As soon as the Duke entered the castle, the servants lined up on both sides bowed their heads politely.

Diana also stood in her place and greeted him out of courtesy.

“Have you arrived?”

As expected, the Duke treated Diana like a ghost and went straight up the stairs.

She thought he might have changed lately, but her villain father was still the same.

‘I don’t want to see you either.’

Diana simply clicked her tongue indifferently, but the servants were even more cautious.

In the eyes of the whispering people, sympathy and contempt coexisted.

‘If you’d just tell me not to come out, I wouldn’t have to go through this trouble!’

Diana moved with an expression as if she had swallowed a bug.

Only Angela, who followed behind, was restless.

“Don’t be too disheartened, young lady.”

“I’m not thinking anything, Angela. He’s always been like that.”

‘He’s someone who wants to become the Emperor of the Empire by taking the lives of other races. How could such a person have any paternal love?’

Diana glared at the study room for no reason and clicked her tongue.

She was really sick of her father. She wanted to escape from this castle as soon as possible.

The Duke headed straight to the underground prison with Benjamin without even meeting Diana.

“You’re not going to see the young lady first?”

“Is there any guarantee that there are only two rats in the castle?”

“……I have no words, even with ten mouths.”

The composed face crumpled mercilessly.

“How did they infiltrate this time?”

“They killed a servant who received a recommendation letter and stole their identity.”

“……I can’t even guess how far they’re willing to go.”

There was a strong smell of blood in the stone prison where a gloomy energy was rising.

The heavy footsteps stopped, and a cold gaze fell on the man inside the iron bars.

The servant, collapsed on the floor mumbling nonsense, looked like a skeleton with his skin and bones.

“He’s under a curse spell. His life will soon be exhausted and he’ll breathe his last.”

“Is the investigation finished?”

“Yes. He didn’t even think of hiding anything.”

“Dispose of him as usual.”

“Understood.”

Benjamin looked at the dying man with averted eyes. There was nothing more he could do.

Deep worry showed in the gray eyes behind the monocle. It was a repetition of meaningless sacrifices.

Diana sat upright on the reception room sofa facing Benjamin.

He looked visibly tired from wrapping up the attempted case. The dark shadows under his eyes were pitiful.

“I compared each of the wanted list with the composite sketches of the bodies found in the forest. They were all criminals who came from neighboring territories. Upon tracking, I found that some of them had been sentenced for participating in protests. It seems…”

“That it’s likely to be a disturbance caused by rebels. Is that what you mean?”

“That’s correct.”

Diana nodded slightly while drinking pomegranate juice with ice.

It wasn’t very surprising as she had expected it.

“From now on, we’ve decided to strictly manage your outings within the territory for your safety. From now on, you must be accompanied by a guard knight wherever you go.”

Benjamin said, pulling a stack of papers on the table towards him.

“But I already have Raoul as my guard, don’t I?”

Benjamin hesitated for a moment before speaking with a troubled expression.

“I’m sorry, but that fellow is scheduled to be assigned to outer defense duties.”

“Why so suddenly?”

“I checked the investigation report compiled by the Homeren Duchy, and he alone had dealt with dozens of magical beasts. Given the recent situation where abnormally shaped magical beasts are appearing frequently, we want to utilize him as military force.”

It wasn’t an incomprehensible situation.

Even before the regression, Raoul used to carry out missions under the Duke’s orders that Diana didn’t know about.

It would be best to keep him close as a guard, but… in a way, this might also be my selfishness.

Diana let go of her obsession with Raoul and thought of other knights.

‘Then, who else is there? Vincent is the deputy commander of the castle, so he’s too high-ranking to be used as my guard… and the rest of the knights… are unlikable because they’re hostile to Raoul.’

“The knight I recommend is Sir Biche.”

Benjamin said, pointing to a cheap portrait drawn on the personnel list.

The portrait, hastily commissioned to a street artist for personnel submission, was closer to a sketch than a finished work.

“He’s skilled in defensive magic and has a gentle personality, making him suitable for guard duty.”

It was a familiar name to Diana as well.

He was one of the few just and fair individuals in the Empire, where discrimination was rampant, along with Vincent.

Although he seemed foolish, he had a straightforward personality of only speaking the truth, unlike a typical knight of Arnel.

‘Sir Biche wouldn’t be bad.’

Diana put down her drink and smiled silently. It was a sign of approval to proceed as such.

As she turned around the corridor, she saw Raoul training alone in the empty training ground.

‘Even in this hot weather, he doesn’t rest.’

Raoul, who didn’t know laziness, visited the training ground every day even during his vacation.

Diana stood by a shaded stone pillar and admired his swordsmanship, which had grown unrecognizably in just a few years.

Before long, a dummy made of straw was cleanly cut without a single miss.

Diana smiled contentedly and clapped silently.

Raoul immediately turned his head and ran to Diana’s side.

“Oh. When did you come?”

“Just now. Did I disturb you?”

“Not at all.”

Raoul wiped his sweat and grinned.

“You’re supposed to rest until today, right?”

“I feel stuffy.”

He muttered, pretending to be nonchalant while averting his gaze.

“I also want to return to being your guard soon.”

Ah, Diana couldn’t hide her awkward expression and rolled her eyes. ‘If he finds out that the guard duty has been passed to Biche… will he be disappointed?’ She wanted to avoid uncomfortable conversations, but Diana was weak at lying.

As Raoul gazed at her intently, cold sweat ran down her back.

‘I guess it’s better to face it head-on?’

“Actually, I have something to say about that.”

“What is it?”

“Um… Sir Biche will be in charge of my guard from now on.”

“Biche?”

As expected, a displeased gaze shot straight at her.

“His basics are a mess. He’s not up to the level to guard you.”

The straight eyebrow ridge twitched, expressing his discomfort.

“I can do it better.”

“I know. But what can we do if you’re too good? It seems they want to entrust you with more important duties befitting your excellent skills.”

“…There’s no duty more important than protecting you.”

A gloomy gaze fell on Diana’s fingertips. He held her slender fingers and looked up at Diana like a rain-soaked puppy.

‘Ugh, what should I do? He’s too cute!’ Diana lowered her gaze and clenched her fist. It was hard to bear such a beautiful sight.

‘Raoul has changed a lot too. He used to be just blunt before!’

He was more mature compared to his peers. It was largely due to his early independence from the absence of a guardian.

Yet, such Raoul acted like a child only in front of Diana.

He often expressed jealousy, grumbled but tried to stay by her side, and his eyes sparkled asking to be loved.

Even though she hadn’t done much for him, he treated Diana like the most precious person in the world.

Every time she saw a new side of him that she hadn’t known before, emotions welled up.

‘How bad of a person must I have been for such a pure and beautiful child to hate me enough…’

She wanted to cherish him in the right way, even now.

She wanted to stay by his side, maintaining an appropriate distance without being burdensome. Diana smiled brightly as she held Raoul’s hand in return.

“I’m touched. To think you feel this way about me…”

“I’ve always felt this way, why are you suddenly touched…?”

“Just… I’m touched and happy… Raoul, you’re too cute.”

The last words were an unconscious truth.

‘Cute! Pretty! Why don’t dresses have pockets? I want to put him in and carry him around!’ Diana stamped her feet, praising the cute Raoul.

Perhaps uncomfortable with her obvious gaze, Raoul turned his head abruptly and pulled Diana’s hand.

The neck of Raoul walking ahead was as red as if it had been dipped in hot water and taken out.

His skin was so white that it seemed to have turned red from the summer sun.

“…Let’s just put away the sword and go.”

“Where?”

“Anywhere.”

Raoul was impatient, captivated by the lovable Diana.

Raoul was weak to Diana’s shy face.

He felt like he needed to go flower viewing with Diana right now, forgetting about sword practice and everything else.

Dancing under the scorching sun until they were out of breath, and then on those plump cheeks…

‘No. That’s not allowed.’

Raoul remembered the request he heard in the buckwheat field.

‘I must never do anything Diana dislikes.’

Raoul was patient.

If Diana wanted, he could wait for thousands of years.

‘No, thousands of years might be too much…’

Anyway, young Raoul was gentle and kind. That’s why he could completely obey Diana’s words.

At least now. At least for now.

Now that he wasn’t desperate enough to beg and plead for love.

At least now, when that was the case.