Who would believe it if I said life is truly spectacular?

I stood blankly, staring at the brown-haired man sprawled on an ownerless bed.

Then, unable to believe my eyes, I rubbed them with the back of my hand, but they only stung from the onions I had chopped at lunch.

“Who are you!”

It seemed I wasn’t the only one surprised, as the man on the bed crossed his arms in an X to cover himself.

Ah, now that I mention it, the man was fully dressed in uniform, albeit in a slightly strange way.

In other words, this wasn’t a strange or erotic situation at all.

Still not fully grasping the situation, I snapped to attention and hurriedly entered the room.

Then I closed and locked the door so no one else could come in.

‘So, the person lying on that bed is…’

I turned my head once more to look at the man now sitting up against the headboard.

I tilted my head to the right as I looked, squinting my eyes.

Finally, I opened my stinging eyes wide and rubbed them again with my hands, but the man before me didn’t disappear and remained there.

“Um, so who are you really?”

“Good gracious.”

I could see light brown hair swaying slightly through the barely open door.

The moment our eyes met, his resembling the blue sea on a summer day.

I muttered, covering my mouth.

Tears started streaming down, probably because I had rubbed my eyes with onion-stained hands.

“Nocturne Frey…”

“You know me?”

The man lying on Dietrich’s bed was Nocturne Frey.

Why he was in the Delgado mansion, and in Dietrich’s room no less, was a mystery, but I was overwhelmed with joy.

To meet my favorite character alone like this.

I had seen Nocturne at the banquet, but he was in the sword then, so his face was blurry, and I couldn’t speak to him.

But now I was in human form.

I could talk to Nocturne!

My breathing became ragged with excitement.

Moreover, my eyes were stinging more and more, to the point where Nocturne’s figure was becoming blurry.

As I approached him, constantly wiping away tears, Nocturne suddenly stood up, probably finding me very suspicious.

Then he stretched out both hands, ready to attack at any moment.

“If you come any closer, I’ll attack.”

“What? Attack?”

“Are you a pervert?”

A pervert, he says.

‘I don’t feel bad about it. Why?’

Being called a pervert by my favorite character doesn’t feel bad at all.

Realizing this new fact, I couldn’t help but laugh.

A maid who suddenly intruded into Dietrich’s room, tears streaming down her face while smiling broadly.

All of this was enough to look suspicious, but I, having already lost my senses at the sight of Nocturne, failed to realize it.

I was simply filled with joy, watching Nocturne’s emerald eyes nervously flickering.

“I’m not a pervert.”

“Then what are you? Why are you in Dietrich’s room…”

Nocturne’s eyes, which had been contemplative, suddenly turned cold.

His round, gentle eyes became elongated, and his sparkling gaze turned fierce.

“Are you an assassin?”

…Dietrich and Nocturne were definitely friends.

Dietrich had also gone on about assassins when we first met.

‘It’s not even a trend or anything.’

And what kind of assassin would shed tears of joy upon seeing the friend of their assassination target in the room!

I needed to explain that I wasn’t an assassin first.

I slightly lifted my maid’s uniform and spoke to him clearly.

“I’m Heidi, a maid of the Delgado family. I’m not an assassin.”

“How can I believe that?”

“I really do know Young Master Dietrich. You can ask me anything about him.”

Nocturne pondered for a moment what to ask, then raised one eyebrow and inquired.

“Tell me about Dietrich’s personality.”

There couldn’t be an easier question.

Doubting the difficulty of Nocturne’s question, I said.

“Since this is a test, I’ll be very honest. With my hand on my heart, Young Master Dietrich’s personality is very…”

“Very?”

As Nocturne nodded slightly as if to say ‘go on’, I stared at him directly and blurted out without hesitation.

“Nasty.”

“And?”

“He can be quite unpleasant at times.”

“What else?”

“But he can be kind sometimes too. He’ll try to take care of you when you least expect it.”

“Pass. You do know Dietrich.”

At the same time, Nocturne started using polite speech.

I nodded and gave a thumbs up, then asked.

“But wasn’t the question too easy?”

The examiner showed a firm attitude towards the examinee’s doubt about the test difficulty.

“No, this question was very difficult. Only someone who really knows Dietrich could answer it. Although Dietrich might seem cold and unpleasant on the surface, he has a subtly kind side. To know that, you need to know Dietrich very well.”

As expected of someone who was practically Dietrich’s only friend.

Nocturne’s sharp gaze softened at the mention of knowing Dietrich.

I must have seemed too clumsy and lacking in killing intent to be an assassin.

Nocturne, who had been acting as if he might cast a spell at any moment, slowly lowered his hands.

“So, did you come here to see Dietrich?”

I nodded.

In fact, I came to see Harpe, not Dietrich.

Now remembering my original purpose, I hurriedly looked around his room.

However, no matter how much I looked, Harpe was nowhere to be seen.

Until just before going to the banquet last time, Dietrich used to place Harpe on the table right next to his bed.

There was nothing on the bedside table.

“Dietrich isn’t here. He went out for a bit.”

The fact that he didn’t mention it was the Northern Subjugation Expedition suggested it wasn’t something he wanted to talk about.

He didn’t seem to know that I already knew about it.

I decided not to pretend I knew either. What mattered to me was the presence or absence of Harpe.

“How long have you been here? Are you here as a guest?”

“Of course not. If you know Dietrich at all, you’d know he doesn’t invite guests to the Delgado mansion.”

“Then, secretly…?”

“Correct.”

Nocturne nodded, smiling mischievously with crinkled eyes.

“Dietrich left without saying a word, so coming here turned out to be a wasted trip. I was just trying to rest for a bit since I was already here, but then you, what was your name…?”

“Heidi.”

“Right, Heidi came. I thought it was strange when I heard knocking, since Dietrich wouldn’t knock on his own room.”

As I was about to think about how Nocturne had sneaked in, I realized he was a magician.

Magicians rarely appear in the original novel.

This was because those who could manipulate mana and perform magic were extremely few.

As such, magicians were very rare and noble beings in the Empire.

Nocturne was a person with abilities as remarkable as Dietrich, who was called the epitome of swordsmanship.

A 6th circle magician, no less.

In a world where those who reached the 8th circle with human mana were called great magicians, becoming a 6th circle magician was as difficult as plucking stars from the sky.

Of course, Nocturne, my prince, had a natural talent for magic.

‘He entered the magic tower at the youngest age ever.’

At just ten years old, Nocturne had already reached the 4th circle.

It was a circle that those with ordinary mana would struggle to achieve in a lifetime.

With such magical abilities, it must have been easy for Nocturne to sneak into the Delgado mansion.

He seemed to have instantly grasped what I was thinking.

“Shh. Could you keep it a secret that I snuck in here? Using magic to sneak into someone else’s house is forbidden by the magic tower. I might be grounded for about a month if I get caught.”

He looked like a wet puppy, drooping his shoulders pitifully.

Seeing such an adorable sight, I couldn’t help but nod vigorously.

“Of course. I won’t tell anyone.”

“Good. Oh my, it’s already this late. I should head back now.”

Nocturne checked the time and neatly tidied his clothes.

Then he looked at me and bowed politely in greeting.

“It was nice to meet you, Miss Heidi.”

“Likewise.”

I was so glad I almost asked for an autograph.

I decided to hold back, thinking I might reveal my identity if I said that.

Perhaps finding my face amusing as I struggled to control my twitching lips, he chuckled and snapped his fingers.

Simultaneously, a complex magic circle appeared on the floor where he stood.

As blue light began to flash, he stared at me and said,

“By the way, your voice sounds somewhat familiar, Miss Heidi.”

“…Pardon?”

Before I could answer, Nocturne winked and disappeared in an instant.

I stared blankly at the spot where Nocturne had been standing.

‘What was that? Did I dream it?’

It was such an unbelievable moment that I thought it might have been a dream.

To have a conversation alone with Nocturne.

‘But he said my voice was familiar?’

I wondered if he had noticed that my voice now and at the banquet belonged to the same person, but I quickly concluded that it wasn’t possible.

No matter how perceptive he was, it was impossible for him to recognize me from when I was inside the sword.

‘Let’s find Harpe first.’

With Nocturne gone, time was running short.

Feeling anxious that I had to return to the kitchen before the sun set completely, I turned on the lights and searched the room, but.

“It’s not here.”

Harpe was nowhere to be found.