Standing in the middle of the frangipani garden, Charlotte holding a white lace parasol was as beautiful as a masterpiece painting.

There was no way her sister’s husband would suspect her of sneaking into his bedroom.

“I heard from Marian yesterday. You took a little walk together? I came because I wanted to take a walk with my sister too.”

Yerpi hesitated, unsure how to respond. Charlotte smiled gently as she looked at Yerpi, who remained silent.

“Why? Don’t you want to walk together anymore?”

“…It’s not that.”

“You must’ve heard from Marian yesterday, right? I was perfectly well-behaved.”

Charlotte tilted her head. Truthfully, the encounter itself felt awkward.

But she didn’t want to make things unpleasant by showing it. After a soft sigh, she asked,

“Fine, alright. A walk would be fine. But did you really come just to take a walk? Or is there something you want to say?”

It didn’t seem like she had come just for a walk.

Charlotte fell silent for a moment. Then, she hooked her arm through Yerpi’s, leaning on her with the parasol-dangling arm.

“Of course my sister is perceptive.”

“Wait, what are you doing?”

“I’d like us all to have dinner together tonight. I have something to show you.”

Pretending nothing had happened had its limits. When Yerpi tried to pull her arm away, Charlotte clung even tighter, nearly poking Yerpi’s eye with the tip of the parasol.

In the end, unable to push Charlotte away, Yerpi had no choice but to listen.

“What… and who exactly do you mean by ‘all of us’?”

“My sister and His Grace, of course. Now that I think about it, I haven’t properly apologized to His Grace. He still thinks it was sleepwalking, doesn’t he? We wouldn’t want to make a family matter any bigger.”

Yerpi opened her mouth, speechless from disbelief.

It was true she hadn’t mentioned the incident to Raymond again. But that didn’t mean she had completely buried it in her heart.

Let alone the word “family.” She never expected that in Charlotte’s idea of family, both herself and Raymond would be included.

“Charlotte. I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I can’t keep doing everything you ask of me anymore.”

It was a carefully chosen statement, but likely insufficient to make Charlotte understand.

She had thought Charlotte’s stubbornness was inevitable, but instead of arguing, Charlotte asked something else.

“Then what about for that little dragon?”

At the mention of the Duke’s adopted son, Yerpi froze instinctively. Seeing her reaction, Charlotte smiled, leaning her cheek against Yerpi’s shoulder.

“You mean Dante?”

“Yes. His dream is to become human, isn’t it? I don’t know how he was born with such an appearance, but it’s pitiful.”

Charlotte’s pity was unwelcome. Yerpi wasn’t even sure if she genuinely felt it.

Yerpi barely managed to pry Charlotte away.

Charlotte seemed displeased, but once she stepped back, Yerpi could finally breathe.

“What is it that you want to show me?”

“Something that could help him. Isn’t that tempting enough? Hmm, for dinner tonight, I’d like some young bird dish. I’m craving tender meat.”

In her mind, the evening meal with everyone together was already decided.

Yerpi sighed at the sight, but thinking of Dante, she figured it was best to at least hear her out.

‘If she starts saying something ridiculous, I can just ignore her then.’

She still hadn’t found a proper way to harvest the fruit of the Great Tree.

Raymond and Mercadi were exploring various methods to approach the Great Tree safely, but there was no guarantee a solution would emerge.

There was also the option of waiting five years, but given that the ritual using the fruit hadn’t even been completed yet, that would be far too late.

“Alright. I’ll see you tonight.”

“Mm. It’ll be a feast after so long. I should dress nicely.”

Even now, dressed in a pure white gown, Charlotte already looked dazzling.

Seeing how quickly she adapted to this place, she didn’t seem like someone who would leave anytime soon.

The evening arrived, still carrying the uneasy feeling that had lingered all day. The banquet arranged by Charlotte began.

The meal followed Kerast’s formal dining sequence. Whether she had personally instructed the chef or not, the main course included the tender roasted bird she had mentioned.

Raymond and Dante, unexpectedly invited to this formal dinner, couldn’t hide their discomfort upon learning it was Charlotte who had arranged it.

Unaware or indifferent to the atmosphere, Charlotte smiled, wearing a dress adorned with frills shaped like roses on pale pink fabric.

“Good evening, Your Grace.”

She gave a slight curtsy, and Raymond remained silent. Though he believed her intrusion into his room was due to sleepwalking, he still couldn’t shake off the unease.

“Please, sit.”

“Yes. Sister, let’s sit. I ordered some dishes I thought you’d like when I placed the order earlier. Hmm, what does the little dragon eat?”

As Charlotte tilted her head, Dante, nestled in Yerpi’s arms, let out a yawn.

Charlotte, eyes wide, shrugged as if dismissing him as a wild creature.

The meal began. Light soup, salad, and soft bread served as appetizers, gradually leading toward the main course.

Most dishes weren’t Growen-style, yet strangely, they felt familiar.

Yerpi soon realized why these foods seemed so recognizable.

‘These are the ones I saw at the Count’s household.’

Salmon salad made with semi-grilled fillets, octopus dish imitating Mediterranean style.

Flounder roasted with citrus glaze, and lemon-flavored steak—these were all dishes Charlotte used to enjoy at the Count’s estate.

Before Yerpi recalled her past life, she could at least taste a little, even if she felt uneasy.

But after the confusion of memories, even a single hard piece of bread was hard to accept.

Back then, she had watched longingly from the shared dining table, assuming Charlotte must have liked such foods.

Charlotte’s empathy, in this way, was somehow twisted. But it didn’t matter now.

As long as what Charlotte wanted to show would help Dante, that was all that counted.

‘Did I bring Dante here for nothing?’

If Charlotte said anything that might hurt the child, she knew she would never forgive her.

But Charlotte, seemingly having completely forgotten her own words, continued enjoying the meal, even sipping champagne.

Once she realized these were the foods of the Count’s household, her appetite vanished. She put down her fork after only a few bites.

Just as the meal was nearly over, Yerpi, unable to wait any longer, prompted her.

“Charlotte, I heard you wanted to show us something.”

“Oh, right.”

Charlotte opened her eyes wide, as if she had completely forgotten.

She flicked her finger toward the maid standing by, wiping her lips with a napkin. Marian and Snowel flinched.

Among the bowing maids, Snowel briefly left the dining room.

‘Why does she seem so timid?’

The question lingered only briefly. When Snowel returned, she carried a birdcage. Inside, two mirror birds were caged together.

“What are you doing now?”

“I didn’t forget. I just thought it wasn’t suitable to show during dinner.”

Charlotte stood and approached the cage held by Snowel.

As Charlotte placed her hand on the cage, the mirror birds inside suddenly thrashed wildly, crashing into each other as if convulsing.

Mirror birds, usually extremely tame and bred to be gentle—so much so that they needed to be taught caution—now shrieked and panicked at just her touch. This was unprecedented.

“What on earth are you doing?”

Raymond’s expression turned cold. But Charlotte’s strange behavior didn’t stop there.

“I heard we must depart for the Autumn Territory. There’s something I need to retrieve there, but a guardian spirit is obstructing our plans.”

A sacred light gathered in her delicate hand.

It was the power of Agrolia, the goddess of life, the only deity the Empire truly believed in. The holy power seeped into only one of the two mirror birds.

“Watch closely.”

This power was originally meant to preserve living beings. Yet, the mirror bird helplessly collapsed to the bottom of the cage, lifeless.