Bill panicked.
If Miraila had been here, she would not have allowed these people to enter the manor house.
And Artizea would have been punished for receiving gifts from a man without her permission.
But now Miraila had gone on vacation, and Bill was a simple butler.
He had always oppressed and belittled Artizea, but he had done so in accordance with Miraila's will.
That doesn't mean Bill didn't enjoy doing it.
He fully enjoyed the twisted sense of superiority that came from trampling on the successor to the Marquisate Rosan, and the pleasure of mistreating a young girl.
But strictly speaking, Miraila was the mastermind behind it all.
Bill had a wonderful talent for understanding Miraila's thoughts and acting accordingly.
While he wondered if he should stop her, Emily entered the foyer without hesitation. Her employees followed her with different garments and mannequins.
It was then that Bill decided to stop Emily, but when he saw the last man who entered, he shuddered and kept his mouth shut.
At first glance, one could tell he was a knight. Not even his clothes could hide his great physique and well-developed muscles.
The clothes he wore were rugged and simple. But he emanated dignity and composure. Moreover, he wore a sword on his waist.
The four squires who followed him were also armed.
Bill belonged to the lower class. He would not dare to pounce on an armed man, especially if he was a knight.
He was more afraid of the knights who were used to killing than of the nobles who opposed Miraila.
"Welcome!"
Alice came cheerfully running to greet Emily.
When the head maid saw Alice welcoming Emily, ignoring both her and the butler, she lashed out at her.
"Alice!"
However, the shouts that should have continued did not arrive.
Artizea appeared on the stairs and looked down.
Emily smiled, gripped her skirt and greeted her politely.
"Greetings, Lady Artizea."
Welcome, Madam Emily. I don't recall calling you, what brings you here?"
"His Grace the Grand Duke Evron sent me."
"…"
Artizea responded after a brief silence.
"Sophie, accompany madam to my boudoir."
"Yes, Miss!"
Entranced, Sophie, who was standing behind Artizea, ran down the stairs.
Sophie gently took Emily by the arm and guided her to the second floor, as if she were an aunt she hadn't seen in 30 years. Her employees also went up behind her.
The maids whispered as they watched the scene.
This time, Artizea turned her attention to the knight, who was also standing in the foyer.
The knight put his fist to the side of his chest and bowed his head politely.
Artizea went down to the foyer and stood in front of the knight. Then the knight knelt on one knee and greeted her.
"I am knight Alphonse Luen. I was knighted by Grand Duke Evron and have served in the Grand Duchy's Guard until now. It is an honor to meet you."
"It is a pleasure to meet you as well. I am Artizea Rosan. You may rise."
When she extended her hand, Alphonse respectfully kissed the back of it and then stood up.
"Only if you allow, I will escort you from today onwards on orders from His Grace."
"I will be grateful. I hope you can feel comfortable in the Marquisate Rosan."
Artizea calmly expressed.
However, inside she felt strange.
Alphonse was one of the Grand Duke Evron's most capable and reliable knights.
He was honest and without a doubt loyal. He had the strong spirit of the Grand Duchy Evron.
The fact that Cedric placed this man as her escort made Artizea feel uncomfortable.
If he had chosen Knight Freyl or any other knight of similar rank, she would not have felt that way.
With any other escort, she would have thought he had come to observe and evaluate whether or not this marriage would really be useful.
And that would be the norm.
But that he sent Alphonse proved otherwise.
To have sent him meant that Cedric was only thinking of protecting Artizea. That made her feel strange.
In the past, Cedric had entrusted Alphonse with the role of protecting Licia. Alphonse did his duty to the end.
He had died at the hands of Lawrence.
There was no need to think about it now. Artizea shook her head faintly to clear her mind.
Then she looked carefully at the people standing behind Alphonse.
"There is no need to make a scene, let's go inside and talk. This is a private matter, right?"
Bill was trying to calm Artizea and extended his hand to pull her arm.
Just then, Alphonse hit him with his sheathed sword in his arm.
"Ow!"
He screamed and took a step back as he felt a terrible pain in his arm.
When the knight stepped forward, two of his squires also came forward and twisted Bill's arms to hold him.
"On your knees!"
Alice shouted fiercely.
Bill was stunned as he knelt on the ground.
Artizea bent one knee in a graceful movement to meet his eyes.
"Bill, this is the second time the Marquisate Rosan has been disgraced by its useless butler in front of Grand Duke Evron."
"Miss…"
Alphonse followed her silently.
Stopping at the door of the glamorous boudoir, her expression completely different from that of a few moments ago, Artizea stated,
"My apologies. You saw a horrible image of me as soon as you arrived."
"No."
Alphonse responded with courtesy.
"Lady, you don't have to worry about your image in my presence. His Grace has told us that you are in a very complicated position within this family, and that although you seem to be acting incomprehensibly, there must be a reason for it, so we must not doubt you."
"His Grace…"
Artizea said, feeling strange.
Even Lawrence, to whom she had been loyal all her past life, had never trusted her in this way.
More than garments, he sent her confidence and strength.
Now she could take the next step.