For a while, Biare stayed cooped up in her office, putting aside her pitiful and lonely feelings.

Despite Gaizen’s advice not to overdo it, she quietly immersed herself in work.

Keeping busy was the best way to shake off her thoughts.

While focusing on her work, she was carefully examining a pile of letters given by her servant.

‘This is…’

Biare felt joy coursing through her body as she confirmed the seal stamped on the black envelope.

The sender of the letter was none other than the ‘Unofficial Social Club, Elmada’.

Elmada was not a place one could easily enter just because they wanted to.

It was an enviable social club that even those of high status or with large sums of money could not dare to enter carelessly.

Rumors circulating said that it was the first to grasp the current state of nobles, producing gossip while also being a hidden networking venue.

As an unofficial social club, its elite members were also not revealed, but Biare was able to obtain information about it through Gaizen.

And among them, one thing stood out the most.

‘Ancient family lineage.’

While everything else varied, their only common point was that they were from families with ancient lineages.

Thus, as the young lady of the Ruschef family, she had been striving to build connections in other social circles, giving up on this one.

‘But this invitation came to me?’

Although Biare was already at the center of social circles, her position was still precarious.

There were still high-ranking nobles who slandered her, calling her of lowly commoner blood.

‘They said they admit new members by unanimous vote, didn’t they?’

Regardless of the reason, it was both surprising and joyful that Biare had been officially invited as a member.

She might be able to obtain information about Dension, which she had not yet managed to acquire, from Elmada.

As there was still some time left until the next meeting she was invited to, Biare thought she should observe them more carefully before responding.

For now, she had to focus on preparing to attend the afternoon tea party to be held at a nearby count’s residence.

With the help of Diane, who was still in charge of her attire despite becoming her personal maid, Biare finished all preparations and headed to the courtyard.

In the courtyard, Tonio and Joian were waiting for them.

Tonio, Diane, and Joian. They were the vassals who had become her true confidants over the past two years.

At first, there were times when she doubted their loyalty, but their unwavering devotion even opened Biare’s heart.

‘People who are for me alone, not for my father…’

These were the loyal subjects right before her eyes.

She smiled at the sight of them getting along well, even though they bickered occasionally.

Upon arriving at the tea party venue, Biare approached those she was acquainted with and exchanged greetings.

Until then, she had been firmly establishing her position by directly stepping into the social circles she had previously shown no interest in.

At first, when Biare approached them, they were wary and found her behavior strange.

Who could have imagined that the young lady who had only indifferently kept her seat throughout social events would now be the first to initiate conversations so amiably?

However, Biare’s efforts had allowed her to reach her current position.

As Biare was exchanging greetings with them, Rosaline had approached her side.

“Young Lady, it’s been a while.”

“Welcome, Young Lady.”

After her debutante, the daughter of Viscount Dantero had become close to the Ruschef young lady, and this spring, when she became engaged to the young marquis, she had been the talk of the gossip columns for a while.

With her striking beautiful appearance and witty speech, she had taken the center of the social circles along with Biare.

“Ah, I have a gift for you, Young Lady.”

Biare spoke quietly, just loud enough for Rosaline to hear, before attention could be drawn to them.

“Pardon? A gift?”

“You’ll soon come of age too, Young Lady.”

Rosaline’s birthday was near the end of the year, while Gaizen’s was at the beginning of the new year, around similar times.

Thus, she had prepared small gifts for the two who would turn eighteen and come of age.

“Young Lady…”

“Of course, I’ve prepared birthday gifts as well, so please consider this a small token of goodwill.”

Rosaline, who had been staring blankly at the gift box handed to her, seemed touched, her eyes becoming moist.

“I’m not sure if I should really accept this.”

“It’s a gift for the Young Lady becoming an adult. Please be generous with my humble skills.”

The gift Biare gave was none other than a handkerchief embroidered with forget-me-nots.

It was something she had personally embroidered to commemorate the two becoming adults.

“It’s really pretty. Thank you, Young Lady. But…”

“It’s alright, please speak, Young Lady.”

Seeing Rosaline hesitate, Biare waited for her to speak comfortably.

“I wonder if I received the gift before the young marquis?”

“Yes, I haven’t given it to Gaizen yet…”

Thinking that perhaps she wanted to give the gift first, Biare thought she should yield her turn to her.

After all, Rosaline was also her brother’s fiancée, so it was unavoidable for her to be cautious.

“Then I won…”

“Pardon? What did you just say?”

“It’s nothing. I’m truly honored, Young Lady.”

Her behavior was puzzling, but Biare looked at her with a generous smile.

‘Should I tell her later that it’s the same handkerchief?’

She had embroidered the same forget-me-not design on the gifts for both Gaizen and Rosaline.

Although it was an engagement formed with their own purposes, she hoped the two would be truly happy.

It would be even better if they developed into ‘true love’ like the meaning of forget-me-nots, but that was up to them, so Biare would just cheer them on from afar.

Not long after the new year, Gaizen’s birthday celebration had also ended safely, and thus he became eighteen years old, coming of age.

Biare was reading a thank-you letter she had received from Rosaline, who had come of age earlier, for her gift.

After finishing reading the letter, she took out the gift box she had prepared in advance for her brother and carefully placed it on the tea table.

‘I hope Gaizen likes it too.’

Although the birthday celebration had ended a few days ago, Biare still hadn’t been able to give him the handkerchief.

As if sensing Biare’s concern, Diane, who was having tea time with her, repeatedly said,

“Miss, I’m sure the young marquis will like it.”

“I really hope so.”

As coming of age had a special meaning, Biare wanted to give a heartfelt gift.

She had made it herself, wondering what kind of gift her mother would have prepared if she were here.

Fortunately, having inherited the duchess’s handiwork skills, she quickly mastered the art of embroidery.

Diane comforted her mistress, saying that Gaizen would surely be pleased with any gift.

“Even I can see that your embroidery is truly excellent, Miss.”

“Thank you. I’ll make one for you next time.”

After finishing their brief tea time, Biare decided to give Gaizen the gift at the dinner table.

As evening came, she headed to the dining room with the gift.

Today, as the duke was away on business for the merchant guild, it was a rare dinner for just the two of them.

As the meal was nearing its end, Biare placed the prepared gift box on the table.

“Gaizen, congratulations on coming of age.”

Thinking it was just an ordinary dinner, he was surprised when his sister suddenly presented a gift and asked with bewildered eyes.

“What’s this, Sister?”

“Open it yourself.”

At those words, Gaizen hurriedly unwrapped the box and confirmed the embroidery she had personally stitched, and his eyes immediately reddened.

“Sister…”

“My embroidery skills are lacking… If it’s uncomfortable to use, just keep it.”

“No way! I’ll carry it with me every day, thank you.”

Seeing Gaizen touched by such a small gift, Biare was reminded of Rosaline who had shown a similar reaction.

She smiled, thinking that perhaps they had quite a bit in common.

“No. Since it’s the only one, it wouldn’t be bad to keep it stored away.”

‘The only one?’

Wondering if he might be misunderstanding, Biare looked at her brother and said,

“Gaizen, I don’t think I said it was the only one.”

“What do you mean, Sister?”

“I gave the same thing as a gift to Young Lady Dantero.”

As if struck by lightning out of a clear sky, Gaizen’s expression suddenly darkened.

“What? You mean the exact same thing?”

“Yes, the embroidered handkerchief.”

“No way… Why would Sister care for the Young Lady?”

“Well, she is your fiancée.”

“…”

“You do know that Father and I sent her birthday gift in your name, right?”

As the thoughtless Gaizen had not prepared a gift for his fiancée, the duke and Biare had personally prepared and sent a gift for her.

“That’s…”

“As far as I know, didn’t the Young Lady give you a brooch at your recent birthday celebration?”

“That was just something her family made her do…”

“Even if her family made her do it. Someone else didn’t do it at all.”

“…I understand. I’ll prepare it myself next time.”

Gaizen answered in a deflated voice, seemingly with some conscience left, to which Biare raised her wine glass and said,

“We should still have a toast, shouldn’t we?”

“Thank you for celebrating, Sister.”

They raised their wine glasses and tilted them towards each other’s.

After emptying a few glasses of wine, Biare glanced at her brother.

As she remembered, he had a low alcohol tolerance like their father and already seemed out of his mind.

Biare was harboring a small hope that he might give her the answer she wanted in his drunken state.

“Gaizen, about the key dedicated to the absent god…”

“Ah― The one Father gave?”

She was surprised by her brother’s easy answer, but pretending to be calm, she nodded and said,

“Yes, the key to the safe kept in Father’s merchant guild office, right?”

“How… how did Sister know about that?”

To this, Biare poured more wine into his empty glass and said,

“I just happened to see it by chance.”

Sipping his wine, he soon frowned heavily with his impaired mind and said,

“That key is dangerous, Sister. It’s an object imbued with magic, and if it’s not the owner, you’ll be tracked and…”

Thud― Gaizen collapsed, leaning on the table without finishing his sentence.

Biare looked at her brother with pitying eyes before downing her glass.

In the end, it seemed Gaizen never touched alcohol again after that day.