“Do you… know my name by any chance?”

Lily asked first, wanting to check how much the man knew. Herald looked into her green eyes, clouded with worry and concern, and after a moment’s hesitation, answered.

“No. I don’t know.”

“I thought so.”

Lily’s expression darkened as she nodded, as if she had expected this. Should I have said I knew? Since Lily hadn’t introduced herself, it seemed right to pretend not to know, but it appears to have been the wrong choice. Unable to turn back time now, Herald swallowed his regret.

Meanwhile, Lily took a deep breath to calm her churning stomach. She had resolved to properly introduce herself, but when the moment came, the words wouldn’t come out. It was because she could already see the man’s disappointment when he learned her identity.

Being a married woman was one problem, but the bigger issue was being the Viscountess Benjamin.

Phrases like “a legal wife worse than a mistress” or “the wife of a kept man” always preceded the title of Viscountess Benjamin. Lily wished the man didn’t know this fact.

Should I not have offered to introduce myself?

Belated regret washed over her like a tide, but even if she could turn back time, she would have made the same choice. It was something she had to do, both for him and for herself.

So let’s do it. Having made up her mind again, Lily clasped her trembling hands together and spoke.

“My name is… Liliana Benjamin.”

Usually, people would realize at this point that Lily was the rumored Mrs. Benjamin and be shocked. Their previously friendly greetings would disappear without a trace, and they would scramble to make excuses and flee.

Every time Lily saw such reactions, she felt a pain as if a sharp blade was cutting her heart. The intensity of the pain was proportional to the closeness of the relationship. The more she thought she was close to someone, the more she had given her heart, the more it hurt.

I wonder how much it will hurt this time. Lily was curious but also worried and afraid. She didn’t want to be hurt anymore. She didn’t want new wounds on her already tattered heart that had been injured too much.

But knowing it was a wish that couldn’t be fulfilled, she waited for the man’s reaction with half resignation.

“Liliana Benjamin.”

As the man recited her name as if trying to recall who she was, the small hands clasped tightly together tensed up.

Now he’ll frown. He’ll ask if I’m the rumored Mrs. Benjamin, if I’ve been deceiving him all this time, and look at me with eyes full of contempt and reproach.

“It’s a beautiful name.”

“…Pardon?”

That should be the case. That would be normal… but why is he smiling?

It wasn’t an awkward smile people put on to hide their shock upon learning Lily’s identity, but a smile filled with sincerity. His deep golden eyes sparkled as brilliantly as the sunlit lake she had seen in the forest.

“It’s truly a beautiful name. May I call you Miss Liliana?”

Miss Liliana, not Mrs. Benjamin. It was a title used for unmarried women. Apparently, this man didn’t know she was married.

How could he not know that fact?

Anyone who had ever set foot in high society knew the name Liliana Benjamin. Even if they didn’t know her face, mentioning her name would automatically elicit an exclamation of “Ah, that Mrs. Benjamin!”

It was because her husband, Fredrick Benjamin, had been busy flattering and bedding ladies from high-ranking families, making her famous as well.

So it was perplexing that this man, who appeared to be a high-ranking nobleman, claimed not to know her.

Perhaps he’s a nobleman from another country. If so, it would make sense that he didn’t know. Liliana Benjamin was only famous within the Empire.

“What is your name?”

Becoming more curious about the man’s identity, Lily asked, and Herald once again fell into contemplation. Should he tell the truth or not? This itself didn’t require much thought. If Lily knew that her one-night companion was Herald Maximilian, the second son of the Duke Maximilian family, she would surely faint and run away.

Then it could become an obstacle to finding out why the Second Prince was investigating the Benjamin viscounty, so he couldn’t reveal his true identity.

So what should he introduce himself as?

This is where the contemplation took longer. If he gave the name of a non-existent person, it was obvious he would be caught lying. But using the name of an existing person carried its own risk of being discovered.

I need a name that exists but doesn’t exist, one that will absolutely not be discovered.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?”

“……”

As the silence lengthened, Lily asked curiously. Realizing that any more hesitation would arouse suspicion, Herald had no choice but to say the name that flashed through his mind at that moment.

“Dillon… Oppenheimer.”

Dillon was his adjutant, and Oppenheimer was Olivia’s maiden family name. He couldn’t just use Dillon’s name as it would imply he was a commoner, so he hastily added his sister-in-law’s family name.

“Ah, so you’re from the Oppenheimer family.”

The Oppenheimer family was known for producing many renowned scholars and university professors, and was also famous for being a family solely interested in research, without greed or avarice.

As a result, it was said that even if the imperial family offered them good positions, they would decline and shut themselves in their laboratories to conduct research. Naturally, they had no interest in high society or worldly affairs.

‘So that’s why he didn’t know who I was.’

Of course, the man before her gave off more of an impression of a knight wielding a sword than a scholar pursuing knowledge, but believing there was no reason for him to lie about his name and family, Lily trusted his words.

“Then what should I call you? Should I say Lord Dillon?”

Seeing Lily believe his words without a hint of doubt, Herald smiled bitterly, his conscience pricking him. But he didn’t regret lying. If he had told the truth, everything would have gone awry.

“You can just call me Dillon comfortably.”

“How could I do that?”

“It’s alright. I don’t have a title, so you can comfortably call me by my name.”

“I don’t have a title either, so……”

Lily was about to say that he could call her Lily comfortably too, but she swallowed her words. She remembered that she couldn’t be in such a position, that unlike this unmarried man, she was married.

It was pathetic that she had forgotten such an important fact, even if only for a moment. Just as she was about to mention that she was married, he spoke first.

“Then I’ll call you Lily instead of Miss Liliana.”

Lily swallowed her words and looked at Herald.

“Names can be used regardless of status or title when people are close. I think it would be good for us to call each other by name.”

“Are we close?”

Lily asked without thinking, then realized it was a foolish question and closed her mouth. Herald, on the other hand, laughed as if he had heard an amusing story.

This seems ominous somehow.

“I think we’re quite close at this point. Just considering what happened at the hotel…”

“S-stop! I get it, we’re close, you don’t have to say anything more!”

Why do ominous premonitions never fail to come true?

As Lily shouted vehemently, waving her hands to stop him from speaking about what happened that day out of embarrassment, Herald laughed out loud.

Seeing him laugh with his shoulders shaking, Lily blushed for a different reason and lowered her head deeply. She saw the hem of her dress and shoes, dirty with soil and dust.

Before I met that man, my mood was exactly like that.

My feelings were terribly sullied by the filth named Fredrick, but now they weren’t.

I felt so good that I didn’t even think of Fredrick until I saw my dirty shoes and clothes. Strangely, it remained the same even after recalling my scoundrel of a husband.

It was all thanks to Herald. The time spent with him was so happy that I could forget the bad memories for a while.

Is this why noble ladies in loveless political marriages meet other men besides their husbands?

Scared by the fact that things she could never understand before were becoming comprehensible one by one, Lily hid her dirty shoes under her soiled skirt.

Afterwards, Herald and Lily continued their conversation, but they didn’t ask about anything personal. Lily intentionally didn’t talk about herself, and Herald, being considerate of her, deliberately didn’t ask.

They only discussed topics unrelated to their personal lives, such as how beautiful the lake they had just visited was, how terrible the ride in this shared carriage was, and whether there were any places more beautiful than that lake in the outskirts.

Meanwhile, the carriage diligently made its way into the city square. Herald saw the statue of the first emperor in the center of the square and asked Lily,

“Where is your home?”

Lily was about to reflexively give the address of the Benjamin viscounty residence but hesitated. While she didn’t want to return to that hellish place yet, she was even more reluctant to go there with Herald. More precisely, she didn’t want him to meet her husband.

“It’s alright. I can go alone, so please let me off at a suitable place.”

“I can’t do that. I’ll get off instead, so you should take the carriage, my lady.”

“But…”

“It’s fine. I have an appointment nearby anyway, so don’t worry and ride comfortably.”

Unable to refuse any further after such words, Lily nodded.

Herald knocked on the window connected to the coachman’s seat, indicating his desire to get off.

As the carriage came to a stop, Herald lightly kissed the back of Lily’s hand.

“Take care on your way back, Lily.”

“……”

“Well then, farewell.”

Left alone, Lily rubbed the back of her hand where his warmth lingered, her eyes following Herald’s rapidly retreating back.

She wanted to hold him back. She wanted to tell him not to get off, to stay together a little longer.

But she couldn’t. She shouldn’t do that.

“Where shall I take you, miss?”

“…To the Benjamin viscounty residence, please.”

Now I’m going back to hell.

It was time to return not as Liliana Benjamin, but as Viscountess Benjamin.