/
After a while, the door opened.
The woman hurriedly entered the door and pulled her hood down.
“Lady Bennet.”
“Lady Charlize!”
Lady Bennet stumbled on the spot, her body seemingly having lost all strength.
Charlize quickly helped Lady Bennet up.
She was trembling to such a great extent that her hands visibly quivered.
“How did you make it here? No, come inside first.”
Charlize, who sat Lady Bennet in the living room, brought out hot tea.
Everyone—the Empress, the Duke, and Damian silently looked at Lady Bennet.
They were waiting for Lady Bennet to calm down.
‘Fortunately, daily stopping by this lodge was worth it, even if it was slightly tedious.’
Charlize let out a sigh of relief.
The creation of this getaway was honestly a bit of a hassle.
It was all the more so since most of the party lived in the Imperial palace.
‘If the Duke of Rochester hadn’t helped me, it would have been impossible.’
With that thought in mind, Charlize watched Lady Bennet drink her tea.
Some time passed.
Lady Bennet, who had regained some of her composure, pursed her dry lips.
“
The Emperor’s knights.”
Tears fell from Lady Bennet’s eyes.
“They murdered my father
”
****
That day after Lady Bennet met Charlize and the others.
She had returned to the manor, again trying to talk some sense into her father.
“Father, let’s talk for a minute.”
“Talk? What is there to talk about?”
However, Baron Bennet refused to listen to her at all.
He instead glared at his daughter in disapproval.
“If you’re just going to needlessly rain on my parade, don’t bother saying anything.”
“But
”
“Why do you have so many complaints about what I’m doing?!”
Baron Bennet burst into anger.
“And another thing, where were you? We have a guest! Show some dignity!”
“
a guest?”
“Yes, Maria.”
Maria, here?”
Lady Bennet’s expression hardened involuntarily.
Maria was her father’s youthful concubine.
She was five years older than Lady Bennet, but her youthful, innocent appearance made her seem much younger.
At a glance, she almost seemed to be Lady Bennet’s age.
“Father, why did you invite her into our manor?”
“What did you say?”
“How long has it been since mother died?!”
Lady Bennet screamed involuntarily.
The way she acted was the natural way to act.
Baroness Bennet suffered all her life because of her husband’s infidelity and recently passed away after falling ill.
It hasn’t been long since my mother’s funeral, and you’re bringing a concubine into the house?!
But Baron Bennet had no intention of simply accepting his daughter’s sharp rebuke.
“Why are you meddling in my private affairs? Is it not my choice to bring a woman into the house?”
“Father!!”
“Insolent, noisy, child! You’ll stay in the guest room instead of yours for the time being.”
Lady Bennet stared at her father in disbelief.
“What? Why does Maria get to stay in my room?”
“
.Ahem,” uttered her father, dismissing her.
“Fine,” responded Lady Bennet as she turned to leave while grinding her teeth.
“Where are you going?”
“What? Don’t you have a guest to tend to?”
Lady Bennet, who looked back, responded sarcastically.
“You should go say hello, shouldn’t you?”
“Just be quiet around the house, understand?”
It was clear Baron Bennet cared more about his concubine than his daughter.
Lady Bennet jerked her head away, clenching her fists.
She never knew this was the last time she would see her father alive.
****
Click.
The door opened and then closed.
Leaning on the doorframe, Lady Bennet came face to face with Maria.
“Maria,” Lady Bennet greeted as she glared at her.
Baron Bennet’s mistress was preoccupied sitting at Lady Bennet’s dressing table, looking at herself.
It went on for a second before she registered Lady Bennet’s figure through the mirror.
“Oh, my. Who’s this?”
Turning to address Lady Bennet to her face, Maria smiled brightly.
“If it isn’t Leona?”
“Don’t call me by my first name,” growled Lady Bennet, warning her.
But Maria’s smile grew only wider.
“Are you going to grab my hair like before?”
“You
 !”
“That won’t work. The baron won’t let you.”
Maria busily combed her hair while humming a song.
Lady Bennet gnashed her teeth.
“Just what–what are you doing in my-!”
“I’ve always been curious.”
Cutting off Lady Bennet mid-sentence, Maria opened her mouth.
“I’ve wondered how it would feel to use a lady’s room belonging to an aristocratic family.”
“What?”
“Ah, well. It matters not.”
Maria shrugged and pointed to the door with her chin.
“Could you go away now? I don’t want to bother myself by arguing with you.”
“Watch yourself
”
“By all means, if you’d like to go against Baron Bennet’s wishes, make as much a fuss as you like.”
Maria flashed a broad smile.
It was a dazzling smile.
“But before you do, ask yourself this. Who would Baron Bennet side with? You or me?”
To that challenge, Lady Bennet pursed her lips angrily as she couldn’t afford to answer.
Deep down, she knew.
She knew for a fact that if commotion happened in the manor, her father would take Maria’s side, not hers.
Useless daughter.
Burdensome daughter.
These were the words her father acquainted her with.

.just like your mother.
“Damn it!”
Lady Bennet was eventually forced to concede, gnashing her teeth as she slid out.
She could hear Maria burst into laughter behind her, but she didn’t dare look back.
She was striding across the hallway when-
THUD.
The sound of a door forcibly being opened reverberated faintly.
‘
.what?’
Chills ran down her spine as Lady Bennet registered the situation.
‘That sound, I think it came from the first floor of the manor
’
Not long after.
“Kyaaaagh!!”
A scream pierced the air.
Lady Bennet’s pupils widened.
“W-What was that?!”
Goosebumps formed all over her body as the adrenaline kicked in.
Reflexively looking around, Lady Bennet hid in a closet attached to a large grandfather clock.
A strong foreboding feeling was ever present.
It warned her that she mustn’t be seen under any circumstances or else

The feeling was ominous.
The door opened.
It was Maria.
“What was that noise?”
Apparently, she heard the screams too.
Maria tilted her head, looking across the hallway, and then moved across the hallway.
She was going to go back when-
“Who are you, people?!”
The sound of brisk footsteps revealed five men from across the hallway.
These men wore masks that barely showed their chins.
Instead of answering, they hauntingly stared at Maria.
Then one of the men spoke.
“Leonna Bennet?”
“Le-Leona?”
Maria asked back in a puzzled voice.
Lady Bennet felt the blood in her body run cold.
No, no way

They’re looking for me.
But why?
Maria staggered back with a white face.
“Wait, no! I’m-!”
Scck!
Maria was speechless.
Without a moment’s hesitation, the man lunged forward and plunged his knife into Maria.
“AAAAA!”
Maria’s body dropped to the floor like a log.
“GAH, HAH!”
Succumbing to the horrendous pain, Maria’s vision flickered as she squirmed on the floor.
Blood gushed from her wound while foam mixed with blood flowed from her mouth.
“Save, s-save me
.”
“How bothersome.”
The man stepped forward and plunged his knife into Maria’s helpless body.
Shskkk!
The sound of it piercing through flesh and bone gave a blood-curdling echo.
Maria wasn’t allowed any final words and died.
The man pulled his knife from Maria’s corpse and looked at his conspirators.
“Is it over?”
“No, I don’t think it’s over yet.”
Another man pointed in the other direction with his chin.
A maid was frozen in place, looking at the grizzly scene with a white face.
A loud shriek erupted from the maid’s throat.
“AAAAH!”
“Can’t you shut up?!”
The man swiftly closed the distance between him and the maid, grabbing onto her.
The maid struggled, flailing to escape, yet it was pointless.
“Let me go! Let go! Grrr!”
“Arghhh!”
The maid’s flailing hands scratched the man’s chin.
Rage washed over the man as his instincts took over.
“This whore!”
The man thrust his knife into the maid’s throat.
The maid was wide-eyed as she felt the knife puncture her throat.
“ACCK-ACCK!”
Her gagging marked her end.
The maid died just like that.
Blood spurted out from the once-maid’s pierced throat, soaking the man’s body as blood sprayed him.
“Ha! You couldn’t even deal with a single girl; she scarred your chin.”
Another man walked out from behind, proceeding to add insult to injury.
“And you call yourself a knight of His Majesty, the Emperor?”
“
I let my guard down for a moment.”
“For a moment? You know as well as I that that embarrassing mishap went on longer than needed.”
“Stop playing around. Are all the Bennets dead?”
“I think so. Baron Bennet was dealt with below
”
Oh, my God!
Lady Bennet covered her mouth as much as possible to keep any noise from spilling outward.
If she didn’t, she’d start screaming.
Tears started welling up in her eyes.