Yuriel collapsed on her way back to her room, unable to endure any longer.

After catching her breath with her face buried in her knees, she finally lifted her head, looking pale.

It felt as if someone had snatched her soul away.

‘He said he likes me…’

The image of herself saying those words swirled in her mind.

What was the young master’s reaction when he heard those words?

A subtle crack had spread across his usually dry expression.

As if he had heard something he shouldn’t have.

After that, he suddenly burst into laughter.

He shook for quite a while, seemingly shocked that someone like her had confessed.

Though she couldn’t see clearly with her head bowed, it must have been a sneer.

Finally, as if granting her mercy, he told her to go.

Knowing she should have persisted, she retreated from that place like she was fleeing.

It was the result of being consumed by a petty pride that wanted to run away immediately.

What was that shame worth? She should have clung to his legs and said what she wanted.

‘I should have at least gotten a definite answer about Mother’s medicine before leaving…’

Should I go back? Would he possibly accept me then?

But that final laugh she saw had stripped Yuriel of all her courage.

In the wake of the storm, not calm, but a deep whirlpool remained.

Her tangled thoughts were interrupted by a commotion from the opposite end of the corridor.

Judging by their attire, they seemed to be assistants from the horse stables.

Not wanting to be seen in her tearful, unsightly state, Yuriel quickly hid behind a pillar.

Their conversation spread faintly over the quiet space.

“I heard Hael doesn’t come to the mansion anymore?”

“They say he went to the capital.”

“Well, now that the young master is going to the capital too, isn’t he taking him along?”

“No, I heard he quit.”

“What? As a Blanchet scholarship student, with his skills, he would have been better off staying with Blanchet.”

“It must be because of what Lady Catherine did.”

The sound of their conversation faded away after that, but one thing was certain.

Hael had left. Not just her, but Blanchet as well.

Her heart began to race rapidly.

Of course, it wasn’t that she hadn’t predicted the approaching farewell.

When Lady Catherine’s staged drama was plastered all over the daily papers, a great storm must have hit Hael’s family.

She would probably never see Hael again now.

Even if he came back down to Alfonse, she couldn’t face Hael with a smiling face like before.

Still, she hadn’t expected to part ways like this without even a word…

Even if Hael hadn’t left without a word, she wouldn’t have had the face to see him now.

In that prison where a lifeline other than him was placed in her hand, she had erased Hael from her mind.

Without doing so, she couldn’t have kissed the young master and blurted out words of affection in her right mind.

So even if he hadn’t left like this, she wouldn’t have been able to face Hael as before.

Rather, she would have had to send him away resolutely.

That would have been painful in its own way.

In that sense, Hael’s silent disappearance was perhaps fortunate.

He was already paying too harsh a price for what he was going through now.

In exchange for Lady Catherine’s crime, Hael had lost his new status and a potential spouse.

She had lost an old first love and a friend, and Lady Catherine had lost her reputation by becoming the mastermind of a staged drama.

If I had known it would be like this, I shouldn’t have started from the beginning.

Tears of belated regret blurred her vision.

It took a long time for the hazy feeling to dissipate.

At the end of an old first love, a new afterimage swept into view.

A shadow flickered in the distance.

It belonged to the young master who had saved her from the hell of prison.

Ah, for the first time, she saw his shadow properly.

Only now, as he was about to leave.

Only then did it truly sink in that everyone was leaving her side.

Even the fact that she might be left alone in this Alfonse.

If even Mother disappeared… Yuriel shuddered at the thought of something so terrible.

The words Lady Catherine had said behind her back long ago flashed through her mind.

That she was a person with bad luck. That’s why even her father left her side.

That once such people’s fate goes awry, it never rights itself.

The time when sunset fades and a new sun covers the earth.

Fatigue was evident on the haggard faces of the knights mobilized without sleep at the lord’s insistence.

As their cooling yawns filled the space.

With majestic footsteps, Blanchet’s knights burst in first.

Precisely aligned formation, exceptional height and robust physique, dignity and discipline in every step, Blanchet’s armor said to be made from dragon scales…

Indeed, befitting the knights of the warrior family Blanchet, their appearance was extraordinary from the start.

Even the knights of Alfonse, who usually carried themselves with pride, could only gape at them with deflated spirits in this moment.

“Wasn’t it said that only the Duchess of Blanchet was coming?”

“That’s why it’s only this much.”

Indeed, the number of Blanchet knights who entered through the main gate was not that many, just a few dozen.

It was just that their aura was so overwhelming that it felt like one person gave the impression of a hundred.

Compared to Blanchet’s procession in daily papers, famous for its splendor, this was a modest level.

It was natural, given the Duchess’s intention to avoid rumors about neglecting her son in such an unworthy place while hiding the heir’s illness.

The Blanchet Knight Order, which had graced the front pages for the salaried Alfonse knights who only dealt with minor issues in droves, was enough to take their breath away.

The lord, who appeared belatedly after hearing Raenode’s report, clicked his tongue at the sight of them standing dumbfounded.

“What are you sitting around for! Are you going to move only after the Duchess leaves?”

Only then did the knight commander come to his senses and signal the servant knight.

The servant knight who received the signal opened the door and prepared to escort.

However, there was not even a stir from inside.

As the Blanchet knight went to the lord and said something while they stood bewildered, he furrowed his brow.

As expected of an arrogant noble nobody, how many demands she has coming to someone else’s mansion.

The lord chewed on curses, thinking he could see where that son’s temperament came from.

However, as if nothing had happened, he relayed the Duchess of Blanchet’s instructions.

“She says she needs a footstool.”

The servant knight who had stepped forward had no choice but to lie face down on the floor at the commander’s signal.

Sharp heels stepped over his hunched back.

The servant knight’s forehead was covered in cold sweat as he tried to hold back his groans.

The lord’s face also crumpled as he watched.

Of course, it wasn’t out of concern for the servant knight.

It was because of the displeasure stemming from what seemed like an insulting attitude.

Isn’t showing such a sight in his mansion thoroughly disrespecting him?

But what took a bigger place in the lord’s heart than anger was fear.

‘It seems this woman is as crazy as that mad young master…’

It would be a big problem if Yuriel, that girl’s name came up.

Fortunately, he had instructed Yuriel, that girl, not to move an inch from her room, so there would be no chance of her catching the Duchess’s eye today.

There should be no mention of that child, no.

The lord forced a smile on his face while trying to suppress his pounding heart.

In that moment, Elise de Blanchet, the Duchess, emerged from the carriage that had been filled with only silence.

A groan-like sound leaked from under her heels as she stepped firmly.

However, not a single expression crossed her face.

As if the knight crushed beneath her was merely an object.

The shadow soon lifted from her as she walked out from under the canopy, stepping on him.

Hair braided with jewels, a face that looked somewhat aged but well-maintained, followed by a dress with an elegant silhouette, revealed themselves in turn.

Her graceful gait, moving upright, felt exactly like the young master’s, making it seem like a symbol of Blanchet.

Passing by the Alfonse knights who were bowing so low their bodies were folded, without even a glance, Duchess Elise moved towards the lord who wore a benevolent smile.

“You’ve arrived earlier than expected.”

Duchess Elise silently looked him up and down.

The lord flinched at the pressure he felt from the silence.

His wife, Lester, who had somehow approached his side as he stood there stupidly, began with a friendly greeting.

“Was your journey comfortable? Since the roads aren’t as well-paved as in the capital…”

“Blanchet’s carriages are not so flimsy as to worry about that.”

The lord and Lady Lester were momentarily lost for words at her firm yet low voice.

Normally in such situations, wouldn’t one say thank you for the concern, or that it was fine?

How could she be so dismissive, even for a great noble…

Lady Lester, who had never experienced such treatment, openly frowned.

Meanwhile, the hairpins and tiaras studded with obviously expensive jewels that the Duchess wore drove her self-esteem into the mud.

Only after the lord nudged her repeatedly to fix her expression did Lady Lester barely return to her previous demeanor.

“Ah… I see. That’s good.”

“Let’s go inside. The young master is waiting.”