Without answering my question, Knight Ruben sighed and placed his hand on his forehead.

“I can’t believe it…”

What? I couldn’t grasp the situation, how he knew me and why he knew me.

“Your Grace.”

Ruben ignored me and looked at Edan.

As if Edan already knew what he was going to say, Ruben shot a fiery gaze like an arrow.

But Edan, as if he didn’t care about his gaze at all, began to walk briskly to the edge of the castle wall, his cloak fluttering. And then he blurted out nonsense.

“Her name is Breakfast.”

Ruben’s and my faces distorted simultaneously.

Breakfast…!

I was about to argue at those words, which clearly referred to me, because it was absurd. But before I could say anything, Ruben followed Edan and asked.

“Have you really gone mad? What are you going to do by bringing this woman here!”

“Not this woman, but Breakfast.”

“You know that’s not what’s important.”

“If I say it’s important, then it’s important. Ruben.”

“Ha. Fine. Fine. Let’s say it’s Breakfast.”

I don’t like this…

“Okay.”

Without any regard for my opinion, I was decided to be Breakfast.

Ruben frustratedly ran his fingers through his hair wildly, while Edan raised the corners of his mouth in satisfaction.

While keeping his gaze on the demons beyond the castle wall, Edan seemed to be calculating something with his cheeks bulging as if rolling his tongue. Ruben raised his voice even more towards him.

“But what are you trying to do by bringing your Breakfast here!”

Unlike the irritated Ruben, Edan’s voice was becoming calmer.

“Why are you getting so angry. I can bring Breakfast around. Like a lunchbox concept.”

After finishing his words, as if preparation was complete, Edan leapt onto the defensive wall at the edge of the castle wall and instructed Ruben.

“Guard my Breakfast. That’s your mission today.”

Edan stepped out without hesitation and jumped down outside the castle wall.

“Your…!”

Ruben tried to call him but stopped and tilted his head back as if his blood pressure was rising.

“Damn it.”

Ruben exhaled a sigh of resignation, and I hurriedly ran to the castle wall where Edan had fallen.

Even for a normal castle wall it would be high, but this place was built to prevent demons from entering the northern plains.

Therefore, the height of the castle wall was truly dizzying. It was precarious like a cliff and the height made one’s head spin.

Even for Edan, it seemed impossible to jump down from here and land safely. So I was really surprised and clung to the defensive wall where Edan had fallen, looking down.

But,

“He’s crazy…”

Edan had already landed safely on the ground and was heading towards where the demons were.

Edan’s hair, moving quickly using his ability, shone brightly like stars even in the darkness.

The demons, who liked bright colors, discovered Edan.

The moment they spotted Edan’s golden hair, the demons completely ignored the numerous soldiers they had been facing and charged madly at him.

Amidst the soldiers bouncing off to the sides like an ebbing tide, Edan bravely stood facing the demons head-on. Due to the demons’ movement, the area around Edan soon darkened with dust and fog, and suddenly a very powerful gust of wind came and climbed up the castle wall.

“Ugh…!”

I reflexively wrapped my body and tightly gripped the flag I was holding. However, the gust didn’t subside easily, and the flag was stripped away without mercy.

As the flag fluttered aimlessly, my hair that reached down to my waist also moved as if dancing along with it.

“Aack!”

The northern wind was stronger than I thought.

I tried to hold on somehow, but eventually I fell down.

Fortunately, Ruben approached me at that moment and knelt down to match my eye level.

Despite the tremendous wind, he grabbed the flag as if it were no big deal, covered my hair, and tied it tightly under my chin.

Then he stood blocking the wind by shielding his body towards the castle wall.

“I survived. Thank you.”

“Lady Latiea… no, Lady Breakfast.”

I looked up at Ruben while crouching.

Ruben, with his dark skin, was extremely tall, not losing to Edan in height.

“I’m Latieana. You knew my name correctly just now.”

“From now on, you’re Breakfast.”

It was a firm answer. But I tried a timid rebellion again.

“I don’t want to be called that…”

“You should argue directly with His Grace. Since His Grace ordered you to be called Breakfast, I have to call you Breakfast.”

“…”

How inflexible.

Come to think of it, Ruben. I didn’t notice at first glance, but looking closely, he had deep reddish-brown hair.

There was also a deep scar on his face, as if he had been injured somewhere.

Right next to his right eye, running down. As I was wondering where the scar came from, information from the original work came to mind.

‘Ah! I remember. Ruben! And that…’

It was the scar Ruben had received in place of Edan.

Edan, who was the emperor’s illegitimate child, was confined to a remote room when he was young and lived almost neglected.

The only people he faced daily were one maid who brought him food and one knight who stood guard to prevent Edan from coming out. Ruben was the son of that knight.

Because it was a place where the eyes of others in the imperial family rarely reached, the knight took pity on Edan and attached his own son as a friend.

I think Ruben was one year older than Edan, but they lived almost like brothers.

During that time, the male lead 1, the crown prince, would sometimes come to secretly torment Edan, and Ruben had taken a whipping in his place.

‘I know it was around when they were ten years old, but how hard was he hit for the scar to remain until now?’

Not long after that incident, Edan manifested his ability and was brought into the imperial palace.

When Edan went to the imperial palace, the knight lost his job and Ruben’s family fell into poverty.

It seemed like the two would drift apart, but as soon as Edan took the position of Northern Grand Duke, he took care of Ruben’s family.

He gave a huge amount of money and jobs to the only people who had treated him as a human. Thanks to that, Ruben’s younger sister, who had been ill for a long time, was able to receive treatment and regain her health.

Ruben, who was already close to Edan, swore loyalty to him, dedicating his life after that incident.

After that, he became a perfect right-hand man, working for Edan.

The reddish-brown haired subordinate, the person who handled all the tasks ordered for Edan. And the one who would die with his limbs torn apart along with Edan…

Damn. Suddenly goosebumps covered my entire body. The death ending I had momentarily forgotten came back to mind.

Not only had I met Edan, but I had also met his right-hand man.

“By the way, Sir Ruben.”

I asked Ruben as I slowly got up from my seat so as not to be swept away by the wind.

“How do you know me?”

Ruben, who had been half-turned watching Edan, shifted his gaze to me.

“I’m the one who posted the maid recruitment notice.”

“What?”

“You didn’t think His Grace would post the notice himself, did you?”

“Ah.”

I blinked at the unexpected answer.

Come to think of it, that’s right. I hadn’t thought that far. Which means…

Damn it! My life plan was wrong from the start!

“The old castle in the east is a place only I and His Grace know about. And now Lady Breakfast knows too.”

Ruben, who kept calling me Breakfast even in this situation.

I was beating up my past self who had been dancing in my head thinking I had landed a sweet job after seeing the maid recruitment notice, then focused back on Ruben’s words.

“I thought it would be inconvenient for His Grace to stay alone without even one maid, no matter how much he wanted to rest alone, so I recruited for the position, but I didn’t expect you to come.”

Huh? The nuance is strange.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Because you are…”

It was then.

As I was staring at Ruben’s mouth, waiting for an answer, suddenly a bright blue light so strong it hurt my eyes was felt.

I squinted hard and turned my head to see a portal opening near the door leading into the castle wall.

“Damn it.”

Ruben gritted his teeth and muttered as if chewing his words, then changed positions, sending me behind his back.

“From now on, don’t say a word.”

“What? What…”

“Absolutely not. If you understand, just tap my back once.”

“…”

What’s this situation now?

With no choice, I tapped Ruben’s back once with a thud.

Then I slightly poked my head out from beside Ruben’s arm and looked at the portal.

By that time, a man in uniform wearing a red cloak was walking out of the fully opened portal.

As he emerged, the portal closed and the surroundings darkened again.

‘Isn’t that guy an idiot?! A red cloak in the north where there are demons that like bright colors!’

I looked at him in astonishment. But the person himself seemed very relaxed.

“It’s still noisy here.”

The man, who was as tall as Edan, had a soft smile that matched his voice close to falsetto, but his cat-like upturned eyes gave him a somewhat sharp impression.

And he had shimmering silver hair.

The man’s gaze, which had been surveying the surroundings with downcast eyes, turned towards us, and at that moment I quickly hid my body completely behind Ruben.

The gust had subsided, but a cold wind was still blowing bleakly along the castle wall.

In this situation where heat, let alone sweat, wouldn’t come out unless one ran and went crazy, cold sweat trickled down my forehead.

‘Why are you doing this to me!’

I hunched my shoulders and tightly clenched my lips with an expression that looked like I was about to burst into tears.

So that man was Hillstain Mathias, male lead 2 who was crazy about Ivy.

“It’s been a long time, Commander Hillstain.”

As if confirming that my thoughts weren’t wrong, Ruben greeted him respectfully.

But Hillstain didn’t answer. After keeping silent for a moment, doing who knows what, Hillstain slowly moved his footsteps and stopped a few steps in front of Ruben.

“What are you hiding behind you?”