“Here, Roel. Drink this.”

Haven handed me a cup of warm tea, which I received absentmindedly. Instead of drinking it, I just stared at the gentle ripples on the surface of the liquid.

“I’ve never seen someone so tenacious. It’s a miracle he’s alive, a miracle! But who is that fellow? He seemed familiar.”

“…It’s…”

“What’s that?”

“It’s… the Grand Duke.”

“Ah, the Grand Duke. The Grand Duke…? …The Grand Duuuke?”

I nodded slowly to Uncle Haven, who repeated the question in surprise.

A bewildered expression flashed across Uncle Haven’s face. Then, as he mulled it over, his face grew increasingly pale with shock.

“Is, is, is it re-really… th-that Grand Duke I kn-know?”

“Yes. It’s really the Grand Duke. Grand Duke Rocheter.”

“My goodness… How did such an esteemed person end up like this… No, why is he even here? This isn’t even the Grand Duchy…”

I felt the same way as Uncle Haven. Why on earth was that man here? It would be shocking enough to see him pass by Count Ivelre’s vicinity, let alone being in the Silent Forest, right next to Anas.

‘Why, of all people, did it have to be Reus…’

“…But when do you think he’ll wake up?”

“Hmm. It’ll take a good three hours for the antidote to fully circulate. He’ll need at least a day to regain consciousness, I’d say.”

‘That’s somewhat fortunate.’

“I’ll go make a recovery potion. He’s past the critical point, but he’s still in a state where he could die at any moment… If you see any signs of his condition worsening, even slightly, you must run to the room across immediately.”

“Yes…”

After finishing his words, Uncle Haven left the room. I placed the teacup on the shelf and buried my face in my hands, almost collapsing.

It was because of the thought that was completely dominating my mind right now.

The original story.

‘Wasn’t this not in the original story?’

No matter how much I thought about it, there was nothing like this in the original story.

Nothing about Roel being Reus’s benefactor and getting engaged because of it, or about them meeting personally and developing a relationship.

“But what’s going on with this situation…”

Since my reincarnation in this world, things that were supposed to happen always did happen.

Things like wars or major incidents significant enough to make the news. Not long ago, a territorial war broke out in the south, just as I knew it would.

So that means the flow of this world is essentially the same as the original story’s progression.

Which means…

‘Was Reus destined to have his life threatened around this time originally?’

Was it just a personal matter not related to the protagonist, so it wasn’t mentioned in the book?

‘…Then there’s only one variable, isn’t there?’

Me, who knows the future.

In other words, me, who knows the original story and has been acting differently from the world’s set parameters recently.

Whether it was because of what I said to Casien about breaking off the engagement, or because of my actions to secure a new identity to escape early…

It seemed like a very plausible assumption, even to me.

“Damn it.”

I hope the story doesn’t completely derail from here… If something goes wrong with my escape plans…

“…No. Don’t panic. As long as I’m not caught, it’ll be fine.”

They said it would take at least a day for Reus to regain consciousness. So if I just live quietly as before, as if I never interfered with the story, there shouldn’t be any problems.

After spending a long time reassuring myself, I finally thought I should check on Reus. I lifted my head from my hands and looked at him.

‘His face is so pale…’

He was sweating so much that I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. Worried, I placed my hand on his forehead and found it burning hot.

Regardless of my desire to avoid getting involved with Reus, watching someone’s life in danger was distressing in its own right.

Especially for someone I never thought would go through something like this.

I was about to move my hand to the shelf, thinking I should wipe away his cold sweat.

But I stopped mid-motion and let out a scream as if I’d been struck by lightning.

“…Aah-!”

Reus’s eyes were open, albeit hazily, and staring directly at me.

Startled, I covered his eyes forcefully, making a thud sound.

‘Wh-what? Didn’t they say it would take at least three more hours for the antidote to work…’

No, they said it would take a full day for him to regain consciousness!

How could he be regaining consciousness already… Is that even possible?

For once, I had a genuine suspicion that Reus might not be human, but a monster born to play the role of a villain.

But strangely, there was no particular reaction.

‘Did he just wake up for a moment…?’

Just as I thought that, I felt Reus’s eyebrows twitch under my hand.

Then, a harsh, metallic voice flowed from Reus’s mouth.

“…Remove it-.”

…What should I do?

My mind was spinning faster than ever before.

And soon, the conclusion I reached was.

‘In this situation, let’s just run away and destroy the evidence!’

He’s probably not in his right mind due to the pain anyway, so how would he know who I am if I escape now?

I tried to remove my hand and head straight for the door. But Reus quickly realized I was trying to escape and firmly grabbed my wrist.

Thanks to that, instead of getting away from Reus, I could only flinch.

The fortunate thing was that Reus couldn’t move his other arm. Thinking I could somehow escape if I shook him off, I put strength into my caught arm, but my hand didn’t budge at all.

‘He was on the brink of death just a moment ago, how can he have such strength…!’

At this rate, it seemed Reus might remove my hand much faster than I could.

I quickly changed my plan.

First, make him recognize that I’m not a dangerous person, then stall for time as much as possible and escape at the first opportunity.

I gently placed my hand back over Reus’s eyes, which I had been trying to remove. Soon, a grinding sound of teeth came from between Reus’s lips.

“Hand-, not removing-?”

An immense pressure was transmitted to my wrist. I desperately tried to block it while leaning closer to Reus and speaking.

“The antidote… the antidote hasn’t fully circulated yet…”

In a voice so small it was barely distinguishable.

‘This is the best I can do.’

It was truly an unavoidable choice.

First, I needed to let him know I wasn’t an enemy, but I also couldn’t let my identity be revealed.

But I felt Reus’s brow furrow under my hand. It seemed he was annoyed because he couldn’t hear what I was saying properly.

I brought my face a little closer and spoke again.

“The antidote hasn’t fully circulated yet, so you shouldn’t push yourself…”

“Enough, just-, remove- ugh… this hand-.”

Under Reus’s clothes, stained with blood, his muscles twitched. It was because this crazy villain was trying to raise his body despite his condition.

Despite looking strained, his aura was so fierce that I unconsciously pressed him down firmly with my free right hand.

Reus let out a weak groan and dropped his body that he had been trying to raise.

Seeing Reus unable to stop groaning, I hastily added.

“I-I don’t intend to harm you…! So please don’t move…”

Maybe it was because of my voice trembling with tension. Or perhaps he felt my apologetic touch on his hand. Reus loosened his grip on my wrist ever so slightly.

Well, even Reus must have realized by now.

No matter how out of it he was, he must have known that I, who couldn’t even free my caught wrist, couldn’t harm him.

Fortunately, Reus didn’t try to raise his body anymore. Although he seemed quite irritated…

‘As long as he doesn’t find out who I am, it’s fine.’

Inwardly relieved, I whispered.

“I’ll give you a recovery potion soon. So until then, could you please stay still…?”

“Urgh…”

Reus couldn’t answer my words and just kept groaning.

It seemed that as he regained consciousness, he could feel the pain more acutely. After a while of hearing his groaning, the strength in Reus’s hand gradually faded.

‘Now’s my chance.’

I quickly pulled up the blanket and covered him to the top of his head. Then I ran out of the room without looking back.

‘I’m really sorry…!’

While inwardly repeating apologies that he couldn’t hear, feeling quite guilty for thinking of this as a good opportunity while looking at a sick person.

* * *

As I was trying to calm my startled heart in front of the room, I ran into Uncle Haven, who was just coming out of the room across.

“Roel? Why are you out here? Did something happen to the Grand Duke?”

“No… He’s too lively, that’s the problem…”

Unable to understand my muttering properly, Uncle Haven made a confused sound and asked again.

“Huh? What did you say?”

“…It’s nothing. By the way, Uncle. I’m going to head back now.”

At my words, Uncle Haven looked at the clock. When we left the Count’s residence, it was just past midnight, but now the clock hands were pointing to 3 AM.

“I see. It’s already this late. Shall I take you home?”

“I can go by myself.”

“I’m worried about letting you go alone…”

Probably because of Reus being attacked, Uncle Haven expressed concern unlike usual.

I fully understood Uncle’s worry, but I quickly waved my hand.

“Who will take care of the Grand Duke if you leave, Uncle? I’ll be fine.”

“Then at least let me walk you to the front…”

“More importantly, Uncle. I have a favor to ask.”

“A favor?”

When I nodded, Uncle Haven raised his eyebrows as if to say, “Go ahead, ask anything.”

“When the Grand Duke wakes up…”