Chapter 23

“Young Lady, the First Young Master is calling for you.”

A few days after her meeting with the Head Lady, Angelus’s aide came knocking at Doha’s door.

“Me?”

Doha set down the book she had been reading.

Now that she thought about it, the one-month recovery period Angelus had given her was coming to an end.

‘Is it winter already?’

Living in the comfortably heated castle, she had forgotten the change of seasons altogether.

She glanced toward the window and noticed frost forming at the corners of the glass.

The sight of the delicate ice crystals reminded her of a certain boy—one who had once told her he was looking forward to winter because of the Rabbit Constellation.

‘I haven’t received any messages from him since then. Is he doing okay?’

Nothing had happened to him… right?

Doha felt a flicker of concern but dismissed it.

‘It’s the slums, after all.’

There was no such thing as law and order in that place.

He couldn’t exactly walk around with that expensive artifact dangling from his ear like a decoration, nor could he constantly keep it hidden in his pocket.

It might have been stolen. He could have been robbed.

He probably just hid it somewhere safe.

‘The timing must just be off.’

That was what she chose to believe.

Because she trusted the boy who had responded to her wish for him to live a long life by giving her his name—Damian.

He wouldn’t think there was no reason to live anymore.

If he were ever in danger, he would contact her immediately.

Doha always carried the artifact with her. Whenever he called, she would be able to answer.

“Got it. I’ll head over now.”

She responded to Angelus’s aide and rose from her seat.

It was her first time visiting Angelus’s office.

‘It was right next to the conference room, wasn’t it?’

Even the location of his office reflected his obsession with efficiency.

He must have hated wasting even the short walk between meetings.

Ever since she received the compensation money, she hadn’t caught a single glimpse of Angelus. Not because she was avoiding him, but simply because he was too busy to even cross paths with her.

He was, in every sense, a workaholic.

‘Why does he work so hard?’

He was already set to become the heir.

It wasn’t like the Kredel Duchy was an imperial palace, where one had to fight tooth and nail for power.

His younger brother, Salvador, had no interest in inheriting the family title.

‘It’s not like he has some great ambition for power, either.’

Not that she cared why Angelus chose to live like this. Whether he worked himself to death or not was none of her business.

Shaking off her thoughts, Doha knocked on his office door.

“I thought I was giving you time to adjust out of consideration, but it turns out you’ve been running around causing trouble everywhere.”

And just like that, she immediately corrected her previous thoughts.

‘Honestly, I hope he works himself to death and never gets to enjoy a peaceful retirement.’

Unaware of her inner wishes for his untimely demise, Angelus frowned slightly and continued.

“I never gave you the authority to disrupt the order of the palace. Stop acting recklessly.”

Order?

‘What order was there in this place to begin with?’

Did chaotic disorder count as order now?

She hadn’t even done much, yet the maids had started praising her within just a few days.

Was it because she was the Symbol of Peace?

That might have been part of it, but the real reason was something else.

‘On the surface, this place looks structured, but in reality, it’s rotting from the inside, completely overrun with corruption.’

The privileged few had complete control, trampling over everyone beneath them.

‘He should know that.’

And yet, Angelus used the word order.

It meant that despite being aware of the corruption, he had no intention of dismantling the existing system.

‘Wow, what a total old man…’

Doha gave the fourteen-year-old boy a mildly exhausted look.

“What’s with that look?”

His intuition was annoyingly sharp—he always picked up on her disrespectful thoughts.

Doha quickly lowered her gaze, shaking her head as if to say, “Nothing at all.”

“Hah… How the hell did a ridiculous rumor like you being the next Saintess start spreading?”

Somehow, among the servants, Doha was now being called a Saintess.

The source of the rumor was undoubtedly Ruby, but Doha had let it spread freely.

A reputation like this could prove useful one day.

Doha lifted her head, blinking innocently, feigning confusion.

“I… have no idea how that happened either…”

And technically, that was true.

She had never directly spread the rumor herself.

It was something the maids had come up with on their own.

“I’ll be watching you.”

Angelus’s voice lowered, turning into something almost threatening.

“If you go around stirring up unnecessary trouble, smearing Ophelia’s reputation in any way…”

His gaze sharpened.

“I’ll send you straight to the tower.”

Oh no, how terrifying.

Doha mocked him internally but answered obediently.

“Yes.”

And just for good measure, she even pretended to look a little discouraged.

Angelus glanced at Doha and let out a short sigh, running a hand through his bangs.

“…If Mother hears these rumors, she will be deeply distressed. Divine power usually only passes to the next generation after death.”

So that was his real reason for bringing up order.

The Grand Duchess, a hero who had once saved the world, had been cast aside by the temple the moment she lost her divine power. He couldn’t bear to add to her pain.

“If that ridiculous rumor spreads further, every time she sees you, she’ll be reminded of what she lost.”

It was a classic Kredel excuse.

They always sided with whoever was perceived as the weak, the good, and the victim—and trampled on those seen as the strong, the evil, and the aggressor.

Hypocrisy at its finest.

“That does make sense.”

Doha nodded compliantly.

After all, she was the only one who had realized that the Grand Duchess was up to something.

‘Distressed? Please. Instead of grieving, she’s been isolating Bunny and desperately trying to tear her down.’

But exposing the truth wouldn’t change anything. If anything, she would be the one despised.

So she would wait. She would bide her time.

Until that hypocrisy turned away from Bunny—and back toward the Grand Duchess instead.

“I’m sorry. I’ll ask the maids to stop spreading such stories.”

She lowered her head slightly, feigning guilt.

“It’s fine. It’s not your fault.”

“…….”

So he knew Bunny had done nothing wrong.

And yet, he still called her reckless and disruptive.

Doha stretched out the fingers of her hidden hand behind her back.

Unaware of her thoughts, Angelus continued.

“If this talk of a ‘Saintess’ reaches the outside world, the Great Temple will try to contact you.”

He spoke without hesitation, but then bit down on his lower lip. His eyes darkened slightly as he added in a quieter tone,

“And if that happens, you’ll be in danger.”

That was certainly true.

If the temple discovered Bunny’s true identity, things would spiral out of control.

In fact, that was precisely why Doha had allowed the rumors to spread.

For two reasons.

First, to provoke the Grand Duchess, forcing her into rash decisions.

Second, to ensure the rumor reached the temple’s ears.

If that happened, the temple and Kredel might find themselves at odds.

‘It would be nice if the temple just wiped out Kredel for me.’

But that was unlikely.

Still, if the two sides fought hard enough, they would at least weaken each other.

And for now, that was good enough.

“Focus.”

Lost in thought, Doha was startled when Angelus suddenly pressed down on her shoulder.

His sharply defined face was now much closer than before, his expression serious.

“I’m not just saying this. If you keep this up, something really bad could happen. Do you want to end up on the execution platform?”

Huh. He’s actually genuinely concerned.

Doha blinked up at him, eyes wide, like a startled rabbit. Then she shook her head quickly.

“…Good. As long as you understand.”

With that, he let out a sigh and pulled back.

“Lessons start tomorrow. Now that you’ve entered the main palace, you need to become a flawless Young Lady without a single fault.”

Then, with a dismissive wave of his hand, he signaled that the conversation was over.

Doha obediently withdrew.

‘Why did he warn me?’

It was strange.

It would have been far more like Angelus to scold Bunny, conclude the conversation with a concern for Fluvia, and move on.

If all he wanted was to stop the rumors, he could have just disciplined the servants behind the scenes.

Why did he talk to her like he was worried?

It was almost… unsettling.

‘Maybe his hypocrisy has finally started to turn toward Bunny, just a little.’

If that was the case, it wasn’t a bad thing.

Unpleasant, yes, but useful.

The moment she stepped out of the office, Doha shuddered slightly, as if shaking off an insect that had landed on her shoulder.

‘At least I got something useful out of this.’

Angelus had personally confirmed that Fluvia’s greatest weakness was losing her divine power.

Now, the question was—how to push her into action herself, instead of manipulating others?

Just then, she spotted a man walking toward her from the other side of the hall.

‘Viscount Liden.’

The man who had been in charge of Bunny’s education two years ago.