“What on earth are you talking about?”

Bianca, sitting next to the Countess who was unable to refute, asked on her behalf.

Bianca, who was the same age as Riena, had come along when Riena’s new mother remarried Count Dyke when Riena was 8 years old. However, over the past 12 years, Riena had never had an intimate conversation with her.

Family, yet less than strangers. That was the expression that best described the relationship between Riena and Bianca.

“Well, I thought I spoke clearly to avoid any misunderstandings.”

“So you’re saying that Mother didn’t love the Count?”

“I didn’t say that. I just said that it seemed their affection wasn’t deep.”

“Isn’t that the same thing? And Mother loved the Count very much! You saw her crying to the point of fainting on the day the Count passed away!”

Well. Was that display of emotion truly sincere?

Riena didn’t understand why Bianca was insisting that Countess Dyke loved the Count, but everyone in the mansion knew that wasn’t the case.

Surely, Bianca knew this fact as well.

Their marriage was purely based on mutual interests, and after Aaron was born, they maintained a distant relationship at best.

‘Besides, crying to the point of fainting? Didn’t she just shed a few tears?’

Instead of retorting sharply, Riena apologized.

“Was that so? I’m sorry. I must have misunderstood. I apologize. I seem to have misinterpreted Mother’s intentions. As Baron Rothman said, Mother must have changed out of mourning clothes quickly to refresh the atmosphere of the mansion, right?”

Riena smiled kindly towards Countess Dyke. Although her sarcasm was clearly evident, her words on the surface were an apology.

If it were just family, it might have been different, but showing anger in front of Baron Rothman would only damage their reputation. Countess Dyke gritted her teeth and barely managed to reply.

“Yes, I’m glad you finally understand my intentions.”

“I’m truly grateful that you always enlighten my foolish self like this, Mother.”

Still smiling, Riena countered and placed her napkin on the table as Baron Rothman’s hand was surreptitiously trying to reach her thigh. Then she naturally stood up from her seat.

“If it’s not impolite, may I be excused? I feel dizzy after crying earlier while thinking about Father.”

“Ah, then let me escort you…”

Riena raised her hand towards Baron Rothman, who was about to stand up.

“No. I’d like to go alone as I might show an unsightly appearance. Is that alright?”

“Ah, well, if you insist.”

Baron Rothman clicked his tongue.

“If that is the young lady’s wish, I cannot insist further. But may I request a walk when you’re feeling better?”

“Yes, of course.”

As long as Baron Rothman lingered in the mansion, there would be no chance of her feeling better. Therefore, there would be no walk with this unpleasant Baron Rothman.

Unaware of Riena’s true thoughts, Baron Rothman, upon hearing her answer, immediately placed his left hand behind his back and slightly bowed.

Riena had to manage her expression to avoid grimacing at the sight of his right hand extending towards her.

She hesitated for a moment before reluctantly placing her right hand on his. Soon, Baron Rothman’s lips touched the back of her hand.

Unlike the kiss of the man in her dream, which was thrilling and touching, Baron Rothman’s kiss was unpleasant, even though she knew it was aristocratic etiquette.

She disliked his sticky gaze looking up at her, and the way he deliberately pressed his lips firmly to kiss her hand.

It was truly incomprehensible. The man in her dream kissed her hand without permission, yet she only felt a sense of longing, but Baron Rothman’s actions were so irritating.

The answer probably lay in the difference in their attitudes. While the man in her dream exuded a feeling of respect and affection for her, the Baron Rothman before her eyes saw her only as a possession.

‘Of course.’

Baroness Rothman had passed away in a carriage accident this spring. The wheel suddenly came off, causing the carriage to roll down a cliff, and the Baroness inside had her neck broken, dying instantly.

However, rumors were rampant that Baron Rothman had deliberately caused the accident to kill her.

It was said that after their marriage, the Baron had been violent towards his wife almost daily, and when she finally demanded a divorce, he couldn’t control his anger and killed her.

There was no way to prove whether the rumors were true. Only Baron Rothman himself would know. But one thing was certain: as the rumors suggested, he didn’t see women as people, but only as his possessions.

If he had truly treated Riena as a person, he wouldn’t have scanned her body with such a gaze.

Riena forcibly pulled her hand away from his grip, which was trying not to let go. Suppressing the urge to run away and wash her hands immediately, she managed to smile at him.

“Then, I’ll be going now.”

The first place she headed when she returned to her room with quick but elegant steps was the bathroom.

Throughout the walk down the corridor, she had wanted to scream madly at the terrible sensation of bugs crawling on her arm.

Only after washing her hand with soap until her skin turned red, again and again, did she leave the bathroom. Then she saw Joanna, her personal maid, standing there with a troubled expression.

“What’s…”

Before she could even ask what was wrong, Riena understood the reason. Countess Dyke was standing in the middle of the room with a greatly angered face.

Riena took a deep breath before approaching her.

“What’s the matter?”

“What’s the matter? Are you really asking because you don’t know?”

“If I knew, would I be asking?”

“This is really…!”

The Countess raised her right hand. Although she sensed what was about to happen, Riena stared directly into her eyes instead of closing them.

However, instead of harshly slapping Riena’s cheek as usual, the Countess quietly lowered her hand. With Baron Rothman currently in the mansion, she couldn’t leave marks on Riena’s face.

Perhaps because her anger wasn’t satisfied, she instead slapped Joanna, who was standing behind Riena.

“Mother!”

Riena sharply cried out, embracing the staggering Joanna.

“Why am I your mother! If you truly thought of me as your mother, you couldn’t have treated me like this today!”

Countess Dyke’s face turned red as she unleashed the anger that had built up throughout the evening.

However, Riena found the Countess’s reaction absurd. If anyone had the right to be angry, it was Riena, not the Countess.

If the Countess truly thought of Riena as a daughter, she wouldn’t have arranged such a marriage, essentially selling her off.

In fact, Bianca, the Countess’s biological daughter, had openly mocked Riena before dinner, saying, “Your groom has arrived, why don’t you smile? Well, I understand, but still.”

Nevertheless, the reason Riena didn’t pour out all her anger at the Countess was because, after all, she was legally her mother at the moment. But how could she say such things now!

Unaware of Riena’s anger, Countess Dyke spoke firmly.

“You’re forbidden from going out until the wedding. And for the next week, you’ll be confined to your room.”

“Mother!”

“Don’t call me mother!”

The Countess, full of anger, left the room. Riena didn’t even have the energy to follow her, so she examined Joanna’s face. The left cheek had already swollen and turned red from the force of the slap.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

Tears welled up in Riena’s eyes at the sight of Joanna trying to smile as she answered. Joanna was Riena’s only personal maid. In other words, she was the only person Riena could trust and care for in this mansion.

Thinking that Joanna had been slapped instead of her, Riena felt as if her heart was being torn apart.

“Ask the kitchen for some ice and apply an ice pack right away. If you leave it, it’ll swell even more tomorrow.”

“It’s alright. How could I use such expensive ice?”

The current season was full autumn. Although the demand for ice was less than in summer, it was also the time when ice was most expensive before winter.

“It’s okay. Tell them I asked for it and get a piece of ice.”

“Young lady…”

Faced with Riena’s firm attitude, Joanna could no longer insist she was fine. She headed to the kitchen with a touched expression.

Watching Joanna leave, Riena curled up on the bed and carefully recalled the events of the past two months. She couldn’t understand at all where things had gone so wrong.

Two months ago, when her father, Count Dyke, suddenly passed away due to a horseback riding accident, the atmosphere in the mansion completely changed.

All those who had followed her father turned to Countess Dyke, not Riena. Watching this, Riena deeply felt how futile a knight’s oath was.