Emily walked briskly, trying to focus on remembering the path she had followed with Non the previous day.

  The streets in this part of the kingdom were wide and , lined with imposing houses surrounded by perfectly manicured gardens.

  Every step she took distanced her further from the world she knew and brought her closer to the aristocrativiro where Non lived.

  After taking several turns, Emily finally arrived at the mansion she remembered.

  The gardens surrounding it were filled with exotic flowers aiculously trimmed bushes. The workers, all servants in charge of maintenance, looked up as they saw her approag.

  She felt their sharp gazes, as if she didn’t belong there, as if they were w what a young woman like her was doing in such a pce.

  Emily clutched the paper with the address in her hand, using the slight trembling in her fingers as a remio stay calm.

  As she advanced, a young maid, impeccably dressed in a white apron over her dark gray uniform, approached her.

  “May I help you with something?” the maid asked in a ral tone, but her eyes watched Emily with a mix of curiosity and suspi.

  Emily swallowed before responding.

  “I’m here to see Non Rook.”

  The maid frowned, repeating the name in disbelief.

  “Non Rook… Are you sure about that?”

  Emily felt a wave of doubt, even though she was certain this was the right pce.

  However, the cold reception made her doubt herself.

  Was she really wele here?

  Everything about the atmosphere seemed to indicate otherwise.

  Before she could say anything else, another maid approached quickly and whispered something in the first maid’s ear.

  The tter’s expression ged slightly, softening a bit, although the ge was barely noticeable.

  “Master Non is resting right now,” the maid said in a less severe tone, “but you may e in and wait until he wakes up.”

  Emily thanked her with a slight nod.

  As she was guided to the entrance, she marveled once again at the opulence of the pce.

  The high ceilings, the furniture adorned with goldeails, and the rge windows that let in natural light—all were more luxurious than she had ever imagined.

  They took her to a sitting room, where one of the maids asked what she would like to drink.

  “Anything is fihank you,” Emily replied with a shy smile.

  One of the maids left to prepare the drink, while the one who had apanied her sat down beside her.

  Apart from the two of them, there were two other servants in the room, atte discreet in their presence.

  “Who exactly are you?” the maid asked suddenly, breaking the sileh a bluhat took Emily by surprise.

  Emily hesitated for a sed before responding.

  “My name is Emily… Emily Hawthorne.”

  The maid looked at her ily.

  “What family are you from?” she asked, her tone hinting at some distrust. “Because, if I may say so, you don’t seem to be a noble.”

  Emily felt a bit unfortable, but she knew she couldn’t lie.

  “I’m a oner,” she said, keeping her gaze fixed on the maid’s.

  The maid’s expression ged subtly, showing surprise.

  Emily noticed how her eyes evaluated her appearance again, lingering on the dress she was wearing, ohat she knew wasn’t typical for someone of her css.

  The maid cleared her throat to mask her surprise.

  “That dress…” she began, almost uo hide the curiosity in her voice.

  ‘That dress is not something a oner could afford, unless she were a very successful mert…’

  “Does your family have money?”

  Emily shook her head, feeling increasingly exposed.

  “No… We live quite humbly.”

  The maid nearly shouted in her mind upon hearing that.

  ‘Humbly!?’

  That dress was anything but humble!

  As head maid, and due to the luxuries she could afford thanks to her special position in the household, she was well aware of the prices of the clothes sold in noble shops.

  The dress Emily was wearing wasn’t something an ordinary oner could afford.

  “Then, how did you get that dress?” she asked, narrowing her eyes, determio uhe mystery.

  Emily lowered her gaze for a moment before admitting it with some embarrassment.

  “Non bought it for me.”

  The respoartled the maid.

  If Non had bought her su expensive dress, it meant he had a special i in her, beyond mere courtesy.

  The maid narrowed her eyes, slightly ging her approach.

  “And… what do you think of the kingdom?”

  Emily took a moment to think before responding.

  “Well… it’s hard to survive… clothing is expensive, water sometimes runs short where I live because the system that brings it hasn’t been repaired in years…” she said, her voice showing a hint of frustration.

  The maid listetentively, but something in those words armed her.

  Emily didn’t seem satisfied with life in the kingdom.

  Could it be that this young woman, who had caught Non’s attention, harbored ive feelings towards the gover?

  “Well…” the maid replied with a slight smile, “at least we have security. That’s something many other kingdoms ’t guarantee.”

  Emily nodded but tinued,

  “That’s true, but there isn’t enough staff in the churches in the poorer districts… many people have died because of that…”

  Ohing Emily noticed when she went to the church with Non was the rge number of staff there pared to the chur the poor districts.

  Were they really that expendable?

  The maid’s heart skipped a beat.

  Emily’s criticisms of the system were dired dangerous.

  Could this girl, who had captured Non’s attentiohreat to the kingdom?