The boy who had been assertive suddenly flared up.

“You said it!”

“Said what?”

“That we were at the auction house!”

I blinked my eyes. Realizing the meaning of his words belatedly, I hastily raised both hands.

“No, no!”

“Then who did?”

I had almost said it unknowingly, but I had kept my mouth shut about the twins.

“I didn’t say anything!”

The boy didn’t seem inclined to believe me easily. His eyebrows knitted menacingly.

Magic began to ripple from the hands he had raised above his head.

I took a sharp breath.

Rebecca was already suffering greatly from being entangled with that energy.

‘Is he planning to attack me…?’

I had to escape, but my feet were stiff with tension.

‘What do I do?’

Just as I was contemplating whether to scream, an unexpected, welcome figure appeared on the stairs.

“Dayban, put your hands down properly.”

The Duke was striding down the stairs from the second floor.

He sharply corrected the boy’s posture. The boy, whose posture had been lax, promptly raised both hands.

‘So that angry one is Dayban.’

If Dayban was one, then the other must be Michael?

Unlike Dayban, Michael didn’t even spare me a glance. I remembered reading that Michael had a calmer disposition than Dayban.

“Dad!”

I quickly hugged the Duke’s leg.

‘Wow, that was really scary.’

I wanted to tell the Duke that Dayban had tried to attack me.

But the twins became the Duke’s family before I did. I didn’t want to cause strife between family members.

If I clung to the Duke, they couldn’t attack me. With that thought, I hugged his leg, and the Duke swiftly picked me up.

“Why are you out so early in the morning?”

“I was thirsty…”

“You could’ve called the servants. Don’t tell me they didn’t come when you called?”

Misunderstanding my situation, I quickly waved my hands.

“No, no! I just came out by myself. But why are you up so early, Dad?”

As I tried to divert the conversation, I felt a piercing gaze from the side.
I felt something was off and glanced over to find Dayban glaring at me with intense eyes.

‘What, what’s going on…?’

I awkwardly scratched my cheek when Clemens also came down to the living room.

Dayban’s face brightened upon seeing Clemens.

“Brother!”

Dayban called him with joy. If he hadn’t been punished, he would have run to him instantly.

“You two.”

Upon discovering the twins, Clemens squinted his eyes.

At this, Mikael discreetly turned his gaze away, and Dayban, regardless, met his gaze with a cheerful expression.

“Brother, have you been well?”

“Thanks to someone.”

“I had something to tell you, brother. About what you taught me last time,”

“Talk later. Kiddo, you woke up early?”

Ignoring the chattering Dayban, Clemens briskly walked toward me. Dayban’s words abruptly halted.

“Yes! I got thirsty so I came out.”

“Alright? I’ll bring the water, go up first.”

The Duke carried me directly toward the room. Clemens followed us after fetching cool water.

And I failed to notice. That someone was following us with blazing eyes.

I was able to hear from the Duke the reason the twins were punished in the living room since dawn.

“They’ve been roaming around the empire without saying a word, even during the Academy break.”

Clemens and the Duke had already been worried due to the lack of news from the twins.

Krisya and Gezwill had gone through a lot of trouble to find them, it seemed they finally managed.

I moistened my throat with the water Clemens brought. He shook his head and spoke.

“Turns out, they were hiding in an auction house, tricking us.”

So that was why he glared at the twins earlier. Separate from Clemens’ anger, I felt somewhat ashamed.

I too had seen the twins at the auction house.

‘But I couldn’t tell.’

Before I saw the twins, I had seen Rebecca. I didn’t want to tell the Duke and Clemens about her.

They would have already been worried about me that day. Besides, the twins had sternly warned me too.

‘Should I not tell Dad that I saw them?’

“Dad, how about keeping Yan close to Diane for a while? Even within the mansion.”

Considering Clemens’ suggestion, the Duke appeared contemplative. But I didn’t want that.

“I’m fine.”

“But Diane, those kids are so unpredictable…”

“I want to get along with the twins too.”

Clemens probably made this suggestion because he saw Dayban getting angry at me earlier.

However, Dayban misunderstood, and such a small misunderstanding could easily be cleared.

If I walked around with guards out of caution for the twins, it would look like I was drawing a line first.

At my opinion, the Duke stroked my head and said,

“I was planning to formally introduce you two at breakfast today anyway. You can get to know them better after that.”

As soon as morning came, I hurriedly got ready and went down to the dining room.

With a mix of anticipation and excitement, I waited for the twins to come down.

However, that morning, the twins did not come down for breakfast.