"Okay, okay, your feelings have reached me, Stella, but you still must come with me," Sina looked at Stella with serious eyes that made her take Sina's words seriously. Stella wiped the tears from her eyes and asked, wondering.

"But why should I come with you? You haven't told me yet what your goal is with all of these actions."

Sina fell silent for a moment, contemplating Stella's tear-stained eyes, unsure whether to tell her the real reason or to make up an excuse to keep Stella in the dark about what her fiancé had done to her.

'No, I won't look down on this girl even once. She must know. She has made up her mind, and if she's sincere, it won't negatively affect her. Besides, it will give Stella a reason to listen.'

Sina decided not to keep Stella in the dark about what was going on around her and to make her feel the imminent danger, prompting her to take precautionary measures.

"In fact, Stella, there's someone at the palace entrance looking for you."

"Who came to see me?!!... Does it have to do with what I told you before?"

"Yes... but that's not the worst part," Sina sighed, realizing that Stella was already feeling sad before she even heard the worst part.

"Not the worst part!!"

"Yes... this person claims that the young master has agreed with him..." Sina paused halfway through her sentence, unsure whether to say the rest.

"What did he agree to?" Stella urged Sina to continue, but the latter remained silent.

"Just say it, Sina. I must hear it from you, no matter what you're saying."

"... He agreed to hand you over to him as a slave."

"What!! Are you serious about what you're saying?" Shocked by the news, Stella doubted its truth and could only ask again.

"A-Are you joking, aren't you?"

"... No, I'm speaking seriously. When I went to the palace entrance, I found a man causing trouble there and he said he had come for you to take you to his palace."

'How could this be possible? Has the situation between me and my fiancé deteriorated to this extent? To get rid of me as a slave!!'

Signs of shock and despair began to show clearly on the girl's face, and the thoughts that had imprisoned her began to escape and leak from her subconscious mind.

Was everything she believed before just an illusion? Was her hope of fixing her engagement a distant dream? Did her future husband really want to break this bond between them? And not only that, did he want to sell her and let her be a slave to someone else to do at her as he pleased?

'Did I even have a chance to fix things?'

Although she asked herself, this question wasn't meant to seek an answer as much as it was to mock herself and ridicule her belief that things would turn out fine. She thought she should be patient for a while and remain summarized in her faith, but repeatedly, all the events that happened to her indicated otherwise. From the death of her parents and the decline of her family's status to the point where she was forced to live in her fiancé's palace, then the deterioration of the relationship between her and him, placing her in the position of a servant.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

'And now I will become a slave!!?'

"Even as she felt every little detail of those events, the pain, humiliation, and sadness that struck her soul and body, she suppressed those feelings by convincing herself that surely things would get better someday. But now, she began to feel that all her struggles were in vain, with the ending she hadn't hoped for, not even in her worst nightmares, about to unfold.

'I should have surrendered. I shouldn't have exhausted myself resisting these overwhelming emotions. At least surrender is easy, albeit painful, unlike perseverance, which is both difficult and painful at the same time.'

"But I think that person is a liar."

Sina said loudly, almost screaming, shaking Stella's shoulders weakly as if trying to wake her from a dream. When she saw signs of despair in Stella's eyes, Sina realized that she had miscalculated and that she should not have told her the truth directly. She should have softened the atmosphere and waited for the right moment to tell her the truth, or she should have adjusted the truth to fit the situation.

The truth had always been heavy and difficult for most people, and added to the condition of this young girl and the burden weighing on her heart, this news came with even greater weight to crush her already shaken spirit.

Finally, Sina noticed this, but in a hard way, and that's why she hurried to correct her mistake. Since the best option of telling Stella the truth at the right time and place was no longer available, it was time for the alternative plan, the modified truth.

"T... truly? And why is that?"

"First, signs of his lies are that everything you saw from him as evidence is just his words alone, and there was no document to prove what he claimed. Secondly, you still belong to the noble class, so even if he had a document, your price would be quite expensive. Also, even if he did have enough money to buy you, who is this fool who would spend so much money to take on all the problems of your numerous family just to become your new master? So, who would plan to accept all these problems just to buy you?"

Sina looked at Stella anxiously, hoping her words made a difference.

"T... that's true. How did I not think of that? Who would risk all of that just to buy me?" Stella's expression became less pessimistic after hearing this.

'In fact, just a moment ago, I saw a foolish deviant who could do that.' Sina said to herself before continuing.

"And with all these evidence, it wasn't enough to make sure that this person is a liar, there is another reason that makes all these previous evidence mere nonsense in front of a truth that is beyond doubt."

"A... truth beyond doubt!! W... what is this truth?"

Stella asked, surprised to hear that all these reasons meant nothing in the face of this reason that Sina mentioned.

"This truth is called Somay Stoneheart," Sina said confidently before continuing.

"Whoever buys you as a slave will harm your father in law, the lord of the palace, Somay Stoneheart."

All the misery disappeared from Stella's face and was replaced by a bright expression, and her eyes sparkled with joy and happiness.

"That's true, Sina, that's true." Then she followed that by grabbing Sina's hands and began shaking them up and down, expressing her joy.

'Wow!! Isn't her mood change too sudden? Wasn't she just a moment ago as if she were about to have a heart attack from sadness at any moment?... And now look at her, she looks like the happiest girl in the world. To tell the truth, I'd rather see her like this than see her gloomy and sad.' Sina smiled helplessly as she saw the girl's bright smile in front of her.

'Despite the difficulties she faced at such a young age, which surely would weigh heavily on any adult, she was still a young girl in that regard.'

Upon seeing Stella's obvious mood change, Sina couldn't help but join in the girl's happy mood and let her defenses down. However, she soon realized it wasn't time to relax, especially upon hearing Stella's words.

"Oh!! How could I forget my father-in-law's standing in the law? He's a powerful person and can be relied upon at any time. He loves me dearly and sees me as a suitable wife for his only son." Stella laughed, declaring to herself and others that her future was almost certain.

"......Yes."

Even though Sina was helping the girl out of her predicament, helping her escape from the clutches of the depraved and sadistic Dudrian, she never gave up on her original plan to make Fayt fall for her and become his wife, and have her offspring inherit the Stoneheart family.

'Don't forget your original goal, Sina. This girl may become your friend in the future, but for now, she's definitely your competitor.'

And with that, she remembered the fact that if it weren't for the young lord's actions towards his fiancée, his father would have treated her like a princess. He loved her like a daughter and accepted her as his son's wife, but in the end, he still saw her as his daughter and not his real daughter. This was the reason for his non-interference despite his disdain for his son's treatment of her. Other than that, Sina didn't think she had any chance with Fayte.

'Indeed, Lord Somay loves Stella very much, but I still have a chance. But first, I have to solve this problem.'

"Don't let your guard down, Stella. To make sure things go well as you see it, you first need to leave the palace so you're not at the center of the problem. At least until things calm down and return to normal."

Sina quickly returned to implementing her original plan. In addition to her primary desire to help the poor girl, there was another reason for doing so, which served her goal, even if it was a secondary one. That was to remove Stella from the palace for a while, allowing Sina to have the stage and become uncontested.

'Stella's departure from the palace is bound to improve the young lord's mood a little and completely dispel the slim chances of repairing their relationship.'

She saw this girl as a real competitor, as she was beautiful, kind, and not surprisingly, she would likely become a wise wife desired by any man.

'It's fortunate that the young lord is a... special person. Anyway, I'll make sure he returns to being just a normal person.' This was Sina's main goal, which she planned to execute after leaving Stella in the palace for some time.

'And speaking of Stella... she's truly a good girl. Unfortunately, our interests conflict.'

At the same time she was plotting against Stella, Sina wanted to take her as her friend. Stella was a good, honest, friendly girl, and she was also strong in difficult situations, which made Sina look at her with respect.