In that secluded place, Evie sat in a position that was neither polite nor prim, that is, she was sitting crosslegged on the bench, swirling a wine glass.

Seeing Zion appear through the thick peony leaves, she muttered like this.

“Ugh, a nuisance.”

“……You drag me around when you need me, then treat me as a nuisance when you don’t.”

Evie’s blatant complaint irritated Zion, who was already in a bad mood, and he gritted his teeth.

But Evie deflected for a moment, then nodded her head.

“Mm, a valid point. I was rude just now. Since you’re here, sit down.”

Evie moved to the end of the bench as if to be kind, then shook the halffilled transparent wine glass, giggling.

“But there’s only one glass.”

Evie finally made room, but Zion, instead of sitting next to her, kept alternating glances between the glass in Evie’s hand and the basket under the bench.

The basket that Evie had been rattling earlier turned out to be a snack basket for a picnic. Inside were a newly opened bottle of wine and various snacks.

“What are you doing here?”

“As you can see, I’m toasting.”

Evie raised her glass elegantly without saying to what she was toasting.

Then she took a small sip and made a face. Ugh, it’s sour. Evie quickly put chocolate in her mouth, disgusted by the tart taste of the wine. Then she shook the glass again, pretending to savor the wine.

“You don’t seem to be a wine connoisseur.”

“That’s right, I’m just setting the mood.”

“Then do it on a safer day, in a safer place.”

“No, if I drink at home, the housekeeper will nag me.”

When the word “housekeeper” came from Evie’s mouth, Zion’s eyebrows slightly crinkled.

“You seem too old for that kind of interference.”

“That’s right, I am. But still, it’s tiresome.”

But Evie didn’t notice Zion’s expression and spoke insolently.

So Count, who disliked futile emotions, found himself in an even more irritating situation.

That housekeeper that Evie Ariate spoke of was a man with halfred hair.

A man who never left Evie’s side, who acted shamelessly like a married couple, even sharing the same room.

At the same time, he possessed Amanenser’s insight, was suspiciously agile, and protected Evie desperately.

Why on earth, a mere housekeeper?

Zion was bothered by the housekeeper named Diez. He had never heard of such a being clinging to Evie’s side.

He didn’t want to care, but he was bothered, and he didn’t want to admit he was bothered, but his bad temper wouldn’t calm down.

So Zion, repeatedly swallowing his irritation, finally opened his mouth, wondering why he had to worry about this.

“That housekeeper…….”

“Wait, are you going to ask a question?”

But Evie stretched out her hand and stopped Zion’s words, speaking with a rather firm tone.
“Count, the next time you ask me a personal question, will you first ask if it’s okay to ask such a question? I’m not a person who can just open up a letter that has been sent to you.”

Evie drew a line again, quite grumpily.

It was a reasonable claim, but Zion, who had been pushed back repeatedly, was quite upset.

So he thought about just leaving, thinking it was none of his business whether it was a butler or whatever. In the first place, he was not someone who endured being treated as a nuisance and kept his place.

So he should just turn around without wasting more time, but for some reason, Zion couldn’t take a step. So he, who had been hesitating, momentarily folded his skyhigh pride and followed Evie’s demand maturely.

“……May I ask about the butler?”

“No. You can’t.”

But Evie dismissed even this outright, and Zion looked at her with a surge of anger, more than when he had been called a nuisance.

But his edge did not last long in front of Evie’s stillsmiling face. It was because of Evie’s pale face just before she collapsed overlapping above her smiling face.

It didn’t make sense that she was fine, and she was laughing after not being able to breathe. He didn’t know what to keep up with.

One thing was clear: this defiant appearance was much better than the look that seemed about to break, and in the end, Zion gave in again, crossing his legs and sitting at the end of the bench Evie gave him.

He felt Evie looking at him in surprise as he sat down next to her. But Zion pretended not to know and asked.

“How long will you be here?”

“Until the chaos subsides. But it seems like it’s going to take a while, so I’m going to have a flower party all night.”

That’s why she packed a snack.

At Evie’s answer, Zion looked at the snack basket again. In the meantime, Evie asked again.

“When will the Count go in?”

Zion sighed instead of answering, and Evie looked at his face and smiled weakly.

“It seems the debt wasn’t a lie.”

At the sudden mention of debt, Zion looked up, and Evie avoided his gaze and put the wine glass to her lips again.

Of course, this time too, she only slightly wetted the tip of her tongue, like a sparrow pecking at water.

Zion thought it was silly to drink wine like that, but Evie liked the fragrance applied to her lips, so she opened her mouth more honestly than usual.

“You were watching earlier, weren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Why? In case the Viscount hits me?”

“I didn’t expect you to win a fight.”

At Zion’s honest answer, Evie laughed with a deflated sound.

“Did you think I’d make a mess without any countermeasures? Aren’t you underestimating me too much?”

Evie teased playfully. Then she added with a slightly softened voice.

“You must have had a hard time too, Count. Because of the silly request from that man.”

Evie concluded that Zion had followed her this far because of the debt to the astrologer.

It wasn’t exactly wrong, so Zion just listened. Then Evie complained, really regretfully.

“If it weren’t for that, neither the Count nor I would have been so tired.”

Evie said that, looking at Zion as if seeking agreement.

Then Evie’s eyes were, without any malice or intention, rather more innocent than usual.

So Zion was once again engulfed in a strange emotion, following feelings of exclusion and deprivation.

The nature of that emotion was misery.