Through heavily opened eyelids, an antique-style ceiling came into view.

I remember being carried somewhere in a man’s arms…

After that, it seems I lost consciousness and can’t recall anything.

As I sat up, the beautiful and luxurious interior of the room, as magnificent as the ceiling, entered my sight.

The Blanchet emblems adorning all four walls, the splendid chandelier, the soft blanket touching my back…

Though it looked different with the space now covered in golden hues instead of the previous blue to match the season, this was clearly the Marriott Hotel.

Turning my head to the left, I could see the familiar street view outside the window, same as before.

Carriages passing by and people walking about on the familiar streets, with the sunset casting a deep shadow over the land.

Ah… I must have stayed here for a whole day.

And without even being conscious.

For a moment, I felt a pang of regret at having become too complacent, as this was something I couldn’t have even imagined before.

How could I feel so at ease with that man, who was by no means a safe person?

Well, I was extremely tense yesterday.

My whole body was not just stiff, but frozen, unable to feel any sensation.

In that state, seeing that man, it’s understandable I might have such an illusion.

Because in Slayer, he was the safest person for me.

Because I could instinctively tell he was my savior.

Like those nights when he always awoke sensations throughout my body, the man’s touch alone brought me back to reality.

The problem is, the emotion I felt yesterday… was different from the other uncomfortable feelings before.

So I ended up seeking sleep in his arms and entrusting my body to him all the way here.

Like a gentle splash of water, the man rises up.

The man with his firm, broad chest that wrapped around my arms, lifting me up in one breath.

The man who appeared covered in blood, yet had those same indifferent eyes as always.

The man who, for some unknown reason, got angry at me for coming to such a place…

Shaking off thoughts of that person clouding my mind, I got up and set my feet on the ground.

The man was nowhere to be seen, having disappeared somewhere.

After neatly arranging the blanket and properly hanging up the suit the man had carelessly draped, I headed outside where a familiar-looking knight was waiting.

Bowing his head politely from a certain distance, the knight explained the man’s absence:

“The lord has left his seat due to an urgent matter.”

I wonder if this urgent matter is related to the incident at Slayer.

Or perhaps with Lady Fiochel…

Did the man uncover the mastermind? No, if it were him, he would already know who was behind it.

Even if he knew, it would be a matter of no particular concern to him as always.

Saving me was rather a ‘deviation’ from his usual course.

“I will escort you.”

As I followed behind the knight, my brain, which had been burning hot, began to cool down.

As if I had been burned by a fireball and then returned to my place.

After turning through the corridor and boarding the carriage, the knight murmured as if reporting:

“Slayer has been completely burned down, so you won’t have to worry about it anymore.”

Completely burned down… he said.

Recalling the scent of blood that brushed my nostrils and the clashing sounds of swords, it seemed quite plausible.

For Blanchet, getting rid of one illegal slave auction house would be no big deal.

However, as always, questions linger.

‘Why did that man…?’

Blanchet never moves without a purpose.

Especially the heir, Cassian di Blanchet, has always been that way in his actions so far.

There must be many nobles’ interests entangled in Slayer.

It meant there was no reason for him to move and antagonize them unnecessarily.

Lost in thought, I had missed the adjutant knight’s gaze, and only now noticed it, responding awkwardly.

“Ah… yes.”

Only then did the adjutant knight turn his body and move forward.

My thoughts continued.

Did he appear there for the sake of justice?

Or… for some other purpose?

The answer actually came simply.

Blanchet doesn’t move simply for the sake of justice.

Especially that man… unless it’s for his own people, he doesn’t bother to move.

My brain, which I had tried hard to cool down, seemed to overheat again.

My legs moved forward mechanically, without conscious thought.

Meanwhile, the growing and swelling question finally escaped my lips.

“Why did he come to Slayer?”

Somehow, even though it felt like I shouldn’t know the answer, I ended up asking the question.

The knight stopped abruptly and turned to look at me, as if hearing an unexpected question.

“Do you really not know?”

The knight’s gaze was rippling with complexity.

I couldn’t tell what it meant, but I could tell he was hiding something.

After rolling his eyes hesitantly, the knight finally opened his mouth.

“The lord was very worried last night.”

“…!”

[This is the timeline separator]

While absent-mindedly walking and pondering the man’s incomprehensible actions, the background had already reached the end of the corridor.

From the opposite side of the corner, a person presumed to be a guest approached slowly.

The middle-aged woman, dressed in elegant attire with her hair pinned up in a tiara, caught the eye with her dignified demeanor.

Although I couldn’t recognize the faces of all nobles, it was easy to guess that she was one of the great nobles by her aura.

A restless staff member stood by her side.

She seemed to be undoubtedly a high-ranking noble lady, as expected.

‘Is she a guest?’

It was indeed perplexing, as I had never seen anyone passing through here before.

As far as I knew, the only place accessible by the carriage I had just ridden was that special suite where I had stayed.

It seemed that place didn’t receive guests…

Well, it’s more strange that such an incredible suite had been left empty until now.

It’s not unusual to receive guests.

The corridor was not as wide as I thought, so I inevitably had to pass by the middle-aged woman at the crossing.

As I quickened my pace to pass by without acknowledging her, her face gradually became clearer.

The features that had been suppressed by the atmosphere slowly came into view, and a strange sense of déjà vu brushed my mind.

It’s ridiculous. How could I have seen her, who was clearly a lady from a great noble family, before?

Nevertheless, the strange intuition filling my insides only became clearer.

A great noble who could use the best room in this hotel, a flustered staff member…

Ah, suddenly a day from long ago flashed by.

Her back figure as she stepped on someone to board a carriage.

‘Lady Elise di Blanchet…!’

The eye shape and red pupils strikingly similar to that man’s clearly revealed that she was the Duchess of Blanchet.

[This is the timeline separator]

Lady Elise’s face, as she emerged from around the corridor, was as rigid as a plaster statue.

Upon noticing this, the staff member began to report on the hotel’s increased sales and performance this quarter, as if trying to explain.

This was based on the judgment that the Duchess would feel displeased at the fact that someone had come out of that room, which was practically used exclusively by the Blanchet family, even if not officially.

However, Lady Elise was actually not moved by such things.

The fact that her son had been letting that woman use the room reserved for the Blanchet family several times had already been reported to Elise multiple times.

In other words, it wasn’t such a surprising matter to her.

When she first learned of this fact, she was indeed surprised that her emotionless son had brought in a mere woman whose identity wasn’t even properly confirmed.

However, upon reflection, she dismissed it as not a big issue, thinking it wasn’t a significant problem.

After all, it was common for noble sons to keep such playthings by their side before engagement.

Of course, as her husband had done, quite a few continued such practices even after marriage.

But her son, with half of her blood, surely wouldn’t do such things.

Her son must have watched her suffering all along by her side.

So she assumed he had merely kept that girl nearby as a toy to satisfy his urges, and overlooked it.

She maintained this assumption even when she learned he was regularly bringing the girl to the hotel room, or when she heard he was sponsoring her, and so on.

However, this latest incident was an indescribable problem.

[What did you say he did to Slayer?] [Lord Cassian ordered it to be burned down completely. It seems he decided to clean up that filthy place where illegal activities thrived using humans as commodities.] [No. That’s not it.]

It was at that moment that an ominous feeling blossomed in Elise’s heart.

Her son was not one to act for the sake of such superficial righteousness.

Blanchet always advocated for such good and beautiful causes, but in reality, most of these good intentions had ulterior motives. Just like other noble families typically did.

Unlike her husband’s indecisiveness, her son had never deviated from this, being firm in everything.

Except for one case: when his own people were hurt.

The image of her son cutting down the long-standing Blanchet tree to protect a single nursemaid, and throwing himself to save his knight, was vivid in her mind.

That’s how much her son’s actions used to burn her insides.

However, that sharp child, as if worn down by the passage of time, hadn’t caused any special incidents since becoming an adult.

As an imposing head of the family, he was growing up in a way that everyone had to acknowledge.

Such a child had burned down Slayer.

Of course, it wasn’t something that would cause a big problem.

At least not now.

But Elise knew that it was a ‘spark’ igniting in her son’s heart.

[Did you say he brought Yuriel, that child, from there?] [Yes. He went straight there and brought her back, I’ve heard.]

As expected, it was clear that her son had finally taken that child to heart.

It was truly the first time her son had shown such intense emotion.

“Where is Cassian now?”

At the sudden question, the adjutant quickly approached and answered.

“He has gone to meet Lady Periot.”