“It’s not that there’s a problem…”

“Then please spread the rumor until there’s no one in the empire who doesn’t know. That Damion de Orphe steadfastly found and brought to the surface Ansi de Rubel, who was living quietly.”

So that no one else makes a mistake.

Everyone could understand what was hidden behind those words. As Damion smiled brightly, the men nodded exaggeratedly and offered words of congratulation.

It was no longer an atmosphere where one could ask if he was crazy or why he made such a choice.

Damion de Orphe knew how to make the atmosphere comfortable and enjoyable, but he was by no means an easy person.

“Well, I want to spend more time with Miss Ansi. I’ll go ahead.”

Damion smiled as he placed the wine on the tray. With his more relaxed expression and tone, people eased their tension and teased him.

“You might end up being henpecked by your wife after marriage.”

“It would be an honor if she did.”

“Oh, come on.”

Leaving the men’s empty laughter behind, Damion walked towards Ansi.

It seemed that the rumors about Damion being the one who pursued were true. The woman didn’t seem interested at all, but this man was desperate to be with her.

As he approached her, he had no idea what she was thinking.

‘What a tiresome woman.’

The women who were with her were gone, and Ansi de Rubel was alone. Moreover, seeing her walk towards the back door, it seemed she was planning to leave the hall altogether.

Not being sociable isn’t a flaw, but lacking social skills is.

Frustration welled up, but he couldn’t leave her alone. In this play, his role was that of a romantic who thought only of Ansi de Rubel, whether sitting or standing.

Becoming her partner through marriage is easy. But the problem is that the choice lies with that woman. If she doesn’t give her heart to him, she won’t speak even if she sees his future.

So Damion had to win Ansi’s heart.

Thinking about it that way, her being isolated like this might actually be an easier path for him.

Having quickly found the positive aspect of the situation, Damion erased his frustration and followed the woman. In the dark night, the woman entered a unique maze garden.

After walking aimlessly for a while, Ansi suddenly raised her head and looked around. High walls decorated with dense grass surrounded her.

“This is…”

The Baileys’ maze garden.

Ansi sighed. She had ended up here after walking absentmindedly wherever her feet took her.

It was a place she had visited with Elize before.

It was also a place where they had been trapped for hours, unable to find their way out properly, until adults finally found them and helped them escape.

This maze garden, meticulously created by the Duke of Baileys who loved new and interesting things, boasted a complex structure and large scale.

However, it wasn’t a place people frequently visited. Word quickly spread about those who entered seeking small amusements in the beginning and ended up frustrated.

But now that she was older than before, wouldn’t it be okay? With such hope, Ansi started walking.

“…”

She realized that her sense of direction remained the same even as she grew older only after encountering dead ends five times.

What should I do?

At this point, she really started to feel at a loss.

The darkness was deepening, and she was alone here. Unless she had tied a string and started from the beginning like in an old tale she had once heard, she had already come too deep.

Moreover, no one knew she had entered here. The fear crept in as she thought she might never be able to get out of here for the rest of her life.

That’s when it happened.

She sensed a presence behind her.

A strange presence felt in the dark night. Normally, it would be right to feel fear, but to Ansi now, it seemed like a light that could help her overcome the situation.

“Is anyone there?”

Ansi immediately turned around and walked briskly. Desperately hoping it wasn’t a bird, mouse, or cat, but a person.

And the moment she turned the corner.

She almost collided with someone. As she reflexively tried to step back, her feet tangled in her dress hem.

“…!”

Just as her body was about to fall backward.

A strong arm supported and embraced her from behind.

Reflexively, Ansi braced her hands against the man’s chest. Even through the frock coat, she could clearly feel his firm body, hard as steel.

Just like that, a low voice reached her ear.

“Are you alright?”

“Lord Damion?”

Ansi quickly pulled away and looked at him with surprised eyes.

“You seemed to be going alone, so I was worried.”

“Ah… thank you.”

When did this young master, who pretended to manage connections, see her leave? As if reading such thoughts, Damion playfully threw out words.

“My attention is always directed towards Ansi, after all.”

Ansi, unable to find a suitable reply, turned her gaze away. Finding it cute, Damion lightly stroked her head and looked around as he spoke.

“Do you know how to get out of the maze?”

“Do you?”

“That means you don’t know.”

“We can find it, can’t we?”

Pretending she hadn’t been at a loss, Ansi stood next to Damion. Still, her tension had eased somewhat at the thought that she wouldn’t die alone in here.

Seeing this, he let out a laugh and raised one hand to touch the wall.

“In a typical maze, if you start like this with your hand on the wall from the entrance, you’ll eventually reach the exit. Because this wall is ultimately a connected surface.”

“Then we can get out, right?”

“No, we can’t use that method if we’ve already come to the middle. Instead, let’s do this.”

Damion picked up a fallen branch and drew an X on the ground.

“It’s a method to avoid the paths we’ve already taken. Shall we go?”

They started walking together, matching their steps.

In the quiet garden, only the sounds of insects chirping, footsteps treading, and occasionally the branch scratching the soil could be heard.

The fresh scent of spring grass sprouting anew coexisted with the dry leaf scent of winter not yet gone.

After the X, he drew a cross over it to make a star shape. They didn’t return to places marked with stars.

Ansi opened her mouth towards the man who was silently bending to draw crosses.

“Wasn’t there a fairy tale like that? About children dropping bread crumbs to mark the way to a candy house.”

It was a story she had heard as a child. Damion stood up and resumed walking as he answered.

“It’s not a fairy tale I particularly like.”

“Why not?”

“Does Ansi like that story?”

“I don’t remember it well, but I like it. Because the witch who tried to eat the children ends up being punished and dies.”

A fitting, natural ending. Ansi liked that.

“You seem to like the triumph of good over evil.”

“Doesn’t everyone? Why doesn’t Lord Damion like this story?”

“Perhaps because it’s strange that after taking the candy house from the witch, they don’t live there but return to their original home.”

“Their family is in their original home. No matter how much they like candy, they can’t live there forever leaving their family behind.”

“Do you remember why the children had to drop bread crumbs?”

Ansi pondered for a moment, but she couldn’t remember well as it was a story she had heard when very young. Was it to escape from the witch of the candy house?

“Well… Was it an important part?”

“No.”

Damion shook his head. For a moment, his voice seemed to have sunk, but then he spoke again.

“I just don’t particularly like stories where children suffer. Though many fairy tales are like that.”

“For a heroic narrative to be interesting, there needs to be hardship. And for stories aimed at children, it’s better if the protagonist is a child. In return, the protagonist gains greater fortune after the hardships.”

“But the child protagonist might have preferred modest happiness instead of the great fortune at the end.”

At his cynical voice, Ansi stared at Damion intently.

On one hand, she thought his words made sense.

The catharsis after hardship is just self-consolation; in reality, a life without hardship from the beginning is much better.

That fact, Ansi herself knew better than anyone now.

Rather than the ending where they escaped death and gained candy and treasures, they were probably happier before they even met the witch. When they didn’t need to live with the memory of almost dying for the rest of their lives.

“Well, there’s no need to get too serious. Fairy tales aren’t reality, after all.”

It was Damion’s cheerful voice that ended her deepening thoughts.

“Our hardship ends here too.”

At his words, Ansi turned her gaze forward again. Under the bright moonlight, the exit was suddenly visible.

Finally.

As they hurriedly exited the maze, a wide garden spread out before them. Upon leaving this place they thought they’d never escape from, a tingling sensation shot from head to toe.

This small hardship wasn’t so bad.

“I thought we’d never get out.”

“Being with you, even that wasn’t so bad.”

“Let’s go back quickly.”

“Before that. Look at the sky, Ansi.”

At Damion’s words, Ansi unconsciously turned her gaze to the sky. Her eyes, now accustomed to the darkness, took in a black sea embroidered with twinkling lights.

“…Ah.”

A small exclamation escaped Ansi’s lips. The pouring lights seemed to flow, and also seemed as if they might swallow the sea in place.

Though it wasn’t her first time seeing the night sky, strangely, she wanted to keep staring blankly at it. Even blinking felt like a waste.

It was a strange feeling. This indescribable emotion seemed like joy in a way, or perhaps sorrow.

“When I was on the battlefield, I sometimes lay on the dirt ground and looked at the sky.”

At the low voice, Ansi shifted her gaze to look at Damion’s face again. He too lowered his head. Their eyes met.