Emilia rose from her seat a beat late as Alessandro approached with his usual friendly smile, making eye contact.

“Ah, no need for such cumbersome greetings. Shouldn’t we be able to skip such things between us by now?”

“Between us… That feels a bit too meaningful.”

Enrico tilted his head slightly as he looked up at Alessandro. Though he was clearly sitting, oddly it felt as if Enrico was looking down on Alessandro.

“Isn’t it natural for those who’ve known each other a long time?”

“Didn’t you say you only met a few times as children, and haven’t seen each other since?”

Enrico suddenly asked Emilia. His gaze turned intently to her, as if wanting her to send Alessandro away like last time.

Emilia hesitated for a moment, then lowered her eyes as if avoiding Enrico’s gaze and spoke.

“…Even if we only met a few times, if it was in childhood, it’s still a long association.”

At her soft voice, both men’s expressions became the same. They both looked at her as if surprised, but Emilia deliberately maintained a calm facade as she gently grasped the teacup before her.

“Haha, it seems I made the right choice in coming to greet you.”

Soon the two men’s reactions diverged. Unlike Alessandro, who smiled widely as if extremely pleased, the smile disappeared from Enrico’s face as it became stiff like a frozen person.

Emilia deliberately avoided looking at the faces of the two men. She simply moistened her lips with tea once and prepared to stand.

“Excuse me, but my break time is almost over, so I’m afraid I’ll have to leave first.”

“Ah, then you must go. May I escort you?”

Emilia’s eyes briefly flicked towards Enrico as she looked at the hand Alessandro naturally extended.

His gaze, staring at her as if to pierce her cheek, showed a disconcerting contrast of coolness and burning intensity.

Alessandro’s smile deepened at the strange atmosphere between the two.

Just yesterday, he had been in such a foul mood that he’d thought of going to Emilia’s house today and taking her as he pleased, regardless of whether the time he’d waited was wasted or not.

But in stark contrast to his previous attitude, she was now showing a surprisingly compliant demeanor.

Had Enrico’s investigation into the death of Duke and Duchess Este yielded poor results?

It seemed Emilia had asked Enrico to investigate, but according to what the shadows observed, there appeared to be no progress on the investigation, so he had been gradually losing interest.

Yet now their relationship seemed to be souring on its own, which he couldn’t help but welcome.

“Then I’ll leave it to you.”

Alessandro gently grasped the soft fingertips that touched his hand. His anger towards Emilia quickly subsided at the gentle touch that followed without resistance.

“Emilia.”

A low voice that sent chills down her spine called her name from beside her. Her fingertips tensed slightly.

Enrico tilted his head slightly and narrowed his dark, sunken eyes.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“…I’m sorry. I have to go now.”

Though she clearly meant the theater, her words strangely sounded as if they held a different meaning. Emilia slowly walked towards the door without looking back.

“I warned you before.”

She briefly paused at the low voice that sounded as if he was grinding his teeth. What warning was he talking about?

A warning not to go against his wishes? A warning not to get close to Alessandro? Or was it the warning that Alessandro was dangerous?

As numerous warnings flashed through her mind, she concluded that if it was the last one, that was all the more reason to get closer to Alessandro.

It was almost certain that Valmont was the culprit, but she still couldn’t understand why Alessandro had joined in trying to kill her parents.

It was also chilling in a way that someone who had sent suspicious notes demanding jewels was now smiling so defensively.

‘In any case, I can’t do anything against a royal. If I want to do something, I’ll have to risk my life.’

Carrying a small knife as a safety measure was a way to protect herself, but what could she do even if it was dangerous? Now it seemed more certain to directly confront Alessandro.

“I know about the warning. But it seems I won’t be able to keep it.”

Emilia opened the door first and stepped out into the hallway. She didn’t want to hear any more from Enrico. Given his personality, he was unlikely to follow, so leaving quickly seemed to be the top priority.

“Emilia, what exactly happened with my uncle?”

She looked up once at Alessandro, who was looking down at her with his eyebrows lowered as if sincerely worried, and subtly released the hand he was holding to escort her.

“It’s just that the sponsorship period is coming to an end soon. It’s nothing.”

The corridor was eerily quiet, as if there were no guests using the private rooms yet. Emilia spoke softly, sensing the silence behind her as well.

“Nothing, you say…”

Alessandro glanced back once and raised the corners of his mouth.

“I suppose we’re no longer in any relationship now.”

The sky that had been clear for a while was now filled with a grayish color, covered by dark clouds. The air was humid as if it would rain soon, and the wind was also chilly.

Enrico raised his head, feeling the strong wind that seemed to slap his cheek as it passed. The documents piled on the desk fluttered and scattered everywhere.

The once tidy office suddenly became overrun with paper, as if conquered, leaving no place to step.

Enrico put down his quill pen and stood up. Looking out the open window, it was a bleak scene as if a typhoon was about to come.

“The sponsorship period has ended…”

Enrico muttered lowly as he put a cigarette from a golden case in his mouth. A spark of light reflected in his dark purple eyes. With a click, the sound of the cigarette burning was followed by a faint smoke rising.

‘Has she gone mad from the shock?’

Enrico harshly criticized Emilia as he recalled yesterday’s events. To dare turn her back and take Alessandro’s hand while he was speaking. For a moment, he wondered if he was dreaming.

Unless it was a terrible nightmare, such a scene couldn’t unfold before his eyes, but Emilia’s dry voice pierced his ears as if to remind him that it was reality as he followed.

‘It’s nothing.’

Her subsequent words churned his insides. Strangely, he felt his heart sink, to the point where he was frozen in place for a moment.

An indescribable emotion surged within him, and a sensation he had never felt even when growing up alone in the palace kept enveloping his body.

He felt feverish, as if his brain was sizzling. Should he order her to be brought immediately? Should he go find her and subjugate those impertinent eyes?

But that thought was fleeting, and he realized he didn’t want to see those emotionless jade-colored eyes again.

Naturally, sleep didn’t come. He had been obsessively sitting in his office looking only at documents as if to drive Emilia out of his mind, but the strong wind shattered what little concentration he had been holding onto.

The weather, which looked like a storm was about to hit, seemed to match his mood. Enrico, who had been staring out the window with a chilled expression, turned around, flicking the cigarette to extinguish it.

“Your Grace?”

Fabio, who had been on standby out of concern for the office where the lights had not gone out all night, tensed up at the suddenly opening door.

“Have the carriage ready.”

“…Where shall I take you?”

“Emilia.”

Fabio’s eyes wavered for a moment. A few days ago, Emilia had asked not to come on Sundays, but it seemed Enrico had no intention of keeping that promise at all.

Yesterday, after hearing a report that Emilia had suddenly gone out during her lunch break, Enrico had gone out alone and returned in a depressed mood ever since.

He hadn’t slept and had only briefly left his office in the morning to take a shower, and even then he had doused himself with cold water as if trying to come to his senses.

The butler who had been attending to him was shocked to see this, almost fainting. It was even more surprising because he had never used cold water on his body before, even in the middle of summer.

“Understood.”

Though he had conveyed Emilia’s request to Enrico, he probably never intended to keep it in the first place. Moreover, if something had happened yesterday, he might be even more inclined to visit deliberately.

Fabio bowed his head respectfully and quickly crossed the corridor. At times like this, it was best to just do as Enrico said without thinking.

So that the ominous aura surrounding Enrico might dissipate even a little.

Tap, tap. The sound of raindrops hitting the window grew louder. Emilia stared blankly out the window, taking in the sight of leaves rippling in the rain.

At first, the leaves didn’t budge in the rain, but as the downpour intensified, they began to lose strength as if weakened, and soon a strong wind blew, causing them to fall from the branches they had been barely clinging to.

Behind the falling leaves, an approaching carriage came into view. Emilia’s lips parted slightly as a deep sigh escaped.

“He came after all…”