The lunch of the Duke family is not noisy, unlike before.

Today, the servants do not know why, but the dining room is filled only with the sounds of utensils.

There are no cheerful voices from the young lady, no delights from her talking about her day, and she doesn't even try to engage in any conversation with her brothers, who try to open up with her.

It's a really awkward meal together.

It's rigid and distant.

The young lady's polite behavior with the Duke, her own father, is the most disturbing aspect.

There's no moment where the young lady isn't willful in front of the master.

Why so quiet today.

They can tell something is wrong with the young lady who is eating with them.

Whether she's having a tantrum or trying to get their attention, it irritates some of them.

They only know that the other person has no desire to converse with anyone.

No matter how uncomfortable the people are during this meal, as the protagonist of people's minds at this moment, the whole person doesn't seem to care.

Erica Estrellane left the table with a small word of respect after finishing her meal and leaving the table for others.

The silence continued until she was completely out, not noticing how dark and gloomy her father's face, the Duke of Sakayeiam.

----

"Have you heard about the terrifying atmosphere in the dining room earlier? I heard it was so intense that it made some people's legs weak and shaky!"

"Yes, I was there to witness it. Did you hear that the young lady finally woke up this morning? I wonder what happened to her during the meal."

"I'm not sure, but if this is how others say it, then the young lady was reprimanded by the Duke?"

"Who is the young lady?" She is the Duke's only child, growing up pampered, well clothed, and well fed, and can make other nobles apologize to her, so how can Your Grace have wronged the young lady?"

"Hasn't Your Grace been enraged by the young lady's daring jump from the tower?"

"Shh. Shut your mouth. This is something we cannot discuss. What if you ended up being locked up like Aunt Rachel?"

In the garden of Catherine's Castle, two young maids who had slipped out to be lazy huddled together and whispered.

But as soon as a hot topic was brought up, the two turned around the corner of the garden.

They didn't even notice the person standing behind them until the shadow passed over the edge of their field of vision.

Turning around to see the other person's face made their expressions show fear.

The joyous interest in gossip was extinguished in an instant, and their small mouths, which had been energetically moving, hung open, like ducks being choked by the throat.

They were all taken aback immediately, bowed, and apologized in a panic.

"My lady, we didn't mean to talk about..."

Erica Estrellane, who had been lost in thought, was suddenly awakened by their flustered apology and turned her gaze towards them.

"Talk about me?"

Everyone who knew the deceased Duchess of Sakayeiam knows that the noble lady came from a noble mage family with a very unique appearance, and her beauty was unparalleled.

Her delicate and small face was inherited only by her daughter, and the famous black color of her hair was one of the most intriguing features that everyone in the kingdom was aware of, as there were no other black-haired families in the region.

Erica Estrellane stood there, her long black hair cascading like seaweed down her shoulders, emphasizing her icy skin even more.

Her skin turned a brilliant white when she was exposed to the sun.

While the Duke's grass-green eyes resembled a spring green field taken from his features, his wife's soft and gentle expression replaced the infamously dignified nobleman's usual coldness.

After a long wait for their young lady's response, and believing Erica Estrellane was a notorious bully to the household servants, one of them cowardly raised her head to look, and met those blank clear eyes unexpectedly.

The young maid was surprised.

It's just that the ends of those eyes are so isolated with a hint of despondency, like snow falling in the snow or a sun setting in the horizon, that it's shockingly unsettling.

While the eyes of a fatigued person seeking rest might have a faint resemblance to this gaze, the intensity of this expression is markedly distinct.

The young maid is uncertain about how to describe her young lady's expression, but she is acquainted with it.

The young maid has witnessed this particular look before, on the face of the neighbor who had taken their lives an hour after their initial encounter.

As she gazed upon her mistress, the young maid felt a moment of uncertainty, and panic set in as she questioned her own thoughts.

The fear that coursed through her body was not due to the potential punishment she might face, but rather for someone else's life.

Erica Estrellane had no idea what other people were thinking about her.

To avoid being stared at by the servants who were assigned to watch her like a criminal under house arrest, she decided to go outside and walk around the garden.

Despite her efforts to seek solitude, Erica Estrellane was not alone in the garden, as several servants followed her, thereby perpetuating the feeling that she was still under constant surveillance.

She was walking aimlessly when she heard voices whispering to each other, and who would have guessed she would come across a pair of servants gossiping?

Erica Estrellane raised her eyes and took a look around.

Even though she didn't care about being the protagonist of the gossip, she still listened for a bit of entertainment when her name was mentioned.

Soon, the content was revealed to be nothing more than an ordinary meal from earlier, and she would not care about such a mundane thing.

Nonetheless, something piqued her interest: her personal nanny was locked up.

So Erica Estrellane was pulled out of her thoughts by a rush of memories, causing her heart to ache.

At the same time, her eyes grew darker and emptier, as if the memories had drained her of all emotion.

After hearing the testimony of the servant, she dismissed them and issued a formal order for them to kneel on the grass for a period of two hours as a form of punishment.

Then she made her way towards the Lilac Tower, where prisoners are held.

Erica Estrellane went to look for the old maid who had taken care of her since birth, but was stopped by the knights guarding the place.

"What do you think you're doing, stopping your lady? Get away at once," she said calmly, without a hint of her usual arrogance in her voice.

Seeing the young lady of the house approaching, the knights already sensed trouble and could only try to persuade her to leave as their master had ordered.

"Forgive this subject, my lady, but you are not allowed to come inside. Please go back."

"I want to see Miss Rachel."

"Please go back, my lady."

"You…"

Erica Estrellane already knows this is fruitless.

The constant refusal to let her pass only meant one thing - the order must have come from her father.

Erica Estrellane had been pampered since she was young, and her actions were seldom denied or limited unless her father had given specific orders.

On how the five new maids following behind her were particularly strict, perhaps because they were also under strict orders from her father to keep a watchful eye on her every move.

Erica Estrellane turned, giving the impression that she was about to leave, and people's hearts couldn't help but be almost happy.

However, within the blink of an eye, she had returned and made her forward sprint.

"My lady!"

"Then try and stop me, if you dare. Lay a hand on me, I dare you!" Erica Estrellane said so in a relaxed but hurried tone as she pushed the wooden door.

With an uncanny familiarity, she turned towards the spiral stone staircase and began to ascend, slowly at first, then with increasing speed.

The helpless soldiers' voices chased after her, along with those of the five female maids who called out to their young mistress.

Erica paid them no heed and even joked dangerously with them.

"If you truly wish for me to leave, use your brains and take me down. But if you're unwilling to do so, then can't you just shut up and leave me in peace?"

The poor servants behind her were on the verge of tears.

How could they, mere lowly servants, dare to lay a finger on their young lady?

If the Duke were to find out, their heads would surely roll on the ground without any chance to defend themselves.

The young lady was indeed a handful, as everyone suggested.

Her words weighed heavily on their minds, causing them immense distress and headaches.

The followers stood by, resigned to their fate.

The damp, musty air of the prison hung heavy around them, suffocating the people's hopes and dreams.

Suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed through the corridors, jolting the prisoners from their resigned stupor.

Among them was the old maid, Rachel Fioana, who had been sitting huddled in the corner of the cell, lost in her own thoughts.

She slowly raised her head and noticed a flash of red fabric from the corner of her eye.

Her gaze followed the fabric upwards until she came face to face with the pair of reddened green eyes of a beautiful, frail young child—the same young child whose heart the old woman's heart had cared for nearly two decades.

Rachel Fioana's body moved on its own as she crawled towards the woman on the cold, wet floor, overwhelmed by rising emotions of excitement, surprise, heartache, and a sense of happiness.

Tears streamed down the old maid's face as she locked eyes with her young lady.

The sad cries rang through the once-silent hallway, piercing the stillness and filling the air with a sense of raw, unbridled emotion.

It was a pure, unadulterated catharsis, a release of all the pent-up pain and sorrow that had been building up for days while being locked up.

"Oh, my lady!"

"I trust that it is indeed your presence, my lady."

"Allow me to express my relief and joy, my lady, to see that you have awakened."