Because she felt confident that it would be okay to crawl up to this point.

As expected, Zion just looked at Evie with his arms folded, not taking issue with that slip of the tongue.

Of course, he didn’t just take issue, his stubbornness was still there.

“I refuse.”

“This is coercion.”

“I admit.”

“Just admitting is enough?”

“I regret.”

“No……!”

As Evie was about to argue heatedly, Zion covered her mouth with his hand.

“Lower your voice if you don’t want to hide again.”

Zion’s big hand covered not only Evie’s mouth but also half of her face. So Evie recalled the humiliation of being grabbed by the cheek by him.

Bite?

He might even let her bite.

No, but what’s the use of just letting this happen!

As Evie looked at Zion with dissatisfaction, her mouth blocked, Zion also looked at Evie and swallowed a sigh.

It was just a laughing matter.

Now that she has noticed everything, Evie Ariate began to say everything.

She was not good at picking what to say and what not to say before, but she had been looking around and acting tired, and now she seemed to have given up on that too.

It was more comfortable for Zion as well.

However, the words that said don’t interfere because I know how to do well were unpleasant.

He wondered if it was something to even hurt his feelings, but it somehow irritated him.

Yet, most of what Evie Ariate said had to be admitted.

The claim that the calculation didn’t add up, the lamentation that it was hard to believe, the boast that she had done well until now. None of them were wrong.

So Zion thought he had no choice but to say something he hadn’t intended to say.

“I am the person who lived in this house.”

“Hm?”

Evie made a sound of doubt with her mouth blocked.

It was funny inside, but Zion maintained a deadpan expression as he continued to speak.

“That person entrusted you to me. The astrologer who lived with you.”

At Zion’s announcement, Evie’s eyes grew infinitely large.

So Zion released Evie Ariate’s face. And finally he commanded her, whose face had frozen.

“Then recalculate. Whether it adds up or not.”

.

.

.

It was almost an hour after the Count’s footsteps were heard that Evie, who had gone out, returned to the room.

But the sound of the Count returning to the second floor rang out a long time before that.

Evie must have been out alone, catching a breeze.

Returning like that, Evie lay down on the bed without a word, and DS, seeing her, whispered worriedly.

“Are you planning to take over the bed while pretending to be serious?”

“That’s right. I’ll fall asleep like this.”

Evie, whose true feelings were exposed, struck DS with the pillow. And the butler actively resisted this unprovoked attack.

After one round, Evie looked at DS with a swagger.

“I’m tired, so let’s talk tomorrow.”

Evie turned the blanket over again.

And she chewed on the Count’s last words.

―I’ve entrusted you to me. With you, that astrologer.

Honestly, she had suspected it.

She couldn’t help but suspect it.

From the moment she saw Zion Laurel in this house.

What were the odds that Count Laurel would coincidentally choose this village out of countless villages in Bis, and end up living in the house where Evie Ariate used to live?

It was probably as likely as a dragon hatching from an egg.

So it made sense to think the other way around.

The Count knew that this house was where Evie and the astrologer had lived, and he came looking for it.

So she didn’t find it strange that Evie appeared in this village.

Instead, she guessed that she had given up becoming a saint and returned.

This resolved one big question, but it brought even more confusion to Evie.

What kind of debt did the old man owe the Count?

When did he meet the Count? Was it after he left me?

Why did he ask me to do this?

You’re not by my side.

Evie barely restrained herself from chasing after the Count’s room and asking what she wanted to know.

Instead, she had to endure the cold wind in the backyard for a long time to calm her complicated mind.

Still, her heart felt heavy. The sharp, nailshaped remaining moon hung on the edge of her heart, heralding a new moon.

Taking advantage of her weakened state, the casual words the Count had thrown at her also shook Evie.

The nobles want only your ability.

They’ll throw you away easily once you’ve served your purpose.

Even if you become a saint, it’s the same.

You’ll only be used, rather.

Is that really, the difficult person you spoke of?

Evie couldn’t deny this, and she admitted it. And she spoke proudly instead.

It’s natural to use each other, but we’ve been doing well.

But in truth, Evie was exhausted.

In front of Evie’s tightly closed eyes, a dream or an illusion of herself appeared.

That Evie Ariate was dressed like a doll and sitting prettily.

Her appearance was as colorful as any noble young lady, but inside she was more desolate than when she was in Bis.

She hadn’t slept comfortably even once.

She reduced her sleep to read books and gain knowledge. She learned to dance and play musical instruments. She practiced smiling nicely, and she starved herself to fit into dresses, enduring faintness.

Still, she couldn’t rest easy, eavesdropping on what people were saying every day through notes.

But even knowing so much, she never spoke her mind.

Pretending not to think, pretending not to have anything to say, in the end, pretending to know nothing.

The life of a peasant kept by Tienda for ornamental purposes remained there even after singing and working miracles, even after purifying water and saving the world.

And even that crumbled at the declaration of some grand noble, leaving her terrified again.

Coming to Tienda, she thought she would become a difficult person, but in reality, Evie was more craven than ever. And desperate.

Pondering this image of herself, Evie belatedly regretted.

Ah, why didn’t she slap the Count when he babbled, “Just keep doing what you’re doing now.”

Why did she kindly send back that man who said that since she was chosen by him, all she had to do was cling, hide, and nag?

Even hearing those words, pretending not to hear, pretending not to have pride, in the end, she measured herself by how much he saw and endured him. Only to the extent that he didn’t feel bad.

But she had no choice.

Evie is still not difficult.

Only talking about becoming a difficult person, she is still very easy.

Feeling this boneaching realization anew, Evie tossed and turned deliberately so as not to reveal the sound of her sigh.

That night was one day before the new moon.