The man in an impeccable suit caught the eye.

His neatly put-together appearance, undisturbed, was quite different from his usual self.

Looking back, it’s not that this man had never looked like this before.

Even recently when heading to Alphonse, he was in an eye-catching suit.

His firm, toned body would stand out in any piece of cloth, but that day especially remained in memory.

Though not adorned with any special decorations, that suit which seemed even more splendid showed signs of care.

Of course, this man wouldn’t have leisurely made such efforts dreaming of a romantic date with me.

No one would put in that much effort for a toy.

Perhaps such clothes were just everyday wear for him.

Today wouldn’t be anything special.

However, today he was just staring at me without a hint of expression on his face.

The image of this man gazing at me indifferently from the car window passes by.

From the inside that churned like waves and suddenly flipped over, a jagged fear like gravel jutted out sharply.

‘Was his silent demeanor a warning thrown at me?’

‘Had I been too busy fleeing to properly notice the cracks in our relationship?’

The man’s different appearance made my hand involuntarily curl up, digging into tender flesh.

‘I still have things left to receive from this man…’

While despising myself for thinking of such things first, I couldn’t let go of that thought.

‘Is he angry that I left the capital recklessly?’

Or perhaps…

‘Does he know that I met with Lady Fiocel?’

After meeting Lady Fiocel, this was the first time facing him.

The image of him quietly letting me go on Rappianre Island is vivid.

That calm expression and those sunken red eyes… everything stirred up an ominous sense of déjà vu.

If he knew about my meeting with Lady Fiocel, he would tell me to leave him, not her.

No matter how you look at it, the balance would inevitably tilt towards her, who would become his wife someday.

The lady of the Periot family was a match perfectly suited for the heir of the Blanchet family.

Lady Fiocel I saw at that cafe was elegant even in what seemed to be casual dress and fedora.

It’s only natural that their breathing and gait would match in class, and the two would become the most beautiful partners to elevate each other.

Periot with military authority in the borderlands, and Blanchet, a divine bloodline family.

That structure would give eternal power to both sides.

Among those two families, I was the only impurity.

So I just had to be removed from that relationship. As Lady Fiocel said.

His dark red eyes capturing me were calm, making my heart burn like fire before subsiding.

One for the lowered eyes, two for the expressionless face.

My insides burned to the point of turning into black ashes.

Only then did his lips slowly open.

“Get out.”

Get out?

The heart I had been desperately holding onto fell with a loud thud.

“What do you mean…”

What should I do if I’m kicked out like this?

Only now did I realize my place.

My face must have looked awful as I tried hard to hold back tears that were about to scatter.

As I stepped back one step at a time from his threatening figure slowly approaching, he pushed me against the wall.

“Why. Disappointed?”

His crooked face looks at me mockingly.

Even amid this, his sculpture-like appearance felt oddly out of place.

The cool scent wafting from him was tinged with a decadent atmosphere as much as the smile on his lips.

“If you’re regretful, just stay.”

His terribly dangerous face flickers before my eyes.

It took only a moment to understand his words.

So does this mean… he doesn’t know about my meeting with Lady Fiocel yet?

Or maybe he knows but is trying to turn a blind eye.

“No. I’ll go.”

As the man stepped back, I let out a long breath.

Opening the door and taking his hand escorting me out, my mind finally eased with relief as I stepped outside.

The man didn’t say where we were going or why he was being capricious today.

As always, it was natural that I should move according to his will.

Now I realize once again.

The notion that I didn’t want to go around with this man, or that I wanted to be tied to the bed, was not something I could dare to have.

I was just content if this man liked me in any way or found me interesting.

On the carriage ride, my reflection is visible in the window.

How strange that I was so afraid of being with this man in the sunlight before, but now it doesn’t bother me at all.

No, I even consider it fortunate.

My own face looks only detestable to me.

A hypocrite who has become numb to being with this man, yet fears being discovered.

A despicable person straddling the middle ground, neither fully embracing nor abandoning conscience.

That is who I am.

What greater deceit could there be than someone who whispers of love yet fears walking with him?

Yet my conclusion is always the same in the end.

Remaining by this man’s side.

From the moment I decided to abandon my conscience, I moved with the thought of paying the karmic price, so there’s no hesitation.

I also know that what I’m doing is clearly exploitation, so I can’t entirely hate this man.

Nevertheless, the one I hate most is always this man.

This man who doesn’t even like me, but just uses what he has to play with me.

This man who takes me out as if showing a ray of light in the darkness to a person.

This man who knows everything yet gives me just enough to make me anxious each time – I hate him so much that it wells up as an indescribable emotion.

So today too, I try to faithfully use him on the stage he has set.

“Thank you for bringing me out.”

“…”

“Everything is pretty.”

The man’s gaze slowly turns to stare at me blankly.

“The flowers are pretty, the scenery is pretty.”

“Don’t you have anything else to say?”

Ah. Could it be…

He stared at me intently, as if to see if what I had guessed was correct.

I blurt out something ridiculous.

“You are too.”

Pfft, a deflating sound echoed from beside me.

Wasn’t this what you wanted?

He continued laughing for quite a while after that.

Elegantly bursting into laughter that would have seemed rather frivolous if someone else had done it, he laughed until tears came out as if he had heard something amusing, then faced me again.

The way she rolled her eyes as if bewildered was quite amusing.

In fact, when I asked earlier if she had anything else to say… it was asking about that day.

It was the last chance for her to confess in her own words about meeting Lady Periot.

But to think she would slip away like this.

This woman clearly knows how crazily aroused I get just by looking at her.

So she makes me look so foolish in an instant, trying to escape from that by leaving the hotel.

Those lips saying I’m pretty too make me want to devour them.

You… who might be the seed of a father who could be somewhere.

I push aside such unfunny facts for now.

The woman’s eyelids are still trembling.

This woman, who makes me recall past nights just by speaking, has a habit of her eyelids trembling when she lies.

When she claims it doesn’t hurt even though it does, or when she tries to endure saying she can bear everything.

This woman who always says she’s fine – her lies are exposed in those eyelids.

So of course, as expected, she is lying this time too.

Saying that I’m pretty is a lie.

This is a bit unfair.

I’ve been told I look like a sculpture since childhood.

Anyway, I decide to overlook such lies for now, finding the woman who said something amusing cute.

Rationalizing that some truth must be mixed in with those lies somewhere.

The carriage flowed into the market by the beach where the sea stretched out.

This place, which I roughly picked because her laughing and chatting with her birth mother on Rappianre Island was quite impressive, was only a few hours away from the capital.

In other words, it’s a place unlike Alphonse or some distant southern island where she can’t stay overnight with the excuse of it being far.

Of course, this woman would stay overnight again with just one word from me, but I who have now decided to act as a kind man can’t do that.

At least not until I expose all of this woman’s deceptions with my own hands.

So this destination was somewhat impulsive.

A decision intoxicated by that smile that day, one that will never happen again in my life.

The woman did her best as if trying not to make me regret such a crude choice.

However, that doing her best appearance is also somewhat arrogant somewhere.

Because she tries too hard. Because it shows.

Everyone does their best.

You should do well, you should hide well.

Nevertheless, this woman whose face eating cotton candy is lovely may be playing her role best.

At some point it becomes impossible to grasp.

Whether this woman is the problem.

Or whether I who am watching her is the problem.

Now I let go of everything for just a moment on this beach where it’s unclear what even is the problem anymore.

The woman’s red hair flutters vividly in the gentle sea breeze.

All throughout eating clams at a nearby restaurant and eating plebeian food while smelling the scent of fire, a bright smile filled the woman’s face.

Unlike when she called me pretty, her eyelids are quite calm now – I wonder if this is a real smile.

Building a sandcastle that could crumble at any moment, the woman wears the happiest smile in the world.

Then she suddenly says something nonsensical.

“Shall we play a truth game?”

The game that commoners often play in taverns is quite amusing.

They say you must only tell the truth. Those who don’t tell the truth will be punished.

But it’s not humans who judge that truth.

In other words, it’s a game where you can spout any nonsense.

Those without courage will hide truths disguised as lies within it.

Normally, no one would have dared to suggest a game I wouldn’t have participated in, but the woman started it without hesitation.

I was drawn into that trap once again.

Because the woman’s smile was prettier than ever before.