It was two days ago that Daniel, who came to see Kisa in the middle of the night, uttered strange words.

Shortly after suggesting that she meet someone who knows Seyerd’s past, Daniel had to leave the front of the wall.

This was because the sound of guards periodically patrolling around Ranspelt’s townhouse could be heard.

“Anyway, I’ll try to arrange a meeting soon, so wait.”

“What? Wait—.”

“See you later, Kisa.”

Daniel, who had arbitrarily concluded without Kisa expressing her intention to meet, disappeared with the sound of quick footsteps as if running.

The guards who saw the suspicious figure shouted, “Who’s that guy?” but it seemed they couldn’t catch him.

Judging by the nanny’s story the next morning that a thief almost broke in last night, it seemed his identity wasn’t revealed either.

Well, whether Daniel was caught showing suspicious behavior at his ex-fiancée’s house and was disgraced or not wasn’t particularly important to Kisa.

The problem was that since then, Kisa’s mind had been continuously complicated by the information that guy had thrown and left.

That Seyerd frequently went in and out of gambling dens? And he had a woman he was seeing?

It was so different from the person Kisa knew that, to be honest, it wasn’t believable at all.

However, there was something unsettling about considering it a blatant lie made up by Daniel.

She knows from having watched him for many years.

Daniel Lowens is an insolent and easily contemptuous scoundrel, but he wasn’t the type to slander people by making up non-existent stories.

It’s more a matter of pride than morality.

He placed considerable value on his characteristic of honesty.

That’s why he boldly behaves and speaks rudely to others, including Kisa, without wrapping it up as frankness or honesty.

To be honest, it was hard to imagine that such a Daniel would try to slander Seyerd by presenting a fake witness.

‘No. I can’t say I know everything about that guy.’

In fact, hadn’t she been hit on the back of the head several times for harboring naive thoughts towards him?

As it turned out, he was a man who could swear eternity to another woman while having a fiancée, and could use force to oppress Kisa.

It might not be a strange assumption that he revealed an even lower side due to being pushed into a defensive position like never before.

Above all, between Daniel who has disrespected and deceived her so far, and Seyerd who has given immeasurably great help, which one should she believe? It was a question that didn’t even need to be asked.

Kisa should believe Seyerd. This was the answer Kisa came to after a not-so-long deliberation.

In fact, if you think about it coldly, even if he really frequented gambling dens and had a woman he was seeing, it’s not a crime.

Although the perception isn’t very good, gambling wasn’t particularly a crime in the Kingdom of Sorvi, and romantic relationships even less so.

She also had no intention of blaming Seyerd for not following religious rules when he didn’t enter the monastery of his own will.

In addition, he didn’t have to confide all his circumstances to Kisa.

Both the past of going to gambling dens and having a woman he was seeing were all private matters, weren’t they?

Daniel, not knowing the truth, seemed to think that Kisa wouldn’t tolerate it if Seyerd had another woman, but the two were bound by a contract.

In other words, as long as they fulfilled the terms of the contract well, they could share love with different partners.

“…”

For a moment, a weak pain was felt in a corner of her heart.

Somehow she felt stuffy and depressed.

Wondering what the reason was, Kisa eventually found a suitable answer.

If by any chance Daniel’s claim was true, it would mean that Seyerd had lied to her.

Certainly, on their first date, in the garden of the Ranspelt Count’s residence, he had said this:

“Well, since I learned dating from books, I was worried if it would work in practice.”

If he really had a lover, it’s hard to believe he had never been on a date before, so this statement was likely a lie with high probability.

In fact, not just this, but several other words and actions of Seyerd gave the impression of having no dating experience.

So that’s why. Kisa’s heart was not feeling good because she discovered the possibility that he might have lied.

Recently, Kisa had relied a lot on Seyerd.

She consulted him about worries she couldn’t tell others and honestly shared her true feelings.

In a situation where she was betrayed by her fiancé, her relationship with her best friend was strained, and even her nanny was more her father’s person than hers, Seyerd was the only one to whom Kisa showed her raw self.

Perhaps he had unavoidable circumstances, but if he really lied, it was natural for Kisa to feel disappointed.

After all, she alone had dealt with him with complete sincerity.

Yes, it was nothing more, nothing less.

After defining the emotion stirring within her, Kisa set her policy.

Regardless of the disappointment she felt, she had to avoid the meeting that Daniel said he would arrange soon.

To be honest, she wasn’t entirely uninterested in the so-called witness, but she didn’t want to act according to Daniel’s intention to separate Seyerd and Kisa, and it was tantamount to betraying Seyerd.

Moreover, even if Daniel’s claim was true, Kisa had no intention of breaking the marriage contract.

The situation had grown too big to easily turn back now, and if she were to separate from Seyerd, Kisa would have no choice but to reunite with Daniel. She didn’t want that at all.

Let’s assume that Seyerd is really a hoodlum and a liar who hid the existence of a lover.

But even so, could Daniel be considered a better choice than him?

He too was not particularly faithful in his conduct and had Hazel by his side. That woman who wore the mask of a friend while loving him desperately.

No matter how many times she thought about it, there was no better point, and he even went so far as to openly despise and ignore Kisa.

On the other hand, Seyerd is always kind and respectful to her.

Daniel might call it hypocrisy and pretense, but to Kisa, false kindness was a hundred times better than honest rudeness.

At least, what changed her in a more positive direction was not the ten years spent with Daniel, but the past two months or so.

It was clear as day whose hand she should take between the two.

Therefore, it was better to forget the story Daniel told that night.

She had just settled her thoughts like that and agreed to Seyerd’s second date request, but…

“You seem to have a lot on your mind today. Did something happen in the meantime?”

From inside the carriage heading to their destination, Seyerd keenly noticed Kisa’s different demeanor from usual.

In fact, she was partly responsible for this. Despite firmly resolving to forget Daniel’s claim, seeing his face brought many idle thoughts.

Is there really another face hidden behind that seemingly kind and sincere face?

Even though she tried her best not to think about it, such doubts kept rising in her mind.

To the extent that even Kisa herself couldn’t understand why she cared so much about his hidden side.

It might have been an inevitable result for the sharp-witted Seyerd to sense something was off.

“If so, how about telling me? I can’t promise to solve the problem, but we can think about it together.”

A kind suggestion, as always.

It didn’t seem possible that he could have hidden another face.

“Thank you for your concern, but it’s nothing. I just didn’t sleep well last night.”

“Is that so? I’m glad.”

Although he didn’t probe further, for some reason it didn’t seem like Seyerd really believed Kisa’s answer.

Like with the handkerchief incident, he had an uncanny ability to see right through her heart.

Nevertheless, Seyerd was the type who didn’t forcibly draw out answers.

But there was no way she could tell. To confide Daniel’s nonsense to him…

‘Huh? Maybe there’s nothing particularly wrong with that?’

At that moment, Kisa changed her thinking.

She had vaguely thought she should hide it from Seyerd until now, but looking back, she wondered if there was really a need to do so.

Daniel is trying to separate Kisa and Seyerd.

Of course, Kisa intended not to listen to his story and to refuse if he tried to arrange a meeting with the witness on his own, but would Daniel give up so easily?

If Daniel tries to spread rumors and damage Seyerd’s reputation, Seyerd should also be prepared to respond.

Therefore, sharing information was the best course of action.

‘Why did I only think of this now?’

After pondering for a moment, Kisa soon found the answer.

It was because she felt guilty about her heart wavering for a moment at Daniel’s suggestion.

To be honest, even now it was difficult to confidently say she believed Seyerd without a shred of doubt.

And to be even more honest, she was curious how he would react to having doubts about himself.

Because that could reveal the truth.

Kisa wanted to believe him. At the same time, she hated herself for not being able to say she completely believed him.

“Um, Seyerd.”

So she tried to gauge his reaction under the pretext of sharing information with Seyerd.

“Actually, a few days ago, Daniel came to see me and said some strange things.”

With a slightly trembling voice, Kisa spilled out everything she had heard that night.

As he listened to the story, the smile gradually disappeared from his face.

After the story ended, he slowly opened his mouth with an expression that was difficult to read emotions from.

“Kisa.”

Kisa’s heart pounded.

“Do you believe that person’s words?”