As the autumn social season approached, many nobles who had been staying in their territories returned to their mansions or townhouses in the capital of Arkan to unpack their belongings.

Biare too was spending busy days with the help of her servants, preparing for the social season and her birthday celebration.

For her, who had hosted parties many times in the past, preparing for a celebration was not a difficult task, but this time, she couldn’t help but feel a bit short on time.

It was because she had been preoccupied with recent events and incidents, so she had neglected the preparations for her own celebration.

Coincidentally, this social season, she had also received a letter from her only friend, Ushua Genshaoti.

Biare, who had forgotten that Ushua used to visit the Marta Empire around this time in the past, felt rushed to prepare the celebration and welcome her guest with care.

Ushua was a young lady from the Genshaoti family, a wealthy merchant family from the Eastern countries, whom Biare had become friends with when she visited the Cheilo Merchant Guild as a child.

As the legitimate daughter and future leader of the Genshaoti family, she was fluent in the languages of the Western, Southern, and Northern countries.

With her outgoing and open-minded personality, rarely seen in the Northern countries to which the Marta Empire belonged, there was never a dull moment when with her.

Above all, Biare was intrigued by the fact that the nobility class pyramid had been abolished long ago in the Eastern countries.

A few years ago, Biare had visited the Eastern countries with Gaizen, accompanying her father, and she could vaguely sense that it was a country distinctly different from the Northern countries.

There were broad-leaved trees lining the streets, which could only be seen in the southern regions of the Marta Empire, and there were many vibrant cultures that she had never encountered before.

Within those Eastern countries, the Genshaoti were known to have the ability to multiply money just by breathing, to the extent that one would be called a spy if they didn’t know about them.

Just as Biare was interested in different cultures, Ushua was also intrigued by the noble culture rarely seen in the Eastern countries, and she had always hoped to attend a social event in the Marta Empire someday.

The letter contained her complaints about her father giving her too much work, along with her desire to stay at the Ruschef mansion for a few days during the social season.

It was the moment when she, who had been too busy preparing to inherit the family business, finally found the opportunity to fulfill her wish.

Surely, she would have departed right after sending the letter, so she should arrive soon.

‘I should tell Gaizen in advance.’

Ushua couldn’t stop teasing Biare’s younger brother whenever she saw him, as she found him adorable, which made Gaizen detest her.

However, he couldn’t treat his sister’s only friend according to his own temper, so he stubbornly maintained a docile attitude to preserve his dignity.

Thinking that Gaizen would need mental preparation for Ushua’s visit, Biare decided to give him a heads up and got up from her seat.

The long corridor was bustling with servants moving about, and receiving their greetings, she reached the door of Gaizen’s room.

After knocking twice, Gaizen, who had just woken up from a nap, opened the door.

It wasn’t his usual nap time, but he seemed to have accumulated fatigue from recent work.

“Sister, what’s the matter?”

Biare silently handed him a letter envelope stamped with the Genshaoti family seal.

“The Genshaoti family?”

Gaizen’s voice trembled for a moment, and as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have, he twisted his mouth and handed the letter envelope back.

“I thought it would be good to tell you in advance.”

Biare chose to inform rather than comfort her brother, who looked like he was about to die just hearing the name of the Genshaoti family.

“Ushua will be visiting the mansion soon.”

“That day will definitely be an all-night shift for me.”

Poor Gaizen seemed to think that her friend would only stay at the mansion for a day.

“Well, she’s planning to stay here for a few days.”

“What? We shouldn’t have any recent collaborations.”

“It seems she wants to enjoy the social season.”

At those words, Gaizen clicked his tongue and then frowned and started grumbling.

“Is she planning to play nobility in the Northern countries?”

Biare raised one eyebrow and replied with an expression that seemed to ask what the problem was.

“As a wealthy merchant from the Eastern countries, would she be satisfied with playing nobility?”

The Eastern countries had only abolished the nobility system, but they possessed wealth that could rival even the high nobles within the Northern countries.

Therefore, Gaizen should know well that the Genshaoti family had a power that couldn’t be easily ignored.

“Please make sure she doesn’t come to my room.”

“Of course. I also told her that you have a fiancée now.”

“We’re not even engaged yet, what fiancée?”

On the day the Dantereo family visited the mansion, shortly after Biare had left her seat first, the conversation between the two ended rather blandly.

Gaizen, who had quickly noticed his sister’s absence, used his wits to guide Rosaline to the terrace, and he immediately left the mansion.

Biare had heard this story from Joian, her secretly planted confidant.

She, who had become Biare’s shadow, was doing her job well, clearly understanding her role.

“Be nice to the young lady. It’s not like you’re going to call it off anyway.”

The woman Gaizen had chosen to be engaged to was none other than Rosaline Dantereo.

If he didn’t want to be engaged to her, he would have broken off the marriage talk long ago. There was a reason why Gaizen was maintaining the engagement as it was.

The duty-bound Gaizen of the Ruschef family wouldn’t miss the opportunity for a cooperative relationship with the Dantereo family that would benefit their house.

As they were a prestigious family with a long bloodline, the Ruschef family needed a smooth relationship with them.

“…I’ll try.”

Biare smiled gently at Gaizen’s slow response and stroked his hair.

As Biare was approaching her room, she saw Diane diligently climbing the stairs.

“Diane?”

“My lady! They’ve arrived from Florman’s Dress Shop.”

“Alright, tell them all to come up.”

The waiting clerks from Florman’s Dress Shop quickly began moving the mannequins dressed in gowns into the room.

These were the custom-ordered dresses from the catalog book earlier, and Diane was carefully checking to see if anything was missing.

As she was slowly examining the mannequins, she suddenly tilted her head and pointed to the ones set aside, saying,

“My lady, these dresses weren’t on the purchase list.”

As it was also a design Biare had never seen before, she nodded to Madam Louise and asked,

“What’s this?”

She replied with an apologetic face.

“I felt bad for unintentionally keeping the young lady waiting last time.”

It seemed that the incident had been bothering her all along, as Madam had brought dresses that Biare hadn’t ordered.

“If it’s alright with you, please accept these dresses.”

“I don’t think that was your fault.”

Biare felt uneasy, thinking that the people around her were being affected while the person who was actually at fault was elsewhere.

“As the person in charge of Florman’s Dress Shop, it’s right that I take responsibility for what happened there.”

“If you put it that way, I’ll gratefully accept them.”

Finally, Madam Louise showed her the drawing book and sample book with a slightly brighter expression.

They had to hurry to prepare Biare’s birthday celebration dress, which wasn’t far off.

As Biare was slowly examining the drawing book, she found the design of the dress she had worn at her birthday celebration before her regression.

The light blue Sabrina dress was densely studded with jewels, and it was a modest dress that was neither excessive nor simple.

‘If I wear this, will you come and talk to me like you did then?’

If she were to face Dension again at the upcoming birthday celebration, she herself didn’t know how to treat him.

Whenever she thought about that day, Biare’s heart would alternately soar and sink.

As Biare was staring blankly at the drawing book, Diane pointed to the dress on that page and said,

“This design would really suit you, my lady.”

Madam Louise smiled with satisfaction at Diane’s words and added,

“It’s a dress that well expresses the elegance unique to Sabrina.”

Biare, who had been silently listening to their conversation, closed the drawing book she was looking at and handed it back to Madam Louise.

“I’ll go with this design.”

The madam left the mansion with her clerks, saying she would prepare it well and send it.

Only Diane, who was organizing the dresses, and Biare remained in the room.

Concerned about her mistress’s expression, which seemed somewhat downcast, Diane carefully observed her.

“My lady, is there something worrying you?”

“No. I was just thinking for a moment because there’s a lot to prepare.”

Biare had always hidden her emotions, saying she was fine.

Even as the young lady of a ducal family, there must have been difficult and hard times, but she chose to endure them alone.

It would have been good if she could lean on someone even a little, but sadly, that was too difficult for her.

There was always an invisible line around Biare that couldn’t be carelessly approached.

And because it was her inherent nature, no one dared to cross that line.

The first person she had ever fully opened her heart to was Dension.

He was like a gift that came not as someone to be relied upon, but as someone she could rely on.

However, because he had now become someone she shouldn’t hope for anymore, Biare was endlessly sinking just by thinking of him.

‘I decided not to do this. But I keep expecting.’

With a bitter smile at her heart that wouldn’t cooperate with her thoughts, she had to deliberately set aside her emotions.