Chapter 1

Papa looked up from his desk and regarded me with a puzzled expression.

"Didn't you already pick Otto?" he asked.

"I've changed my mind," I simply replied.

Papa walked over, placed his arm around my shoulders, and leaned in to look at me. "Are you serious about this?"

A slight pause later, he asked again, "Did they bully you?"

I fell silent for a bit. I didn't want Papa to think that the people he'd chosen to protect me had become the ones who hurt me. After all, I used to think that I was the only one that the four of them—Enzo Mazzola, Otto Giunta, Marcela Sechi, and Raphael Rosetti—cared about.

Marcela would scour the entire city in the middle of the night just to find a specific pastry for me; Raphael would tear up and fuss over me like a mother hen if I got injured; Enzo would take punishments on my behalf; and Otto would take a bullet for me without a moment of hesitation.

Those moments of tenderness were real. That was why I always told myself that the kindness they showed toward Lia was simply because she'd been my companion since we were young.

But now, I finally realized the truth. Their kindness hadn't simply spilled over onto her. They were really biased and showed genuine favoritism toward her.

The moment I came out of Papa's study, I heard Lia sobbing in the drawing room. The four of them surrounded her, patiently trying to comfort her.

She was wearing the new dress that I'd bought her just yesterday. She had burst into tears, claiming that she was just the housekeeper's daughter and therefore unworthy of attending my banquet, so I had specifically taken her out dress shopping and bought her a seven-figure dress.

And now, a large diamond necklace hung around her neck as well.

I had seen that necklace in Otto's room before, and I'd assumed that it was a surprise he was preparing for me. I'd even gotten so overjoyed that I barely slept all night.

Raphael was the first one to notice me. He glanced toward the study and let out a cold snort.

"Don't tell me that you just came out from Don Cisati's study, Miria."

Everyone turned to look at me. Lia was the first to jump to her feet in alarm.

"M-Miria… I… I…"

She ended up sobbing even harder after that.

Enzo immediately steadied her and eased her back onto the couch before looking up at me. "Did you really have to go and bother Don Cisati over a minor incident?"

I curled my lips into a smirk and met his eyes. "Just a minor incident? Is that why all of you ran off so fast?"

Enzo scoffed. "Aren't you the one always complaining that you never got a chance to show off your skills whenever we're around? That was the perfect chance for you to 'practice your skills.'"

Raphael chimed in. "Exactly. How could we possibly let someone as innocent as Lia witness bloodshed like that?"

Marcel reached out to smooth Lia's hair without even looking up at me. He said, "It's not like you lost any limbs or got hurt, did you? Stop making a huge fuss over nothing."

Otto, who was still holding Lia's hand, sighed softly. "You know Lia is timid and scared easily. Since you're home safe now, there's no need for you to continue making things awkward for everyone else."

He used to say this to me, and I thought it was quite gentlemanly of him. But now that I was hearing it from him again, it just grated on my ears.

"What if something had happened to me today?"

The four of them reacted as though they'd just heard the joke of the century. They laughed out loud in unison.

"Come on," Marcela said. "You trained with us since young, and there are less than a handful of people who can beat you. There's no way you got hurt."

Otto saw the look on my face and got up to approach me. He then said in a resigned tone, "Alright, that's enough. You're back safe and sound, so go get some rest now. We'll all make a grand appearance at the suitor selection banquet tomorrow."

I unclenched my fists, looked up, and smiled at him.

"The suitor selection banquet tomorrow has been cancelled."