Yurisien quietly observed the chattering peers as he spoke to me.

Three people had walked in this morning, faces marred by tears from the get-go. Ironically, none of them were Yurisien’s real friends.

‘Sigh…’

Yurisien, suppressing an internal sigh, blinked rapidly to hide his sinking gaze as he observed the busy complainers.

While it was inconvenient whenever he recalled Benjamin and Daisy, who were always brainstorming to assist Yurisien regardless of their statuses.

“Do you know how long I waited for your contact after hearing the Count has returned?”

Edna Ollie Calipso, seated to Yurisien’s left, rolled her eyes at him. The eldest daughter of the Calipso family, she had purple eyes and dark blue hair but appeared incredibly gentle.

“Exactly, why did we have to hear this news through someone else’s mouth? Neither from you nor from the butler Andersen?”

Across from her, Yeriel Volbon Geldaro joined in. With her sky-blue, voluminous hair and cobalt blue eyes, she resembled the autumn sky. A childhood friend of Yurisien, she was the youngest daughter of the Geldaro family.

“Let’s hear the reason, Yuri. Why haven’t you contacted us? I had no idea you were having such a hard life. Is this a housewife’s eczema?”

The person who sat to the right and audaciously took his hand was Adel Jinjeren. She spoke while picking at his healing finger skin and then shoved it in front of Edna and Yeriel.

“Look at this!”

Adel looked back at Yurisien, her eyebrows raised as if she’d heard a tragic story.

“Really, just ask me for such chores!”

Both Edna and Yeriel quickly shook their heads at Adel’s emotionally charged words.

“Adel! No matter what, that’s inappropriate. Why would you do such a filthy job when we have maids?”

“Yeah, it’s strange for Yuri to have done this in the first place. Rather, he should stop doing it, why are you doing it?”

“Edna, Yeriel…”

Moved by her friends’ earnest reproaches, Adel moistened her turquoise eyes. Pulling her gem-woven, red hair forward, she blushed shyly as she hugged it like a doll.

“I have no one but you. You’re the first nobles I’ve ever met in my life. Being friends with you is the greatest fortune of my lifetime.”

Edna and Yeriel’s expressions softened at Adel’s words.

Yurisien felt bile rise in his stomach as he watched Edna and Yeriel, who proudly puffed out their chests. Simultaneously, he realized how close the three had become during his absence, and how his advice had been tossed aside, which left a bitter taste in his mouth.

“…”

Adel caught a quick glimpse when Yurisien didn’t say anything. Had she crossed a line by casually grabbing a princess’s hand and peeling off the skin?

‘But when else can I ever stand above Windsor?’

In this room were the most precious daughters of powerful families in the Solejereon Empire.

The only daughter of the great Windsor, Calipso’s finest, and the beloved youngest of Geldaro.

‘And one commoner in between.’

In truth, this Jinjeren surname was also something Edna coined upon seeing her red hair. It had no legal standing but was a mere nickname.

In the Solejereon Empire, Yurisien, Edna, and Yeriel were known as the ‘Three Skies.’

Yeriel, with her sky-blue hair, was the sky of a clear afternoon. Edna, with her purple hair, was the sky as night began. Yurisien, with his black hair, was the sky of midnight.

Adel interjected herself among them, utilizing her red hair.

[Oh, if I become the twilight, it’s a sequence based on time!] And leading the great Windsor, Edna really liked the name they were called by, the heavens. Still, it was ‘Three Heavens’ not ‘Four Heavens.’

‘There is still a lot of time.’

Adel was proud of her beauty. Even though she was a commoner, her looks were superior to Yeriel. She was confident that she could win over Young-shik with just one conversation. So, marrying a noble and climbing the social ladder wasn’t an entirely vain dream.

But the obstacle was none other than Yurisien.

It was a story she had overheard at a party.

[Edna, I’m a bit worried.] [What are you talking about?]

Yurisien’s face was serious as he headed to the powder room with Edna, claiming to be tired.

Even Yurisien, who usually moved alone as if acknowledging he was a lone wolf, was suspicious for moving together with Edna. So Adel followed them, claiming she wanted to get some air, and discreetly trailed behind them.

[Adel… You know it too. That Adel really likes Young-shik.] [Yes, I know. She probably plans to marry him, right?]

The two were not in the powder room but behind a pillar in a secluded corner of the garden. They were talking about Adel.

[So, are you going to leave it at that?] [What’s the problem? Adel likes him.]

When Edna asked as if she didn’t understand, Yurisien who had been silent for a long time shook his head sadly.

[The only thing left is to hope that Adel comes to her senses.]

At that statement, Adel really came to her senses.

‘How could, how could they do this to me…!’

It was because of betrayal.