“But it would have been better if you had stayed inside.”

I thought this was the end, but I was mistaken.

Suddenly, at Gillian’s words, which had closed in on her, Bianca hesitated and headed for the bedroom.

Or at least, she had tried to go in.

Had she not forgotten that the door was closed.

Her vision was filled with a dark blue color as she felt the slipper snag.

“Be careful.”

Gillian managed to catch her, preventing her from crashing into something, but in a position more awkward than the embrace itself, poor Bianca froze, unable to breathe.

A refreshingly cool scent brushed her nose.

Though he appeared to have lightly grabbed her with one hand, he was supporting her faltering full weight.

“……”

Bianca’s lips parted at the shifting gaze.

“Thank you.”

I’m sorry.

I apologize.

What had flashed through her mind was an apology, but gratitude had flowed forth.

“Good.”

With Gillian’s playful voice, along with the sound of the lock being released from behind, the door swung wide open.

His supporting hand was withdrawn then.

Staggering momentarily, she reflexively took a couple of steps to regain her balance, and found herself already in the bedroom.

Gillian, holding the bedroom door with both hands, didn’t flinch.

“My lady, don’t do that again.”

“I won’t disobey.”

“No.”

He exhaled with a short laugh.

Tilting his head slightly with a smile, he wore a more intimate expression than before.

Confident, and somewhat anxious; it was a strange look.

“This is your home.”

One by one, his long fingers, clutching the door, let go, and the wideopen door gap slowly narrowed.

“Your home.”

Inside, Gillian whispered in a melting voice.

“I would never imprison you.”

“Gillian.”

You knew I tried to escape!

Blushing at the thought of being caught in a foolish lie, Bianca’s face turned hot.

“If I ever imprison you, I will give you such a grand world that you won’t even think of it as a cage. Don’t worry.”

“……!”

Gillian, offering a sweet threat, wore a very graceful expression.

He laughed shortly, Ha Ha, looking at the astonished Bianca.

“After all, I wouldn’t offer something so trivial as a cage to you. I’ll give you a cage that is more splendid and beautiful, and that will never bore you.”

A sated beast.

Perhaps that figure epitomized just that.

Thud.

The door closed behind her as if driven in.

Yet strangely, Bianca didn’t feel trapped at all.

That lascivious smile was too intense.

“You, such a pitiful thing as your personal maid? Even Hailey must be due for retirement?”

Gillian, wiping his smile in an instant, looked down at Julie with a cold expression.

It was an intimidating look that could make the knees weak, but Julie didn’t blink an eye, meeting his gaze.

“It’s not pitiful. Isn’t it clear that the knight has failed to deceive people skillfully?”

“You, who couldn’t hold the duchess for even a few hours, are not pitiful?”

Gillian yanked off the cravat around his neck as if tearing it.

He had always disliked things like cravats that choked his neck.

In the duke’s castle, he enjoyed comfortable shirts and pants, but he had no choice but to dress formally, which is why…

“What on earth crawled in here and tore the duke’s clothes?”

At Julie’s surprised words, Gillian looked down to see his shirt front torn and fluttering.

The shirt, cut into dozens of thin strands, was certainly a mess.

Even though he ruled seven castles, he was not omnipotent, and sometimes things would crawl in, but nothing could tear Gillian’s clothes.

Julie’s surprise was justified.

“Give me the order, and I will return to the main body at once…!”

“It’s already been taken care of.”

The sound that seemed ready to run after Julie was Hayley’s neat voice.

“Duke, please change your clothes.”

“The downstairs?”

“Everything that was bought has been sorted.”

Aha.

At Hayley’s words of ‘bought things,’ Julie nodded slightly.

It’s the day we decided to lay out the giant rabbit’s skin in the castle.

The byproducts of magic beasts attract more of them, so surely the giant rabbit had caused a commotion.

Magic beasts that don’t limit their consumption often ate their own kind.

Since they’re bigger than ordinary beasts or humans, the energy they could gain was substantial, so eating their kind became more frequent in preparation for winter.

It could be said to be a survival instinct.

Therefore, the caught magic beast must be dealt with outside, and finished off with fire to erase the smell.

“What happened…?”

“We brought in the skin.”

It was a breezy response.

No matter how well cleaned, the fact it was a byproduct didn’t change.

It seemed something had been attracted by the smell of the skin.

But even so, it was not understandable.

The giant rabbit is ferocious but slow.

And the Duke gives his shirt to such a creature?

What had the knights guarding the castle been doing all this time?

She thought she hadn’t shown her displeasure, but it must have shown on her face, as Hayley quickly added while handing a shirt to the Duke.

“The maids were sewing, so the knights had to make way.”

Really?