With less than a week left until Givnen’s birthday, Riley, who had hurriedly returned home with Hyla for special training in imperial etiquette, froze on the spot.

The person calmly enjoying their meal greeted Riley.

“You’re late.”

“Ah, young lady?”

Why is Rivne here?

“Why are you standing there so stupidly? Hurry up and come in to finish your meal quickly. We’re pressed for time to start the education.”

Riley recalled the face of Madam Sophia, who had smiled kindly saying there was someone specialized in short-term education. That kind smile suddenly looked like the smile of an evil demon.

“Sit down. Finish your meal within 30 minutes.”

“Yes…”

·

·

·

“I heard that bastard nearly died? It would have been better if he had died completely.”

“Pardon?”

“I’m talking about elder brother.”

“Ah…”

It was such a vicious question that one might doubt they were true siblings.

Givne seemed to have learned only a week after Givnen had struggled with poison that he had fallen ill from poisoning, and she appeared genuinely disappointed that he hadn’t died.

She also seemed very familiar with this kind of situation.

“So they say he didn’t end up with any lasting damage?”

“Yes, fortunately he’s fine.”

“Oh my. It’s a shame I found out so late. If I had known earlier, I would have brought his most hated things as a get-well gift and pestered him 24 hours a day while helping nurse him.”

“…Have you done that before?”

“Not too often. He’s not the type to just take it lying down, you know. When we were young, there was a time he was on the brink of death, and I filled his room with thorny bugs. He absolutely despises insects with lots of legs.”

“…Ah.”

“But he was so agitated then that he ended up blowing up the entire room, and I was the only one who got scolded. Isn’t that funny? He’s the one who blew up the room, but why did they scold me?”

That’s not strange at all…

“I heard he’s going to introduce his elder sister at this birthday party. Is that true?”

Riley nodded. At this, Givne frowned.

“He’s so ostentatious. He’s truly in the terminal stages of attention-seeking disease.”

“…Yes.”

“That day, stay with me.”

“…Pardon?”

“I said, let’s stick together at the party.”

“I was planning to stay with Hyla, is that alright?”

“Whether it’s one piece of luggage or two, it makes no difference to me.”

Rivne clicked her tongue as she looked at Riley.

“With a face so perfect for being bitten, tsk.”

“…”

“That dull-looking face of yours is the problem. It’s not like we can rip your face off and fix it… Anyway, you can’t appear weak there. After elder brother announces his marriage, everyone will focus only on you… They’ll be scheming to bite you one way or another.”

“I’m well aware.”

“Why did the Empress suddenly do such an unnecessary thing… The timing is so perfect, I wonder if it was intentional.”

“Intentional?”

“That’s right. Suddenly all the princes say they’ll attend, and the Empress even offered the imperial palace as the venue. This isn’t common. It’s an extremely exceptional case. And changing the party venue to the imperial palace is most troublesome for you.”

“…Because of the etiquette?”

“That’s right. In the imperial palace, all nobles follow imperial etiquette. Imperial etiquette is much more complicated and difficult than the general etiquette of nobles. Honestly, with such short notice… I’m not sure if this will work, but we have to try until it does. I wonder where your existence leaked from, and if Her Majesty the Empress deliberately did this… The timing is so perfect, it makes me think all sorts of unnecessary thoughts.”

“Deliberately… Why would Her Majesty the Empress do that? Why would she deliberately do something to embarrass Givnen?”

“Are you asking because you don’t know? He openly rejected the 9th Princess’s proposal. Do you know how humiliated the Empress was by that? The 9th Princess is the only legitimate princess and the Empress’s favorite. After suffering such humiliation, how could a mother look favorably upon our elder brother?”

Rivne gnashed her teeth and trembled with anger, while Riley’s face was quickly overshadowed.

One way or another, it’s a situation ripe for attack.

“…Let me tell you in advance, if anyone starts spouting nonsense, ignore them. Don’t get upset, don’t be shaken. Understand?”

“Yes.”

“Since members of the imperial family will be participating, be on your highest alert. Of course, you’ll hardly have a chance to directly face and talk with them. They’ll have their own separate seating area.”

“Yes.”

“Be especially careful of the 7th Prince. He and elder brother are sworn enemies.”

Givne’s expression turned vicious as she mentioned the 7th Prince. It was so fierce that Riley could only nod vigorously.

“Well then, let’s begin the special training.”

[This is the timeline separator]

Clank-

As the door suddenly opened, Arpegio took off his goggles and threw them aside, frowning severely.

What uninvited guest was disturbing his precious work time now? As he narrowed his eyes and glared towards the door, Arpegio was taken aback.

A handsome middle-aged man shook an elegant glass bottle containing ‘Lambda Khan wine’, which belongs to the category of ‘premium wines’.

“Care for a drink?”

“If you came to see your son, you should go upstairs. Why are you here?”

“I came because I heard my son was on the brink of death, but he seems fine. He’s even out of his seat. I thought about going to see my daughter-in-law, but it seems she’s quite busy with Rivne these days.”

“So you came to find me?”

“Aren’t we in the same miserable situation?”

“Who are you calling miserable?”

Arpegio clicked his tongue but welcomed Alton Ryanster. After Arpegio took his seat first, Alton followed, sitting opposite him and opening the wine.

“As expected of a rich man, drinking expensive stuff.”

“Didn’t I inherit Master Ekion’s taste?”

“Right, that guy also had an unnecessarily expensive palate.”

At Arpegio’s grumbling, Alton laughed heartily and filled his glass.

“How come you don’t age?”

“And why have you withered so much?”

“I’m the normal one. I wasn’t born with much mana to begin with, so I’m aging normally for my age.”

“Still, you’re holding up well for someone approaching 70.”

“Haha, I’m just glad I can still look like a father to the late-born children I had in my old age.”

“Those late-born children are driving me crazy. I don’t know who they take after, but they all have such bad personalities.”

As Arpegio clicked his tongue, Alton hit him hard on the head.

“Why are you hitting me!”

“Why are you cursing other people’s children!”

“What can I do when both their personalities are so shitty!”

“Young ones can be immature sometimes.”

“So you admit your children are hopeless too.”

“Ahem.”

They clinked their glasses and drank. With old stories as a side dish, the alcohol seemed to go down more smoothly than usual.

Like that, one glass, two glasses, three glasses… As they emptied their glasses, Alton quietly opened his mouth on the sixth glass.

“Do you still have no intention of opening your mouth?”

Arpegio stopped moving.

“I heard that child, Riley Eadalin, is your disciple.”

“I told you she’s not my disciple. She’s just a freeloader, a freeloader.”

“The fact that she’s here means that what happened then could happen again.”

“…Ha, why are you ruining the taste of the alcohol by talking about that time?”

“You know Riley was attacked by mysterious assailants?”

“…She did come back severely injured.”

“I hear Givnen will officially announce his marriage at this birthday party. It’s the day Riley’s existence will be revealed to the world.”

“So what.”

“If they find out that Riley is Ryston’s child, the tragedy of that day will repeat. Shouldn’t we prepare before that happens?”

Arpegio cursed under his breath and threw his glass.

“What the hell do you want me to do?”

“Are you planning to keep it buried inside you for the rest of your life?”

“…Ah, shut up. I’ll handle it. Don’t force me.”

“It’s not force, it’s a request.”

“…”

“I don’t want to lose… my son, or my dear friend’s daughter. There’s no reason we should go through the pain of losing our Master, Emily, Ryston… and even Yung again.”

“If those bastards had known Ryston had a child then! They would have killed the child along with Ryston when they killed him. Those bastards don’t know about the existence of a child inheriting Ryston and Emily’s blood! We just need to keep our mouths shut.”

Arpegio slammed the table with all his might.

“In the first place! This happened because Yung was hung up on personal feelings! If we had just killed that child as soon as Ryston died…”

“Could you do it?”

“…”

“I’m asking if you could kill Riley with your own hands right now.”

“Ha, damn it. Fine, I get it. I probably couldn’t kill her either. But if that’s the case, at the very least, we shouldn’t have done the stupid and reckless thing of entrusting her to Givnen. Handing Riley Eadalin over to Givnen was his biggest mistake. It’s like… sending a butterfly into a spider’s web. It’s a crazy act of pushing both his beloved disciple and his beloved friend’s daughter into danger.”

“A butterfly can’t survive on its own anyway. It’ll die in the end.”

“…”

“If the spider doesn’t eat the butterfly, life on the spider’s web might be quite comfortable for the butterfly.”

At Alton’s words, Arpegio stuck out his tongue.

“Both father and son have gone completely mad.”

“Maybe those children will be able to break the karmic debt we couldn’t in our generation.”

“…You’ve really aged too. What are you expecting from those snot-nosed brats?”

“So are you going to live alone, buried in the past, stuck in this underground for the rest of your life?”

“…”

“I’m going to trust my children and Yung’s will.”

“Count me out. I don’t want to get involved in anything anymore. I’m sick of it all now.”

Arpegio’s voice was full of emotion. But for some reason, his shoulders were slumped. He gritted his teeth and covered his face with his hands.

Seeing him looking so distressed, as if he might cry at any moment, Alton stood up. Then he patted Arpegio’s shoulder.

“I understand your fear.”

“A guy who claims to understand suddenly comes and stirs things up?”

“Because I’m the one who wants you to overcome that fear more than anyone else.”

“Bastard.”

“Givnen’s birthday party is being held at the imperial palace.”

“!”

“…And I plan to be absent from that bastard’s birthday party. There’s something I need to check separately.”

“Check?”

“Cases similar to what happened that day have been discovered recently. Don’t you think we should check it out?”

“…”

“Anyway, I plan to be absent. Just in case, please take care of my children. I came to tell you this.”

“Get lost, I’m not your children’s nanny.”

At Arpegio’s growl, Alton smiled and turned around.

“Well, the choice is yours.”

After Alton left, Arpegio collapsed into his chair. Then, letting out a bitter laugh, he muttered.

“…Really, what an unlucky father and son.”

[This is the timeline separator]

“A birthday party? I’m attending too, right?”

At Claire’s question, Ryan nodded as if it were obvious and said.

“Of course, shouldn’t the whole family attend? The Tower Master said he would introduce Riley that day.”

“…Finally!”

Claire barely managed to hold back a scream of joy.

It was good news that came while she was suppressing her frustration and enjoying life at the academy as quietly as a mouse. Finally, she could properly use Riley and Givnen’s names.

Moreover, the place where Riley would be introduced was not only attended by figures who dominate the political and business world, but also by members of the imperial family, making it an unparalleled place to make a good impression.

Ryan and the Baroness also welcomed this event for the same reason.

“When is the birthday party held?”

“Four days later, it seems to be held in the hall of the imperial palace.”

“The imperial palace? Does that mean we’ll be entering the imperial palace?”

“That’s right.”

“…Oh my!”

The imperial palace was a place one would never set foot in in their lifetime, moreover, a place one couldn’t go even after death. It was so far and high that it felt sinful to even wish to set foot there.

To think that the moment to set foot in such an imperial palace would come! It was unbelievable.

Claire, Ryan, and the Baroness all seemed to have many feelings about this in various ways.

“To think such a day would come in our lifetime.”

“Indeed… All our hard work and suffering has paid off. It feels like something that was blocked has finally opened up.”

“We’re going to do even better from now on. I’m sure of it. Maybe we can rise to an even higher position than we think.”

“Of course, of course.”

In the midst of their joy, Ryan glanced at Claire and cautioned her.

“You make sure not to run your mouth recklessly without understanding the situation like last time.”

“Why are you bringing that up again… I know very well.”

“If you embarrass the family like that again… It won’t end with just a disciplinary action.”

“I said I know! I’m really reflecting on it!”

Ryan still seemed to distrust Claire. It wasn’t just once or twice, after all.

At first, she offended Givnen Ryanster and received curses, and during the first meeting, she almost ruined it by speaking recklessly without controlling her loose mouth.

Ryan fell into contemplation about whether it was okay to take his daughter, who had two such precedents, to a party held at the imperial palace.

And Claire, noticing Ryan’s concern, uncharacteristically linked arms with him and acted affectionately.

“Oh, Father, please trust me. I promise I’ll be as quiet as a mouse, really.”

It was not like Claire, who always acted passively and cautiously in front of Ryan.

While wondering when his daughter had changed like this, Ryan reluctantly nodded, not entirely disliking her affectionate behavior.

“I’ll be watching you.”

“Thank you, Father!”

Excited, Claire ran up to her room, saying she needed to choose what to wear that day. And shortly after, the head maid Macdaline approached.

“Sir, here is a letter.”

“A letter from Count Ermeints…”

As before, he prepared to leave as soon as he opened the letter.

Having finished his preparations, he quietly left the mansion.

·

·

·

Returning to her room, Claire immediately flung open the door to her wardrobe and went inside.

“It’s worth having many dresses made in advance.”

It was a stroke of genius to have purchased several dresses for the purpose of wearing to Riley’s wedding.

The dresses filling the wardrobe were ones she had received just a week ago when their production was completed, and they were expensive dresses that Claire couldn’t afford even if she sold all the clothes she owned.

“This time, I’ll go properly prepared.”

The memory of the last reception was still vivid.

Despite adorning myself as lavishly and extravagantly as possible with what I had, it was still an infinitely shabby outfit. Weren’t all the nobles who attended the reception looking as if they were seeing the pinnacle of extravagance?

Clearly, they hadn’t dressed up ostentatiously, but the quality of the fabric was different from the start.

Not to mention the jewels and accessories worn on their bodies.

Cutting-edge designs, use of luxurious materials, elegant attitudes. I couldn’t look rustic among people who were perfectly equipped with everything without any flaws.

As it is, when Riley is introduced and it’s revealed that we’re from a humble family from the borderlands, it’s obvious that we’ll become a laughingstock for some people, so there’s no need to add another thing to be mocked for.

In that regard, the newly made dresses, gloves, shoes, accessories, and jewels were very satisfactory.

This is because as soon as I arrived in Blestidge, I carefully observed the nobles’ attire while walking around the grand square, and familiarized myself with the trends here by visiting high-end designer brand shops, selecting them carefully.

“Good, it’s perfect.”

After gathering the dress, shoes, gloves, fan, feathers and jewels, and a wide-brimmed hat decorated with artificial flowers, Claire now opened her jewelry box to choose accessories.

Humming a tune while choosing matching jewels and accessories, Claire suddenly paused, feeling something was amiss.

Something familiar was missing. The brooch that always occupied a designated position, that is, the one she frequently wore and always kept on top, had disappeared.

The precious brooch her father had bought for her was still one of her most cherished accessories.

‘Did I lose it?’

No. It had become a habit to remove the brooch first and put it in the jewelry box whenever she returned from an outing, so she wouldn’t make such a mistake.

Something that should definitely be there is missing. It was there just a few days ago, wasn’t it?

It’s not like something sitting still could sprout legs and run away, which meant someone must have touched her belongings.

“Everyone, come up to my room right now!”