Reniel kept her eyes closed as Ianathas continued to glare at her.

With her eyes shut, she tried to focus on the sound of galloping hooves and the swaying motion of the carriage as it moved along. Even so, she could feel his gaze on her, making it increasingly difficult to open her eyes.

Cautiously opening her eyes a little, she glanced over and saw Ianathas still glowering at her with fiery eyes, like someone barely suppressing their rage.

She wondered what it was about her that irked him so much. There seemed to be a specific reason why he disliked her. Otherwise, she didn’t think he would harbor such hatred, even going so far as to mix in personal feelings, just because she had deceived them about being a woman and infiltrated the mansion.

Thanks to this, the more time she spent with Ianathas, the stronger her resolve became to leave the mansion as quickly and definitively as possible.

There was no telling how long Ianathas would keep his mouth shut. And she feared Felix far more than Ianathas.

If Ianathas let even a word slip, she would be dead. By Felix’s hand.

She knew all too well how unforgiving Felix could be.

His current kindness towards her was nothing more than an act of amusement. If he found out that she had deceived him, and for a full ten years at that, he would absolutely not let it slide.

‘Don’t catch my eye.’

‘Yes, Young Master.’

Reniel knew exactly how prickly and selective Felix had been back when he was a viscount. At that time, he had kept all the servants at a distance.

‘The Young Master is someone who personally killed his own nursemaid.’

‘I beg your pardon…?’

‘He’d find it even easier to kill the likes of us, whose faces he barely knows. So don’t catch his eye.’

‘Yes, I understand.’

Reniel didn’t know much about Felix’s nursemaid.

But it was clear that he was capable of emotionlessly killing even someone who had lovingly raised him from a young age.

In the original work she had read, he was certainly the type of person who could do that and more.

She absolutely had to escape before being discovered by Felix.

Ianathas was keeping his mouth shut for Felix’s sake in the first place, so the moment he realized she was of no use, he would speak up.

Then something truly irreversible and terrible would happen.

Sighing, she opened her eyes.

“It’s a bit uncomfortable with you constantly staring at me like that, Ianathas.”

“Then you should stare back at me the same way, shouldn’t you?”

“Oh my, am I allowed to do that?”

Reniel smiled brightly and looked directly at Ianathas, just as he had been looking at her.

Naturally, Ianathas averted his gaze and looked elsewhere to avoid her eyes.

Soon the carriage swayed, and only the sound of hoofbeats filled the inside of the carriage.

“I really despise you. If it weren’t for my lord, I would have already taken your worthless life.”

“I cherish the Master too.”

“Cherish? What do you mean?”

“Sleeping next to him every night has made me feel more fond of him than before.”

The insincere words came out easily. After all, this was the strategy she had used to survive for so long.

Even so, thinking that she would soon retire and fake her death to live in hiding, it was hard to mince her words.

Right now, she felt like someone who had been forced to go to work the day before quitting because they hadn’t been granted leave.

So she couldn’t bring herself to pretend to be kind with all her heart like she usually did.

“You’ve gotten arrogant just because my lord favors you.”

“The Master does seem to favor me quite a bit.”

Reniel answered offhandedly. Ianathas was trembling with anger, even though it was a trivial conversation.

However, Reniel had no idea that he was even more enraged for a different reason.

She simply understood to some extent that from Ianathas’s perspective, she must seem very suspicious and irritating.

“I guess sleeping together makes people close. I didn’t know you were such an easy person.”

“That’s right. It’s because I’m sociable. Would you like to join us next time, Ianathas?”

“Yes.”

Even though Reniel had asked provocatively, Ianathas answered with his true feelings slipping out.

“…Pardon?”

“Why? Did you realize it was a mistake after saying it?”

“I was joking. How can a man and a woman sleep in the same bed without being married?”

“Then how does Reniel, the Assistant Head Butler, fall asleep in such a seductive manner in my lord’s bed every time?”

“It’s different because the Master knows I’m a man. We don’t do anything, anything at all…”

Suddenly, she remembered that she had recently kissed Felix. But it was more out of fear than her own desire.

However, the man in front of her would never believe that excuse.

“It seems you two aren’t doing nothing after all. You’re shameless.”

“…Why are you asking about that? This is workplace harassment.”

“You were the one who infiltrated under false pretenses first, Reniel. Do you want to argue about who’s in the right?”

“I was wrong. I really like you, Ianathas. I respect you. I don’t know how you speak so well. You’re the best.”

Reniel put on a facade of kindness that she had lost due to her impending resignation, and said those words with a smile.

On the other hand, Ianathas became confused by her false praise and, trying hard to compose himself, did not continue speaking.

“Tsk.”

The more Ianathas spoke, the more he felt like he was foolishly getting entangled, so he decided not to say anything further.

Moreover, with his malfunctioning body acting erratically and his heart pounding fiercely whenever the woman in front of him closed her eyes and was defenseless, he couldn’t maintain his sanity.

He had an ominous feeling that he might unwillingly become a monk.

****

Having arrived at the bank in this manner, Reniel once again transformed into a man and entered.

She didn’t trust other small banks at all and only used the Central Bank, the largest bank in the empire.

Small banks could go bankrupt at any time and were often arbitrarily acquired by large banks.

Another reason for choosing the Central Bank was that it was owned by the imperial family.

Of course, it wasn’t entirely owned by the imperial family, and several high-ranking noble families had significant shares.

The Le Pelique ducal family also had shares, but they were the real owners of the Maronta Bank, which was at odds with the Central Bank.

So she had left her assets in the Central Bank, despite the Le Pelique ducal family having shares in it and being uncooperative.

Of course, she hadn’t anticipated all of this, and it was a choice she had made by chance.

“Customer number 104.”

When Reniel’s waiting number was called, she headed to the counter.

In the distance, she could see Ianathas still glaring at her. When their eyes met, she smiled and waved at him before proceeding to the counter.

“What brings you here today?”

“I have a guardian. In case I disappear or die in an accident, I want my assets to be inherited by my guardian.”

“Is it unofficial or official?”

“Unofficially. And I want the inheritance to happen exactly 4 years after my death.”

“I understand. Please fill out this form here. And where is your guardian?”

“In the hospital, sick. Can I fill out the form by myself?”

“Ah, yes. Of course.”

The bank employee was also startled by this unfamiliar situation but tried to recall the procedure.

Reniel had made quite thorough preparations.

The identity she had purchased was that of a critically ill patient in a vegetative state. It was uncertain whether they would ever wake up or not.

“Please set a password.”

“What is the purpose of the password?”

“If your guardian cannot provide the password, we cannot transfer the inheritance. The password system serves as a kind of proof that the inheritance has been properly received.”

“Ah, I see.”

She smiled, thinking that the bank’s system seemed more excellent than expected.

When she smiled at the bank employee, the brown-haired employee smiled shyly and looked at her.

“Where do you work? You have a large deposit… Are you a noble?”

“Ah, I’m just an ordinary servant.”

“I see.”

When she spoke with a friendly demeanor, the bank employee grinned widely and said,

“Please fill out these forms here.”

“Sure.”

In this way, Reniel engaged in friendly conversation with the bank employee, learning about their family and even the number of bowls and cups in their house, before finally leaving.

****

“Let’s stop by the jewelry store.”

“Why are we going there?”

Reniel felt that she should repay Felix in some way, perhaps because he had agreed to pierce her ears.

After all, he had given her an expensive brooch.

“I want to give the Master a pair of earrings that would suit him.”

“My lord doesn’t have pierced ears.”

“I’m going to pierce them for him today.”

Saying that, Reniel headed towards the jewelry store. Ianathas followed her with an incredulous expression.

Around that time, Ianathas realized something.

Perhaps the feeling he had towards her was a sense of disappointment that she didn’t pay attention to him.