Lota stared blankly at Consort Usia, as if she thought she had misheard something—no, as if the consort before her was a hallucination.

“You only ever think about yourself.”

Usia gathered Lota’s limp, frizzy pink hair roughly into her hands and smiled with a fresh, gentle expression.

“You never reflect on your actions.”

Just then, a ribbon had fallen on the floor. Usia picked it up and tied Lota’s hair with it.

She looked at the result with satisfaction.

The low-tied hair unexpectedly suited Lota’s pale complexion.

“And you’re stupid on top of it.”

Lota’s head was spinning.

There was something unsettling and chilling in the consort’s tone. But Lota wasn’t in a rational state to pick up on that.

Yet, she could still sharply sense one thing—that the consort was looking down on her.

Consort Usia hadn’t smiled at her even once.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Lota’s voice was sharp as she questioned her.

“Why do you think?”

Instead, the consort asked back—and even dropped the formal speech.

“Because you’re just that stupid.”

“I’m not stupid.”

“Really?”

Are you being serious? Consort Usia widened her eyes and covered her mouth with her hand.

The naive expression only made her more unreadable—frustrating and terrifying.

“Our dear sister-in-law doesn’t know her place.”

Consort Usia explained kindly.

“Your worth isn’t that high, yet you act so arrogant and pompous. You bully people when they’re weak, and when you’re scared, you fake sweetness and act like a saint.”

“......”

“But, well, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.”

“......”

“But still, it’s foolish to push away the hand of someone trying to help you. Especially when you tormented that person quite a lot.”

While calmly explaining, the consort had moved away from Lota. She was now out of reach, even if Lota stretched her arm.

“......Did you—”

Lota stammered.

“Did you meet my sister?”

“The Duchess of Voreoti?”

The consort shook her head.

“I haven’t met her, but I know her through, through, through others.”

She said “through” three times. With that, she gave a much softer smile than before—completely different from how she had looked at Lota.

“That girl is so clever. I like clever people. Ah, it’s such a shame we couldn’t become friends.”

She giggled brightly, then immediately wiped the expression from her face.

“So I’ll help you just this once.”

Then she turned her back with a swish.

“But not now—because you’re too stupid and don’t have the clarity to think.”

She began folding her fingers one by one as if calculating something.

Lota watched her in a daze. It was as if she’d been hypnotized.

The mental shock she felt was far worse than the time Remus had hit her. It crashed endlessly in her mind.

“Think it through before we meet again.”

“......”

“Well then, see you later, sister-in-law!”

Consort Usia smiled brightly as if nothing had happened.

Her fresh smile matched her green hair, making her look like a living tree.

After leaving the estate, the consort climbed into her carriage. As the carriage started moving, it seemed that Viscount Olor came running out from the house, but the carriage didn’t stop and continued on.

“Humm, hmm hmm.”

Looking out the window at the changing scenery, Consort Usia hummed a song. The slow, soft melody resembled a lullaby.

“Ahh, finally...”

She leaned back comfortably and murmured,

“...I can finally see the end.”

* * *

After Prince Chrisetos and Princess Scandia visited the estate—

And before Consort Usia stopped by the Olor family to give Lota what could barely be called a chance—

Leonia had contacted an “acquaintance.”

The reply came two hours later, and that night, the girl headed toward an old, crumbling building with two escort knights.

“Did such a place even exist in the capital?”

Probo, one of the escorts, scanned the eerie surroundings.

The meeting point Leonia had specified was in a back alley behind the commercial district. It was so deep in the alleys that not even a rat could be seen.

“Don’t tell me you came here alone last time?”

Meleis asked. Judging by her words, it seemed this wasn’t the first time Leonia was meeting this mysterious acquaintance.

If she had come here alone last time without an escort, Ferio would’ve had a fit and scolded her severely.

“That time, we met in a plaza café during the day.”

Leonia replied, taking off the hood of her cloak.

“Ever since I blackmailed Probo oppa when I was a kid and rode off on a horse to meet a stalker, I’ve been careful. That’s why I brought you and unni this time.”

“That time really was...”

Probo trembled slightly, recalling that day—the day the Black Beast of Hell came in person to pick up his daughter.

“But who are we meeting?”

“It’s a woman. The rest is a secret.”

“She’s not dangerous, is she?”

“If we’re talking about danger, I’m the more dangerous one.”

Leonia smirked at Probo’s concern. He nodded fiercely in agreement.

“Cut it out.”

Meleis nudged him in the side, gesturing for him to stop nodding so much.

“Where should we wait?”

Meleis asked Leonia.

“She wants secrecy, so wait outside this door.”

“But it seems your contact brought a knight of her own.”

Meleis looked at a nearby horse. A glove typically used by sword-wielding riders hung from the saddle. The escort knights grew alert.

“She wants secrecy. Just wait here.”

Leonia didn’t change her mind.

“If anything happens, I’ll kill them.”

Leaving her escorts at the door, Leonia stepped into the building.

A humid, stale smell hit her nose immediately. Every step creaked on the old floorboards.

“...Huu.”

Leonia let out a long sigh in frustration.

“Ah, seriously.”

She grumbled the moment she saw the person waiting inside.

“I hate being manipulated like this.”

She dragged out a rickety chair and plopped down with a scornful smile.

“Salus Aust.”

She practically ground the name of the Southern successor between her teeth.

“Oh my, how scary.”

But Salus only responded with a bright, fresh smile.

Combined with her jade-colored hair, she resembled a lush summer forest.

That irritated Leonia even more. She clicked her tongue and shoved both hands deep into her pockets.

“About that candy you gave me before.”

“The round case with the candy inside?”

“I looked inside it carefully.”

“Was it helpful?”

Salus asked.

‘It’ll be useful someday.’

On the day she visited the Aust estate and met Duke Aust and Salus, Leonia had found a tiny note inside that round candy case.

It had a single contact written on it.

“...Well, it helped.”

Though just barely, Leonia said while pressing her thumb and forefinger together.

Salus burst into laughter at her prideful gesture.

“But I didn’t like it.”

“Why not?”

“Because it felt like I was dancing in your palm.”

The ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) little beast was offended.

Before, now, and forever, the only people allowed to be ahead of her were her father and mother. That’s how it was supposed to be.

But now, not only she, but even her parents seemed like they were being toyed with.

“I wasn’t playing with you.”

Salus smiled bitterly. She found this arrogant girl before her unbearably cute.

“I can’t leave the South easily. My grandmother’s not doing so well.”

“Then I don’t know who I’m looking at right now.”

Leonia’s sharp eyes glinted without a trace of a smile.

“You were at the Rite of Honor.”

“You saw me?”

“Do you think I look through my nostrils?”

“Leo, you’re really funny!”

Salus laughed at the ridiculous metaphor. But Leonia, who hadn’t meant it to be funny, scowled.

Even that laughter felt like she was being made fun of—it was infuriating.

Only after laughing heartily did Salus collect herself and explain.

“My grandmother’s doing okay for now. That’s why I came.”

“You’re more slippery than I expected. That’s surprising.”

“Thanks for the compliment.”

“That wasn’t a compliment.”

“But don’t you think you’re being a bit too arrogant, Leo?”

“I’m allowed to be arrogant.”

Because I’m that perfect, Leonia said flatly, without changing expression.

It was so confidently narcissistic that it was chilling.

But there was nothing to refute.

“...Enough nonsense.”

Annoyed, Leonia cut the conversation short.

“I came here to demand compensation for the mental shock you caused me.”

“You sound like you’re about to extort me.”

Salus was still impressed by Leonia’s bold word choice.

“I was seriously traumatized.”

Leonia said gravely, pressing a hand to her forehead.

Salus smiled faintly, clearly not understanding what the big deal was. Leonia wanted to slap that smiling mouth.

‘Is this how Dad feels?’

Did he ever want to smack me when I was being cheeky? She was honestly willing to take a hit if it’d make her feel better now.

“...I clearly asked you for help.”

Leonia glared at Salus, forcing herself to maintain inner calm.

“So why did the First Prince show up?”

Salus shrugged.

“Why do you think?”

“I’m done playing word games.”

Leonia growled. She wasn’t even trying to hide her irritation anymore.

Sensing the tense mood, Salus’s knight instinctively reached for his sword. But Salus raised a hand to stop him.

“But you know what’s really funny?”

“What?”

“After I saw the First Prince, I realized something.”

An unexpected figure had shown up at the meeting.

“You two look alike.”

Leonia brushed her bangs aside with her hand.

A memory from last summer, just before she left the Southern Aust estate, flickered in her mind—something Salus had said.

‘If you see him later, tell him I’m doing well.’

Back then, Leonia hadn’t known who to deliver that message to.

The Aust family didn’t mingle much in society compared to the Voreotis, so she hadn’t been able to guess who their close allies were.

But now, she knew.

And Leonia was genuinely stunned.

“Unni, you’re close with the First Prince, aren’t you?”

The shock was on par with the secret of her own birth.

“You’re Consort Usia’s daughter too.”

It was a revelation that flipped her understanding of the original story's genre.