Clea rose from her bed.

For now, neither Admund nor Rupia disturbed her.

She approached Admund and embraced him.

“Is this your way of thanking me for the gift?”

“I’m not planning to end it with just this.”

“Then?”

Her lips moved towards Admund’s face.

Admund welcomed her without any sign of retreat.

The two embraced each other and shared a kiss for a while.

“Is this enough?”

“Far from it.”

“I thought you’d say that. But I’d like to open the gift first, so can we postpone the rest for later?”

“That’s exactly what I was hoping for.”

Clea’s gaze shifted beyond Admund’s back. She noticed the maid sitting on the floor by the doorway, trembling.

Upon making eye contact, the maid lowered her head to the floor completely.

Seeing this, Clea’s smile widened even more.

Separating from Admund, she slowly walked towards the maid.

“Why did you take the blame if you were going to tremble like this?”

With a faint smile, Clea reached the maid.

That day, she had felt only contempt, but now this situation seemed purely enjoyable.

She was filled with the desire to test how long the maid before her could maintain her loyalty.

“I, I did it.”

“Yes, you must have. Because if you hadn’t said so, your family could have been in danger.”

The maid might have been in an unwanted situation as well.

If she hadn’t stepped forward in that situation, several families could have been harmed immediately.

Clea thought it was truly admirable that she chose to sacrifice herself to prevent that in advance.

But there was something the maid had overlooked.

“Did you think about what would happen if it was revealed that you tried to conceal the truth?”

After the truth came to light.

The maid had maintained a defiant attitude throughout at the Odoi mansion.

In that situation, she must have sacrificed herself to protect Aria somehow, but now she was gradually realizing her own situation.

“What should I do with you?”

As their sharp gazes met, the maid looked around frantically.

But wherever her gaze landed, no one showed a kind expression. Everyone was coldly glaring at the maid.

Realizing there was nowhere to seek help, the maid simply lowered her head.

She closed her eyes, trying not to lose hope.

She firmly believed that if she kept enduring like this, Aria would appear to save her.

“You’re having foolish thoughts.”

“Ugh.”

However, Clea had no intention of allowing even that.

Clea lifted the maid’s head with her hand.

The raised head couldn’t go back down to the floor.

The maid tried to resist by closing her eyes, but she couldn’t even do that due to the overwhelming pressure she already felt.

All that remained for the maid was to hope for mercy.

“Do you really think your mistress would try to save someone like you?”

Clea didn’t put much force into her hand.

Perhaps if the maid had exerted force, she could have lowered her head easily.

But she remained still as if completely frozen.

It seemed she instinctively realized that the moment she did so, it would be irreversible.

There was absolutely no one here who could help her.

“Admund, what stance is the ducal family taking?”

Clea asked Admund, who was behind her. She was curious about how the outside situation was unfolding.

Particularly, she wanted to know what position the Odoi ducal family had taken.

Between a woman from a family that was practically their enemy, and herself who was shaking the Odoi family to its roots.

She wondered which of the two they had chosen.

Admund answered her question without hiding anything.

“The Odoi ducal family said the maid was the real culprit.”

“I see.”

Hearing this, the maid felt relieved. There was no longer any chance of Aria being accused as the culprit.

She thought that now she just had to wait until Aria, who was no longer a suspect, came to save her.

The maid still firmly believed. Surely Aria would definitely come to save her.

But soon after, her expression hardened at Clea’s next words.

“Then this maid here has become a discarded card, hasn’t she?”

A discarded card.

It was something she had never thought about, even when left alone at the Odoi mansion or when being dragged to the imperial prison.

The maid inwardly denied it.

“That’s right. They can just give a small compensation to her family and quietly cover it up with words of regret.”

The maid’s brow furrowed at Admund’s following words.

She looked at Clea and Admund’s expressions.

Until just now, Clea had been threatening about what would happen if the truth was revealed. So she thought this too was just a trick.

“I’ll give you some time.”

“Don’t try to deceive me.”

The maid’s expression turned hostile at Clea’s words.

Seeing this, Clea inwardly smiled. As her thoughts were changing, she was becoming aggressive.

“Why would I go through such trouble? There’s plenty of other evidence besides you. Think about it. What was the situation like at that time?”

If she wanted, she could have easily crushed this aggressive attitude, but Clea deliberately didn’t.

Rather, she showed an even more relaxed demeanor, and the other’s heart wavered just as much.

“I’ll give you time, so do as you see fit. Whether you’ll side with me, or be abandoned by the person you’ve served your whole life.”

As Clea finished speaking, soldiers appeared and took the maid away.

The maid’s expression was full of confusion. She clearly seemed to be greatly shaken internally.

Only Clea, Admund, and Rupia remained in the room.

“The Hersher ducal family will likely make a move soon.”

“For example?”

Admund knew what move Clea was talking about. However, he wanted to hear it directly from her lips.

Just what kind of vile move the other party would make.

Clea answered with a gentle smile.

“Won’t they try to eliminate anything that could trouble Aria?”

“Tell them to try if they can. But that will never happen.”

It was obvious that numerous methods would be employed to kill the maid.

The events of that day had already spread throughout the capital.

In such a situation, if the maid were to change her statement and say that Aria was actually the culprit, the atmosphere would completely change.

The reason others were telling Clea to just rest in bed was not only out of concern for her health, but also to amplify the rumors.

If people heard that someone who had endured penance without the imperial family revealing the exact truth was staying in bed for days on end, they would wonder why.

As intended, people were now showing interest in this matter with keen eyes.

It was clear that sooner or later, various situations would unfold again.

“But don’t get hurt anymore. I don’t want to see you getting hurt.”

“I will. After all, I don’t want to show a scarred body to people when I’m wearing my wedding dress.”

Because it was a wound from a knife, scars were unavoidable.

Fortunately, it was on her side where others wouldn’t see, but if it had been on her face, she would have been troubled too.

And she too had had enough of seeing Admund’s tearful face once.

“I’ll make you as happy as I’ve caused you distress.”

Admund laughed. Being in the position of crown prince, he never thought he would hear such words.

But he didn’t deny Clea’s words. Rather, he felt that she really could make him happy.

Admund approached Clea and said.

“I’ll try to make you happy too.”

“Yes, let’s both do our best.”

* * *

“Father, please. Just this once, listen to me. It’s my lifelong wish.”

“Hah, how long must I keep listening to your requests? You’re a grown adult now. As an adult, shouldn’t you take on the corresponding responsibilities?”

Aria continued to persuade her father, Duke Hersher. She was asking to be allowed to choose her own marriage partner.

But the more she did so, the more Duke Hersher’s patience wore thin.

“Then please change it to someone else. Anyone but Lloyd.”

“Enough. The talk between the families is already over.”

“You know what kind of person he is, Father!”

“Aria!”

The duke wasn’t unaware of Lloyd’s reputation. In fact, if he had his way, he would have preferred to send her to someone else.

However, various unfavorable rumors about Aria were currently swirling around.

To resolve this matter as quickly as possible, the name of the Percy Grand Ducal Family was necessary.

The reason the Hersher family was shaken was solely due to their relationship with the imperial family.

If the Percy Grand Ducal Family, which was closest to the imperial family, stepped in to help resolve the situation, they could sufficiently escape from this precarious situation.

That’s why he was trying to match Lloyd and Aria somehow, but Aria was resisting to the end.

Normally, the duke would have respected Aria’s wishes, but the situation was different now.

“Your Grace, it’s time for your meeting with the Grand Duke.”

“My thoughts remain unchanged, so don’t do anything foolish!”

Duke Hersher hurriedly got up from his seat and left the office at the reminder of the appointment time.

The duke thought Aria would soon follow him out.

But contrary to Duke Hersher’s expectation, Aria remained inside.

The duke was concerned about Aria not coming out, but he had to move on due to time constraints.

Meanwhile, Aria who remained in the office was now sitting at the duke’s desk.

“Father, please don’t resent me.”

In her hand was the official seal that only the head of the family could use.

The seal was properly stamped on a pristine white paper.