Sicar’s attitude was that he could no longer compromise, and I couldn’t say anything more.

I knew it wasn’t an easy task to thwart the king’s proposed marriage.

The next day, Hersia came to the Duke’s mansion early.

Hersia’s reaction to visiting the Duke’s mansion was not much different from Seoyeon’s. She looked at me with an anxious face, as if she had committed some grave sin, and rushed to me.

“Madam! Why did the Duke send for me? What have I done wrong?”

“No, Hersia. The Duke only called you because he has something to ask. He doesn’t summon people who have done something wrong. He just wanted to ask you something.”

Hersia let out a deep sigh with a face that seemed to say, “Phew, thankfully,” only realizing now that the person in front of her was none other than the lady of the Blake Duke, the hostess of the Blake Duke’s mansion.

“Oh, speaking such nonsense in front of the lady. I apologize, Madam.”

Fortunately, Hersia didn’t know about Sicar’s ability to read memories. If she found out, she might distance herself from me, just like Seoyeon.

Considering that I couldn’t even dare to get close to noble ladies because of Sicar, if Hersia were not here, how lonely would I be?

To boost Hersia’s spirits, I complimented her on something she liked.

“By the way, Hersia, your hair looks really pretty today.”

Luckily, her attention quickly turned to her own hairstyle.

“Really? Nowadays, this kind of coiled-up hairstyle is trendy. Madam, you should try this hairstyle too.”

She used to wear perfume last time, and now her hairstyle has changed.

But I didn’t really want that hairstyle.

The hairstyle involved coiling up long hair into a round shape, so it reached down to the shoulders despite being long hair.

Still, Hersia looked cute with it.

“Oh, and Aaron is said to be appointed as a knight of Yukandar this time.”

“Congratulations, Hersia.”

“It’s nothing special; he’s just one of the lower-ranking knights. Still, he’ll be earning a salary, and now he’ll be able to make a living, so even if Aaron marries me, we won’t have to worry about food and living expenses.”

Perhaps Hersia still didn’t know that the king was trying to marry her off.

In the midst of her anxious thoughts, just as I was about to ask carefully, she spoke first.

“In fact, His Excellency is trying to marry me off to Viscount Hamel. So, I really don’t know what to do.”

“Actually, I heard about it too, Hersia.”

“Really?!”

“Yes…”

Until a while ago, Hersia’s eyes, which were bright and cheerful, began to fill with tears.

“Seeing that His Excellency already knows, it seems like the decision has really been made…”
Hersia suddenly burst into tears as if various emotions overwhelmed her. The clear tears seemed to reflect her sincere love.

“What should I do now? It seems I have no choice but to marry Viscount Hamel…”

“Perhaps the Duke might provide a solution, Hersia.”

“T-The Duke?”

She seemed more tense than expectant, as if instinctively knowing that Sicar wouldn’t help directly. Perhaps due to heightened tension, Hersia stood up as soon as she heard the maid holding the reception room doorknob.

“Oh, it’s been a while, Your Grace.”

Sicar, with an indifferent expression, sat down and looked at me.

“Could you give Hersia and me some space to talk…”

If I gave up my seat, it felt like Sicar would go out threateningly. So, I glanced at Sicar as if to say that it couldn’t happen.

Sicar coughed slightly and said, “I don’t think it’s necessary, madam.”

Seeing him retract his tail quickly, it did seem that discussing the letter had some effect.

But Sicar still seemed to have no idea how to deal with someone still shedding tears.

If it were Léodoc, he would have already taken out and offered the handkerchief he still had left.

“Duke, could you give me a handkerchief?”

Sicar, frowning, glanced at Hersia as if asking if I was really going to use his precious handkerchief to wipe Hersia’s tears.

I hinted to hand it over, and in response, Sicar reluctantly handed me the handkerchief.

I wiped Hersia’s tears with the handkerchief. Considering that Viscount Hamel was nearly twenty years older than Hersia, how much would she dislike marrying him?

“Hersia, stop crying.”

“Sniff… Thank you, Your Grace.”

Ugh. Just do it properly.

Sicar, as if finding Hersia’s crying unpleasant, tapped the table a few times like knocking, making a knocking sound like knocking on a door.

“Hersia, stop pouring your heart out for something that won’t be solved by crying. Can’t you see what I’m waiting for right now?”

It was somewhat softened compared to the personality that used to say, “Stop crying if you don’t want to die,” but it was still a lot tamer than what was originally said.

Sicar, looking reluctant, tapped the table a few times like knocking while glancing at Hersia, who was still watching him closely, in an empty teacup.

“Hersia.”

Of course, it meant to relax and unwind. Nevertheless, to Hersia, who was not used to being treated this way, she was retreating, tilting her body back.

“Yes, Your Grace…”

“Do you want to avoid becoming Lord Havel’s person?”

Whether Hersia thought I had mentioned Sicar helping just before or not, she glanced at me for a moment, and when I nodded, she cautiously spoke up.

“Yes, Your Grace… I would like to avoid it if possible.”
“Then, it seems I might be able to help you. What do you think? Shall we give it a try, as I suggested?”

Hersia tightly clenched the edge of her skirt.