Why on earth was he acting like this? As I looked down at him in bewilderment, Logan released my wrist and slowly got up.

Then he walked into the office without looking back.

Sidney was about to move her feet but turned to Walter Asner instead.

“Walter, did something happen in the underground prison?”

“…!”

She had hoped it wasn’t the case, but it seemed her suspicions were confirmed. Seeing Walter’s eyes shaking greatly, she could be certain.

That Logan Redford had told Walter many things, and that Walter already knew her secret.

That’s the kind of relationship they had. Friends who pretended not to see each other’s wounds and flaws, pretended not to know, and thus could never truly open up about their real feelings.

Today too, that friend bit his lip as he was about to speak. On his behalf.

“I don’t know how much you heard, but…”

Keep pretending not to know. So that the heir to the Asner marquis family wouldn’t be accused of helping her deceive the emperor and the imperial army.

“From now on, talk to me directly about matters concerning me, not to the captain. Better yet, don’t concern yourself with me at all.”

“Are you serious?”

“…Yes.”

Let’s keep an appropriate distance like that. Sidney pushed open the office door, leaving behind her disappointed friend.

Logan, who had been leaning against the wall next to the office door, grabbed Sidney’s shoulder as she entered.

At the sound of the door locking, her brow furrowed and her green eyes trembled slightly. Those eyes, resembling a lush green forest, now held Logan’s reflection.

“Well done.”

“…?”

Sidney’s eyes widened and her plump lips parted slightly.

She wouldn’t know. How adorable her reaction is when he throws out such an out-of-context topic, how he can monopolize her attention… She couldn’t possibly know.

Before her attention could waver, Logan Redford spoke again.

“Pushing away Walter Asner. It’s better for him and the Asner family that way.”

“Are you okay with it, Logan?”

How could he be okay? She pushed Walter Asner away out of concern for him. And she didn’t even deny it.

Nevertheless, he quite liked that she got rid of the guy on her own.

Logan leaned back against the wall and waited leisurely for her lips to move.

Sidney furrowed her brow and spoke calmly.

“If you marry me, even the Redford family will take a big hit.”

“In this Arsnel Empire, no one, not even the emperor himself, can put a scratch on the Redford family or my wife.”

Logan firmly grasped Sidney’s shoulders on both sides and gazed intently into her eyes.

Her green eyes resembled a dark forest.

A forest where no one’s footsteps seemed to have ever reached. The moment one sets foot in it, they become enchanted by Sidney Warden and fall in. That’s how one hopelessly loses their way in the world that is her.

“So choose me. Whatever you do, do it by my side.”

As soon as the words ended, the corners of Sidney’s mouth twitched upward.

“Whatever I do? You just ignored my opinion.”

His body heated up at her arrogance as she tilted her chin up and glared at him.

With desire to make her disheveled and sobbing in bed, to possess all of her – her sweet breath, soft skin, the faint rising moans…

Damn, Logan averted his gaze from his own base desires and Sidney’s eyes as he spoke.

“Um, about the Anes resistance… give me a little more time.”

“Time?”

“If we’re not careful, we could end up being taken advantage of by the nobles the resistance has recruited. We need to move discreetly until we have solid evidence.”

Sidney blinked twice and rolled her eyes to the side.

That meant ‘Ah, right. But…’ Logan calmly waited for her counterattack, anticipating it.

She would surely bring up Steve Deniro, and that’s when he planned to express the dissatisfaction he had felt earlier.

Sure enough, Sidney frowned and said.

“Lord Deniro has already promised to cooperate.”

“I don’t like you meeting that bastard separately.”

“Then, let’s meet together.”

Was she reading him as well? Seeing how she immediately gave an answer as if she had expected it, his feelings of resentment melted away like snow.

At the same time, his chest ached with a vague fear and anticipation that he would continue to be swayed by this woman in the future.

Ache? Feel proud? Damn, Logan gave up trying to define the complex and subtle emotions and sensations and just chuckled.

“…If that’s what you want.”

“Alright. But… why did you ignore me like that just now?”

Now she asks. Logan pulled her shoulder closer and lowered his head.

“Because I wanted to hold you.”

And pressing his lips to the bridge of her puzzled nose.

“Thanks to that, we can be alone like this without interruption.”

“So you did it on purpose.”

That resentful look in her eyes is troublesome. If he had to say…

“It’s also punishment for abandoning me at the front gate.”

“That’s…”

He kissed her lips as she looked dumbfounded. The husky voice flowing between her lips was so sweet.

“Logan, this is…”

“…Yeah.”

So what? Who would dare enter this office? If someone came in and saw, that wouldn’t be so bad either.

As if she had sensed his thoughts, Sidney pressed her lips tightly shut.

To open those lips again, Logan whispered in a low, cracked voice.

“Ah, I haven’t talked about marriage yet.”

“…So you talked about other things.”

“He already seemed to know.”

Logan savored her parted lips and smiled faintly.

As their breaths intertwined between their lips, her eyelids fluttered and lowered. Unhurriedly and slowly, he parted her lips and delved deep, deeper inside.

Each time Sidney flinched, Logan slowly caressed her back as he continued the kiss.

Until she languidly relaxed and leaned fully against him.

I’m crazy. This is crazy. Sidney shook her head violently in the middle of looking at documents, then squeezed her eyes shut.

Each time she did, the intense kiss and Logan’s faint smile became even more vivid. How could she have done that? With colleagues just beyond a single door.

She must be out of her mind. Sidney gnawed on her lips as she looked back at the documents. Just as she was about to regain her composure.

“You’re both really strange today. It’s like something happened that only I don’t know about.”

Tap tap tap, Andy Spencer tapped his pen on the desk as he looked back and forth between Sidney and Walter sitting across from him.

Her chest tightened guiltily, as if caught doing something wrong, and she couldn’t say anything.

“Hey. When I say something like this, Lord Asner is supposed to scoff that it’s nonsense, and Lady Warden is supposed to calmly question me. But right now, you’re both just watching me nervously.”

“You don’t need to know.”

When Walter Asner retorted with a sullen face, Andy Spencer fired back heatedly.

“Even if I try to ignore it, it’s too conspicuous. Lord Asner has been spacing out all day, occasionally glancing at Lady Warden and heaving deep sighs.”

“When did I ever.”

Irritated by Walter Asner’s reaction, Andy Spencer turned on Sidney.

“And Lady Warden, after meeting with the captain, your face was all red and you were panting, then shuddering…”

“Lord Spencer! That’s enough.”

Walter stood up abruptly, slamming his hands on the desk.

Bang! Andy Spencer raised his voice even louder than the sound of the chair falling over. With bulging eyes, he shouted while gesticulating.

“I’m upset! Why! Why am I the only one who doesn’t know? The captain was also unusually friendly with Lady Warden, then blatantly ignored her opinion, hmm.”

He cleared his throat as if overwhelmed with emotion. Then he covered his mouth with the back of his hand and turned his head sharply to the side, as if trying to hide the tears welling up.

“I thought… we were a team.”

The heir to the Spencer earldom, Andy Spencer.

With reddish curly hair slightly covering his right eye, bright green eyes under long lashes, pale skin with freckles, he was nineteen years old.

He was a genius who had attracted public attention for being the youngest to enter Arsnel Comprehensive Academy as the top student and graduating early, but according to Spencer family tradition, he had been living quietly as a scholar.

It was Sidney who had persuaded him to come out into the world, and now she was the one hurting him.

Sidney approached Andy Spencer and apologized first.

“If I made you feel left out… I’m sorry. It’s an extremely personal matter, and because it happened so suddenly, I couldn’t explain properly.”

“…”

Andy Spencer’s eyes sparkled, urging her to continue.

How could she explain? Andy Spencer was someone who believed that even unjust laws were still laws that must be obeyed. The moment he heard her secret, she could easily imagine how much he would struggle between his beliefs and loyalty.

Sidney cleared her throat with a dry swallow and continued in a subdued voice.

“The captain and Walter… somehow came to know about my flaw, and it’s a difficult matter to casually tell anyone else, not just Lord Spencer. It’s not a question of whether I trust you or not.”

At some point, Walter Asner had approached and placed his hand on Andy Spencer’s shoulder.

Andy Spencer’s face turned cold, as if protesting why Walter was interfering, visible over Walter’s nape and broad shoulders.

“Even if we’re a team, there’s no need to share all of our private lives, right?”

Walter’s attempt to smooth things over seemed to provoke Andy Spencer.

“What if I… somehow came to know about it too?”

Andy Spencer asked with cold eyes. What would she do if he also came to know the facts that Logan Redford and Walter Asner knew?

That gaze seemed to indicate more than simple competitiveness or defiance, as if he was guessing something.

Walter Asner threw a meaningful glance over his shoulder and murmured softly.

“Then you’d have to choose. Either betray us and die, or stake your family name and come along with us.”

Walter Asner was not just warning Andy Spencer, but Sidney herself as well.

His gaze and voice were so solemn that it sent chills down her spine.