I didn’t know why the conversation suddenly jumped to that topic, but I silently listened to the little one’s words.

“Seeing that elder sister Anna came back empty-handed, it seems she discarded the dress. Since one is gone from the closet, we should fill the empty space.”

I removed the small hand gripping my arm. Then I gently patted it.

“Why are you asking the Duke to buy it? I can buy it myself.”

“Wasn’t it the Duke who originally made the lady uncomfortable?”

“No. That’s not anyone’s fault.”

Now I understand a little better. The little one’s way of speaking.

“Huh? Think about it. The Duke took the lady to the test drive on your date day, saying he had work to do, and made her struggle.”

“I followed of my own will, not because someone threatened me, right?”

The little one was taken aback. Seems he thought I would agree with him.

“Little one. If I say I’ll buy a dress, are you trying to help me choose?”

At my words, Rublion’s eyes widened.

“How did you know?”

“Well, I can tell just by looking at your eyes.”

The child muttered that he was in trouble. I looked at the little one and said,

“I need to buy one anyway. So let’s go together and choose.”

“Really? Is that okay?”

“Yes. But since I’m buying it with my own money, I won’t ask the Duke to buy it.”

“Alright!”

The little one smiled brightly with joy. The lips that had been pouting earlier were now gone.

I glanced at the Duke. His gaze was fixed on Rublion.

“My lady.”

The Duke, who had been silently listening to our conversation, quietly called me.

“I’d like to have a brief conversation without Rublion. Could you come to my office before dinner?”

I nodded at his polite request.

“Alright.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

Rublion mouthed ‘why?’ Of course, I couldn’t answer the child’s question because I didn’t know why he wanted to see me separately either.

[This is the timeline separator]

Rublion, who had followed Askal inside, asked him as he changed into comfortable clothes.

“Tell me what happened at the hot spring.”

“Nothing much.”

“Is there something you can’t tell me?”

The servants were pretending to go about their business as usual, but Askal could tell they were listening intently.

“There’s nothing I can’t tell you.”

“Then why won’t you tell me?”

Rublion kept asking while hovering around Askal. Slightly annoyed, he stopped buttoning his shirt.

“It’s a secret between the lady and me. I can’t tell you even if you’re curious.”

“You even made secrets?”

“Yes, so could you please leave now? I need to change my pants.”

“What’s the big deal, between us?”

“Out.”

Askal signaled to a servant to take him out. Understanding perfectly, he lifted Rublion who was trying to hold onto the wall corner. It was a familiar sight.

“Why! What’s wrong with me looking!”

“No. You’ll probably tell the lady everything you see.”

Rublion shouted as he was carried out.

“I won’t tell, Duke! No, Uncle!”

It finally became quiet when the door closed. Askal sighed as he resumed buttoning his shirt.

[This is the timeline separator]

As soon as I came up to the room with Anna, I threw myself onto the bed.

“Are you going right away?”

“I’m curious about what he wants to say, but I also want to rest comfortably alone.”

I wiggled my toes with my face buried in the blanket. I felt a bit concerned because the Duke’s expression looked subtly disappointed when he asked for some time.

‘Ah, let’s not put it off.’

Overcoming my laziness, I got up abruptly. Anna saw me off, saying she would give me a massage when I returned.

It was amusing to be seen off when going to meet someone living in the same mansion, but it was so like Anna that it lightened my mood a little.

Arriving at the Duke’s office later than usual, I hesitated whether to knock. It was because of unnecessary worry about what if I came earlier than expected.

Knock knock.

It didn’t take long to decide. There’s no reason to hesitate here when I haven’t done anything wrong.

“My lady, I’ve been waiting.”

The Duke was sitting on the sofa, not at his desk. I involuntarily shrank back, feeling the pressure as if called by an academy professor.

“Sit down.”

He gestured to the seat across from him. At the same time, a maid placed warm tea on the table and left.

The Duke handed me a cup and carefully opened his mouth.

“Since you don’t seem inclined to speak first, I’ll start.”

His voice was strong and firm.

“I know who you met at the test drive site.”

My heart sank.

“I received a report from the knight who was with you when you fell asleep at the hot spring resort.”

I swallowed once before speaking.

“I felt a bit wronged by the misunderstanding, but I told the truth, so I think you’ll understand.”

A person who makes you understand why they call her the Goddess’s Sword.

The chilling yet beautiful Duchess Lumps would make a good match for Duke Artenbach.

“After hearing that from the knight, I understood why you were sick. It was understandable.”

The Duke took a sip of tea. Then he opened his mouth with a stern face.

“Do you remember what I said before you decided to stay in this mansion?”

He had said he would protect me.

“What I said then wasn’t simply about protecting you from Johnston. I meant I would protect everything, both internal and external, so that you could work for Black Swan and be faithful to your role as Rublion’s mother. But, my lady.”

The Duke set down his teacup without making a sound.

“Even with power that can do anything, I’m still human, so I may not know what’s troubling you. If you don’t tell me, I might never know and just pass by.”

He slightly ruffled his hair with his right hand.

“So even if it’s a trivial matter, if there’s a situation where you feel wronged or can’t accept, don’t hide or endure it, but tell me. So that I can perfectly keep the promise I made to you.”

I tried to act nonchalant, but honestly, I was afraid of Duchess Lumps. She was chilling as if she would twist my neck at any moment, and seeing the swords of the knights lined up behind her made me even more fearful.

I answered that it was a misunderstanding, that I had no intention whatsoever of taking the man she had her eye on, but what came back to me was suspicion and threats.

“If I had said that I met Duchess Lumps there, would anything have been different?”

To my question, the Duke tapped the sofa armrest with his fingernail and replied.

“It would be different. It’s already been different since the moment I heard that fact from the knight.”

My fingertips tingled. The resentment gathered in my solar plexus surged up to my throat.

“There’s no need to endure anything unreasonable or unfair. I hope you don’t forget that the Artenbach ducal family is behind you. Because we’re there protecting you.”

Ever since my mother passed away, the only one who could protect me was myself. In that situation, even my father wasn’t in his right mind, so there was no one to fully protect the side of a young lady who hadn’t even had her debutante yet.

There were many things that happened until my father completely let go of Black Swan’s management and I took that empty seat.

I love my father, but there were things too difficult to overcome with love alone, and because of my father’s long-standing habit of nibbling away at the baron’s fortune, I became more tenacious and cold-hearted.

Such a person like me didn’t even rely on my closest father. I was protecting the crumbling sand castle with my own strength.

Plop. Drip drip.

The resentment hanging at the end of my throat fell as teardrops. It was because I was grateful for the Duke speaking so indifferently yet kindly.

“Do you… need a tissue, no, a handkerchief?”

Although I couldn’t see well because of the tears, I could tell he was flustered just by his voice.

“Today was really hard…”

His words about protecting my back were so good it made me dizzy.

“Now everything’s alright.”

I roughly wiped my tears with my dress sleeve. Then I said to the Duke, who was holding both tissues and a handkerchief, unsure which to offer.

“It sounds really nice to hear you say you’ll protect me.”

I wiped away the tears that had welled up again with the back of my hand and smiled brightly. The Duke’s eyes grew wider and wider as he looked at me. It was fun to know that the man standing frozen with things to wipe with in both hands wasn’t just a scary person. So I smiled at him with genuine joy.

[This is the timeline separator]

Left alone in the office after Schmidt had left, Askal stared at the tissues and handkerchief on the table. The image of Schmidt wiping away her tears overlapped with the pristine white tissues.

‘…I see.’

Askal placed his hand on his chest, which felt like it would explode if not calmed. His heartbeat was pounding against his palm.

[It sounds really nice to hear you say you’ll protect me.]

Her voice seemed to melt into his cochlea, constantly echoing. Askal took a deep breath and exhaled forcefully.

When he saw the bright smile she had only shown to Rublion. He was certain that his feelings for her were not just simple fondness.

‘I thought it wasn’t enough to propose yet.’

At first, he was drawn to her honesty that easily showed emotions on her face. He thought that such a person wouldn’t do bad things, and would give good education to Rublion as well.

There was a time when he couldn’t understand why Rublion, like a black snake, was so smitten with Schmidt. He wondered why he liked someone who seemed so fragile, as if she would cry out if touched lightly.

‘Yes, back then I didn’t understand.’

A person with inner strength. The sympathy that arose from knowing how that strength was formed.

For a very brief moment, Askal thought this feeling might be pity, but seeing the smile directed solely at him, he realized it was not.

‘Proposal… a proposal, huh.’

Unlike before when he was certain it wasn’t that far, he imagined Schmidt standing by his side.

‘Now I’m not so sure. If the lady says let’s do it, I might just go ahead and do it.’

He squeezed his eyes shut. Because his delusions had snowballed and gone too far into the distant future.

He stared at the tissues and handkerchief on the table for a moment.

The problem was that his heart was beating madly.