“Goodbye.”

I nodded lightly to Dietrich, whose complexion had improved incomparably since I first saw him.

“Hmm? Is it just my imagination, or does Miss Vivian’s expression seem overly bright?”

“No way. Absolutely not. It’s a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding.”

I said it was a misunderstanding, but it wasn’t.

I tried to respond nonchalantly to his spot-on remark while attempting to lower the corners of my mouth.

Was it too obvious after all?

But it couldn’t be helped.

How could I control the corners of my mouth rising and laughter seeping out at the thought of Dietrich leaving this place?

Today, a month after I first kidnapped him, Dietrich is finally returning to his own mansion.

‘How long I’ve waited for this day.’

I can’t express how drained I’ve been dealing with him all this time. His personality far exceeded my imagination.

‘I never imagined this when reading the original work. Who knew Dietrich would be such a narcissistic, appearance-obsessed man.’

I suppose this level of madness is necessary to occupy the villain’s role in the novel after turning to the dark side.

‘But now I’ll never have to meet this crazy person again.’

Dietrich is a powerful figure set to inherit the duke title. I’m an illegitimate child who left the marquis family.

Given our innate class difference, the probability of us encountering each other in the future is close to zero.

‘Unless Dietrich and I happen to be invited to the same social event. But what are the chances of that happening?’

Moreover, if I succeed in kidnapping Callys, I plan to leave the capital and enjoy the rest of my life.

Leaving things like the original story to our protagonist and male lead.

I didn’t need to worry much about Dietrich discovering my identity as the handsome kidnapper.

Fortunately, he promised not to disclose anything about me.

‘In the original work, Dietrich was a character who kept his word once given, so I should be able to trust that much, right?’

In any case, the situation was much better than I initially feared.

Thanks to that, I could see him off with a light heart and without much worry.

“Well then, take care.”

“I’d be disappointed if you pretend not to know me next time we meet.”

“Oh, I won’t do that.”

Because we really won’t run into each other after this!

I swallowed my last words and smiled brightly. Then I waved my hand to greet him once more.

Dietrich waved his hand lightly as well.

“See you next time.”

Leaving those last words, he gradually moved away.

I watched him go, struggling to keep the corners of my mouth from rising.

Finally, freedom!

“Brother?”

Near the capital, at the Belvedere mansion.

Ludovica’s red eyes were filled with bewilderment as she spotted a figure casually entering the mansion.

Jet-black hair and eyes that seemed to absorb light.

A wild physique that could be perceived as threatening, with roughly swept-up bangs.

The man was undoubtedly Ludovica’s older brother, Dietrich Belvedere.

But his appearance was clearly different from before.

His once pale white skin now had a bit of life to it, and his characteristic dark circles had disappeared.

To show up looking so refreshed after being unseen for a month.

Ludovica couldn’t help but let out a disbelieving laugh at her brother’s absurd appearance.

Looking at him with an expression of incredulity, Dietrich spoke.

“What a unique way to welcome your brother after a long time.”

At his ambiguous words that seemed both joking and not, Ludovica began to retort in a refined tone.

“Showing up after a month and acting so nonchalant as if you just went out for a bit, I’m speechless. Don’t you feel sorry for Nils?”

“Why shouldn’t I be nonchalant? Nils was hired to clean up after me in the first place.”

Though displeased, Ludovica nodded slightly as she realized it made sense the more she heard it.

Dietrich glanced at her indifferently and naturally passed by his sister, heading towards the study.

His stride was so fast that an ordinary person could hardly keep up.

However, Ludovica quickly caught up to his side with her long legs, taking big steps.

Although she didn’t often converse with Dietrich, today she had many questions for him.

“So what have you been up to? Are you going through puberty at that age? Running away for a whole month.”

“I see your sarcasm skills have improved in my absence. Did you train separately?”

“It’s hardly training. More importantly, did you forget my question already? Has your intelligence decreased while only your face brightened?”

Dietrich brought his index finger close to his lips at Ludovica’s voice, loud enough to echo through the corridor.

“Quiet for now.”

“…Hmm.”

Ludovica shrugged her shoulders with a deflating sound.

Despite their power and wealth, the duke’s family didn’t employ many servants compared to others.

Of course, being a prestigious family, it wasn’t always like this.

There were numerous servants before the duke and duchess went into seclusion.

However, when the ducal couple left with some of them, the number of servants was halved.

Even after Dietrich took control, there wasn’t much change.

The number of servants remained low, with only one or two in the corridor they were walking through.

Yet Dietrich kept his mouth shut as if cautioning against letting information leak to them.

An unusually careful attitude.

What could have happened to make him this cautious?

Come to think of it, even when she asked Nils, he refused to answer, saying he couldn’t respond on his own.

Curious about the details, Ludovica continued to follow Dietrich.

After climbing four floors, they soon reached their destination.

The young duke’s study was located on the top floor of the mansion.

The room, furnished with dark-colored hardwood furniture, exuded an elegant yet sophisticated atmosphere.

The view of the garden that greeted the eye when the curtains were drawn was truly exquisite.

Although Dietrich dismissed it, claiming his own face was more beautiful, Ludovica loved it very much.

As the study door opened, Dietrich sat down in the chair, crossing his legs as if it were natural.

He began flipping through documents that seemed to have been prepared by Nils at some point.

Ludovica, on the other hand, drew back the curtains and sat on the desk. Her gaze was fixed outside the window.

They conversed naturally without bothering to look at each other.

“Not only do you run away for a month, but you also miss the high noble council meeting. Aren’t you neglecting your duties as the young duke too much?”

“I didn’t do anything special. Just ate, rested, exercised, read books, that sort of thing.”

“Dietrich Belvedere came back from resting? Is it fashionable in the world to talk without using one’s brain? At least make lies sound plausible.”

Ludovica frowned at his attitude of answering half-heartedly.

She didn’t come all this way to hear such nonsense.

“Unfurrow your brow?”

Dietrich pointed out his sister’s expression, somehow knowing without even facing her.

But Ludovica was never an obedient sister to begin with.

As she frowned even more, Dietrich sighed as if he had expected it.

“I wasn’t going to say this much, but…”

Finally, the main point.

Ludovica focused on her brother’s low voice.

“I was kidnapped.”

“?”

What main point? As expected.

Irritated by Dietrich’s attitude of still spouting lies, Ludovica stood up from the desk.

She felt disappointed in herself for even momentarily expecting him to tell the truth.

“They said they kidnapped me because I’m handsome. Then they kept me in a nice place and let me rest comfortably for a whole month.”

“…”

“Ah, this is confidential information known only to Nils and a few royals, so watch what you say.”

“You’re insane.”

Ludovica responded coldly to Dietrich, who was speaking in a rather serious tone.

A momentary contempt flashed in her eyes.

Dietrich shrugged his shoulders with a face that seemed not to understand what the problem was.

That action seemed to irritate her even more, and she turned around abruptly and left the study.

‘Kidnapping as an expression of affection? At least make your nonsense sound somewhat plausible.’

As oblivious as she might be to worldly matters, she knew well enough that this made no sense.

Ludovica clicked her tongue, utterly disgusted by her own brother spouting such ridiculous lies.

But what was this situation?

Not even half a day after her argument-like exchange with Dietrich, Ludovica realized that her brother’s words were not lies.

She looked down at the trembling kidnapper.

She had expected a burly man, given that they had the skill to kidnap her, a sword master.

But the kidnapper before her was completely different from what she had imagined.

A woman with a lovely face and slightly shorter than average height.

The woman with round, gentle eyes looked up at her, trembling like a small animal.

‘Oh my, she’s too scared. Maybe I should stop teasing her now.’

For a moment, she recalled being told that she had a frightening impression on others.

Ludovica relaxed her facial muscles as much as possible, then made eye contact with the kidnapper while smiling gently.

“This is the first time I’ve received such an expression of interest. Do you like me enough to kidnap me? You’re cute.”

It was a soft and kind tone that she mustered using everything she had learned during her etiquette lessons.

So it must have been her imagination that the kidnapper’s eyes seemed to moisten like a rabbit facing a predator.