Kisa had finally decided to trust Seyerd wholeheartedly.

So even if Daniel called her out like last time, she would not go, and if he tried to throw himself to stop the carriage, she would either report it or just run him over.

‘That’s the right thing to do.’

Kisa recalled the conversation she had with Seyerd inside the carriage.

He took the time to think about Kisa’s opinions that contradicted his own, and then explained in detail why they were not wrong.

How could she doubt such a thoughtful and caring person once again?

That was no different from betrayal.

“I trust Seyerd.”

Kisa muttered as if making a vow, and was about to throw the crumpled letter into the trash can but hesitated.

She wondered if it was really the best solution to throw it away like this.

Daniel was stirring up even the collateral relatives of the Hillan family who had a feud with Seyerd over property, in order to embarrass him.

Apart from his tiresome paranoia, his drive for action seemed to require caution.

Wouldn’t Seyerd be annoyed if unpleasant rumors kept spreading even after he had just won the legal battle against his relatives?

It seemed better to inform Seyerd of this fact, just as she had done before.

‘Yes, let’s give him this letter too.’

Kisa smoothed out the crumpled paper and examined the lines written on it again.

Other than the fuss about discovering some tremendous fact, it was just about calling Kisa out.

She was astonished to see the order to come to the designated place at the designated time in three days, and the threat to raid the Vanspelt mansion if she didn’t show up.

Compared to before, his tone had become slightly more amiable, but that was it. His arrogant attitude of looking down on people remained largely unchanged.

“This kid, I wonder when he’ll come to his senses.”

He couldn’t even prepare himself to take over the family with proper conduct, let alone wander outside.

It seemed his complaint about not being able to rest easy because he had two younger brothers beneath him coveting his position was not an exaggeration.

Kisa clicked her tongue, placed the crumpled letter under a music box on the desk as a paperweight, and got up from her chair.

Then she went to bed after finishing her evening routine, and a sudden question occurred to her.

‘But what on earth is that tremendous fact?’

It must be nothing special. No doubt Daniel picked up some gossip spread by a Hillan branch family member who held a grudge against Seyerd and brought it over.

But even while believing so, curiosity rising on the other hand was perhaps an unavoidable human instinct.

Kisa inwardly resented her lack of faith in Seyerd and fell into the world of the unconscious.

The next day, after finishing breakfast, she diligently headed to the Hillan ducal residence.

The servants of the ducal family greeted Kisa, who visited without an appointment, with a familiar attitude.

Inside the glass greenhouse where the cold late autumn wind did not enter, Seyerd carefully examined the paper handed to him by Kisa.

“I see.”

He finally put it down on the table and interlocked his fingers.

“Actually, I had heard that Daniel Rowens was stirring up my relatives.”

As expected. Since the Hillan branch was an object of caution for him as well, Kisa had vaguely guessed that Seyerd would not be completely unaware of it.

“I’m sorry, Seyerd. You got caught up in this annoying matter because of me.”

“I’m more worried about you being in trouble than myself.”

“No, I’m fine.”

“Really?”

Seyerd’s subtle gaze touched Kisa’s cheek.

“Didn’t you receive a similar letter last time too?”

It was about the time when Daniel called Kisa out in front of the dog hole in the middle of the night and disparaged Seyerd, saying he was a thug in the past.

Before she knew it, his hand was clasping Kisa’s wrist.

Perhaps it was because she felt guilty of betraying him like the female lead in the opera she watched yesterday.

Kisa was wearing the diamond bracelet, her engagement gift, today.

At least Seyerd seemed pleased when Kisa wore it.

He stroked the beads of the bracelet with a tickling touch, as if petting the fur of a cat or dog.

“I’m worried that there might have been more incidents that I don’t know about besides these two times.”

Kisa shook her head, trying to calm her inexplicably fluttering heart.

“No. There was nothing special. That guy kept sending me useless letters, but most of the content wasn’t worth paying attention to. Other than this, I threw them away without even reading them properly.”

“I’m glad to hear that. But did that person ever come to see you directly?”

For a brief moment, a dilemma unfolded in Kisa’s mind.

There was one time when Daniel came to see her besides what he knew.

Didn’t they have a conversation because that fearless fellow threw himself to stop the carriage?

‘Should I tell Seyerd now…?’

But if she was honest, how far should she reveal?

Even the fact that Daniel, who had been to Bonsmoss, claimed that the place was very suspicious and demanded Kisa to go to Pavella Convent to find out information?

That couldn’t be done. If that happened, it would be like confessing that she had doubted Seyerd.

“I believe that love should not be accompanied by doubt.”

The image of him firmly stating his thoughts yesterday was still vivid in Kisa’s mind.

On one hand, he also highly praised the courage of the female lead in the opera, but it couldn’t be seen as applying to Kisa as well.

Unlike the lord, Seyerd did not hide his identity.

By the same logic, Kisa’s situation was quite different from the female lead who had no choice but to suspect her lover.

If he found out the truth, Seyerd would surely be disappointed in Kisa.

That absolutely could not happen.

“Actually…”

As soon as she made up her mind, Kisa opened her mouth.

“It happened just once. After the time I told you about before, Daniel came to see me. A few months ago, that guy jumped in front of the carriage I was riding in and stopped it.”

At that, Seyerd’s eyes narrowed, and she waved her hand.

“Fortunately, there were no serious accidents, so you don’t have to worry.”

“…Still, why are you telling me about such a dangerous incident only now?”

“I’m sorry. When I actually talked about it, it seemed like there wasn’t much to it, and I didn’t want to cause you unnecessary worry. You’re already busy with wedding issues and estate work.”

Seyerd didn’t seem to easily accept his lover’s answer, as his expression was still not good, but he didn’t reprimand Kisa either.

“Even so, I’d appreciate it if you could tell me right away next time. We’re lovers now.”

Kisa quickly nodded.

“Of course. It’s different from back then.”

He then locked eyes with Kisa with a slightly more relaxed expression.

“But what did that person say?”

“Pardon?”

“I’m curious about what business the person who stopped the carriage had with you.”

“It was really nothing. Just…”

Kisa chose words that seemed safe to reveal.

“He said that the person from Bonsmoss he had tried to set me up with before had disappeared. He insisted that it was Seyerd’s doing.”

“Disappeared?”

Seyerd tilted his head slightly to the side.

“Ah, that. I did have Gilliam give that person money. On the condition that he no longer gets involved with Daniel Rowens.”

It was the first time she heard this information.

“I thought it would be troublesome if that person talked nonsense to the media at Daniel Rowens’ instigation, so I took some preemptive measures.”

“…I didn’t know.”

But thinking back, he had told Kisa before that he would respond in his own way after hearing news about Daniel from her.

“I have no excuse. Looking at it now, I was the one who didn’t tell Kisa everything. But I considered it a part of my usual reputation management, so I thought it was really no big deal.”

“No, it’s understandable.”

“Anyway, that person, who received a fortune that he couldn’t earn in a lifetime of work, probably got scared and disappeared. That happens sometimes.”

“That makes sense too.”

Daniel must have also promised a considerable reward to that person, so the fact that he disappeared without even telling Daniel, meant that the money Seyerd gave him was beyond imagination.

Thinking like that, it was understandable for him to disappear without a word, not even trusting the people around him.

Kisa felt a faint sense of relief.

‘What, it’s really no big deal.’

Daniel made it sound so ominous that she thought there might be some serious backstory hidden.

Come to think of it, from Seyerd’s perspective, there was no reason to take risks to get rid of a witness of that caliber.

‘I’m glad I revealed at least a little.’

At first, she had contemplated hiding the fact that she met Daniel that day altogether, but on second thought, it seemed wrong.

She was also reluctant to tell Seyerd a blatant lie, and their encounter by the roadside was not particularly secretive.

Didn’t the coachman working at the Vanspelt mansion witness the whole process?

Since there was a possibility that Seyerd could find out at any time that there had been contact between the two, it was dangerous to pretend they had never met at all.

‘Seyerd, I’m sorry.’

I’ll keep this one thing a secret from you.

“Anyway, I’m relieved. I was worried that you might have been harmed by that person.”

Unaware of Kisa’s inner thoughts, he expressed concern for her with an innocent expression.

Kisa turned the topic elsewhere, pretending to gaze at his hand still resting on her wrist, slyly avoiding his gaze.

“But what could be the tremendous fact that Daniel heard from Seyerd’s relative? It must be some pointless gossip, but I’m a bit curious since he’s so confident.”

“I have a rough idea about that.”

“What is it?”

“It’s probably that I murdered Bishop.”

“…Pardon?”

Kisa asked belatedly.