Yuan took a few steps back and looked at the small building attached like a lump to the far left of the mansion.

“No, I’ve only been to the eastern annex where we had the party last time. In fact, I haven’t even seen all of the main building yet…”

“That western annex over there used to be Clard’s hideout.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“This mansion was originally used as a villa by the late emperor and empress. That was his space, and afterwards Apollini grew up…”

Lancelot’s voice dropped off suddenly.

Yuan turned her gaze from the small, pitch-black building to look up at him.

For a brief moment, his face showed a devastated expression, but it quickly donned a bright mask.

Blinking at that surprising change, Lancelot smiled at Yuan as if nothing had happened.

Yuan tactfully changed the subject.

“I saw from afar that there’s a dog living in that annex over there.”

“That dog is one Clard picked up and raised when he was young.”

“He did such a thing? Oh.”

Yuan hastily covered her mouth with her hand at the sincere words that came out without her realizing. Lancelot, who had completely shaken off his dark expression, narrowed his eyes.

“Yes, even Clard was quite cute and nice when he was young.”

“I thought it was a dog raised by the servants. I’ve never heard him talk about or look for the dog. Is it that he dislikes dogs now because he was too young then?”

Lancelot stared at the western annex with Yuan for a while, then whispered softly.

“…If he didn’t like it, he wouldn’t keep it, would he?”

His voice sounded somewhat lonely, so Yuan looked up at Lancelot adjusting his clothes for a long time.

“I’ve talked too much. I hope we can converse often. I understand why Clard has become more talkative.”

Lancelot bowed gracefully as he gave his greetings. Yuan returned the greeting and quietly observed his gaze lingering once on the western annex and once on her.

“I’ll be waiting for news that Clard has come outside soon.”

After Lancelot left, Yuan watched his figure disappear on horseback, then turned her gaze to the western annex.

She scrutinized everything from the small annex Lancelot had told her about to the busy footsteps of the servants.

And then…

-Swish!

Without fail, the curtain of the second-floor bedroom that automatically closed when her gaze reached it.

It seemed Lancelot had given her a big hint.

Where she needed to touch to make Clard come out.

Yuan stared intently at the gap in the covered curtain, maintaining her posture with her hands politely clasped in front.

Meanwhile, at the Peliesse mansion.

Already more than six large four-wheeled carriages had turned back empty-handed at the entrance.

Among them, a few particularly luxurious carriages pushed their way to the mansion entrance and finally managed to meet Count Peliesse.

“The effectiveness of the medicine has noticeably decreased. Do you have any intention of taking responsibility?”

“There’s a crucial herb needed, but it takes a very long time to obtain it.”

“How much money have I invested so far! Is there anything money can’t do? It’s been a month already. Now even ordinary headache medicines don’t work!”

Duchess Seletina cried out in a shrill voice.

In reality, the headache medicine was doing its job.

It was just that without Yuan to immediately take away the pain, they thought the medicine’s effectiveness had decreased.

“I’ll prescribe more than the regular dose. If you take it and close your eyes to sleep…”

“Hmph, listen here, Count Peliesse.”

Duchess Seletina raised her sharp eyes and crossed her arms.

As her husband was the emperor’s closest confidant, Count Peliesse politely clasped his hands together.

“I admit that Peliesse medicine works better than others. If it weren’t for that, I would have ended our business immediately! But I’m too special to drink the same medicines Peliesse sells to the general public along with everyone else. Am I wrong?”

“You are absolutely right, Duchess.”

“I’m a VIP. Because I’m a special customer, I paid a lot of money. It’s as if I built two pillars of this mansion myself.”

“That’s correct, my lady.”

“You understand that what I want from Peliesse is not just medicine that works a little better than others, right?”

Count Peliesse, looking haggard as if all his energy had been drained – though his chin was still folded in three layers – barely managed to soothe and send off the special guests before heading to the laboratory.

Seeing the chaos as soon as he opened the door, the count held his breath for a moment before shouting forcefully.

“Frederick!”

The devil who had wreaked havoc on the already stagnant research lab, where there was hardly anyone trustworthy to rely on, was wearing a ‘what should I do’ smile.

Hearing the sudden commotion, Regina rushed up to the laboratory.

As expected, the stupid Frederick had been sneaking into the lab again and got caught by father.

“Frederick, you muscle-brained fool! How many times do I have to tell you that doing nothing is the best way to help your father?”

“But Father, weren’t you the one who told me to catch these?”

“If you caught them, you should have put them in the stable somewhere! Who told you to bring them to the laboratory?!”

It was the result of Frederick catching two stray dogs and releasing them in the laboratory.

Two ink-stained stray dogs were dirtying the entire laboratory floor and sofa. One was limping, and the other was missing an eye.

“Father, what were you planning to do with these stray dogs?”

At Regina’s sudden interjection, the count flinched and then roughly pulled on the leash of the dogs that Frederick had barely managed to tie.

“I had them brought here because I have a use for them!”

“Father, surely you’re not experimenting on those dogs, are you?”

Count Peliesse turned to look at his daughter in shock.

Regina, her eyes narrowed, was scanning the central table of the laboratory filled with various medicines and the work desk.

“Both of you, get out!”

After hastily sending out Frederick, who was crying out that it was unfair, and Regina, who couldn’t hide her suspicious gaze, the count closed the door and wiped away his cold sweat.

Since Yuan’s departure, Peliesse’s business was rapidly heading downhill.

Having been away from Peliesse for a long time and only returning in middle age, he couldn’t possibly oversee all the family affairs.

Without Yuan, Peliesse’s greatest strength, and the knowledge she possessed, he was no different from a lost wanderer.

Compared to Yuan’s precise medicine mixing ability, as if reciting books by heart, Count Peliesse had to carefully examine each book even for simple medicine formulas.

Moreover, Peliesse’s unique mixing methods were all in Yuan’s head.

It was the method developed by continually researching the existing methods, and the mixing formula in Yuan’s head was the optimal combination found while working together with him and Yuan.

Previously, he would harm himself and then have Yuan absorb the pain.

And then he would have Yuan heal it, developing the mixing formula in the process.

It was a method chosen because experimenting directly on humans required imperial permission and had to be done secretly.

But the count’s research stagnated without Yuan to eliminate the pain. So inevitably, he had resorted to experimenting on ownerless animals picked up from the streets.

“What on earth is Yuan’s reason for sticking with that monster ex-prince? If she were here, she could at least help the family prosper. To think she’s committing such an unfilial act by sticking to a discarded trash that won’t be of any use no matter how well she treats him!”

Frederick was too stupid to help with his work and only ended up ruining things, while Regina was greedy and sharp with calculations, having only an eye for goods, but unlikely to produce any academic achievements that would make Gerret Peliesse shine at the academy.

“If only that child were here, I wouldn’t be struggling like this!”

He needed a little more, a definite opportunity to ensnare and bring that child back.

If in the past it was Louise, then after her death, something else was needed.

For the sake of his pitiful and foolish niece who was clinging to that black mansion without knowing it was a place where she would die, he had to do something.

“Aish! Everyone’s so stupid!”

-Yelp!

“Ah! You damn dog…!”

When Gerret Peliesse angrily kicked one of the stray dogs, the dog next to it bit his leg hard.

“Ah! Yuan! Yuan, quickly, quickly…”

The count, habitually calling for Yuan to remove the pain, rang the bell to summon a servant while crawling with a bright red face.

If only Yuan were here, this little pain would have been nothing.

“Damn it! Yuan Peliesse!!”

All this hardship was because Yuan had left home.

While the servants hurriedly opened the door and supported their master, Regina, who was downstairs, had to hear her father’s voice crying out Yuan Peliesse’s name.

Standing in front of Countess Priscilla, who was sitting in the reception room having her nails done by maids, Regina began to complain.

“I really don’t know who father’s daughter is anymore.”

“What’s the matter now, Regina?”

“He’s calling Yuan’s name again. Mother, you saw how that girl ignored us at the last party, right?”

“An ungrateful wench.”

Priscilla ruthlessly evaluated her thus.

But even if Yuan had acknowledged them, it would have been equally unpleasant, so Priscilla cut off her interest there.

The chilly atmosphere between the mother and daughter brightened dramatically not long after.

“What’s this?”

The butler suddenly brought a large and elaborate box to the reception room.

Amidst the sudden commotion, even Count Peliesse, who had just barely treated his dog bite, came down.

Finally, in the box opened with the whole family gathered around, there was a dress as red and voluminous as blood.

Regina couldn’t take her eyes off the high-quality box that contained perfectly fitted shoes and gloves.

“Where did this suddenly come from?”

At that moment, a man half the height of an average person, who had been hidden behind the butler, bowed politely. The small man didn’t say much, just held up one index finger and reported quietly.

“It’s a secret gift sent by the Second Sun of Yufris.”

The Second Sun of Yufris! It means it was sent by the First Prince Boloniko.

“To whom?”