Lucas, who said that, pressed his temples firmly.

With an expression that suggested his head was throbbing from pointing out the obvious.

“You’re a commoner, Elena.”

“……”

Elena held her breath.

Though bearing the name of a noble family as her surname, it was an open secret that both her father and mother were commoners. Lucas casually poked at that sensitive issue.

“This isn’t just about a scandal. Nobles and commoners can’t mix.”

‘……Even though we’ve mixed our bodies?’

Elena was so dumbfounded that she couldn’t say anything for a moment.

As he stroked Elena’s shoulders that had gone quiet, Lucas whispered.

“People should all live according to their station. And there’s a place suitable for each person, Elena.”

“……”

“Let’s go with my plan. That’s the way for both of us to live together. Each in our own place.”

The voice she had only thought of as gentle sounded repulsive and disgusting for the first time.

‘There’s a suitable place for each person?’

It was saying that Ariana was fitting to be by his side as a marquis, but she couldn’t be.

Because it didn’t fit her ‘station’.

“Ha, haha……!”

Elena burst into hollow laughter while clutching at the blanket.

“You’re much more charming than your sister, Elena. How can sisters be so different?”

“Ariana doesn’t know how to please a man like you do. You, my fairy, are the vigor of my life.”

The voices that whispered that she was far better than Ariana.

Herself, who had been secretly nurturing dreams of becoming a marchioness, giggling at those words.

It was all so ridiculous.

“How dare you……”

Elena muttered in a trembling voice.

She had lived with all her might to prove that she was better than Ariana. Her heart boiled with resentment at having that completely denied.

“Miss Elena. Perhaps the marquis……”

Wilhelm carefully opened his mouth.

“Did he tell you to shoulder everything?”

Elena turned around with surprised eyes, and Wilhelm let out a low sigh.

“Now that things have come to this, he’s trying to cut off the tail called ‘miss’, isn’t he?”

At the accurate expression, Elena clenched her fists, trembling with anger.

“He told me…… to confess that I seduced him. Then he’d find me a good marriage prospect abroad.”

Wilhelm let out a low sigh.

“The moment you leave the empire, there will be no future for you, miss.”

“……I know that.”

Elena wanted to succeed in the empire.

What was the point if she couldn’t succeed in the most wealthy and sophisticated country on the continent?

If it were the Kingdom of Ende, famous for its arts, it might be different…… but that place valued marital fidelity, so she wouldn’t be welcomed with such a label.

“I’m going to succeed in the empire’s social circles. Nowhere else matters!”

“That’s not the issue.”

A flash of pity crossed Wilhelm’s gaze for a moment, but Elena didn’t notice as she was busy shedding tears of self-pity.

“The moment you cross the border, he will try to eliminate any future trouble. Because you know the truth, miss.”

“Are you saying the marquis will…… try to kill me?”

“It’s not an impossible scenario.”

Just as Elena thought it was nonsense, the image of Lucas’s face from yesterday flashed through her mind.

That expression when he burst into laughter upon hearing the word ‘wife’.

“I have devoted my entire life to the Lopez family. And you, miss, have tarnished the name of the long-standing Lopez family.”

“If you know that, do something about it!”

Elena shouted loudly.

“What changes if you just nag at me?! They say the ugliest thing is aging without any ability, and that’s exactly you, butler! Are you just going to watch your lifelong workplace collapse under the infamous reputation of being the home of a mistress?!”

“……No, miss.”

After a moment of silence, Wilhelm slowly continued.

“I can’t just watch. I often blame myself. Thinking I should have noticed sooner.”

“Then do something about it now!”

When Elena shouted viciously, Wilhelm remained silent for a moment.

A few seconds later, he opened his mouth.

“I do think there is a way for Miss Elena to recover.”

Madame Evelyn.

The owner of the dress shop known for having the longest history in the empire was uncharacteristically nervous today.

It was rare for her to be nervous about a customer, as she usually dealt with wealthy nobles, but today was an exception.

The reason was simple.

It was because none other than that Lady Ariana Lopez was sitting on the sofa opposite her.

‘My goodness.’

Evelyn looked at Ariana, who was calmly perusing the catalog, with greedy eyes.

To think that the very lady who was most frequently talked about in social circles these days, the duke’s lover, would be having a dress made at her shop.

And not just any dress, but a wedding dress no less.

‘If I could only dress that lady in my creation, our shop’s reputation would soar to the heavens.’

I must captivate that lady at all costs.

Hiding her burning ambition, Evelyn spoke in a gentle voice.

“I hope you won’t find this presumptuous of me to say upon our first meeting, but… My goodness. You are breathtakingly beautiful.”

“Ah.”

Ariana looked at Evelyn with slightly dazed eyes.

“……Thank you.”

Even her brief response, as if she had heard something awkward, seemed incredibly elegant.

The compliment about her beauty wasn’t mere flattery.

As Evelyn stole glances at Ariana, who had turned her attention back to the catalog, she marveled.

‘My, my. The photographs didn’t do her beauty justice.’

Since Ariana had generally abstained from social activities, even the most prominent figures in social circles weren’t familiar with her face.

Therefore, for most people, the first and last time they saw her face was in the photographs from the special report that had turned the empire upside down a month ago – the ‘Stolen Bride’ incident.

That side profile of her being carried over Dante’s shoulder.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that her social debut was made on the front page of the newspaper.

After causing such a sensational scandal that shook the empire, Ariana had since secluded herself in the duke’s residence, causing gossipmongers to be on tenterhooks.

There were many who would offer a pile of jewels just to know what kind of relationship existed between Dante and Ariana.

‘And then one day she suddenly appeared and released that shocking music.’

The Aria of the Mistress.

Victims of that maddeningly addictive melody were scattered throughout the empire.

Whether eating or working, Evelyn’s brain was constantly replaying parts of the melody.

With these two consecutive scandals, the name Ariana Lopez began to be mentioned daily in social circles.

However, Ariana still refrained from any social activities whatsoever.

‘But here I am, face to face with the lady herself.’

And for the purpose of creating the dress she would wear at her wedding, no less!

Feeling immense pride in her profession, Evelyn chuckled softly.

‘I heard the duke cherishes her so dearly……’

As she discreetly observed Ariana’s profile, Evelyn quietly understood.

She was indeed a lady of extraordinary beauty. Her calm and serene demeanor even gave off an air of mystery.

“I think a dress like this would be nice.”

The dress Ariana chose was an elegant one with a bell-shaped skirt and lace accents that weren’t too excessive.

As Evelyn nodded, thinking it was a design befitting a duchess’s dignity, Ariana muttered quietly, as if to herself.

“But the decorative aspects are…… a bit lacking. I’m not sure if it will meet the price limit.”

Evelyn’s eyes widened. It was the first time she had heard mention of a price limit.

“Did you say price limit, my lady?”

“Ah, you haven’t been informed yet. There’s a constraint of fifty million kadina.”

Well, that makes sense.

Evelyn smiled warmly, all misunderstandings cleared.

Fifty million kadina, well. That’s practically no limit at all.

Of course, that Duke Heigenberg wouldn’t be stingy with the wedding dress of the lover he reportedly treasured like a jewel in his mansion.

“Oh! Don’t worry. All the dresses in this catalog are under fifty million kadina, so please feel free to choose whatever you like, my lady.”

“Ah.”

Ariana’s face then became troubled.

“Oh dear.”

Evelyn’s heart sank at the small murmur.

“It shouldn’t be under the limit.”

“Why…… Why, my lady? Is there a problem?”

“It must be over fifty million kadina.”

“……Pardon?”

“His Grace has forbidden purchasing anything below that price.”

A look of shock briefly crossed Evelyn’s face.

The ‘price limit’ wasn’t an upper limit, but……

‘A lower limit?’