That is clearly Sion Laurel.

‘He pretended not to know me.’

That means he doesn’t want his current state to be discovered.

‘To think a count would be playing teacher in this backwater…’

Ibi swallowed her excitement at this unexpected secret as she descended the stairs. Then she whispered to Dies, who was waiting outside the house.

“Let’s go somewhere quiet for now.”

As Ibi said that and turned around, Dies suddenly grabbed her arm.

So Ibi, caught off guard, turned back and made eye contact with a woman in the backyard of the two-story house.

The woman, who appeared to be between middle-aged and elderly, was holding an empty basket as if she had just returned from hanging laundry.

The woman muttered with a surprised face towards Ibi.

“Could it be Ibi?”

Ibi couldn’t hear the words properly because of her earplugs. But she recognized her at a glance.

“Auntie…”

“Oh my, it really is you!”

The woman threw down her basket and ran towards Ibi. Then she grabbed Ibi tightly with her wrinkled hands.

This woman was Marso, the owner of the two-story house. When the fortune-teller brought Ibi to this house, she was the one who cared for Ibi like a niece.

Marso held Ibi’s hands and bombarded her with questions about where she had been and what she had been doing all this time.

So Ibi, feeling awkward, chose to sway and collapse instead.

“Ah…”

Almost simultaneously, Dies caught Ibi and said,

“She seems very tired from the long journey. I think she needs rest now, may we visit again a little later?”

“Of course, anytime. No, why don’t you rest at our house? I’ll squeeze some lemons for you…”

“Thank you for the offer, but our luggage is in the carriage.”

At Dies’s polite refusal, Marso looked disappointed.

“I see. Oh, have you decided where to have dinner tonight? Since it’s been a while, I’d like to treat you…”

The lady said, looking at Ibi affectionately.

Understanding what she meant just from that expression, Ibi nodded her head from Dies’s arms.

“Thank you, madam. We’ll come back at dinner time then.”

Dies nodded politely and turned around with Ibi.

Ibi walked while still leaning on Dies as if still dizzy.

In that state, Ibi spoke so that only Dies could hear.

“That was excellent.”

“You flatter me.”

The two walked away leisurely, whispering shamelessly.

But the innocent Marso watched their retreating figures for a long time, completely unaware of this fact.

And a little higher up, at the second-floor window, there was also someone observing them.

That man, standing askew with his arms folded, quietly watched Ibi being supported by her butler.

Then, as if somewhat displeased, he silently furrowed his brow.

.

.

.

“It’s been about 2 years since he came here. He’s a helpful person. Thanks to the teacher, the damage on dark nights has decreased a lot. But his personality is a bit…”

“I don’t know what kind of person he is. He’s gone for half the month, and when he comes back, he’s always battered. And his personality is a bit…”

“I think he might be a mercenary. There’s a huge arena just a short distance from here. Maybe that’s why his personality is a bit…”

“He teaches the children how to read and write. Seeing how the children follow him, he’s not a bad person, but still, his personality is a bit…”

Ibi burst into laughter at the testimonies of the villagers that Dies had collected.

“I’m relieved. It seems Count Laurel doesn’t have a bad personality just towards me.”

Ibi was pleased with people’s assessment of the count’s personality.

Of course, all the other stories were equally interesting.

“So to sum it up, this ‘teacher’ settled in the village 2 years ago, leaves for half of each month, and always returns covered in wounds. Moreover, he’s strong enough not to fear the dark nights, but while in the village, he teaches children how to read and write?”

“There’s one more thing. He returned two days ago this time, and he was away longer than usual. For a month and a half.”

“Of course. Because he was in Tienda.”

Ibi’s smile deepened at how well the story fit together.

“To think someone who should be at the border is living a rural life in a place like this. The tastes of the great nobles are truly unpredictable.”

And of all places, it’s the house where I and my uncle used to live.

All sorts of speculations swirled in Ibi’s mind. But Ibi pushed everything else aside and focused on one thing.

“I wonder how much of a secret this situation is to the count?”

“Are you thinking of blackmailing him?”

“If necessary.”

Ibi didn’t deny it.

Using someone else’s secret that you happened to discover as leverage for blackmail is certainly a vile act.

But Ibi thought it was okay to be vile when it came to the count.

“Considering what he did to me, what’s wrong with a little blackmail?”

Ibi smiled brightly as she recalled the count’s misdeeds.

That man with not just a bit, but an extremely bad personality, approached her saying he would take care of her, but when Ibi didn’t move according to his wishes, he cruelly cast her aside.

When the count incited the nobles to criticize Ibi, she really felt like she had been thrown out onto the streets.

That wretchedness is still vivid, and yet to think she would meet the count here.

Ibi laughed as she recalled the always arrogant count standing there with glasses and a disheveled appearance.

This was surely an opportunity given to Ibi by heaven.

When evening came, Ibi went to visit Marso with Dies as promised.

As promised, Marso had set a lavish table and was waiting for the two.

“You’ve become a young lady before I knew it. I was always uneasy, not knowing if you were alive or dead…”

Marso spoke in an affectionate voice.

Marso was truly glad to see Ibi, and it was the same for Ibi.

Marso was one of the few kind adults in Ibi’s memory. Of course, even that kindness was established because of the fortune-teller, but still, she took good care of the young Ibi as the landlady.

So Ibi could also converse quite pleasantly with Marso.

In the middle of their cheerful chat, Ibi naturally changed the subject.

“Do you still provide meals for your tenants these days?”

“Well, I’m not sure if this can be called providing. There’s one person living here now, but he’s away for many days of the month.”

“Ah, so the other rooms are empty?”

“No, the person living here now uses the entire second floor by himself. He seems a bit peculiar.”

Marso lowered her voice as she spoke. Judging by her glance upwards, it seemed that peculiar tenant was upstairs now.

“Earlier, the children called him teacher.”

“That’s why I say he’s peculiar. At first, he just stayed locked up in his room reading books all day, but then one day he suddenly started teaching the children how to read and write.”

Ibi quietly laughed at Marso’s words.

She didn’t know the count had a hobby of reading.

“It must be lively because of the children. Is there a class tomorrow too?”

“No, not tomorrow. It’s the last day of the lunar month. The children need to prepare at their own homes.”

Then the count must be free.

Thinking it was a good opportunity, Ibi casually said,

“Auntie, could I possibly rent a room for about three days? We haven’t found a place to stay yet.”

“Oh dear, what should we do? There’s only one empty room on the first floor now. That person is using the entire second floor, so I can’t just give it out.”

Marso said, seemingly troubled. So Ibi promptly leaned her head on Dies’s shoulder, who was sitting next to her.

“I haven’t introduced you yet. This is my husband.”

“My wife was homesick, so we came together.”

“Ah, I see! Then one room should be enough!”

Dies also leaned towards Ibi pretending to be caring, and Marso failed to see through their brazenness.

That’s how the liars successfully infiltrated.

.

.

.

And the liars who had briefly pretended to be a couple, as soon as they entered the room, fiercely fought over who would get the bed.

How could you think of making me sleep on the floor? You’re disqualified as a butler!

How could you think the bed is naturally yours? Butlers are human too.

Hey, are you not letting go of this?

Don’t bite…!

After a silent battle, the two finally collapsed exhausted.

“Should we be fighting over this when the count is right above us?”

“That’s what I wanted to say…”

Ibi glared at Dies, who wouldn’t back down even a bit.

Then, as if trying to sense Count Laurel’s presence, she tilted her ear towards the ceiling.

“Whether it’s negotiation or blackmail, we need to meet the count to do it… How should we approach him?”

After seeing Count Laurel earlier, what Ibi worried about most was him suddenly leaving this village.

It’s common to disappear when caught in an embarrassing state.

And if the count vanishes from here, Ibi will be left with nothing but her sighting.

In that state, even if she says “I saw Count Laurel pretending to be a commoner in Bis,” she’ll only be treated as a liar.

So Ibi kept watching this house from nearby to prevent the count from disappearing.

The reason she decided to stay in this house was also because she considered the possibility of him leaving quietly in the middle of the night.

“We should approach while keeping our boundaries. Whether it’s negotiation or blackmail.”

“Boundaries?”

“Boundaries that won’t anger Count Laurel.”

It meant not to upset the count too much, so Ibi frowned in displeasure.

“The current situation isn’t much of a threat to the count. It’s just troublesome or inconvenient at most. So if we cross the line and upset him, we’ll end up at a disadvantage.”

“It’s unfair, they crossed the line first but we have to be cautious.”

Ibi grumbled but understood Dies’s words.

In Tienda, where social status is clear, arrogance is a right and humility is a duty.

So the confrontation between a great noble and a saint candidate of common birth doesn’t even stand in the first place.

One side survives only by the mercy of the other.

So even if she discovered the count’s secret, all Ibi could do now was beg, “I’ll keep my mouth shut, so please go easy on me.”

‘How nice it must be for you, being difficult from birth.’

Just as Ibi was acknowledging her situation with a light complaint,

A creaking sound came from the ceiling. So Ibi and Dies stopped their conversation in surprise.

Creak, creak, the sound of old wooden planks groaning continued regularly.

It was the sound of someone upstairs stepping down the old wooden stairs.

When those stair sounds rang out, Ibi was already in her nightgown.

So Ibi, with just a shawl thrown over it, left the room and carefully followed the footsteps that had already passed.

A lamp’s shadow was falling from the direction of the kitchen.

Ibi approached that direction, muffling her footsteps, and soon encountered a man there.

Perhaps he had run out of water from being in his room all day, he was holding an empty water bottle.

“Hello.”

Ibi greeted the man, who was still wearing glasses, in a gentle voice.

“We meet again, teacher.”

Then she smiled prettily, but the man didn’t even give a small smile in return.

“Use the appropriate title for yourself.”

Instead, he spoke coldly as usual. Then he added this to the slightly surprised Ibi:

“If you’re willing to make your butler your husband to rent a room, I suppose a conclusion has already been reached.”

Sion’s expression as he asserted this was, as usual, quite arrogant.

So Ibi thought he was truly a disappointing fellow.