Countess Hetel bustled into the mansion.

“Did you see that adoptee smiling at me? A proper Duchess, she’s not, and she doesn’t even know her place now!”

“But mother, is it really true that she’s not the legitimate Duchess?”

Count Hetel’s eldest daughter, Lote, asked with concern.

“From the Duke of Blanquette’s reaction, it doesn’t seem that way at all.”

“Now talk sense. The execution date for the Duke and Duchess of Libertan is set. If he considered that adoptee a real wife, he wouldn’t have extinguished the Libertan Ducal family, would he?”

“That’s true. Then why did the Duke show hostility toward us?”

Count Hetel thought that by ignoring Estelle, Duke Blanquette would be pleased. After all, the rumor was rife that he had taken in Estelle to play with and then discard.

“That’s unknowable. Maybe we acted too hastily.”

Countess Hetel bit her neatly trimmed nails.

‘I showed such a bad side, even in front of Chief Justice Orteka.’

It was a tremendous stroke of luck for the waning House of Hetel that these two heavyweights had visited at the same time. Thus, Countess Hetel had tried to marry her two daughters to these two great men.

‘Chief Justice Orteka is remarkable, but…’

The Duke of Blanquette was a renowned rich man. For the declining House of Hetel, he would be of great assistance.

‘I can’t give up on the House of Blanquette either.’

“Lote, Flora. Don’t worry too much.”

Countess Hetel looked at her two daughters, famous beauties in the vicinity. However beautiful that adoptee might be, she couldn’t compare to her daughters, whose lineage was proven.

“The important thing is not the past but the future.”

“So, what then…?”

“Mother will provide you with a good opportunity. So don’t worry too much, and only show Duke Blanquette and Count Orteka your most modest and beautiful selves.”

Lote and Flora nodded shyly at their mother’s confident words.

(This is a time divider.)

It seemed the rainy season of summer was beginning. The rain that was supposed to stop tomorrow kept pouring.

‘If there’s something fortunate.’

The only inconvenience, given that there were problems at the first meeting, was that nothing serious had happened. Still, if there had to be something uncomfortable, it was, of course, Chief Justice Orteka.

‘Why is the Chief Justice here?’

When I asked about that part during the banquet, Count Orteka answered with a kind smile,

‘I was on my way to inspect my territory. I was caught in the sudden rain, so I took shelter here.’

But I couldn’t shake the feeling that he was hiding something.

‘It’s probably none of my business.’

I moved to watch the band, prepared by Count Hetel, in my light dress.

The Chief Justice of Orteka and the Duke and Duchess of Blanquette were so significant that they had engaged quite a famous band. Watching the band play, a look of pride came across Count Hetel’s face.

To be honest, I wasn’t very interested in music, so I blankly stared towards the garden.
The rain had lessened, and the gardeners were out, dressed in raincoats, tending to the garden. Among the group of gardeners, I spotted a man who looked oddly familiar.

“Is that man… Baron Fenula?”

He was the jailer in Johan’s memories.

“Why is that man here of all places?”

Wasn’t he the one who accepted a bribe from the Duke of Libertan and aided in torturing young Johan?

“Am I seeing things wrong?”

A lot of time had passed since then, and I hadn’t seen him properly, so I couldn’t be certain. Therefore, I asked the nearby trees.

The trees of Hetel Castle, upon hearing me, a fairy, speak to them, cheered loudly before answering.

“The tall redhaired gardener? The name of that gardener? Was it Jake? I’m not sure.”

Sadly, the trees seemed uninterested in humans and couldn’t remember well.

“When did he come here? When was it… All I remember is that he suddenly became a gardener despite having no skills.”

“Ah! Now that I think of it, that’s him. The one who secretly buried something beneath my roots and checked it every night.”

“He buried something under the roots?”

It was a very suspicious act.

I went to the roots of the tree, excusing myself for a short break from the garden. The tree kindly moved its roots to hand me a box.

“It really was Baron Fenula that I saw.”

Inside the box were keys and documents.

The keys were to the most famous bank vault in the capital, something I knew well, and the documents were a list of nobles that Baron Fenula had recorded.

There were not only those who took bribes from the treasonous Duke of Libertan but also names of those who had tried to ingratiate themselves with the Libertan Duke through the jailer.

“What should I do with this?”

For now, I asked the trees to hide the box somewhere else and calmly returned to my room.

I had just changed into a dress when one of the maids of Hetel Countess said something strange.

“Duchess Blanched, the Countess of Hetel would like to see you briefly before retiring for the night. Can you come?”

“At this late hour?”

“Yes. It seemed like she wanted to win over your heart.”

“Seeking reconciliation all of a sudden?”

It wasn’t strange, but it felt incredibly ominous. However, I soon realized the source of my unease.

It was when I was about to leave my room to meet the Countess of Hetel.

Johan, who hadn’t been visible all day, appeared. He caught my wrist as I was heading outside.

“My lady, do you know that there are many nobles who are upset that they can’t sell their daughters? Even inviting them into the bedroom late at night.”

I blinked, not understanding Johan’s words. He sat me down on the bed and whispered in a low voice.

“Tonight, the Countess’s daughter called me to her bed. Judging by her look, it seemed like she would come herself if I didn’t.”

“…….”

“Of course, I’ll refuse. But is that enough for my lady?”

Something boiled inside me.

“Was that why she was calling me late at night?”

Even if Johan would refuse, I didn’t want another woman in his room. I carefully opened my mouth.

“What should we do then?”

“Well. It seems like they don’t know yet how close we are as a couple.”

Johan winked and whispered affectionately.

“Showing them properly might be best.”

My face flushed at Johan’s words.

“What about you, my lady?”

The darkness outside the window deepened, and the ticking of the second hand sounded louder. The candle that silently illuminated us flickered in the breeze.

“Don’t worry. If you don’t want it, we don’t have to do anything. Fooling them is something I can do alone.”

Johan whispered so that only I could hear, lowering his voice.

He slowly took off his shirt, revealing his sensual and welldefined muscles. I swallowed.

This was still abrupt for me. But the situation made me assertive.

Knock. Knock.

There was a knock on the door. Whether it was the maid who had come to get me or the young Hetel, the purpose would be the same.

“……No.”

In the end, I made up my mind.

“I’m fine with it.”
If it’s not going to be done until the end, there won’t be any scars revealed.

“I don’t mind being close to the Duke either.”

Johan seemed to suppress his rapidly rising breath.

“You don’t, mind?”

The bedspread was covering our bodies. However, this situation, with Johan half undressed and pressed against me, made me feel very strange.

The sound of a beating heart resonated loudly in my ear.

Now the presence felt outside didn’t bother me at all.

“Estelle.”

Johan growled in my ear with a voice that seemed to be stifled.

“Pretend to touch more.”

He pulled my hand closer to his chest. I could feel his muscular, firm chest.