Throughout the morning, Nellia and Reunite roamed around the western sector, but they found nothing. During lunch, they talked with the duke, who also mentioned that they hadn’t found anything different.

Nellia was more concerned about the duke’s condition than the fact that they hadn’t found anything. The duke seemed a bit absent-minded during lunch, as if lost in thought, staring into space as if it were about to rain.

“Duke, are you okay…?”

Nellia whispered quietly to him, but he just smiled casually.

“I’m fine.”

“You seemed to have slept late yesterday… Did you sleep well?”

The duke nodded calmly.

“I slept well, even though I went to bed late. So, there’s really nothing to worry about.”

Nellia realized that the duke was telling a well-intentioned lie to reassure her. However, knowing that pressing further might make the duke uncomfortable, she deliberately kept her curiosity in check.

She thought she’d observe a bit more, and if this condition persisted, she would ask again later. With that in mind, Nellia sipped her tea for dessert.

At that moment, the duchess spoke to Nellia as she set down her teacup.

“You’ve been walking around all morning, and your feet must be sore, Nellia, right? How about taking a short break with me this afternoon? Just us girls chatting.”

The duchess brought her palm to her mouth, whispering as if sharing a secret.

“We can have some girl talk.”

Nellia hesitated. As Reunite mentioned, they had come all the way to this distant estate, so she should seize every opportunity to gain something. They hadn’t discovered anything other than the books in the basement yet.

However, it felt awkward to refuse the duchess’s suggestion. During this moment of hesitation, Duke Hart spoke.

“Nellia, take a break with my mother.”

Is it really okay to take a break…?

As Nellia pondered, her gaze fell on Reunite, who was eating cookies.

He hated being indoors. If he joined in on the girl talk, he’d probably get bored.

Sensing Nellia’s gaze, the duke suggested further.

“Reunite, I’ll take you with me.”

Reunite, who was happily munching on cookies, paused in midair.

“Uh… I want to stay with my sister.”

“Staying with girls and chatting won’t be much fun. Sillian, why don’t you take Reunite for a few hours?”

Following the duke, the duchess stepped forward, and Reunite seemed bewildered.

Reunite whispered to Nellia, audible only to her.

“I don’t want to be alone with the duke…!”

Nellia sighed.

“It seems that being alone with the duke is still a bit overwhelming for Reunite.”

“All the more reason for him to learn how to socialize with others.”

The duke was quite persistent, seemingly determined to take Reunite with him.

“Moreover, wouldn’t it be better than silently listening to the conversations of adults indoors?”

The duke accurately assessed Reunite’s personality.
Having said this much, Nellia had no choice but to step back. It was strange for Reunite to suddenly insist on being indoors.

“Alright. Then, Duke, please take Reunite with you.”

Although she felt Resentful eyes from Reunite beside her, Nellia pretended not to notice.

In the end, Reunite and the Duke went out alone.

“We looked around the east and west in the morning, so we plan to explore the south in the afternoon.”

Duke Hart explained to Reunite before they started walking.

“Yes, understood.”

“If your legs hurt or you need to use the restroom, let me know.”

Reunite nodded.

Duke Hart and Reunite walked south. During the walk, they didn’t exchange any words.

Reunite occasionally glanced at the Duke, who was silent, but he maintained an expressionless face, occasionally furrowing his brow.

Finally, Reunite asked the Duke, “Your Grace, are you not feeling well?”

“I’m fine.”

He answered the same way he did when Nellia asked during lunch.

‘It doesn’t look fine at all.’

The Duke remained silent. He was quite talkative with Nellia before, but now he seemed rather taciturn.

Reunite, who found the silence uncomfortable, considered saying something but eventually decided to keep quiet.

As they walked, a path surrounded by trees appeared. The only sounds were the rustling of leaves, the chirping of birds, and the sound of footsteps on the ground.

Reunite, with sparkling eyes, found himself looking around the area.

“I guess it was a good idea to bring Reunite.”

Oh, right, the Duke was here too. Reunite spoke with a forced cheerful voice, hiding his ambiguous feelings.

“Yes, I like watching things move.”

More precisely, he enjoyed seeing a landscape completely different from the past.

“Sometimes, watching Reunite, it feels like you came from a completely different world.”

Reunite paused for a moment.

What is he talking about? Did he sense his true identity?

“Well, children are naturally like that. Since I rarely get close to children, seeing Reunite feels fascinating.”

Ah… What am I saying again?

Reunite inwardly sighed, brushing off his surprise.

“Once we leave this path, there’s a pretty large lake. Reunite might like it.”