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nTranslator and Editor: Ddalgi and Wyvern

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nChapter 28

nSierra, weak to temptation, almost fell for Cassius. But Sierra shook her head inwardly. There was one reason the people of this mansion, including Cassius, treated Sierra so well.

nIt was because of Hanael, a baby who mistakenly thought that she was from a noble family. The people of this mansion, the godmother, maybe even Cassius.

n‘Never fall for it, Sierra. You may like me for a moment, but your feelings will only last for a short time.’

nThe love between commoners and nobles never ended well in real life.

nShe needed to quickly find a suitable woman for him.

n“Yeah. Cassius. I have something to tell you…”

n“What?”

n“When you open a salon, let’s send invitations.”

n“Yes, you don’t have to worry about that. I intend to invite the nobles separately.”

nSierra shook her head and pretended to be pitiful. “I’d like to participate in sending invitations too… May I?”

nShe lowered her eyebrows. Sierra was very grateful to Cassius, and wanted him to be happy with friends and a lover.

nIt would eventually be revealed that Hanael wasn’t Cassius’s child, and she hoped he wouldn’t feel left alone when she left the Duke’s residence.

n“Of course, you can.” Cassius nodded.

n* * *

nUnlike the peaceful Duke’s residence, the inside of the Imperial Palace was in a state of chaos. Among them, the angriest was the Princess. In a splendid secret room decorated with gold-thread tapestries woven by craftsmen, she sat alone with a man nearby.

nShe drank the hot tea that the maid gave her, and slowly closed her eyes, gesturing at the man to sit across from her.

n“Ijel, what happened?”

n“Well, Your Highness…”

nThe Princess gritted her teeth and muttered,

n“It’s an odd thing to buy a salon, but it could have been a business decision. However, she was even given a temporary status.”

nSemi-nobility was a class between commoners and aristocrats. Although it was a temporary title, its weight was by no means light.

n“What are you thinking about? Even if you have the title of semi-noble, it will not proceed until marriage.”

n“…What are you planning, Your Highness?”

nBecause Cassius was a chaste and honest type, she intended to make him his concubine.

nOf course, she wasn’t kind and sweet, that’s why she wasn’t the type to look away from what she liked.

nThat was the Princess’ point.

n“I guess he is Your Highness’ first love?”

nThe Princess looked at the hot steam from the teacup and recalled the story she had heard in the salon.

n‘…The other women who were trying to become the duchess turned into dogs chasing chickens, right?’

nYoung Lady of the Avanture County, who had made her debut too early and had yet to use her social skills properly, looked around and smiled mischievously at the Duke.

nBoth the Princess and the Duke reacted impassively that time.

nLady Macbeth, who claimed to be his first love, also failed to get the attention of the Duke.

n“What are you worried about, Your Highness?” His eyes twinkled and shone.

nThe Princess, who looked at his beautiful smile, soon came to her senses and clenched her teeth.

n“It’s a situation to worry about. Is this interesting to you, Ijel?”

n“Of course.”

nIjel laughed, lowering his gaze.

n“Isn’t Your Highness interested? The Duke of Ideos has a weakness.”

n“What?”

n“Those who have weaknesses are easily destroyed.”

nIjel took the fan that the Princess had in her hand. He gripped it so tightly that it dented.

n“The cracks are the weakness of this fan.”

nHe held the fan in one hand. It didn’t even need much strength to completely break it.

nAll that was left in Ijel’s hands was a crisp wood.

n“If you attack their weaknesses, they will easily fall apart.”

nThe Princess glared at him.

n“I’m not trying to destroy the Duke, Ijel.”

n“I know, Your Highness.”

nIjel raised an eyebrow and smiled.

n“Weakness makes us human. Hasn’t the Duke been too carefree so far?”

nThe Princess frowned slightly.

n“In that case, wouldn’t it be easier to dig into it?”

nAfter speaking, Ijel smiled elegantly.

n“Let’s go to the salon first.”

n“Is it possible? It’s going to be organized mainly by those who are close to the godmother.”

n“If it’s impossible for you to attend, I’ll try.”

nDuke Cassius Ideos did something unexpected, but there were no major problems with their plans. He put the broken fan down on the table and got up carefully.

n“Sure, Your Highness. I’ll see you there.”

n“Where are you going, Ijel?”

n“I do not know,” he answered vaguely, but in fact, he was going to the salon.

nA salon that will be designed exclusively for Sierra. Because he was thinking of digging into the truth.

n‘I will meet the Duke of Ideos, finally….’

nWhat he was doing now was just a part of fulfilling the request of the Princess. But Ijel had one more important duty. He hid his smile.

n* * *

nOn the other hand, the atmosphere of the Duke’s house was calm and gentle. Hanael, Sierra, and Cassius were sitting side by side in the warm drawing room in the Duke’s mansion, on a small sofa.

nSierra on the far left, Hanael in the middle, and Cassius on the right. The three of them sat together like a friendly family and had a serious conversation. They were discussing which nobles they would invite to Sierra’s party.

n“It’s the list of nobles. You can choose who to invite.”

nCassius looked at Sierra with a proud expression on his face.

nSierra grinned.

n‘Cassius is so kind, there’s a chance he’ll definitely make friends!’

n“I brought you whatever you want.” He kept handing over the list over and over as if he wanted compliments from her.

nBut Sierra did not praise him. The praise belonged to the person who would become friends with Cassius. The stern look on Sierra’s face made Cassius a little gloomy.

nShe pretended not to notice, directing her attention to the bookshelf. Of course, Cassius, with his indomitable will, did not give up because he did not receive a compliment.

nHe was looking at her with twinkling eyes.

nSierra, who tried to ignore his expression, coughed a couple of times, then whispered earnestly,

n“First of all, I want to invite people our age.”

n“Our age. Yeah, I get it.”

nCassius nodded, grabbing a quill and a notepad from the table opposite the sofa.

n“What else do you want?”

n“Um… I wish that the number of men and women would be evenly matched.”

nHe didn’t seem to have anyone who could be a lover or a friend. She thought it would be appropriate if it was an equal ratio.

nCassius, who was holding a quill and writing something down on a notepad, quietly raised his head.

n“…Why?”

n“Huh? I just thought it would be more fun.”

nIt seemed that Cassius had seriously misunderstood her thoughts.

n‘Why do you look so sad?’

nSierra awkwardly scratched the back of her head.

nCassius explained softly.

n“You don’t usually invite a lot of men to the salon.”

n“Ah… I didn’t know that.”

nHe looked at Sierra’s expression gently. Then he lowered his eyes and nodded.

n“But I’ll do whatever you want.”

nHis eyelashes twitched slightly as he spoke. Sierra quietly looked through the list of nobles, trying to find a suitable person to be Cassius’ friend.

n“There are pictures and names, so look for them carefully.”

n“Huh.”

nSierra smiled softly and shrugged her shoulders.

n“I’ve been thinking about it.”

n“…?”

nSierra lifted her head from the list and looked at Cassius. Cassius’ gaze was focused on the list of nobles, not Sierra.

n“I think I can definitely have a good relationship with the people I invited that day.”

nShe felt a little uncomfortable with his words.

n“Well…”

n“If you will not have a great relationship with them, I’ll make it happen.”

n‘I can’t let him do that…’

nEven the expression on his face was quite terrifying. What to do? Cassius seemed to have a tendency to be aggressive.

n‘If you want to have a good relationship, you shouldn’t be intimidated…’

nNo matter how one looked at it, he lacked social skills because of the war. So, before Cassius and Sierra set foot together in the social world, she was convinced that she needed to nurture him socially.

n“Um, thank you. And I have a small favor, Cassius.”

n“What is it?”

n“On the day the salon opens, you can’t just stay by my side.”

n“…Why?”

n“Well…”

nShe couldn’t just say, ‘I have to find your new partner.’

nSierra held her breath for a moment, then exhaled. She was in the middle of trying to figure out what kind of excuse she would make.

n“Why would you do that?”

nHanael said, who was reading a children’s book. Sierra looked down at Hanael with a bitter expression.

n“You want to make friends while you’re away, Mommy.”

n‘…Not really? You mean Cassius wants to make friends?’

nHowever, Hanael didn’t stop poking around.

n“Because she doesn’t have any friends.”

nSierra was mortified at Hanael’s innocent voice. No, that’s true, but… isn’t it too honest?!

n“It’s just me.”

nHanael shamelessly raised her chin.

nSierra pinched her soft cheeks.

n“Hey, who told you that? And I told you to call me aunt!”

n“Tsk.”

nHanael puffed out her lips, but Cassius looked into the air.

nSierra became serious, fearing that there might be another misunderstanding.

n“I don’t have many friends. By the way, don’t worry, I’ve lived well without any friends.”

nShe was sincere.

nWasn’t it unnecessary to always interact with friends?

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