Riena couldn’t say she didn’t understand Bianca’s feelings.

Even originally, Bianca enjoyed going out and interacting with people more than Riena did. When she was led to the capital by Countess Dyke, she must have imagined eagerly going out to have fun or attending parties.

‘I have a lot to say, but I don’t want to meddle.’

There were many eyes watching. It wouldn’t be good to be seen openly arguing with Bianca here.

For the sake of Cassel, who was considerate of the Dyke family, it was better not to show an unsightly appearance.

Riena let out a small sigh.

“Alright. Anyway, this lodging was safe and there were no major issues with Aaron, so I’ll let it slide. But from now on, until we return to the Dyke territory, don’t go out and stay only inside the mansion.”

“What?”

Bianca raised her voice in protest.

“What do you mean by that?”

Riena instinctively realized that friction with Bianca would arise again and led her to the guest room.

Bianca kept repeating parrot-like “What do you mean by that?” the whole way down the corridor.

Riena opened the door to the guest room located deepest in the corridor among the rooms the Dyke family provided to guests and entered.

“This is the room you’ll use while in the mansion. Let me know if you need anything.”

“Oh, the room is better than I expected! As expected, a ducal house is on a different level.”

Bianca, who was exclaiming in admiration while looking around the room, asked again as soon as Riena closed the door.

“But what do you mean by not going out?”

“I mean it literally. You, Aaron, and Mother should all stay only in the mansion for the time being.”

“But why?”

Riena showed difficulty in how to explain it.

The Countess, who was the mastermind behind the incident, of course said she would stay holed up in the mansion. Aaron, who had no particular interest in the complex city center, showed interest in the mansion where there was much to see, so he didn’t object to the ban on going out.

Riena knew Bianca would object like this, but she hadn’t yet found a reason to persuade her.

She couldn’t tell the real reason as she had to hide the truth, and there was no suitable excuse that could persuade her.

Riena stumblingly gave the excuse that might work best.

“The only thing I can support is for the three of you to stay in the mansion and safely return to the territory. I can’t do anything else beyond that.”

“What does that mean again? Didn’t you call us here to actively support us? I thought you were going to take me to parties too?”

It seemed Bianca was profoundly mistaken about something.

“Still, it doesn’t look good to have family stay in a hotel for a long time, so I called you over. And going to parties with you? Why would I go with you to parties I don’t even attend?”

“Ha! In the end, you’re just using us to save face, aren’t you?”

“Using you? It was Mother who first asked to be invited to the mansion.”

“Anyway, the fact that you’re using us remains the same.”

Riena rubbed her throbbing temples.

“I don’t care what you think. I’ll grant all your wishes within the mansion, but going out is not allowed. I won’t even provide a carriage.”

“You’re really too much.”

At that moment, Riena, whose feelings were upset by Bianca’s words, unconsciously made a sarcastic remark.

“Do you not know who’s really being too much? When Mother was pushing for my marriage with Baron Rothman, you didn’t stop her and instead mocked me.”

“…What?”

“And then when I got engaged to Cassel and came to the capital, you blatantly followed and finally harassed me. But what are you trying to do by going out to the city? Are you going to sell my name as family again, cause trouble, and poke your nose into the capital’s social circles?”

“No, that’s not it, but…”

In fact, Bianca’s voice got a little smaller as if that had been her intention.

“I don’t want to be swayed by Mother or you anymore. Consider the invitation to the mansion as my last consideration for you.”

This time, Riena was determined to act firmly. If she couldn’t persuade Bianca like this, she intended to forcibly stop her from going out by attaching knights to her.

“So stay put in the mansion with Aaron.”

As she was about to leave the guest room with those words, Bianca urgently grabbed her.

“Riena, wait! Please listen to me. I really need to go out.”

“Why?”

“Actually, I wasn’t going to say it until things progressed further, but I made plans to meet the knight I met today again.”

“Knight?”

“Yes. He and I met as if by fate.”

Bianca gazed out the window with distant eyes and recounted what had happened over the past few hours.

A few hours ago, she entrusted Aaron to the hotel staff and went out to Cassia Street. It was to tour the bustling streets of the capital alone.

She didn’t have much money, but sightseeing didn’t cost anything, so she had no worries.

While wandering around alone like that, she said she met a red-haired knight while looking at accessories in a store.

“Is he a member of the Imperial Knights?”

“Yes, that’s what he said.”

“He said so?”

“I couldn’t confirm it exactly because he was wearing casual clothes.”

“Then how do you know he’s a knight?”

“His physique was very good. Tall and broad-shouldered. Anyone could see he was a knight.”

Bianca spoke confidently, but that couldn’t be objective evidence.

Could it be that a scammer had approached her?

Bianca might have thought she perfectly imitated a capital noblewoman, but anyone could see she was an outsider.

An inexperienced young lady who doesn’t know the ways of the world at that.

What kind of noble lady would wander around the middle of the capital alone without a knight or maid?

‘Bianca probably didn’t appear wealthy, so money doesn’t seem to be the motive. Could there be another intention?’

If not money, it was clear as day what he wanted from Bianca even without seeing.

She was attractive even to Riena, who was also a woman. So it wouldn’t be strange at all if he approached with impure intentions in a romantic way.

But for some reason, Bianca didn’t seem to grasp the fact that Riena had also noticed.

Riena listened to Bianca’s story while sighing.

The knight’s name was Jonathan Percy.

Befitting a knight, he had a large and sturdy physique and a charming appearance with a bright smile. The man was one year older than Bianca.

On his day off, he had come out to the bustling streets with his friends and couldn’t just pass by when he saw Bianca out alone.

Not only was she a beauty who captivated people’s eyes, but more than that, he was worried about her wandering around crowded places alone.

“He said he wanted to protect me in case any strange person approached me.”

“Well. It seems like Jonathan Percy, that man, is stranger than anyone else.”

“Riena, how could you. You’ve completely changed since coming to the capital. How can you say such a thing?”

Riena waved her hand, dismissively listening to Bianca’s reproach, and gestured for her to explain quickly.

“Anyway, while I was briefly browsing accessories, it seems a pickpocket targeted my wallet. Sir Percy caught the pickpocket on the spot and found my wallet for me.”

With that as an opportunity, Jonathan Percy accompanied Bianca. The superficial reason was that as a knight, he couldn’t bear to just leave a woman who had gone out alone without a companion. But no matter how you looked at it, his intentions didn’t seem pure.

Anyway, Bianca had a pleasant time with Jonathan Percy. They had a nice meal together at a fancy restaurant and browsed various stores.

He even gave Bianca flowers as a gift, expressing his fondness for her.

“He didn’t seem to know the Belter family well. When I said I was staying with the Dyke County family, only then did he show signs of recognition.”

“You mentioned the Dyke name in addition to your own name? To a person you just met?”

“What’s wrong with that? It’s only natural to introduce yourself to each other even when meeting for the first time, isn’t it?”

“Ha, you really… Anyway, so what happened?”

“Sir Percy escorted me to the hotel. He said he’d be free in three days and asked to meet again. When he said he’d come pick me up at the hotel, I readily agreed.”

Riena let out the deep sigh she had been holding back all at once.

“So you’re saying you want to meet that person again now?”

“Isn’t it obvious? If not, why would I bother explaining this to you in such detail?”

“Bianca, if Mother heard about this, she would faint from shock.”

“You’re too conservative, Riena. Well, Count Dyke was like that too. Anyway, people in the south are excessively conservative. The people in the Belter territory where I lived weren’t like this.”

“Don’t forget that you too have lived more than half your life in the southern Dyke territory.”

Riena spoke to her back as she took off her outerwear and headed to the dressing room, as if there was nothing more to say.

“I won’t be the one to bring up that topic to Mother first. But that doesn’t mean I’m allowing you to go out either. Bianca, I have no intention of letting you meet a man you barely know alone.”

Bianca spoke sarcastically from inside the dressing room.

“Are you trying to act like an elder sister now? Don’t get the wrong idea. You were just born a few months earlier than me, and I’m not Bianca Dyke, I’m Belter. I have no reason to listen to what you say.”