You’ve been through a significant event, haven’t you? You’ve been through a lot, milady. How difficult it must have been. Now, forget everything. It’s not your fault, milady.

No one uttered the expected words.

No one approached Helena, who sat like an uninvited guest.

Even when their eyes occasionally met, they exchanged glances among themselves and giggled.

Only then did she realize that she wasn’t supposed to be in this position, but she couldn’t just get up and leave in the middle of the party. Leaving this place would undoubtedly become a topic of conversation for a long time.

Helena cast a gaze towards the companions she had been close to.

The daughter of a certain countess who considered herself Helena’s maid, and the daughter of a certain marquis who claimed to be Helena’s best friend.

Normally, these girls would rush over, fist-bump Helena, and chat before their eyes met. However, they subtly avoided Helena’s gaze, rolling their eyes.

‘What’s going on?’

Helena couldn’t believe it.

Despite various incidents, Helena was still the granddaughter of the former empress and the daughter of the Duke Bronte. Yet, she was treated like this.

Unable to endure any longer, she tried to stand up later, but the Countess Ettani, who invited her to this tea party, spoke up.

“Come to think of it, milady. You must be going through a lot with all that has happened recently.”

Upon hearing these comforting words, which she heard for the first time in this place, Helena glued the half-lifted buttocks back to the chair. Then, with a sad expression, she spoke.

“It’s hard. Everyone blames and ridicules me for something I didn’t do. Why do they like talking about others so much?”

It was a remark aimed at the ladies and
“But I’m curious. Did you really torment Miss Ariana as much as it was reported in the newspapers? They said she couldn’t eat properly, had bruises all over her body, and even suffered from malnutrition… and that she did laundry and dishes like a servant?”

“That… that’s all lies! Reporters always write articles sensationally!”

“But losing in the trial means that the article is entirely true. Even when the third young lady was treated like a criminal in the murder case, the whole family tried to frame Miss Ariana… And the chief investigator, who went to the empire to testify, is still missing.”

Helena didn’t know what happened to the chief investigator.

“I don’t know about that… Why would I know about that?”

“I’m worried, you see. Even if milady makes her debut ball this year, she’s a bit late in age. For a while, she may not be able to go to the empire. After 2 or 3 years, everyone might forget about this incident, but by then, milady will be too old.”

Helena bit her lower lip and glared at Yulria.

Until a few months ago, Yulria, who had come to Helena pretending to be a close friend, had never dreamed of changing like this.

“But it’s really strange. Even if Miss Ariana lived together from a young age, how could she have thought to torment her so much? Sisters are supposed to get along. Ah, you two have different mothers and fathers, I see.”

People believed that Helena’s birth mother was the former duchess, not Rachel.

Helena wanted to say that she was also the granddaughter of the former empress and Rachel’s biological daughter, but she was aware that she should never reveal that.

“If it were me, I would have treated my sister, who lives with me, well.”

Countess Ettani smiled kindly at Yulria’s words.

“Well, Yulria is a good girl.”

“Oh, Mother. You don’t ha
“Aaaaah! So annoying! I’m so annoyed that I could die! What did Ariana say? What is she saying? Everyone is in chaos!”

Until the carriage arrived at the mansion, Helena screamed and wailed.

With her eyes swollen, Helena, walking down the corridor, realized there was someone in the drawing-room and stopped. The drawing-room, usually filled with warmth, had been empty every day since the Ariana incident.

Opening the door, she found Victoria sitting on the sofa, reading a book.

“Victoria!”

Seeing Victoria after a long time made Helena so happy that tears seemed to well up again. At Helena’s call, Victoria slowly raised her head.

The moment Helena’s eyes met Victoria’s, Helena stopped in her tracks.

With slightly dark-toned blonde hair, a small and delicately shaped face, pretty eyebrows, and large eyes with shining green irises. It was undoubtedly Victoria’s face, but for some reason, Helena felt that she wasn’t her familiar sister.

Her arm hairs stood on end as if she were facing a stranger.

Then, Victoria smiled brightly.

“Sister. It’s been a while.”

The eerie feeling disappeared as if released from a spell.

‘Yes, who else could it be if not Victoria?’

Ignoring the creepy feeling she had just felt, Helena sat next to Victoria.

“Why haven’t you come home? Until when will you stay at Rosen Castle?”

“I should come back soon. I’ve finished what I needed to do…”

“What do you need to do?”

“Just this and that.”

“Anyway, listen to my story. Today, Countess Ettani held a party, and I went there.”

While Helena was sobbing and ranting about the disgraceful treatment she received from Countess Ettani, Victoria silently listened to her story.

After a while, Helena said, “Ariana will probably get many party invitations here and there, right? They’ll treat her like a princess? Just thinking about it makes my stomach turn!”

When Ariana’s name came up, Victoria’s eyes sank coolly.

During Victoria’s stay at Rosen Castle, Helena talked about it every day.

Every morning, she practiced the most perfect smile in front of the mirror. She made efforts to make the angles of her mouth and the movements around her eyes smooth.

Yet, whenever she heard Ariana’s name, she couldn’t help her face from distorting.

‘Ariana. Because of you…’
Had to give up a lot.

The Bronte family name was tarnished, the relationship between mother and father shattered, and Victoria deviated from the path of humanity.

The vivid memories of being surrounded by the Paganus, conducting a blood ritual, directly extracting the hearts of ten living humans, dedicating them to the altar, the dreadful feeling when drinking the blood they shed in a cup, the pain when carving a small tattoo symbolizing Paganus on the back.

‘Now I have become a Paganus.’

The day Victoria was falsely accused of murder under Ariana’s manipulation and was taken to the prosecutor’s office, she was engulfed in a loneliness she had never felt before.

Her mother and father, who she thought would be her reliable protectors, the position of being a noble lady of the Bronte family or the granddaughter of the ex-duchess, none of them could lend any strength to Victoria.

When Helena found out that she was actually Rachel’s biological daughter, Victoria’s world collapsed.

No matter how perfect a daughter Victoria became, her parents ultimately favored Helena.

‘Even if I achieve something, the byproduct will eventually be used for Helena’s benefit.’

She didn’t want to see that.

‘Before that happens, I will use all of you.’

She knew that the Duchess also intended to use Victoria.

Even t
Seojehu stared intently at Victoria with snake-like eyes, waiting for a response.

Seojehu had always been like this.

Since Victoria asked to be made into the Empress, he consistently tested her, never providing an immediate answer, but giving Victoria time to think.

At first, she was annoyed, but now she understood the deeper meaning behind Seojehu’s actions. He was trying to teach her how to contemplate, think, and grasp the meaning beyond the surface.