“So how do you feel now?”

In response to Dietrich’s question, Vivian looked at him and slightly raised the corners of her mouth.

“Much better. Thank you. For listening to me.”

Dietrich also responded with a smile to her positive answer.

“I’m glad. Then shall we wrap up and head back?”

The two got up from their seats and stepped out of the meeting room.

The Belvedere mansion and the place where she was staying were in completely opposite directions.

It was time to part ways and go their separate paths.

“You have to go that way, right? The next time we meet will probably be… at the next meeting. Stay safe until then! Take care.”

“Lady Vivian, wait a moment.”

She was about to leave immediately, but turned around at the voice calling her.

“Why did you call me?”

“I’ll take you there. It’s late.”

Dietrich pointed to the sky.

The sky, which had been blue until the start of the meeting, was now consumed by deep darkness.

Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t very good either, and even the moon was hidden by clouds.

“Are you worried? It’s alright. I may not be as strong as you, Dietrich, but I’ve gotten quite strong now. Whether it’s robbers or magical beasts on the way, I can handle anything that pops out now.”

Vivian lifted her arm and made a gesture of flexing her biceps with a playful expression.

However, even if she posed like that while boasting, nonexistent muscles wouldn’t suddenly appear.

Only her white and soft-looking arms revealed their slender appearance.

“Don’t I look terrifying to you, Dietrich? This is all thanks to you, my teacher.”

She bowed her head respectfully towards him like a disciple.

Seeing Vivian joke around naturally, Dietrich realized that she had truly let go of her worries.

Thanks to that, he could also lessen his concerns about her.

“Yes, you do indeed look truly terrifying, as you said. It must be thanks to my excellent teaching. Consider it your lifelong fortune to have met a teacher like me.”

“Yes, teacher! I will engrave your teachings in my heart today as well!”

The two stared at each other and then simultaneously burst into laughter.

Vivian found it so funny that she held her stomach while laughing and wiped the tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

“…For the most part, it was a joke, but I was sincere about you teaching well.”

“You don’t need to add that. It’s an obvious truth.”

“Wow, do you know how annoying that just was?”

“It’s the fate of one who has it all. Get used to it, Lady Vivian. You’ll experience it often if you stick with me.”

At Dietrich’s brazen words, Vivian glared at him for a moment, but soon averted her gaze.

Come to think of it, it wasn’t wrong.

Where else in this world would there be someone as outstanding in every aspect as Dietrich?

Handsome, skilled with the sword, powerful, rich. It was impossible for someone like that to also have a humble personality.

“Anyway, I’ll get going first. You, Dietrich Belvedere, who has everything in the world, take care as well.”

Vivian waved at Dietrich in a teasing tone, but he immediately followed her.

“Let’s go together. I want to take you there.”

“It’s really okay. Didn’t you attend the meeting right after returning from the North without any rest? You must be tired, so go and rest.”

“I’m not tired. You know who I am. If I get tired from something like that, could I be called someone who has it all? So let’s go together, Lady Vivian.”

“I’m not scared of walking at night at all. It’s really fine….”

“I know you’re not scared of the night. You’re none other than Dietrich Belvedere’s disciple, so what is there to be afraid of? It’s more that… you’ll be lonely going alone.”

Honestly, Dietrich was indeed very tired, just as Vivian said.

The North and the capital were quite a distance apart, so he had been riding a horse all day.

Moreover, he had the misfortune of encountering a group of magical beasts on the way, further draining his energy.

So it would be the wise choice to go back and rest right away, as Vivian suggested, but Dietrich didn’t want to do that.

He was worried about Vivian walking the dark night streets alone.

The nighttime had a peculiar way of arbitrarily plunging people into darkness.

It bothered Dietrich.

He was constantly held back by all sorts of worries, like whether Vivian would fall into depression again while returning alone, or if unpleasant memories would occupy her mind.

He simply wanted her to end the day smiling, just as she was now.

“So let me go with you.”

In the end, Vivian surrendered to Dietrich’s persistence.

“Alright, then. But don’t blame me if you can’t sleep and get tired tomorrow.”

“Yes, that’s what I’d prefer.”

With that, the two began walking side by side.

“You said you’re not going back to your house or hideout now.”

“Yes, I moved my residence just in case. There’s no need to stay in a dangerous place.”

“That’s a shame. Your hideout was really cozy.”

“Is that why you holed up in the hideout for a month back then? Do you know how flustered I was when you refused to leave even after I said I’d let you go?”

As Vivian glanced at him with narrowed eyes, Dietrich laughed with a delighted expression.

Come to think of it, why did he insist on watching over her at the hideout, refusing to be released?

At the time, it seemed like there were some political reasons, but he couldn’t remember well now.

He was simply satisfied that thanks to that choice, he could become this close to her.

“Forgive me for that. I was also startled when I was kidnapped, so let’s call it even.”

“Right, that’s true. I wasn’t in a position to criticize you.”

The dim light leaking from the residential area illuminated them as they walked through the alley.

Vivian’s face, which had been hard to see due to the darkness, began to come into relatively clear view.

Dietrich kept his eyes fixed on her, as if he didn’t want to miss this moment at all. But then something caught his attention.

“Lady Vivian, wait a moment.”

“What is it?”

“There’s a bug on your neck.”

“What?”

Vivian froze in shock at Dietrich’s bombshell remark.

“A bug? On my neck? Eek! No wonder it’s been feeling itchy for a while!”

Her peaceful face instantly turned into a look of distress.

“Where, where? Quickly get it off. Aaah!”

Vivian flailed her hands, unable to do anything.

She wanted to remove it, but she was afraid that if she touched her neck, the bug would get on her hand.

“Calm down, I’ll get it off for you.”

However, despite his words, Vivian couldn’t settle her excitement.

Judging that her movements were a hindrance, Dietrich swiftly grabbed her wrist and muttered in a low voice.

“Close your eyes.”

Vivian was still scared, but she closed her eyes as he said.

Soon, she felt a large, warm hand touch her neck.

‘Is it over…?’

She cautiously opened her eyes, still frightened.

Then she saw Dietrich’s face right in front of her nose. Their eyes met for a moment.

Dietrich moved away in surprise. He let go of her wrist that he had been holding.

“…It’s done. So don’t worry.”

“Phew, thank you. I thought my heart was going to drop.”

She let out a sigh of relief and brushed her chest. Then a teasing voice was immediately heard.

“You said earlier that nothing much scares you. It seems bugs aren’t included in that.”

Vivian blushed in embarrassment. After acting so tough earlier, she made such a fuss over a single bug.

‘But I couldn’t help it. Bugs are still scary.’

Unlike magical beasts, bugs are very small.

She hated how those barely visible things could approach her without her knowing.

“Bugs are small, so… they’re still scary.”

She mumbled softly in a voice as quiet as an ant crawling.

“It’s okay. That’s also part of what makes you Lady Vivian.”

“What? What makes me me?”

Vivian asked sharply, but Dietrich wasn’t the type to easily give an answer.

“Who knows? It’s a secret.”

“Why? Tell me! What makes me me?”

Dietrich continued to smile at her persistent questioning, trying to gloss over it.

He had no intention of telling her, no matter how curious she was.

How could he say that it meant her clumsy behavior was cute?

Realizing that Dietrich wouldn’t say a word no matter how much she asked, Vivian finally gave up and threw out a different question.

“What was that bug earlier? A mosquito? But are there mosquitoes in this season?”

Dietrich shook his head.

“No, it wasn’t a mosquito… I don’t know the exact name.”

In fact, Dietrich was very familiar with the appearance of that bug.

Since he had seen it recently for the first time, he didn’t know exactly what it was called, but he was sure of it.

It was a species he had seen dozens of times while staying in the North.

‘I thought it was an insect that only lives in cold regions, but seeing it in the capital, I guess that’s not the case.’

A very small red beetle with six legs.

Its wings flapped fast, but strangely, it made no sound, making it difficult to notice even when it was nearby.

The problem was that this bug kept trying to bite people.

Unlike mosquitoes, the bitten area doesn’t swell up, but… that doesn’t mean being bitten by a bug is pleasant.

‘I wonder how many times I’ve been bitten.’

Dietrich looked at the back of his hand.

No matter how long the clothes he wore, that bug somehow found his skin and left traces.

‘But it seems Lady Vivian hasn’t been bitten.’

Dietrich glanced at her neck.

Her snow-white neck was clean without any notable marks.

“It’s a species I often saw in the North. If you’re curious, I’ll ask Nils about it.”

“Is Nils also knowledgeable about insects?”

“Even if he isn’t, he’ll have to become knowledgeable. I’m the one asking.”

Vivian shook her head, feeling sorry for Nils in her mind. She couldn’t bother someone just to find out the name of an insect.

“Never mind. What did Nils do wrong?”

After the commotion, the two continued walking through the night streets.

Even at this point, they had no idea.

That the bug they thought was no big deal would cause a huge stir in the empire.