Clive arrived at Derevell Palace in the afternoon and went straight to the library where Eirene was.

He opened the door and saw Eirene’s head through the books stacked on the desk.

Even with the sound of the door and footsteps, she was unaware of Clive’s presence.

He heard that she had been sitting and reading since morning.

If it wasn’t for Mrs. Hanon’s pestering, she would skip meals.

It seems that people who have only read books in the basement all their lives don’t get bored.

He walked to the other side of the desk.

A shadow fell over the book she was reading, but she did not notice it at all.

When he read the titles of the stacked books, he found that most of them were old books.

The fast-moving eyes, the tilted head, the occasional rolled and bitten lower lip, and a little sigh. It contains a sense of desperation to find something that is not read for fun.

Clive wondered what she was looking for, but he didn’t want to know.

She has lived a rough life, hasn’t she?

He thought there was something else she needed to find in the hard life she was living.

As he was about to walk away, quietly, not wanting to disturb her, when suddenly Eirene called out to him.

“Clive.”

The soft voice sounded good.

“I was going out. I didn’t want to disturb you.”

It was because she said she felt comfortable reading alone.

“Then I think it would have been better if you hadn’t come in the first place.”

He thought she would reply ‘It’s okay‘ or ‘I didn’t know you came‘, but she completely sidetracked.

It was better not to go in in the first place.

His good mood was shattered because it sounded like he wouldn’t be allowed in next time.

“What do you mean?”

“Just like I said. You were going to leave because you thought you would be a hindrance to me, but you got in the way. So if you hadn’t come from the beginning, there would have been nothing in.....”

Eirene mistook her own words.

It’s not that she felt sorry for Clive or that she thinks he made a mistake.

It looked like she had to explain it all.

Clive was kind and polite in his own way, but to Eirene, that wasn’t all.

Her dark purple eyes wondered why he hadn’t rushed out, and what he was doing.

She wasn’t wrong. She was upset, then angry.

Eirene couldn’t understand herself or what she was saying.

Clive, who was confused by the rush of emotions, made a promise.

No matter what happens in the future, he won’t go into the library when Eirene is there.

“I understand. In the future, I will make sure not to interfere”

He knew it was a childish comment, but he couldn’t help it, even if it was childish.

He thought he would die of frustration if he didn’t say what was on his mind right away.

* * * * * * * * * *

Despite reading a considerable amount of books, the results were insignificant.

Divine power is something that only those chosen by God can have, and there was no way to obtain it.

It has not yet been discovered that divine power can be transferred from person to person.

Eirene wanted to meet God in person again and ask him why he didn’t take it all.

How can I get my abilities back to what they were before?

However, she was afraid to meet God again because she deceived God by saying that she would not take revenge.

Eirene needed the ability to purify things to get to the next level, but she had become nothing more than herself.

She wondered if she expected too much.

She was having trouble controlling her impatience.

It was said that a long fight required a much longer preparation time.

I should stop here for today.

As she got up and closed the book, Matilda walked over to Eirene.

“My lady, dinner is ready.”

“Yes. Let’s go.”

As Eirene was about to go into the dining room to eat with Clive, Matilda informed her that the dinner was in the annex palace.

That’s great.

Although eating with Clive wasn’t bad, she still felt more comfortable eating alone.

She decided to have dinner and then go for a light walk to cool her head.

* * * * * * * * * *

All the food at Derevell Palace was delicious, especially the desserts.

Desserts are the best for making complicated thoughts go away.

Sometimes, she wished she lived here so she could still eat dessert.

After a satisfying dinner, she went outside.

Matilda was worried about the cold night air, but Eirene didn’t mind at all.

She likes the cold.

Her desire for fresh air easily defeated the cold.

Eirene just walked through the small garden of the annex palace and headed to the main garden.

She hadn’t been outside for a long time and she was already cold.

“The garden looks like an empty field because it’s winter, but in spring all kinds of flowers bloom and it’s very beautiful.”

Matilda pointed with her finger to the places where the flowers would bloom.

“It would be so beautiful if the spacious garden was filled with flowers.”

“Yes. That is why the Grand Duke holds a ball every spring.”

Matilda lowered her voice and whispered.

“When spring comes, he likes to show it off.”

Eirene thought, ‘Clive bragging?’, then shook her head.

It’s not because he wants to brag about it, but there are people he needs to observe closely.

And one of them must be Count Phineos.

“By the time the garden is full of flowers, my lady will be the Grand Duchess, right?”

Grand Duchess.

Eirene felt weird, she looked around the dark and invisible garden.

Is it possible to be the Lady of Derebell Palace?

She decided to have Clive but was relieved when they didn’t eat together tonight.

She avoided him when he offered to read a book together in the library.

How can I win Clive’s heart this way? I have become pathetic.

Eirene was straightening her shawl when she suddenly saw Clive approaching her.

“I came out to digest.”

Without asking, Clive told her why he had gone for a walk.

Eirene did not avoid him.

It seemed like it would be good to be together as often as possible.

“Were you busy?”

“Why do you think so?”

“We ate separately.”

“Because you look busy. I ate first because I was hungry.”

“I see.”

Eirene shook her head up and down.

“I guess you were curious about me.”

“Of course.”

“Of course?”

“We always ate together, but that’s not the case.”

“Of course. of course.”

Clive was muttering under his breath, repeating the same word over and over again.

He seemed happy when he finished talking to himself.

“Aren’t you cold?”

“It’s bearable. It’s colder in the basement.”

Did I say something wrong?

Clive’s happy face hardened.

Suddenly he took Eirene’s hand.

She was surprised and inadvertently tried to pull her hand away, but his grip tightened.

“Your hands are cold.”

Eirene looked at the big hand that held her own.

“Your hands aren’t warm either.”

His hands were cold.

It looked like he was trying to warm her hand up, but it didn’t help much.

Clive’s face went blank for a moment and he began to laugh.

“You really are...”

He laughed while holding Eirene’s hand with one hand and covering his eyes with the other.

“You never say nice things.”

I made a mistake again.

It’s not that Eirene can’t say nice things. It’s just that the words came out of his mouth without thinking.

“I’m sorry to tell you the truth about how I feel.”

“No, that’s good. It’s good to tell the truth.”

Clive raised her hand and showed it to Eirene.

“Our hands are cold, but holding them together warms them. Do you feel your hand getting warm?”

It was really getting warm. Eirene’s hand, trapped in Clive’s, was no longer cold.

She looked at Clive, who was still looking at her hand, still smiling.

Am I wrong about him?

In her eyes, he no longer resembled a snake or a death god.

Clive now seemed like a good person.

* * * * * * * * * *

Everyone was busy the day before the ball at Derevell Palace.

Fortunately, it was a winter ball.

He was busy preparing the outdoor garden for the spring and fall ball.

The last thing to do was put the flowers in place once they arrived.

Mrs. Hanon who was sitting there sighing, finally heard that the flowers had already arrived and went out.

Eirene also came out and looked at the piled flowers.

Her dull face lit up with vitality. Like when she ate dessert for the first time.

Her gloomy face lit up as she smelled the most amazing scent when Matilda offered her a flower.

It’s the first time that she shows such an expressive expression.

After seeing Eirene for a few days, there were times when she was flawless, but she could not understand her.

Although she was a polite lady from a noble family, she sometimes seemed like a child who had just come out into the world and had her first experience.

Eirene didn’t express it outwardly, because it was something Clive would take care of, but she was worried.

The Grand Duke must have an idea.

Mrs. Hanon who told herself not to think deeply approached Eirene with a yellow rose.

“Roses are very pretty, aren’t they?”

“Yes, the color is so beautiful.”

Eirene looked at the rose with curious eyes.

“Shall we bring some to the annex palace?”

“It’s fine. It’s for the ball anyway.”

“They can’t tell if a few are missing.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Hanon.”

The Phineos’ lady touched the petals carefully, smelled the rose, then admired all the flowers that bloomed during the winter.

Her finger was pricked by a thorn. Eirene quickly put her finger to her mouth.

She was about to scream for a moment, but her mouth was slightly open.

Matilda made a fuss when she saw a round drop of blood on Eirene’s finger.

“Oh! My Lady! You’re bleeding!”

“I was just pricked by a thorn.”

Eirene said it casually, took out a handkerchief, and wrapped it around her finger.

Watching her act that way, she seemed to have more experience than any other lady.

“Shouldn’t we sanitize it?”

“You don’t have to do it.”

“What if it leaves a scar?”

“Just for this? I’m sure you know it well. Have you ever had a scar from a rose thorn?”

“No, I haven’t, but my lady and I are not the same.”

“We’re the same.”

When Eirene removed the handkerchief, a small red stain of blood was clearly visible and the bleeding stopped.

As if to be confirmed by Mrs. Hanon, she showed her finger that had stopped bleeding and returned to the annex palace.

* * * * * * * * * *

On the day of the ball, Eirene was the busiest person.

She felt her soul going dry as the maids dragged her away to bathe her, massage her, comb her hair, and do her nails.

Eirene had never expressed her like or dislike when she saw all the dresses that Clive had prepared for her.

But she was amazed when she saw her ball gown.

The jewels embedded in the pure white dress shone brilliantly from any direction.

Clive wanted the Phineos to know that she was important enough to him to spend his money on the dress.

Although the dress was heavy, the light reflected from the jewels also shone on Eirene’s white skin.

When she was ready, she left the dressing room and Clive was sitting on the sofa, concentrating on the papers.

Even though he was sitting down, his long legs got caught on the table, causing him to lean to the side.

Clive who had his index finger on his chin, turned the page.

He raised his head when he felt a gaze settle on him.

A gentle smile spread across his face.

“Beautiful. Do you like it?”

Eirene also agreed with Clive’s confident question.

Clive got up, handed Yulik the papers, and walked over to his fiancee, praising the designer, Scarlett.

Having said that, she made it very perfectly as he requested.

Clive walked around Eirene and stood behind her.

Yulik walked over to Clive’s gesture and opened the box he was holding.

He brought out a necklace with a dark purple amethyst that resembles the color of Eirene’s eyes.

He put the necklace on her.

His hands gently grasped Eirene’s shoulders and spun her around.

“I knew it would suit you very well.”

Satisfied, Clive let go of Eirene’s shoulder.

“I invited the Phineos. Aishe will come too.”

“Yes.”

“Don’t worry. You are the main character today.”

The words ‘the main character’ were etched in Eirene’s heart.

She was always locked up because of Aishe.

I only existed for Aishe’s sake.

I used to live in a dark basement.

I thought this life was just a life given to me to take revenge, but I suddenly felt like it was a new life.

A life where I am the protagonist.

That’s why God said that.

Just look at yourself this time. Saying that I must follow my own path in search of happiness.