Dietrich, who had returned to the cave with large strides, was surprisingly calm.

Despite hearing the nonsense of the sword spirit saying it would make him the Duke of Delgado.

However, his fierce expression exuded an atmosphere that would not tolerate any more nonsense.

“What did you just babble about?”

“You want to become the Duke of Delgado, right? I can help you.”

“So how did you know that this useless sword was needed to receive the title of Duke of Delgado?”

I saw it in the original work.

‘I shouldn’t say that, should I?’

This is really driving me crazy. I felt cold sweat trickling down my back.

I had blurted out that I could make him the Duke of Delgado because I was in a hurry to catch Dietrich, but I didn’t know how to explain myself.

Dietrich’s demeanor was too ominous to have caused trouble and not be able to clean it up.

If I told even a small lie here, it seemed like he wouldn’t even let me gather my bones.

‘Let’s be honest for now.’

Whether it turned out well or not, I had to get out of this cave first.

Only if Dietrich took me out of here as the Duke of Delgado could I find a way to return to being human.

Frustrated by my hesitation, Dietrich picked up Harpe, which he had thrown to the ground.

Then he looked around and lifted a boulder near the cave wall with one hand.

“Wait! What are you trying to do?”

“It would be better to get rid of a trash sword that just spouts nonsense.”

“No!”

What an impatient fellow!

I hurriedly blurted out the information I knew to the hasty Dietrich, who clearly didn’t understand the concept of waiting.

“I know everything! I already know all about your situation too. Ask me anything.”

“…Do I really have to?”

Dietrich didn’t seem to have any intention of believing me.

‘Should I show the dignity of a treasured sword?’

It seemed I needed to give a more grand and weighty impression to be believed.

I placed my hand on my waist and shouted loudly once again.

“So Dietrich! I will place you in the highest position of the Delgado family! So will you release me from the sword’s confinement?”

To my dignified words, he frowned his handsome face and murmured.

“Get lost.”

Oh, how merciless.

Seeing the cold-hearted Dietrich, I immediately changed my attitude and pleaded desperately.

“Please, just ask me anything. I’m telling you I know everything?”

Perhaps moved by my earnestness, he asked in a low voice, still eyeing me suspiciously.

“Do you know about my mother?”

Dietrich’s mother.

In the original novel, she was a character with little presence who only appeared briefly in Dietrich’s flashback scenes.

‘It’s a good thing I read the flashback parts well.’

Though I wasn’t particularly interested in Dietrich, the male lead, the early parts of the novel about Dietrich’s unfortunate family history were enough to stimulate the tear glands.

The most impressive part was the scene where his mother had to leave young Dietrich behind.

Her husband, who had fallen for a younger woman, coldly rejected her.

Forced to part with her young son, she gave him the necklace she always wore so he would remember her.

And after leaving like that, she died lonely, missing her son.

I calmly nodded. Then I slowly opened my mouth.

“Kate Roen.”

“Just knowing her name doesn’t mean you know everything about my mother.”

“The necklace she left you, you still have it, right?”

The old, red imitation jewel, I mean.

At my added words, he finally seemed interested and turned towards me.

He looked me up and down with curious eyes and tossed the rock he was holding onto the ground.

“That’s something only my mother and I truly know. How did you know?”

“I’m the spirit dwelling in the treasured sword of the Delgado family, aren’t I? There’s almost nothing I don’t know about the Delgado family. That’s why I can help you!”

“……”

After a moment of silence, he pointed the sharp tip of Harpe, which he was holding in his right hand, at me.

“Fine. I’ll take you with me. But there’s a condition.”

“Anything, just say it.”

“I don’t know why you’re helping me, but I don’t need a treasured sword like this. So when I achieve my goal, I’ll destroy you.”

“…Why on earth?”

Wasn’t he supposed to congratulate me and blow a fanfare when the goal was achieved?

Why destroy the sword after achieving the goal?

What could possibly be going on in that handsome head of his to come to such a conclusion?

I shouted with an indignant expression, pounding my chest.

“You can just leave me be!”

“It’s not just anything, it’s the treasured sword of the Delgado ducal family. Who knows what my kind new stepmother might do with this sword. Especially a being like you who knows everything is very dangerous.”

There were many things I wanted to explain, but I didn’t know where to start pointing out what went wrong.

‘Never mind. My goal was to go with Dietrich anyway.’

There would be opportunities to teach that frustrating fellow a lesson later, not necessarily now.

The destruction of the sword after achieving the goal was something to think about later.

I decided to accept the proposal willingly.

And so I entered the Delgado ducal residence.

Worried that others might see my translucent form, I entered the sword, dangling from Dietrich’s waist.

Although I was inside the sword, I could see the outside scenery.

It looked blurry as if a hazy curtain had been drawn, but I was satisfied that I could still see outside as I stared blankly at the entrance of the ducal residence.

The Delgado ducal family.

The most prestigious noble family in the Chronotia Empire.

The mansion where the hero who helped found the empire had lived was as elegant and stylish as its long history.

The sunlight gently breaking over the white-toned building made the mansion look radiant, and the enormous garden, which took a long time to enter even by carriage, was full of rare flowers.

Buildings built not too high to allow good ventilation, and fountains spraying cool water here and there.

After passing through paths lined with ornamental trees of various shapes, showcasing the sweat and passion of the gardeners, we finally reached the mansion’s entrance.

‘They’re really incredibly rich.’

In the reality where I lived, it would be difficult to earn enough in a lifetime to buy a house the size of this mansion’s entrance.

A huge mansion that took over 10 minutes just to reach the entrance.

To think this is where the male lead, Dietrich Delgado, lives.

No wonder his new stepmother coveted this mansion.

As soon as we entered the entrance, I could see the busy servants coming and going.

However, until Dietrich passed through the entrance and went up to the second floor, no one approached him first.

There wasn’t even a simple greeting like “Welcome back.”

Everyone seemed too scared to make eye contact with Dietrich, busy walking while looking only at the ground.

‘Hmm, hmm. Dietrich does look a bit scary.’

Dietrich’s appearance was nothing short of celestial class.

A man into whom God had mistakenly failed to balance and poured in all sorts of excellent traits.

But apart from being handsome, it wasn’t easy to approach Dietrich first, who never smiled and, to be honest, always looked expressionless.

Perhaps it was only natural that the female lead fell in love with Dietrich when she approached him kindly.

However, Dietrich didn’t seem to mind the servants’ attitudes as he strode to a room on the second floor. Then he immediately threw me onto the bed.

“Harpe.”

As he called the activation word to summon from the sword, I was finally able to come out of the sword after three whole hours.

“Ah, fresh air!”

Being cooped up in the sword was more suffocating than I thought, so I didn’t want to go back in if I could help it.

Well, I’m not sure if Dietrich would let me stay out anyway.

‘At least I won’t go back in now.’

Since this is Dietrich’s room, there’s no worry about someone barging in unexpectedly.

Filled with joy at finally escaping the cave, I looked around his room.

Unlike the bright and cheerful atmosphere of the mansion’s exterior, his room was empty to the point of desolation.

In the room large enough to play soccer, all that was placed was a wide bed covered with a white bedspread and a table and chair with gold decorations standing alone in the center.

Despite the beautiful sunlight, the atmosphere of his room was so gloomy that it still felt like being in a cave.

“Why is the room like this?”

“Are you dissatisfied? A spirit dares to be picky about rooms, I see.”

I pretended not to hear.

Although the state of the room looked very dark and eerie, as if about to summon a demon, unlike a noble young master, I was in no position to be choosy about hot or cold water right now.

“I’ll be convening the Council of Elders soon. I’ve brought what you asked for, so you can’t make excuses now.”

Damn Council of Elders.

Dietrich, who muttered that, slumped into a chair with gold embroidery on black velvet.

Leaning back and covering his eyes with his arm, he let out a deep sigh.

‘This is completely unfair.’

To be so handsome even with everything covered like that.

As I was blankly staring at him again, Dietrich’s low voice, almost muffled, was heard.

“Why are you staring like that?”

Although he asked why I was staring, that was clearly the same as saying ‘Stop staring and lower your eyes.’

Having already grasped how to deal with this guy’s unusual temper even though we hadn’t been together for long, I awkwardly averted my gaze and mumbled.

“I was staring because you’re handsome, so what.”

“What did you say?”

“If you didn’t hear, forget it.”

As I brushed it off, Dietrich also seemed to lose interest and spoke indifferently.

“I’ll tell you what you need to do from now on.”

“Okay. Tell me everything. I’ll do it all well.”

With the attitude of a K-office worker, I was prepared to do everything I was told well.

Especially since my residence was at stake.

“Don’t think about going anywhere and stay here quietly.”

If that’s it, I’m confident I can do it better than anyone.

At this not-so-difficult task, I smiled broadly and answered energetically.

“Okay! I’m really good at that! If I do that well, you’ll let me stay by your side, right?”

“…Well, we’ll see.”

Though he didn’t give a definite answer, I firmly believed that Dietrich wouldn’t be such a disloyal guy.

Not knowing that in a few hours, I would be venting my frustration at Dietrich, the world-class liar.