A dark night.

Russell slowly opened his eyes. His left side felt warm.

Turning his head, he saw Summer sleeping deeply, hugging his left arm.

“…”

The sound of insects, the crackling of the burning bonfire. Summer’s even breathing as she slept soundly.

Russell blinked several times. It didn’t feel real. It felt like a dream. It was a feeling of complete peace.

So much so that he forgot the pain in his body.

But it was time to wake up from the dream. Russell carefully raised himself, trying not to wake Summer.

Summer stirred slightly. Her disheveled golden hair slid down, covering her face.

As Russell gently brushed her hair back, Summer mumbled something, lost in some dream.

“… Did you come to save me? Or to interfere?”

Russell muttered quietly to himself.

In the distance, he could hear voices and sense people approaching. They would soon find this cave.

Russell gathered his belongings and clothes placed in front of the bonfire. Then he covered Summer with his coat and lifted her into his arms.

There was still pain, but it wasn’t unbearable.

“…”

Is this even possible after falling from a cliff? Russell looked at Summer in his arms with eyes full of doubt.

Does this small woman who wants to die have some special ability?

Russell raised one hand to gently remove a strand of golden hair stuck to Summer’s cheek.

The presence was now right outside the cave.

Fortunately, Summer was still sound asleep.

“Summer.”

“…”

“I’m sorry for eavesdropping.”

[This is the timeline separator]

Ian was almost out of his mind.

The moment he saw the bloodstains on the cliff and the broken branch halfway down, his reason had already flown away.

“You can’t, Your Grace!”

“If you try to stop me one more time, I’ll cut you down first.”

The subordinates struggled to hold back their superior, who looked ready to jump off the cliff at any moment.

“There’s a detour! We can get there on horseback!”

“Don’t you see the current? Split the search party. One group follows the current downstream.”

“What about you, Your Grace!”

“Don’t worry about me.”

In a blink of an eye, Ian leapt down.

The subordinates were left speechless in shock as they watched Ian land safely at the bottom of the cliff, dust himself off a couple of times, and start running.

Monster duke. Perhaps it wasn’t an inaccurate description.

Having descended the cliff, Ian was convinced Summer was still alive by the shape of the blood droplets on the rocks.

Following the bloodstains, he saw a cave with a narrow entrance in the distance.

Please. Ian sought out the god who had betrayed him in his childhood for the first time in a long time.

Just let her be alive.

As he reached the entrance, he saw two familiar figures.

His old friend, Russell Bertrand, holding the sleeping Summer in his arms.

Only then did Ian remember that not only Summer, but Russell had also gone missing. He had been out of his mind knowing Summer was gone.

“Russell, thank you.”

As Ian reached out his arms to take Summer, Russell tightened his grip on her.

“… Russell?”

“I’ll carry her.”

“You’re injured too.”

“I’m fine, I’ll get treatment when we get back.”

Ian reluctantly agreed and walked ahead. Even so, he kept glancing back at Summer in Russell’s arms.

Fortunately, she seemed to be fine without any visible injuries.

Perhaps due to the relief, Ian stumbled slightly. The tension drained from his body.

At the same time, Russell’s attitude kept bothering him. Surely not.

Ian knew Russell too well, having watched him for a long time.

Unlike himself, Russell was a child loved by all the imperial citizens. Intelligent and rational, always making cool-headed judgments.

For such a Russell, affection between emotional people seemed like an impossible dream. It seemed Russell could not love anything.

But now Russell’s attitude…

“Russell. Let me ask you one thing.”

“Speak.”

“Do you have feelings for her?”

Russell stopped walking at Ian’s question. After a moment of silence, Russell spoke.

“My feelings are meaningless, so there’s no need to ask.”

“…”

“Anyway, there will never be a day when this woman has a place in her heart for me, even if I die.”

Russell quietly gazed at Summer in his arms. True to her name, Summer was a season.

One that can’t be possessed just because you want it, one that won’t stay even if you try to hold onto it.

[This is the timeline separator]

When Summer and Russell returned, the nobles were in an uproar.

Rumors spread widely that someone had tried to assassinate Lady Lindsey.

Russell, whose injuries seemed severe, lost consciousness as soon as he returned and was immediately moved to the mansion.

Summer also seemed quite shocked and was bedridden for days after returning to the mansion.

The imperial palace was turned upside down trying to catch the noble’s assassin.

It was purely thanks to Ian, who went around investigating as if combing through everything to catch the culprit.

While they succeeded in identifying the assassins, they ultimately failed to uncover who had hired them.

“That’s fortunate.”

Summer took a sip of warm tea after hearing the story.

“I’m sorry. I should have caught whoever was behind this.”

Ian apologized, lowering his eyes as if it were his own fault.

“It’s okay. Thank you.”

Summer shook her head with a smile. It really was okay. Because she already knew. It must have been the work of the Legacy ducal family.

Ferotia didn’t seem to have been involved in this incident. When Lindsey arrived, Ferotia mumbled “thank goodness” before collapsing.

Unless she possessed fantastic acting skills, Ferotia had no connection to this incident.

Strangely, that felt quite fortunate.

“Summer.”

“Yes?”

As she was pondering ways to target the Legacy family without harming Ferotia, Ian called Summer softly.

Somehow, Ian looked a bit shy.

“I didn’t catch a single one in this competition.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Because I went missing.”

“No. I mean I didn’t catch any. I came in last place in this competition.”

“… Ah.”

Only then did Summer realize she had completely forgotten about that promise.

“Saying you don’t remember won’t work, Summer.”

“No, I remember now. A promise should be kept, right?”

“Can you give me one day?”

“Of course.”

Summer nodded, gently holding the teacup with both hands.

Perhaps thanks to Mary’s brewing, the tea tasted excellent, and the weather was cool. It felt like summer was coming to an end.

“This world is really fascinating.”

“In what way?”

“As we talk like this, a cool breeze is blowing, you know?”

Even South Korea didn’t have such distinct four seasons.

It felt like the seasons changed almost six or seven times a year. It seemed the seasons changed to match the original content.

Like now. Thanks to the male protagonist, a cool breeze suddenly blew in the scorching summer.

Well. It would be a bit funny if the male protagonist was talking while sweating profusely.

“So when are you free, Your Grace? I’m very free, you know.”

“I’ll send a carriage tomorrow.”

“I’m not sure if my day will be as valuable as you think, but I hope it will be meaningful.”

“It has both value and meaning.”

“…”

Summer’s eyes widened as if she hadn’t expected to hear such words from Ian’s mouth.

Wasn’t Ian’s setting supposed to be a wounded beast who was constantly healed and comforted by Julian before developing into romance?

Summer tilted her head. Ian seemed to have changed a little.

Perhaps because the atmosphere had softened a bit, he looked like he was in his twenties, his actual age.

“Everyone’s time is precious. So don’t speak lowly of yourself.”

“How strange. I didn’t know you could comfort others too. As expected of a protagonist.”

“That protagonist talk again.”

“Don’t you feel it too, Your Grace? Like, ah, my narrative feels like a protagonist’s.”

“Not at all.”

“You know, the typical story of protagonists – an unhappy past but a brilliant future.”

“It’s never been brilliant.”

“It will be brilliant.”

“On what grounds?”

Ian asked, raising his dark eyebrow sharply. Summer put down her teacup with a faint smile.

Then, their eyes met.

“My intuition. You’re the protagonist, Your Grace. So it will definitely end up being brilliant.”

“…”

“We can even make a bet on it.”

Summer added playfully as she bit into a green macaron.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

The next day, Summer asked with an incredulous face after hearing Ian’s plan for the day, having just boarded the carriage that arrived.

Ian’s expression, sitting opposite her, was terribly calm.

“Yes.”

“All day with me? You’re throwing fodder to the gossip rags by the bagful.”

“Should I care about them?”

“I tend to care. You’re going to go around so openly like this?”

“You have to grant my wish, don’t you?”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

As expected, Ian stood out too much. That protagonist aura was wafting off him.

If they wandered the streets like this, even if people didn’t approach, it was obvious they’d receive a barrage of letters from nobles along with the gossip rags the next day.

Moreover, Summer was wearing a light dress, while Ian was dressed formally by anyone’s standards.

“Your Grace. Who recommended your clothes?”

“The butler and my subordinates.”

“What did you tell them about today?”

“That I was meeting Lady Lindsey.”

“The butler and knights certainly chose your clothes well.”

If this were a date, Ian’s outfit would be perfect. His face was already radiant, and now he was dressed up too.

But Summer didn’t want to stand out much, and she hadn’t expected Ian to spend the day like this.

Ian crossed his legs nonchalantly and spoke in a languid tone.

“What’s wrong with having a meal, watching an opera, taking a walk in the garden, and showing you my home?”

Summer felt like crying. In her world, that’s what they usually call a date.

Presumably, the creator of this world would be quite troubled too.

With a clear female protagonist present, the male protagonist was saying he wanted to go on a date with an extra. How would they erase the memories of all those gossip rags and people?

Surely the god would try to erase this memory from the world.

“Lost in thought again?”

“Just thinking the weather is nice.”

“How frivolous.”

“Haha.”

A faint smile appeared on Summer’s face as she watched the lively people moving about.

Ian imprinted that smile in his eyes for a long, very long time.