For several days, the Duchess of Suprahe seemed worried about Fernando, who had been only at the lake. I couldn’t stand it any longer and wanted to go get him, considering the report from the knight that he neither ate nor slept.

“He’ll collapse if he keeps this up alone.”

A worried reproach was directed at the Duchess standing in front of the door. The Duke of Suprahe was coming down the stairs.

“I heard Fernando isn’t eating. You said you won’t eat with him.”

“I’m worried, so I don’t have an appetite.”

“If you keep worrying and collapse, who will be concerned then?”

Despite the Duke of Suprahe teasing her, the Duchess did not express a willingness to have a meal. She just turned her head towards the direction of the lake.

Her face was still filled with concern for Fernando.

“Even though he’s big, he still seems like a child, so my heart aches.”

“He’s not a child anymore since he had his coming-of-age ceremony.”

Even though the Duke said it was okay to stop worrying, the Duchess’s concerns did not easily subside.

“Are you going to stay there?”

“Just a little longer. Just a bit more…”

The expression of the Duchess, who had been hesitating to approach the lake, fearing it might disturb Fernando, suddenly changed.

She hurriedly went outside. The reason for her swift movement was obvious. The Duke of Suprahe turned his head to look outside.
It was indeed Fernando. He had gone into the lake and emerged with his clothes in a mess, as if they had dried in the wind just like that. It wasn’t just the clothes that were a mess.

His exposed skin had no clean spot, and his hair was a complete mess with dirt.

“Tsk.”

The Duke of Suprahe, who knew what had happened to Fernando, clicked his tongue as if expressing pity.

“You got yourself into a real mess.”

Ironically, he showed up all messed up, having not properly explained to Etienne. Even though the Duke clicked his tongue, his eyes couldn’t look away from Fernando.

“Are you okay?”

As the Duchess of Suprahe asked, Fernando, limping towards them, raised his head.

“No.”

He didn’t even say it’s okay to lie. Fernando was clearly exhausted, and he didn’t hide it.

“What should we do? Shall I prepare a meal first? Or would you prefer to rest a bit?”

In response to the words that seemed like they would take care of anything immediately, Fernando lowered his head again. He had been starving for days, but he wasn’t hungry, and his body seemed like it would immediately fall into a deep sleep, but his mind was clear.

“Pitiful.”

What stopped Fernando’s movement was the harsh voice that scratched his dry chest. Fernando raised his head to look at the speaker.

“Sitting there, endlessly contemplating your regrets, will that be a comfort to yourself?”

The Duke of Suprahe poured out harsh words without reservation towards his son.

“Do I have… anything other than regrets?”
Fernando looked at his trembling hands. Not knowing what I had done before, I confessed to Etienne, and I promised to continue expressing my feelings. I hurt Etienne’s feelings twice.

“With such pathetic thoughts, you’re probably indulging in self-pity.”

The Duke of Suprahe openly displayed his contempt. Suppressing the urge to burst into tears in response to his words and gaze, the Duchess raised a fist to her chest, but not Fernando. From start to finish, he stood there, seemingly unaffected by any provocation.

Knowing everything, there was no will to do anything. I just wanted to do nothing and disappear like an illusion. That was all I could do for Etienne.

“I won’t do anything. That’s the only way Etienne can be happy.”

The expression of the Duchess, who had felt only gloom while listening to the conversation between the wealthy, changed. It was because she had come to understand the conversation a little more with the name Etienne.

Thinking that Fernando had been rejected by Etienne, the trembling Duchess held his trembling hand.

In her heart, she wanted to tell Fernando to forget about Etienne. She wanted to say that there are many better kids than that child, so you can easily forget. But she couldn’t.

Even when he tried to make Hanna Fernando’s partner, he didn’t give Hanna any attention.
Now, as the one who fills Fernando’s heart is only Etienne, the Duchess found herself in a state of wandering through an inescapable maze.

Another person wandering through that maze was Fernando. However, he had no intention of escaping from that maze. The thought itself seemed to be ignoring the true sin towards Etienne.

“Etienne lives with truly clear answers, but you are so infatuated.”

The sharp words of the Duke of Suprahe flipped his son’s heart without hesitation.

“Once, Etienne brought you and talked about the unfairness of training. The child back then didn’t lose his enthusiasm, saying he couldn’t do anything. But what about you?”

Fernando, reminiscing about that time, had a faint smile on his lips. It was a moment I would never forget in my life.

“If you feel sorry, apologize. If you like her, express it. Is it so difficult to solve such a simple problem? Are you going to do nothing?”