“… Is it showing a lot? That I’m upset?”

At Vivian’s question, as she was hanging her head low, Dietrich thought for a moment before answering.

Was it obvious that she was sad? The answer to that was ‘no’.

When he first met Vivian, she had no idea how to hide her feelings. But now, after going through various incidents, she had changed a little.

She overcame her fear of magical beasts.

She conquered her timid personality of freezing up when scared, and could now even counterattack her opponent.

Her terrible control of facial expressions had also improved considerably, even if not perfect.

Unless one looked closely, it was hard to discern her true feelings.

Nevertheless, there were two reasons why Dietrich could quickly notice that Vivian was upset.

Firstly, it was simply because he paid a lot of attention to her. His eyes always followed her whenever she was within sight, so how could he not know?

Secondly, her expression overlapped with his own from not long ago.

Eyes that pretended to be fine on the outside but strangely revealed a sense of emptiness.

It felt like déjà vu.

The current Vivian looked similar to how he was when he almost lost his parents.

The only difference was the situation.

Thanks to her, he was able to prevent the tragedy, but Vivian was not so fortunate.

Dietrich placed his hand on Vivian’s shoulder, as she still had her head down, and patted it soothingly.

“It wasn’t showing. I just thought you would be upset if it were me. That’s the only reason I noticed.”

“… Then that’s a relief. I didn’t want to get caught because I thought seeing me depressed would only dampen others’ spirits.”

Dietrich didn’t know how to respond to Vivian’s remark.

He had grown up not caring much about others’ emotions since childhood. Naturally, he was terrible at comforting others.

So he kept his mouth shut and continued to pat her shoulder. Even if he couldn’t express it in words, he hoped his caring heart for Vivian would be conveyed.

Dietrich’s judgment was wise.

Sometimes, simply waiting quietly could be a greater comfort than clumsy words of consolation.

Before long, Vivian, who had lifted her head, slowly began to open up.

“… I originally knew that Leonie would suffer a terrible fate at the hands of Siegfried.”

“……”

“Because I saw the future through precognition. So I took various actions for her sake. I even gave her an artifact and told her not to fall victim to Siegfried… Ah, right, this one.”

As Vivian pointed to the silver chain around Dietrich’s neck, he took out the necklace that had been hidden under his clothes.

A necklace with a matte black gem pendant.

It was the artifact she had once distributed to everyone, saying it could prevent demonic brainwashing.

“I gave that to Leonie too. So that she wouldn’t get brainwashed by that demon on their first night. But it was a meaningless action. She didn’t wear it when she left, and fell into a coma.”

“… So that’s how it was.”

“But I see Dietrich has been diligently wearing it. Thank you. For not letting my efforts go to waste.”

Vivian laughed slightly with a deflated sound.

Despite being a smile, that melancholic expression pained Dietrich’s heart.

“Huh? There’s no need to make that face. At least I have no regrets about my relationship with Leonie. Because I always did my best. It’s just that I’m upset about…”

Vivian paused for a moment and became lost in thought.

She gathered and collected the fragments of thoughts floating chaotically in her mind into one.

“I just said it, right? That I knew Leonie would get brainwashed by Siegfried.”

When Dietrich nodded, she continued.

“This might sound ridiculous… But I never thought it would affect the Count and Countess Schmidt as well.”

Vivian recalled the moment she first heard about them.

She had been so shocked that she suffered from a severe headache for a whole day.

“But you know… I keep having these thoughts.”

She took a deep sigh and began to pour out the doubts she had been trying to ignore.

“Did I really not know? Or did I pretend not to know? It was something I could have easily anticipated – that my parents would not be safe once Leonie was brainwashed. If I had just thought about it a little.”

“……”

“But I never even gave it that brief thought. Maybe I just turned a blind eye to it. Because I had no happy memories with my family. I erased them from my mind.”

As she continued speaking, Vivian hit her chest with her fist as if she felt suffocated.

“Questions keep lingering. In the end, did I influence their deaths? What if something had changed if I had paid more attention to the Count and Countess…?”

Dietrich, who had been quietly listening, suddenly grasped Vivian’s shoulders with his large hands.

Then, bringing his face close, he spoke firmly.

“Listen carefully, Lady Vivian. Their deaths are not your fault at all.”

“But…”

“No, even if you add anything, that fact won’t change.”

Vivian closed her mouth at Dietrich’s serious gaze. He truly seemed to believe she was not at fault.

“Lady Vivian, do you remember that day? The day you saved my parents.”

Despite being puzzled by the sudden change of topic, Vivian nodded.

“If you hadn’t helped me that day and the tragedy had occurred… Would you have thought it was my fault?”

“What? Absolutely not. Why would that be your fault, Dietrich!”

Vivian denied it, startled. That was an absurd thing to say.

“Why? There were several warning signs before that day arrived. But I failed to notice them. If I had only picked up on it, maybe something could have been different.”

“What does that have to do with anything? Just because you couldn’t prevent it doesn’t mean it becomes your fault… Ah.”

Vivian, who had been busy refuting, soon exclaimed as if she had realized something.

Just because you couldn’t prevent it doesn’t mean it becomes that person’s fault.

It was a seemingly obvious fact, but Vivian, whose perspective had narrowed, hadn’t realized it applied to herself as well.

“You understand now, Lady Vivian? That you are not at fault.”

She closed her mouth and nodded slowly but firmly.

Seeing that, Dietrich slightly raised the corners of his lips. Then, as if impressed, he gently stroked her hair.

“Even if that weren’t the case, you have no need to regret. It wasn’t you who shattered the relationship, but them.”

Focusing on his words, Vivian finally spoke.

“… Dietrich, you are really kind.”

“Me? If Nils heard that, he would faint from shock.”

Unfazed by the sudden compliment, Dietrich shrugged his shoulders. Vivian emphasized again.

“Yes, you might seem cold on the outside… But you’re actually very kind.”

When she first met him, she never imagined it.

That she would become close enough to Dietrich to confide in him. She also never thought she would receive such warm comfort from the villainous character who was depicted as evil in the original work.

She felt fortunate for having made the mistake of kidnapping him in the past.

Thanks to that, she got to know what kind of person he was.

Quietly listening to Vivian’s words, Dietrich softly uttered.

“It’s because it’s you… Because it’s Lady Vivian, I’m being kind.”

Because it’s me, he’s being kind? Wondering what he meant, she tilted her head slightly.

Dietrich was momentarily seized by the urge to confess his feelings. Because he liked her. No, because he truly adored her.

He wanted to whisper his love right away, choosing one of the many words that could express his feelings.

But love wasn’t such a simple emotion.

Even when he wanted to immediately open up his heart to the lovely her whom he was seeing after a long time, seeing her deeply sorrowful face made him not want to burden her.

This ambivalent feeling that was both selfish and altruistic.

The fever he was experiencing for the first time always plunged Dietrich into confusion… But at least now, he knew how to swallow it.

‘For now… This is enough.’

Just seeing the liveliness return to Vivian’s eyes that had been filled with sadness was satisfactory for him.

“The person who saved my parents is you, so how could I treat you badly? I can only treat you kindly.”

It wasn’t a lie. He simply didn’t reveal the other hidden truth.

Fortunately, Vivian was convinced by this.

“Ey, even so, Dietrich is fundamentally a warm person. Just because something like that happened doesn’t mean everyone would act like Dietrich.”

“Haha, is that so.”

No, Lady Vivian. That’s not it. If I didn’t adore you, I wouldn’t have done this. I’m not a good person.

My heart is beating so wildly just from the fact that I’m with you even in your sad situation. I’m a selfish person.

Dietrich had a lot he wanted to say, but he swallowed it all.

Vivian didn’t notice his complicated feelings at all and simply smiled softly.