Startled by the silent approach, Celia Brillion turned around to find Dietrich Calypso standing there.

With the sunlight at his back and clad in black armor, Dietrich firmly fastened Celia’s cloak.

“It’s a cloak. Tailored perfectly to your body.”

He personally bent down, moving his sinewy hands to begin buttoning up the pink cloak one by one.

The faint bite marks on her collarbone were completely hidden beneath the buttons of the cloak.

Watching from the side, Sir Anderson asked in disbelief.

“My lord, surely you didn’t go outside the palace earlier just to buy that garment?”

“…….”

“If it was merely about buying clothes, you could have sent me instead…….”

Dietrich straightened his posture and looked at Sir Anderson.

“I heard rumors that the Crown Prince’s face has become hideously disfigured. Find out exactly what happened.”

Sir Anderson seemed to have much he wanted to say, but obediently withdrew under Dietrich’s commanding silence.

“Yes, my lord.”

After Sir Anderson disappeared, Dietrich ushered Celia into his estate.

Unlike last time, when several blind maids had been present, not a single person was visible in the corridor.

Finding this strange, Celia asked Dietrich.

“There were several maids before—why aren’t any of them here now?”

“……I dismissed them all.”

Celia tilted her head in confusion.

“Why? You fired all of them, even though there weren’t many?”

“One of them was Ileon Gredrick’s spy. I can’t guarantee the others weren’t as well.”

Celia was shocked—not so much by the fact that a maid had been a spy, but by how calmly Dietrich had spoken those words.

“Has this sort of thing happened often?”

“Countless times.”

“…….”

Celia fell into thought. If Dietrich’s words were true, then Ileon Gredrick must have been watching him closely. But then, why had the Emperor allowed Dietrich to be granted a dukedom?

And then, Celia realized that Dietrich, who always seemed to hide things, was telling her the truth without concealment.

Did he now trust her to some extent? Or perhaps……

Looking at Dietrich’s emotionless face, Celia opened her mouth.

“Don’t you think I could be a spy?”

At her question, Dietrich’s lips curled into a faint smile.

Even that slight smile seemed to completely dissolve the cold aura that always surrounded him.

“You’re not a spy.”

Celia’s eyes widened at the unwavering certainty in his voice.

She was about to ask why he thought so, but Dietrich cut her off, his expression already serious again.

“Oh, I almost forgot the dagger.”

Dietrich pulled a dagger from his robe and handed it to Celia.

The dagger in its black sheath was the very same one he had used when teaching her dagger techniques.

“The dress you’re wearing now isn’t suitable for hiding a dagger.”

Dietrich led Celia to a room on the third floor.

The spacious room contained only minimal furniture.

A wardrobe, a plush sofa, a desk and chair for work, and a bookshelf placed against one wall.

Celia glanced around. Seeing a room without even a bed, she genuinely wondered whether Dietrich ever slept at all.

Without a word, Dietrich flung open the wardrobe and pulled out a box from the bottom.

Click.

Inside the box lay a white satin dress and a pair of flat silver shoes.

Though the same white as the form-fitting mermaid dress Celia currently wore, this one was strikingly different.

The airy satin dress had loose sleeves that didn’t expose her figure, and the neckline sat high near her throat.

Moreover, it had an inner pocket, making it ideal for concealing a dagger.

The dress seemed designed with practicality over beauty in mind.

“What is this?”

“A gift for you.”

Dietrich answered promptly.

“I actually intended to give it to you on the Crown Prince’s birthday celebration.”

“…….”

“Unexpectedly, I’m giving it to you now.”

Having said that, Dietrich seated Celia on the plush sofa.

“This should be more comfortable than the dress you’re wearing now.”

He handed the dress to Celia.

“Can you change into it by yourself?”

“……You.”

Celia met Dietrich’s gaze.

Under his straight brows, his red eyes held a warmth unlike before.

Celia wasn’t used to such kindness and tenderness.

Having only ever been exploited, she instinctively distrusted kindness—it was only natural for her.

Even if Dietrich truly needed her.

“What’s your real motive?”

“…….”

“Tell me. Only then can I help you.”

Dietrich draped his arm over the sofa’s armrest and looked down at Celia.

After a brief silence, he knelt on one knee before her and began unbuttoning the pink cloak one by one.

“I’m asking about your true purpose right now.”

“……Celia.”

He called her name in a low voice and continued.

“Perhaps, not unlike you.”

It was a vague answer.

This wasn’t the answer Celia had wanted.

She needed certainty.

“Do you also wish for Abelon’s destruction, like I do?”

Thus, she voiced what she had never told anyone. She revealed the truth she had swallowed and repressed for so long.

As the last button of the cloak came undone, Dietrich’s gaze fell upon the bite marks on her collarbone.

Though fainter now from being rubbed the previous night, the marks wouldn’t vanish in just one day.

Dietrich narrowed his brows and murmured lowly.

“It bothers me. Everything about you.”

Then, without another word, Dietrich lowered his head to her collarbone.

Celia stiffened in surprise at his sudden action.

Soft lips gently enveloped her collarbone.

The warm, tender sensation stimulated her skin, spreading heat from that spot throughout her body.

Instinctively, Celia wrapped her arms around Dietrich’s neck, which was buried against her collarbone.

Though Dietrich had wiped crumbs for her before, though their hands had touched, he had never engaged in contact like this.

Celia loosened her arms slightly and whispered.

“Are you doing this as revenge for me kissing you without permission earlier?”

“…….”

Instead of answering, Dietrich lifted his head. Beneath his high nose, his lips glistened.

Meeting his eyes, Celia fell silent.

He was looking at her with a completely unfamiliar expression.

His vivid red eyes gleamed like those of a predator.

Unlike the lustful gaze men had given her before, this was the stare of a starving beast hunting its prey.

Celia knew that look.

The day the kingdom fell, when she had ridden through the night to reach the allied Duchy of Inata.

The giant eagle that had torn at the bone-thin corpses and stared at her.

She felt like prey standing before a predator.

—I warned you before. Be careful—he might devour you completely, leaving not a single scrap of flesh.

Ileon Gredrick’s words echoed in Celia’s mind.

Now, she finally understood why he had said that.

The way Dietrich was looking at her now resembled that eagle—circling above her head, waiting for her to collapse from exhaustion.

As Celia stared blankly at Dietrich, a large hand gently brushed the strands of hair clinging to her cheek.

“I won’t hurt you.”

His voice was gentle and soft, so unlike the one from moments before that it was hard to believe it was the same person.

His face had already returned to its usual impassive state.

“What did you just do?”

Dietrich’s gaze fell to Celia’s collarbone.

Following his eyes, Celia looked down—only to find the faint bite marks had vanished without a trace.

As if they had never existed at all.

“……How on earth did you do that?”

Celia asked in astonishment.

Dietrich slowly scanned her wide, startled green eyes and murmured lazily.

“I wonder.”

“…….”

“Whether it would have been better to leave it alone from the start, whether it bothers me or not.”

Muttering lowly, he placed the silver flat shoe from the box onto the floor.

The silver shoe, matching the silver of Celia’s hair, had no heel.

“The day I first saw you—should I have let you die, coughing up blood as you collapsed in my arms?”

Dietrich’s expression remained utterly dry, making it impossible for Celia to tell whether his words were sincere or not.

Still on one knee, Dietrich took hold of Celia’s right ankle.

“…….”

Celia remained silent. No reply came to mind.

As if he hadn’t expected one, Dietrich removed her current shoe and carefully slipped the silver one onto her foot.

With delicate hands, as if handling a glazed porcelain vessel, he silently put on the other shoe as well.

His manner, so unlike his words, seemed to treat her like something precious—making Celia feel strangely unsettled.

“Exactly what are you trying to say to me?”

“What I want to say to you……”

“Yes. If you have something to say, don’t speak vaguely—look me straight in the eye and say it. Do you regret saving me now?”

At her question, Dietrich slowly closed and reopened his eyes.

Beneath his thick lashes, vivid red eyes focused solely on Celia.

“I don’t regret it.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

Dietrich didn’t answer her question. Instead, he spat out the words as if grinding them.

“It’s not you who has the problem.”

Confused by the incomprehensible reply, Celia frowned. Dietrich then rose to his feet.

“I should leave now. There’s no guarantee the Crown Prince won’t search my estate again once he realizes you’re gone.”

“…….”

“Rest here as you would your own home. My lady.”

Adding the title “my lady” without sincerity, he left the room, closing the door behind him.