“Gasp, Eileen’s lover has appeared!”

Louis, with a surprised face, pointed his finger at Kashar.

“Lord Louis, you shouldn’t point at people like that.”

“Mmm, but it’s so fascinating.”

Louis looked up at him intently.

“Is this big brother coming with us too?”

“Yes. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you in advance.”

“Mmm, no worries. You need a partner for a party! If I were bigger, I could have escorted you!”

Louis said, clenching his fist.

Just as I thought how cute it was, Kashar grinned and patted Louis’s head.

“Because you’re a little rascal.”

“I’m not a rascal! I’m a child!”

Louis pouted.

Then he added another comment.

“After being a child, I’ll become an adult!”

“And then?”

“I’m going to marry Eileen!”

Kashar’s amused expression suddenly stiffened.

It was the moment when Louis’s future aspirations, which even I didn’t know about, were suddenly revealed.

‘Why did the conversation suddenly go there?’

And what’s with this suffocating atmosphere?

“Little one, it seems you don’t understand something.”

Kashar lowered himself to meet Louis’s eyes.

“Marriage is between lovers. Not between a caretaker and a child who needs to be taken care of.”

His gentle voice had an edge to it.

‘This guy is being serious with a child!’

Kashar’s gaze towards Louis was quite menacing.

I stepped between them to separate the two.

“Um, Lord Kashar? Let’s head to the banquet hall…”

“It’s okay! I’ll end up marrying someone else anyway! Dating and marriage are different things!”

The booming voice made the surroundings quiet.

Louis seemed to be the only one unaware of this fact, as the child was full of confidence.

“Other adults said so! They said it’s the imperial rule!”

National rule.

I smacked my forehead at the word that came to mind.

After rumors spread about me being Kashar’s lover, people started lurking around the Cold Palace.

It seemed Louis had picked up some of the things a few of them were saying.

“…This immature male is saying such impudent things.”

Kashar’s eyes narrowed.

“How admirable.”

He gently cupped Louis’s cheeks.

“That’s fake love.”

“Mmm (fake love)?”

“Yes. True love stays together until the end.”

With those words, Kashar turned his gaze towards me.

“Isn’t that right, Eileen?”

Is it my imagination that his languid voice sounds like a threat?

I nodded vigorously.

“Of course! The trend is true love!”

Away with false love! The trend is true love!

‘Make the real seem fake, and the fake seem real!’

As I desperately asserted, Kashar stood up.

At that moment, I heard Evan muttering.

“Lies.”

The child had an expression full of disbelief.

‘He knows everything.’

Evan had noticed that this romance was fake, and that Kashar had become their guardian.

‘Maybe I should have told them.’

That a scheme was necessary to defend against future dangers.

But to convince Evan, I would have had to reveal that I knew the future.

“Um, Lord Evan.”

I was worried that Evan and Kashar might confront each other.

But Kashar was faster than me.

“We’ll see about that in time.”

Kashar and Evan’s gazes intertwined.

He broke the gaze and turned to me.

“Shall we go, my love?”

The outstretched hand looked particularly firm.

Where had that sharp demeanor from earlier gone?

His gentlemanly escort made him look like a different man.

I swallowed dryly and placed my hand on Kashar’s arm.

“Alright, Duke.”

From now on, Kashar and I were the perfect couple.

“Are we going in now?”

“Yes. Lord Louis, Lord Evan. Come this way.”

“Okay!”

Louis scurried over and stuck to my left side.

Unlike him, Evan was quietly staring at Kashar and me.

“Lord Evan?”

“…I’ll go.”

When I asked once more, a small answer came back.

Evan stood next to Louis.

“Then let’s go.”

We arrived at the banquet hall doors.

“Duke Kashar Bladis la Rihart and his party are entering.”

The double doors opened at the doorkeeper’s announcement.

A splendid hall decorated to the host’s taste. All the nobles’ gazes were directed at us.

“…My goodness. The rumors were true.”

“The twin princes, you say.”

Whispers could be heard from all around.

It was as if they were confirming the news that Kashar was guarding the princes.

Things were going according to my plan, but it wasn’t pleasant to hear.

“Is that woman Kashar’s lover?”

“I heard she’s the nanny of the twins.”

“Well, those abandoned princes… She’s probably just trying to grab a duke for herself.”

If I could, I wanted to cover the children’s ears.

‘At least Evan won’t be stabbed.’

I could also change the future where the children would become the laughingstock of the nobles.

I was in the midst of inwardly consoling myself.

Kashar was staring down at me intently.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

When I asked, unable to bear his gaze, he spoke in a light tone.

“Want me to kill them?”

“…Kill what?”

As I blinked in confusion, Kashar pointed out the nobles one by one.

“That hippopotamus there, the goose behind the pillar, and the pig and mangy goat next to it.”

…Although they were expressed as animals,

They were all the ones who had spoken about me and the children.

“Those beasts who carelessly speak of my lover need to face consequences.”

His sweet voice was quite alluring.

But the content was utterly brutal.

“Ha, haha. You’re joking, right?”

“Of course not. How could there be lies between lovers?”

Kashar clenched and unclenched his fist.

It was a gesture indicating he could snap the necks of those designated as animals at any time.

‘What a handsome psycho!’

The Kashar in the original work didn’t hesitate to kill those who slandered Elsius.

“I faint at the sight of blood!”

“I can kill them without you seeing.”

“W-wouldn’t feathers fly everywhere since they’re geese?”

“Do I look like such an amateur to you?”

“Aaaaah-! Anyway, don’t kill them!”

No gore, please! All ages approved!

Fearing Kashar might rush out at any moment, I hugged him tightly.

Perhaps clinging to him desperately had an effect.

He nodded as if he had no choice.

“…Fine, then.”

“You really won’t kill them, right?”

“Didn’t you tell me not to?”

His gaze was still unsettling, but it didn’t seem like things would get out of hand.

‘Thank goodness.’

I didn’t want to see any bloodshed, regardless of whose blood it was.

I was worried the twins might have seen this spectacle, but.

“The lights are so sparkly!”

Louis, who had been looking forward to the party all along, was captivated by the splendid banquet hall.

And Evan…

‘He heard.’

The moment our eyes met, Evan quickly turned away.

It was a moment when I couldn’t help but dislike Kashar.

‘…Being protected is good, but it’s not helpful for the children’s emotional development at all!’

Should I arrange some nanny training for him on another day?

Louis tugged at the hem of my dress.

“Eileen, can we go play over there?”

The direction Louis pointed to was where children of his age were gathered.

‘Quite a few children seem to have come with their parents.’

There appeared to be many such children, as a space for children was prepared next to the hall.

As I watched the children playing, I clenched my fist.

‘Peers!’

They were exactly what the twins needed.

‘I prepared this just in case.’

I took out two boxes of chocolate pies that I had prepared for this moment.

Then Louis asked.

“What’s this?”

“It’s a snack for you two. Share the rest with friends you like.”

I handed a box each to Louis and Evan.

Louis eagerly opened his box. Inside were 6 beautifully wrapped chocolate pies.

‘Food is the best way to gain favor with kids.’

The children’s eyes sparkled with anticipation.

“I’m going to eat these with the other kids over there!”

“Go ahead. If anyone bullies you, tell me right away. Understood? Emma, please take good care of the princes.”

“Leave it to me!”

Emma pumped herself up.

Excited, Louis tightly grasped Evan’s hand.

“This is so exciting! Evan, let’s go quickly!”

“Wait…!”

Evan, who was about to say something, was dragged away by Louis’s hand.

I tried to ask belatedly, but they were long gone.

‘Did he have something to say?’

As I tilted my head in confusion, the doorkeeper announced the arrival of the empress.

“Her Majesty Empress Wayeno Pia Rihart has arrived!”

It was the entrance of the empress, adorned with jewels.

Wayeno’s gaze, which had been elegantly surveying the surroundings, fixed on me.

‘S-scary.’

She was even more intimidating in person than I had imagined.

Soon, people flocked to the empress’s side.

“Your Majesty, it is our utmost honor to host the Oloje in the Empress’s Hall again this year!”

Marchioness Tuberosha expressed her gratitude.

As the empress whispered something to her, the marchioness’s gaze turned towards us.

The marchioness nodded, then turned with a gentle smile.

‘Is she coming towards us right now?’

The host of the party arrived in front of me.

She addressed me with a bright smile.

“You must be Lady Eileen Hallen?”

“Ah, yes. Thank you for inviting me, Marchioness.”

As I greeted her reflexively, the marchioness fluttered her fan.

“Hoho, I should be the one thanking you for accepting. You’re the most talked-about person these days, aren’t you?”

Her words had a sharp edge to them.

After looking me up and down, the marchioness soon changed her target.

“Duke Bladis, how come you’re here…?”

Her puzzled question was disconcerting.

As I looked at Kashar in confusion, he smiled as if nothing was wrong.

“I couldn’t let my lover attend a party alone. I purchased an invitation from Baron Barod. He asked whether I wanted the sword or gold, and I chose the latter.”

So that’s how it was!

Come to think of it, there was no way the marchioness would have invited him.

Kashar was extremely confident.

His demeanor was so natural that threats and extortion seemed like normal methods of obtaining an invitation.

“Oh, hoho. I see!”

The marchioness broke out in a cold sweat.

She turned towards me as if she didn’t want to exchange any more words with him.

“Lady Hallen. Did you bring a precious item for the auction?”

Just as I was about to nod, I felt a gaze.

Behind the marchioness, far away, the empress was glaring at me.

The Oloje auction is not simply a place to determine precious items.

Tradition, rarity, and special significance representing a family or region as well.

No matter how much protection they received from the duke, abandoned princes and their nanny wouldn’t have any items with tradition.

‘She must want to see me humiliated.’

Or perhaps she wanted to make me look like a woman extorting precious items from the duke.

But I hadn’t asked anyone for help regarding the auction item.

“Yes. Of course.”

I had left the item with the inspector.

Soon, my assigned inspector came pulling a cart.

“The auction item I will present is…”

As everyone’s attention focused, I pulled off the cloth covering the cart.

Inside the cart were neatly arranged bottles of milky, transparent color.

“A very special drink.”

It was milky, opaque makgeolli.