Fortunately, Ricardo caught my waist and supported me as I was about to fall. No, perhaps it would have been better if I had fallen.

I gasped in surprise as a large hand wrapped around a part of my body that others rarely touched. I tried to push it away, but he was unaffected and instead pulled me closer to him with more force.

“W-what are you doing right now?”

“It’s nothing compared to you grabbing my wrist without permission.”

“That was for a reason…”

“I’m just helping you not fall, aren’t I?”

“I appreciate that, but I’d appreciate it more if you let go now.”

“I don’t want to.”

I glared at him fiercely while practically in his arms.

“You don’t like this either?”

“No, I don’t. Didn’t you say you’d do anything?”

“What?”

“That night, you said you’d do anything for me, wearing not a stitch of clothing, at my feet…”

Reflexively looking around, I covered his mouth with the hand that had been on his shoulder. While shooting him the strongest glare I could muster.

At that, Ricardo’s eyes widened briefly before his shoulders began to shake. Then he burst into clear laughter. As if etching it into my eyes.

Suddenly, the world around me blurred as if I’d been unexpectedly hit on the back of the head. And before I could stop it, my world was completely filled with him.

In that moment, I had a thought. I’m ruined, completely ruined.

I probably can’t go back to before I saw this face, can I?

His smooth, neat forehead, hair that gently swayed when he laughed, long eyelashes that effortlessly captivated, perfectly symmetrical upturned corners of his mouth, evenly arranged teeth within.

His pitch-black eyes sparkling as if truly delighted, and the bright light surrounding him.

You really haven’t changed. Your looks are still a sin, Ricardo.

Swallowing my sigh and inner thoughts, I averted my gaze and muttered:

“You seem to find a lot to laugh about.”

He replied, still not erasing his smile:

“I suppose so.”

I firmly grasped his wrist on my waist, trying to remove it.

“Lienne.”

But at the gentle call of my name, I unconsciously froze with his wrist still in my grip.

“Do you…”

He trailed off for a moment. Even that brief instant seemed to pass agonizingly slowly.

“Do you like emperor endings?”

“Ah…”

“You said endings must be emperor endings.”

I wondered where he had heard that from.

“Will my answer have even the slightest impact on your life, young master?”

“No.”

“That’s just my preference for novels. In reality, both the emperor and the duke are figures that only appear in legends…”

Suddenly remembering that I was currently in a duke’s mansion, I closed my mouth. Now I might appear as even a single line in those legends.

“What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking… maybe I should change my taste in novels.”

“How?”

What use was an emperor ending now that I had entered the center of this story? I just…

“An ending where everyone is comfortable and safe, that kind of ending is enough.”

“How can you call that an ending?”

“Well… that’s.”

I briefly met Ricardo’s gaze. As our eyes met after I had been avoiding them, my calmed heart began to flutter again like a dance. Countless stars sparkled in his pitch-black eyes, as if seen from atop rippling waves.

Looking into those eyes, I had a thought. I just… want you to be happy. If that’s your ending, I couldn’t ask for more. So the ending I wish for you is…

“Probably, a happy ending?”

“Happy ending…”

He rolled those words around in his mouth several times, as if pronouncing them for the first time in his life.

“It suits you.”

“Pardon?”

“That kind of ending suits you very well.”

The words that seemed like a blessing at first glance hid a sad conclusion.

That your ending and mine would be different, that I wouldn’t be in your ending. Though it was obvious, I couldn’t understand why it felt so damn unfair.

As I avoided his eyes again, the hand on my waist suddenly tightened. Only then did I freshly realize that he was still holding my waist, and I was gripping his wrist.

“I understand, so please let go now.”

“Lady Pennel, don’t use honorifics with the maids.”

“What?”

Even as I heard those sudden words, I tried to remove his hand from my waist.

“I understand. But couldn’t we talk about this after you let go…”

“You’re here as my guest.”

He meant that my behavior was related to his dignity as well.

“Yes, yes, I’m honored that you call me a guest. But judging by your tone, you sound just like my master.”

His face hardened as if his previous smile had been a lie.

“Don’t be sarcastic.”

Did he not realize that he was the one being sarcastic? But like the ultimate weakling I was, I lowered my head instead of answering.

I felt him let out a small sigh above my head.

“You’ll be staying at the duke’s mansion for at least half a year.”

My head snapped up at the news I had been waiting for. Our eyes met and he stared at me intently. The stubborn hand on my waist finally relaxed.

Instead, I drew closer to him.

“Half a year?”

“Yes.”

“Is that when the saint is coming? To the duke’s mansion?”

“Probably… Though you’re not supposed to tell anyone about this.”

The timing of the saint’s appearance was unknown to anyone except the head of a family. It was that much of a taboo subject. How did he know about it? I wanted to ask, but my situation was too desperate to be curious about that.

“Half a year is quite a long time.”

His instruction not to use honorifics with the maids meant I should behave well as his guest during the long period I would be staying in this household.

“I understand. I was planning to speak casually to the maids starting tomorrow anyway.”

He laughed as if in disbelief.

“It might be even longer than that.”

“Pardon?”

“Because in a month, you and I…”

Just then, there was a loud crash from the first floor. It was probably the sound of a wooden ladder hitting the ground. The noise echoing through the quiet library sounded as loud as thunder.

Because of that, Ricardo and I hurriedly stepped away from each other.

It was likely a sound made by one of the maids who had been holding their breath downstairs, unable to move.

The commotion quickly died down, and we briefly met eyes against the backdrop of the returned silence. Ricardo was the first to break the awkwardness.

“So, when do you plan on letting go of my wrist?”

“Ah!”

I was genuinely startled, but I didn’t let go of his wrist. Ricardo furrowed his brow slightly as he looked at his captured wrist.

With a playful smile still on his lips, he tilted his head as if to ask what this meant.

“It seems you’ve picked out all the books you wanted to read. Do you want me to act as a ladder again?”

“That’s not it.”

I had always wanted to run away from him, but for some reason, I found it hard to walk away now.

“Aren’t you curious?”

“About what?”

“About how the kind savior becomes the emperor.”

I thought Ricardo would chuckle like before, but he just stared at me blankly.

‘Ah, what did I just say?’

His cool, emotionless gaze snapped me back to my senses. It seemed I had momentarily crossed a line out of gratitude for him setting a six-month time limit.

“Ah, never mind. I shouldn’t disturb your rest any further, so I’ll be going now.”

“I’m curious.”

Thud. My heart sank at those simple words. My feet, about to turn away, stopped at the sound of his voice.

“Read it to me.”

After a moment’s hesitation, I gripped his wrist more tightly at words that sounded like a plea. Holding the wrist that didn’t even fill my hand, I tugged lightly and he followed without any resistance.

My chest tightened at his docile behavior, following where I led. I deliberately raised my voice cheerfully as I spoke.

“Since you don’t remember, I’ll tell you. Ever since you were young, you always fell asleep well when I read to you.”

“Did I?”

“Yes, sometimes you’d fall asleep before I even turned the first page.”

“I see.”

He answered a bit drowsily, as if sleepiness had washed over him since his wrist was grabbed.

“Yes, that’s why I’m going to read to you. The reason you feel sleepy when you see me is probably because of that. That’s all there ever was between us.”

“…”

“Of course, it has no meaning since you don’t remember it.”

“…Right.”

“Even if you did remember, it was just that much. So it’s not really any different. Whether you remember or not.”

“Mm.”

He went to the sofa where he had been lying earlier and stretched out his body. Seeing him lie down, I looked around. Spotting a chair in the distance, I dragged it over with a scraping sound.

With our backs to the bookshelves and overlooking the first floor from the railing, it felt as if we were the only two people in the world.

“You haven’t fallen asleep already, have you?”

It was like that when we were young too.

On dark nights, when it was raining and thundering, with only a faint light remaining in the room… He would lie down and I would sit. As I read, he would soon fall asleep.

“Of course not.”