Archen headed straight for Duke Lucas’ office. After seeing him off, Carinne leaned against the hallway wall, deep in thought. She had to figure out what to say to Duke Lucas.

She pondered which approach would be the least offensive when Archen opened the door and came out.

“Did it go well?”

Instead of answering, he gave a small nod, which meant he had secured a leave of absence. Then, it was time for the long-awaited negotiation. Carinne squeezed her body through the closing door, which slammed shut behind her.

As it happened, one entire wall of the office was made of glass.

Through the glass, she could see the mansion’s courtyard. Duke Lucas was looking out the window with his hands behind his back. He turned around when he noticed someone had come in. His face turned sour when he realized it was Carinne.

‘He doesn’t like me, does he?’

This was all about survival. Survival.

Carinne forced her contorted face into a neutral expression. She couldn’t exaggerate how much her future depended on what she was about to say.

“About what we talked about yesterday…”

“Not interested.”

The Duke cut her off without taking his eyes off the window. Carinne was taken aback and asked, “What?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t you remember?”

“No, I don’t. Is that all you have to say? I’m a bit busy today. I’d like you to leave.”

Duke Lucas didn’t look busy at all as he spoke. Maybe he was busy watching out the window. Whatever he was doing, it was his prerogative, so she wouldn’t stop him.

“Didn’t you hear me say I was busy?”

The Duke urged her again. He seemed ready to push her out if she didn’t leave on her own.

Had he really forgotten? Or…

However, as far as Carinne knew, Duke Lucas wasn’t that considerate anyway.

‘Why, how would I know what’s on his mind?’

“I’m sorry to bother you. Please continue with your work.”

What else could she do when the person in question didn’t want to talk? As she quietly closed the door and left the office, her negotiation with Duke Lucas had ended abruptly.

* * *

Even after Carinne left the office, Duke Lucas didn’t take his eyes off the window. A few minutes later, he saw Carinne and Archenas walking hand-in-hand across the courtyard. The sight reminded him of what had just happened.

When Archenas came into the office, the Duke told him.

“I know what you’re here for. You’re going to hand in your resignation.”

The Duke had a resignation letter ready. It just needed Archenas’ signature, and it would be processed. But he didn’t take the resignation letter.

“No, I’m here to request a week’s leave of absence.”

“Whether it’s a leave of absence or not, you’re going to resign eventually, aren’t you?”

He asked, but he didn’t say anything in response.

It was a silent affirmation. He might have thought he was not answering for the Duke’s sake, but it had the opposite effect, making the Duke even angrier. What was the point of taking a leave of absence when he was going to quit anyway?

It wasn’t like he was making fun of him.

The Duke’s eyes, filled with irritation, fell on Carinne and Archenas again. The two of them had crossed the courtyard and were now standing in front of a carriage.

Archenas took Carinne’s hand to help her get into the carriage. Carinne laughed and took his hand, getting into the carriage. Their eyes were locked on each other, and it was dripping with honey. Watching them made his stomach churn.

What did she see in that annoying guy?

Of course, Archenas wasn’t skinny. He was tall and slender. His face was above average, and his overall appearance was neat and sophisticated. To someone who didn’t know him, he might have seemed like a young master who had been raised in a noble family.

In fact, that was what the Duke had thought when he first saw him.

His body was also quite fit. He wasn’t muscular, but his lean muscles were strong enough to lift a woman effortlessly. His arms and legs were long and slender, and every time he moved, an elegant arc was drawn in the air.

He also dressed well. He had a mysterious power that made any clothes he wore look luxurious. Watching him, the Duke sometimes thought about using him as a model to sell clothes. It fell through because he couldn’t find a suitable designer.

In summary, he was a young, healthy, and somewhat handsome man.

The Duke admitted that he was handsome. However, he was still creepy. What was so great about that face that looked like a swallow bird’s from a distance? It wasn’t like he was going to live his whole life off of his face.

Real men should be manly and sturdy…

Just then, Carinne suddenly kissed Archenas on the cheek. The Duke could no longer endure watching Archenas’s cheek turn bright red, and he abruptly pulled back the curtain. It was a sight that he feared might appear in his dreams.

* * *

Carinne asked the coachman to drive her around the city. The coachman frowned as if he had seen someone weird, but he followed Carinne’s orders. Of course, the one paying was the boss.

The carriage headed into the city with a creaking sound. It was time for the carriage drive that she had been waiting for. Carinne held Archenas’s hand tightly and enjoyed the spring breeze. As the carriage moved, a warm spring breeze swept across Carinne’s cheek.

Her red hair danced wildly in the air.

“I didn’t know you had this kind of hobby,” Archenas said as he watched Carinne enjoy herself.

“Isn’t it fun? Just sitting still and watching people.”

“Well… It’s fun.”

Did the word ‘fun’ go well after the word ‘well’?

He didn’t say it wasn’t fun, so he must not hate it. Carinne made a conclusion on her own, then stuck her head out to watch the people passing by.

The city that welcomed spring was more vibrant than ever. There was an old woman haggling over the price of fruit at a street stall, a shopkeeper desperately promoting his store, a man pulling a heavy cart, and children playing with a ball.

The carriage that was running through the city soon entered the shopping district. Carinne was looking for a new dessert shop when she saw someone waving at her. It was a person wearing an ash-gray robe. The person was standing in the middle of the road where the carriage was passing through as if he wasn’t afraid of it.

Oh my, he could get hit if he wasn’t careful.

The moment Carinne was about to shout and tell him to stop, the horse was startled and let out a neigh. The carriage came to an abrupt stop, and her body lurched forward. The coachman shouted fiercely.

“There’s a passenger inside!”

A good idea came to her at that moment.

“Wait, wait. It’s okay, so let’s give him a ride.”

He probably didn’t have anything urgent to do, and there were empty seats.

Why didn’t she do a good deed for once? When she looked back, Archenas shrugged as if it didn’t matter, so Carinne asked the coachman for permission and reached out to the person in the ash-gray robe.

“Come here.”

The person in the robe looked at Carinne’s outstretched hand and took it without hesitation.

“Oh, there was someone inside. Thank you.”

The man in the robe had a beautiful voice that could be mistaken for a young boy’s before puberty. Judging from his height, which was slightly shorter than Archenas, that didn’t seem to be the case, but oh well.

“Where are you going?”

Carinne asked cheerfully.

She was willing to take the man anywhere as long as it wasn’t outside the Capital. Of course, she wouldn’t take his money.

‘I should do a good deed properly since it’s been a while.’

“I’ll give you a ride. Just keep the change, and tell me where you’re going.”

The man smiled pleasantly as she showed him kindness, and he took off his robe.

“I’m going to the palace. Are you perhaps going the opposite way? If so, I apologize.”

The man’s appearance was as young as his voice. He had snow-white skin, curly cream-colored hair, and beautiful golden eyes that seemed to be thinly coated with gold. However, his face looked very familiar. Carinne felt a sense of déjà vu and examined the man’s face carefully.

No way. It can’t be.

As Carinne stared at the man with suspicion, he looked puzzled.

“Do you know me?”

“Oh, no. It’s not that… Are you perhaps from Esmeril?”

The man’s face turned cold for a moment, so she quickly continued.

“You look so exotic.”

Fortunately, the man seemed to believe Carinne’s words. The man who had let down his guard smiled sheepishly.

“Haha, really? That’s the first time I’ve heard that. I’m not from here.”

The ominous feeling was getting closer to the truth. A young boyish appearance, curly beige hair, golden eyes, ambiguous honorifics, and lastly, the words that he wasn’t from Esmeril.

“Excuse me, but may I ask your name?”

Carinne asked, hoping it wasn’t him.

She had finally started to live happily with Archenas, so this couldn’t happen. Surely, he couldn’t be that person. If her guess was correct, she wouldn’t be living happily with Archenas but would instead be running around with blisters on her feet.

She really didn’t want to do that, though if she just left him alone, she would lose her friends, and her daily life would be ruined.

Carinne swallowed nervously and waited anxiously for the man’s answer.

…If only it weren’t him. If only.

Despite her desperate wish, the man in the robe smiled brightly and said,

“My name is Ian.”

Oh, why was it that ominous feelings are never wrong? This time, God was not on Carinne’s side. Carinne unknowingly tightened her grip on Archenas’s hand.

Her palms were sweating.

Sigmund Ian Kilvenus. It was the name of the second male lead and villain, the crown prince, who appeared in the original story. And the crown prince’s middle name was Ian. It was the alias that the crown prince of Sahara often used in other countries.

—