‘It’s hard to get rid of the tag of a problem child with the Empire.’

Yet she came to apologize even when we were alone.

It was a courageous act.

Especially after being humiliated in front of many people. I took the hand of Nadia, who hesitantly approached me.

“I’m fine as long as you’ve reflected on your mistake. Now, let’s go back to the party.”

“…….”

“There will be much to do to make up for what just happened.”

Slowly blinking Nadia’s eyes, tears trickled down.

‘Why… cry?’

Both Betty and Erich have been crying in front of me lately. The problem is, I don’t know why they cry.

I patted Nadia’s shoulder and asked.

“Why are you crying? Surely, you’re not aggrieved by what happened earlier?”

“No, no. The host of this party is my father, so it doesn’t matter.”

……Temiller merchant, was he your father?

‘Somehow, she was too thankful.’

It seemed she was thankful for saving the honor of the merchant’s daughter.

“I just think I was too bad. I spoke ill without seeing the Duchess directly, without any evidence.”

Nadia looked at me with wide eyes.

“You are so kind, why did Miryu say such a thing?”

“Miryu? Miryu Jupat?”

“Oh, right. In fact, Miryu and I were close friends in the Allied Kingdoms. So I guess I wanted to be mean to you.”

A name that I had forgotten for a long time surfaced.

‘Miryu Jutti.’

My heart felt tight.

(This is a time marker.)

Miryu Jutti.

One of the families that fawned over the Libertan Dukes.

The peculiar thing was that Jupat Baron seemed to be mistaken, bringing Miryu to Libertan as my childhood playmate.

‘Usually, outsiders were strictly prevented from coming.’

For some reason, Miryu could visit Libertan several times.

I liked Miryu so much.

When I met Miryu, we were left alone, so I wasn’t bullied. I was released from confinement and could eat snacks even while starving.

Above all, I missed people terribly.

So I wanted to be great friends with Miryu.

‘I thought we were friends…….’

But Miryu seemed different.

“You must be happy, being able to eat these precious snacks freely.”

“……I can only eat them when you come.”

I carefully told her, gathering the courage.

“I’ve been locked in the punishment room because I annoyed the Duchess. So I couldn’t eat anything.”

Then Miryu muttered in admiration.

“Envious.”

“Huh?”

“Such a filthy commoner…… looking too special. Hey, didn’t anything else happen?”

Miryu persistently pried into the abuse I endured at Libertan.
‘Will I now have a friend?’

I was happy to have a place to confide.

But whether she was disappointed in me, she began to act strangely.

(This is a time separator.)

“Madam. We have arrived.”

It seemed like we had just left the party hall, but we had already arrived at Duke Blanche’s residence.

I wore a bitter smile at the fleeting thought of Miryu.

‘Do you think you’re special?’

Since the complete twist, Miryu hadn’t come to Libertan.

‘I didn’t hear any news from outside before the marriage.’

I thought she hadn’t come because the last lie she told was so big that it had stung her.

But now I see that Miryu had been telling all sorts of lies outside all along.

‘…I thought people just hated me.’

For some reason, I didn’t want to go into the mansion right away and walked near the garden.

‘You’ve grown a bit more today?’

The Eden Roses where I planted Undine Tears.

Among the rose bushes, a few Eden Roses bigger than the other Eden Roses were growing. They were bigger than my two fists.

Every day, I diligently observed the flowers at the mention of good things, but there was no big change other than the growth in size.

‘No, there was also the incident where Erich was pricked by a rose.’

When the Eden Roses first bloomed, Erich took the initiative.

‘Madam. It might be dangerous, so let me touch it first.’

He was pricked by the suddenly sharpened rose thorn and bled, and Raymond, watching the scene, muttered, ‘Erich, it feels strange. I think I experienced that before…’

Remembering that event, which ended in laughter, my mood improved slightly.

‘I need to find out more about Miryu.’

What lies she was spreading in relation to me.

Then I heard a soft voice from behind.

“Did you have a good time at the party?”

“Yohan?”

Yohan held my chin and examined my expression closely.

“Who is he?”

I shook my head at his abrupt question. I didn’t want the sparks to fly on Nadia, who had handled it well.

“Nothing happened.”

“Your face looks like something happened?”

“Nothing did.”

“If you say so.”

Yohan let out a light sigh and smiled.

“Shall I cheer you up as your husband?”

“My mood?”

As I blinked, Yohan wore a dangerous smile.

“We had a promise, remember?”

…What was the promise?

(This is a time separator.)

It was the promise to wash my feet.

Though it felt somewhat embarrassing, I couldn’t break the promise with Yohan.

Fortunately, we decided to do it just the two of us, but for some reason, it felt even more dangerous being alone.

“Madam.”

First, Yohan sat down on a chair.

He placed a soft cushion behind the chair so that I could lean back comfortably.

Then he slowly began to wash my feet with water.

“Is the water okay? Fine?”

“Just right.”

Yohan gently poured water over my feet.

His fingers slipped between my toes. His large hands, with prominently rising veins, delicately caressed my feet.

Bending his fingers, he massaged each joint of my toes. Gentle yet somehow restrained motions.

‘It’s strange.’

A peculiar sensation kept rising, stimulating my feet. My thighs and calves were tense at the tingling sensation.

“Is there anything uncomfortable?”

“It’s awkward.”

Only the splashing sound of water was heard.

“Hmm.”

Yohan caught my leg with his solid hand, and suddenly his lips were close to my ankle.

Before his breath touched it.

Yohan looked up at me with red eyes and smiled sweetly. Then he slowly began to moisten it with his tongue.

A foreign sensation entered between my ankles.

His hot and dry lips seemed to brand my ankle. Like putting on shackles so I couldn’t escape.

I moved my feet to get away from the tickling sensation, but I couldn’t move well due to Yohan’s strong grip.

This time, he grabbed my hand tightly.
Johan continued to suck my fingers, rubbing them with his tongue, pressing down and then coming out to lick them persistently and intensely, like a thirsty person.

“Hey, Johan! What are you doing—”

He did not stop at my words.

The soft flesh inside my wrist was licked up plumply.

Johan crumpled my moist neck softly, then licked down my collarbone long.

“I’m wet too.”

In that state, he looked at me slightly.

Desire and longing flowed wildly from his eyes.

Especially since bare skin was touching, the emotion was conveyed more intensely.

Johan slowly kissed the part where the vein showed. And then, he tasted the inside of my collarbone carefully with his lips.

The tongue moistened warmly over the delicate skin. It went up to the neck just like that.

It was dizzying to the point of difficulty.

“I’ve postponed the execution of Duke Libertan.”

He muttered softly near my neck.

“For you.”

I froze, meeting Johan’s eyes.