“It doesn’t mean just chasing them away. Rochester will guarantee your family’s safety as much as he can. If you want, he can also arrange accommodations in a third country, not Dermaia or Lesotia.”

No, that’s not what I wanted. Such a naive thought couldn’t guarantee perfect safety in this harsh world.

Perhaps I wasn’t included among those going to the third country he mentioned. After all, I couldn’t leave this ducal residence until he got married and inherited the duke’s title. If so, there was only one thing I could do.

“Let’s do it.”

At my sudden words, a hint of question briefly flashed across Ricardo’s face.

“Engagement.”

Ricardo chuckled. He didn’t say anything, but his eyes were asking, ‘Why should I…?’

“I heard Rochester’s star has risen again.”

“So I’ve heard.”

“That means your companion will soon come to this ducal residence.”

“Everyone’s saying that.”

“But she didn’t help with your manifestation and awakening.”

“That’s why you’re here.”

I slowly exhaled my breath that had become a bit rapid from speaking. It was in contrast to him, who was calmly dealing with the situation throughout.

“Maybe… it could be me. Even if it’s a very low probability.”

Of course, I didn’t sincerely think that. How could I, who made Ricardo manifest by striking his forehead with a wooden sword made from Black Forest wood, beat the woman designated by the star in the sky from the moment it appeared?

“So please get engaged to me.”

For a moment, it seemed like Ricardo was smiling, but as I was trying my best to avoid his eyes, I didn’t have the capacity to observe his expression.

“I’m not saying let’s go all the way to marriage as we are. Please break off our engagement right before you marry the Saint. I’ll explain the situation well to the Saint.”

Ricardo leaned towards me, and I heard a sound of incredulous laughter right in front of my nose.

“You think if I break off the engagement with you and immediately marry the Saint, you and your family will be safe from Schneider?”

“That’s right.”

“And you plan to hide somewhere as soon as possible.”

As Ricardo said, I would no longer have anything to do with him, so the Emperor of Dermaia wouldn’t be so desperate to kill us. If we hide somewhere unknown and live quietly for a while, the Emperor will surely forget about the Pennel family.

The reason the Emperor is trying to kill me and my family now is because of the very slim possibility that I might be Ricardo’s companion.

“That’s a naive thought.”

“I know. Even if it’s a far-fetched idea, it’s the only option I have. And when that time comes, please take the maximum measures Rochester can. I would be very grateful.”

“……”

“Of course, Your Highness doesn’t have to be so considerate of us.”

Being in a position to shamelessly ask for help, apologetic words rushed out involuntarily.

“As you know, I am, so to speak, a victim. I didn’t intentionally help with your manifestation.”

“Lady.”

“But thanks to that, you were also able to quickly become safe.”

“Lady Pennel.”

“So the fact that I’m in this situation…”

“Lienne…”

He called my name in a way both familiar and unfamiliar. When he does that, my breath invariably stops.

“When talking, you should look into the eyes.”

It was a gentle command that couldn’t be refused. When our eyes met, he was looking at me as if he would tear me apart. A sensation so immense that I forgot even to breathe for a moment enveloped me. I felt like I might not live out my natural lifespan if my heart kept pounding like this.

“How is this possible?”

“What… is?”

“Your eyes, they simply can’t hide anything.”

I flinched, my body trembling at the truth I wanted to avoid. Every time our eyes met, my feelings would overflow uncontrollably, making me want to sink into the ground.

“Your eyes love me so passionately like this…”

Ricardo stretched out his long arm and brushed under my eye with his thumb. As his hot skin touched, a rough breath burst out involuntarily. He mercilessly slid his hand down, grazing my cheek. The fine hairs on my face stood up one by one. His finger passed over my chin and lightly brushed my lips.

“How is it that your love never seems to want its recipient?”

I could feel my pupils shaking uncontrollably.

What on earth did Ricardo want to say? He scrutinized my trembling pupils as if licking them. As if he would dig up even the most hidden emotions buried somewhere deep in my heart.

No matter how thoroughly he searched me to the bottom, there was no way my love for him could be a lie. It was a very primal and meticulous emotion that even I couldn’t understand.

At that moment, such a thought occurred to me.

Maybe I’m the one who completely erased some memory of you?

“So, do you truly want to be engaged to me?”

“Yes.”

Though my heart hesitated, my answer didn’t. There was no way lies would work when our eyes met.

“You and your family will be safe, and then you’ll immediately leave my side.”

“That’s right.”

“Maybe, as you say, you could be my companion?”

Unable to be certain what expression I was making at his words, I closed my eyes. Then he reached out and lightly grasped my chin. It was an action that somehow felt urgent.

“Open your eyes, Lienne. I told you to make eye contact when talking.”

It was a voice that suddenly felt chilling, but I stubbornly replied with my eyes still closed.

“What is it you want to say to me?”

Although it’s peaceful for now, the Dermaia Empire was a country where war could break out at any time.

When barbarism prevails outside the country, it’s difficult to maintain dignity inside as well.

Even if noble culture spreads like a fashion and ladies beautifully adorn themselves and traverse the social world, it was still an era where women were mere spoils of war. It was a world where the feelings of a woman taken by force were not considered important.

It meant that if he twisted my neck here and now, it wouldn’t be much different from one of my chickens in the coop dying and disappearing.

Because he was Rochester and I was Pennel.

Not only my life, but the lives of my family were all hanging on Ricardo, who had lost his memories. So I knew I shouldn’t talk back at all right now. Nevertheless, I stubbornly opened my mouth.

“I’ll open my eyes when I feel like it. Just tell me what you want from me. My ears are open.”

Why am I being so reckless with my words when I know how precious life is?

It should be much easier to kill my pride than to kill my life.

But then, his intensity, which seemed like he might slide his hand down and wring my neck at any moment, suddenly softened. Ricardo stepped back, widening the distance between us with a ‘huk’.

“Anyone watching would think you’ve met a barbarian.”

My eyes suddenly opened at his attitude.

“What I want from you is just one thing. Just making eye contact and talking. This is just… common sense, isn’t it?”

As he added “Right?” with an annoyingly smiling face, I unconsciously let out a sigh of relief. I smoothed out my skirt that I had been clutching tightly due to the sudden anxiety that had come over me, and straightened my back against the chair.

“So, will you get engaged to me?”

“No.”

“But you said I might be your companion.”

“No, you’re not.”

“Since I helped with your manifestation, couldn’t I be your fiancée for just a very, very short time?”

He lightly shook his head. As if to say, definitely not you.

Right, I knew it wouldn’t be easy. It’s too early to be disappointed.

“Then please tell me why it’s not possible even for a short time.”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“Why? Perhaps, is it because I’m not to your taste, or you dislike the hassle of having an engagement ceremony… such trivial reasons?”

He shrugged his shoulders and crossed his long legs as he sat.

“Disregarding taste in an engagement is not a trivial matter…”

“……”

“How can I get engaged to a woman who won’t even make proper eye contact with me? Don’t you think?”

“That, that’s because!”

Looking into your eyes makes me feel like I’m falling off a cliff, and even after being pushed off that cliff, my eyes would still be filled only with you, and I… who love you even in a life-threatening situation… I can’t even face myself.

As I paused as if forgetting my words for a moment, Ricardo’s expression hardened, in stark contrast to the relaxed smile he had been wearing until just now. He intently waited for my mouth to open. But I couldn’t add a single word.

“Even now…”

“……”

“I’m just curious how this is possible.”

I finally couldn’t hold out and averted my eyes from him again.

“Look at this. You like me this much, yet why do you only want to run away?”

He tilted his head as if genuinely curious.

“Even this brief moment of sitting face to face, you’re just… enduring it.”

“And engagement? Don’t make me laugh.” Ricardo sneered.