Roselia remembered being chased by men in the alleyway and fell silent. In her dilemma, she eventually revealed Nadia’s house in the back alley as her destination.

The carriage, now headed for Nadia’s house, rattled rapidly along. Unlike Roselia, who had resigned herself to fate, Klaus gazed out the window, lost in thought.

He had eventually accepted the Crown Prince’s proposal. He had calculated the benefits in his head, concluding it was a profitable venture, but it took him a while to verbally accept it, which further confused him.

Why did he feel so unsettled about merely employing a servant?

Suddenly, the image of Antonio, whom he had rescued from the water, came to mind. Unlike his usual wary, cat-like demeanor, Antonio looked terrified, like a frightened puppy, invoking an inexplicable protective instinct.

Perhaps he accepted the Crown Prince’s offer not wanting to understand that emotion.

Klaus sighed deeply amidst his turmoil and looked at his sister, Roselia. Seeing her worried face gazing out the opposite window, he couldn’t help but associate her with Antonio and let out a self-deprecating smile.

He had recently had an unintentional friction with her as well.

The thought of spending the night together… even now, it seemed absurd.

It seemed that when it came to matters involving the Hesing siblings, his mind momentarily went awry.

“That day…”

Startled by Klaus’s sudden voice, Roselia turned her gaze from the window.

“I apologize for that day again.”

“That day?”

Roselia dredged up her memory at the mention of “that day.”

Was it the day she was pathetically crying after being saved by Klaus from the lake?

No, she was Antonio then…

The last time Roselia was with Klaus…

Finally recalling the day in question, Roselia’s expression stiffened awkwardly.

“Ah… that day…”
Awkwardly clearing her throat, Roselia spoke uneasily.

“Since you apologized right away, Duke. Well, I wasn’t exactly well-mannered either…”

Another awkward silence ensued.

As they sat facing each other uncomfortably, fortunately, the carriage arrived at its destination on time.

Klaus stepped out first and courteously took Roselia’s hand to help her down, then looked at the dilapidated house.

“This is… where you live?”

His expression involuntarily furrowed as he looked at the house, one side of its roof nearly collapsed.

Roselia quickly stepped in front of Klaus, smiling awkwardly.

“Yes, as you can see, the house is quite humble, so it would be difficult to invite you in.”

“Is this a place… fit for living?”

“Of course! I’m living quite well here! Now, please go ahead!”

Almost pushing him back into the carriage, Roselia watched Klaus leave with a mix of concern and displeasure in his expression. As the carriage drove away, she slumped her shoulders.

“I guess… I’ll have to impose on Miss Nadia for tonight…”

Returning to the Ducal mansion, Klaus abruptly stopped on his way to his office.

Antonio’s room, on the opposite side of the office, caught his eye.

Suddenly, he remembered the bandages he saw under Antonio’s shirt when he rescued him from the lake.

It seemed he had not fully recovered from his injuries before falling into the lake…

Worrying that the injuries might have worsened or caused some aftereffects, Klaus was startled by his own excessive concern. He irritably brushed his hair back.

Antonio was just a debtor, one among many servants in the mansion.

A particularly irksome servant…

Lost in thought, Klaus found himself heading towards Antonio’s room without realizing it.

Standing in front of the room, he chided himself for a while before rationalizing that checking on a servant’s health was part of his duty as an employer. He knocked on the door.

Knock knock

But, after much deliberation, his knock seemed pointless as there was no response.

Waiting for a while but still hearing no movement, Klaus’s expression turned puzzled. He knocked again.

Knock knock knock

Still no response from inside the room.

Frowning, Klaus cautiously opened the door and called out, “Antonio.”

Still no sound inside, he hesitantly stepped into the room. A quick glance revealed an empty room with no sign of human presence, not even a lit candle.

“Absent at this late hour…”

Klaus let out a hollow laugh, somewhat incredulous.

“Ha… staying out overnight, is it?”