‘It’s Nocturne, it’s Nocturne!’

Though his face wasn’t clearly visible inside the sword, one thing was certain.

That he was stunningly handsome.

Dietrich and Nocturne were young men with quite different charms.

If Dietrich was a handsome man with sharp eyes and an icy cold demeanor, Nocturne was a kind and playful handsome man.

His soft-looking light brown hair and ocean-blue eyes matched perfectly with his gentle image.

As I was inwardly cheering, Dietrich glanced down at me and casually said to Nocturne.

“Did your skin get a bit tanned?”

Surprised by the sudden confrontational tone, Nocturne touched his face here and there and said.

“Really? I guess I got a bit tanned from playing by the sea for a while.”

“You’ve turned so dark, it’s hard to recognize you.”

“Not that much. I should take better care of it.”

I wanted to scream out loud in bewilderment, but I held it in and looked up at Dietrich.

‘Where on earth is he tanned?’

From what I heard, it seemed Nocturne had just returned from a short vacation.

It’s amazing enough that he could maintain such white and smooth skin even after a vacation, but to say he’s turned dark?

While constantly shocked at Dietrich’s judgment, I couldn’t take my eyes off Nocturne.

The sight of Nocturne laughing and chatting with Dietrich was a work of art, a spectacular view.

There’s no need to see any other magnificent and beautiful scenery.

Because our Nocturne is the beautiful scenery.

There’s absolutely no need to appreciate any great works of art.

Because our Nocturne is a work of art created by God.

“…Huh? What was that sound just now?”

“…It’s nothing. There wasn’t any sound, why?”

“Really? I clearly heard someone say our Nocturne is a work of art created by God.”

“Who would say such a cheesy thing? There’s only the two of us here.”

Oh no!

Once again, this mouth of mine couldn’t stay still and blabbered nonsense.

What I thought I was just thinking in my head came out of my mouth, and I couldn’t take it back.

I covered my mouth with both hands and studied Nocturne’s expression. Of course, since I was actually inside the sword, I only imagined covering my mouth.

He seemed puzzled, but after confirming that there was no one around, he seemed to think he had misheard.

“Right. I must have heard things because I came running here right after arriving without any sleep.”

“Go in first if you’re tired.”

“I think that’s what I should be saying to you. You don’t look well. Did the Duchess do something again?”

Nocturne, with his electrifying looks, threw out an intriguing topic.

I perked up my ears and listened intently to their conversation.

“No.”

“That’s good then. The succession battle is still in full swing, so you need to be careful. How many times have they tried to kill you already?”

“Watch your mouth, Nocturne. There are many ears listening.”

Despite there being no one around, Dietrich reacted extremely sensitively.

His flashing eyes were sharp enough to cut down anyone eavesdropping at a moment’s notice.

Nocturne’s blue eyes were filled with worry as he looked at his poor friend who couldn’t let his guard down for a moment.

“This isn’t confirmed news, but it seems the Duchess has contacted my mother separately. Apparently, she expressed her wish to participate in the orphanage project that my mother supports.”

It was Duchess Leriana’s typical method.

Few people knew the true colors of the Duchess who was trying to swallow up the Delgado Duchy.

Leriana, who was nothing more than an adulteress until she entered the Duchy, made the people of the Duchy her allies with her characteristically kind and gentle attitude.

Kate, the former Duchess who was the epitome of a dignified and elegant noble lady, was no match for dealing with Leriana.

Everyone came to like Leriana, who approached even the servants and the elders of the council without hesitation, flashing sweet smiles at them, and Kate became the loser.

And this time, Leriana’s opponent is her son, Dietrich.

The orphanage project is just an excuse, and she probably wants to make connections with the Frey family too.

Nocturne lightly patted Dietrich’s shoulder as if to say not to worry.

“My mother is also wary of that proposal because she has no personal relationship with the Duchess, so don’t worry too much.”

Kind as he was, Nocturne was still smiling brightly even though Dietrich didn’t respond until the end.

How can he be so gentle?

“My goodness, he’s so kind.”

“Huh? I just heard something again.”

This time, it seems he heard it properly.

This is a real mistake.

As I was quietly admiring the gentle Nocturne, my appreciation just burst out.

Nocturne kept looking around with his eyes wide open.

Dietrich grabbed the scabbard at his waist tightly and shrugged nonchalantly towards Nocturne.

However, seeing how tightly he gripped the sword handle, making a creaking sound, it seemed I should be prepared to be thoroughly scolded later.

“The banquet hall is too stuffy, I need to get some air for a moment.”

“Alright. Go ahead. I’ll go greet some people too.”

Dietrich flung open the terrace door of the banquet hall, drew the curtains so that the inside couldn’t be seen from outside, and closed the door.

“Harpe.”

Popping out, I took in a deep breath of fresh air and replied.

“Yes!”

I don’t want to get scolded.

I’ll play dumb for now.

I stared straight into his blue-green eyes with an innocent expression as if I hadn’t done anything wrong.

His eyes, reminiscent of both the sea and a blue forest, contained the garden below the terrace full of brilliant lights.

I didn’t mean to, but as I looked, I felt like I was being endlessly drawn in.

“Heidi.”

He called me Harpe, then Heidi.

It seemed he called me Heidi instead of Harpe because calling me Harpe would turn me back into a sword, but this felt a bit different too.

Somehow, I felt my mind going blank and hazy.

“Yes…”

“Nocturne Frey is quick-witted. You need to be careful, so why are you acting so recklessly?”

“Mmm…”

“Are you even listening to me?”

The warmth of the large hand gripping my shoulder jolted me back to my senses as if struck by lightning.

“Huh? What did you say?”

“…I said, get your act together. This is a banquet hall. Stop talking and stay quiet. It’ll be troublesome if someone hears.”

“Ah, right. That’s true!”

“Have you been acting like this all along in front of people you know?”

Dietrich turned his head to the side, running his hand roughly through his hair as if my brazen response was ridiculous.

His hair, not fixed with any product, swayed lightly in the night breeze.

Watching his silky silver-gray hair dance, I fell into thought.

‘Come to think of it, he didn’t even have a maid to style his hair.’

Perhaps because no one helped him prepare for the banquet, his hairstyle looked much more relaxed than the other young nobles in the banquet hall.

The young nobles with their hair completely slicked back and fixed looked less appealing than Dietrich’s natural style, but seeing him like that somehow made me feel angry.

It was like seeing my past self.

It reminded me of the time I lived in the orphanage, when I had to learn to survive on my own because there were too many children to care for individually.

I approached Dietrich one step closer with a hardened expression.

“Dietrich.”

He turned his head to look at me upon hearing his name called softly.

As our eyes met steadily, I felt dazed again like before.

It was difficult to take my eyes off his beautiful blue-green eyes, as if being drawn into an endless whirlpool.

“What.”

A brusque and cold tone devoid of any warmth.

Nevertheless, unlike before, I didn’t find his curt manner of speaking entirely disagreeable.

In fact, until I went to his room to attend the banquet, I hadn’t really thought much about Dietrich.

‘It’s been bothering me for a while now.’

Because he looked lonely even as he tried not to appear so.

Because the image of him yearning for warmth alone amidst the endless succession battle haunted me.

Yes, that must be it.

I probably couldn’t leave Dietrich alone because I saw myself reflected in his loneliness.

I stood on my tiptoes and reached out to his hair fluttering in the cold night breeze.

I felt him flinch, but I didn’t stop.

My hand continued forward, carefully tidying his soft hair.

“What are you doing?”

His blue-green eyes were darting around as if an earthquake had struck.

Seeing Dietrich’s surprised expression for the first time, I smiled as brightly as I could to avoid getting scolded.

“Fixing your hair!”

“That’s not what I—”

“You’re handsome, so you look good even with a casual hairstyle.”

“What?”

What nonsense am I spouting now?

Despite the obvious confusion apparent in his expression, I continued speaking.

“But if you ever feel like you really want to style your hair or are having trouble choosing clothes.”

“…”

“You can come find me then! I’ll do it for you!”

On the terrace where lively music could be faintly heard—thump-thump, thump-thump.

The night sky I was admiring, standing near the white windowsill covered in all sorts of roses, was incredibly beautiful.

Leaving Dietrich without an answer, I turned around and pointed at the stars dotting the pitch-black night sky.

“It’s so pretty!”

I got to meet Nocturne and see the elaborately decorated banquet hall.

It was a bit disappointing that I couldn’t meet Yurian, but it couldn’t be helped given my current state.

There was still no response to my comment about the beautiful stars.

I didn’t turn to look, but somehow I had a feeling that Dietrich might be smiling.