When I opened my eyes again, I was alone.

The sun seemed to have risen long ago, as brilliant sunlight was pouring in through the window.

Knock, knock.

With perfect timing, a knocking sound was heard.

“My lady, are you perhaps awake?”

“Sophie?”

“My lady!”

The door swung open and Sophie rushed in with a face full of delight.

“Oh, you really are awake! I heard you woke up once at dawn, but I was so worried because you still seemed to be sleeping for too long.”

Dawn.

Hearing that word, the memory of dawn naturally came to mind.

I felt my face getting hot and bit my lip slightly.

“You were my first kiss.”

……Still an absurd thing to say, even thinking about it again.

What kind of hint was that supposed to be? My heart was beating so fast at those incomprehensible words.

Far from getting any clues, my head only became more chaotically confused, so I almost pleadingly asked for an explanation, but…

“I don’t want to.”

Dante was cold.

“You shouldn’t have forgotten in the first place.”

His reproaching voice was terribly harsh.

……Still not matching his posture of almost crushing me as he loomed over me.

Suddenly becoming conscious of our position, I unconsciously twisted my body, and Dante frowned.

“Don’t move carelessly.”

At his deeply lowered voice, my body stiffened as if under a spell.

I became aware again of how much of our bodies were excessively touching.

Is this how it feels to be pinned down by the front paws of a huge beast?

But strangely, my rapidly beating heart didn’t seem to be due to anxiety or fear.

Rather, it was as if I was expecting something… Crazy.

Dante grasped my chin. It was then that I unknowingly squeezed my eyes shut.

The sound of him clicking his tongue low came from above my head.

“They said absolute rest was important. At this rate, I won’t be able to endure without forcing myself.”

Though it sounded calm at first glance, his voice was chaotically entangled with unresolved heat.

A chill ran down my spine at the voice scratching my ears.

The moment I stiffened with a jolt, he raised his body. Like the person with the most decisive willpower in the world.

“Eat well and rest up. Unless you want to keep tempting me.”

And with that, he left the room.

Leaving behind heat and scent on my skin that wouldn’t fade for a long time.

“My lady, my lady! Are you really alright?”

“…Ah, Sophie. Yes, I slept well and now I’m really fine.”

As I was comforting Sophie, soon the doctor came in and began the examination.

“You’ve gotten much better. Your pulse and breathing are normal. It seems the good rest has been a great help.”

“You’ve done very well.”

The head butler Oren, who had entered with the doctor, praised with a pleased expression.
Even though all I had done was sleep continuously.

Oren smiled and asked.

“I’ve prepared some nourishing food, shall I have it brought up now?”

“Yes, please. But…”

I spoke, trying not to sound too conscious.

“What about the Duke?”

“Ah, the master is out.”

“I see. May I know where he went?”

The head butler hesitated for a moment before answering.

“I believe he went to the underground of the Imperial Palace.”

Everyone knows that the most heavily guarded underground prison in the empire is located beneath the Imperial Palace.

“I see.”

I nodded with an unconcerned expression.

“I was thinking of going out for a bit too, would that be alright?”

“What? But you still need to rest…”

“Didn’t the doctor say that walking outside in the sunlight would be helpful too? I’ll just go to town briefly.”

Oren hesitated for a moment, then soon nodded compliantly.

“Yes, my lady. Then I’ll assign a knight and coachman to accompany you. Where do you plan to go?”

“The headquarters.”

Oren’s eyes widened.

* * *

“Duchess!”

A man I’ve met a few times, Elias Rainer, welcomed me warmly.

‘I didn’t expect the owner himself to be here.’

It was unexpected, as I thought a high-ranking noble would just own the newspaper and leave it to subordinates.

“It’s an honor to have the Duchess personally visit a place like this.”

“I’m the one who should be thankful for welcoming me despite my sudden visit.”

“Of course we should welcome you anytime. Given whose wife you are.”

Elias said with a slight eye smile.

Every time I see him, I think he’s really a friendly person.

Perhaps that’s why even Dante seems to treat this person casually.

“By the way, are you alright now? I was so surprised when you suddenly collapsed yesterday.”

“It seems I overdid it a bit preparing for the music festival. Thanks to everyone’s concern, I’m fine now.”

“That’s news that will please all the citizens.”

Elias continued with a grin.

“Since I’ve met you like this, I must say, your performance was truly impressive.”

“Ah… thank you.”

I smiled awkwardly as I spoke. Praise directed at me still felt a bit strange.

“Really! You are undoubtedly the biggest topic of this Founding Festival, Duchess. I didn’t say it’s an honor to have you here for nothing. I’d like to request an interview while you’re here, but…”

Saying that, Elias glanced at me cautiously.

“I can’t ask you to do something burdensome when you collapsed just yesterday. Of course, it would be a huge, truly huge scoop for our newspaper, but…”

Elias gave me another subtle glance, then when our eyes met, he smiled good-naturedly and pretended not to notice.

It was a very clear display of what he wanted.

‘ must already have an overwhelming market share, this person really puts his all into his business…’

I was inwardly relieved. It seemed the card I had prepared would have the effect I hoped for.

“I’m also an avid subscriber of . It would be my honor if you published an interview with me.”

“Really, Duchess?!”

Elias exclaimed in surprise. As if he hadn’t expected such an immediate response.

I nodded with a smile.

“If you’d like, you can take photos, and I can provide information about the instruments I used for composing and related anecdotes. If that could make the special edition more substantial, as I said, it would be an honor for me too.”

“Oh, my goodness.”

Elias covered his mouth with his hand.

I almost laughed at his genuinely speechless appearance.

He really is a person who’s sincere about his newspaper.

“It will be substantial. More than substantial. It will explode with content. Both our sales numbers and my heart.”

I smiled slightly as I watched Elias nod vigorously in agreement.

“I’m so glad you’re welcoming this. But… may I make a small request as well?”

“Oh!”

Elias beamed with a willing smile across his face.

“If there’s any help I can offer, by all means.”

“Actually, I was wondering if I could look at some past newspapers.”

“Ah, of course!”

Elias walked to his desk willingly.

“Which date’s newspaper shall I show you? Let’s see, we should have about a month’s worth organized here…”

“Would you happen to have newspapers from the year 314?”

Elias’s hand, which was rummaging under the desk, paused.

“314… that’s ten years ago from now.”

“That’s right.”

If I had only needed newspapers from the past few months or a year ago, I could have easily resolved it by visiting the Imperial Library.

The reason I came all the way here was because I needed older records.

I maintained my smile without showing any signs of wavering as I looked at Elias. He blinked at me, seeming flustered.

* * *

“This is where all the newspapers of , with its long history from the first issue to today’s, are perfectly preserved.”

Elias said as he guided me through the underground space where sounds echoed dully.

I slowly looked around.

As it was a newspaper that had been published since printing technology was introduced to the empire, the volume was incredibly vast.

“If you tell me exactly what you’re looking for, this Elias will gladly help.”

“Thank you for your kind offer, but would it be alright if I search alone?”

Elias’s curious gaze fixed on me.

However, instead of prying, he nodded while rubbing the back of his head.

“Of course, Duchess. Please feel free to look around as much as you like.”

Elias left the basement.

Left alone, I looked around at the vast bookshelves.

I could see they were well-organized by year.

I pulled out one of them, a newspaper with the date I remembered.

Year 324, Issue 102.

The headline for that day was as follows:

Dante Heigenberg succeeds to the title of Duke.

Below was a photo of Dante on the day of his triumphant return ceremony.

Even though it was a blurry black and white photo, his distinct features and arrogant smile on his lips were clearly visible.

I looked at that photo for a moment, then put the newspaper back and went back much further.

Year 316, Issue 300. A newspaper from ten years ago.

Nothing stood out.

I immediately picked up the previous issue. Issue 299, still nothing special. Issue 298, 297…

“Ah.”

Holding Issue 41 of Year 314, I froze blankly.

Heigenberg’s youngest prince, missing.

[Presumed to have slipped in the upper reaches of the Eren River, with the search facing difficulties due to the absence of any witnesses…]