There was still more.

There was really still more.

Louise, who frequently ran errands outside and went out often, would have known much better than Yuan about the strange rumors surrounding the deposed prince.

To whom the power that Uncle Gerret Peliesse had sworn allegiance belonged.

How persistent, abnormal, and rascally the people gathered in this imperial palace were.

Even if that information was meager, she would have known far more than Yuan.

“Perhaps that stupid girl could only think that way. As if she were your mother. It’s understandable. From a very young age. That girl was destined to be sacrificed for you, who possessed the power of Peliesse anyway.”

Yuan threw off the blanket she had been hiding under and opened her eyes wide.

Her uncle looked at her straight on, as if now things finally made sense.

“You may find it comforting to blame only me. But even if your parents were here, nothing would change.”

“A child to be sacrificed for me? From a very young age?”

Yuan’s voice rose as she frowned, not understanding. Gerret Peliesse snorted and spoke condescendingly, as if she didn’t even know that much.

“It’s a big misunderstanding if you think your parents protected this family with some grand, pure, and noble mission, Yuan Peliesse. It was your parents who placed their hopes on you when your elder sister ultimately failed to awaken the power of Peliesse. Thanks to your favored father, as soon as there was joking talk of engagement at the imperial court, they hid and raised you in preparation for when your useless elder sister would have to take your place.”

The elder sister whom Yuan had never met until she was 10 years old after being born.

The pitiful elder sister who had to share in her misfortune as soon as they met, and endure Yuan’s silent resentment.

That elder sister, Louise Peliesse, who always said she loved her and would protect her.

One year ago.

Louise left home knowing she might die.

With a promise to come back for Yuan.

Without telling her any of these inside stories.

Returning as a corpse without sending even one letter.

Yuan turned her gaze away from her uncle, whose eyes were bulging as if he would take on Louise’s guilt in her stead.

Her long eyelashes pointed downward and trembled faintly.

‘What on earth did I do to make you go that far, Louise.’

Yuan had relied on Louise for the past 10 years to endure life in the Peliesse mansion, but resentment towards the unfamiliar elder sister who returned with her parents’ corpses always lingered in her heart.

‘Yuan. Your elder sister loves you.’
‘Even if you don’t love me. Your elder sister loves you.’

Yuan had never once told her elder sister that she loved her.

Living together, eating meals together, sleeping together.

Always finding comfort leaning on Louise’s warmth, feeling anxious when she wasn’t there.

She knew Louise also had nowhere else to go and relied only on her.

That’s why she thought Louise would always be by her side, even without saying words like “I love you.”

‘If you were going to die like that without hearing me say I love you even once-.’

“How about it? Do you understand your uncle’s heart a little now? Do you see that this uncle isn’t as bad a person as you thought? One life was sacrificed to save yours. Are you going to pretend not to know that and live in your own delusional happiness beside that monster of a deposed prince?”

There was no way she would think her uncle might not be such a bad person.

She was only left with regret that she had been so foolish and ignorant.

Not just about what had happened, but also the miserable time when she couldn’t fully love her sister, trapped in the petty resentment that if she hadn’t gone to fetch Louise, her parents would still be alive, even though she loved Louise.

It was bitter and bitter again that now she could never meet her again without having uttered those words “I love you” that remained stuck in her mouth.

“You are a precious life. If life had a price, yours would be priceless. Wasting any more time in Rocksenhart is a stupid and shameless act. For both you and your sister!”

“Ha. A stupid and shameless act.”

“Yes! Don’t betray your sister’s sacrifice. From now on, just protect and develop Peliesse together with this uncle, your real family tied by blood. Wouldn’t there be at least one line about your illness in that vast Peliesse library? We’ll search and research that together, revive the business, and further alleviate your condition. After that, I’ll pass Peliesse on to you without regret.”

Her uncle urged her with an excited voice, seemingly quite pleased with his own logic.

“There’s no need to waste your remaining time clinging to that mansion where that monster lives, Yuan Peliesse.”

Seeing Yuan’s eyes meeting his squarely at the word “monster,” Gerret Peliesse enunciated each syllable precisely.

He was certain that unless she was a complete fool, she wouldn’t be able to refuse him after he had spoken so clearly that she could understand.

“There’s no reason to be confused, no need to agonize. What reason is there not to abandon that monster? Unless you actually love that monster, that is.”

Yuan, who had been grinding her teeth and mulling over her uncle’s words, finally couldn’t hold back the lump of blood rising in her throat.

“Ugh–!!”

Even as his niece vomited blood before his eyes, her uncle didn’t offer a handkerchief and just laughed.

“See? You can no longer run from death.”

After only upsetting Yuan’s stomach, her uncle left the room proudly without even cleaning up the blood she had vomited, announcing that he would send someone soon.

Exhausted and buried in the truth that seemed to grip and shake her entire body, Yuan was gasping for breath when she hurriedly flipped over her blanket and wiped her mouth with a handkerchief at the sound of knocking on the door.

When it was reasonably clean, Marquis Mosan Lev and Eddie Lev entered the room one after another, stopping at a proper distance.

Yuan, who had been tense, leaned back against the headboard of the bed and greeted them with a pale face.

“We rushed here after hearing you had collapsed from shock. How fortunate that we followed to the capital just in case. His Highness Clard’s breathing has stabilized somewhat.”

The marquis rambled, his face stained with worry, not knowing what to say first.

Yuan finally breathed a sigh of relief at the news that Clard’s breathing had stabilized.

Hille, who had been taking care of Clard, peeked out shyly from behind Eddie.

His face was even paler and more rigid than Marquis Mosan Lev’s. This was understandable, as he had directly witnessed Yuan vomiting blood.

Yuan quietly nodded, thinking that Hille probably hadn’t told others about that shocking scene.

“That’s a relief.”

“His Highness wants to leave for Rocksenhart immediately upon regaining consciousness. Will that be alright?”

“Yes. Of course.”

“You must be upset about ruining your first debutante ball.”

As the marquis’s voice, which seemed upset about various things, continued, Eddie’s expression, who had been standing quietly, grew darker and darker.

He was in an extremely sensitive state after hearing the news that Clard had nearly been poisoned.

Eddie had been displeased from the start that Clard had come to this imperial palace just for something like a debutante ball, and when he heard that Clard had nearly been poisoned, he was on the verge of going half-mad.

“Is a debutante ball important right now, Father?”

“Eddie.”

The marquis quietly warned at Eddie’s chilly tone.

Eddie scrutinized Yuan, who was watching the father and son. A pale woman was watching their reactions.

Even though he tried not to think this way.

He couldn’t shake the thought that Clard kept getting hurt ever since Yuan had arrived.

“The young marquis is right. We’ve greeted the emperor. We’ve even danced. That’s enough enjoyment of the atmosphere.”

“Thank you for understanding. We will arrange for a carriage that can transport both of Your Highnesses more comfortably.”

The marquis hurried his words, as he too had become sensitive about Clard’s situation, even if he didn’t show his suspicions as openly as Eddie.

The marquis forcibly pulled along his son, who stood firm with eyes full of things he wanted to say, bowed deeply to Yuan, and hastily opened the door.

“Ah. A guest was here first.”

And at the door stood the First Prince Boloniko, holding an elaborate flower basket.

Boloniko, who entered boldly as if it were his own bedroom, sent away even the servant who had been holding the gift.

Yuan recalled how Eddie Lev had ground his teeth and looked back and forth between Boloniko and herself as soon as he saw Boloniko standing at the door.

It was natural for Eddie to find it strange.

The one requesting a private audience was Boloniko, who seemed to have no friendship with Yuan at all, and if even her uncle suspected Boloniko of instigating the poisoning, Eddie would surely think the same.

Even though they had drunk champagne together, only Clard had nearly died from poison, so if the emperor hadn’t excluded Yuan as a suspect from the start and grabbed innocent people, she would have been in a situation where she could have been undoubtedly suspected.

Yuan clenched her fists under the blanket and watched as Boloniko approached her.

The man who had poisoned her husband.

The man who might have used her sister to shorten her life was right before her eyes.

Yuan, who had put all her effort into hiding her contorting expression, slowly moved her body to greet him as her trembling jaw subsided a little.

“May eternal glory be upon the great Yufris-”

“If you show such extreme courtesy, Boloniko who came to visit the sick will feel sorry, sister-in-law.”

Her body trembled at his infinitely affectionate and sickeningly sweet voice.

‘Did you approach my sister in this way too?’

To run away from the monster of a deposed prince?

Or perhaps to poison him?

“Your complexion looks unwell. The poison wasn’t meant for you, sister-in-law.”