Marquess Residence, Reception Room.
Vanessa, the red-haired Marquess, sat on the sofa with her legs crossed, leaning back in a way that was far from the noble elegance one would expect.
Across from her sat Duchess Nola.
“Marquess Vanessa, this should count as our first meeting, yes?”
Vanessa pursed her lips and said, “I’m curious why Duchess Nola has graced us with her presence.”
“To have someone impersonate you at a noble ball is deeply disrespectful to the other nobles. But I won’t hold that against you. I just want to know who it was that took your place that night.”
Nola got straight to the point, wasting no time.
Or rather, upon seeing the real Marquess Vanessa sitting before her, all desire to linger in this territory vanished from her mind.
She only wanted news of that girl, then to leave.
“You want information about her? Why?”
“That’s none of your business. You just need to give me what you know.”
Vanessa sized Nola up carefully, and an utterly absurd thought crossed her mind. Raising an eyebrow with interest, she teased, “You… haven’t fallen in love with her, have you?”
Nola paused mid-sip, falling silent.
Her silence was an unspoken confirmation.
Vanessa suddenly burst into laughter, utterly disregarding her image. Jenny, the maid behind Nola, looked on with clear disgust, but Vanessa paid her no mind.
When the laughter subsided, Vanessa mocked, “Duchess Nola, to fall in love after just one ball? Your love is awfully cheap, isn’t it?”
“Besides, some people—falling for her is simply a mistake. No matter who you are.”
Nola frowned.
“My love’s value is not for you to judge. And I’m not here to listen to your ramblings. I just want information about her.”
“Sorry, I have an agreement with her. I can’t share any information.”
“Not even a little?”
“Not at all.”
“I see. Understood.”
Rising from the sofa, Nola prepared to leave. Jenny snorted softly and followed her out.
But just then, Vanessa spoke again.
“Duchess Nola, one last reminder: if you truly love her, you’d better give up that hope soon. You don’t deserve her.”
“…If you have time to remind me of that, maybe you should worry about yourself instead, Marquess Vanessa. I heard the Guerrero Family’s assessors are already on their way.”
With that, Nola left Vanessa’s residence.
After finishing her tea, Vanessa’s smile faded, her expression darkening.
The Guerrero Family was her birth family—one of the most elite clans in the world.
Such families all shared one common flaw: the publicly visible rulers were merely figureheads.
True power always lay with the Elders.
The assessors sent by the Guerrero Family were those Elders, and their goal was simple—they wanted to replace the current ruler.
This directly threatened Vanessa’s core interests.
After deep thought, she moved to the window and summoned a Messenger Pigeon.
……
Elsewhere, in the Saintess’ Rest Chamber at the Oracle Hall, Isavel lounged lazily on the sofa, elegantly watching a Magic Image before her, nodding with quiet satisfaction from time to time.
The image showed the Rose Knights inside the Golden Dungeon.
Under her painstaking “instruction,” the majority of the Rose Knights had shed their former complacency, growing increasingly cautious.
Some of them were even so careful it left her amazed.
“Miss, there’s an urgent message from Marquess Vanessa. It’s to be delivered to Saintess Selis.”
While observing the image, the maid Renia approached, handing her a magical letter.
Tearing open the seal, Isavel glanced over the contents.
The letter was brief and straightforward: Duchess Nola had found the real Marquess Vanessa and learned that the Vanessa who attended the ball was not herself.
At the same time, the Guerrero Family’s envoys seemed intent on replacing Marquess Vanessa.
Since their path would take them through the Imperial Capital, Vanessa hoped Isavel could help resolve the matter.
If successful, Vanessa owed her a favor.
Isavel set down the letter and rubbed her temple.
She understood that even without owing a favor, she had to help Marquess Vanessa.
Though this was an internal conflict within the Guerrero Family, it had already affected her.
If Vanessa was replaced now, the borrowing rights to the Golden Dungeon would become void.
At that point, those profit-hungry factions would surely seize the opportunity to carve out a piece of the Oracle Hall.
That would completely disrupt her plan to train the Rose Knights.
Moreover, she couldn’t let Duchess Nola discover that the Vanessa who attended the ball was actually Saintess Selis in disguise—not at least within the remaining seventeen days.
If the truth leaked, it would cause quite a scandal within noble circles and surely draw the Elders’ attention.
If they investigated and found out that Marquess Vanessa lent the Golden Dungeon to her for over ten days, merely in exchange for impersonating her at the noble ball, they would be livid.
Forming ties with the Oracle Hall’s Saintess was the dream of countless powers.
Vanessa’s actions would seem like a colossal waste to them.
If they learned of this, they would undoubtedly use the dungeon’s borrowing rights as leverage to ingratiate themselves with the Oracle Hall—or if that failed, sabotage the Rose Knights’ training behind the scenes.
Isavel was one hundred percent certain they were capable of such schemes.
Therefore, she had two tasks ahead.
One: ensure the Guerrero Family’s envoys could not replace Marquess Vanessa.
Two: find a way to mislead Nola, so she wouldn’t uncover Vanessa’s true identity on that night.
All within the next seventeen days.
After a long silence, she instructed Renia, “Investigate all the Guerrero Family people passing through the Imperial Capital. Bring me all their information. As for Nola… we’ll play it by ear.”
Compared to the Guerrero Family’s envoys, it would be harder for Nola to uncover her true identity.
……
Inside the city of Marquess Vanessa’s territory, Jenny, following behind Nola, was shocked.
“Miss, it’s exactly as you thought. That night, the one there wasn’t Marquess Vanessa at all!”
“Besides, the real Marquess Vanessa is as detestable as the rumors say. Saying you don’t deserve that lady—hmph. I want to know, in this world, how many people do you deserve?”
Thinking of Vanessa’s earlier words, Jenny’s anger flared up again.
Her Miss was a noble heir—an honorable duke in her twenties, a legendary-level swordsman and knight.
Looking across the entire world, how many were more noble and powerful than her Miss?
After venting her frustration, Jenny looked at Nola and was surprised to find her lips curved in a radiant smile.
It puzzled her.
“Miss, aren’t you angry at all?”
“Angry? Why should I be?”
“She said you don’t deserve that lady!”
“That’s good news. It means her status is very high, very noble. So even if I’m in love with her, pursuing her, my father won’t stop me, right?”
She placed the transparent Tear-shaped Earring before her. Sunlight passed through it, casting dazzling spots of light on Nola’s smiling face.
“…Miss, you, I… sigh, Miss, you still don’t know who she is. How do you plan to pursue her?”
“Not yet, but I will soon.”
Jenny frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“Didn’t Vanessa tell you? She’s someone I don’t deserve. But really, how many people in this world do I deserve?”
Nola put away the earring and smiled confidently.
“Counting carefully, there are only a few. She’s either a high-ranking figure in the Empire, or the future of those two academies, or the Inheritance of the Ancient Mage Tower.”
“As for who exactly she is… this earring will soon tell me the answer.”