The small footsteps climbing the stairs towards the room stopped.

The worn, cheap shoes remained still on the landing.

‘What could it have been?’

Riana thought, gripping the old wooden railing.

The brief conversation she had with Sched lingered in her mind.

It was confusing.

Due to his kind actions and tone, ripples stirred in her calm heart.

‘…It might just be my own misunderstanding.’

Riana closed her eyes and shook off her thoughts.

Since returning to Ideana, old memories kept overlapping, bringing up past emotions and causing needless misunderstandings.

Thinking rationally, he had no reason to care for her.

Riana recalled the sin she had committed.

Moreover, his reaction before parting was strange.

‘I gave presumptuous advice….’

Her fingertips gripping the railing turned white.

She shouldn’t have mentioned Ideana after all.

Sched was now the ruler here, and she was merely a maid.

Sched might have been angered by her arrogant overstepping.

“Miss Riana.”

Just then, a gentle voice stopped her.

Looking up, she saw Eclas had approached right in front of her.

As always, he was elegantly dressed, with a neat face and likable smile.

“What were you thinking so deeply about that you didn’t notice someone in front of you?”

“Ah, I apologize, young lord.”

As Riana bowed her head in apology, Eclas smiled brightly.

“This is perfect. I had something I wanted to talk about.”

Eclas, who seemed to have met her by chance, appeared to have been waiting for her.

Riana noticed a slightly excited smile on Eclas’s lips.

‘Something he needed to wait for me to discuss….’

Somehow, she had a bad feeling about this.

The Viscount Bitel surely wouldn’t call her for trivial conversation.

“If it’s an issue other maids could help with…”

“It has to be you, Miss Riana.”

Eclas smiled gently, fixing his gaze precisely on her.

He narrowed his eyes sweetly, making it difficult for her to refuse.

“…Please speak.”

Eventually, Riana obediently bowed her head.

At that, Eclas took a few more steps closer with light, silent footsteps.

Somehow, those crisp steps felt threatening.

And then.

“Did you know that Duke Sched Lester was originally a slave here, in the former Ideana County?”

The young lord brought up an unexpected topic.

It was common knowledge that Sched had been a slave.

However, mentioning it directly was considered taboo.

Yet, for Eclas to bring up this subject…

“I’ve heard about it.”

There must be an intention behind it.

As Riana answered with wary eyes, a pleased look spread across Eclas’s neat face.

“Then, do you know how that slave ended up in the Lester family?”

The question was a bit narrower and deeper.

And chilling.

Of all people, the one who had traded Sched was now seeking her out to ask such questions.

“I don’t know that much.”

Riana shook her head, feigning ignorance.

Eclas looked at her, clasped his hands behind his back nonchalantly, and slightly bent his waist to meet her eye level.

“It was me. The one who bought Sched Lester, no, Sched Lupus, and handed him over to the Lester family.”

Eclas stared at her as if piercing through her.

Riana couldn’t bring herself to meet his eyes and lowered her gaze.

“Why are you telling me this…”

“Why indeed. Want to guess?”

Eclas took another big step closer.

The scent of his expensive, strong perfume wafted over.

Riana stepped back as if pushed by his fragrance.

“I’m sorry, but I’m not feeling well. If it’s not important, could I come back another time to hear what you have to say?”

Riana tried to excuse herself, citing poor health.

At that, a chuckle escaped Eclas’s lips.

“You don’t think this is important?”

His narrowed eyes were as sharp as blades.

Riana clasped her hands tightly under her sleeves.

“I don’t want to gossip about His Grace’s unpleasant past. If there’s nothing urgent you need me for, I’d like to return now…”

“Well, if Miss Riana isn’t interested, I suppose there’s nothing to be done.”

Eclas unexpectedly backed down.

Riana bowed to him and quickly moved to leave the place.

As she was passing by Eclas, at that moment.

“Louise Ideana.”

Eclas uttered the old name.

Riana stopped abruptly in her tracks, as if caught in a trap.

Her whole body bristled, and her mind went blank.

Eclas stopped in front of her again with leisurely steps and smiled gently.

His bright red, intense eyes seemed to ensnare her, not letting go.

“…That’s the name of the woman who sold Sched Lupus to me.”

Riana stood frozen in place, unable to give any response.

“Are you a bit more inclined to talk with me now?”

Eclas whispered softly into her ear.

“So what is it you want to say?”

Riana asked, standing in front of Eclas’s room.

Seeing her eyes full of wariness, Eclas offered her a seat.

“First, sit down.”

“…”

“Sit down.”

Eclas spoke in a calm yet clear pronunciation, as if emphasizing.

The conversation seemed likely to be quite long, and he couldn’t keep an unwell person standing for too long, could he?

Unable to resist his firm gaze, Riana sat down in the chair opposite him, keeping her back far from the backrest.

The sofa belonging to Eclas was excessively comfortable.

Which made it feel all the more uncomfortable.

“No need to be tense. I didn’t call you here to threaten you.”

“Why are you telling me these things…”

Eclas burst into laughter at the sight of Riana trying to deny everything even in this situation.

“Don’t bother. You followed me here knowing everything, didn’t you?”

Eclas poured tea that had been prepared on the table.

Unlike the air in the room, the tangerine-colored tea peacefully filled the cups.

“If I remember correctly, the Ideana family used to buy a lot of Teizlin tea, right?”

Eclas asked as he placed a teacup in front of her.

The heavy bergamot scent rising with the white steam moistened the tip of her nose.

It was the type of tea her father used to enjoy during the Ideana days, and thus one she liked as well.

“Duke Lester also seems to like Teizlin tea base. Perhaps because it’s a familiar scent.”

Eclas poured tea into his own cup and took a calm sip.

However, Riana kept her mouth shut with the teacup in front of her.

She wasn’t in the mood for tea.

No, rather, the familiar tea scent made her head throb.

“So, what’s your purpose?”

Riana looked directly at Eclas, leaving the steaming teacup in front of her.

It was time to accept that she was cornered.

“Purpose?”

“There’s no way you would call me out separately without any purpose, young lord.”

Riana, no, Louise Ideana, is a heretic and traitor.

Yet, the fact that Eclas hadn’t reported her meant he had other thoughts.

That’s what scared Riana more.

The Bitel family converted everything into a balance of scales.

Eclas Bitel must be thinking of gaining something greater than reporting her.

At that, Eclas slowly put down his teacup.

“Aren’t you curious how I figured you out?”

“You must have had your ways. The Bitel family has many birds, after all.”

Riana answered in a resigned tone.

She knew about the Bitel family’s swift informants.

The Bitel family’s intelligence was faster than even the emperor’s or the temple’s, to the point where people said, ‘Even what God doesn’t know, Bitel knows.’

People who obtain and act on information faster than even official messengers, like ghosts.

“I’m honored that you think so highly of my abilities.”

“I asked why you called me, young lord.”

Now that everything was clear, Riana’s tone had become sharper than before.

Though her words were polite like a maid’s, somehow they sounded like a proud young lady speaking.

It seems she’s showing her true colors now that her identity as Louise Ideana has been exposed.

Eclas crossed his legs and sat comfortably, observing such a Riana.

“It seems Duke Sched Lester knows your identity.”

At the mere mention of Sched’s name, Riana’s expression wavered.

Seeing her obvious agitation, Eclas slightly furrowed his brow.

‘Don’t tell me she’s worried?’

Worried that Sched Lester might be accused of harboring a traitor along with her?

Eclas burst into laughter, finding it ridiculous.

In a situation where she can barely save herself, does she have the luxury to worry about him?

Or does she still harbor some remnants of love?

Eclas thought cynically as he observed the subtle changes in her expression.

If Riana feared her relationship with Sched being exposed, he was willing to use that against her.

“You know you shouldn’t be here, right?”

Riana couldn’t answer the question devoid of any consideration.

Indeed, what thoughts had driven her to end up here?

Riana lowered her gaze.

Perhaps the situation had come to this because of her own ambiguous attitude.

She thought she had tried her best to avoid it, but maybe she had unconsciously left room for possibilities.

“So, are you going to report me to the Prime Minister?”

“Pfft, if that was my intention, would I have come to you first, Miss Riana? I would have run straight to the Prime Minister.”

Eclas laughed lightly, then uncrossed his legs and adjusted his posture.

“Don’t be scared. I just want to be your helper.”

“…Helper?”

Riana’s eyebrows furrowed as if she couldn’t believe it.

Even a passing dog would know that Eclas Bitel wouldn’t cooperate in something that brought him no benefit.

“Is there any way I could be of benefit to you?”

She carefully considered what weight she could put on his scale.

But no matter how much she thought about it, the scale wouldn’t balance.

She was now just a maid, neither wealthy nor powerful, with no significant connections or abilities.

There was nothing equivalent to exchange for concealing the crime of treason.

Eclas smiled at her green eyes full of wariness.

“There’s not much benefit, true.”

The smile that had been constantly on his face disappeared.

“But I’m willing to bear that.”

His red eyes once again stared intently at her.