Tanya stared blankly at Rose, who was sitting there as if nothing was wrong, unable to breathe.

“Answer me, please. Was it really you? That vicious mistress…”

Rose calmly looked at Tanya, who was gasping for breath in shock.

Tanya’s heart sank at her unfamiliar demeanor.

She looked like a different person from the Rose she had known.

“Was what that woman said… true?”

“Do you really want to know?”

Tanya felt chills as Rose’s pretty smile seemed like the soulless smile of a painting.

“It’s, a lie.”

Tanya felt as if the world she knew was crumbling.

Tanya had imagined that if the world she lived in were to be made into a novel, Rose would be the protagonist and Erina would be the villain.

So she had always tried to be a supporting character helping the protagonist, always taking the initiative to act.

Why did she only come to know the truth now?

“Tell me, please, Lady Asila. Are you really, really Lord Iolls’ mistress?”

At Tanya’s words, even Rose’s painted-on smile disappeared.

The woman who had always looked gentle with her softly curved eye corners and sorrowfully upturned lips changed her expression when she became expressionless.

“Is that important?”

At those words, Tanya fled from the carriage.

Even without hearing the answer, she couldn’t help but know whether it was affirmative or negative.

Tanya couldn’t bear to face the truth, and she couldn’t stand the memories of her shameful past actions.

Because the situations were created by Rose, Tanya fled with her back to her, forgetting even to confront her.

Rose silently glared at Tanya’s retreating figure, then closed the wide-open carriage door.

[This is the timeline separator]

The rumor that started at Countess Medelia’s tea party spread like wildfire throughout the social circles.

The fact was that Lady Rose Asila was the mistress who had entered the mansion without knowing her place when Erina was the Countess of Iolls.

The rumor spread so quickly that even nobles in remote or secluded areas heard the news.

As the rumor spread, there was a place where the atmosphere became gloomy and unsettling.

It was the Marquis Papia’s household, where Tanya sat on the bed without saying a word.

Marquis Papia felt like he was going crazy with Tanya in front of him.

According to the knight who followed, Tanya not only threw a tantrum at Countess Medelia’s tea party but even went to meet Rose, who was at the center of the incident.

The bigger problem was that Tanya, after meeting Rose, was so shocked that she stayed in her room doing nothing.

It was problematic that she wasn’t just throwing tantrums like before, but she was so shocked that she wasn’t even eating.

Finally, after watching her all day, Marquis Papia, unable to resist his wife’s nagging, went to see Tanya.

“Tanya.”

Tanya wasn’t hiding under the covers like before, but she was sitting blankly on the bed.

Marquis Papia sighed as he looked at his daughter who was in shock.

Seeing her like this after denying that Rose was a mistress at the tea party and then meeting Rose, it seemed she had learned the truth.

“Father, did you know?”

Tanya asked without even looking at Marquis Papia, with a blank expression.

Marquis Papia sighed deeply at Tanya’s appearance and answered.

“I’ve told you many times, haven’t I? That Countess Medelia is not the kind of woman you think she is.”

Tanya recalled what her father had always said.

That there was no one who took care of their people as much as Countess Medelia, that she was a person full of compassion and consideration, and knew how to share.

But he also said that she was just as merciless to her enemies.

Tanya, who had built up a solid thorn due to Rose’s meddling, didn’t believe any of her father’s words.

To Tanya, Erina was just a narrow-minded, jealous, and greedy person.

But that wasn’t the case.

Rather, the greedy person was not Erina, but Rose.

It was Rose who tried to take everything from Erina when she was the Countess.

“Rose, that woman is really Lord Iolls’ mistress.”

“Yes, rumors were circulating.”

“I went to see her and asked her directly… She said nothing, asking if that was important. She didn’t deny it.”

“Tanya.”

“It was too important to me. If that’s true, then all the actions I thought were right towards the Count were wrong.”

Marquis Papia felt sorry for Tanya, who was at a loss after facing the truth.

Of course, it was true that his daughter had been naively deceived by Rose’s words, and it was wrong that she had been foolishly deceived.

But as a father, it was too heartbreaking to see her emotionally hurt because of it.

“I don’t know where it all went wrong, Father.”

Tanya’s mind had been in turmoil since she met Rose and returned home.

She had thought Erina was the villain and wanted to be a righteous supporting character, but after learning the truth, she realized she was the supporting character who had helped the wicked villain.

Acknowledging this fact, Tanya recalled her past actions towards Erina.

At the auction, she had desperately tried to snatch all of Erina’s auction items.

At social gatherings, she had been busy openly badmouthing Erina.

Knowing that she had feelings for Duke Kerenik, she thought Erina had deliberately approached him and cursed her every day.

So she had gone to Erina’s first-ever tea party and denied her with her whole body.

If she had been Erina, these were all actions that would make her never want to face Tanya again.

She felt endlessly ashamed and sorry towards Erina.

She was distressed, unable to fathom how much Erina must have been hurt and troubled by her immature actions.

Although Erina’s heart was strong enough not to be hurt by Tanya’s actions, Tanya, unaware of this fact, was endlessly depressed.

She felt she didn’t even have the right to apologize and couldn’t do anything.

“The Count also knows that you, Tanya, were deceived by Lady Asila.”

“But…”

“Tanya.”

Tanya, who had been on the verge of tears, looked up at her father with watery eyes.

Marquis Papia approached Tanya, sat in front of her, met her gaze, and said.

“Go and tell the truth and ask for forgiveness.”

“Father.”

“Everyone makes mistakes. But what’s important is not that you made a mistake, but that you acknowledge your mistake and apologize clearly to the other person.”

Tanya bowed her head at Marquis Papia’s words and mumbled.

“But… what if the Countess doesn’t meet me?”

“Countess Medelia will meet you.”

“But.”

Marquis Papia gently took Tanya’s hands, which were trembling and gripping the blanket tightly.

“Tanya, the Kingdom of Smale was accepted solely thanks to Countess Medelia.”

“Really?”

“Yes, although the Crown Prince of Smale acknowledged his mistake first and bowed his head, His Majesty turned his back. But the person who first asked His Majesty to forgive them was Countess Medelia.”

Tanya listened with wide eyes to this information she was hearing for the first time.

“Countess Medelia is an enlightened person who will listen and change her mind if there’s a willingness to change. So go and find her with the intention of apologizing sincerely.”

“I will.”

“Don’t think you’ve lost by acknowledging your mistake and asking for forgiveness.”

“I don’t think that way.”

Marquis Papia gently stroked Tanya’s disheveled hair as he looked softly at her pouting lips.

“I hope you’ll grow once again through this incident.”

Marquis Papia was proud and grateful that Tanya was now trying to move forward correctly after learning the truth.

He only hoped that Erina would accept Tanya’s sincere apology.

[This is the timeline separator]

A few days after the eventful tea party had ended with much ado, someone came to see Erina.

After confirming who the visitor was, Terik hesitated before informing Erina.

“My lady, someone has come without an appointment.”

Erina was used to such unexpected visitors, and they were usually dealt with at Terik’s discretion.

But seeing Terik bringing it up, it seemed to be someone Erina needed to see personally.

“Who is it?”

“The young lady of Marquis Papia’s family says she wants to apologize to you in person and will wait until the end.”

“The Papia young lady… you mean Tanya Papia?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Erina thought that Tanya must have come again at the urging of Marquis Papia.

It seemed that after hearing about Tanya’s behavior at the tea party, Marquis Papia had sent her to apologize in person this time.

The thought of having to listen to a forced apology gave her a headache.

“Guide her to the reception room.”

Erina agreed to the meeting, thinking that Tanya might throw a tantrum and wait until she was received.

It might be quicker to just meet her once and be done with it.

There was no need to be at odds with Marquis Papia, so Erina hurried to move.

Erina tried to ignore the fatigue that was coming over her from being busy since dawn.

She rubbed her heavy eyes to wake herself up as she moved to the reception room.

As she entered the reception room, she saw Tanya standing, unable to sit, looking gloomily at the floor as if she could drill a hole in it.

Her face was swollen, perhaps from being severely scolded by Marquis Papia over the tea party incident.

“Lady Papia.”

Tanya’s body flinched at Erina’s call.

She must have been thoroughly scolded by the Marquis.

“What brings you here?”

Tanya couldn’t raise her head at Erina’s question and still kept her gaze on the floor.

Erina swallowed a sigh that was about to burst out and called to Tanya.

“Excuse me, young lady, I have a lot to do. If you have something to say, please say it briefly.”

Erina blurted out, wishing Tanya would just get angry and disappear.

Suddenly, Tanya raised her head and approached Erina.