“Ahh, I slept well.”

Last night, after the banquet ended and I returned home, I took off my dress and fell asleep as if I had fainted.

There were many things to organize, but it was thanks to Ren who said he would take care of the cleanup instead.

As I stretched and came out of the bedroom, I saw Ren crouching in the kitchen.

“Ren? What are you doing there?”

“Ah, Lady Vivian. You’re awake. I was organizing the food ingredients.”

So diligent from the morning.

No matter how I thought about it, hiring Ren as my subordinate was undoubtedly the best choice in my life.

If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have been able to successfully imprison the handsome men safely.

Day and night, he always moved his body diligently. I don’t think I’ve even seen him sleeping much.

Come to think of it, I was half-asleep so I don’t remember clearly, but I think I heard him going in and out late last night.

“Did something happen last night?”

“What do you mean?”

“Ah, no. I heard footsteps coming and going while I was sleeping. Where did you go?”

“I did go to the hideout briefly after confirming you were asleep. To check if the imprisoned handsome men were safe. But don’t worry, I finished the task you assigned me.”

I flailed my hands in surprise.

I already felt bad for dumping all the work on him, but hearing those words made me feel like someone was stabbing my conscience with an awl until it was shredded.

“It’s not about the work, I just thought you might not have slept properly.”

“No, Lady Vivian. That’s my job. More importantly, what would you like for breakfast? I’ll make it right away.”

I can’t ask him to prepare breakfast after making him work like that yesterday.

“Let’s not do that and go out to eat! My treat!”

Ren nodded with a pretty smile.

To make such a happy face. I should treat him to meals more often from now on.

I hurriedly got ready to go out and left the house with Ren.

The alley full of delicious restaurants that open from the morning is located a bit far from our house.

It would have felt distant on a normal day, but as we walked while talking about what happened yesterday, we soon arrived near it.

“But will you be alright, Lady Vivian? Given your sister’s personality, I don’t think she’ll let that incident slide.”

“That’s true. But I don’t want to just take it anymore either. With Ren and Ruby supporting me, I don’t want to keep curling up like this anymore.”

As I resolutely reaffirmed my determination, the corners of Ren’s mouth gently turned up.

“You’ve changed a lot in just one day. Whatever choice you make, Lady Vivian, I will diligently support and assist you from behind.”

“Thank you… Oh? What’s that?”

I could see people crowded in a narrow passage in the distance.

“What could it be? Let’s go see!”

“Wouldn’t it be better to have breakfast first? If we go late, there might not be any seats left.”

“Oh, we can wait for seats! Let’s go see, let’s go see!”

I took Ren’s hand and headed towards the buzzing crowd of people.

“What on earth is going on here?”

“Oh my, it’s scary. So scary. Have they found the culprit?”

As we squeezed through the gaps, we could see why they were making such a commotion.

‘Gasp, what is this…!’

There were vivid dark red marks on the gray bricks of the alley wall. Messy traces as if paint had been accidentally spilled.

As I shifted my gaze further into the alley, there were red marks like pools of blood on the ground as well.

I hoped those weren’t real bloodstains, but it seemed they were.

Seeing the investigators controlling access while investigating here and there.

I was so shocked that my legs gave out. Fortunately, Ren caught me.

“Are you alright, Lady Vivian?”

“Y-yes, I’m just a little surprised…”

“I’m sorry. If I had known this would happen, I would have tried harder to stop you from approaching.”

“No, it’s my fault for insisting on looking.”

I should have listened when Ren said to go to the restaurant first. I regretted being stubborn belatedly, but my body had already gone limp.

Ren skillfully extracted me from among the crowded people. Then he looked at me with worried eyes.

“Lady Vivian, shall we just go back home? You look pale.”

“No, it’s fine. I was just surprised. Let’s just go. I think I need to do something to forget that scene.”

I turned around and walked towards the restaurant again. However, my legs were still wobbly from the shock of the cruel scene.

Noticing this state, Ren silently held out his hand.

As I grasped his hand, I was surprised by the warm temperature that gradually calmed my startled heart.

Eventually, we arrived at the restaurant as originally planned.

We had to wait in line because it was full, but I was rather glad for the situation. I didn’t have the confidence to put anything in my mouth right away.

While waiting, Ren told me various stories.

He was usually quiet, but he seemed to be trying to reassure me.

Thanks to his efforts, I was able to have a relatively enjoyable time once we entered the restaurant.

However, as we came out after finishing the meal, the scene from earlier inevitably flashed through my mind again.

On the way home, I hesitated before opening my mouth.

“You know, about that thing earlier. I overheard people talking? They said they haven’t found the culprit yet, or the body. What on earth could have happened?”

Ren answered my question gently.

“Don’t worry too much, Lady Vivian. The investigators aren’t fools either. I’m sure they’ll find the culprit soon.”

Right, I know that too. I know that’s the right way to think.

But I became afraid of the possibility that such a horrific incident could happen again nearby.

‘How can I be so timid, what will I do later?’

According to the original story, demons will invade this empire someday.

The reality I’ll face then will surely be more horrific than now, but will I be able to handle it?

My thoughts kept spiraling. I needed to clear my head, but my expression grew more and more serious.

“The same incident won’t happen again, Lady Vivian. If you can’t trust the investigators, please trust me.”

The gentle teasing words of Ren made me smile, albeit faintly.

How foolish. As if trusting Ren would change anything. Would that suddenly make the culprit have a change of heart?

Still, it seemed jokes worked well in moments like this.

Seeing as my mood had lifted slightly.

“Alright. I’ll trust you, Ren.”

I shook my head from side to side, trying to shake off complicated thoughts.

When I came to my senses, we were already standing at the fork between the hideout and home.

“You’re going to the hideout, right Ren? I’ll stop by home briefly and come soon after.”

“I’ll escort you.”

I shook my head and declined his continued consideration.

I was just mentally shaken, but I didn’t need that much help.

Ren made an expression that seemed somewhat regretful, but followed my words and headed towards the path to the hideout.

I also headed towards home.

After moving like that for a while, I saw a familiar carriage with an engraved phrase in front of the house.

‘That’s…’

I rubbed my eyes in surprise. But nothing changed.

Eventually, someone got out of the carriage.

The owner of the curly orange hair was a person I knew very well.

Leonie Schmidt.

My half-sister, whom I never wanted to meet again, was approaching me.

Last night.

The Marquis and Marchioness Schmidt and Leonie hurriedly boarded the carriage, unable to wait for the banquet to end.

In contrast to how they had walked into the banquet hall together harmoniously at first, their atmosphere was now somber.

The Marquis Schmidt, who had been looking out the window with a sullen face, turned his gaze to examine his daughter’s appearance.

For this banquet, the Marquis Schmidt had paid more attention than usual to Leonie’s appearance.

He had her wear the most splendid dress he could buy and mobilized all the maids to dress up Leonie.

It was in hopes of having even a slight positive influence on achieving the goal of an engagement with Dietrich.

But now, what on earth was this state?

Her hair, which had been neatly brushed, was not only disheveled but completely matted by sticky wine.

The expensive dress had lost its original color and was stained.

If there was something more infuriating than all this situation, it was Leonie’s red and swollen cheek.

Although he had been trying to hold back since his daughter must be the saddest person, the Marquis felt his anger boiling again at the state of her cheek.

“That Belvedere princess…!”

The middle-aged man’s voice suddenly boomed. Yet Leonie, far from being startled, only wore a sad expression.

The Marquis felt as if his heart was being torn apart. She was a child who always smiled whether sad or happy, but now this expression…

He hurriedly began to comfort his daughter.

“Don’t worry, Leonie. I will never forgive that woman. Even if she’s a Belvedere, she’s still under the imperial family. I’ll do something about it somehow. You don’t need to worry about anything.”

“Please don’t, Father.”

She was indeed like his angelic daughter. To defend the princess even after being treated like that.

“What are you saying! She dared to raise a hand against you! I will never forgive that woman…”

“That’s not it. It wasn’t Lady Belvedere who slapped my cheek.”

The Marquis, who had been raging, paused momentarily at the unexpected statement, then grasped Leonie’s hand.

“No, wasn’t it the princess who made your cheek like that?”

“No, Father. The one who slapped my cheek was…”

Leonie took a moment to catch her breath, as if it was difficult to continue speaking.

Curious about the inside story of the incident, both the Marquis and Marchioness leaned in to listen.

Their gazes were fixed on Leonie’s closed lips. The two eagerly waited for the next words to come out.

“…It was Sister Vivian. I didn’t want to tell you because I thought Mother and Father might misunderstand Sister…”

“As expected, that lowborn wench!”

“What on earth does that mean!”

Leonie briefly explained about the incident that had occurred at the banquet. Of course, she thoroughly concealed the truth.

“Sister misunderstood something and slapped my cheek. When the commotion arose, Lady Belvedere defended Sister. Lady Belvedere only protected Sister Vivian, so please don’t hate her too much…”

After barely finishing her story in a weak tone, she closed her eyes tightly, covering her mouth with her hand as if sadness was welling up again.

‘With this, Father will hate Vivian more than ever, right?’

Although the humiliation she suffered today was unpleasant, thinking about her sister who would be hated even more by the family made her feel somewhat better due to the satisfaction.

Leonie put on a sad expression again and carefully opened her eyes.

However, strangely, the Marquis looked much more enraged than she had thought.