Gilford, who had gone somewhere alone, took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes as he said.

“Fortunately, it seems we made it in time.”

At his words, Jeffrey, who had been sitting in the waiting area, slid down the backrest. He turned his head to Gilford and asked.

“Has no one come yet?”

“That’s what they say. Thank goodness.”

“Ah! Now I can stretch out and sleep!”

Jeffrey exclaimed as he stretched his arms.

Edward glanced at Jeffrey once and said quietly.

“I wonder if the culprit will really come here.”

“Honestly, I’m not sure either. We’ve made such a commotion by barging in like this, so they might have been informed in advance and hidden their tracks, or…”

“They might make a mistake by being overconfident.”

Edward rubbed his chin quietly, lost in thought.

Still, the big task was finally wrapped up. The best we can do now is to prevent it from happening again.

He let out a quiet sigh of relief that others couldn’t hear and gave instructions to Gilford.

“Promise your friend more compensation and have him keep watch. It would be good to make more friends too.”

“Huh? Yes. Understood.”

After giving instructions, Edward was about to sit down to catch his breath for a moment. Suddenly, he remembered something.

“…What time is it now?”

Edward hurriedly searched his pockets. Opening his pocket watch, he saw that the hands were already pointing well past 7 o’clock.

Seeing him, Gilford asked.

“Are you thinking of going to Glory Palace?”

“Of course. Obviously.”

Edward quickly put the watch away.

“Let’s go together. I think I should go and check things out too.”

“Do as you like.”

Having quickly tidied up his appearance, he hurried towards the building’s exit.

Jeffrey jumped up and followed behind him, shouting.

“Wait a moment, boss! What about me!”

“Do as you please. There are plenty of cabs.”

“At least give me some money before you say that!”

What kind of boss finishes his own business and then doesn’t care!

Jeffrey shouted loud enough to shake the building. Irritated, Edward opened the door and yelled back as he went out.

“I’ll give you double later, so just go for now!”

“Yes, boss!”

Jeffrey answered brightly.

Having let out all his temper, Edward walked towards the car with its front badly dented.

Gilford, who had followed the boss and gotten into the passenger seat, asked.

“But boss, is this really safe?”

“You won’t die just because the body is a bit dented. It ran fine earlier, didn’t it?”

Edward answered casually as he started the engine. Still not quite reassured, Gilford gripped the door handle tightly and said.

“Please, I beg you not to have an accident.”

“I told you, we won’t die. You saw earlier.”

Edward muttered carelessly and then stepped on the accelerator as he pleased.

[This is the timeline separator]

Perhaps because it was late, the guests were entering the palace faster than expected. It seemed the waiting time had been shortened since there were no more incoming guests.

The guards standing at the entrance stared at the dented vehicle visible between their stiff necks.

Blatantly ignoring such attention, Edward successfully parked in one swift motion and hurriedly got out of the car.

“Are we very late?”

Bang. Edward asked as he closed the car door.

“It’s hard to say. His Majesty has probably already finished his congratulatory speech. He tends to be brief.”

“Louisa hasn’t left already, has she?”

“I’m not sure. Mrs. Allen usually leaves after greeting His Majesty.”

“So we’ll only know once we go in. Let’s hurry.”

Edward started moving, almost running.

As they were heading towards the entrance of Glory Palace.

“…wouldn’t he.”

“Allen… commoner…”

Hearing familiar names, Edward stopped abruptly.

As he stopped, Gilford also halted and asked.

“Boss-”

“Shh.”

Edward put a finger to his lips. He quietly looked up.

Though their faces weren’t clear in the darkness, it wasn’t difficult to identify who they were.

“Ackerman is there. Can’t tell who the other two are from behind.”

At his words, Gilford also looked up and said.

“One seems to be Fromhart. I don’t know about the other one either.”

It seemed alcohol had been involved, as voices that were quiet at first were gradually getting louder. Thanks to that, conversations that were hard to hear at first became quite understandable.

“That’s what I’m saying. Turns out she wasn’t just an innocent young lady.”

“The society of women is not to be underestimated either.”

“I’d like to greet Mrs. Allen too. Haha, how bold.”

“My goodness. I should have seen that. I don’t know why I always miss such interesting sights.”

After hearing that much of the conversation, the two exchanged glances. Edward gestured upwards with his chin and said.

“Let’s check up there first before we go.”

Gilford nodded.

The two passed by the entrance to the first floor hall and climbed the stairs leading to the second floor.

“Which one was it?”

“The fifth one. Over there.”

Edward walked over and pulled back the curtain Gilford was pointing to.

Flutter. As the sound of the curtain being drawn was heard, the men inside exclaimed in surprise.

“Wh-what!”

Edward looked down at them arrogantly and said.

“Can’t you see? I’m Edward Allen.”

“Allen? How on earth did you get here…”

It was as if they had seen someone they shouldn’t have. Edward stared straight at George Ackerman and asked.

“I hear you were having an interesting conversation. Mind if I join?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but this is extremely rude, Edward Allen!”

Ackerman shouted. But Edward didn’t even blink as he said.

“Of course. As you often say, my background is rotten.”

“Wh-what…!”

“I’ll overlook everything else for now. So just tell me who this bold young lady is.”

Then Robert Fromhart, who had been observing the situation beside him, said.

“We just heard about what happened at the party. They say it was Earnest’s second daughter who spoke up.”

“Earnest?”

Edward asked back.

“That’s right. Lord Theodore there would know well.”

At his words, Edward’s gaze briefly turned to Gilford. Gilford shook his head.

“If you’re satisfied, please leave now. We won’t make an issue of your rudeness either.”

“…Enjoy your party.”

Edward dropped the curtain he had been holding irritably.

Gilford watched his expression and opened his mouth.

“I’ll try meeting with them to talk about what happened.”

“Forget about that. The important thing is that Louisa was humiliated.”

Edward glared fiercely at Gilford and said.

“It seems a young lady who thought she was acquainted with me spoke thoughtlessly, but I’ll overlook it as a child’s mistake just this once. Understand?”

“Yes, boss.”

Gilford bowed his head. Feeling he had unfairly vented his anger on Gilford, Edward ended up cursing.

“Damn it.”

As he was taking deep breaths, unable to control his temper, he eventually kicked the wall hard.

Thump.

If he traced back the cause, the problem lay with himself.

That made him even angrier.

Edward took one deep breath and straightened his posture.

It was late, far too late, but he needed to go find his wife now.

‘I wonder if Louisa is alright.’

His mind was in turmoil.

Worry for his wife and self-loathing that overshadowed it.

It felt like his brain would become a mess at this rate.

Would she have smiled at him pretending to be fine while hearing such things all the time, swallowing them alone inside?

‘Please, Louisa.’

He moved with anxious steps.

Even as he walked, he kept thinking. Hoping his wife was still at the party, no, hoping she was no longer in such a place.

Not knowing exactly what he wished for, he just ran. If he didn’t, he felt he would suffocate from guilt.

One step. Two steps. With each step, it felt like his heart was breaking.

Just as he was coming down the landing.

He saw a woman coming out of the entrance to the first floor party hall.

A woman wearing a dress with red stains like blood on what should have been dazzling white lace just like his wife’s.

The woman’s expression contorted as their eyes met.

“…Ed.”

It was the voice of the one he considered most noble and precious, which he had heard countless times, even just hours ago.

Edward swallowed the tears welling up and said.

“Louisa.”

[This is the timeline separator]

What had been spilled was, unfortunately, bright red wine.

“Oh my, what should we do.”

Someone’s exclamation was heard. The people murmuring around were all looking at one place.

Louisa bit her lip hard.

She hadn’t seen who did it. So she couldn’t know if it was intentional or an accident.

Of course, someone among these many people must have seen, and that person would know the truth of this incident.

But none of them had any intention of speaking up for her.

‘What should I do? What can I do…’

For a brief moment, Louisa pondered.

Normally, she would have just left without any regrets, regardless of apologies or pride. But today, she couldn’t do that.

Because her husband hadn’t arrived yet.

In her bewilderment, she raised her head and looked around.

Her eyes met Anthony’s.

The prince was rebuking her with a stern face for not heeding his advice. He silently pointed towards the outside of the hall.

It meant to leave quickly before being ridiculed further.

Louisa felt completely deflated.

‘Is there really nothing I can do now.’

The situation was bad enough, and this was already the third time Anthony had suggested she leave. If she stayed any longer, it could become an issue of her attitude towards the royal family.

She reluctantly decided to turn her steps away.

As Louisa headed towards the exit of the hall, she heard voices talking somewhere.

“She’s finally leaving.”

“She might even think it’s fortunate her husband isn’t here.”

“Whew, I always felt uncomfortable seeing her. It’s good she’s leaving quickly.”

Hearing those words, Louisa gave a bitter smile.

They certainly had always been uncomfortable with her.

These people who needed the Allen name more than anyone, yet looked down on it more than anyone.

It was obvious how they would treat Louisa Allen, who was ignored even by Edward Allen, a man with vulgar but direct power.

A noble, yet not a noble; an Allen, yet not an Allen.

That was how she was treated.

‘Next time Prince Anthony has a party, should I really ask for understanding and rest at home…’

His Highness would surely understand.

She stood in front of the exit of the hall.

As the servants opened the doors, the chilly air from outside rushed in.

After walking a few steps out, the doors closed and the sounds from the party suddenly stopped.

How many steps had she taken down the quiet corridor? She heard someone coming down in front of her.

Louisa raised her head to look at the person in front of her.

There stood her husband, staring at her with a hardened expression.