For a moment, everything seemed to stop. The slowly blowing wind, the faint sound of birds chirping.

My thought process also came to a complete halt.

Like someone who had forgotten to blink or breathe, I just stared at Ian.

‘How I see you, senior, what base desires are raging in my mind…’

That suddenly surfaced thought snapped me back to reality. As I slowly steadied my breathing, my thought process began to move sluggishly.

“So, what you’re saying is…”

I raised my gaze slightly and swallowed the rest of my words. There I was, in his eyes, rippling like fierce waves. Only my face was clear in the precariously swaying waves.

“I didn’t mean to say it so suddenly…”

“I didn’t mishear, did I?”

“Are you unable to handle it after all?”

Ian sent me a calm gaze, as if he had foreseen that I would react this way, while wearing a dejected smile.

“I actually didn’t even…”

‘…You couldn’t even imagine it, senior.’

In the end, Ian was right.

I never dreamed such words would come out of Ian’s mouth.

“Senior.”

“Huh?”

Ian, who had suddenly approached and grasped the tips of my fingers, lowered his head onto the back of my hand.

“Uh, yes, I did.”

As I answered, a warm sensation touched briefly before quickly moving away. I looked up at Ian with dazed eyes, and he met my gaze in response.

“How about tomorrow evening instead of two days from now?”

“That’s fine.”

I answered while slightly averting my gaze. Those eyes resembling the sea I loved so much were somehow difficult to face directly.

“Then I’ll wait in front of the clock tower in the square at six o’clock tomorrow.”

His voice, tinged with a faint smile, wrapped around me gently.

Suddenly, the thought ‘Is it okay to make plans like this?’ flashed through my mind, but as if entranced, I found myself nodding automatically.

“You can forget what I said today. I’ll tell you properly tomorrow evening.”

The sensation of his fingertips grasping mine disappeared, and soon footsteps faded away. Only then did I take a deep breath and look around. Ian was nowhere to be seen.

“I wasn’t dreaming, was I?”

In the original work, Ian had not shown the slightest interest in the opposite sex. He was described as an iron wall who never let any woman get close, not even the lovely Daisy…

Desire, he said. What kind of desire was it again?

Recalling his words, I hastily fanned myself.

“I thought he didn’t see me as a woman, so he was comfortable around me.”

Could it be that he was acting strange today because he was jealous of Ernoa and me?

I had been standing still like a statue, but soon turned to leave. My mind was so muddled that I kept stopping after taking a few steps.

“Even so… Does this make any sense?”

Ian, you weren’t this kind of character.

“What doesn’t make sense?”

I turned around with a start at the sudden interjection. Behind me stood Edwin, wearing a mischievous smile.

“Ed?”

“Yes, it’s Ed. But Rose…”

Edwin suddenly stopped speaking and peered closely at my face.

“What?”

“Are you sure you don’t have a fever? Your face seems redder than usual.”

“Fever? Not at all. What’s wrong with my face?”

Though I felt a pang inside, I snorted as if I’d heard something absurd. Edwin narrowed his eyes suspiciously and said:

“I didn’t say anything was wrong with your face. Are you acting strange today?”

“What’s strange about me? I’m glad I ran into you. I had something to tell you.”

Edwin started to back away slowly with an ‘oops’ expression. He seemed to have immediately realized what I was going to say.

“Oh right, Rose. I’m in a hurry to go somewhere, so we can talk next time…”

“If you’re busy, I’ll go straight to the captain.”

“Wait a minute!”

I turned back towards Edwin at his urgent cry. When I raised my eyebrows as if to say ‘go ahead and speak’, Edwin approached me faster than light.

“No matter how busy I am, I should listen if you have something to tell me.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at how naturally he delivered such a glib line.

He really is smooth at times like this.

“I met Uncle yesterday.”

“Uncle… You mean the Riley family?”

“Yes. When I told him about you, he said he’d make the antidote as soon as possible.”

“Really? As expected, you’re the only one who cares about me.”

“He also gave me this.”

I handed over the silver jar, adding that it was medicine good for pain. Edwin’s face brightened.

If I had reported the pain in his ankle earlier, Gabriel would have formally reported it to the imperial family, and the Riley family would have responded immediately.

The reason Edwin had gone to such lengths to get medicine when there was an easier way…

He wanted to participate in the subjugation.

That was the only reason.

I should tell him that despite taking the long way around, this wasn’t the outcome he wanted, but seeing his excited face, I couldn’t bring myself to say it.

“Don’t be too happy about it. Uncle also said you shouldn’t go on the subjugation.”

“What? Why?”

I relayed exactly what I had heard from Dylan, without missing a single detail. Carefully observing Edwin’s expression, which had instantly hardened, I opened my mouth cautiously.

“He also said that since the beast’s poison has remained in your body until now, it needs to be detoxified as soon as possible. So why don’t you stay here and focus on treatment?”

Edwin, who had let out a long sigh, showed a defeated smile as if he had given up.

“In the end, nothing has changed.”

“…You can make up for it twice over in the next subjugation.”

It was then that Edwin suddenly burst out laughing.

“But you know, Rose.”

“Hm?”

Edwin was looking at me with narrowed eyes.

What is he going to say now with that look?

“You do seem a bit different today.”

“You said that earlier too. How exactly am I different?”

“In the past, you wouldn’t have asked me what I thought, but would have flatly told me to focus on treatment. When I was feeling down, you used to plant seeds of motivation rather than comfort me.”

I nodded slightly in agreement.

If it had been the original Rosebelia, she would have advised that being attacked by a beast was an irreversible event, so he shouldn’t dwell on the past but look to the future. She would have told him to train even harder, using this incident as motivation.

Rosebelia believed that stimulating Edwin, who had good qualities, would help his growth.

“That’s true. Do you dislike it?”

“No, it’s not that… I’m just a bit glad to see this change in you.”

Glad?

Not understanding what he meant, I tilted my head. Edwin shrugged as if he knew I wouldn’t understand and continued:

“I always knew you were only tough on the outside. But lately, it feels like you’ve become a bit more honest, you know?”

Ah, so that’s what he meant.

“…I’m trying to be a bit more honest from now on.”

When my eyes met Edwin’s grinning face, I felt oddly embarrassed for some reason. I swallowed the cough that was about to escape and spoke again.

“If you’re staying in the capital, there’s something I’d like to ask of you personally…”

“What is it?”

*

“Right, wearing the unit uniform wouldn’t be appropriate.”

I opened the wardrobe and carefully examined Rosebelia’s clothes. They all looked comfortable, but that was about it.

I have nothing to wear.

“Isn’t it a bit silly to be so concerned about what to wear?”

Despite saying that, I kept turning my head this way and that before finally pulling out the casual clothes with the brightest colors.

After changing, I left the knights’ quarters a bit early. I thought the day had passed unusually slowly, but the path to the square seemed shorter in contrast.

I left Emily at the stable and headed straight for the clock tower. The hour hand had just passed five o’clock.

Is he really going to confess to me? That iron wall, Ian?

What should I do if he confesses?

It was clearly different from when Simon had confessed. Back then, Simon’s confession wasn’t directed at me, but now, at least Ian wasn’t seeing the past Rosebelia.

“…Should I reject him?”

For some reason, I couldn’t easily answer that question. It was my own heart, but it felt like peering into murky, muddy water.

“Sigh.”

I let out a deep sigh for no reason, and at some point, I found myself circling the clock tower, waving unnecessarily at passing children to pass the time.

“Why isn’t he coming?”

Well, I did arrive too early.

I tried to calm my heart as I leaned against the clock tower.

But even as the blue sky turned to sunset and dusk settled in, Ian didn’t appear.

The clock hands were now pointing to seven o’clock.

“It looks like it’s going to rain.”

“Let’s hurry inside.”

At the words of a passerby, I tilted my head back. Dark clouds had suddenly rolled in, and raindrops began to fall one by one.

In an instant, the raindrops grew larger. People scattered hurriedly in the pouring rain. Soon, I was the only one left in front of the clock tower.

“…Did something really happen?”

As time passed, worry replaced the urge to reproach him for being late.

If something had come up that prevented him from coming to the square, he would have sent someone else…

What could have happened that no one came to deliver Ian’s message?

As it was approaching eight o’clock, I became certain we hadn’t just missed each other, but I still couldn’t bring myself to leave.

I wanted to rush to the imperial palace right now and ask if something had happened to Ian. But the one I had an appointment with today wasn’t Prince Ian, but Klein, who was hiding his true identity.

Should I go to the duke’s residence instead and ask them to find out if anything had happened at the palace today?

As soon as that thought crossed my mind, my legs, which had been frozen like a statue, began to move. There was no point in just waiting.

Yes, rather than wasting time like this, it would be better to find out what happened.

Pressing down on my chest, which was churning with anxiety, I turned to find Emily, whom I had left nearby. At that moment, the sound of hurried footsteps approached.

Could it be Ian?

“Cl…”

I closed my mouth as soon as I saw the silver hair that came into view.

“Lady Rosebelia?”

The one who stopped in front of me was Renart.