“We’re here again to receive snacks.”

“Welcome.”

The chubby woman they saw yesterday greeted Dino and Philip.

But unlike yesterday, the woman had an apologetic expression.

“But what should we do? We’ve given out all the snacks today.”

“Already?”

Disappointment showed on Dino and Philip’s faces.

“Hmm.”

The woman, who had been pondering, pointed to a large wagon parked a short distance away and spoke again.

“There might still be some left in the wagon.”

“Really?”

Dino and Philip’s faces brightened again after becoming gloomy at the thought of not receiving bread and snacks.

There were men with rough looks next to the wagon, but having seen them once yesterday, they seemed less scary than at first.

“I was just about to clean up and go to the wagon anyway. Could you help me a little? Let’s go together and look.”

“Yes!”

Dino and Philip helped the woman clean up the items on the stand.

When they finished tidying up the stand, the chubby woman handed Dino a few items that were on the stand and asked:

“Could you carry this to the wagon?”

It felt relatively light when he picked it up.

“Yes.”

Dino picked up the items confidently, as if to show he could handle this much.

The woman looked over Dino and Philip’s clothes once and then spoke:

“You must be cold, but you’re very brave. Where are your parents?”

“Ah…”

Dino was taken aback by the sudden question.

He had experienced several times how people’s attitudes would change in an instant when they learned he was an orphan without parents.

But this person was already giving out food to street children, so he thought it might not matter if he just told the truth.

While Dino was hesitating to answer, thinking about what to say, young Philip blurted out:

“We don’t have parents…”

“Huh? You don’t have parents?”

The woman, who had just arrived in front of the wagon covered with black cloth, turned to look at the children.

“Oh my, you’re orphans! You’ve grown up so well even without parents. Are you having any difficulties?”

Even after hearing they had no parents, there was no change in the woman’s attitude.

Rather, she smiled kindly as if finding them admirable.

Dino, feeling a bit less guarded, told the truth.

“We don’t have parents, but we have an older brother, so it’s okay. He takes really good care of us.”

“You have an older brother. It would have been nice if he came too. Didn’t he come with you?”

“Brother… has circumstances…”

Dino fumbled his words, feeling slightly guilty for going against Aiden’s words when the topic of him came up.

“Is that so? That’s too bad.”

The chubby woman asked various other probing questions as well.

“How old is your brother?”

“He’s 12 years old.”

“Your brother is still young too. Are there no adults around to help?”

“There were before, but they say they’re too busy to come these days.”

Dino spoke, thinking of the flower shop people and Mikhail.

“Oh dear, so there’s no one these days.”

“Yes.”

“Where do you live?”

“Over the hill that way.”

“Where over the hill? Are you brothers the only ones? No other kids you know around?”

“…”

At some point, Dino started to feel strange about the relentless questions.

“Um… I’ll leave this here. And we should go now.”

As Dino tried to turn back with Philip, the woman blocked their way.

“Wait a moment. Didn’t you come for snacks? I’ll find some for you right away.”

“No, it’s okay now. I think our brother will be waiting. Goodbye.”

“Your little brother seems very tired from walking since he’s still young. Wouldn’t it be better to rest a bit before going?”

Looking back at the woman’s words, Philip was indeed rubbing his eyes as if sleepy.

Dino, finding himself in an awkward situation, shook his head.

“He can sleep when we get home.”

“No, no. What if he falls asleep on the way?”

The woman swiftly picked up the dozing Philip.

“I’ll watch him for a bit.”

Dino grabbed the woman’s skirt with an anxious expression.

“No, Philip! Wake up!”

Dino kept refusing and tried to quickly wake Philip.

For a moment, the woman’s eyes narrowed coldly.

“Ah…”

Dino hesitated when he saw that.

The woman smiled kindly again and suggested:

“Besides providing food to street children, we also offer a warm place to stay. Let’s go together. You’ll love it when you see it.”

“I said no!”

Dino shouted loudly.

The chubby woman’s expression changed instantly.

“If you want to find your brother, you’d better listen well, little one.”

“…!”

Dino clung to her desperately.

“Give me back my brother!”

The woman pulled her skirt away from Dino’s grasp with an annoyed expression.

“Ahh!”

Dino fell backwards from the force.

Not even feeling the pain, Dino quickly got up and looked around for someone to help.

“Help! These people are bad people!”

But being near a secluded alley, there was no one around.

Dino whimpered with an anxious expression.

Then the woman spoke again.

“Shh! If you don’t want to lose your brother, get in the wagon quietly. You’re not trying to run away alone and abandon your brother, are you?”

“…!”

The woman smiled viciously and climbed into the front of the wagon.

Philip, who had been in her arms, was with her.

Soon, the sound of the wagon about to depart was heard.

Without time to think of anything else, Dino hurriedly climbed into the wagon.

As soon as Dino got on, the wagon started moving at a terrifying speed.

Looking around inside the wagon, several children were lying down or sleeping.

Among them were a few children with their arms and legs tied with ropes.

Judging by their clothes, they all seemed to be children living on the streets or orphans.

Dino crouched down with his back against the wagon wall, feeling devastated.

‘It’s all my fault.’

Dino sniffled, trembling with anxiety.

‘This happened because I didn’t listen to brother Aiden. What if something happens to Philip because of me?’

Watching the receding scenery, Dino deeply regretted not listening to Aiden’s words.

Mikhail was in the process of secretly bringing Selena back while evading the knights’ surveillance.

He led Selena to a secluded location.

Selena, glancing around, spoke up.

“Go ahead and speak.”

Mikhail’s footsteps came to an abrupt halt.

“You brought me to a place like this because you have something to say to me in private, right? Say it now.”

As soon as Selena finished speaking, Mikhail turned around with flashing eyes.

“You know well.”

“…!”

Selena was startled by his cold gaze.

But she managed her expression as if nothing was wrong.

“How dare you make such an absurd proposal to Lady Karina.”

Mikhail glared at Selena with an icy face.

“If Lady Karina hadn’t refused, I would have nullified it. I won’t tolerate anything that causes even the slightest harm to Lady Karina.”

Mikhail looked down at Selena with an intimidating, authoritative gaze.

“Now. And in the future.”

His eyes were piercing.

Selena was inwardly shocked by his behavior, which was completely different from usual.

But she had already anticipated that he would be angry with her.

So she calmly asked back:

“Isn’t it you who’s harming the Grand Duchess, not me?”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

“You. You have feelings for the Grand Duchess, don’t you? And it doesn’t seem like you’re trying to hide it.”

Even though Selena had hit his weak spot, Mikhail didn’t seem flustered at all.

“Do you want to make the Grand Duchess unhappy?”

“No way. I’m rather protecting Karina. Because I’m the only one who can protect Karina.”

Selena shook her head at Mikhail’s confident words.

“The one who can protect the Grand Duchess is the Grand Duke. Not a wandering magician.”

Mikhail’s eyes narrowed.

“Don’t you know how the Grand Duke treats Karina? How Karina was treated in the Grand Duke’s household, how much the Grand Duke’s daughter tormented Karina.”

“…”

“Does an information broker not even know that much?”

Mikhail expressed his displeasure blatantly.

Selena looked straight at Mikhail and said:

“I know. That’s why the Grand Duke is even more necessary. The problems the Grand Duchess experienced can only be resolved by suppressing them with power and status.”

“What?”

Mikhail’s expression showed he couldn’t understand.

“The discrimination and slander the Grand Duchess experienced in the Grand Duke’s household. I mean all these things can be resolved if the Grand Duke clearly establishes the Grand Duchess’s status and position.”

“…”

“Don’t you understand even after seeing what happened at the charity event last time? The Grand Duke took the Grand Duchess’s side, didn’t he? So you know what the Grand Duke’s daughter’s situation has become now, right?”

“I thought you were going to say something, but.”

Mikhail said with a face that clearly showed he thought she was completely wrong.

“That’s because Karina made it happen that way. By herself.”

Mikhail’s eyes flashed sharply.

“Wisely overcoming Genon and Caroline’s slander, proving her own innocence. It was all thanks to Karina’s thorough preparation.”

“I’m not trying to deny the Grand Duchess’s preparation and efforts. But in the end, it was possible because the Grand Duke took the Grand Duchess’s side, wasn’t it?”

Mikhail frowned, clearly disagreeing.

“In the first place, that bastard shouldn’t have let Karina be treated like that. What right does he have now?”

His voice was imbued with suppressed anger.

“I have no intention of discussing the Grand Duke’s qualifications as a husband here.”

“…”

“I just want to say that you can’t take his place. Just by staying close to the Grand Duchess like now, you’ll become a weakness for the Grand Duchess.”

“I become Karina’s weakness?”

Mikhail tilted his head sideways as if to ask what that meant.

“At a time when those hostile to the Grand Duchess are desperate to find fault, a handsome male escort always sticking close to the Grand Duchess. Wouldn’t it be stranger if rumors didn’t follow?”

Selena continued in a low voice:

“They’ll try their hardest to link the Grand Duchess with you. The Grand Duchess may not have such feelings at all, but you do, don’t you? No matter how innocent the Grand Duchess is, you’ll taint her innocence.”

But Mikhail spoke as if it wasn’t a problem at all:

“If anyone spouts such nonsense, I’ll take care of them all.”

“Physically protecting is not the only way to protect. Especially for someone of high status like the Grand Duchess, even more so.”

“What Karina truly cares about isn’t such superficial things.”

Selena had never heard that Karina was preparing for divorce.

Nevertheless, upon hearing Mikhail’s words, Selena immediately understood what he wanted to say.

“Is the Grand Duchess thinking of divorce? Is that why you’re saying it doesn’t matter?”

“You guessed it, as expected.”

Mikhail smirked as if he knew she would figure it out.

“I plan to leave with Karina when she gets divorced. And I’ll stay by her side. For life.”

Mikhail’s expression was confident.

“Do you think human affairs will go so smoothly according to your wishes?”

Selena had learned something from experience.

That human affairs never go exactly as one wants.

“Let me be frank. Realistically, divorce between the Grand Duchess and the Grand Duke is impossible.”

“…”

“You may not know this well, but their marriage was by the Emperor’s order. Approving a divorce would be tantamount to the Emperor taking back his own words. It’s a matter that goes beyond a simple contract between families, involving the dignity and face of the imperial family. The Emperor will never allow anything that damages his own face.”

“Hahahahaha.”

Mikhail laughed out loud as if he had heard something very amusing.

“I know well that the imperial bastards of the Empire are obsessed with saving face.”

Mikhail’s expression clearly mocked them.

“I don’t care what those idiots do.”

Mikhail returned to a relaxed expression.

“If it’s not allowed, I’ll make it happen. Because that’s what Karina wants.”

“…”

It was a statement asserting that if he wanted it, he could make it happen by any means.

From her conversation with Mikhail, Selena realized that he was no ordinary wandering magician.

Though she wasn’t certain, Selena judged it better to keep her mouth shut at this point, seeing his attitude as if he had something to rely on.

It was a wise decision.

“From now on, don’t even dream of doing anything that could harm Lady Karina in the slightest. If you try to draw Lady Karina into dangerous situations while evoking sympathy like this time.”

Mikhail’s aura turned chilling as he spoke.

“I won’t let it slide.”

A coldness that felt like sharp thorns piercing from all directions was palpable.

“I’m warning you in advance.”

Selena’s body stiffened as if bound tightly by a snare.

“…I understand.”

Selena managed to reply.