“My lady, good morning! May I bring in your meal?”

“Yes, come in.”

I said as I pushed aside the sheet music scattered on the desk.

Sophie entered with cheerful steps, looked at me, and was startled.

“Oh my, my lady! Did you not sleep?”

“Sophie.”

I said, rubbing my tired eyes.

“Isn’t your mother’s birthday coming up soon?”

“What? Gasp, how did you know that, my lady?”

I smiled at Sophie, whose eyes had grown wide, and opened my jewelry box.

The inside had become quite sparse due to Elena’s frequent pilfering, but there were still a few usable pieces.

As I handed her a ring set with a small peridot, Sophie’s face filled with puzzlement.

“It’s for your vacation. Take a good week off and rest. Going to your hometown would be nice.”

“W-what?”

Sophie exclaimed in shock, waving her hands.

“Such a precious thing, h-how could I! No, my lady!”

“You’ve been working in our house for almost five years now.”

Sophie’s eyes widened.

“We’ve been together for a long time, but I’ve never shown my appreciation. Take this and go to your hometown to buy your mother a nice outfit.”

“T-then, then…”

At the mention of ‘mother’, Sophie’s eyes quickly wavered, and soon she bent her waist in half.

“Thank you so much, my lady! Then I’ll go get permission for leave from the butler!”

“You don’t need to. You’re my personal maid.”

At my firm words, Sophie’s eyes welled up with tears.

“Thank you, thank you so much! My lady!”

Looking at Sophie’s bright smile, I quietly sank into thought.

Knowing the future is a valuable asset in many ways.

‘Around this time, Sophie’s mother died of tuberculosis.’

I knew that she could have been saved with treatment, but she hid it to avoid burdening her daughter.

I remember this in such detail because Sophie herself suddenly died two years after that incident.

Sophie, who worked night shifts every day to earn money to care for her siblings in place of her deceased mother. Then one day, that girl…

‘Was killed by a sudden intruder who hit her on the head. Tragically.’

Because the investigation was quickly concluded at the time, the identity of the intruder was never revealed.

The only clue was a single strand of red hair found on Sophie’s clothes.

…And, coincidentally, Lucas’s hair was also red.

‘Now that I think about it, the truth is as clear as day.’

I stifled a bitter laugh.

The place where Sophie died was in the corridor near Elena’s bedroom.

Probably Lucas, who had sneaked into Elena’s room in the middle of the night, was caught by Sophie and destroyed the evidence.

It’s an assumption I couldn’t even imagine before.

Well, I didn’t know that those people could easily kill someone out of greed.

Not until I died myself.

‘I’m sorry, Sophie.’

I acted like a kind mistress, but in reality, it was the result of punching numbers on a calculator.

When Sophie returns, I planned to ask her for work worth the value of that peridot ring.

And before that, there was a prerequisite task that had to be successful.

I rubbed my tired eyes and pulled back the sheet music I had put away.

It was filled with notes I had poured out throughout the night.

My eyes slowly scanned over it.

“…”

As my gaze fell on it, the notes trapped within the staff seemed to come to life and began to sing.

It was a beautiful melody that melted away the fatigue of the previous night like snow.

I slowly smiled.

This was a bait made of sound.

To catch the big fish named Dante Heigenberg.

[This is the timeline separator]

I walked down the dark corridor. With my hood pulled down tightly.

Air hazy with cigar smoke.

Lighting so lavish it bordered on vulgar.

The piercing scent of strong liquor.

The seductive melody of a cello bewitching the ears.

It was a space where everything was excessively explicit and excessively lascivious.

I took a deep breath.

It was my first time setting foot here in both my past life and this one.

‘This is…’

The holy land of the corrupt. Paradise.

Unlike the greatly expanded future five years from now, the current Paradise was as narrow as an ant tunnel.

As I took a step, I bumped into a staggering man.

“Oops! …Huh? What’s this, a lady in a cloak?”

The man leaned in close to me, reeking of alcohol.

“What kind of face are you hiding so carefully? I’m quite the catch myself, you know? Don’t be so pricey, let me see your face!”

“You’re quite the catch?”

Still holding my cloak, I looked the man straight in the eye. He flinched momentarily when our gazes met.

“Then perhaps you know where His Grace the Duke is?”

“…What?”

The man’s eyes widened. His face looked as if he had suddenly sobered up.

“You, you know His Grace? Oh, um, I apologize…”

“So you’re just small fry.”

“What did you say?! Surely you’re not talking to me like that?”

“Ah, I’m sorry. So you heard me. I had high hopes when you said you were quite the catch, but I was disappointed and it just slipped out.”

As I replied in a calm voice, the man glared at me with fierce eyes.

“Hey, do you know who I am?!”

“Well, I can tell you’re not acquainted with His Grace the Duke.”

“Huh! The nerve! I was trying to be nice because you looked cute in that cloak, but— ack?”

Suddenly, two guards appeared and grabbed the man’s arms.

Then they began to drag the struggling, bewildered man away.

“Ugh, what’s this! No, I wasn’t trying to cause trouble! Listen to me, please!”

“My lady.”

As I was watching the man being dragged away like a sack, someone addressed me softly.

I turned and blinked once.

The one who called me was a young man with brown hair and a kind face.

‘…This person.’

If my memory serves me right, this young man is Dante’s aide.

The one who followed him like a shadow wherever he went.

I secretly swallowed a smile.

‘I thought causing a commotion would increase the chances of meeting him.’

But I didn’t expect to get such a direct chance like this.

The young man eyed me suspiciously and asked.

“Do you have an appointment with His Grace the Duke?”

I slightly lifted my hood, revealing myself only to the young man.

As my platinum blonde hair and blue eyes were exposed, the young man’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.

“I am Ariana Lopez, the eldest daughter of the Lopez family. I don’t have an appointment, but would it be possible to see His Grace the Duke?”

“…Um, Lady Lopez. I’m sorry, but His Grace doesn’t take meetings without prior appointments.”

“Please tell him I’m begging for just five minutes.”

The young man’s eyes widened a bit more at the word ‘begging’.

“Also, please convey that if I fail to pique His Grace’s interest within that time, I will surely compensate.”

[This is the timeline separator]

After contemplating, the young man disappeared somewhere, then reappeared shortly after and began to guide me.

He led me to a very deep part of the building.

Following the corridor that was as deep as an ant tunnel, the young man finally stopped in front of a room.

“Please enter, my lady.”

The young man lifted the veil.

As I entered, I held my breath for a moment.

Seated inside was a man with a presence so peculiar it stood out.

‘Dante Heigenberg.’

The source of his presence wasn’t his sharply handsome features, broad shoulders, or wide chest.

Regardless of such physical attributes, he seemed like someone born wrapped in intimidation like a blanket from birth.

‘But, this is unexpected.’

I thought the owner of this ‘paradise’ would have a dancer or two by his side.

Surprisingly, Dante was alone.

He was drinking what looked like a terribly strong liquor.

But the eyes that fixed on me were clear enough to send chills down my spine.

Blood-red eyes slowly scanned my face. I suppressed my nervousness and opened my mouth.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you for the first time, Your Grace.”

Dante’s first words were not what I had expected.

He raised an eyebrow while staring directly at me.

“For the first time?”

A fleeting smirk appeared on his handsome lips, then disappeared the next moment. Like a mirage.

Dante clicked his tongue briefly and leaned back languidly.

As he straightened his slightly hunched body, his already tall figure seemed even more imposing.

‘…He’s big.’

There might be people with larger builds than this man, but I had never encountered someone with such a presence before.

I secretly moistened the inside of my dry mouth.

Although I didn’t show it, I was quite taken aback, not expecting to hit a roadblock from the very first greeting.

‘Isn’t this our first meeting?’

Of course, I had seen Dante before. A year ago, at that majestic victory parade.

But while Dante was the protagonist of the parade and a war hero to me then, I would have been just one among tens of thousands to him.

“So.”

A languid voice cut through my thoughts.

“You begged me for five minutes?”

I secretly exhaled.

Despite his relaxed attire and the absence of any guards, the man didn’t look easy to deal with at all.

His eyes shone like those of a predator, not obscured even by the tobacco smoke.

It was a gaze that instantly assessed my worth and intentions.

‘Don’t get nervous, Ariana.’

I admonished myself.

The moment I become intimidated, I’ll be looked down upon, and if that happens, everything will be over.

The man before me didn’t seem like the type to give second chances, even from a side glance.

I opened my mouth, keeping my expression as calm as possible.

“I came because I have something I wish to offer to Your Grace. Could you spare me just five minutes of your time?”

Dante lazily rested his chin on his hand.

“I’m sorry, but my sense of time is quite capricious, you see.”

His elegant lips twisted coldly.

“If I get bored, your five minutes might expire in just a few seconds.”

The nonchalance of someone who has only ever been in a position to evaluate and judge, with absolutely nothing to lose.

Facing this head-on, I slowly nodded.

“Then let’s make it ten seconds.”

Dante’s eyes, which had been resting on his hand, widened slightly.

“If Your Grace finds interest within ten seconds, please grant me your time until that interest runs out.”

“…”

After a moment of silence, Dante raised the corner of his mouth.

“You’re bold.”

I held my breath discreetly.

The smile on Dante’s lips deepened a bit more.

“I like it. Ten seconds, then.”

“Thank you.”

I bowed slightly and opened the clutch I had brought.

Dante watched me with his head tilted slightly.

Taking out a small instrument, I took a deep breath.

‘Actually, I didn’t expect to start like this out of the blue.’

It didn’t matter. This was the main point anyway.

Even as I took out the instrument without explanation, I wasn’t nervous.

After establishing Paradise, Dante hired top-tier singers and all sorts of talented composers.

Sparing no expense or connections.

It was also the reason why his Paradise could flourish so much.

If he was a man with such a good ear, he would probably understand what I had brought.

Even with the simple melody played by the kalimba.