“Did the situation of the merchant group become difficult while I was away?”

“…”

As he sneered and mocked them, the administrator could only bow his head and say nothing.

“Make arrangements with the merchant group’s goods. I will report to the Duke.”

“I will carry out as instructed, Young Master.”

Gaizen, who nodded briefly, calmed his anger and after finishing his work, left the merchant group with his sister.

Even though she had seen it several times before the regression, watching her young brother’s mature appearance up close made her feel a bit proud.

“You seem quite accustomed to it now.”

Seemingly embarrassed by those words, Gaizen wrinkled his nose for no reason and answered while avoiding Biare’s eyes.

“I just did what I had to do anyway.”

“Gaizen, you will surely become a good leader of the merchant group.”

“Sister, did you eat something wrong?”

Since it was quite a serious question, Biare smiled gently and pinched his side, not enough to hurt.

“Ah― It hurts!”

Gaizen’s appearance of exaggerating when it probably didn’t even hurt looked exactly the same as before, unchanged.

The young beast who bared his teeth and confronted their father for her sake a few days ago was now looking quite dependable.

“I wonder where Father is at this time.”

Due to the recent proposal letter issue, the Duke had been leaving the mansion at dawn and returning late at night, watching Biare’s mood.

Biare was grateful to Gaizen and the servants who didn’t show any sign of discomfort despite their awkward relationship, which could have been suffocating.

Thinking that it was time to forgive her father and reach out first, she inquired about the Duke’s whereabouts.

“He’ll be stuck with the believers all afternoon, I guess.”

As she was about to agree with his casual answer, she began to feel somewhat doubtful.

Previously, she would have thought the same as Gaizen without much interest.

However, at the quarterly charity events, the Duke always disappeared quietly after giving only a congratulatory speech.

Although it was common for him to return with priests and believers, for some reason, an inexplicable suspicion bloomed in her mind.

There was no way a separate space for praying to God would have been prepared at the charity event venue.

It wouldn’t be strange for them to be praising Ekarto God all day long, but it bothered her that no one seemed to know the Duke’s whereabouts.

She was briefly considering whether she should go look for her father herself.

It was then that a servant who rushed from the other side informed Biare that the charity performance was about to begin.

“Young lady, the charity performance is about to start.”

“Alright, tell them I’ll be there soon.”

The Ruschef family’s charity event was not a trivial scale that ended with children’s play.

This performance was where one could indirectly feel the status of the Cheilo Grand Merchant Group, which was actively engaged in trade with foreign countries.

It wasn’t easy to invite them, but it was possible because of the Ruschef family’s wealth.

The rare and marvelous performances that were not easily seen in the Marta Empire were more than enough to captivate both nobles and commoners.

Many imperial citizens who had come to watch the charity event were already excited by the interesting atmosphere, but Biare judged that the greater the excitement, the greater the risk.

Despite having completed a perfect pre-examination to prepare for any possible accidents, the anxiety didn’t disappear.

As they couldn’t predict the natural disaster that occurred differently from the past, they couldn’t ignore the possibility of other incidents happening.

If there were any casualties in the capital Arkan, the status of the Duke’s family would also greatly decline.

They knew through many experiences that there were numerous nobles waiting to catch even the slightest weakness of the Ruschef family.

Surely, there would be reporters who had infiltrated this square on someone’s orders, their eyes shining as if they wouldn’t tolerate even a single mistake.

Therefore, Biare couldn’t loosen the string of tension until the moment the charity event ended.

Soon, the signal flare announcing the start of the charity performance went off, and many people began to crowd around it.

It was by no means easy to push through the crowd, so even with the escort knights following them, it was of no use.

“Sister, hold my hand from here.”

Worried about his sister in this unexpected situation, Gaizen hurriedly offered his hand to her.

As Biare stared blankly at his hand, Gaizen became embarrassed and was about to withdraw it, but seeing this, she gently placed her hand on his.

Seeing her brother’s mature appearance, Biare thought that perhaps she could rely on him a little now.

Like at the last charity event, many people gathered at this event, and in an instant, she lost her grip on Gaizen’s hand.

Before she could come to her senses, she was about to fall when someone wrapped their arm around her shoulder to support her.

Thanks to that, Biare was able to maintain her balance and stand up, and she was about to express a brief word of gratitude to him.

In that moment, the cool scent of hyacinth that brushed her nose was enough to freeze her body.

The familiar fragrance filled Biare’s blue-green eyes with turmoil, and her heart began to beat rapidly.

Because the figure she had been drawing every day with deep longing was right in front of her eyes.

Unable to raise her head, a blurry afterimage of him overlapped in her stinging vision.

An indescribable sorrow welled up in Biare’s chest, and she could only swallow the words she couldn’t convey to him.

‘Don’t go.’

Her eyes were filled with tears that seemed about to fall at any moment, but she endured it desperately, biting her lips until they bled.

‘Please don’t go.’

In her mind, she was already calling out to him countless times and holding onto him, but in reality, Biare had nothing to hold Dension back.

‘I beg you, Sion.’

Unaware of her feelings, he naturally moved away from his position after confirming that there was nothing unusual.

As Dension’s figure gradually disappeared into the distance, Biare burst into tears that she had been holding back all this time.

Perhaps she was afraid.

Although it was a fact she already knew, the lover she loved didn’t remember her.

To him, she was no different from a complete stranger, and now they could never return to how they were before.

The longing buried in her heart surged, and she became so sorrowful at the reality that no one could be blamed.

Could she still be this sorrowful and painful even after returning to the past? Her sorrow always originated from him.

That fact was ruthlessly tormenting Biare’s heart, and that sense of helplessness made her miserable.

Gaizen, who finally found Biare among the countless crowd, hurriedly checked on his sister, but there were still clear traces of tears on her face.

“Sister, are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“Sister…”

“Really, I’m fine, Gaizen.”

Seeing his sister with a terribly sunken expression, devoid of her usual confident and solid appearance, he couldn’t ask anything.

He could only silently pat her shoulder, staying by her side to let Biare calm down.

The Ruschef family’s charity event was smoothly concluded, and Biare was severely ill for about three days.

Her fever would go down a bit only to rise again repeatedly, so the doctor residing at the Duke’s mansion and the servants carefully tended to her.

When her eyelids, which had been closed for a long time, finally opened, the maid who first noticed this quickly called for the doctor, and the retainers of the Ruschef mansion could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Three days ago, the sight of Gaizen carrying in the collapsed Biare before the lively atmosphere of the charity event had faded away gave them an unexpected shock.

Fortunately, they were relieved by the doctor’s words that it wasn’t a serious illness, but Biare was burning with fever and even showing symptoms of exhaustion, so they had no choice but to attend to her day and night.

The Duke, who only heard the news after returning to the mansion, pressed his son for answers as to why Biare was in such a state, to which Gaizen reportedly scolded him, asking if he was really asking because he didn’t know.

After that, the Duke visited Biare’s room every day to check on her after finishing his schedule, and his eyes reddened at the sight of his sick daughter.

Although the exact details were unclear, it seemed that Gaizen had not conveyed anything to his father and had handled the situation well on his own.

They would probably still be in the midst of their work and would only return by evening.

Having not been able to wash properly for several days, Biare wanted to immerse herself deeply in warm water.

Although she felt dizzy due to the persistent headache, at least her mind might become clearer.

“I’d like to wash up first.”

“Yes, young lady. I’ll prepare it right away.”

After the bath water was prepared, one maid supported Biare to the bathroom, where other maids were waiting to assist with her bath.

They carefully and cautiously attended to her, worried that the fragile young lady might get hurt.

Having been sick for three days without eating properly, her body, which was originally delicate, had become even more frail.

Seeing this, the maids felt heartache, but to change the atmosphere, they proudly talked about the achievements of the charity event.

“The various newspapers are full of praise for this charity event.”

“There’s also a pile of tea party invitations for you, young lady.”

Biare, who was quietly listening to their chattering voices, thought that this Ruschef family charity event must have been more complete than ever before.

Perhaps it was a natural result, as Biare with the memories of a twenty-year-old would have different inner strength from her sixteen-year-old self.

Having just regained consciousness after lying down for a long time, Biare needed some time alone and quietly dismissed the maids.