At that moment, a voice struck like lightning in my mind.

Once, Sergei had explained to me what the price would be for overusing chronomancy.

In other words.

The reason Lord Joseph doesn’t remember what happened then is none other than.

‘It may have been paid as the price of chronomancy.’

If so, there was only one way to confirm it.

My gaze turned back over Lord Joseph’s shoulder.

“Do you really have to do this?”

However, Lord Joseph, who keenly grasped my intention, had a resolute expression.

“I know Dorothea well. Even if we talk, she won’t give proper information and will only sully your mood, my lady.”

“……”

I had to persuade Lord Joseph for a while.

He didn’t want me to talk with Dorothea any further.

I understood. I didn’t want to mingle words with her either if I could help it.

No, in fact, I didn’t even want to be in the same space.

It felt like my very breath was being contaminated.

How could a person spew out language like insects or filth every time they opened their mouth?

“Moreover……”

But as it turned out, that wasn’t the whole reason.

“Do you really need to know who saved you, my lady?”

“Pardon?”

This question was an unexpected part.

When I showed a puzzled look, Lord Joseph’s red eyes blinked several times.

“It seems like you’re expecting too much.”

“Should I not expect? I’ve been curious for 20 years about where my savior is and what they’re doing.”

“…No, it’s not you, my lady.”

Huh?

Lord Joseph, who had been avoiding my gaze while rolling his lips inward, finally sighed and voiced his concern.

“It’s that I seem to be expecting too much.”

“About what?”

“I’d prefer if I were the one who saved you, if possible.”

“Pardon?”

“I thought you might treat me a bit better then. Given your nature, wouldn’t you be more affectionate towards your savior?”

“…?”

What’s this? For a moment, my throat tickled so much I wondered if this was okay.

No, no. Pull yourself together. This is not the time to be giddy alone.

“Even now… I think I regard Lord Joseph quite affectionately.”

Besides, even without that incident, Lord Joseph is a benefactor to me and the children. Isn’t this enough?

“Hmm, that’s not what I meant……”

Then what?

But Lord Joseph didn’t continue his words.

Only the unspoken latter part of his words seemed to disperse into the air with a faint smile. Ah…!

Suddenly, I came to understand the meaning of what he was trying to say. As well as the reason why Lord Joseph couldn’t open his mouth further…

I realized.

He had said he wouldn’t force his feelings on me.

Because I would feel burdened. Because I would run away.

‘I kept drawing the line.’

…Why did I do that?

Somehow, at this moment, I regretted my past actions like mad. Was there really a need to go that far…?

‘We’re going to get married anyway, aren’t we?’

It’s beneficial to me too?

He’s a good adult for the children too?

He’s someone who likes me, someone I absolutely need?

Above all, he’s so pretty and cute?

“There’s no need to worry.”

I inadvertently intertwined my fingers with Lord Joseph’s.

He flinched slightly as if surprised, but soon naturally grasped my hand in return.

Even though my hand isn’t small for a woman, Lord Joseph’s hand is so large it’s almost cumbersome to interlock fingers.

The tips of his nails digging between my fingers and tickling my palms felt pleasantly tingly.

“Whether it was Lord Joseph who saved me back then or not, it doesn’t really matter now.”

Anyway, I’ve already…

“We’re going to get married, aren’t we, Lord Joseph?”

To his hand, his voice, his body heat, his breath. And to his life.

“As you said, we should clear up any other feelings before marriage.”

…Because I’ve already immersed my heart.

Although there were some twists and turns, I was eventually able to persuade Lord Joseph.

But this time, I didn’t want him to face Dorothea.

Because he was a victim of domestic violence and Dorothea was the perpetrator.

So I came up with an idea. To cover Dorothea’s eyes, and have Lord Joseph cover his ears.

That way, she would focus on conversing with me right now, reducing the frequency of her disparaging Lord Joseph.

Lord Joseph, too, would not be exposed to the vulgar violence she spews out.

After reaching that agreement, I approached Dorothea.

‘To be honest, my steps are heavy too, but…’

Even though I pretended to be nonchalant, the fear I experienced in my childhood was clearer than I had expected.

Are some shocking memories engraved even on the soul?

Moreover, what tried to strangle me in the past was her appearance.

Her appearance, looking to be in her late 30s, wasn’t much different from that day 20 years ago.

As if she had bypassed the passage of time.

Next, my eyes were drawn to her eye shape, bridge of the nose, and jawline, which were terribly similar to Lord Joseph’s.

However, I could never describe her appearance as beautiful.

Objectively, her features were as pretty and perfectly harmonious as Lord Joseph’s, but the malice revealed in her expression that I faced was as hideous as that of a venomous snake.

When I pulled at my collar to signal, Lord Joseph’s sigh poured down like a waterfall from above my head.

Immediately after, Dorothea’s sea-colored eyes slowly revealed themselves.

Even seeing them again, they were lustrous and mysterious colors.

It was an uncomfortable dissonance because the clear hues didn’t suit her character at all.

“Are you coming to your senses?”

“Ugh… What, what happened? Why is it so dark? Why can’t I move again!”

It seems they completely blocked her vision when I asked to cover her eyes.

This was better. Eyes are also windows that reveal a person’s emotions.

“It would be good to finish the conversation we couldn’t have earlier. You know who I am, right?”

“…Damn, the bitch from Landgritz.”

“Now I’m the Duchess of Daiern. Remember that even if you’re stupid.”

Dorothea spat out rough curses again.

But perhaps because there was a purpose, it wasn’t as shocking as at first.

It just seemed ridiculous when I thought of her as a frightened beast growling.

Then my body stopped trembling.

“I hear you’re called Dorothea. I didn’t expect to learn your name after 20 years. You must have lived a vulgar life, just like that crude way of speaking.”

“What did you say?”

Her pretty face, which didn’t match her character, contorted like an evil spirit.

She looked like she wanted to move her body right away and inflict violence on me.

But of her body, fixed by Lord Joseph’s magic, only her facial muscles could move.

“Ah, don’t answer that. I wasn’t really curious about your life. You must have lived according to your conduct anyway. Rolling around in a dump, as you spat out with your own mouth earlier.”

“What nonsense is this crazy bitch babbling? After getting involved with my son…!”

“Ah. About that.”

I cut off Dorothea’s words nonchalantly.

There was no need to listen calmly when half of what came out of her mouth was bound to be curses anyway.

“Dorothea. You don’t know how grateful I am to you. It was 20 years ago. Thanks to you kidnapping me, I was able to meet your son. At that time, Lord Joseph… no, the child you called ‘Yusep’ secretly took me out and helped me escape through the complicated streets of the slum, which became our connection.”

“Ick, iick…! You, you dare to treat me like this after rolling around with my flesh and blood born from my womb? If you knew I was your mother-in-law, you should be kowtowing and sucking up to me right now!”

“Ah, is that how the relationship works? But before being a mother-in-law. There’s one thing I’m curious about, how did you know it was Yusep who helped me escape? I had told the child never to let his parents find out, thinking of erasing his identity.”

Of course, it was bait to get the answer I wanted. I waited in concentration for the words that would follow.

“Ah, ahaha. Kekekekeke!”

And the next moment, her hysterical laughter seemed to shake the entire underground prison.

After bursting into guffaws and choking, she finally caught her breath and began to answer my question.

“You stupid wench, no matter how high and mighty your noble origin is, in the end you were just a brat. Did you think I wouldn’t know that you gave my son a button engraved with the Landgritz crest?”

Ah.

“That stubborn brat held onto that measly thing like his life and wouldn’t let it go, so yeah. I remember now. I stripped that bastard naked and hung him upside down by one ankle. How dare he betray his mother, bewitched by some wench. I had to teach him a good lesson, didn’t I?”