The next morning dawned.

The duchess’s bedroom was bustling with preparations for lunch. But there were not four, but only two maids attending to Yerpi.

In the end, Yerpi had given two of her personal maids to Charlotte yesterday.

Charlotte smiled as she took over Marian and Snoel.

‘As expected, my sister is kind. Ever since we were little, she always listened to everything I said.’

Along with those words she had heard since childhood.

When Charlotte spoke with a teary expression, Yerpi wanted to fulfill any request she made.

Thus, she had always granted whatever Charlotte asked.

Even if it meant stealing someone else’s belongings at Charlotte’s request and taking the slap in her place—something utterly unreasonable.

But who wouldn’t want to listen to Charlotte?

She was so beautiful she was called the reincarnation of an angel. She was a precious girl destined to become a saintess one day.

Most importantly, she was Yerpi’s only younger sister.

Therefore, Yerpi had always believed it wasn’t strange at all to grant every single one of Charlotte’s requests.

‘…Was that really the reason?’

Now, looking back, the thought suddenly struck her mind that her willingness to fulfill Charlotte’s every wish seemed strangely excessive.

Yet, she could not offer any other explanation.

To Yerpi, Charlotte was simply that kind of existence—someone special without any particular reason, just like a heroine from a storybook.

Charlotte was the heroine. And I am merely a supporting character whom the male lead passes by.

Thinking this way, even if it made herself smaller, everything made sense.

She had tried to accept things this way again today.

But why.

‘Why do I feel so uncomfortable?’

Yesterday, she had assumed it was probably due to fatigue.

But even by morning, her mood hadn’t improved. In fact, having tossed and turned all night, she now had a headache.

Yet, she couldn’t just stay in bed all morning simply because her head ached.

Just then, Pepe finished styling her hair.

“It’s done.”

“Alright. Thank you.”

Though her face was pale from lack of deep sleep, tidying her hair made her look somewhat better.

Raymond had sent someone earlier that morning to set up a lunch appointment. This would be their first shared meal since returning to the castle, and she didn’t want to be late.

‘Pull yourself together.’

First, she needed to calm her mind and figure out what exactly was happening.

But the effort she made to steady herself collapsed the moment she saw the two standing together in the dining room.

As she stood at the entrance, she could hear their voices.

“I apologize for the late greeting. Thank you for welcoming me.”

Perhaps because the sky was covered with clouds, the small rays of sunlight entering through the large window stood out unusually.

Standing there, Charlotte looked even more beautiful.

Before her stood Raymond. His neatly combed black hair. His sharp golden eyes, reflecting the light, gazed down at Charlotte.

“You may stay, but you must explain how you crossed into Growen territory.”

“Of course. My sister already warned me about that. I’m sorry to have caused you concern. However, the process was a bit complicated, so I need some time to organize my words.”

At Charlotte’s words, Raymond fell silent.

As silence hung between them, Charlotte was the first to notice Yerpi standing beyond the doorway.

“Oh, sister. You’re here. Why are you standing over there instead of coming in?”

Charlotte greeted Yerpi with a bright smile.

Raymond and Charlotte stood together.

The sight felt so perfectly matched that Yerpi felt an odd sense of displacement, as if she didn’t belong in this space at all.

“We seemed to be in the middle of a conversation.”

“Oh, I see. Of course, my sister is considerate. Well then, since my sister is here, shall we all sit together?”

Her tone was as if she had been waiting specifically for Yerpi.

‘So she didn’t just call for me.’

She had just realized the simple notion that the lord of the castle would naturally invite his guests—including his wife—to lunch.

She felt as if sinking into the deep sea.

Meanwhile, Charlotte was waiting for a maid to pull out the chair for Yerpi’s seat.

Traditionally, at the head of the long table sat the lord of the house, and to his immediate left sat the official lady of the house.

Guests were supposed to sit one seat apart from them, on the right side.

When the maid hesitated to pull out the chair, Charlotte tilted her head.

“Why aren’t you pulling out the chair?”

“Well, that seat is…”

Seeing the maid’s discomfort, Raymond corrected the position.

“That’s my wife’s seat.”

“Oh, is that so? I made a mistake.”

Charlotte widened her eyes and stepped back.

Then, as if nothing had happened, she turned to Yerpi with an apologetic expression.

“I’ll move. I must’ve upset you.”

“Thank you.”

“Oh, don’t mention it. Oh, look. It’s raining. The weather is truly unpleasant.”

Raindrops began to fall one by one from the heavily clouded sky.

She ended up sitting in her original seat, while Charlotte, without needing any maid’s guidance, went and sat in the guest’s designated spot.

This meant she already knew where each person should sit based on their position.

Even though she was now seated correctly and eating, her mood didn’t improve.

As if to prove this, thick raindrops poured down beneath the dark clouds. Though it was still morning, it felt like night.

During the meal, Charlotte brought up various topics, making the conversation at the table lively and cheerful.

Many people liked Charlotte—her canary-like chirping voice and the pleasant stories she told always put listeners at ease.

Laughing, she said the rain wasn’t so bad after all, and then suddenly brought up memories of her and Yerpi’s childhood.

“When we were little, we used to attend classes together. Right, sister?”

No matter how Charlotte remembered it, Yerpi could hardly recall a single pleasant memory of time spent with her younger sister.

Especially during lessons—it was always worse then. No matter what Charlotte did wrong, Yerpi bore the blame.

Was she perhaps about to bring up the time Yerpi took a beating on her behalf? Whatever she said, it felt unsettling.

Whether Charlotte sensed Yerpi’s unease or not, she turned to her sister with a bright gaze.

“I was worried you might be too timid, but I’m glad to see you’re adapting well here. Father must be very worried about you too.”

Yerpi froze for a moment as Charlotte suddenly mentioned the count.

‘Worried?’

If he were truly concerned about her well-being—making sure she hadn’t been returned like a defective item—he’d nod and say she should be grateful just to be kept.

“Don’t you miss Father too?”

She knew it would be appropriate to answer affirmatively, but today, the words wouldn’t come out.

At that moment, Raymond set down his spoon and spoke.

“You were beyond Growen, yet you never heard that the count became disabled?”

His cold gaze turned toward Charlotte. But his words startled Yerpi as well.

‘Father became disabled? What does that mean?’

Since her marriage, she had heard no news from the outside world at all.

She had simply imagined that back at the estate, her father was living comfortably off the money he received for selling her, supporting Charlotte and living in wealth.

But disabled?

Unlike Yerpi, who was shocked, Charlotte seemed unfazed by the news of her father.

Instead, she merely blinked, as if the cold gaze directed at her was unfamiliar.

“You seem to have chosen the wrong topic for a pleasant childhood memory. Or is this intentional malice?”

“What do you mean?”

Her face was innocently charming enough to mesmerize anyone.

A priest once claimed, gazing at Charlotte, that even if she committed a sin, the goddess would surely forgive her.

But that beautiful appearance seemed to have no effect on Raymond.

“You casually romanticize someone else’s past just because you’ve lived comfortably yourself.”

At those words, Yerpi’s heart plummeted to the floor.

‘He knew.’

Raymond had known from the beginning that she had been mistreated.

The moment she realized this, heat rushed to her ears and cheeks. She felt unbearably, painfully ashamed.

Thunder cracked beyond the window. Unable to endure any longer, Yerpi rose from her seat.

“Excuse me. I’ll go ahead.”

“Yerpi?”

Startled, Raymond stood up as well.

Though she heard someone calling her from behind, she didn’t want to stop—only walked faster.

At the end of a dark corridor, a dead end awaited her.

She had run here mindlessly, not even knowing where she was. Raymond approached from behind as Yerpi caught her breath.

A careful hand reached out, turning her around.

She couldn’t bear to face him. With her eyes downcast, Raymond stepped before her and asked.