“What do you mean now?”

Seira, who suddenly said something incomprehensible, asked Flory.

Flory explained the horrible events of the morning.

“…She told that I gave her money for no reason and told her to leave the capital?”

“Yes! She said she was just going to leave when she had money, and she never asked for it. Then why isn’t she leaving now? Now that she has money, she ought to leave!”

Flory’s recount was long, and her tears had stopped, replaced with anger.

Seira agreed with Flory’s point: having money meant she should leave. If she really intends not to interfere between her and Fersen.

But Fersen’s behavior bothered Seira. He prevented Luna from seeing any man but showed no interest in her himself. As his friend, it was a little different from what she was worried about. No, she was very different.

She was sure it was, but as she listened to Flory’s story, the betrayal the butler mentioned in the letter kept haunting her.

“And she brands me a criminal and asks for the real culprit? How do other young ladies view me now…!”

Flory wiped away tears with her handkerchief, more from anger than sadness. Seira believed in Flory’s innocence given her passionate recount.

“Now, I can’t even step outside! How can I face the world? I’m scared, shaky, and teary… I’ve never felt this humiliated!”

“Oh my God…. But why would she betray and falsely accuse you? I still can’t understand her motive. What’s the point of doing such a thing?”

Apart from sympathizing with Flory, it was an act that she couldn’t understand.

Why on earth? She also claimed that she was wronged and innocent.

“It’s because she’s wicked at heart! For her, it’s a daily routine, tormenting others! Hasn’t she been doing that continuously?”

If her claims were true, then her previous visit and plea of injustice could also be a lie.

And Seira trusted Flory, her friend, more than the woman who had only tormented her.

‘Did I misunderstand Fersen? Was I deceived by that wicked woman’s cunning lies? If that’s really the case… what should I do?’

Seira, holding her teacup with both hands, closed her mouth tightly and fell deep into thought.

This made Flory anxious. She worried if Seira didn’t believe her.

Now that joining the gathering through Karen was out of the picture, Seira was the only influential person she could trust.

Someone had to actively support her. If not, she surely wouldn’t be able to show her face at the upcoming coming-of-age party.

After a long silence, as if Seira had made up her mind, she put down her teacup and spoke.

“I need to meet young lord Fersen.”

“Young lord Rodrian?”

All of a sudden? Flory frowned at the unexpected statement about meeting Fersen while they were discussing something else.

Seira then took out a letter from a drawer and showed it to Flory.

“I received this letter. So I was a bit confused… But after hearing your story, I think I need to meet and talk with young lord Fersen. I feel I might have only seen a part of the whole picture.”

The incident that day was strange and unusual, but she could have misunderstood Fersen in her excitement, or perhaps he really had a reason.

Unable to hide her surprise, Flory read the letter handed to her by Seira.

“What, what is this? A lawsuit?”

“I’m not sure about the details, but it seems young lord Fersen tried to help young lady Peils and got into trouble. Lady Peils said she was meeting with Vincent.”

“So, he tried to prevent that and got sued…!?”

“It seems so. I need to hear the full story, but I haven’t seen young lord Fersen lately because I think I might have misunderstood him too.”

“How can there be such a wicked woman in this world!?”

Flory was more shocked by Fersen’s ordeal than her own.

It wasn’t just the shock. She was also glad to know that she wasn’t the only one who had been wronged.

Now it was proven that Luna was truly wicked, and she could easily clear her name regarding the recent incidents.

“We should go and hear the full story. Young lord Rodrian must be distressed!”

Flory helped Seira stand.

Seira intended to freshen up a bit before going, but at Flory’s urging, she quickly called her maid.

* * *

That afternoon, Seira visited Duke Rodrian’s mansion. Despite not notifying them in advance, the butler welcomed Seira.

“It’s been a while, lady Seira.”

“It has. Is young lord Fersen alright?”

Under normal circumstances, Seira would have chatted with the butler first, but now there was no time for that.

“I’m sorry to say, I can’t tell you that.”

“…!”

She was informed about it in the letter, but hearing it directly made her heart sink. The butler sighed.

“He’s in a very unstable state. The Duke is also very worried.”

“Unstable state…!?”

“He’s not eating properly because of the shock of betrayal. He regretted neglecting people close to him and wasting his concern on someone unworthy.”

Hearing that, Seira felt a pain in her heart. The thought of clearing up the misunderstanding was long gone.

Desperate to comfort him, Seira grabbed the butler’s arm.

“Please take me to young lord Fersen’s room right away.”

The butler, seeing Seira’s expected reaction, felt relieved. The real conversation was about to begin.

“Before that, if I may, can I ask a favor?”

“If it’s about young lord Fersen, anything.”

“Even if something happens, even if young master Fersen seems a bit different than before, I hope you will stand by him, trust him, and support him.”

It was a very simple request. She would have done it even without being asked.

“And I hope you would firmly hold onto young master Fersen from now on, so that you no longer get hurt by meaningless things. As you know, Seira, isn’t he someone who is deeply emotional?”

Therefore, he got hurt. Upon hearing the butler’s words, Seira thought of Luna. She felt pity for Fersen, who was hurt by someone as emotional and careless as her.

“I will do so.”

As Seira nodded, the butler with a gentle smile guided her to Fersen’s room.

“Young master Fersen, lady Seira is here.”

“Lady Seira?”

Permission to enter was granted soon after, with a slightly surprised tone. Seira cautiously stepped in through the slightly opened door.

Then, amidst a pile of stacked documents, Fersen appeared with a regretful face to greet Seira.

“It’s been a while, young lady Seira. I apologize for not being in touch.”

Only now did he realize her absence. Because he was almost crazy due to Luna and Antes, Seira was not on his mind.

“Young lord Fersen…!”

Seira covered her mouth unknowingly. Though it hadn’t felt that long, Fersen’s face looked quite weary.

Seira’s heart tightened. She forgave Fersen everything in an instant, without asking anything yet.

“I’m sorry I didn’t know you were going through this much, and that I haven’t visited you.”

“I’m the one who should apologize. I feel like I left you alone using my busyness as an excuse.”

“No, it’s okay. I should have paid more attention…”

Knowing he went through such hardships, she had left him alone believing in malicious lies.

“It’s really okay. We can meet more often now.”

Seira held Fersen’s hand as she spoke kindly. His long, large hand felt somewhat smaller.

However, one relieving thing was that Fersen didn’t seem as unstable as the butler had worried. Though he looked more worn out than before, his affection towards her remained unchanged.

“By the way, what are those documents? Work? Can I help you if there is anything I can do?”

Seira pointed to the pile of documents Fersen was looking at.

In response, Fersen’s eyes, which had been staring at Seira with friendly gaze, became sharp in an instant.

“It’s documents to catch those worthless than vermin.”

His voice was icy cold. Surprised, Seira asked while unintentionally letting go of Fersen’s hand,

“Vermin?”

“Yes. Those who betrayed and plotted against me. I’m planning to thoroughly ruin them and feed them to beasts. These are the documents for that.”

The expressions coming from Fersen’s mouth were utterly unfamiliar. It was hard to believe this was the same person who was holding her hand and speaking affectionately just a moment ago.

Seeing Seira frozen without a reply, Fersen, with the same fierce look in his eyes, grabbed her hand again and spoke with a smile:

“It would be perfect if a wise young lady like you could help. I only have you now.”

The butler was right. Fersen was unstable. No, he wasn’t normal. Seira should have pulled away and left immediately, but she couldn’t leave Fersen.

“…I will do so. Just let me know.”

How could she leave this man who said she was all he had? He might be acting this way now due to his anger and desire for revenge, but once everything is over, he will return to normal. No, she will make sure of it.

With that determination, Seira briefly kissed Fersen’s cheek. From now on, Fersen was entirely hers. That was more than enough.