The sound of rustling paper echoed aimlessly. One maid couldn’t help but look nervously at Rose, who seemed preoccupied.

She couldn’t concentrate on her work. The maid, who had been staring at Rose while sweeping the floor, opened her mouth with an awkward expression.

“Uh… Lady Rose, are you okay?”

“Hm? What’s wrong?”

Rose, who was fixedly staring at the documents, responded with a bright smile.

The maid, trying to act as if everything was fine, spoke cautiously.

“Documents… you’re holding them upside down.”

“Hmm?”

Hearing the maid’s words, Rose shifted her gaze towards the documents she was holding.
“Oh my, when did this start…?”

Rose made a perplexed expression and quickly began organizing documents.

“It’s been like this from the beginning.”

“Huh? No way.”

When Rose rejected the absurdity of the statement, she just shrugged her shoulders.

“Is it because of the princess?”

At the maid’s words, Rose was startled and turned her head.

“Haha. Why would the princess come up here? Oops!”

Startled, Rose dropped the documents she was holding. Consequently, the carefully arranged papers scattered all over the floor.

The maid sighed, looking at the flustered Rose. She hesitated for a moment before helping Rose tidy up the documents.

“Well, you seem to like the Duke, right? Don’t worry too much. You two…”

“Huh? What?”

Rose’s face began to turn red like a radish as the maid spoke.

Due to the maid’s unexpected remark, Rose dropped the documents she was holding and stood up abruptly, emitting an exclamation.

She couldn’t hear the maid’s following words due to the loud sound Rose made.

Rose was extremely confused.

In her mind, only one phrase echoed loudly.

‘Because you like the Duke.’

‘Because you like the Duke.’

‘Because you like the Duke.’

No… enough!

Rose pressed on her temples to push away the maid’s voice echoing in her head.

Then, she took a deep breath.

Breathing deeply somewhat calmed her down.

Of course, her flushed face still didn’t seem to cool off.

“There seems to be some misunderstanding. I don’t think of the Duke romantically.”

Rose firmly declared to the maid, but the maid didn’t seem to entirely believe Rose’s words.

“Oh, really?”

Listening with one ear and letting it out with the other, the maid showed a sly expression while arranging the scattered documents.

Rose accepted the documents handed by the maid and cleared her throat twice before speaking.

“Don’t misunderstand. We only have a business relationship.”

Rose drew a clear line, calling their relationship strictly a ‘business’ one.

The maid, listening to Rose’s words, muttered quietly.

“I don’t know. It didn’t seem like just a business relationship.”

She started her tasks, adding that the Duke began to act like ‘B’ in this ‘A-B’ relationship.

Rose tried to ask the maid what she meant, but the maid, using the excuse of being busy, didn’t pay much attention to Rose.

“I guess you’ll only understand when you realize it yourself. These things are hard to grasp even when someone tells you. You have to realize it on your own.”

The maid mumbled something strange till the end and then left Rose’s room.

Meanwhile, Duke Arteum brought Yulia to his bedroom.

“Lucas, what are you trying to do in broad daylight, bringing me here? You beast!”
Yulia, being dragged by the Duke, sat down on the bed with a defiant expression.

She gazed at Duke Arteum with a determined look, as if she were seducing him.

“Say one more word. I’ll tear your mouth apart so you won’t be able to utter such words again.”

The fierce blue eyes filled with vitality stared fiercely at Yulia.

Despite the Duke’s harsh words resembling a curse, Yulia only giggled and squinted her eyes playfully.

“You shouldn’t say such things to a lady. There’s a reason I’ve never had a relationship. It’s because I’m this terrifying, so no one can approach me.”

Contrary to the Duke’s intimidating words, Yulia continued to smile with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

She couldn’t hide the playful glint in her eyes and stood up slowly.

With deliberate steps, Yulia approached the Duke.

“Lucas.”

Calling the Duke’s name affectionately, she suddenly grabbed the hem of his clothes and pulled it down.

Due to her forceful action, the Duke’s body leaned forward.

Facing each other at a distance where their lips could almost touch, Yulia and the Duke locked eyes.

Yulia teased, moistening her crimson lips, and whispered softly.

“You… haven’t even kissed yet, right?”

The husky voice echoed discreetly.

Along with a snapping sound and the clicking of a switch in Duke Arteum’s mind, the bond of reason snapped.

The immense vitality emanated from the Duke’s body.

The Duke glared at Yulia with a slightly sweetened, sharp gaze and, without hesitation, swung his hand toward her.

The Duke’s hand gracefully touched Yulia’s head.

He grasped a handful of her hair and pulled it with all his might.

In an instant, Yulia’s once lush hair fell to the ground with a snapping sound.

“Imitating Yulia was disgusting enough.”

Duke Arteum stared at Yulia with an expression that seemed ready to strike with his fist at any moment.

“Dare you use that filthy mouth?”

Thunk!

Duke Arteum kicked towards Yulia, causing her to stagger.

“Violence is still your way, it seems.”

Yulia’s voice echoed in the room like a man’s, lower in tone than her husky initial voice. Unlike the first time, her voice now distinctly resembled that of a man.

Looking at the wig on the floor, Yulia casually brushed her sweaty hair, which had been pressed down.

The short hair hidden in the wig didn’t seem much different in color from the fallen wig. The disheveled emerald-colored hair created a mysterious atmosphere.

“You’re still resorting to violence, Julius.”

The Duke looked at the person in front of him with a displeased expression. The person in front of the Duke wasn’t ‘Yulia’ but rather his aura, and the Duke’s long-time friend, ‘Julius.’