Adeline sighed as she gazed at the magnificent Torpeo ducal castle visible in the distance.

Shallow breathing could be heard from the duke who had buried his face behind her back, indicating he had fallen asleep.

He must have been tired.

Adeline had discovered a collapsed mountain while going down to the village early in the morning.

She thought the damage would be severe, given the landslide was powerful enough to cause the cave entrance to collapse.

The debris that swept down the mountain had engulfed the outer village of the Torpeo domain.

As she passed through the devastated village and moved to the inner village of the domain, Adeline became lost in thought.

‘To think he was searching for me in the midst of all this.’

The tremendous downpour from the previous night. Casius, who had searched for her through the record-breaking rainfall that the empire hadn’t seen in decades, appeared before her eyes.

He must have combed through the mountains meticulously. Without even realizing he was ill.

Adeline’s heart grew heavy at the hot fever radiating from his back.

Despite taking medicine, his whole body was burning up, suggesting Casius would likely suffer from a severe fever for a while.

The horse carrying the two of them slowly approached the ducal castle.

The iron gates of the castle, which had been closed, opened, and Adeline’s horse came to a slow stop.

The butler and head maid, who had rushed towards the two, approached urgently.

“My lady! The duke is……”

As Casius flinched at the head maid’s high-pitched voice, Adeline raised her index finger towards the two.

Shush.

At Adeline’s signal to be quiet, the two blinked their eyes and nodded.

Their gazes shifted towards Casius.

The butler couldn’t close his mouth as he looked at Casius, who had his eyes closed while leaning on Adeline.

From the moment he was born until he became the current duke. Even after all that time, he had never relied on someone so defensively.

“He’s asleep. He’s not feeling well, so please move him to the bedroom as he is.”

Adeline skillfully dismounted from the horse and ordered the butler.

There was barely time to be surprised by her grace, which couldn’t be that of a commoner.

The butler gestured towards the ducal knights standing behind him at Adeline’s subsequent words.

The knights who immediately rushed at his call carefully lifted the sleeping duke from the horse.

Even as the knights carried him, Casius did not wake up. The sleeping pills mixed in the medicine he took before departure seemed to be effective.

As Adeline watched the butler and Casius leave, she was about to walk towards the mansion.

She saw the head maid approaching. She asked the head maid.

“Is something the matter?”

“Well… My lady, there’s a guest waiting.”

The head maid answered with a very troubled expression.

“A guest?”

Adeline’s face was filled with puzzlement as she questioned the head maid.

The collapse of the mountain near the Torpeo duchy must have been headline news throughout the empire.

If so, they would have heard that the vicinity of the Torpeo duchy was paralyzed. For a guest to visit in this chaos.

Whoever it was, they were an extremely rude guest.

Adeline’s face hardened.

“It would be best to inform them that the duchy is not in a position to receive guests at the moment.”

Adeline was about to enter the mansion with those final words.

“We informed them that our duchy has also suffered severe damage from the landslide and it would be best to return, but they insisted on meeting you, my lady.”

“They came looking for me?”

Adeline’s lips tightened into a straight line at the head maid’s continued words.

She thought it was a guest looking for the duke, but to think it was a guest looking for Adeline.

She was staying here as a commoner named Del. The name Del was hastily made up and not many people knew it.

For a moment, Adeline’s face turned pale.

Could it be the crown prince?

If the crown prince knew that the commoner ‘Del’ was Adeline, and had sent someone because of that, it would make sense.

Adeline buried her trembling hands in the folds of her skirt to hide them.

There was no way to escape now.

No, if she was going to run away, when she had left Casius at the villa and gone down to the village. That would have been the perfect opportunity.

But Adeline couldn’t leave the duke behind.

Whether it was guilt towards the duke who had searched for her despite the danger, or some meager sense of loyalty, she wasn’t sure.

If this was the result brought about by that moment’s choice, she had no choice but to accept it.

With a darkened expression, Adeline asked the head maid.

“Who is the guest? No. Where are they now?”

“They’re currently in the recep…”

Just as the head maid was about to say reception room.

The sound of footsteps echoed, and someone approached the two of them.

As Adeline was about to turn around at the sensed presence.

“It’s me, Del.”

At the end of Adeline’s gaze as she turned around was someone she knew very well.

“Hailo?”

How did he know she was at the ducal castle and come looking for her?

Hailo was right there in the reception room of the ducal castle. Right in front of Adeline now.

The corners of Hailo’s mouth, which were always smiling, were somehow pointing downwards.

Hailo had actually been hoping.

When he received Adeline’s letter, he thought she was finally relying on him.

‘Yes. If I say that Adeline and I are already married, even the imperial family would have no choice but to accept it.’

Hailo was secretly delighted by her letter apologizing and saying she would temporarily flee to the count’s house as she had nowhere else to run. The retaliation the imperial family would throw at the Levrance count’s family was a matter for later.

Nothing was more important than Adeline becoming his person.

As he read down the letter, a look of bewilderment crossed Hailo’s eyes.

She was fleeing from the duke’s mansion.

Hailo recalled the news that the duke had taken a mistress at the words left at the bottom of the letter.

The duke’s mistress called Del. Del was also the name Hailo called Adeline.

Hailo thought that the duke’s mistress called Del might really be Adeline.

With a worried heart, he couldn’t let Adeline flee alone. So Hailo came to the ducal castle without a plan.

However, no matter how much he lingered around, Adeline was nowhere to be seen.

All he could confirm was that the duke’s mansion was very busy with the continuing heavy rain.

Something must have gone wrong.

If anything happened to her, Hailo could not dare forgive the duke.

So he recklessly barged into the duke’s mansion.

Knowing it was rude, he nonetheless kept his seat at the duke’s mansion without its owner.

In the wait for her uncertain return, Hailo simply could not sit still in the reception room.

After pacing for a while, Hailo went to the window of the reception room at a loud noise.

The sight beyond the window showed Adeline, whom he had hoped it wouldn’t be, returning.

He had to meet her as soon as possible, even a second earlier. Adeline, called the mistress, was clearly visible to his eyes as he left the reception room.

Hailo’s expression was terribly distorted.

“You’ll have to explain, Del.”

Adeline’s head began to ache. Where to start, how, what to explain.

Deciding to gather her thoughts after entering the reception room first, Adeline asked for preparations to receive guests in the reception room.

“Head maid. Please prepare the reception room.”

The sight of Adeline asking for the reception room to be prepared as if she were the owner of this ducal castle was quite unfamiliar to Hailo.

He was staring intently at Adeline. Seeing this, Adeline patted Hailo’s shoulder a couple of times as if to persuade him.

“Let’s talk inside first.”

The two were sitting face to face in the reception room.

While basic refreshments and tea were being served, Hailo had many things he wanted to ask, but was in the process of suppressing his impulses.

“I have something to discuss with Viscount Levrance, so could you please step out for a moment?”

As soon as the refreshment table was set, Adeline opened her eyes and spoke.

Although it seemed she had something to say, with the duke ill and resting now, the head maid could only comply.

As the head maid bowed her head and left, the servants followed one after another, leaving the reception room.

“Speak, Del.”

As soon as everyone had left the reception room, Hailo once again looked at Adeline with angry eyes.

“Hail. Well, there was a misunderstanding so I was trying to leave the duke’s mansion……”

Adeline couldn’t finish her sentence. It was because Hailo, in his impatience, kept bombarding Adeline with questions.

“That man you lived with in Horn.”

“That man whose eyes seemed red behind his glasses! Why did you, who said you were running away from marriage to His Highness the Crown Prince. Why are you the duke’s mistress?”

Hailo was continuing to pour out questions to Adeline without even waiting for her answers.

“Please lower your voice a bit.”

If they conversed in such loud voices, there would be no point in sending all the servants out.

The situation was already that an unmarried male noble was having a private audience with the duke’s mistress in the reception room.

It was obvious that all the servants would be listening in.

‘Is it rather fortunate that Casius is sick in this situation?’

“I’ll explain everything.”

Adeline continued speaking while trying to calm down the agitated Hailo.

“There were circumstances. And I think I still need to be here.”

When she sent the letter to Hailo, she really did intend to run away. And when Casius lost consciousness, she could have run away again.

However, Adeline had ultimately decided to return to his arms of her own accord.

Adeline gave a bitter smile.

At Adeline’s words, Hailo, who had been unable to calm his agitation, began to raise his voice again.

“So why. You, who are not a lady of the Credion family, but treated as a commoner! Mmph!”

“Please lower your voice, Hail.”

This level of loud voice would not be strange at all if it leaked out of the reception room.

The only people in this ducal castle who knew her identity were Hail and Casius, who was currently bedridden.

There was a need to be careful. Adeline quickly approached Hailo and covered his mouth.

The timing was clearly never on Adeline’s side.

At the moment she was pressed close to cover Hailo’s mouth, Casius entered the reception room.

“What situation is this now?”