Sarah Fog trembled and looked at Erilot.

“Why do you talk like that? People get the wrong idea.”

“What?”

“If you speak like that—!”

Just then, Catherine entered.

She frowned and looked at Sarah Fog.

“What did Lady Erilot say that made you raise your voice?”

Rumelisa crossed her arms and gave Sarah a thorough once-over.

“Well, I don’t know either. From what I’ve heard, Lady Astra has never been rude enough to deserve such words.”

Other young ladies also looked displeased.

Sarah quickly glanced at ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) the princes. She sniffled as usual, but no one came to help.

Catherine and Rumelisa approached Sarah.

Catherine asked,

“I’m asking, how did Lady Erilot say those things to publicly shame you like this?”

“I—I never pushed Lady Erilot!”

Rumelisa gave a bitter laugh.

“But Lady Erilot said she was fine, didn’t she?”

“But if you say it with such an expression, people could misunderstand!”

“What expression?”

“An expression like there’s something going on...!”

As Sarah shouted, Erilot stepped forward.

“Miss Rumelisa. Miss Catherine.”

Erilot stood between them, trying to stop their frowning.

“I’m fine.”

Rumelisa sighed deeply.

“Lady Erilot is very considerate. That’s her strength, but sometimes it hurts her.”

“Rumelisa...”

“Do you know what Miss Fog has been saying about Lady Erilot?”

Erilot smiled bitterly.

Sarah took a deep breath.

‘What’s this? Why do I sound like the villain...!’

Because of Erilot’s reaction, it seemed like Sarah’s rude words were true.

Sarah shouted,

“I never said anything wrong!”

People stared at Sarah Fog, her face flushed red as she shouted loudly.

I swallowed a laugh inside.

She took the bait perfectly.

People like that attack others but can’t stand it when it comes back on them.

Everyone has seen someone like that in school.

They gossip about others, but can’t stand when the same is done to them.

‘I thought she’d tremble and waver when attacked in front of others.’

I also knew she’d try to justify herself.

So she had no choice but to retort, “I never lied.”

‘She probably never did lie.’

She always twisted the situation cleverly.

But.

‘You fool, saying that makes it easier to catch you.’

Is it really true that you never said anything wrong?

Catherine narrowed her eyes.

“They say Lady Erilot stopped you from going to the banquet?”

“I asked Lady Erilot to bring the young ladies. But no one came.”

The Miss Mishar closest to the stairs frowned.

“I heard that wasn’t a real request?”

“W-what...?”

“All Lady said was, ‘Erilot, we’ll be waiting for you.’”

“So how can anyone understand that as asking to bring the others?”

Other young ladies agreed.

“I was the one who decided not to go to the tea party.”

“Me too.”

“Me as well.”

“We didn’t go to protest your terrible behavior, not because of Lady Erilot.”

Sarah trembled.

Catherine looked at Sarah coldly.

“We were angry because you said we excluded you.”

“That’s—!”

“When did we ever exclude you? Miss Carein looked for you all day that day.”

“...”

“She always took you with her wherever she went.”

Rumelisa laughed bitterly.

“Do you think she did that to treat you like a servant behind your back?”

“I swear, I never treated her like a servant. It was even you, Star Flower Castle, who said you wanted that nickname.”

“...”

“They say your father called you Star Flower Castle because of your sparkling eyes.”

“...”

I stared at Sarah between Rumelisa and Catherine.

Trying hard to suppress the smile creeping to my lips.

‘See? Claiming you never said anything wrong makes them coordinate their stories.’

The princes’ faces crumpled.

They were trying to protect Sarah out of kindness.

But they realized they’d been fooled by her sly words, so it made sense they were angry.

The Oshron Prince frowned and shouted,

“What is this, Miss Fog?”

“Th-this, so, this is...”

“Wait a moment.”

One of the princes raised a hand.

“Is it true Lady Astra was rude to Miss Fog?”

“Wow, is that also a lie?”

“Really?”

Sarah’s face turned pale.

I heard from Joshua what Sarah had said about that incident.

But I feigned ignorance and said,

“Me?”

“That’s true! Isn’t it?!”

Sarah hurriedly explained, and I tilted my head.

“Oh, yes. She said that.”

“See! I wasn’t lying—”

“She called me ‘dirty blood.’”

“...!”

Others gasped.

My birth was openly talked about.

But to say it directly to me was a huge insult.

Especially calling me ‘dirty blood’ to mock me was something no one should say in front of me.

“I, I never said that...”

“But then you came and said so.”

I tilted my head and looked Sarah squarely in the eyes.

“You’re such a considerate person, there’s no way you’d have half vulgar blood. So you apologized for the rude misunderstanding.”

“Th-that’s...!”

“So I said, yes, it was rude.”

“...”

“Am I wrong?”

Rumelisa’s usual polite expression was completely ruined.

The faces of ladies who liked me also froze.

Of course, the princes’ expressions soured.

“Disgusting.”

“Wow... I’ve never seen such a strange person.”

“Shame to be manipulated by someone like that.”

No one left here to help Sarah.

It was obvious how she’d try to get out of this.

‘Going to cry again?’

Given her strange personality, using tears as a weapon, she would do just that.

Sure enough, tears welled up in Sarah’s eyes.

But.

“Hic...”

I was faster.

I covered my mouth and trembled my shoulders lightly.

Catherine and Rumelisa wrapped around me protectively and said,

“Lady Erilot, don’t be shaken by such words.”

“She’s proving she’s trash by herself.”

“Still, she was composed—we’ve come to realize how wonderful you are, young lady.”

Other young ladies approached me quickly.

The princes stammered and said,

“We’re sorry, young lady.”

“We’re sorry for hurting your feelings with such words...”

“Oh, what should we do...”

While everyone gathered around me, Sarah stood alone.

She swallowed dryly.

“I-it’s not like that, I, I...”

Catherine looked at Sarah Fog with a fierce gaze.

“You shouldn’t think this matter will be easily forgotten.”

Rumelisa wiped my tears with a handkerchief and said,

“Lady Erilot, don’t worry. You’ll never have to see Miss Fog’s face again.”

Catherine and Rumelisa were the princesses of the social scene.

I even gave them justification.

Sarah Fog would no longer be able to show her face in Hwangdo’s social circle.

‘Done.’

Having completed Sarah Fog’s social exile as a minor, all that remained was to find Dahlia...

—That’s what I thought.

Through the open door, familiar faces appeared.

Bright red hair like a blazing sun, black eyes like gathered night.

And golden hair shining like pure gold and blue eyes like the sea.

They were twins.

Balzac stared at me with a stiff expression.

Joshua’s expression was icy.

Their gaze slowly shifted to Sarah Fog.

Balzac’s hand gripping the door trembled.

“Did she... cry?”

“...She made Erilot cry.”

Oh no!

I looked at them in surprise.

“B-brothers, it’s not like that. I didn’t cry...!”

I couldn’t say it was fake tears and was flustered.

KABOOM!

The floor cracked and rocks began to rise.

People gasped loudly.

“Th-this....”

“No way...!”

I shouted quickly,

“Run!”

Joshua’s Gaho is .

It’s a powerful wide-area skill, hard even to use for training in Astra Castle.

Combined with Balzac’s Gaho .

It had only happened once three years ago.

When I was with Lagon, the Steel Raven, and almost died by mistake.

I clearly remember what happened to Daymond’s territory then.

‘Eclipto Castle will collapse...!’

People turned pale as I quickly grabbed Rumelisa’s and Catherine’s hands.

And shouted toward the young ladies,

“Run, quickly!”

Of course, I wanted to see that annoying Sarah get a taste of this, but I didn’t expect this!

Thirty minutes later.

The young ladies and heirs gathered in the garden with dazed expressions.

Thanks to Rishimund quickly the twins away, or the castle would have collapsed.

Even though it was hurried, the conference hall was in ruins.

‘If it had hit there....’

The heirs trembled.

Catherine and Rumelisa glanced sideways.

The Astra Marquis House twins were scolding Erilot fiercely.

“Using Gaho? A wide-area one too?”

“...”

“Balzac didn’t think about stopping it as the older brother, but just enhanced it?!”

“...”

“What now? The conference hall is destroyed!”

“...”

“...”

The children saw the two bowing like mice in front of a cat and realized,

‘That’s the leader...’

‘Yeah, the leader is...’

That terrifying twins couldn’t move at all before the small Erilot.

The children realized why the Astra family was called the strongest spear.

Astra was famous for powerful offensive Gahos.

And the Daymond territory twins held the strongest Gahos among them.

Above those brothers...

The children swallowed hard.

‘Don’t ever mess with Erilot Astra.’

I don’t know where Sarah Fog went.

She probably ran away from the twins.

She would never show her face before Erilot Astra again.

The heirs glanced at the young ladies.

Though trembling like them, they quickly recovered and pulled out communication stones.

“Sarah Fog. Sarah Fog of the Fog Marquis House!”

“Unbelievable...!”

“I feel sorry for Lady Erilot!”

They were telling the big socialites everything.

Moreover, Catherine and Rumelisa said,

“Yes, mother. She spread false rumors that I excluded her!”

“Sarah Fog is really strange, father!”

The heirs looked dazed.

‘Don’t mess with the young ladies either.’

Meanwhile, in the bustling streets of Eclipto Territory.

Han Ji-hyuk frowned, holding a parchment.

‘So this is Dahlia.’

It was a portrait Erilot had drawn.

But no matter how I looked at it...

“She looks like a frog.”

Erilot was good at everything but had no talent for art.

Still, she knew good art and bought it, which was puzzling.

That morning, I received the ‘list of children to be transferred to the new orphanage’ from Conrad.

Dahlia was not on the list.

That meant she hadn’t been transferred yet.

“She’s not in the orphanage but must be somewhere in Eclipto Territory.”

“Why?”

“Would she come to Eclipto Territory after becoming an orphan? Since she’s an Eclipto child, she must be in an orphanage here.”

“Hmm...”

“I can’t go because of the opening ceremony. You investigate.”

Han Ji-hyuk sighed.

‘Looking for a needle in a haystack.’

How was he supposed to find Dahlia among so many people?

Anyway, he was great at making people work.

“Maybe start with the slums.”

Han Ji-hyuk took a pocket watch from his coat.

He spent the evening searching the slums and then had to enter Eclipto Castle to attend to her afterward.