“I’m the heir of the family, Your Grace! I would never…!”

“If you don’t kneel immediately, I’ll have someone force you down, Jocelyn! Should I cut off that hand and banish you forever from this house for you to listen? It seems like in your mind, the entire Valtermister Duke’s family already belongs to you. Well then.”

Cedilloi rose abruptly. Only then did fear, an emotion Jocelyn had never seen from him before, come to her eyes. Until now, he had never shown such a side to her, who had cared for him like a mother and father.

How could this happen?

Had he forgotten the sacrifices she had made for this family?

“For the last time, Jocelyn. Either kneel immediately, or you’ll die here. What will it be?”

For a moment, terror and confusion clouded Jocelyn’s expression. Maeyana, who had been staring to capture every movement and expression, was now thoroughly chilled by Jocelyn’s eerie obsession.

Charging like a madwoman at the only lady of the Ducal family, even inviting the Duke’s anger, was something she hadn’t blinked an eye at. However, when she heard that she might be expelled from the Duke’s estate, she wore such an expression…

‘She sticks to the house like a persistent ghost. Whether that woman dies or the Duke’s mansion is moved elsewhere entirely, it would be better. It’s better to get rid of her.’

Maeyana thought.

Jocelyn, trembling as if she couldn’t believe what she had just heard, slowly lowered her head with an expression suppressing nausea. Noises of commotion from outside the door were heard briefly. However, when Jocelyn truly knelt down before Arianthe’s disdainful gaze, silence fell again.

“Forgive me…”

Jocelyn’s lips trembled as if she couldn’t believe what she was saying. Arianthe sat like a doll in a chair, looking down at Jocelyn, and bit her lips hard inside. She was about to burst into tears due to anger.

“Please forgive me, Lady…”

Kneeling Jocelyn lowered her body flat. Her dry body, which had grown pathetic with pride and blind loyalty, trembled as if about to burst.

Since her face was distorted with shame and humiliation, it was a relief, but if it hadn’t been for that, everyone there would have thought they were witnessing a demon.

“Don’t test my patience anymore, Jocelyn.”

Cedilloi said. It was the final ultimatum.

Jocelyn, who had been grinding her teeth so much that her gums were tensing up, gradually lowered her knees. A moment later, a sound of murmuring from outside the door was heard. But when Jocelyn truly knelt down before Arianthe’s foot, silence returned.

“Give me my necklace.”

Arianthe, who had remained silent throughout, suddenly spoke. Jocelyn, who had been lying prostrate all this time without saying a word, glared at Arianthe with boiling eyes.

“That originally belongs to me, Lady.”

“I found it. And Maeyana made it into a necklace for me. If it was precious, you should have kept it safe. Give it back.”

Arianthe reached out her hand. Jocelyn was tempted to grab that arm, twist and turn it, but she held back with all her might. It wasn’t time yet. Not yet… But someday, it might be possible.

The wooden brush, which had been clenched in Jocelyn’s hand, fell onto Arianthe’s palm with a thud. Although it couldn’t be considered a polite gesture, Arianthe didn’t say a word, seeming to have achieved her purpose.
It was not intentional, but it turned into a sight that inflicted even more unbearable disgrace on Jocelyn. To those who don’t know English—and have no intention of learning—Jocelyn’s act of forcibly taking Arianthe’s belongings and suffering the consequences would seem like nothing more than a divine punishment.

Cedilloi still stared down at Jocelyn without saying a word. His lips, chewed until they bled, burned with an intense malice that was hard to believe.

Preparations were complete. Jocelyn, like a demon already attached to the house, as Maeyana and Ash had said, had transformed and could soon be burned away.

She was ready with no way for her to escape.

“Now, go out, Jocelyn. And my order for you to visit the capital is still valid, leave immediately.”

His command was colder and more merciless than ever before. After he stood up and left the room, everyone distanced themselves from Jocelyn, as if avoiding a contagious disease. Jocelyn descended the stairs without giving anyone a glance, as if nothing had happened.

There was one person who watched her back until the end. Swan, who protruded her head through the railing, seemed to be a mix of embarrassment and relief.

After the storm-like events, the mansion’s servants, unlike usual, remained silent and focused on their tasks. Occasionally, there was only Kosa’s grumbling in the hallway, and the voices of other servants gathered to gossip, which would have been heard at other times, were almost inaudible.

“You’ve never been that angry before, have you?”

Maeyana asked while organizing the laundry. Since Arianthe, with Ibhi and Venti in tow, had gone to the garden to pick autumn leaves, only Cedilloi and Maeyana were left in Arianthe’s residence.