While Edit was calming her mind by drinking tea with Helen, Walter was intentionally talking to Cassius and Lexion about the assassins that were deliberately leaked.

“If it’s Duke Lexion, by now he must be thinking about how to use the assassins effectively. The plan has changed a bit from the beginning, but…”

Cassius knew why there was a shadow on Walter’s face. As soon as Walter mentioned that Edit had been summoned by the Duke, his face stiffened.

“The Duke called her?”

When Walter said that, Cassius instinctively almost nodded. Since opening his magic, Walter had unknowingly emitted power at times, and it was even more so when there was a problem with Edit’s identity.

‘How can he exude such a presence a few months after opening his magic?’

Cassius, who believed in lifelong effort rather than innate talent, had recently been reconsidering his belief in seeing Walter.

According to the plan, today he was supposed to check if Walter really matched Lexion’s veins.

He planned to lure the assassins to the Duke’s military headquarters by leaking them, then let Walter leak magic.

‘If Walter matches Lexion’s veins, the Duke who senses magic will approach first, and if not, the Duke’s reaction will be sluggish.’

However, because Walter, who lost his reason due to Edit being taken to a secret mansion by the Duke instead of himself, headed straight to where she was going, the plan to quickly check the lineage was thwarted.

“I don’t have magic, so I don’t know exactly, but Duke Lexion created a huge sword with magic and threatened Edit. How terrifying it must have been…”

When Helen heard him talk about what the Duke did to Edit, Walter let out a bitter laugh. To Cassius, that laughter sounded like a curse that he wouldn’t forgive the Duke who committed such an act.

“Walter, why do you want to confirm if the Duke is your blood?”

“…”

As Walter asked, he scratched his head, a habit when something troubled him. Originally, he wanted to quickly confirm his lineage, reclaim his original status, and then pamper Edit.

Of course, he had to keep it a secret from Edit, but he was confident that he could endure and overcome the severe trial that the one inheriting Lexion’s blood would face.

Then, he also wanted to distort Edit’s independent plan to raise the child well on her own, which was progressing smoothly without him realizing it.

However, if the Duke, the author of the plan, thrust a knife into Edit’s throat, he felt like he had to bite his tongue in front of her if he was Lexion’s veins.

Which woman in the world would want to give birth to a child with veins that tried to kill her? It sounded crazy even to him.

“For now, let’s watch how Duke Lexion uses the assassins.”
Walter said that and tried to return to his room. He was quite tired due to being on edge all day, and the exhaustion was evident.

As he was heading back, Lady Reinhardt, who was passing by and noticed him, called him over.

“Oh, Walter. This is perfect timing. Please take this to Lady Edit’s room. When you light it, it will emit a soothing fragrance for her relaxation.”

What Lady Reinhardt handed him was a tray with scented candles and herbal oil, emitting a subtle fragrance. Since Edit’s room was next to his, Walter accepted the items on the tray without much thought.

However, as he arrived at Edit’s room, a fleeting thought crossed his mind.

‘He probably doesn’t think I’m a lunatic who went crazy over that kind of thing.’

For Walter, it was a logically derived question. If Edit looked at him with the same strange gaze as in the carriage, he had no confidence in maintaining his composure.

Whenever this herbal oil was nearby, the atmosphere always became sticky.

But wanting to soothe Edit, who was surprised by the nonsense Lexion Duke had done, Walter stood hesitantly in front of her room, wondering what to do.

Should he knock, say something, or leave the items in front of the door? With his large and agile physique, he found himself for the first time imagining the other person’s reaction.

Creak—

“Walter?”

“…”

While he was contemplating, Edit opened the door from the inside. She seemed a bit surprised to see him again, and her gaze toward him was as tender as it had been in the carriage. It made his throat dry for no apparent reason.

“Lady Reinhardt’s wife asked me to give you this.”

When she was wiping my neck in the carriage, he recalled the sensation, and although his body was stiff, Walter extended the tray he was holding.

Then, she grabbed him gently, asking, “If you’re not busy, would you like to come in for a moment? I was thinking of asking you to talk to me since I couldn’t sleep anyway.”

“…”

Enchanted by her soft smile and warm voice, he entered the room. It was a space filled with items touched by his own hands, and at the same time, it exuded the sweet fragrance that Edit gave off.

Being alone with her, wearing only a velvet nightgown that revealed the curves of her body, in such a space, it was truly a blood-drying situation.