Three days passed in the blink of an eye after the tea party held by the Empress.

The morning of the Duke and Duchess’s welcome celebration had arrived.

The fully-fledged autumn weather began to get colder and colder.

The day of the celebration brought an unusually chilly wind.

Perhaps due to the suddenly colder weather, the Empress chose the central greenhouse garden as the venue for the celebration.

The central greenhouse garden, managed by generations of empresses, was a place that maintained a warm temperature year-round at astronomical cost.

The garden, where many rare plants not seen in the Soltarius Empire could be found, was a place one could not enter without the Empress’s permission.

The nobles invited to this rarely seen place were all dressed up in splendor, filled with anticipation. They wore thin formal wear and dresses suitable for the warm greenhouse, with coats or shawls draped over them.

Except for one person.

Not long after all the invited nobles had gathered, the Empress entered the central greenhouse garden.

“I am truly delighted that you all have come here on such short notice.”

The Empress exchanged glances with the Duke and Duchess, and naturally, Adeline and Casius stepped forward to stand beside the Empress.

“I have invited you to celebrate the Duke’s family, which supports the Empire, welcoming a Duchess who will strengthen their household.”

As congratulations and admiration from the nobles continued towards the Duke and Duchess, the Empress raised her hand to draw attention to the surroundings.

The Empress’s gaze was fixed on the attendant guarding the greenhouse garden door.

“As it happens, we have another joyous occasion.”

At the Empress’s words, the attendant began to open the closed door wide. Beyond the open door stood Crown Prince Trashi and his fiancée Larie side by side.

The Empress seemed to hesitate for a moment at the sight of the two, but as if nothing had happened, she welcomed the Crown Prince and his fiancée with a gentle smile.

“Come. Please, come this way.”

At the Empress’s call, the Duke and Duchess and the Crown Prince and his fiancée took their places on either side of her.

“I am truly delighted that both the Duke and the future Crown Prince responsible for the Empire have found suitable matches for themselves.”

Although her words seemed to congratulate the two pillars of the Empire, the Empress’s gaze was focused solely on the Crown Prince.

“I wish to celebrate these two unions on this occasion.”

The Empress’s gaze passed from the Crown Prince to Larie. Upon seeing her again, she unknowingly furrowed her brow.

Adeline knew why the Empress was behaving this way.

The reason she momentarily lost her words when Larie appeared, and why she was frowning now.

It was all because of Larie’s attire.

The invited ladies and young noblewomen all knew well about the warmth of the greenhouse garden.

Larie, who had become the Crown Prince’s fiancée, surely must have known this too. Yet, Larie was wearing a stifling dress that came up to her neck.

Larie, who usually stood at the center of social circles, always showcased the latest fashionable styles. She was a woman who knew how to dress to suit her figure.

But for such a Larie to wear a dress buttoned up to the neck, something an elderly lady might wear.

Moreover, Larie was constantly fanning herself with a fan, inappropriate for the warmth of the greenhouse.

“Oh my, look at the dress Lady Estilen is wearing today. Isn’t it different from usual?”

“Indeed. I thought she would wear a revealing dress as usual. The dress she’s wearing today is…”

The noble young ladies trailed off, but Larie couldn’t have missed the meaning behind their blatant stares.

Larie was used to being the flower of social circles, always receiving envious glances and being the object of admiration.

She began to seethe with anger, unable to bear this humiliation.

Unlike her own attire, Adeline was wearing an off-shoulder dress that exposed her shoulders.

The looks the nobles gave Adeline were also quite different from those directed at her.

Due to her reclusive nature in social circles even when she was a Marquis’s daughter, nobles seeing Adeline for the first time couldn’t help but admire her beauty.

“My, the Duchess suits the Duke so well.”

“She resembles Marquis Credion. With such beauty, it’s no wonder the Duke was captivated.”

“Now I understand why the Duke insisted on marriage.”

“I wonder what’s going on with Lady Larie’s outfit…”

Larie’s ears began to pick up the nobles’ whispers that she didn’t want to hear.

The rising anger gradually spread its domain, beginning to extend even to Adeline.

‘If only that bitch didn’t exist!’

Larie couldn’t stand Adeline’s existence.

She should have been the one standing by the Duke’s side, being called the Duchess!

If only Adeline hadn’t existed, she wouldn’t have had to become the fiancée of this crazy Crown Prince, higher than the Duke, nor would she have had to wear this outdated dress to hide the fierce bruises on her neck!

Despite knowing better than anyone that her attire was unsuitable for the greenhouse, Larie had no choice but to wrap herself in thick fabric up to her neck for a reason.

It was because the Crown Prince’s handprints from the previous night remained clearly visible.

Larie was gripping her fan so tightly it might break, trying to hide her trembling hands from anger.

She wanted to rush over to Adeline right then and there and strangle her neck until it broke. Just like the bruise marks now wrapped around Larie’s delicate neck.

A few days ago

Larie had received a letter from the Crown Prince.

The contents were truly concise. A proposal letter expressing his desire to take Larie, the cherished daughter of the Estilen Count’s family, as his wife, along with a dried rose.

Upon receiving the proposal, Larie thought the Empress had exerted her influence.

So she had no doubt that a grand engagement ceremony with the Crown Prince would be held!

But just a few days before the Duke and Duchess’s welcome celebration, word came from the Crown Prince.

There would be no engagement ceremony, he said.

She couldn’t bear it when she heard those words. So she immediately entered the palace to find the Crown Prince.

“No engagement ceremony! What do you mean by that?”

“I believe my attendant conveyed the message about the engagement ceremony, my lady.”

Regardless of her appearance, the Crown Prince was half-lying on the sofa, surrounded by a haze of murky smoke.

Larie covered her nose with the end of her sleeve at the intense chemical scent that assaulted her nostrils.

“How can it be so one-sided, Your Highness! You know how important an engagement ceremony and wedding are to a woman.”

“…”

“Moreover, my family is none other than the Estilen Count’s house. What will people think…”

As she approached Trashi, the unknown scent grew stronger.

Larie stopped in her tracks right in front of the Crown Prince.

“What, what is this?”

Medicine bottles scattered messily on the table. And powders of unknown pale color.

As Larie raised her head, her eyes met with Trashi’s, who was looking up at her.

The Crown Prince, staring at Larie with his eyes half-closed, had pupils that seemed half-gone.

Instinctively, Larie sensed what the medicine bottles meant.

“Surely not, Your Highness. Are you doing drugs?”

The silence was as good as an affirmation. Larie’s face filled with shock.

“Ha! What is this. How can the one who will become the sun of this empire be doing drugs? Does the Empress know about this?”

Larie felt wronged. She thought she had found someone to replace the Duke.

To think it was just a Crown Prince addicted to drugs.

She shouted at the Crown Prince.

Larie was so focused on the fact that Trashi was addicted to drugs that she momentarily forgot he was the empire’s madman.

Trashi’s eyes gradually turned cold at Larie’s behavior that crossed the line.

“Chirp, chirp… So noisy.”

Trashi, who had sprung up from his seat, pushed Larie, who had frozen in place, onto the sofa.

Trashi, who had climbed on top of the helplessly fallen Larie, approached with a sinister smile.

Belatedly, Larie realized she had made a mistake, but it was already too late.

She had long since irritated the Crown Prince’s mood.

“What, what is this! Your Highness! I am not a maid, nor a prostitute! You cannot treat a central noble like this!”

At Larie’s wailing voice, Trashi’s eyes suddenly changed.

“It’s always the stupid wenches who cross the line like this. Do you want to know why my previous fiancées died?”

Trashi’s red eyes were stained with madness.

As he approached with a murderous aura in his eyes, as if he could kill Larie at any moment.

“Larie, you know. I really hate women who talk too much. No, I loathe them.”

He grabbed Larie’s thin neck with both hands.

“When someone nags too much like you, it makes me angry. It reminds me of someone!”

“Kh, kheuk!”

Larie struck at Trashi’s hands gripping her neck, gulping as if she would lose her breath at any moment.

“So I can’t stand it! It makes me so angry!”

“S-stop!”

But as if he had already lost his reason, he mercilessly squeezed Larie’s neck, stopping just before her eyes began to glaze over.

“Ha, haak.”

Thick streams of tears flowed from Larie’s eyes.

But seemingly unconcerned with Larie’s sobbing, Trashi stood up.

Then, lifting the chin of the endlessly crying Larie.

“Be careful. I’m not very patient, you know.”

“…”

“A noble lady? Fine. I’ll make you the next Empress. But, you’ll have to be obedient.”

He whispered with the most chilling gaze in the world.

“If not, next time your neck won’t survive.”

Then, looking at Larie’s neck which had turned blue with bruises, he laughed and left the bedroom.

‘That bastard.’

As she looked at Adeline’s clean neck without even a tiny scratch, the horrific events of last night began to resurface.

She hadn’t known it would be this bad, even for someone called the empire’s madman.

Something a noble lady might never experience in her life.

But now, it was too late to regret.

It felt as if last night’s events were unfolding again, her neck being tightly squeezed inside her clothing.

‘You should have felt this pain, if only it weren’t for you!’

If Adeline hadn’t rejected the Crown Prince’s proposal.

If she hadn’t seduced the Duke and become the Duchess! Then she wouldn’t have had to go through this!

As her thoughts reached this point, Larie was overcome with unbearable anger.

Adeline, who seemed to be exchanging greetings surrounded by people, locked eyes with Larie standing at a distance.

She said something to the Duke and then approached, leading Casius.

Wherever she and the Duke moved, the eyes in the hall followed the two.

“It’s nice to see you here, Lady Estilen.”

Adeline, who had come right up to her, smiled prettily with her eyes curved.

“No, I should call you the Crown Princess now, shouldn’t I?”

Although she smiled very kindly, Larie detected the mockery hidden in Adeline’s words.

Adeline’s gaze towards Larie seemed to be saying,

‘How do you like that position I discarded? Is it good?’