Originally, Ibi had planned to secretly put on earplugs when entering Cassel’s room.

Usually, most of what he says is just frivolous teasing, so she intended to return after nodding along while observing his lip movements and expressions.

However, upon actually entering his room, the atmosphere inside was unusual, and Ibi couldn’t bring herself to block her ears.

Meanwhile, Cassel smiled brightly and beckoned to Ibi.

At his urging, Ibi, who had been hesitating, finally approached him with the earplugs still clutched in her hand.

“Hello, Marquis. I came to see how you were feeling. Are you better now?”

“Yes, I’m fine. Just overworked. I’ve had a lot to do lately.”

Cassel spoke, completely unaware that lightning had struck his crown. Then he looked to the side and added.

“Besides, Lord Arco responded quickly, so I’m quite alright.”

Lord Arco?

At that unfamiliar title, Ibi followed Cassel’s gaze to the side, belatedly noticing a woman standing at the edge of the bed.

‘Why is this person here?’

Moren Arco, the elder sister of Arco Yeongshik, was standing next to Cassel, still in uniform today.

When Ibi looked at her, Moren gave a slight nod of greeting. Ibi, though bewildered, responded in kind.

A great noble had collapsed during a banquet. So it was only natural for the host of the banquet to provide attentive care and attention.

That’s why it was also natural to see people from the Tuha family, including Rio Tuha, coming out of this room.

But this person, Moren Arco, being here felt odd. Just yesterday, she had been growling and at odds with the Marquis.

‘Could it be that Count Laurel sent her?’

Ibi looked at Moren again in confusion, realizing that her expression was more tense than yesterday.

As Ibi’s doubts deepened, Cassel spoke with a smile.

“Ibi is too cute today as well.”

Cassel scrutinized Ibi’s appearance with satisfied eyes.

“You were really pretty at lunch yesterday too. Ah, you must have been even prettier at the evening banquet. It’s a shame I missed that.”

“I was disappointed that you weren’t at the banquet too, Marquis.”

“You always choose such pretty words.”

Cassel said with even more intense eyes. This made Ibi feel even more uncomfortable being here.

As someone had said, she just endured well due to her strong stomach, but in truth, Ibi hated most of the elements that made up Cassel Montra.

She disliked his lecherous voice pretending to be kind, his hands that intruded carelessly, and his blatantly roaming gaze.

But what she hated most was that smooth face that openly wore an expression of how delicious she looked.

Ibi smiled, suppressing the urge to shudder. At this, Cassel spoke more mischievously.

“Still, I feel like I’ve lost out. Ah, why don’t we see it now?”

“Pardon?”

“The dress you wore yesterday, go put it on now. Let me see it too.”

At Cassel’s words, spoken with a grinning smile, Ibi was at a loss for words.

Cassel then opened his mouth with an even stickier smile. But before he could say more, Moren intervened.

“It was a white dress. The skirt part was like a tulip. It’s memorable.”

Moren spoke in her usual firm tone. Then she subtly shielded Ibi.

“As impressive as it was, and as much as I’d like to see it again, we shouldn’t make today’s banquet feel empty by sending this lady back to yesterday’s event.”

Moren cut off Cassel’s unreasonable demand. So Ibi felt relieved, but also worried.

If the two of them started growling at each other again like yesterday, she would be the one suffering caught in between.

“That’s a fair point. Then I’ll have to enjoy tonight’s share as well as yesterday’s.”

But unexpectedly, Cassel backed down easily. It was an attitude very different from yesterday.

“Instead, I’ll have to punish Ibi if she’s not pretty later.”

Cassel added lightly, looking at Ibi again.

At that moment, Ibi felt the hair all over her body stand on end, but she forced a smile.

Cassel enjoyed toying with Ibi like this. He found it quite cute when Ibi acted obediently like a puppy.

Then, if Ibi didn’t react as he wanted, he would invariably turn serious or whisper like this:

—Ibi, you have to get along well with me to become the Holy Maiden.

He knew that Ibi wanted to become the Holy Maiden, so he occasionally enjoyed scaring her like this.

It’s nothing new that Cassel Montra is that kind of person. So the disgust can be endured as usual.

The problem, however, was the sense of discomfort that kept washing over her in the midst of this.

While Cassel’s light and lewd behavior was no different from usual, the atmosphere around was quite strange.

It’s too quiet. As if they’re hiding something.

And if they are actually hiding something, it’s surely about Ibi.

“…I’ll have to try not to be scolded by the Marquis.”

Ibi sensed something was amiss, but spoke as if she knew nothing.

Cassel said halfheartedly, “Yeah, I’ll look forward to it,” and the gazes of those watching Ibi from the side grew even more intense.

They were mocking Ibi. Looking down on her, and pitying her.

But no one was willing to tell Ibi the reason.

.

.

.

The second-best room in this villa currently used by Cassel Montra is on the 4th floor of the east wing.

And the best room used by Sion Laurel was on the floor right below, the 3rd floor of the east wing.

So Ibi could reach Cassel Montra’s room through the secret passage without getting lost at all.

Thanks to Count Laurel coming and going through this secret passage to Ibi’s room several times before, only that path had its dust wiped clean.

But that didn’t make passing through this narrow gap any more pleasant.

So Ibi, who had changed into the simplest dress after taking off her gown, gritted her teeth as she climbed the steep ladder.

‘What on earth are you up to, you bastard?’

What Ibi had experienced earlier in Cassel Montra’s room was clearly ostracism and provocation.

There was clearly something, but they all hid it as if by agreement. And yet they subtly showed it off.

It was the attitude of people watching a fire across the river, saying, “You’re in big trouble now.”

Their deception and rejection made Ibi quite anxious.

Even after leaving the Marquis’s room, Ibi couldn’t shake off her ominous premonition.

So she decided to find out for herself what they were hiding by using the secret passage to head to his room.

‘Is it around here?’

After climbing the ladder, a wide space that looked like an attic appeared.

It was a space with a ceiling so low that one had to crawl on all fours, and traces of dust being swept could be seen above it as well.

Ibi traced those traces, leading a small light ahead.

The traces of swept dust stopped in the middle of that space. And around it were not footprints but handprints. It was a trace of the Count coming up from below, not down from above.

‘The Count’s room must be below this. Then the Marquis’s room is above.’

Ibi realized she had come to the right place and quietly held her breath. After waiting for a while, the sound of raucous laughter came from above.

“What else can we do? That’s right, one should know when to step up and when not to.”

It’s Cassel’s voice.

He’s not as slick as when dealing with Ibi, but the voice that just came was clearly Cassel Montra’s.

“I found it too pitiful.”

“What’s there to pity? There are plenty of people around who’d take her because she’s pretty.”

And this is about Ibi.

Even though no name had been mentioned yet, Ibi couldn’t help but sense it.

“It was too much for her from the start. A Holy Maiden for a commoner, right?”

Then her intuition turned into certainty, and all her ominous premonitions came true.

Ibi covered her mouth with both hands. It was to stop the groans and screams that could burst out at any moment.

As Ibi desperately held her breath, the conversation continued above her head.

“Then why have you supported Ibi Ariate until now?”

“I just followed the trend. Everyone expected her to become the Holy Maiden. In fact, I don’t really care who becomes the Holy Maiden, and I liked Ibi. But when I saw her acting above her station, I thought it wouldn’t do.”

Cassel Montra spoke as if complaining. So Ibi let out a bitter laugh even as her fingertips trembled.

Acting above her station? When did I?

“Ah, in Bis… She said it was her hometown, right?”

“Hometown or whatever, I heard she played the role of Holy Maiden quite well there, but that won’t do. Once those lower continent people start clinging, they’re so persistent.”

Cassel clicked his tongue.

“That blockhead doesn’t know why taboos are taboos because she’s uneducated. Imagine if she became the Holy Maiden as she is. Those lower continent vermin would come visiting every other day, wouldn’t they?”

“My father and uncle were worried about that too. If we set a precedent once, Bis will keep wanting more, and if something goes wrong with Ibi Ariate being called there, who will do the purification?”

“I heard that too. So they want to make Rio Tuha, who’s like her sister, the Holy Maiden, and keep Ibi safely tucked away in Tienda. To prevent her from unnecessarily smelling of Bis.”

Cassel spoke in a light and nonchalant voice, as if it would fly away if he blew on it.

So Ibi pondered those words in a daze, as if in a dream.

So Cassel no longer supports Ibi as the Holy Maiden.

Instead, he has decided to choose Rio Tuha as the next Holy Maiden.

The reason is because Ibi purified the poison that struck the village of Bis.

They can’t let the people of Bis get used to being saved by the Holy Maiden.

Because Ibi Ariate must continue purification in Tienda.

Ibi could hardly believe what she understood was correct.

Meanwhile, the nonsense about Ibi continued above.

“Ariate probably still thinks she’ll become the Holy Maiden.”

“I wonder what expression she’ll make when she finds out she won’t.”

“I don’t know about her expression, but she’ll resent you to death.”

Cassel laughed softly at his friend’s curse. For some reason, that laughter sounded more clearly to Ibi than the other conversations.

“As if her resentment would be anything more than cute. Come to think of it, it might be better? It gets boring when she’s just obedient all the time.”

At those words, Ibi’s mind went blank.

She couldn’t think of anything anymore.

She wasn’t even angry.

It was just too strange.

That a conversation determining her fate could be so light.

That her future had been decided so trivially, even in a place she didn’t know about.

Feeling something rising inside her, Ibi scratched the floor with her nails. If she didn’t do that, she felt like something would happen.

But at that moment, the floor Ibi was lying on suddenly opened with a clatter.

Ibi fell before she could even be surprised. And before she could realize she was falling, something caught her.

Ibi looked up at the man who had caught her, her face drained of all color.

The one who held Ibi in his arms as she fell from the ceiling was Sion Laurel.