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Erensia rode her horse with exhilaration.
Both in her past lives and now, she had always loved horseback riding.
She believed she had a natural talent for handling horses.
Across all three of her lives, she had never once galloped freely across a vast plain, yet even just lightly riding within an arena, her skills had always been flawless.
But this ridiculous horse—whether it had eaten something strange or was simply overexcited from running after so long—had gone wild, nearly causing a disaster.
At first, she had been grateful for its frenzy.
It drew everyone’s attention, and the dust it kicked up over the market stalls would undoubtedly ruin her reputation among the merchants.
Since she planned to have Anes buy everything anyway and throw it away, it would only add to her image as someone who squandered money recklessly.
Up to that point, everything had been perfect.
But this horse!
Even with people directly in front of it, it refused to stop.
No matter how determined she was to live badly, she had no intention of hurting anyone.
Scheming behind the scenes was one thing, but doing it directly was… a bit much.
The guilt and remorse she felt toward Anes, who had once been struck by a blade meant for her, still lingered even after reliving her life.
If she were to harm someone with her own hands…
That would make everything far too troublesome.
And it was a young girl, no less!
Do not harm the innocent.
Why was that line from the scripture she had studied in repentance in her past life choosing this moment to prick her conscience?
Erensia gritted her teeth.
She gripped the reins tightly and shouted repeatedly,
“It’s dangerous! Move!”
She leaned back, nearly lying flat against the horse as she pulled on the reins, but it only seemed to encourage the animal’s instinct to charge forward.
For a brief moment, her eyes met those of the man holding the girl.
‘What a lunatic.’
The man’s gaze clearly cursed her.
She was grateful for the insult, but since this incident wasn’t something she had planned or intended, she felt just a little wronged.
They were getting closer.
She had to change tactics.
She had never tried it before, but if she didn’t, a major accident was inevitable.
Erensia decided to use a technique she had only read about in a riding manual.
Jumping over an obstacle.
She pulled the reins sharply, then loosened them slightly as she kicked the horse’s side.
Please, please, please.
She squeezed her eyes shut.
A rush of fresh wind swept over her.
When she managed to open her eyes against the fierce wind, Erensia realized—
She was flying!
She felt eyes tracking her from below. Black eyes and blue eyes collided.
The man who had been cursing her now looked utterly stunned.
For some reason, it sent a thrill through her.
She had succeeded. The child was safe!
She wanted to shout in joy, but the moment the horse landed, it bolted forward again, leaving her no time to celebrate.
“Ah! I’m sorry!”
Her apology, too far away to be heard, was meant for the terrified child she had nearly harmed.
Only after running quite a distance did she finally manage to stop the horse.
After calming it down, Erensia turned back to properly apologize.
There, she found a man staring at her as if she were a villain.
His sharp gaze carried a killing intent that made the muscles in her back tense, straightening her posture involuntarily.
Enjoying the electrifying intensity of his stare, she apologized to the child.
“Are you alright?”
“I’m fine!”
The child shouldn’t have answered so bravely. She should have cried and said she was scared—but instead, she smiled brightly.
“You may be fine now, but something could show up later, right?”
The child looked confused, so Erensia addressed the girl’s mother, who was sitting on the ground.
“Not all harm is physical. Please file compensation under the name Novelita.”
“Novelita?”
The irritated voice didn’t belong to the mother.
As Erensia lowered her gaze, the man who had been kneeling at the child’s level stood up.
Her head tilted upward naturally.
His tall, solid build exuded pressure.
To command such presence just by standing… he must be someone remarkable.
Come to think of it, he looked familiar.
Who was he?
Erensia stared at him, then extended her hand.
“Sorry for the late introduction. I’m Erensia Novelita.”
The man’s face twisted as if he had seen something unpleasant.
It was the first openly negative gaze she had received since deciding to ruin herself.
Erensia was certain.
‘He hates me!’
From his attire, appearance, and aura, he seemed like an influential figure among the nobility.
Reputation spread from mouth to mouth.
And the greater the power and status of the one spreading it, the farther and more firmly it traveled.
‘Perfect! I’ll make this man my enemy!’
Erensia beamed.
“According to the Xenos Three-Nation Treaty, the Empire has an obligation to protect surrounding weaker states…”
The lecture droned on.
Having no intention of listening, Erensia stared blankly at her palms, which had been ruined by the reins.
Even with fine leather gloves, her hands were a mess.
‘That stings.’
It was fortunate that the man earlier hadn’t taken her hand.
‘Come to think of it, he just stared at it.’
She turned her head.
Unless one’s hands were occupied, it was common courtesy to accept a handshake.
‘Maybe he enjoys making enemies.’
Erensia calmly observed the man seated far from her.
Unlike earlier, he now wore a faint smile as he listened attentively to the scholar.
‘What? His whole demeanor is different.’
Compared to how he had looked at her.
He was completely ignoring her.
Not only had he refused her handshake, he hadn’t even introduced himself.
What an insufferable jerk.
She felt a surge of irritation, yet also satisfaction knowing he disliked her because of what she had done.
‘Euclid.’
She had learned his name and family later from his aide.
Erensia leisurely admired his flawless profile, as if sculpted by a god.
Euclid Gredellos.
Across all three of her lives, she had never crossed paths with him or his family.
If the Novelita family represented evil, then Gredellos represented good.
Whenever the Empire prospered, Gredellos was there.
They were the family that cut out corruption from the Empire.
And when it came to corruption, Novelita was the prime example—something Gredellos knew better than anyone.
When Gredellos rose, Novelita weakened. When Novelita rose, Gredellos declined.
They were absolute opposites—never to be close.
Every project initiated by Novelita excluded Gredellos entirely.
That was why Erensia hadn’t recognized Euclid immediately.
Novelita had always avoided gatherings where Gredellos was present.
Come to think of it, why had Duke Novelita encouraged her to attend this session, knowing Gredellos would be here?
Still, the more she looked at him, the more striking he was. Her gaze kept drifting to his softly drawn lips.
‘If Euclid weren’t part of Gredellos, I would have married him—the only marriage I ever had.’
Before her regression, Erensia had fallen in love easily—and based on looks.
What a shame.
She chuckled quietly at the thought.
At that moment, she felt a piercing gaze.
Her eyes widened as they met Euclid’s directly.
He was frowning at her.
The faint smile on his lips vanished as if it had never been there.
‘I know you’ve been staring.’
His eyes seemed to say.
She had suddenly become a voyeur.
Erensia cleared her throat and turned her head haughtily.
“…and thus His Majesty the Emperor launched the campaign to uphold the Xenos Treaty…”
The lecture continued without pause.
Erensia avoided Euclid’s gaze and forced herself to focus.
‘Don’t forget your goal.’
She steeled herself and raised her hand high.
“Excuse me!”
“Yes, go ahead, Lady Novelita.”
The scholar’s voice was gentle, but his eyes were not.
He had noticed her attention had been on Euclid the entire time.
“Are you saying that in order to uphold the Xenos Treaty, the Empire devastated other weaker nations? And you call that justice?”
The scholar’s brow twitched.
There was an old saying in the Empire: one must not even step on a teacher’s shadow.
Even if the teacher was wrong, such objections should be raised after the lecture—not in the middle.
And this wasn’t a debate class.
But Erensia had no need to curry favor.
‘I’ll make the teacher dislike me. If the lesson falls apart, they’ll hate me.’
As expected, the once-quiet salon fell into a tense silence.
“The Empire is obligated to protect those who have sworn loyalty to it,” the scholar replied through clenched teeth.
“Exactly. Who said otherwise? Protect those who pay tribute, give back what you’re paid for—that’s not the issue,” Erensia said.
She paused briefly.
“But there’s no need to dress it up as justice or act like it’s some noble deed. Don’t you all think so? If it were truly just, wouldn’t you also help nations that don’t pay tribute when they’re invaded? But you don’t, do you?”
The scholar calmly took a sip of water to buy time.
Though he appeared composed, his trembling eyes and flared nostrils betrayed him.
Inside, Erensia cheered.
Now, someone just needed to step in and criticize her rudeness—
“That’s a good point.”
An unexpected response broke in.
Erensia snapped her head toward the speaker.
A man with curly brown hair grinned at her.
Silence fell again.
The scholar’s face turned red.
“…We will end today’s lecture here.”
He glared at Erensia and turned away.
Wait, he couldn’t just leave!
She had prepared plenty of arguments in case he resisted—words like stubborn, narrow-minded, dogmatic—all carefully chosen to offend a scholar.
And now he was just leaving?
She stared after him in disbelief.
“Are you alright, my lady? I agree with you as well.”
The man who had supported her approached with concern.
“That scholar was quite lacking. To ignore a differing opinion so openly…”
This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.
People began criticizing the scholar instead of Erensia.
“What era are we living in? Especially as members of the ten great families, the purpose of this gathering is to exchange ideas, not simply receive instruction. To storm out over a difference of opinion…”
The voices condemning the scholar grew louder.
Erensia felt dizzy.
“Lady Erensia? You don’t look well. Are you unwell? You should return home.”
The man spoke familiarly, as if he knew her well.
His kindness was starting to feel uncomfortable.
“I’ll escort you.”
A long arm slipped between her and the man.
“Euclid? You will?”
The man sounded surprised. So was Erensia.
“I owe her a debt.”
Euclid glanced at her.
“Isn’t that right, my lady?”
A debt?
Me?
Ah! Because of earlier?
Erensia nodded.
“You don’t seem to have a carriage, so I’ll take you in mine. Would that be acceptable?”
What about the horse?
“Leave it to my aide. He’ll handle it better than Lady Erensia.”
Handsome face, irritating words.
Erensia raised one eyebrow.
Euclid saw her displeasure—and ignored it.
Well, there was the matter of compensation, and her hands still stung. She might as well accept.
“Very well, Sir Euclid.”
She lightly placed her hand on his arm. His arm tensed.
You offered, and now you’re surprised?
“Shall we?”
Escorted by Euclid, Erensia headed toward the carriage.
The brown-haired man watched them leave, tilting his head.
“They seem quite close. Since when did they know each other? Gredellos and Novelita… that’s big news.”
He smiled to himself.
