“Damian!”

Eriel’s urgent voice rang out.

As Damian’s lips flowed down her neck from the long kiss, Eriel hurriedly grabbed his shoulders and pushed him away.

Damian lifted his head as Eriel squirmed and turned her body, and looked at her.

Her small palm urgently rose and blocked his lips.

“This is the imperial palace.”

Eriel, stating the obvious, glared at him as she caught her breath.

Her bangs were disheveled in front of her face, so Damian raised his hand.

Brushing aside Eriel’s hair that had spread like small branches over her cheek, Damian nodded.

Eriel, with her eyes narrowed as if not trusting him, slowly lowered her hand that had been covering Damian’s mouth.

Damian wanted to breathe in her thick breath one more time, but decided to stop here. Eriel looked like she had a lot to ask Damian, who had suddenly appeared.

“Let’s… get out of here first.”

Eriel glanced outside with her eyes.

She peeked her head out to check if there was anyone in the corridor, then stepped out from behind the pillar, but Damian called out to Eriel from the darkness of the pillar.

“Eriel.”

At Damian’s call, Eriel immediately turned around and looked up at him.

In the darkness, a ray of sunlight showed his blue eyes.

“I didn’t record my entry to the palace.”

Eriel also furrowed her brows at Damian’s creased eyes.

Eriel took a deep breath, suppressing the sigh that seemed to be squeezing out between her lips.

Right, if he recorded his entry, everyone would know that Damian was in the imperial palace, so he shouldn’t leave a record if he wanted to investigate something.

Recalling Blake, who always wandered around without leaving any records or memories, Eriel nodded.

“I understand. You know it could raise suspicion if someone catches you, right?”

Eriel asked, scanning the corridor once more.

“Yeah. Eriel, can you go alone?”

Damian reached out to Eriel.

As his hand brushed over her cheek, Eriel was startled, quickly grabbed his hand, and pushed it back behind the pillar.

She was worried about someone seeing, but Damian didn’t care about such things at all and just reached out his hand.

“Of course. More importantly, let’s talk at home about why you’re in the palace without even recording your entry. Alright?”

Eriel hurriedly put a period on the conversation, in case Damian reached out to her again.

“Okay.”

As soon as she heard Damian’s answer, Eriel turned on her heels.

In fact, she didn’t have time to talk to him like this.

The maid would have already arrived at the powder room.

Eriel, who should have arrived much earlier than the maid, if she was not seen in the powder room… Eriel closed her eyes tightly and opened them.

She had to arrive before the story spread that Eriel had disappeared.

Eriel shifted her gaze to the pillar that was already far away as she took urgent steps, then ran forward.

“…Ah.”

“Oh my, are you alright?”

The man who instantly grabbed Eriel’s wrist as she lost her balance asked.

“…Eriel?”

At the familiar voice, Eriel raised her head and met eyes with bright hazel eyes.

“Ah… Gerald.”

Eriel’s eyes widened. Meeting her old friend Gerald after a long time, Eriel quickly regained her balance.

“Eriel.”

Gerald, looking at Eriel’s face, was about to frown.

A little farther away, a group of nobles walked towards Eriel, looking at the two of them.

“The Duchess and Count Shannon?”

“Ah…”

Eriel met eyes with Gerald in embarrassment. Gerald slowly shifted his body towards the direction of the nobles.

It seemed he was considerate to make sure Eriel’s appearance was not seen by the nobles.

With a single gesture from Gerald, Eriel realized that her current appearance was easily misunderstood.

Her lips were probably smudged from the long kiss with Damian. That wasn’t all.

She said she was going to change her dress, but her hair was also disheveled, and she was still in the same outfit without having changed her dress yet.

It was an appearance that anyone could easily misunderstand.

Not to mention, there was no record of Damian entering the palace.

“I was lost in thought for a moment and ended up bumping into the Duchess. I apologize. Are you alright where we collided?”

“Ah… yes, I’m fine.”

Eriel nodded, going along with his words for now.

“Duchess, are you alright?”

When a noblewoman asked about Eriel’s condition from behind, Gerald took off the outer coat he was wearing and covered it over Eriel’s head.

“Oh my, it seems I bumped into you quite strongly. It looks like you have a bruise on your face, so I think you should cover it for now. I’m sorry.”

Eriel was momentarily taken aback by Gerald’s words, but for now, she hid her face inside his outer coat.

Eriel hadn’t seen her face yet, but judging from Gerald’s actions, her face seemed to be in a more serious condition than she had thought.

“Oh my, Duchess. Are you alright? A bruise!”

“I’m sorry, Duchess. Since the bruise was caused by me, I will escort you. Allow me.”

Although it was better than spreading scandalous rumors, a bruise on her face… Eriel closed her eyes tightly and gently grabbed Gerald’s arm.

Vowing not to let Damian off the hook if she returned to the ducal residence.

“Count Shannon. Thank you. I will take my leave for a moment.”

“No, it was me who bumped into you.”

Whenever Gerald spoke to her, Eriel’s face turned red.

She was so embarrassed that she wanted to hide in a mouse hole if there was one.

“When you go inside the powder room, the maid will be waiting. Thank you so much for the outer coat as well. In return…”

Eriel stopped in front of the powder room, rolling her eyes.

Even as she handed him his outer coat, she couldn’t bring herself to face Gerald.

“Eriel.”

Eriel tightly closed her eyes at Gerald calling her name without hesitation, then raised her head.

“Count Shannon.”

Eriel, calling him Count Shannon instead of his name, firmly drew a line with Gerald.

“I am now the Duchess of Zenova.”

“We’re old friends, can’t we at least call each other by name?”

Gerald shrugged his shoulders and met eyes with Eriel.

He hadn’t changed from the past. His somewhat playful attitude towards Eriel had been the same since childhood.

“…No.”

“Why?”

Gerald lowered his head. Eriel frowned and pulled her face back at the close distance.

“It’s not good for a married lady and a man to call each other by name.”

“Really? For someone saying that…”

Shannon pointed to Eriel’s lips. His finger hovered around Eriel’s face as if it would touch but not quite.

“You have the face of someone who just shared a kiss with someone.”

Eriel’s shoulders flinched. She quickly rubbed her lips with her hand and furrowed her brows.

“It’s not like that.”

“Even if it was, I don’t mind. Eriel.”

“Please call me Duchess.”

“You said you’d return the favor, right? As you know, I’m raising my daughter alone after my wife passed away. I just… need someone to talk to about child-related matters. We’re old friends, there’s no need to be so guarded. Invite me to the ducal residence sometime. I’ll come with my daughter.”

Sadness passed through his bright hazel eyes.

Eriel slowly nodded her head, thinking she might be overthinking it.

“I’ll ask Damian.”

“Alright. Ask your husband and let me know.”

With a final light bow, Eriel entered the powder room.

“…My, my lady!”

As soon as she entered, the maid jumped up from her seat upon seeing Eriel.

The maid, with her eyes wide open, couldn’t close her mouth after seeing Eriel’s face.

“My goodness, my lady… your face…”

At the maid’s words, Eriel hurriedly fixed her hair and gave an awkward smile.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been to the imperial palace, so I got lost on the way… You must have been waiting.”

“No, I should have escorted you to the powder room first. Your face… ah, um. Why don’t you change your clothes first? We’ll redo your makeup after the dress.”

*

Damian stared at Eriel with an unrelenting gaze.

He smiled as he watched Eriel turn towards him, but flinched when a man appeared in front of her.

As she collided with the man and became flustered, nobles gathered.

The man covered Eriel’s appearance with his outer coat, but Damian’s hand gripping the cane tightened.

His heart sank heavily. He remembered the man who was the only one who smiled brightly at Eriel back when her family name was Borghese.

He thought everything was fine with that man’s marriage, but as soon as the unpleasant imagination continued, his foot almost stepped towards the corridor.

The situation seemed to be resolved well, but Damian’s heart was not.

Unable to clearly see the face of the noble man far away, he gritted his teeth and glared.

Damian, who had been standing in the darkness behind the pillar, clenched the handle of his cane tightly, then his eyes flashed open.

The direction of his footsteps was the exact opposite of where Count Scala and his aide were headed.