, saying such nonsense. Why did you meet with him anyway?”

Ever since I mentioned that I had gone to the gift exchange yesterday with Adrian, Cedric had been continuously grumbling.

“I told you. Mina invited me.”

“That friend Mina, I thought well of her…”

I turned my head quickly towards the imperial banquet hall, ignoring Cedric who was making a face.

Although Cedric looked inwardly disappointed, he still didn’t let go of my hand that he was holding tightly.

As we entered the banquet hall holding each other’s hands, this time the splendid interior captured my gaze again.

Hundreds of large and small chandeliers, and the brilliant light emanating from them.

The vast pink-colored banquet hall sparkled magnificently.

Nobles dressed luxuriously were engaged in conversation in various parts of the spacious hall, and in the center of the hall, a huge fountain was spewing champagne.

“I told him it would be better not to do this as it might seem like excessive luxury.”

Cedric shook his head as he saw the champagne fountain.

Of course, he must have said it out of loyalty, but who was Emperor Retiz?

He was a straightforward person who, as much as he loved breaking conventions, never thought twice about even the smallest things once he made a decision.

“Hahaha! Would you like to take a look at the cutting-edge magnifying glass I invented this time?”

I burst out laughing when I spotted Emperor Retiz already roaring with laughter at the center of the banquet hall.

‘Emperor Retiz, exactly like in the original work.’

I looked around the banquet hall again.

It was out of shallow curiosity to see if I could meet any original characters I hadn’t seen yet.

However, disappointingly, the first thing that came into my view was…

Duke Bold glaring at me as if he wanted to kill me from afar.

‘That guy still hasn’t come to his senses. I should have erased his memory back then.’

Now that I have Cedric’s permission, next time I really shouldn’t erase his memory.

I turned my head indifferently.

The next person I saw was Camilla.

She was standing next to her husband, Count Dmitri, conversing with other nobles.

‘Did they make up again so soon?’

However, seeing Count Dmitri subtly rejecting Camilla’s outstretched hand, it seemed that wasn’t the case.

‘That couple will also keep up appearances as a show-window couple until their divorce.’

I shrugged my shoulders and turned my head towards another direction.

Then, I saw Adrian standing in a corner far away.

He hadn’t noticed me yet and was quietly sipping champagne.

Next to Adrian was a man who looked just like him.

It seemed to be the eldest son of the Monter family that I had only heard about.

Although I was glad to see Adrian again, I turned my gaze once more.

It was to find the person I most wanted to see in person after Cedric.

‘That person must have come here too, I can’t leave without seeing them.’

The female protagonist from the original work, Robelia.

It was then, as I was looking around for her.

“Haha, by the way, Lord Jenkinson! I heard you made quite a profit from last week’s gift investment?”

Regrettably, the one who caught my eye before Robelia was her husband, Henry.

He was joking around with the nobles gathered around him, laughing innocently like a boy.

‘That, that… Ugh, more annoying than Camilla.’

It was then, as I was glaring at him sourly.

“Huh…?”

Cedric quietly asked me about the single word that had escaped my lips without my realizing.

“Did you find someone you know?”

“Ah, no.”

I shook my head roughly and looked at her again.

Near the champagne fountain, a beautiful blonde woman standing next to Henry.

Robelia Bart.

Seeing her in person, she was certainly beautiful, but she looked pale like a lifeless doll.

‘That’s understandable. According to the original work, Robelia should be suffering heartache right now, knowing about Camilla and Henry’s affair.’

Next to Robelia, who had empty eyes like glass beads, Henry, the culprit behind all this, was laughing comfortably.

‘He’s just like someone I knew in my past life.’

I pouted my lips and turned my head again.

The fountain in the center of the banquet hall was still brilliantly spewing golden champagne.

It was truly a beautiful sight even after seeing it multiple times.

‘I probably won’t forget this scene for the rest of my life…’

As one often thinks when seeing a rare sight, that’s what I thought.

And unfortunately, my premonition turned out to be exactly right.

Just a few hours later.

Because that brilliantly shining fountain was stained dark red with one person’s death.