“I didn’t expect you to know even the butler’s name.”

At my words, Cedric nodded slightly with his eyes lowered.

Because of that, his hair fell slightly, covering his eyebrows.

“It’s a name I can’t help but know. He’s the heir of an influential family in the demon realm.”

“Ah, I’ve heard about that.”

Cedric, who had been silent with a subtle expression, slowly parted his lips again.

“It seems you two have grown quite close.”

I smiled and nodded.

“Adrian has been helping me a lot. He’s a truly loyal butler.”

“…”

“Actually, we’re planning to go to the futures trading market in the northern central market tomorrow. We want to scout it out before any items for investment come up.”

“…Just the two of you?”

“Yes. I’d like to go quietly, and if we bring knights, we’ll stand out too much.”

“…”

“Adrian is also a half-demon, and on top of that, as befits the heir of a demon realm noble family, I hear his magic and martial arts skills are amazing.”

Cedric remained silent for a while with a contemplative expression.

He frowned as if surprised by the bitter taste of the tea he had absent-mindedly drunk.

When I let out a small laugh, he cleared his throat as if embarrassed.

“If that’s the reason, it might be better if you go with me.”

“…You?”

“Yes. Even among half-demons, few possess power like mine.”

“…”

“…No matter how capable Adrian may be.”

Seeing him elaborate at length, unlike his usual self, it seemed his proposal to go together was sincere.

I fell into thought for a moment.

Of course, being alone with Cedric wasn’t as uncomfortable as before, but… The subtle tension I felt whenever I was with him was still there.

‘I’ll have a lot to focus on during the scouting. It would be better to go with Adrian to concentrate.’

It’s best to refuse firmly, but with a smiling face as much as possible.

I smiled softly and waved my hand.

“Come on. Is there really a need for that? It’s fine. You’re busy, aren’t you?”

“…I am busy, of course.”

“Right? So it’s better if I just go with Adrian as planned…”

“So I’ll have to adjust my schedule, even if it’s troublesome.”

Unlike his usual composure, Cedric quickly cut off my words.

“Is it really… necessary to go that far?”

I asked with a dumbfounded expression, but Cedric hurriedly stood up as if he hadn’t heard me.

“I should be going now. It’s gotten quite late.”

Even though it had been the middle of the night since he first suggested tea, Cedric suddenly changed the subject as if time had suddenly become late.

He started walking towards the stairs, pretending not to see me staring at him.

‘What’s this, all of a sudden…?’

As I blinked, looking at Cedric.

He suddenly stopped in front of the descending stairs and turned his head towards me.

“Tomorrow at 2 PM. I’ll come to pick you up at the Garden of Darkness.”

* * *

The next afternoon.

I was on my way to the Garden of Darkness, escorted by Adrian.

Perhaps because it was the day to go to the futures trading market.

As I walked, I suddenly remembered ‘Camilla’, the real villainess of the original story.

‘By the way, Camilla will be back soon… Shouldn’t I prepare something?’

Camilla Dmitri, my lady-in-waiting and the villainess of the original story.

Like Duke Bold, she was someone I needed to keep my distance from.

‘I can’t afford to die caught between two villains, after all.’

Lost in thought, I turned to Adrian beside me and asked.

“Adrian. Is there any way to fire the Duchess’s lady-in-waiting?”

“…”

“…Adrian?”

He seemed lost in deep contemplation.

‘He seems a bit down today for some reason…’

I gently tugged on Adrian’s arm.

“Adrian!”

“…Ah, yes. Did you call me, Your Grace?”

Adrian finally came to his senses and slightly curved his eyes as he looked at me.

“I asked if there’s a way to dismiss the lady-in-waiting?”

“Ah, by lady-in-waiting… do you mean Countess Camilla Dmitri?”

“Yes.”

“Why do you ask? Weren’t you quite close with her?”

“…That might have been true before, but not anymore.”

I slightly hardened my expression, thinking of the wicked Camilla.

“Just tell me how to fire her without any problems.”

Adrian tilted his head with a troubled expression.

“Actually… since the Duchess’s lady-in-waiting is also a noble lady, it’s difficult to dismiss her arbitrarily.”

“…”

“Especially since Lady Camilla is a star of the northern social circles. Unless there’s a justified reason, it will cause a big commotion.”

“…But what if I absolutely must fire that woman?”

Adrian remained silent for a while with a pondering expression.

Finally, Adrian’s lips parted, but he still looked uncertain.

“If she disobeys Your Grace’s words or causes great harm to the Twins duchy’s assets, you could use that as grounds for dismissal.”

“Disobedience…”

“But as you know, the probability of a noble lady who is extremely sensitive to becoming the subject of social gossip doing such a thing is…”

“…”

“Very slim.”

It was disheartening news.

Although I wanted to distance myself from Camilla as soon as possible, I could only sigh at the situation not going as I wished.

“Dismissal is practically difficult, I’d say.”

Adrian continued calmly, as if delivering a final verdict.

“Unless Lady Camilla herself steps down from her position as lady-in-waiting.”

But there was no way Camilla, who was desperate to gain any advantage by using me, the Duchess, would do that.

‘I can’t keep that woman by my side either, but what can I do…’

…Well, it’s not like an answer will come just by thinking hard about it.

I shook my head and turned to Adrian again.

“By the way, Adrian, what were you thinking about earlier that you didn’t hear me calling?”

As I asked with a pout, Adrian smiled faintly, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

“I apologize, Your Grace. I couldn’t sleep well last night… I think I zoned out for a moment.”

“Couldn’t sleep? Why?”

“Ah, that’s…”

“Let me see your face.”

As I grabbed Adrian’s arm to pull him closer,

I saw an unfamiliar carriage approaching from the entrance of the garden.

However, at that moment, I was so focused on examining Adrian’s face that I had no room to pay attention to that carriage.

“Y-Your Grace…”

“Let me take a look, I said.”

I forcibly removed Adrian’s hands trying to cover his face.

Then I grabbed his face with both hands and started to examine it properly.

Adrian finally gave in with a half-resigned expression and offered his face to me.

He even slightly bent his waist, as if to let me examine comfortably.

As I moved a little closer, his gaze kept drifting to the innocent sky.

“You really didn’t sleep at all, did you? The area under your eyes seems a bit dark.”

“Your Grace. This is… somewhat embarrassing.”

I could see a slight blush creeping up Adrian’s neck.

Seeing his ears turn red as well, I felt a mischievous urge rising for some reason.

I let go of Adrian and started walking towards the Garden of Darkness again, eyeing him suspiciously.

“Why… are you looking at me like that, Your Grace?”

“What on earth did you do last night to lose sleep? And why are your eyes so hollow?”

“T-That’s…!”

Although I meant it as a joke, Adrian seemed more flustered than I expected.

‘Could it be that he met a lover?’

They say the most interesting love story is someone else’s love story.

Feeling like I had stumbled upon an unexpected amusement, the corners of my mouth lifted slightly.

“Actually… I couldn’t sleep last night because of an excited heart.”

Adrian murmured softly in response.

Oh ho? So my guess was right.

As I continued walking, waiting for Adrian’s love story to unfold, that’s when it happened.

I noticed that the unfamiliar carriage from earlier was now parked nearby.

‘It looks like a luxurious carriage, but it doesn’t have a family crest engraved. Could it be a merchant’s carriage delivering expensive goods?’

As we were getting closer to the carriage,

Adrian, who was walking beside me, suddenly stopped in his tracks.

“Your Grace. The reason I couldn’t sleep last night was…”

Adrian seemed to have decided to continue speaking, but he still hesitated, his lips moving silently a few times.

As I was thinking that Adrian’s face looked somewhat gloomy, that’s when it happened.

“The reason is that I was excited about being able to go out to the city alone with Your Grace today.”

“…?”

“I thought it would be really enjoyable to be with Your Grace.”

The playful look that had been lingering on my face gradually faded.

After all, it was I who had canceled the outing appointment with Adrian, whether intentionally or not.

‘I thought Adrian would be secretly glad that he didn’t have to go out with his superior, but…’

Who would have known that he was looking forward to the outing with me this much?

Come to think of it, he had been showing his fondness since we first met.

Feeling a sense of guilt slowly rising, I bit my lip slightly.

Then Adrian’s gentle voice softly echoed in my ear once again.

“So I’m a bit disappointed, to be honest… but on the other hand, I think it’s fortunate.”

“In what way?”

Adrian looked at me and gently curved his lips.

His face showed a subtle expression, seeming to contain both joy and bitterness.

“Seeing that you’re going out together today, it seems the relationship between Your Grace and His Grace has somewhat recovered.”

“Ah…”

“I’m truly relieved.”

The bright afternoon sunlight shone behind Adrian as he smiled like that.

Amidst the scattered sunlight, Adrian’s smile shone even more gently.

After staring at his beautiful smile for a moment,

I let out a faint laugh and lightly patted Adrian’s arm.

“Adrian.”

“Yes?”

“Next time, let’s definitely go out, just the two of us, you and me.”

A faint emotion of being moved flashed across Adrian’s violet eyes.

“Do you… really mean it?”

After exhaling with emotion, he eventually continued his words as if playfully warning me.

“Then you must keep this promise. Understood?”

It was a promise that would be kept religiously, to the point where Adrian might get tired of it, after the divorce was announced.

‘When I find a new mansion, I’m planning to take you as the butler of my mansion, Adrian.’

As I was about to continue speaking with a bright smile towards Adrian, that’s when it happened.

“Haha, of course. Maybe I’ll be able to keep it sooner than you think…”

Drrrr―

Suddenly, the sound of a window opening came from behind me.

It seemed to be coming from ‘that carriage’ parked behind me.

As I was turning my head reflexively, a familiar yet charming low voice reached my ears first.

“Quite an interesting conversation you’re having.”

A man leaning on the carriage window frame with his arm resting on it in a relaxed manner.

It was none other than Cedric.

He observed me and Adrian for a while with his blue eyes, whose inner thoughts were impossible to read.

Then, one corner of Cedric’s mouth slowly twisted upwards.

“Have I interrupted your enjoyable time?”