I tried to move as quietly as possible, but once Reus’s gaze turned towards me, it didn’t leave until I went from the dressing room to the bathroom and sat on the bed.

I don’t know what’s bothering him so much today.

The moment I tried to put my legs into the bedding as quietly as possible and lie down, Reus finally opened his mouth.

“You seem to be coming back too late these days.”

“…Pardon?”

“You’ve been coming back at dawn for several days in a row.”

“Ah… I’m sorry, it must be very disruptive to your sleep.”

I apologized with an awkward smile, but the dissatisfaction in Reus’s eyes showed no sign of easing.

Then, Reus broke the silence and said,

“There’s no need to work that hard.”

“…”

“Just doing the bare minimum is enough. That’s all you need to do.”

It wasn’t that I heard anything bad, but strangely, a sharp sensation brushed past my chest.

I was confident that I wouldn’t be hurt anymore, having grown accustomed to a lifetime of being an outsider…

But an unexpected sadness came over me as if experiencing it for the first time.

Perhaps it’s because I unknowingly grew fond of this place filled with only good memories.

I didn’t want to open my mouth for fear that my trembling voice would leak out. However, Reus’s gaze seemed to be demanding an answer, so I had no choice but to speak.

“Yes… I’ll do that.”

Only then did Reus seem satisfied, averting his gaze and lying down on the bed. I also pulled the blanket up to my face.

‘Reus really doesn’t like me working after all.’

He had no choice but to allow it.

There’s nothing more unpleasant than someone who will soon leave knowing the intimate affairs of the family, so it wasn’t a special reaction.

I knew that in my head… but it was true that I was upset. For some reason, I felt like I might cry a little.

I closed my eyes tightly, hoping this night would pass quickly.

* * *

Since that day, Roel’s spirits noticeably dropped.

Watching her, Reus was frustrated to the point of going crazy, not even realizing that he was the one who caused it.

Seeing the woman, who already didn’t move much and looked somewhat precarious, quietly sitting like that every day, in Reus’s eyes, she looked almost like a patient.

However, that was just how it appeared to Reus, and Roel was slowly recovering her heart while sitting in the garden, gazing at the refreshingly open sea.

In fact, none of the servants noticed Roel’s depression at all.

In the Evellet Count’s household, even the slightest display of emotion would result in hands or objects flying, so Roel was highly skilled at hiding her emotions and pretending to be fine.

However, Reus uncannily read almost all of Roel’s emotions.

For example, the slight lingering depression, the resignation, and the giving up.

It was no exaggeration to say that Reus had dedicated his entire life to observing others while holding his breath, so he was able to read Roel’s subtle gloominess like a ghost.

However, even Reus couldn’t figure out the reason for her depression.

‘Say something at least.’

As the days passed without knowing anything, he sometimes felt impatient, but the woman didn’t notice his feelings.

Thanks to that, he wasted precious time today, unable to focus on work. Feeling like he couldn’t take it anymore, Reus quickly wrapped up his work and headed straight to the bedroom.

And as expected, Roel was already lying motionless, deeply asleep, much earlier than usual.

The original Reus would have welcomed this with open arms.

There was no reason to refuse if she was going to stay quiet like a piece of furniture in the room, not bothering him with anything.

But no matter how he thought about it, he was uncomfortable with this situation. He even felt the urge to have a conversation, which was unlike him, but… he had no justification to wake Roel up.

Reus could only burn with frustration today as well, not knowing the reason.

* * *

After completely emptying my mind and sleeping deeply for a few days, the gloominess was gone.

‘Now that I think about it, it wasn’t something to be upset about.’

Reus’s reaction was an appropriate attitude for the head of the Rochester family to protect the family, and it was also a correct warning. Moreover, despite disliking me, he even told me very calmly.

‘Now that I think about it, it wasn’t something to be upset about, but something to be grateful for.’

The first day I came to the Grand Duke’s castle.

When I was offered a contract to transfer all of the Evellet Count’s assets to me, I could vaguely guess that my father must have been involved with Reus in some unpleasant way.

I couldn’t know exactly what it was, but if it was enough to destroy the family, it couldn’t have been a trivial matter.

‘Perhaps the downfall of the Evellet Count’s family in the original story… wasn’t part of the plan?’

Count Evellet wasn’t simply caught by the villainous Reus in the original story, but was destined to be judged from the beginning for committing an unforgivable sin.

If that was the case, I, the daughter of Count Evellet, would be nothing more than an eyesore to Reus.

Yet Reus decided to spare my life and even allowed me to take part in his revenge. If it weren’t for that, forget about a contract offer, I would have certainly been eliminated without a trace one day.

‘Thinking about it again, I’m glad Reus became my benefactor before going crazy.’

Indeed, considering those things, now…

‘Reus is doing his best to treat me well to the extent possible.’

So I just need to do well. Staying as quiet as possible so as not to get on Reus’s nerves.

As soon as I thought that, I encountered an obstacle from breakfast time.

It was the moment when I was about to put down my spoon after finishing the meal satisfactorily as usual. From a close distance, a somewhat dissatisfied voice was heard.

“Are you already thinking of stopping your meal?”

When he was alone with me or with Dwin, Reus would maintain the softest tone and gaze as much as possible, but now, anyone could see that he was clearly displeased.

For now, I quietly placed the spoon on the table and moved my hand to the glass as if I had no intention of ending the meal.

“No… I was just a little thirsty.”

But Reus’s expression still showed no sign of easing.

After watching me gulp down water for a while, Reus called for Rotheo. He seemed to say something quite lengthy, and soon after, servants entered the dining room carrying food.

The dining table, which was already full of various dishes, was filled to the brim without a single gap in an instant.

‘There’s already so much food, why more…?’

There was probably no need to ask anything. It was a gaze that clearly told me to continue the meal.

I was already very full and even feeling drowsy, but under the piercing gaze, I reluctantly picked up the spoon again.

‘…Does everything I do bother him now?’

It seems Reus dislikes me… no, despises me more than I thought.

I guess wanting to maintain a good relationship until I leave was too much to hope for.

For the first time, I felt suffocated like when I was at the Evellet Count’s estate.

* * *

After breakfast, I dragged my heavy body to the office.

By the end of the meal, it felt like the food had reached up to my throat, and as expected, my stomach ached a lot even when I was just sitting still.

‘I must have overeaten…’

This was already the second time I overate because of Reus.

I tried to ignore the discomfort and continue working, but it didn’t take long for Dwin to notice my condition.

“Your Highness, are you alright? You look very unwell.”

It seemed that in that short time, the overeating had worsened, and I even started sweating. Dwin, who was closely examining my face, jumped up from his seat in surprise.

“I will call the physician right away!”

If he calls the physician, Reus will find out, right?

For a moment, Reus’s sarcastic voice flashed through my mind.

Things like, am I intentionally making myself sick to make him uncomfortable, or am I protesting in this way just because he said a few words?

‘Feria said that when you dislike someone, you hate seeing them sick even more…’

I couldn’t show my sick appearance to someone who found even the sight of me eating unpleasant. I hurriedly called out to Dwin, who looked like he was about to rush out at any moment.

“Dwin…! There’s no need to call the physician to that extent.”

“But, Your Highness…”

“I mean it. I think I just overate a little. If the medicine doesn’t work, I’ll call the physician then.”

Hesitating, Dwin eventually brought some readily available medicine instead of calling the physician.

“Thank you, Dwin.”

“If it gets even a bit worse, you must let me know. You must.”

“I will do that.”

Fortunately, after taking the digestive medicine and some time passed, the overeating eased to some extent. But strangely, my body still felt heavy and sluggish.

Then, a different kind of abdominal pain seemed to spread, so I apologized to Dwin and left the office much earlier than usual.

On the way back to the bedroom, I had to stop walking and stand still for a while because I was struggling with the strength draining from my body. I had a hunch, but the dizziness wouldn’t go away…

“So this is why my body was more tired.”

It seemed that my period was about to start.

As soon as I arrived in the room, I took the painkillers that Dwin had prepared just in case, but as expected, the medicine didn’t work well.

In the end, I dragged my heavy footsteps and staggered over to the bed, throwing myself down haphazardly.

Originally, medicine didn’t work well for my period, so there was no other way to overcome it than lying down for a few days.

‘But at least it’s not cold here, unlike the warehouse.’

Even though I had no strength in my body, the cozy blanket enveloped me, and just that seemed to make me feel better.

‘It’s warm…’

That’s right. Just not being in that cold warehouse room when I’m sick like this is a relief.

Recalling the past brought both gloominess and a sense of relief from being away from the Evellet Count’s estate. Still, hoping that this wouldn’t turn out to be a dream, I closed my eyes.