Brittany waited for a commotion to arise, but nothing happened. Hiding in the corridor earlier, she witnessed Alford being dragged out of Lishi’s room by Mir and Eldy. Despite Alford’s continuous protests, Mir and Eldy ignored his complaints.

According to Brittany’s plan, Alford was supposed to take out the letter and show it, leading to the revelation of how frivolous Lishi is. However, the mansion remained quiet as if nothing had occurred.

‘Why?’

Brittany sat on the sofa, nibbling on her thumbnail.

‘Ah, maybe they’re trying to keep me from going outside because of the household chores?’

It could be. If the fact that Lady Green, after secretly exchanging letters with Duchesse Huches and causing a stir, were to be revealed, it would tarnish the Green family’s reputation.

‘Well, anyway, there’s no need for this fact to be known everywhere. It’s enough if the Green family knows. And if this incident happens at the party tomorrow, Iris won’t have a way to escape.’

+++

Alford, confined in the lightless underground prison, recalled the previous visit to the torture room.

[Dash]”To think that Duchesse believed she could safely escape from here and meet the Pope. It’s truly amusing.”

K’s sardonic voice echoing in his ears.

[Dash]”Behave nicely, Duchesse. I’ll be watching, just watch quietly. Can you do that?”

The immense fear he felt when locking eyes with K.

Why did he forget that?

With the letter and ring Brittany gave him, Alford believed he would be safe no matter what happened. He thought the Green family members would listen to his words, empathize with him, and blame Lishi.

But there was no opportunity to take out the letter and ring. They silently brought Alford here, pushed him in, and left without a word.

There were no warnings about when they would open the door or what they would do.

It made Alford even more fearful.

‘Surely… they’re not planning to keep me locked up here for life and starve me to death, right? No, that wouldn’t happen. Besides, if it’s Brittany, she’ll know I’m gone and come to rescue me.’

An endlessly long time passed.

In reality, only a few hours had passed, but it felt like several days to Alford.

No helping hand came. He might really be trapped here for life, left to die.

He wanted even a piece of dry bread or a sip of water.

He didn’t want to die like this.

‘All because of Brittany.’

Come to think of it, the trouble he faced when he visited Lady Green last time and was humiliated was also because Brittany had pushed him. This time, too, he believed only Brittany’s words and ended up in this situation.
If it weren’t for Brittany, I would have quietly attended the party and left with my head held high.

‘Wait and see. If I just leave here, she won’t stay silent. You won’t be able to escape alone.’

+++

Before heading to the banquet hall where the party was being held, Merie handed a small bottle to her chief maid, Jane.

“Do you know where to use this?”

“Yes.”

“How did I tell you to say it?”

“Princess, after you entered this mansion, you had a bad feeling, so you prepared this antidote.”

“Good. It would be nice to subtly mention Iris there. Would it sound strange?”

“Should I add, ‘Lady Green seems a little… No, it’s nothing’ at the end?”

“Yes, that’s perfect.”

Merie chuckled as she clapped her hands together.

“Now, let’s go.”

As Merie walked into the living room, other maids were waiting.

Leading the maids, Merie went out into the corridor.

As she walked down the corridor, someone came running from the opposite side. The person, not noticing Merie’s group, ran while looking at the floor, almost colliding with Merie.

Before that happened, Jane blocked Merie.

[Dash]

The shoulders of the two collided.

Only when she stopped running did she raise her head, looking at Merie with widened eyes.

“Princess, I’m sorry. I was urgently going to the restroom…”

It was Erwel.

Erwel wasn’t dressed for the party.

“Oh my. Aren’t you going to the party?”

“Yes, I have a stomachache today, so…”

Erwel gently touched her stomach as she spoke.

Seeing Erwel’s un-ladylike attitude, Merie bit her tongue inwardly but didn’t show it and spoke kindly.

“Isn’t it too bad? Should I call a good doctor for you?”

“No, thank you. Enjoy the welcoming party for the princess today.”

After Erwel moved away, Merie covered her mouth with a fan.

“Why is she so vulgar?”

“That’s right. Even though she’s from the Lutek family, I expected more. It seems like she’s just a child they brought out.”

Merie’s maid added, “Considering Lady Green’s level, it’s probably just about right. I’m curious how she prepared for the party.”

+++

Entering Lishi’s room living room and closing the door, Erwel took out a bottle from her bosom. It was the bottle she had stolen while colliding with Jane earlier.

In fact, Erwel had been quietly investigating Merie recently.

Earlier, she crouched on the terrace of Merie’s bedroom, listening to their conversation.

“It’s an antidote.”