Although there was no direct response, Kisa felt as if she had heard Seiade’s answer just from that smile.

“…..”

While Kisa was unable to even open her mouth due to the tremendous shock that struck her head, he very casually scanned the surroundings.

“Shall we move to another place first? It seems our conversation will be long, but there’s nothing here. No chairs, not even a warm cup of tea.”

Chairs? Tea? The everyday words sounded terribly awkward in this utterly unusual situation, but Kisa couldn’t express any particular objection to his suggestion.

Just moments ago, she was too busy struggling with the wave of shock that had overwhelmed her to have the energy for that.

When there was no answer from Kisa, Seiade closed the box on the table and turned off the light.

“Well then, shall we go?”

Then he led Kisa to his office located on the same floor.

In what state of mind did she follow him?

Facing Seiade across a low table, Kisa suddenly realized that she was still holding the colorful scarf in her hand.

Perhaps because Kisa was the original owner, Seiade didn’t particularly take issue with this fact.

‘Bishek…’

The face of the boy who had introduced himself as Bishek and the stern Bishek Hillan that Kisa knew crossed in her mind.

Kisa slowly raised her head to look at the figure sitting across from her.

“Are you really Bishek Hillan?”

Although it was a question she had already received an answer to with a smile, she couldn’t bring herself to accept it just like that.

This was truly an unbelievable thing.

“I was once called that.”

However, the red-haired man said it was reality with an utterly nonchalant attitude.

It can’t be. Kisa wanted to refute like that, but she only bit her innocent lips.

She didn’t know well enough what kind of person Bishek Hillan was to speak with certainty.

Most of what she knew was heard through others or observed from afar, and even when she had faced him up close, Kisa had desperately avoided him.

‘Is this man really that man?’

Bishek who had poured wine on Kisa’s dress and Seiade who had always treated her kindly and politely.

Though they may look exactly alike, the atmosphere surrounding the two brothers was clearly opposite.

Kisa desperately tried to recall the man she had met at the princess’s banquet and find differences with the lover in front of her.

“…..”

But the more she looked at that familiar appearance, the more confused she became.

Atmosphere? What a subjective element that is.

It can easily change just by altering one’s speech and expression, and above all, it’s greatly influenced by the observer’s psychology.

Seiade, who had clearly exuded an endlessly warm aura before, now felt only faintly warm.

Kisa could no longer see her loved one as she used to.

Not like before when she harbored no suspicion towards him.

It was the moment when the last belief denying that the two were the same person crumbled within Kisa.

Now she wasn’t sure who this man was.

“Since when exactly have you been Seiade? Why are you pretending to be the younger brother? What happened to the real Seiade?”

“Calm down, Kisa.”

In contrast to Kisa, who was spewing questions haphazardly, his attitude was calm to the point of seeming leisurely.

“I fully understand your feelings. Let me answer your first question first….”

After a brief pause, the man continued.

“From the beginning.”

Kisa’s eyes wavered aimlessly.

From the beginning? Which beginning was he talking about?

Though she asked herself that, in fact, Kisa intuitively knew the answer.

About a year ago, when the two first met at the Royal Library.

That man was kindly informing her that he had been Bishek Hillan since then.

In other words, don’t worry because the person hadn’t changed in the middle of dating Kisa.

To put it another way, Kisa had never even met the real Seiade.

While she was dazed by the shock that hit her again, suddenly a question popped into her mind.

‘Then when exactly did it change?’

The most appropriate time to pretend to be the younger brother who had long stayed in the monastery. The time when he left those who knew the original younger brother and settled into a new environment.

With just a little thought, the answer was quickly apparent.

‘…Even the police and royal investigators aren’t fools.’

It meant that even for the Duke Hillan, who was said to be able to catch a flying bird, it would be difficult to fake his own death that wasn’t even happening, deceiving their eyes.

Nevertheless, he had perfectly made ‘Bishek’ a dead person and became ‘Seiade’.

‘In other words, he-‘

Just as a terrifying possibility gave Kisa goosebumps on both arms, a measured knock echoed through the room.

“It seems the tea I requested has arrived.”

The man explained to Kisa before giving permission for the person outside to enter.

“Excuse me.”

Soon after, Gilliam entered carrying a tray with a teapot and teacups.

It was unusual for the duke’s assistant, not just a mere maid, to bring tea himself.

Perhaps he chose to move himself rather than wake up other servants and cause a commotion in the mansion in the middle of the night.

However, what Kisa focused on was not the fact that he brought tea, but Gilliam himself as a person.

Seiade’s right-hand man and closest confidant, and one who had served three dukes including him.

Looking at him suddenly reminded her of the conversation she had with Lily a few days ago.

“That’s right. As you said, miss, except for Gilliam, the servants of Hillan haven’t actually been working here for very long.”

“Is there a special reason?”

“The current duke sent away almost all the senior servants before he took the position of head of the family. While giving them twice the promised retirement pay.”

What had sounded like Seiade’s revenge against the servants who had contributed to sending him to the monastery now struck her with a completely different meaning.

That man needed to drive out the servants who had worked for a long time from the family.

Because there was a high possibility that they would remember the real Seiade from childhood.

But there was one exception.

“Gilliam.”

At Kisa’s call, Gilliam, who was about to withdraw after finishing pouring the tea, stopped his actions.

“Yes, miss. Please speak.”

“Did you know? That this person is not Seiade.”

At that moment, Gilliam’s eyes widened.

He looked at his master as if flustered, then soon smiled warmly.

“So you’ve finally revealed it, Your Grace.”

“Yes, just now.”

“Actually, I was in the middle of guessing that might be the case, watching the two of you. Anyway, congratulations.”

“Thank you.”

It was a conversation that made the listener’s mind dizzy.

“…Did you know from the beginning?”

When Kisa asked, Gilliam first looked at his master as if seeking an opinion.

His answer came only after the man sitting in the chair nodded.

“Not quite. The duke was an exemplary person who followed the rules from childhood, but occasionally he would show impulsive behavior. However, I never dreamed he would carry out such a bold plan without telling me.”

For a moment, as if recalling old memories, the aged assistant stared into space before opening his mouth.

“At first, it was just a small sense of discomfort. It was hard to be sure since serving young master Seiade was such a long time ago. I wondered if twins were really this alike, and then at that time, the duke proposed to you, miss. That’s when I became certain.”

“Me? How did you know from his proposal to me…?”

At those words, Gilliam laughed softly.

“So you didn’t know. On that day long ago when you two first met, I was watching from a distance.”

“Is that true?”

“Probably the young master, no, the duke at that time must have noticed but didn’t mention it to you, did he?”

“Ah.”

Come to think of it, the memory was vague because it was so long ago, but it seemed like she might have heard something like that.

“The only person in the world who would considerately allow pursuers to catch up even while running away is Master Bishek… Oh my, the story has gone off track. I apologize. It’s because of my age.”

The assistant apologized politely and continued speaking.

“Anyway, the person who met you at that time was not Seiade, but Bishek. In fact, even after that, the young master often asked about news of you-”

“That’s enough.”

His master raised his hand to stop his assistant.

“Are you going to make the love confession for me too?”

“Ah, I made another mistake. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine, so you may withdraw now. And thank you for the tea. Your skill is still excellent.”

“It’s an honor.”

After Gilliam left, he savored the tea’s aroma and offered it to Kisa as well.

“Please drink before it gets cold.”

“…..”

“You’re not in the mood, I see.”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

Kisa, with a pale face, murmured lowly.

“I find you two amazing. How can you talk so smilingly about faking your own death and pretending to be someone else? Moreover, your brother is….”

“My brother is?”

She swallowed dryly and then turned her gaze with difficulty to meet the man’s eyes.

“Tell me. What happened to your brother?”

To be honest, half of her wanted to hear the truth, and half didn’t want to hear it.

But one thing was certain.

Kisa was already too deeply involved in this matter, and even if she had never met him, she couldn’t just ignore the person she had thought was her lover until now.

“Where did the real Seiade go?”

The man spoke after taking a sip of tea.

“You have already met that fellow.”

“…I have?”

“More precisely, I should say you visited where that fellow is buried.”

Kisa gasped.

“Wh-what on earth happened?”

“It’s exactly as Kisa knows.”

“What?”

“As Father Emil confessed, that fellow tried to kill me.”

For a moment, she thought her heart had stopped.

He even knew that Kisa had met Father Emil.