‘Why is this person here?’

Biare stood still with her mouth open, utterly bewildered, then responded with a disgruntled expression.

“What brings the Duke here…?”

“Surely I didn’t come to look at books.”

Despite the unexpected encounter, the Duke’s natural attitude made her give him a suspicious look.

At her gaze, he shook his head as if at a loss for words, then explained why he had come here.

“I just stopped by briefly on my way. I heard new books were being released today.”

Biare’s cheeks turned bright red with embarrassment at the fact that he had come to the bookstore for the same reason as her.

Chuckling at her reaction, Dension glanced at the book she was holding and said,

“You seem to like Arend Lagers.”

“Yes, I enjoyed his previous work.”

“Hmm, but you’d be better off not reading that book.”

Biare had come all this way to buy Arend Lagers’ “The Hidden Mansion Below the Cliff.”

The brief synopsis in the small newspaper advertisement was enough to pique her interest, just like the previous work.

She had been waiting only for this book to be released, but his dismissive comment, without even knowing it well, irritated her.

Duke Verdeum took a book from the shelf in front of him and handed it to her, saying,

“This book will be much more interesting.”

“Without even reading it?”

Caught off guard by Biare’s words, he fumbled for a moment before stammering,

“Well… it’s just my feeling.”

Biare found it ridiculous to deal with someone who so easily judged books without any basis.

Deciding not to waste any more time with the Duke, she turned her steps towards the counter.

He called out to Biare several times, seemingly flustered, but she deliberately ignored him, purchasing only the book she had been longing for before heading outside.

Just as Biare was about to board the carriage waiting for her in front of the bookstore,

“Princess, please wait a moment.”

Seemingly unconcerned about the surrounding gazes, he handed Biare a book he had purchased from the large bookstore.

It was the book the Duke had recommended in the store.

“This is an apology for my rudeness earlier.”

The Duke’s deflated appearance, so uncharacteristic of him, was like a large Samoyed.

Feeling it would be impolite to refuse his apology, Biare hesitantly accepted his gift after some consideration.

“Thank you. I’ll be going now.”

The guard knights waiting in the carriage watched the two with interest, quickly averting their gazes when she boarded.

They must have seen and heard nothing.

That night, Biare lay in bed and read Arend Lagers’ “The Hidden Mansion Below the Cliff” to the end.

“What? Is this really how it ends?”

It felt truly foolish that she had gone out of her way to the bookstore to buy this book.

“So this is what it means to be deceived by a synopsis.”

After a brief sigh, she glared at the finished book before closing it completely.

Vowing never to read this author’s books again, Biare turned her gaze to the mahogany desk.

There lay the green hardcover book that Duke Verdeum had given her earlier that day in the capital square.

After staring at the book for a while, Biare hesitated before finally picking it up.

‘Well, I should at least consider the giver’s intentions.’

The green velvet book cover bore the title “The Shadow Hidden by Two Eyes.”

At first, Biare opened the book without much thought.

But the content was far more intriguing than she had expected, and she couldn’t help but marvel several times.

“Unbelievable, how can it be this interesting?”

The story of a murder at the Lake Sokanto villa was impossible to predict who the culprit was until the very end.

It was a novel where one had to deduce using clues dropped throughout, and as the narrowed-down suspects became new victims, the tension never let up until the end.

The identity of the culprit was revealed near the end of the book, and that conclusion shocked her.

In the end, Biare read the novel all through the dawn, only able to put it down when daybreak came.

As much as she didn’t want to admit it, the book recommended by Duke Verdeum was truly interesting. Interesting enough to want to read it several more times.

After that day, Biare was able to break free from her preconceptions about him. Not completely, but just a little.

* * *

Lost in happy memories of him, Biare put down the letter she was holding and smiled bitterly.

Although she knew well that she could never go back, she still missed him.

When moments they shared together came to mind, she wanted to go to him right away.

She wanted to see his living face, not his cold corpse, to touch him, to tell him she loved him.

But the reality she had tried so hard to deny came cruelently, and she felt like she would crumble helplessly.

Though she tried desperately not to think of him in her mind, her eyes still sought his form every time she closed and opened them.

“I should let you go now… but it’s not as easy as I thought.”

Although she tried to accept calmly that she would not be connected with him in this life, she became unsure if she could live this life well when she saw herself unable to separate the past him from the present.

“Sion, I wish I could take all your sorrow away.”

She only desperately hoped and hoped again that he would no longer be in pain, that he would survive until the very end.

‘If only you could be happy.’

Biare vowed over and over that she would make it so by any means necessary.

* * *

It was the beginning of early summer when the sunlight shone freshly through the lush shrubs filled with the fragrant scent of lavender.

The capital of the Marta Empire, Arkan, was bustling with activity around the square as usual.

The most eye-catching sight in the vast square was the Cheiro Trading Company of the Ruschef family, which was the basis for the grand charity event of the Ruschef family that was now beginning.

As with previous events, Biare was overseeing the details as the proxy for the host.

Raised preciously with all the care and devotion of Duke Ruschef, she had been conducting the event maturely and composedly, unlike other sixteen-year-old daughters.

Not that the young duke, the eldest son of the Ruschef family, was merely observing.

Gaizen was nimbly assisting his sister by helping with the trading company’s affairs.

The sight of the two siblings successfully hosting and concluding major events multiple times, despite not yet being of age, amazed onlookers.

On the day of the Ruschef family’s charity event, the vassals would all seek out their young lady.

Although it wasn’t a charity event she had wanted to participate in, Biare had prepared with great attention to even the smallest details.

Anyone who witnessed how wholeheartedly and sincerely she put in effort would be astounded.

Biare loved her family more than anyone and was someone who knew how to take responsibility for her family members and vassals.

As Biare and Gaizen appeared at the Cheiro Trading Company, an administrator mixed in with the busy crowd bowed to them.

“My Lady. Young Master. We’ve been waiting.”

“Very well, let’s examine the charity goods first.”

Gaizen skillfully inspected the items they had prepared in advance.

Assisting with his father’s trading company affairs, he looked every bit the part of the Duke’s proxy.

Befitting his position as the future head of the trading company, Gaizen had carefully selected and ordered charity event items, just as the Duke had done.

Given that they had faced great difficulties due to heavy rain during this voyage, there was an obligation to examine the goods meticulously in case any had been damaged.

Moreover, since the ship carrying the charity event supplies had only arrived at the port this dawn, it was impossible not to worry.

Even Biare, who had traveled back in time, could not prepare for unpredictable natural disasters.

Biare had seen with her own eyes that using the ‘Eyes of Truth’ didn’t mean past events would unfold exactly the same way.

Although the employees had already completed the pre-selection process, the young duke, as the trading company’s proxy, was skillfully handling his duties, as the ultimate responsibility lay with him.

The widely known charity events in the empire typically involved providing free used or unused items and distributing food as a service.

However, the Ruschef family’s charity event was famous for its extraordinary scale from the start.

It was unprecedented to simply donate high-quality goods that only nobles could use for an event.

As a result, the Ruschef charity event was receiving great response from many imperial citizens, to the point of being called the flower of Arkan.

The mounting massive deficit in proportion to this was a problem for the Cheiro Trading Company to bear, but it wasn’t as if their coffers were actually suffering losses.

Whatever intentions they had for hosting the charity event, considering the accumulating fame and goodwill, it far outweighed any losses.

The Ruschef family’s good deeds would soon be featured prominently in major newspapers, and nobles and imperial citizens alike would only express admiration as they watched.

“Huh―”

Gaizen’s straight, dark eyebrows curled up as he examined the goods, and he began to click his tongue.

The administrators and employees could only hold their breath and watch the young duke’s expression, sweat beading on their foreheads.

As Gaizen’s expression showed no signs of easing, they kept glancing at Biare as if asking her to rein in their young master.

Watching the situation, she finally sighed and spoke to him.

“Is there a problem?”

“Well, the condition is… Hey, are you sure this is all the prepared goods?”

“That… A large number of damaged items were discovered during the selection process.”

At this, Gaizen’s eyes flashed red as he clenched his teeth, looking like a snake about to devour them.