“Your Highness, I have successfully escorted Duke Bold out!”

Mina shouted proudly as she entered the reception room.

Her fierce demeanor in front of Duke Bold was nowhere to be seen, replaced by her usual bright face.

The other maids standing beside Mina also chimed in.

“We told him he fell down the stairs drunk and sent him off with some ointment!”

“It’s an ointment made from demon realm buffalo dung, so the smell will be terrible for days!”

“We completely erased his memory too, so you don’t need to worry!”

Their faces gleamed as if they had just enjoyed a hot spring bath after a long time.

“You all did a great job wrapping things up cleanly. Thank you, everyone.”

At my praise, giggles erupted.

Then suddenly, they approached me and gently knelt on one knee.

“Why are you all doing this all of a sudden…?”

In response to my bewildered question, Mina slightly raised the corner of her mouth and exchanged glances with the other maids.

“This incident has made it clear to all of us that we are Your Highness’s people, Your Highness.”

Another maid nodding beside Mina added:

“We’ve always been, but from now on, we’ll be even more loyal to Your Highness.”

“That’s right, Your Highness! Now we’re here to help, so please tell us anything!”

The maids’ eyes simultaneously sparkled towards me.

Looking at their faces in a daze, I slowly parted my lips.

“There is one thing…”

“Yes, yes! What is it?”

The maids’ eyes glittered with anticipation.

After pondering for a moment, I slowly opened my mouth.

“Actually… I want to receive forgiveness from the half-demon people I’ve harmed so far.”

Hearing my words, the maids exchanged confused glances.

“Pardon? Forgiveness from… the half-demon people?”

“Yes. There must be quite a few half-demon people who have been harmed because of me until now.”

“That’s true, but why so suddenly…”

“It’s not sudden, I’ve been thinking about it for a long time. It might be late, but I think it’s only right to apologize now.”

“…”

“It’s not right to live shamelessly pretending not to know after giving someone memories that might be painful for their entire life.”

…If I did that, the day I leave this castle might be the day I die.

As I was immersed in all sorts of terrifying imaginations with my head bowed, at that moment.

“Your Highness…”

“Yes?”

When I inadvertently raised my head, I saw the teary faces of the maids.

“What… what’s wrong with you all?”

At my question, Mina looked up at me with sparkling, moist eyes.

The other maids were the same.

“We had no idea Your Highness was such a deep thinker…”

“Me too. I’m really touched, Your Highness! Sniff…”

I wondered how those fierce expressions from earlier could have come from these girlish children.

As I was marveling at the enormous gap, that’s when it happened.

The maids opened their mouths again with determined looks in their eyes.

“We will help Your Highness unconditionally!”

“Of course! And if it’s half-demon people who were harmed by Your Highness…”

Everyone fell silent for a while, seeming to search their memories.

Then Mina raised her voice as if she had a good idea.

“Ah! The Grey Zone village!”

The other maids also nodded vigorously with wide eyes.

“Grey Zone… village?”

When I asked again, Mina nodded with a smile.

“Yes, the servants you fired created a village together instead of returning to the demon realm. It’s in the mountains near the seaside!”

I was worried about how to find each half-demon person who harbored resentment towards Rebecca one by one, but…

This was welcome news amidst what I was hearing.

“This isn’t just about those people, Your Highness!”

“Then?”

“If they hear that you’ve received forgiveness from those people, maybe the servants of the Light Mansion will start opening their hearts again too?”

“The Light Mansion servants too? Why?”

Then the maid next to Mina covered her mouth and whispered:

“Actually, most of the people in the Grey Zone village are those who worked as servants in the Light Mansion for a long time before being driven out by Your Highness.”

“Ah… is that so?”

“Yes, seeing their long-time colleagues they worked with being driven out must have hurt the hearts of the Light Mansion servants a lot.”

I was already anxious because the Light Mansion servants weren’t opening their hearts to me readily.

If only the hearts of the Grey Zone people could be softened, I could gain the hearts of the Light Mansion servants as a bonus.

For me, who had to escape the ending of dying from being shot by a fire arrow by a half-demon…

‘This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.’

A smile involuntarily spread across my face.

Just as I was determined to prepare to head to the Grey Zone village as soon as possible, that’s when it happened.

“What else? Is there anything else we can do for you?”

The maid standing next to Mina asked again with sparkling eyes.

“Anything else? Hmm, what could there be… Ah!”

There was something I wanted to ask Mina and the other maids when they returned.

“What exactly is Lillian’s heart?”

At that moment, the maids’ faces, which seemed like they would answer anything, gradually turned into awkward smiles.

“That… that’s not something we can casually talk about…”

“Couldn’t you… ask the Grand Duke? Haha…”

Seeing their reactions made me even more suspicious.

‘What on earth is Lillian’s heart that they’re acting like this? And why is Duke Bold making such a fuss about it?’

I briefly thought about asking Cedric as the maids suggested, but soon decided against it.

If the maids, who said they would help with anything, were so reluctant to even mention it, there must be a good reason.

‘Considering it wasn’t mentioned in the original story either, it seems Cedric kept it a secret even from the female lead Robelia… That means it must be that important to Cedric.’

No matter how much closer we’ve become than before, there was no way Cedric would tell me about such an important matter.

‘Why would he want to reveal a secret he kept even from his beloved partner to someone who, at best, could only remain a friend?’

When that thought crossed my mind, I once again felt pathetic for recalling Cedric’s face even at the moment of receiving Adrian’s confession.

* * *

That night. As Cedric was spending time in his private study, the last report of the day was presented before him.

“This is a report on any unusual occurrences within the castle today.”

There were invisible eyes and ears hidden throughout the Twins family castle.

The aide reported the information collected in this manner to Cedric every night.

However, it was routine for there to be nothing special to report.

It was then, as Cedric was carelessly flipping through the documents as usual.

Cedric’s eyes gradually widened.

“Duke Bold came and threatened Rebecca?”

The aide nodded slightly.

“Yes. He apparently caused a disturbance while completely drunk. He was demanding that she hand over something he claimed she had promised.”

The aide lowered his voice slightly with a suspicious expression.

“Could that ‘something’ possibly be… ‘Lillian’s heart’?”

Duke Bold and Rebecca.

Cedric had been suspecting that those two were after Lillian’s heart.

The aide thought he would surely be interested in this news.

Cedric’s gaze became even sharper.

As the aide was thinking that his prediction was not wrong, at that moment.

“What about Rebecca?”

“…Pardon?”

“Is Rebecca alright?”

An unexpected question flowed out.

The aide couldn’t easily continue speaking at Cedric’s unexpected reaction.

At this, Cedric slammed the table as if urging him on.

“Is everything written here true, that Duke Bold pushed Rebecca against the wall and tried to strangle her?”

A faint murderous intent flashed in Cedric’s eyes.

It was rare for him to be this angry, or rather, to reveal his emotions so plainly like this even if he was.

The aide trailed off at the unfamiliar sight of him.

“Yes, it’s all true, but…”

As the aide was gauging Cedric’s mood, that’s when it happened.

“Whatever that deranged Duke Bold wants is no longer important.”

“…Pardon?”

“If what he truly wants is indeed Lillian’s heart, then Rebecca might have been blackmailed by her own father because of it all this time. Don’t you think?”

“Huh? Ah, yes. Given the current circumstances where Lady Rebecca and Duke Bold are at odds, that thought does seem plausible, but…”

The aide, who had been flustered all along, suddenly tilted his head.

‘Your Highness, perhaps Lady Rebecca’s true goal might not be Lillian’s heart?’

He had been thoroughly scolded by Cedric for saying such things before.

‘You coldly glared at me, saying that the Grand Duke’s aide was being too naive.’

Cedric’s icy gaze, cold as frost.

As that scene came to mind, the aide involuntarily shuddered.

‘You were certainly like that then, but why are you acting like this now?’

It was completely different from before when he would suspect anything related to the Grand Duchess without fail.

To exaggerate a little, the current Cedric seemed as if he wouldn’t believe it even if Rebecca herself said she was after Lillian’s heart.

‘Can a person… change this much?’

The aide, barely maintaining his composure, opened his mouth again.

“There’s, there’s another issue?”

“What else is it?”

“The maids of the Dark Mansion went on a rampage, saying they would protect Lady Rebecca, and resorted to violence. Although they erased the memories, if something goes wrong, it could become a big problem in noble society…”

Cedric suddenly stood up from his seat.

“I need to reward those maids right away.”

“…”

“If they had buried him quietly in the demon realm forest, I would have given them an even bigger reward. That’s a bit regrettable.”

“…?”

I’m clearly listening to the Grand Duke’s words… but why can’t I understand any of it?

As the aide was thinking this, a rather reasonable suspicion bloomed in his mind.

‘Could it be that Lord Vincent is imitating our Grand Duke again? Again?’

Vincent often played pranks by transforming into Cedric’s appearance.

The aide cautiously approached Cedric’s side.

“Your Highness, just a moment to check…”

The aide grabbed Cedric’s hand and placed it on the Grand Duke’s seal.

The Grand Duke’s seal had security magic cast on it, so even Vincent couldn’t move it carelessly.

‘It must be Lord Vincent playing a prank again.’

The aide was certain, but the seal moved disappointingly easily.

Swish―.

Cedric frowned as he looked at the aide using his hand like tongs.

“…What are you doing? Have you finally lost your mind?”

But the aide only blinked his eyes with a dazed expression.

Cedric, who had been looking at him as if he were pathetic, opened his mouth again.

“Stop doing useless things and prepare reward money for each maid right away.”

“Pardon? Right now?”

“Yes, I’m planning to go to the Grand Duchess’s quarters soon, so hurry.”

Saying this, Cedric gritted his teeth as he skimmed through the documents again.

His face looked just like that of a man sincerely worried about the woman he loves.

‘The Grand Duke, who disliked Lady Rebecca so much, is sincerely worried about her?’

No way, that can’t be.

As the aide was laughing at himself for having such a foolish thought, that’s when it happened.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep peacefully unless I check with my own eyes that Rebecca is alright.”

Cedric, who had spoken as if muttering to himself, hurriedly left his private study.

The aide could only stare blankly at his retreating figure.

“Your, Your Highness, what did you just say…?”

It was a moment when even the aide began to doubt his own mental state.

‘Am I the one who’s lost my mind, as the Grand Duke said?’

After blinking slowly for a moment.

The aide hurriedly followed after Cedric, who was heading towards the Dark Mansion.