When Lucifella returned to the Count's mansion, the Count had not yet returned from looking for her and the servants were all outside with pale, weary expressions. They seemed to know already that she had almost died.

As she walked in wearily, the waiting doctor ran up to her.

The butler seemed to be looking for the Duke of Heint. Lucifella cleared her throat.

"If you're looking for the Duke, he is gone," she said.

The butler's face seemed to say, 'he is the fiancé... ’, but Lucifella did not attempt to make excuses for the Duke of Heint.

In fact, the reason that he left was because of her. He had tried to bring his wagon into the mansion, but Lucifella had refused. She even asked that her escort knight help her instead of the Duke of Heint.

Angry at Lucifella's insultingly firm refusal, the Duke returned straight home.

“What about Louisa?” Lucifella asked, lightly freeing herself from her doctor’s hold.

First of all, her name was 'Roisa,' not 'Louisa', but the butler didn't bother pointing out that.

Roisa was her attendant maid, so she was always with her. However, since Lucifella ran away, she was likely going to be punished severely.

“She is locked up in a room for punishment, but...”

She was destined to be kicked out anyway, but it was pitiful for her to receive Lucifella's cruel wrath as well. No matter how much nicer she had been these days, there would not be any mercy this time around.

But it was true that she had neglected to serve her mistress because of her full attention to the dress, and she deserved punishment. The butler sighed at the situation.

“Guide me.”

"Huh?"

‘Don't they usually tell you to drag them out?’ The butler was worried.

Although the room where the servants were imprisoned was located inside the mansion, it was a place that Lucifella had never visited. If she was asking to go there, perhaps she may have had something else in mind.

“My Lady, first of all, you need to take care of your....”

At the butler's words, Lucifella quietly raised a hand and stopped him. There was somehow more power in that brief gesture than in her anger-filled voice, and the butler followed her quietly.

The servants' disciplinary rooms were located in the most secluded part of the mansion. It was a dark, narrow, and gloomy place that did not match the rest of the Count's splendid mansion.

“What happened to the escort knights?”

“All the hired knights have been fired. They are probably receiving punishment, too.”

Lucifella nodded her head. She then glanced at the door at the end of the hallway and gestured with her chin to open it.

The servants opened the door.

There was hardly any light in the room. Inside, Lucifella could the sound of a girl crouching down and sobbing.

As the door opened and light leaked in, she startled and looked up, and when she saw Lucifella standing there, she looked terrified.

Lucifella glanced around the room and then directly walked over to Roisa.

Everyone thought that Lucifella would take her anger out on her. To the servants, the employer's anger was natural. Wasn't it her maid's fault this time too, since she had only been paying attention to her dress and not her Mistress? Besides, her Mistress had almost been killed by a serial killer.

“Oh, Miss, I’m sorry, I was wrong!” Roisa begged, putting her hands together as she wept.

As Lucifella reached out her hand, Roisa cringed. Lucifella raised her hand and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Get up."

Why? Was she making her get up to slap her on the cheek? Roisa wanted to ask, but she knew she would be punished more if she did not obey, so she stood up, trembling.

Lucifella looked at Roisa's face.

“There weren’t any beatings yet, right?” she asked the butler standing behind her.

"Yes, that’s correct. We had to wait for the disposition of the master and the lady,” the butler answered.

Lucifella nodded her head and breathed a sigh of relief as she examined the maid’s face.

"I'm glad."

Roisa understood those words as, ‘I'm glad no one touched her before I did,’ and her face grew pale with fear.

She couldn’t even dare to guess how much punishment she would receive.

Lucifella gestured with her eyes to follow her.

What? Did she intend to punish her in her room? Then why did she come all the way here and take her?

Questions appeared on the faces of the servants.

The servants simply thought that Lucifella would punish her maid, so they did not dare to guess that Lucifella had simply acted out of goodwill towards her maid.

When a terrified Roisa looked at the butler, he kept his mouth shut and eyed her in a silent gesture for her to just ask for forgiveness. Roisa was so afraid of what was about to happen that she burst into tears.

It was apparent then that she had gone crazy over the dress. She had been careless to think that the lady had become docile. But she felt it was unfair, as who would have known that Lucifella would run away.

No matter how arrogant and unreasonable she was, she was a young girl who did not want to step into the street with her own feet because the streets were dirty.

Would she be whipped? She thought that she might have her wrist cut off. Or she might even be kicked out naked.

"Miss."

The butler tried to follow her into the room, but she raised her hand to stop him. The butler was so surprised at her gesture that he halted.

Upon entering the room, Lucifella lifted Roisa, who had bowed her head and kneeled on her knees.

“You must have suffered a lot because of me.”

“... Huh?"

Startled by her sweet voice, she lifted her head and saw Lucifella looking at her worriedly. Was she trying to pull a trick with her kind face again? She had acted the same just before she ran away.

Seeing Roisa’s suspicious face, Lucifella patted her shoulder with her hand, expressing her apology. Roisa was so startled that she almost let out a scream.

“I’m sorry, it’s all because of me.”

“Oh, no. I-I-I-I-I should have had better surveillance, no, no, no... .”

“I made up my mind to run away, so how would you have known?”

Roisa had been feeling resentful thinking about it up until now, but when someone who she didn't expect said such a thing, she became even more scared.

“Tell them your punishment was taken care of by me. You must have been very scared, so go in and rest. I will tell the butler that I scolded you in moderation. If you say you were not scolded, you'll get even more punishment."

“... Miss?"

“What more can I say? If you want to be angry, that would be fine. I deserve it.”

“... !”

Even if a person died and came back to life and lost their memories, could they really change like this? Lucifella, who would always get angry first and ask questions later, had a genuinely apologetic expression on her face.

“If you don’t have anything to say, you can leave. Go and get the doctor.”

Then Roisa noticed that there was a black handprint on Lucifella’s neck. Seeing it, Roisa realized that her lady had died and come back to life. And she then realized how lucky she was herself.

"Miss."

Roisa was in tears. She didn't know why this lady had changed, but this behavior made her feel free to think that she had been a good person from the beginning. Still, it wasn't that she was without some fault, but her generous disposition moved her.

“Oh, My Lady!”

Lucifella was bewildered to see her maid bursting into tears. When she first met Roisa, she had been a quiet and professional maid so seeing her crying over such a small thing was a shock, as she was especially defenseless to those who cried.

“Louisa, don’t cry. Don't cry, Louisa."

“Aww, miss, I was wrong! Never again!”

“Yes, yes.”

Lucifella, not knowing what to do with her, went closer to Roisa again and patted her on the shoulder.

‘Oh, how could there be such an angelic girl?’ Roisa thought.

“And it is Roisa, my lady. It’s not Louisa,” corrected Roisa through her tears.

"Oh, sorry. Roisa. You must have felt hurt.”

Roisa had a straightforward personality, and when the young lady she served showed her kindness, any lingering resentment that remained in her heart melted and disappeared.

***

The Second Prince of the Yansgar Empire, Yiojif, smiled broadly. He had a decent appearance in his own right, but his face did not stand out because of his thick black glasses.

"Brother. What in the world made you come here?”

The Crown Prince Temir was sitting right in front of him at the tea table in the garden of the Empress’s Palace, conversing with Empress Prisilda.

The Empress smiled brightly.

“Come and sit down, Yiojif,” she said.

Unlike the brightly smiling Yiojif, the Crown Prince frowned. Either way, Yiojif sat down next to the Empress, smiling. It seemed he could hardly contain his happiness.

“It’s good to see you two together after so long,“ the Empress said with a kind smile.

“If it looks that good to you, Mother, I think we should visit more often in the future,” responded the Crown Prince.

The Empress's hand trembled lightly as she held her teacup. Yiojif smiled.

“Brother, the responsibilities of the Crown Prince must be many, and you must be busy with government affairs, yet you still found time to visit? If so, the rumors that you and Mama are not on good terms will disappear. I bet father will be happy too," he said.

At that, Temir frowned. Even jokingly, it was clear that he was reluctant to spread the word that he had a good relationship with the Empress.

The current Empress was the 2nd Empress, and the Crown Prince was not her son. The former Empress Lucrezia died of an illness when the Crown Prince was five years old, upon which the consort Prisilda, who gave birth to Yiojif, became the Empress and mistress of the Imperial Palace.

Temir was about to say more with his displeased face, but Yiojif interrupted him.

“So, what were you talking about? Is this something your younger brother can hear?”

A crooked smile appeared on Temir's face.

“We were talking about the banquet this fall.”

“The autumn banquet?”

The whole country of Yansgar held a big festival every year after the harvest in the fall, and the Imperial Palace held an elaborate banquet as part of it. It was the biggest banquet besides the Emperor’s birthday, and even the lower and middle ranked nobles attended.

As the golden ripples of harvest swept the lands of Yansgar, the streets of Greenhill filled with the glistening golden carriages of the nobility.

“Is there a problem?”

"No."

Temir looked like he couldn't contain his laughter as he shook his head.

"I have someone I want to invite. I have come to make a special request personally to Her Majesty the Empress herself."

“Oh, who is it? I'm curious too."

Temir giggled again at Yiojif’s naive question. The sound of laughter was vulgar, but neither Yiojif nor the Empress frowned.

"Count Aydin."

“If it’s Count Aydin, shouldn’t he already be invited, Crown Prince?”

"No. Not only Count Aydin....”

The Crown Prince turned the teacup on the tea table with his hand and wiped his mouth.

“Lucifella Aydin. I want to see the Count’s daughter.”

The Empress's face turned pale. Everyone knew that Count Aydin's daughter had jumped into the Imperial Palace Lake in longing for the Crown Prince Temir's love.

“Mama, as you are in charge of the banquet, please help by using your power. I want to see her too, as I never had a chance to see her after the incident. Isn’t it not possible for me to visit her at the mansion casually?”

“Crown Prince, the Count’s daughter hasn’t recovered her health. And haven’t you heard? She is not feeling well again because she was recently involved in a disturbing incident that shook the capital city.”

As Count Aydin was part of the Crown Prince faction, no one laughed openly at him. But Lucifella, a woman, was a different story.

The incident was less than two months old, and the ridicule and contempt that Lucifella would face due to the harsh social nature of women was beyond imagination.

"That is why I am distraught. Seeing her walking again will make my worries go away. Will you do me this favor, please, Mamma?"

“Crown Prince, that is difficult.”

At her response, he threw the teacup he was holding at the white statue next to the tea-table.

Crash!

The Empress was startled as red tea soaked the statue. He felt the faces of the maids standing next to him harden.

“Excuse me, Your Majesty. There was a crack in my teacup. I think the maid in charge of this should be punished,” Temir said with a smile.

At Temir's glance, his knight in a purple uniform roughly grabbed the arm of the maid, who was standing right next to him serving the tea. She screamed in terror despite her efforts to keep her face emotionless.

“Crown Prince!”

He smiled when the Empress called out as if to dissuade him.

“I don’t think you ordered her to bring me a broken teacup on purpose. I hope your Majesty's didn’t do this because you hate me."

Despite the strange confrontation, Yiojif drank his tea in peace.

"It's said that Count Aydin's daughter has had an accident, and to order for her to show up so quickly will put the Count in an uncomfortable position."

“Count Aydin is my cousin on my mother’s side. How can he hold any uncomfortable feelings for me?”

As the escort knight clasped the maid's hand and pressed back harder, a scream escaped from her mouth again. She was well trained, so she did not openly cry or beg for her life, but tears were dripping from her eyes.

There was no way there could have been a crack in the teacup she served to the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince had simply made an excuse to force the Empress to comply.

“Do it, Mother,” came the soft voice of Yiojif. "Our brother wants to see her, so there is no reason not to listen. Brother is the one who will become the Emperor of this land. I am sure Count Aydin will not mind."

“... ”

Temir smiled contentedly at Yiojif siding with him.

Yiojif was a fairly docile brother to Temir, and since he took his side, the Empress had no reason to refuse either.

“I will do it.”

“Thank you as always, Mama,” Temir smiled brightly.

***

This was serious. This was very serious. Not that Lucifella was being talked about, but the conclusions others had made publicly. It happened two weeks after the much talked about and controversial incident.

After that incident, Lucifella’s guards became more vigilant, but for some reason, her maid’s attitude was more relaxed than before.

Lucifella's own apology and waiver of Roisa's punishment had been heard by her servants.

It was only natural that the reputation of the young lady would change, as she had even apologized to her maid and said that it was her own fault, rather than getting angry with her, even though she had almost died.

Moreover, as if she had regrets about her actions, Lucifella complied with the servants’ requests quietly without being annoyed even while lying on her bed still sick. If she was told to eat, she ate, if told to walk, she would walk, if told to put something on, she wore it. She had nearly died a few times, and she became the ideal master to the servants.

But she also had some very serious problems. She had lost her memory and they welcomed the change in her personality, but the problem was that she forgot everything except how to speak.

She was mostly lying down in bed, and even if her gait was strange when she occasionally got up and walked, her maids didn't pay much attention to her because she was sick. Sometimes her tone was masculine as well.

The maids tried to rationalize it by thinking that it could be an aftereffect of almost dying, or she was feeling ill because she hadn’t eaten. However, that was just them trying to ignore the seriousness of the situation.

Her gait was clearly different from that of commoners, but it wasn't the gentle gait of a Lady. That was to say...

“It’s like the footsteps of soldiers, not girls. Like a dignified march.”

As if shocked by the butler's words, the Count's face turned white. That was the conclusion that the butler of the mansion, the one most sensitive to Lucifella’s changes, had reached.

“It seems that the aftermath of the Her Lady’s accident is rather serious because she lost her memory.”

“No, what....”

“There is one week before the Imperial Palace banquet. I think we have to find a way somehow.”

“How do I do this.... How could this happen....”

‘Hell, why are you talking about me so freely when I’m right here?’

Lucifella was listening to the conversation between the butler and the Count while drinking her tea. The Count's face turned pale as he saw the way she drank the tea.

Although Estelle was of commoner descent, she had learned swordsmanship at a young age while being raised by the Duke of Gabrine.

She lived in a nobleman's mansion, but Duke Gabrine did not pay much attention to her education other than teaching her swordsmanship. The housekeepers thought it was not suitable for common people to be taught noble etiquette, so Estelle was neglected. However, she was accustomed to how the servants were treated, and Khalid, who could not stand her dining etiquette, had taught her a little himself.

‘Khalid.’

As she recalled his name, her grip on her teacup tightened. But she shook her head and tried to erase the thought.

The name, Khalid, was still important to her. But if she thought about him, it was likely that she would fall into depression and embrace the distrust of others. It would be okay if she waited to go out looking for Khalid until a little later.

If it was known that Lucifella, who was not supposed to know Khalid, was looking for him, others might become suspicious of not just her but those around her. So, she postponed her thoughts about him.

Anyway, Estelle had never learned the manners of a noblewoman, and even if she had seen and learned to some extent, it was the manners of ‘men’ and not of a ‘lady’ at all.

The fundamental solution to this problem was to say, 'I can't go because I am sick’, but that was rejected at once. The Empress had sent the invitation directly. No one turned down a handwritten invitation from the Empress.

Lucifella, unaware that the Crown Prince and Empress were not related by blood, assumed that the Empress was furious that she had marred her son's dignity.

‘It looks like I’m going to be embarrassed,’ she thought indifferently.

"It's the first time she is going out in public after the announcement of her engagement, so she will definitely have to dance with the Duke of Heint,” said the butler.

Oh, that was just perfect. Lucifella laughed as she thought of putting on heels and stepping on his feet. It was fun just imagining what expression the Duke would make. But she left the Duke's face dying in pain in her imagination.

“I can learn it,” she said.

“In a week? Absolutely not. Our Lucy is smart, but that's not possible."

First of all, she wasn't confident in speaking skills, knowledge, or common sense, but when it came to dancing, she was confident in what to do. Dancing was something physical. She was confident when it came to physical things.

Lucifella yawned. The Count gave her a dissatisfied look, but she ignored him.