Seeing that, Debora was reminded once again that she was causing trouble in someone else’s business.

“I’m sorry. This person is my companion.”

“Ah, I see.”

Debora showed a slightly apologetic smile to Paul.

“Sorry. I’ll settle the bill quickly and leave.”

“It’s okay. Take your time.”

Paul answered like that, worried that he might seem rushed. Then he exited the store again.

“Is the wrapping done? I’ll calculate the total.”
Debora, who stood up from her seat, rummaged through her bag and said, “The wrapping is done, but…”

The owner, examining Sage’s pale complexion, said, “You can stay longer if you want…”

“No, I should be going now. I rushed out today too.”

At that moment, Sage grabbed Debora’s sleeve with trembling hands.

“Debora, that…”

Though Debora held onto her, Sage, who couldn’t continue speaking, was kindly addressed by Debora.

“Sage, I’m sorry. I have to go now.”

Bowing slightly, Debora firmly held Sage’s hand and said, “Let’s properly make plans and meet again. Of course, if you’re willing to meet.”

Debora smiled. It was the same as the face that quietly laughed while watching the chiffon curtains dance in the breeze one spring day.

“Yeah.”

Does the person answering like this still look the same in Debora’s eyes as back then? Sage hoped not.

Unlike the kind Debora from before, she couldn’t be that way. So, it was okay to look older and more pitiful than back then. She hoped to appear as a better person than before.

As Velus left, Zen headed back to the study.

“When he said he’s going to sleep, I was surprised. I almost spilled the foam.”

Cedric, who followed in, said. Zen, sitting back at the desk, spoke with a bright smile.

“That man will never sleep in a commoner’s house.”

Although he acted awake, friendly, and approachable unlike other nobles, he was, in fact, more authoritarian than anyone else, ignoring even most nobles.

The behaviors he showed in front of Velus during his visit were all lies.

There was no surprise, embarrassment, or remorse. It was just satisfying. To move according to his thoughts to this extent.

But there was only one moment when Zen was truly uncomfortable.

[I saw the carriage leaving this mansion earlier.]

My heart pounded. It was almost sickening to think that this crazy guy might have caught a glimpse of Debora.

[If I looked like Velus, I would have met a dozen women simultaneously. But he says he won’t even show interest if a great beauty doesn’t have black hair? He’s really a strange guy.]

John, drunk one day, said. Derek, looking around, added,

[It’s not like everything goes well just because of black hair, right? Thinking about what he did to Eric back then…] [Kikik. Isn’t it that he won’t even touch a servant girl? But among nobles, there’s no one with black hair, right?] [Why does that matter? That guy will become the only duke in this country.] [Ah, Velus. He’ll probably marry without meeting his ideal woman in his lifetime. Poor… No. Not poor. If I could only become a duke, I could endure any sacrifice.]

Listening quietly to their disgusting conversation, Zen thought of Debora.

There was originally no chance for Velus to meet Debora, but he pledged to make sure they wouldn’t encounter each other more thoroughly in the future.
And to ensure that there wouldn’t be any problems when she was elsewhere, he even firmly informed Cedric. So, today, Cedric conveniently expressed his desire to go out, and Debora was completely sent outside.

‘But because that bastard said those things…’

Zen sighed inwardly.

‘Fortunately, it seems he didn’t see Debbie.’

Considering Velus’s personality, if he had seen even black hair, he would have yelled, asking if Zen had the same taste.

‘Regardless, I need to be careful.’

Touching his eye area, Zen said, “You must have told Paul to look after Debora well?”

“Yes, I asked him repeatedly.”

Cedric replied with a friendly smile. However, Zen’s expression didn’t seem to ease.

“Why are you like that?”

“Well, I should have attached one more person and sent them off.”

“Really? Paul is good at his job.”

“He’s later than I thought.”

As Velus left late, it was fortunate that Debora’s return time was delayed.

However, regardless of that, at night, unpleasant people tended to come out frequently.

“Even though it’s winter, people intoxicated from daytime are wandering the streets…”

“Still, the shopping district is relatively safe. Nobles frequent the area, and patrols are frequent.”

Zen knew that too. However, he couldn’t help but worry.

‘I made a childish choice because I didn’t want another kid sitting next to Debbie.’

Regretting the wrong choice driven by jealousy, Zen hoped that Debora would quickly come back.