“Lady Clea’s penance ends here. I sincerely congratulate you on completing it safely.”

It was the last day of penance.

Hayden announced the end of the penance with congratulations.

‘It’s finally over.’

She didn’t know a week could feel this long.

She turned her head to look around.

People showed no particular reaction.

They displayed ambiguous reactions, unsure whether to be happy or sad.

Clea, who didn’t care about their reactions, tried to stand up by putting strength in her legs.

She intended to move as there was no reason to stay here anymore.

“Ugh.”

“After sitting for a week straight, how could your muscles move normally?”

But her body wouldn’t move as she wished.

Admund caught her as she almost fell right after standing up.

Clea tried to thank Admund. But she was too surprised by his next action to open her mouth.

Admund had picked her up in his arms.

Clea wasn’t the only one surprised.

People were watching the two with wide eyes in shock, or making sounds almost like screams.

“Put me down.”

“What are you trying to do when you can’t even walk on your own?”

“I’ll be fine after resting a bit.”

“Weren’t you trying to move right away just now?”

“It’s not that urgent.”

“Then let’s consider it urgent for me.”

Clea sighed as Admund paid no attention to people’s gazes.

It wasn’t that she didn’t feel embarrassed.

But the real reason she asked to be put down was different.

She thought she might be causing him trouble.

She kept asking to be put down, but Admund wouldn’t, saying this was faster.

“The rumors about us will intensify even more.”

“It doesn’t matter now. We’re going to get married anyway.”

“I wonder if I made a mistake accepting your proposal.”

“It’s too late now. You definitely accepted my request.”

Admund smiled contentedly as he said that.

For some reason, Clea found his smile very dangerous.

It seemed like he really wouldn’t let her go, not as a joke.

But Clea soon decided to just enjoy it.

She also had nowhere else to go except for him, so it was rather what she wanted.

Held in his arms like that, she thought of how he looked at the academy.

The figure of Admund Wilhelm she often encountered at the academy.

‘Back then, I never thought our relationship would become like this.’

She had thought they might walk the path of destruction together someday.

Until then, Admund hadn’t particularly distanced himself from Aria.

More precisely, he didn’t bother to stop Aria and Lloyd from getting close.

Perhaps because she hadn’t slept for a week, drowsiness soon overcame her.

Seeing Clea’s eyes full of sleepiness, Admund whispered in her ear.

“Get some sleep. No one will be looking for you from now on.”

Clea said it was fine and tried to escape from his arms, but she couldn’t break free as her strength had completely drained.

Soon she gave up and quietly entrusted herself to him.

“If there’s something urgent, please wake me up.”

“I’ll make sure to wake you then.”

Knowing that Admund wouldn’t actually wake her, Clea quietly closed her eyes.

After confirming that she had fallen completely asleep, he headed towards the carriage.

“Oberon.”

He called Oberon, who was following by his side, in a quiet voice out of consideration for her sound sleep.

Oberon silently looked at him without saying anything.

“You know too. We don’t know how much time Clea has left now.”

Unlike Oberon, Admund didn’t take his eyes off her.

Even though it would be awkward if Clea woke up here, there was no particular reaction on their faces.

“I don’t want her to live a life with an expiration date.”

“I feel the same way.”

For Oberon, Clea was the future crown princess and the lady he would serve from now on.

Although the first button had been fastened wrong, he could receive punishment for that sin through her later.

Now he had to focus on moving for her sake.

Meanwhile, Admund looked at her mouth.

When he encountered Lloyd before, bright red blood had flowed from those pretty lips.

Remembering that incident, strength unconsciously entered his hands.

Clea made a groan as if uncomfortable.

Admund quickly relaxed his hands and turned his gaze to Oberon.

“How’s the task of planting people in the Hersher ducal family going?”

“They are already positioned near Lady Aria.”

Noble families consider security most important.

It would be troublesome if others knew what was happening inside their mansions.

So they prioritized maintaining strict security to prevent family matters from reaching others’ ears.

The reason high-ranking nobles only employ those with clear credibility is because of this.

“Search Aria’s room and find out everything she’s hiding.”

“What if we can’t find anything?”

“Then we’ll have to use the last resort.”

Although curious about the mention of a last resort, Oberon didn’t ask.

* * *

For Aria, it was a bolt from the blue.

She thought her relationship with Lloyd had essentially ended.

Originally, it was her father, Duke Hersher, who first told her to end her relationship with Lloyd.

But now, suddenly asking how she would feel about marrying Lloyd – just hearing the question made Aria’s teeth chatter.

For Aria, Lloyd was already a man she never wanted to associate with again.

Although he remained the second most prominent man after Admund, she despised Lloyd alone.

“I absolutely refuse. I’d rather leave the mansion than marry that man.”

“Ah, Aria! Please open the door!”

With the door firmly closed between them, Aria made a unilateral declaration.

She expressed her strong intention to never marry Lloyd.

The duchess pleaded desperately for her to open the door. She wanted to talk to Aria face to face.

But Aria absolutely wouldn’t open the door.

She spoke to the duchess, who was calling her in a pitiful voice.

“Mother, please try to persuade Father one more time.”

“Have you ever seen him reverse a decision he’s already made? Even if I try to persuade him, he absolutely won’t listen.”

Although Duke Hersher cherished his daughter, he was also a man who considered maintaining the family important.

Having confirmed Admund’s intention, there was even less chance he would be persuaded.

Although she wasn’t unaware of this, she just couldn’t give up. Aria continued.

“Then please help me yourself, Mother.”

“Me? Me?”

“Yes, you helping me, Mother.”

She should coldly reject her.

The duchess had certainly made such an agreement with her husband.

No matter how much Aria insisted, for the sake of the family and Aria’s life, she absolutely shouldn’t give in this time.

But the duchess’s heart kept leaning towards giving in.

“What can I help you with?”

Too soft on her child, she was finally swayed by Aria’s words.

Only then did Aria unlock the firmly locked door.

Tears were welling up in the duchess’s eyes visible through the open door.

“Please don’t say you’ll leave the mansion. I couldn’t bear even a day if you went somewhere I didn’t know.”

The kind-hearted woman simply couldn’t refuse her daughter’s request.

From a very young age, seeing the sickly Aria filled her with guilt.

She carried a feeling of apology every day, thinking Aria’s poor health might be her fault.

Knowing her mother’s feelings, Aria intended to fully exploit that point.

“Then Mother, could you lend me some money?”

“Money?”

Even though it was her mother, she felt no guilt.

She also cherished family like others, but her reason for cherishing them was different from others.

Giving her whatever she wanted.

That was her reason for cherishing family.

Meanwhile, the duchess was again taken aback by Aria’s sudden request.

“Why do you need money?”

She looked at Aria with anxious eyes.

Aria had no reason to need money.

Well, if there was something she wanted, they could just get it for her instead of money.

Aria also found that convenient, so she hadn’t asked for an allowance until now.

But now was different.

“I want to employ some people.”

People.

She thought of one person in her mind.

Bawin Rockin.

A figure known for his good business acumen.

Aria thought she could use him quite effectively.

And to use him, she needed a lot of money on hand right away.

“So can you give me some? Mother.”

Aria’s hand rested on the duchess’s shoulder.

She couldn’t understand.

It was the touch of the daughter she cherished so much.

It should certainly be a welcome touch, but for some reason an uneasy feeling kept lingering in her heart.

‘I absolutely shouldn’t listen to Aria.’

She hesitated as she kept thinking of her agreement with her husband.

In the first place, what need could she have for people she had to pay and use?

The ducal family’s servants could help with anything she wanted right away if she just said so.

She knew she should firmly refuse for the sake of her daughter.

But different words came out of the duchess’s mouth.

“Ho-how much do you need?”

In the end, she too was a selfish person who chose not to be hated by her daughter right now over her daughter’s future.