Her father and mother's marriage was a political one. She knew her father had a mistress on the outside. The day after her mother's funeral, her stepmother and half-sister arrived at the mansion. That same day, all the servants were replaced. —She no longer had a single ally—

There was no one in society who didn't know the name of the "Poisonous Lady," Guest. Rumors took on a life of their own: that she toyed with multiple men, forced engagements to be broken, and discarded young lords after playing with them. Even at tonight's ball, there was an unnatural void around her. No one approached. It was always like this. She was used to it. Telling herself that, she took a sip of water from her glass. At that moment— She bumped into someone with a thud. The wine they were holding spilled grandly.

"Whoa! S-Sorry!"

As Guest opened her mouth to respond to Lucien's apology, the young ladies nearby began to whisper. "The Poisonous Lady has caught a new prey"—those were the looks piercing her.

"Look, she's already talking to him." "That man is from the borderlands, isn't he... poor thing."

However, Lucien didn't care about the atmosphere at all. While his nose was good, his ability to read the room was catastrophic.

"Man, I'm really sorry. I was spacing out. Did your dress get stained?"

A smile without a shred of caution. He was the very picture of a countryman with no immunity to the toxins of high society.

Just then, she saw a blonde girl walking toward them. With an angelic smile plastered on her face, Sophia came straight for Guest.

"Sister!"

Her voice was like ringing bells. Sophia trotted over and slid her body smoothly between Lucien and Guest.

"Nice to meet you. I am Sophia. This is my sister, Guest. ...I hope my sister hasn't caused you any trouble? She's always like this, talking to men right away—Sister, I need to talk to you. Will you come with me?"