While I was weighing what would be better, Lilien immediately nodded her head.

“Yes, yes! Actually, I’m a bit… reluctant to tell my brother as well.”

Right, she must have been anxious, fearing I might hold a grudge and reveal it to someone.

Thinking it fortunate that our interests aligned, I looked around the bedroom.

My gaze finally landed on the comfortable-looking bed. Perhaps due to the tension easing, the fatigue accumulated since morning suddenly hit me.

I turned to Lilien with a weary expression.

“Lady Lilien, I’m sorry, but I’d like to rest now.”

“Oh, how thoughtless of me, you must be tired and I’ve been keeping you! I’ll instruct the maids, so please feel free to ask for anything you need.”

“Thank you.”

I stared at the door until Lilien had completely disappeared, then went to the bed and pulled the bell rope.

The maids who appeared, at a noticeably different speed from the Vuel estate, attended to me wholeheartedly.

They chattered throughout my bath to keep my ears entertained, and offered seasonal fruits to keep my mouth from being idle.

Sitting in the tub and receiving a relaxing massage, I thought this was the best service my body could remember.

‘It must be because I’m Lilien’s first guest. I’m being loved.’

After drinking steaming chamomile tea, I dove into the bed and burst into a satisfied laugh.

“Ah, I feel alive.”

I buried my face in the rustling blankets with pleasure, then opened my eyes slightly.

‘Should I stay a few more days until her brother returns?’

It’s not just me, a slave to capitalism, who would be reluctant to leave such luxurious treatment.

‘…I shouldn’t entertain such thoughts.’

When the carriage arrives tomorrow, I’ll sell it to a merchant to raise funds, and then prepare for the divorce while relying on my uncle.

After carefully reviewing my plans, I blew out the scented candle the maid had left burning and lay back down.

The events of the past full day were exhausting. My whole body felt like melting chocolate, muscles going limp, and drowsiness overtook me. But as I carefully reviewed the day’s events, many thoughts came to mind, preventing me from easily falling asleep. Just as my thinning consciousness was finally about to succumb to sleep:

“Who are you?”

That’s when a cold blade pressed against my slender neck.

My eyes flew open. My heart began to race wildly at the sharp blade extending from my line of sight to my neck.

Every cell that had been melting sluggishly awakened, sensing danger.

Through narrowed eyes, I saw a figure wavering in the darkness.

‘A petty thief? An assassin? No, if it were either of those, they wouldn’t ask who I am.’

I tried to speak calmly.

“Who are you?”

Instead of answering, the other person stepped out of the darkness, revealing themselves in the candlelight.

“…”

For a moment, I wondered if I was dreaming.

Golden eyes with a reddish tinge, a smoothly sloping nose bridge. A handsome man with elegantly closed lips. His silver hair, reaching his shoulders, seemed untouched by human hands for years, yet it created a wild atmosphere that didn’t clash with his beauty.

After being momentarily lost in the other person’s face, I realized the predicament I was in.

‘…Why is this man, who’s supposed to return in 5 days, here now?’

Unless I’ve suddenly developed dementia, judging by his appearance, the man before me is certainly Duke Mifidian, who killed me in the original story.

Boom−! At that moment, lightning struck.

I flinched at the terrifying sound promoting fear. In the flickering light, our eyes met.

They were golden eyes filled with ferocious killing intent.

I’m going to die. This man intends to kill me. My spine chilled at this instinctive sensation.

Even then, his gaze, sharp as an arrow, remained fixated on me, refusing to look away.

“I’ll ask again. Who are you?”

The pleasant baritone voice inquired once more.

“Well… you see…”

As I was frantically racking my brain to survive, the door opened carefully, and Lilien appeared, holding a soft oil lamp.

“Lady Vuel, are you asleep? The thunder woke me up, and I wondered if you− Eek, Edmond, what are you doing!”

“…Sister.”

Only then did the man’s gaze leave me, and I was miraculously able to escape the crisis.

* * *

After the incident at dawn, morning broke while I composed myself and changed clothes.

Having calmed my startled nerves by then, I had just come down to the reception room when I briefly hid my body behind the partially open door.

“What should I do if Lady Vuel gets angry and says she’s leaving right away…”

Lilien paced around the chair, nibbling on her nails.

Edmond, sitting calmly with his eyes lowered amidst the restless movement, slightly furrowed his brow.

“Sister, please sit down. It’s unsettling.”

Lilien glanced at Edmond and sat down beside him dejectedly.

“Alright…”

‘He’s not particularly affectionate towards Lilien either.’

I observed them through the open door gap, then took a deep breath and entered the reception room, thinking I couldn’t keep the two waiting any longer.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“Oh, you’re here?”

Lilien stood up abruptly to greet me.

“Please sit, Lady Lilien.”

I ordered jasmine tea from the standing maid and sat opposite Lilien.

Even after the maid brought the tea, silence permeated the reception room.

The first to break the silence was, of course, the excessively timid Lilien.

“I’m sorry, it’s my fault. I didn’t know my brother would come…”

“It’s alright, Lady Lilien.”

“Are… are you sure?”

Lilien looked at me with round, moist eyes.

I nodded with a faint smile to reassure her.

Finally relieved, Lilien leaned back in her chair.

The truth was, I wasn’t alright.

Recalling the dawn when I felt killing intent, I felt an intense urge to run away immediately.

Biting my lip in anxiety, I covertly glanced at Edmond, who was peacefully enjoying his tea as if he had just come out for a stroll.

‘But why is this man, who’s supposed to return in 5 days, here?’

The remaining question was soon answered by Lilien.

“Actually, while you were in the bath, the head maid reported through the communication orb. My brother, hearing the news, seems to have advanced his return date and come back through a portal. As I’m always a burden to him…”

‘Damn that head maid.’

I gritted my teeth inwardly while masking my complicated feelings with a social smile.

“I see. Well, it’s understandable to be concerned when a stranger is staying at the mansion.”

“Thank you for understanding. Oh, right.”

Lilien, who had been half-bowing her head, lifted it and elbowed Edmond in the side.

“Edmond. You should apologize too. Not only did you enter the bedroom without permission, but you also pointed a sword at our guest.”

Edmond, who had been savoring his tea, twitched his dark eyebrows.

He calmly set down his teacup and stared at me expressionlessly. He had a cold and unresponsive demeanor, as if he wouldn’t be fazed even if someone died right now.

“I have committed a discourtesy. Please forgive me.”

His voice, which had sounded chilling in the darkness, was actually a pleasant baritone.

I smiled brightly and shook my head.

“These things happen. I heard it was the bedroom the Count used before leaving for the islands. If it were me, I would have been threatening too if I found a stranger in my bedroom.”

“How can you be so considerate, my lady.”

Lilien marveled, projecting an ideal image quite different from my own.

Haha… As I let out an empty laugh, I finally saw it. A crack forming in Edmond’s statuesque face.

It was clear he still found my presence disagreeable, even though the misunderstanding had been cleared up.

‘Now then, how can I quickly escape this situation?’

I glanced at the large window overlooking the garden of the reception room.

The crimson dawn light was coloring the world.

‘That’s it.’

Having found an escape route, I smiled faintly with lowered eyes.

“I’ve imposed on you for a day. Now that it’s dawn, you must have a lot to catch up on, so I’ll leave you two to talk… Lady Lilien, why are you standing up?”

My smile, which had been softly spreading, faded as Lilien carefully rose from her seat.

She blinked her eyes innocently.

“To prepare breakfast. I think it would be best to make the dough in advance if we’re baking bread.”

Baking bread? Why? Why now? I’m about to leave?

The questions that flashed through my mind were translated along with social graces.

“Surely you don’t need to do it yourself, Lady Lilien.”

Lilien smiled with a blush at my subtle suggestion to sit down.

“I didn’t mention that baking is my hobby. With Edmond’s return and Lady Vuel here, today is a happy day for me, so I’d like to serve freshly baked bread to both of you.”

Having said that, Lilien unhesitatingly passed by me towards the door.

“Wait, my lady. Are you really leaving like this?”

I hurriedly grabbed the back of my chair and gave Lilien a pleading look.

‘Please don’t leave us alone, I beg you.’

Lilien covered her mouth with an expression of sudden realization.

“I’m sorry, how rude of me to leave in the middle of a conversation with a guest. Edmond, please keep Lady Vuel company so she doesn’t get bored, alright?”

“That’s not what I meant, Lilien…!”

Bang−.

Lilien personally advised the man who had tried to kill me to keep me company, then disappeared like the wind.

As I stared blankly at the firmly closed door, there was a clinking sound of glass friction in the wake of the silence.

I glanced sideways at Edmond to see him sitting opposite me, elegantly sipping his tea.

The oppressive atmosphere he exuded just by sitting still reminded me of the dawn incident, chilling me to the bone.

“…”

I slowly straightened my posture.

‘I’ll bolt right after breakfast,’ I resolved.