“I, I’m going to get off.”

While trying to appear calm as she looked at the open door, she was so stiff that she couldn’t lift her skirt and jump down. The carriage was quite high, making it dangerous.

Seeing Olentia hesitate, Dimidius let out a short sigh and then extended his hand. But he quickly waved it and stood on one leg. He seemed very displeased with this situation.

“Ah! I suppose holding hands would be uncomfortable for you. In that case, there’s another way.”

But Olentia was so flustered that she couldn’t hear his words clearly.

‘Should I grab it? Or just lightly place my hand on the back of his? But then I’d have to hold my skirt with the other hand, and I might lose balance and fall.’

Olentia pondered seriously for a moment. Honestly, she didn’t really want to take his hand, but it was a matter of basic etiquette. Although Olentia tended to act more freely compared to other young ladies, she still cared about her reputation as a well-educated noblewoman.

Then Dimidius spoke again.

“…Even if you dislike it, you could grab my arm.”

As Olentia stood there lost in thought, Dimidius raised both hands, showing his reluctance.

His raised hands seemed like a powerful signal. Thinking she could manage on her own, Olentia jumped down with all her might. It was now or never.

Seeing her recklessly jump from such a height, Dimidius effortlessly caught Olentia in his arms.

Olentia’s body landed in his embrace like a fluttering flower petal. His firm hands grasped the folds of her dress, and for a moment, silence fell.

The scent of tree bark tickling her nose, the white neckline visible before her eyes, and the firm chest that any man would envy.

Everything felt unfamiliar.

Still holding Olentia, he stood firmly and spoke in a mischievous voice.

“…How long do you plan to stay in my arms?”

“Ah! That’s…!”

Olentia’s face flushed hot. Feeling utterly embarrassed, she didn’t want to stay in his arms for even a moment longer.

With her face reddened, she cried out.

“I, I’m getting down!”

Olentia struggled and then brusquely broke free from Dimidius’s embrace. After barely regaining her balance, she quickly moved away from the carriage. After catching her breath, she turned her head, but by then the carriage carrying the Grand Duke was already leaving Shine Street. There wasn’t even a final goodbye.

The carriage sped off again. It was almost like an outlaw dominating the road.

The Demon Grand Duke, Dimidius Belial.

The encounter with him was truly bizarre. It felt like seeing a mirage in the middle of a desert.

“What on earth was that? Coming to Shine Street, I keep meeting strange people.”

Olentia burst into laughter for a long while in front of the office, finding it all too ridiculous.

“Y-Your Highness, Grand Duke Belial!”

“Your Highness, you’ve arrived!”

The knights, full of vigor, deeply bowed as soon as they saw Dimidius. Though they offered their greetings, they remained rooted to the spot.

Of course, they couldn’t help it.

Dimidius Belial possessed such tremendous magical power that his mere presence was enough to intimidate people.

Dimidius recalled the woman who had looked at him with wide eyes and spoken clearly. She seemed completely unfazed by his presence.

At first, he thought she was simply a madwoman. He had heard that occasionally, people experiencing mental disturbances couldn’t sense his aura. But this woman wasn’t that kind of person. He had realized this when he grabbed her hand as the carriage shook.

Holy power.

The woman possessed holy power, and the level of holy power he felt from her hand was quite strong.

Yet she seemed completely unaware that she had holy power. If she had known, she would have fought back against the ruffians instead of running away.

The woman had clear, pure eyes, and she had said something quite fitting.

‘I have a face that’s hard to forget once you’ve seen it.’

She was a beautiful woman.

The woman’s platinum blonde hair sparkled in the sunlight, and her golden eyes, considered noble, twinkled. She must surely be from a famous family.

As he was lost in thoughts about this woman whose name he didn’t even know, his aide Killen approached and noticed him.

“Your Highness. Where is the weapon you were looking for?”

Hearing Killen’s voice, Dimidius finally came to his senses.

“Ah! He said it’s not quite finished yet. Killen, you go pick it up next week. To think he’d make me come in person. That Sol the blacksmith is really something.”

Sol the blacksmith of Shine Street was famous for not bowing his head even to most nobles. No one dared say anything to him because of his outstanding skills. He was a weapon master with 40 years of tradition, particularly renowned for his expertise in crafting sabre swords.

Dimidius was currently staying at a townhouse in the capital Geranium, away from the Grand Duchy. He was focusing all his efforts on handling parliamentary affairs and monitoring the Empress’s movements. And incidentally, he had commissioned a sword from the blacksmith.

Killen cautiously addressed Dimidius, who was emanating a subtle atmosphere.

“If it were the usual Your Highness, I think you would have been angry. Did something happen?”

He was perceptive.

In fact, Dimidius wasn’t thinking about Sol the blacksmith, but rather the peculiar woman he had just met.

Rather than feeling anger towards the blacksmith who had sent him away before the deadline, his primary emotion was curiosity about her. Killen, his aide for over five years, seemed to have sensed this just from his aura. As expected of their long relationship.

Dimidius cleared his throat, pretending to be nonchalant.

“Nothing happened. Just some gnats buzzing around on the way, which was a bit annoying.”

“Gnats, you say? What kind?”

“Well, very small in size. And keeps buzzing. When I speak, it should know better, but it keeps talking back.”

“…So you met someone like that.”

“No, it’s not like that.”

Dimidius immediately denied it, but Killen was already scratching the scar on his face. Although Killen had a fierce-looking face, he was a meticulous person who maintained a neat appearance, buttoning his collar up to the neck.

Dimidius spoke again to such a Killen.

“At first, I thought she knew who I was. After all, there’s only one person who wears a white bauta mask.”

Indeed, Grand Duke Dimidius Belial was a famous figure in the Bonus Empire. No matter how rarely he left the Grand Duchy, rumors about him were very prevalent.

But for some reason, the woman didn’t immediately recognize him even upon seeing the white bauta mask.

Dimidius felt not only embarrassed but also hurt in his pride and somewhat disappointed. After all, he had been secretly pleased to meet someone who could act so naturally around him despite knowing of his existence with demon blood flowing through his veins. That much he couldn’t deny.

Sitting on the sofa in his office, Dimidius pushed back his sweat-soaked hair. No matter how uncomfortable it was, he had no intention of removing his mask.

Especially not in the capital Geranium, where many people knew his father, the former Grand Duke James Belial.

Dimidius Belial loathed his face that resembled his father, James Belial. He not only loathed it but wanted to deny it forever. That’s why even he didn’t look at his own face.

Dimidius’s father, James, was a man more demonic than any demon.

On the surface, he appeared kind and gentle, but at home, he was more violent and authoritarian than anyone.

‘You got one question wrong on the test? You useless brat! Always like this. Do you think you deserve to live comfortably in my house?’

James spoke ruthlessly to Dimidius, who was barely seven years old. At that time, young Dimidius was in an almost resigned, dazed state. There was no light in his eyes, and his small mouth was tightly closed.

‘I hear you cried in your mother’s arms again? You’ll never become a real man. What a pathetic boy.’

When even his mother Lilith, who had been by his side, suddenly left, he felt as if he had been shoved into a lightless cave, waiting only for the day he would die.

“Enough! Let’s stop all this. Anyway, that woman was just like everyone else. There’s no way anyone in the Bonus Empire would like red eyes, right?”

There weren’t many people with red eyes in the Bonus Empire, but Dimidius Belial, with his mixed demon blood, was the most famous. Conversely, those with blue eyes were royalty, and most with golden eyes were nobles.

Despite his innate power, business acumen, and abilities that surpassed humans, Dimidius was always lonely. The people of the Bonus Empire made him that way. By treating him as a blood-covered half-demon monster.

Bobby was indeed waiting in front of the office. Bobby greeted Olentia with tears, saying she had waited for a long time, and Olentia, still in a daze, quickly returned to the Armeniaca mansion after meeting with Lawyer Karunda. She didn’t want to stay in Shine Street any longer.

The lawyer was rumored to be the best at arguing cases in the Bonus Empire, and he must have been conscious of the Armeniaca name attached to Olentia’s.

So, although she didn’t have the retainer fee right away, the conversation with the lawyer ended well. He said he would start with the application to terminate guardianship, and contrary to rumors of being a bit prickly, he was rather kind.

‘You must have been worried a lot all this time. It’s money that should naturally be returned to you.’

‘That’s what I’m saying. If it goes to court, they’ll have to return it anyway, so I don’t understand why they’re being like this. It’s quite vexing.’

‘Don’t worry. I’ll resolve this matter decisively.’

‘By the way, you could have set up your office in a place with better security. Why Shine Street of all places?’

‘Oh, did you have trouble getting here? Shine Street is a place I like. I saw people celebrating today, saying they were blessed by the deer god. I really enjoy how lively the street is.’

‘What does it mean to be blessed by the deer god?’

‘It means spring has finally arrived. When people see the deer, the spirit of spring, in the forest of Shine Street, they often hold an impromptu festival. Isn’t that rather charming?’

The rumors about him being prickly might have arisen from his personality not matching well with pretentious nobles, Olentia thought.