I buried my face in Laches’s chest and asked, pressing even closer. I was worried about the shirt coming off, but I wasn’t in a position to cover it.

Perhaps my wet hair touched him, as Laches’s body twitched slightly.

“Is it that maid from back then?”

“……Maid from back then?”

“Yes. When Delia and I first came to the North, we saw the back of a maid who was talking affectionately with the Duke. Oh, by the way, there was also a maid in charge of laundry who…”

Dettor seemed to be searching his memory, and his words trailed off.

“Her name was Leia, I think.”

“Marquis Deverti has a good memory. It seems you remember even things you don’t need to remember.”

“Haha. It’s just because her name was similar to my former fiancée’s.”

“Former fiancée, you say…”

“Yes. It was Leparentia Nirielle. Unfortunately, she lost her life in a tragic accident.”

I never imagined my name would come up so casually.

“Marquis, there seems to be a slight misunderstanding about that. I wanted to talk to you about it.”

“A misunderstanding?”

“Yes. I loved Leparentia very much. But she tragically passed away in an accident, and Delia rescued me from that grief.”

He spoke the falsehood without a hint of guilt.

‘So Cedric and Dettor…’

If they don’t feel guilty, they must have committed such a terrible deed.

Thinking of Cedric, I also remembered Selie, who had been crying.

“There’s a bad rumor spreading in the capital about you, misunderstanding…”

“Marquis Deverti.”

“Yes?”

“Can’t you see my current state?”

A low voice filled with suppressed anger rang out.

“I’m currently shirtless and soaked in water. And yet, you should be listening to rumors that say you couldn’t choose between two women on a day like this?”

“Ah… Ah, I’m sorry…”

Dettor’s confused eyes darted around. It was only natural for someone who had always been self-centered and never paid attention to others.

“Um, I… I apologize…”

“I’m feeling really awful right now.”

Laches let out a sigh, and his wet breath hung awkwardly between his lips.

“So, just go on your way, Marquis.”

After finishing his sentence, Laches continued walking towards Dettor while still holding me. Dettor was getting closer. Worried that he might hear my breathing, I couldn’t even exhale loudly.

“And what’s in my arms belongs to me, so don’t look at it, don’t desire it anymore.”

“Gulp.”

“Any more curiosity beyond this, Marquis, will only cut the thread of your life.”

But in the end, the feared event did not happen. For some reason, Dettor wasn’t such a fool as to touch the matter.
“……But why did you hide from me?”

“There were rumors about me talking behind the maid’s back. I thought it was better not to show my face for no good reason. …Did I do something unnecessary?”

“No, you didn’t. Thank you.”

When I replied firmly, it seemed like the corners of Laches’s mouth lifted slightly.

It seems that Dettor really dislikes Laches.

“Are you feeling better now?”

“I never got mad in the first place.”

“You didn’t even answer my question earlier.”

“…I’m not angry at you. I’m angry at myself for not preparing for something like this in advance.”

“How do you plan to handle such accidents?”

Laches had no answer. To be precise, he couldn’t answer.

“…If you had died.”

“What?”

“…If you had died, what would I have done?”

It was a voice mixed with strong emotions.

It felt like he was asking me a question and blaming himself at the same time.

“If I had arrived a little later, you might have died.”

“…I know. I felt like I was going to die.”

Strength flowed into Laches’s arms, holding me.

“If you had died, I…”

I…?

Laches didn’t finish his sentence. He seemed to hold it in tightly, as if he were biting his tongue.

“It’s not your fault. You didn’t recklessly jump into the lake without any thought. But don’t do anything dangerous with that body. Don’t go to dangerous places.”

I wanted to quietly retort that there was nothing wrong with my body, but Laches’s expression was too serious for me to do so.

It was the first time someone worried about my life like this.

“This incident was either a simple accident or someone deliberately threw you into the lake. It’s more likely to be the latter.”

Laches’s voice was gradually getting quieter.

“Considering that when we arrived, the maid who ran away was crying, and the knights were blaming each other. So, it’s closer to the latter.”

Laches had arrived in front of his bedroom without me realizing it. He naturally brought me into the room.

The dim room was faintly illuminated by the silvery moonlight. Laches carefully placed me at the end of his bed.

“So, one of those guys there must have done it…”

His deductive skills were quite remarkable. No one had interrogated anyone yet, and there hadn’t been any proper reports, but he had already figured it out based on circumstantial evidence.

‘Could he already know who I am?’

Reasonable suspicion briefly raised its head. However, I soon shook it off.

If he knew who I was, he wouldn’t have treated me like this.