CHAPTER 41……………………….

Rizaina muttered, her face drained of color.

Whether she was shocked or not, Lilia stepped forward.

“His Highness took me in when I had nowhere to go and allowed me to work at the Grand Duke’s household.”

At Lilia’s words, the noblewomen and ladies began to murmur.

“I don’t believe someone like him would ever turn my work into gossip. And I served the princess at the closest distance…”

Lilia’s gaze shifted to Rizaina.

“The two of you have never met anywhere without me present.”

“Don’t lie!”

Rizaina screamed as if in a fit.

Startled for a moment by the fierce gleam in Rizaina’s eyes, Lilia opened her mouth again.

“I’m not lying. There are other maids besides me—why would I lie?”

“It’s a lie! It’s a lie!”

Unlike the calm Lilia, Rizaina seemed to be in a panic, repeating the same words over and over.

At her attitude, everyone frowned.

“I think I understand what happened.”

“Indeed. I’m embarrassed we almost fell for such a low-level slander.”

It was only natural that the crowd sided with Lilia.

And then, one more key figure in this incident appeared.

“What is going on here?”

A noblewoman with a composed impression approached.

“Countess Adelaine?”

“I heard someone was speaking about me, so I came to see…”

Countess Adelaine’s gaze turned to Rizaina.

Before coming here, she had already heard a brief explanation of the situation.

Moreover, she was not alone.

“Rizaina?”

“…Edwin?”

Rizaina’s eyes trembled. Why was Edwin here?

“May I ask what is happening?”

Unlike Countess Adelaine, Edwin had not heard the explanation, so several people spoke up at once.

“Princess Rizaina insulted Countess Adelaine.”

“She repeated a groundless rumor.”

The looks directed at Rizaina were far from kind.

If it wasn’t Trisha who had told her the rumor, then it must have been Edwin.

Edwin, too, recalled the recent conversation he had with Rizaina and his expression hardened.

‘She asked me what to be careful about in high society…’

To think she would damage his reputation like this again.

At that moment, Hestia, who had been watching, closed her fan and spoke.

“Edwin, you truly never cease to disappoint me.”

“…Hestia, Sister.”

“It’s shameful enough to be called ‘sister’ by you.”

For a brief moment Edwin clenched his teeth, then quickly relaxed his expression.

“I have no excuse.”

He lowered his head. Even with ten mouths, he would have nothing to say.

It had not been long since he was warned for bringing Rizaina to a banquet.

Moreover, not only Hestia but all the seasoned noblewomen and ladies of high society were present.

‘This won’t be easy to settle.’

Edwin was self-centered, but he was not a fool.

He knew the best way to salvage this situation was to draw a line between himself and Rizaina.

So he did nothing and simply observed. From the beginning, he was not the one holding the reins.

“Rizaina Solten.”

Hestia’s icy voice cut through the air.

“You truly seem to know no shame.”

“Y-Your Highness?”

“I utterly despise people like you.”

Her frosty gaze swept past Rizaina and over the surrounding crowd.

“I would prefer that we avoid crossing paths in the future.”

With that, Hestia turned and left.

To be told by Princess Hestia—who stood at the very pinnacle of high society—that she wished to avoid seeing her was no different from a death sentence.

Edwin, reading the mood, attempted to follow her.

“Wait.”

A voice stopped him.

“You can’t leave just like this, Brother Edwin.”

“…Millard.”

“Are not the two people most harmed by this disturbance still here?”

Millard’s gaze brushed past Countess Adelaine and settled on Trisha.

For a brief moment, their eyes met in midair.

“You should apologize.”

Still looking at Trisha, Millard gave a faint smile.

“My sister-in-law is also a victim in this matter.”

His gaze returned to Edwin. He did not spare Rizaina a single glance.

“Isn’t that right, Brother?”

“…You make a fair point, Millard.”

Edwin forced a thin smile through clenched teeth and turned to Rizaina.

As if to say: Clean up the mess you made.

“I’m the victim. I was deceived, that’s all!”

But Rizaina chose the worst possible response, and public opinion turned sharply against her.

“She truly has no shame.”

“Well, someone like that would get involved with another woman’s husband, I suppose…”

“I’ll have to reconsider my view of Grand Duke Mason as well.”

The criticism was harsh.

Though no one stepped forward directly because the man involved was Edwin, the Grand Duke Mason, inwardly they did not wish to see Rizaina walk away unscathed.

“How amusing, Brother Edwin.”

Millard watched with a sneer.

“You’ve made quite an interesting friend.”

At his words—implying his discernment was now clear—Edwin’s face flushed with humiliation.

“It’s not true, Eddie. I was wronged—”

“Enough, Princess.”

With that, Edwin fled the hall as if escaping.

As soon as he abandoned Rizaina, the crowd’s condemnation grew even fiercer.

“No—it’s not true!”

In the end, Rizaina also left the banquet hall after him.

“Eddie! Eddie! Edwin!”

At Rizaina’s urgent voice, Edwin sighed and stopped walking.

His face was filled with anger and irritation.

“Since we’re on the subject, let me ask you something.”

He turned to face her, and she flinched.

“Why did you do something so pointless?”

“It’s a misunderstanding—everything is a misunderstanding! I just…”

Rizaina buried her face in her hands and trembled her shoulders pitifully.

Then she lowered her hands and looked up at him with tear-filled eyes.

“I was simply deceived by the Grand Duchess.”

At the same time, she subtly grabbed the hem of his coat.

Any man might have wavered—but Edwin’s eyes remained cold.

His anger at being publicly humiliated outweighed any stirring from her charms.

“Yes, you’re always like this. You cause trouble and then blame others.”

“E-Eddie?”

“Don’t call me that!”

“Isn’t it you who’s being unreasonable?!”

When Rizaina finally raised her voice, Edwin froze.

“…Did you just shout at me?”

“I think you’re forgetting something.”

Rizaina’s expression changed entirely as she stepped closer.

Instinctively, Edwin took a step back before stiffening in wounded pride.

“Is this really the time for you to raise your voice at me?”

“And why shouldn’t I?”

Her lips curved softly.

Lowering her voice as if whispering a forbidden secret, she said,

“Everything you have is practically mine.”

“What?”

“You seem to have forgotten completely. You—”

“Are you insane?! Why bring that up here?!”

As Edwin looked around nervously, Rizaina let out a soft laugh.

“If you want to shut my mouth, take me somewhere private.”

She adjusted his cravat and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“Then I won’t say anything more.”

“…Fine. Let’s do that.”

After a brief hesitation, Edwin nodded.

He then escorted her politely toward the carriage—

Unaware that someone had been listening to their entire conversation.

And that very night, after they returned to the estate, a scandal broke.

Rizaina learned of it the next day through the newspaper.

“This is absurd!”

It was none other than a scandal about Count Adelaine’s affair.

After the scandal broke, public sympathy for Countess Adelaine swelled instantly.

The shock was all the greater because the Count had been known as a devoted husband.

And to that same degree, Rizaina became completely isolated from high society.

“I heard Princess Solten insulted Countess Adelaine at the New Year’s festival.”

“They say she claimed Miss Lilia Dane disappeared because of Countess Adelaine.”

“But Miss Lilia was actually working as the princess’s maid at the Mason Grand Ducal household…”

The topic gradually shifted from Countess Adelaine to Rizaina.

“I heard the princess has always coveted her servants’ jewelry.”

“You mean she seized the Dane family heirloom? I heard that too.”

The rumors snowballed, and before long, Rizaina became the most criticized figure at the New Year’s festival.