Shanette seemed surprised for a moment, but soon nodded as if she understood.

No, wait a moment. What exactly did you understand?

“You should have given me a hint, Reus. If you had, I would have instructed the staff to prepare various things in advance.”

“Lady Yvelle will be staying here for a while, so you need not worry about such matters.”

Who…? Me?

‘That’s not right…’

“Oh, is that so? Then, instead of standing around here, I should quickly go tell the chef to prepare more food. I’ll go ahead, so please come along with Lady Yvelle at your leisure.”

“I will do so.”

Shanette, having finished her brief conversation with Reus, turned towards me.

“This is not a guest we should be welcoming so hastily… I’m sorry, Lady Yvelle.”

“No, I… I’m not such a special guest…”

“Yes, it’s my oversight. I’ll make sure to inform you in advance next time.”

I tried to correct the misunderstanding, but Reus interrupted, preventing me from continuing.

“Then, I’ll see you in a little while, Lady Yvelle.”

Shanette looked at both of us alternately with fond eyes, then quickly turned and headed towards the Grand Duke’s castle.

I stared blankly at Shanette’s retreating figure as she moved farther away.

‘What in the world is all this…’

I was so dumbfounded by the current situation that I could only gape with my mouth open. It was only after a long while that I finally managed to find my voice.

“Hey, um… Your High-”

Whether it was because I was too flabbergasted or because my manners had deserted me along with my wits, there was a problem.

To address the empire’s one and only Grand Duke with “Hey, um…”!

Having gotten into the habit of calling him “this guy,” “that guy,” or “Reus” in my mind, I inadvertently blurted out words without restraint.

Knowing all too well that I had made a mistake, I couldn’t continue speaking. Seeing me like this, Reus calmly said,

“Yes, ‘Hey, um.’ I’m listening, so please speak.”

“…?”

For a moment, I was so taken aback that all the questions I wanted to ask flew out of my head.

‘Was it his head that was injured the most that day…?’

Ah, right. He had such a high fever. It seems his brain might have been slightly cooked. Otherwise, how could a person be so inconsistent?

I was genuinely worried and was about to ask if he was feeling unwell somewhere. But I quickly closed my mouth again.

It was because of Reus’s expression.

I can’t explain it in words, but how should I put it… He looked strangely pleased.

‘That’s it. Yes. He’s gone mad.’

I was feeling sorry for him inwardly when I came to my senses.

…Wait a minute. That’s not the issue right now.

The problem is that Reus deceived me!

Come to think of it, things were strange from the reception room. The conversation flowed differently than usual, he explained things I hadn’t even asked about. And in the carriage, although it was just for a moment, he even laughed.

I should have realized something was off back then!

Suddenly, I remembered the letter.

‘Then, was the letter fake too…?’

He was uncharacteristically talkative, and it was all to prevent me from reading the letter!

I shouldn’t have dismissed it as mere coincidence or a feeling. Yes, and the carriage too. The real Reus would never ride in a carriage with someone else!

I had truly been played by Reus from beginning to end.

“Why did you deceive me…?”

The words came out a bit sharper than I intended. But Reus replied calmly, as if he wasn’t bothered by it at all.

“Didn’t you deceive me as well?”

“…Pardon?”

“I thought that was why you lingered in front of the door for so long… Wondering how to lie, how to escape. Isn’t that right?”

“Wh-what are you talking about… I… I couldn’t believe that the Grand Duke had personally visited our family! I was simply nervous, that’s all…”

I tried hard to explain, but he had an expression as if he was listening to my words with deaf ears.

“I wonder if anything would have changed if you had told the truth, Lady Yvelle.”

“Of course…”

I couldn’t finish my sentence because Reus let out an “Ah” sigh.

No. Rather, it was more accurate to say that I couldn’t utter any words carelessly because Reus’s gaze towards me seemed to bind my body.

His eyes were relaxed, but the pupils beneath them shone brightly like a predator’s gleam.

“You seem quite adept at running away.”

“…”

“I wonder if you were trying to run away right before my eyes this time.”

“…Running away? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I thought you were only good at running away, but it seems you’re also quite skilled at pretending not to know. I’m impressed.”

His attitude clearly showed that he would at least listen to what I was babbling, which inadvertently made me feel upset.

“That’s because you usually… did that…”

“I did.”

Reus made an expression as if he couldn’t quite recall, whether he truly didn’t remember or was just pretending not to.

What followed was an insincere apology.

“If I did, I apologize. Please be understanding, Lady Yvelle.”

Then he smiled and reached out his hand to me. As if to escort me.

Perhaps it was because of the thought that I needed to escape immediately from this completely derailed situation, but courage suddenly sprang up from somewhere. I firmly pushed away Reus’s hand.

“I-I’m going back.”

I stuttered a bit because I was a little afraid of the reaction that would come, but I managed to turn my body around successfully. Soon, I heard the sound of clicking tongue behind me.

‘Ah- I can’t hear it. I didn’t hear anything.’

Instead of grabbing me, Reus followed behind me.

“I didn’t know you were usually this cold-hearted.”

“Ah, I don’t understand what you’ve been talking about, Your Grace.”

I tried to walk quickly with large strides, but it didn’t take long for him to catch up.

Reus stood right in front of me, slowly bending his upper body, and only stopped approaching when I couldn’t back away anymore.

“If I stop you from leaving. Are you planning to hit me today too?”

“Pardon…?”

Reus was tapping the corner of his eye.

“That was…!”

“That was?”

“…”

While looking down at me leisurely, as if daring me to say more.

I bit my lower lip hard.

I almost said that it was because I was surprised, not because I did it on purpose.

I wanted to hit him once more under the pretext of checking if it was really me, but I calmed my mind.

‘For now… let’s deny it.’

Instead of getting upset, I need to get out of here first.

Rather than reacting as Reus wanted, I spoke very calmly as if I had never been flustered.

“Your Grace.”

“Have you finally remembered what to say next?”

“No. First, I’ll offer you my sincere condolences. I don’t know where you were hit, but it seems you were attacked by some ruffian. To dare raise a hand against the Grand Duke. What a rude and brave person indeed.”

“Are you the type who becomes calm when talking about yourself as if you’re someone else?”

I almost got upset again at his response, which still showed he wasn’t taking my words seriously, but I barely held back my anger and continued speaking calmly.

“…No. Anyway, it seems to be unrelated to me.”

At my words denying it once again, one of Reus’s eyebrows raised crookedly.

“In conclusion, I wanted to say that you seem to be misunderstanding, Your Grace. I am absolutely not the ruffian who attacked you. So, I’ll be returning to the Count’s residence now.”

“No, I don’t like that.”

“…”

I thought he would let me go after hearing the first word, but he rejected it very boldly and coldly.

‘Why is he doing this to me!’

Reus clearly remembers what happened that day.

But why would he go so far as to deceive me to bring me to the Grand Duke’s castle?

If he wanted to compensate, he should have done it earlier, and if he wanted to express gratitude, he should have done it at the Yvelle Count’s residence earlier.

But it’s neither of those!

‘I don’t know what’s what, but I need to run away no matter what.’

I was the first to break the brief standoff.

“If I say I’m going back to my home…”

“Then how about going to the Forest of Silence?”

I tried to protest in my own way, but I flinched at the direct words that soon followed.

Reus murmured quietly.

“Isn’t that part of the Yvelle County as well?”

“If you don’t like that, you can come with me to the Grand Duke’s castle.”

“…What if I don’t like either option?”

I glared weakly at Reus, filled with resentment. But thanks to Reus, who never averted his eyes, I ended up looking away first.

‘Tch, it hurts my pride… But I’m scared…’

If I had known it would be like this, I should have hit him one more time that day.

Seeing that I closed my mouth and didn’t try to make eye contact, Reus spoke as if he had no choice.

“Then I guess we have no choice but to return to the Yvelle Count’s residence.”

“…Really?”

I quickly turned my head, which had been facing the opposite direction, to look at Reus.

“Come to think of it, I received a favor but didn’t properly express my gratitude. Since Lady Yvelle seems completely uninterested in my expression of gratitude, I’ll convey my thanks to the Countess instead.”

“…”

“Or perhaps the Countess already knows about this? If so, I can somewhat understand why you keep insisting on going back.”

Should I be discovered by Feria and be confined forever, eventually meeting the end as in the original story? Or should I try to find a way out of this twisted development?

‘Of course… the latter.’

Having made a quick decision, I watched for a moment and then brought Reus’s hand, which I had pushed away callously, back in front of me.

I thought he might be sensitive about me touching his body, but Reus silently watched what I was doing.

I very carefully took his large hand.

“L-let’s go, Your Grace… Shanette must be waiting…”

Reus, lightly grasping my hand, had the most satisfied expression I had ever seen on his face.