“I know someone who had the same symptoms as Marquess Leopold.”

“Who is that?”

“It’s a secret. I can’t tell you everything.”

I felt a little bad for spreading Lucia’s story around.

“So, what was the cause of my condition before?”

“Lack of magical power.”

Having lived a life far removed from things like demons and magical power, this was probably the first time Amil had heard such a thing.

He asked as if he had heard something strange.

“I’m not a magic tool, so how could a human lack magic power…?”

“Because you’re not a human.”

“…Am I a demon?”

“To be exact, you’re half-demon. After you awakened, your body was filled with magic power, so you were no longer troubled by the lack of magic power.”

At that moment, the light from Amil’s head faded. It seemed that his awakening was over.

‘Huh…?’

Still, why had Amil’s hair turned black again? It wasn’t pink?

No. Upon closer inspection, a few strands were still pink.

‘What is he? Magic Kid Ma Soo Ri*?’
[ T/N: A Korean children’s drama about magicians that secretly lived in Korea, saving the world from evil. Basically something like Sailor Moon. ]

“….”

And Ma Soo Ri, no, Amil, saw his reflection in the mirror.

“Ugh, it’s so, tacky…”

He left those words behind and fainted.

* * *

“…I’m, I’m pink!”

As soon as he woke up, Amil screamed.

Oh, my. To make such a sound as soon as he woke up, it seemed that he had been greatly shocked.

“Are you feeling better, Pink Boy?”

“Gasp… This is….”

I calmly explained to him, who looked around in surprise.

“This is your bedroom. You’d better not leave here for a while since it would be disastrous if someone saw you with that hair color.”

Thanks to that, he forgot to play the recording for Camilla.

I smiled gracefully, hiding my feelings.

“One person has already seen you, but I’ve sealed his lips tightly, so don’t worry.”

“Yes? Who is it?”

“Jade Mute. My husband’s aide. It wasn’t easy for me to move you without attracting attention, so I asked him to help me.”

“So, two people know my true identity now?”

“Viscount Mute doesn’t know yet.”

I gestured at his head. Only then did Amil, who had just noticed that something was on his head, looked in the mirror.

“W…what is this?! A bonnet!”

It was a very pretty pink bonnet with lace and ribbons hanging from it. Would he faint again if I told him that it matched his hair color well?

“Luckily, the area where your hair color changed is small. It can be covered up just by wearing a bonnet.”

It would have been better if I had just dyed his hair instead of putting on a bonnet, but unfortunately, hair dye had not been invented in this world. There were magic tools that changed hair color, but no one really used them except for half-blood demons who had to hide their hair color.

So, the best option was to simply cover his hair.

“It’s really fortunate that Viscount Mute only thought of you as a bonnet-wearing madman when he saw you.”

When I raised my thumb and smiled brightly, Amil took off his bonnet and threw it on the floor, shouting.

“What are you saying?! He’ll think I’m a pervert!”

He was grumbling about that after I went to such lengths to prevent him from being reported as a half-demon!

My voice came out a little sharp on its own.

“Still, there wasn’t anything else to cover it with. Oh, should I have folded some paper hat?”

“That would have been better, but it would have been the same either way. I would have looked like some weirdo who stopped working to do something strange. That aside, I have something to ask you.”

Amil looked me straight in the eye and spoke.

“Why did you hide my identity?”

“Because I thought that Marquess Leopold wouldn’t think of leaking the recording in this situation.”

“So that’s how it is.”

“Yes. I’m sorry for awakening you. I wanted to live, too.”

“Don’t tell me you awakened me on purpose?”

Amil sighed as I nodded hesitantly.

“I can’t blame you since I threatened you first…”

“You finally admit it was a ‘blackmail’?”

“I didn’t say what I wanted outright, but to be honest, it was blackmail. You already knew what I wanted.”

“It’s easier to talk to you when you’re honest.”

I smiled and continued.

“I’ll be honest now. I’m in a contract marriage with Reinhardt, and you’re a half-demon.”

‘And so am I.’

Nevertheless, it wasn’t good to reveal more weaknesses, so I wouldn’t say it for now.

“Judging by the fact that only some of your hair is pink, you’re probably a very distant descendant of the demon.”

“Should I consider that fortunate?”

“No matter how distant a descendant, a half-blood is a half-blood. You can’t escape execution.”

“But you’ll be fine. You won’t die just because a recording is leaked.”

I would die… I would either be killed by Camilla or divorced and killed by the magic detector.

A bitter laugh escaped me.

“It doesn’t matter who’s more unfortunate. What matters is that we’re in the same boat. If we don’t help each other, we’ll sink.”

“I can just keep my mouth shut, but how are you going to help me? With this hair color, it’s only a matter of time before my identity is revealed.”

“You can avoid being caught. There’s a magic tool that changes hair color. It takes about a week to make, so don’t leave your bedroom until then.”

“There’s such a tool?”

Since there was no one who would want to change their hair color unless they were a half-demon, the magic tool that changed hair color was only known to those who knew about it. It was understandable that Amil, who hadn’t awakened since birth, wouldn’t know.

“Yes. I’ll order it from a workshop that the half-demon I know also uses. I heard that the security there is good.”

“Really? Then I can… live an ordinary life in the future?”

“Yes. And you’ll be free from headaches.”

“I couldn’t get rid of this terrible headache all this time…”

Amil clasped his head as if he couldn’t believe it.

“I’ve been freed from being unsophisticated. Oh, of course, there’s also the danger to my life. I can’t believe it….”

…How much did this guy value his appearance? For him, being unsophisticated was on the same level as being in danger of his life.

“You’ll be free from being unsophisticated when the magic tool is completed, so just wait a little longer.”

* * *

Jade Mute, Reinhardt’s loyal dog, didn’t like the Grand Duchess very much these days.

Ever since she carried the unconscious Marquess Leopold, who was wearing a bonnet, to his bedroom, the Grand Duchess had been going in and out of his bedroom every day. She said that Marquess Leopold, who was suffering from depression, didn’t want to see anyone, so she cleaned his room and delivered his necessities.

Still, no one believed her excuse. It was an open secret in this mansion that the two were having an affair.

‘What on earth is the Grand Duke doing?’

Since the servants couldn’t do anything, the only person who could stop this situation was Reinhardt himself.

However, he hadn’t replied to the letter Jade had sent him for over a week. Even if he hated the affair, he understood that Reinhardt wouldn’t have time to worry about his wife, whom he had married in a contract marriage during the war with the Tartars.

“Sigh…”

He missed the old her.

Jade sighed as he looked at the note Marquess Leopold had left in front of his bedroom door. How long does he have to just watch this?

“Jade!”

At that moment, Catherine, the Grand Duchess’s personal maid, came running towards Jade, panting.

As she approached, Jade’s heart pounded. Jade unconsciously tried to smile broadly, but he quickly hardened his face and asked, “What’s the matter?”

“Go out quickly! His Excellency the Grand Duke has returned!”

“What? Already? That can’t be right…”

It would’ve taken a considerable amount of time to completely eradicate the Tartars since the barrier had been broken… but he was already back?

“I’m serious! I saw His Excellency with my own two eyes!”

It was hard to believe, but since it was Catherine who said it, it was believable.

“Then can you deliver this, Catherine?”

Jade handed her a note for Marquess Leopold.

“I’ll buy you a meal next time in return.”

“Oh, all right.”

He felt good after hearing it and ran out of the mansion. Even in the midst of all this, he sorted out what he needed to do beforehand, like a professional aide.

‘Check the number of injured, prepare compensation documents, check supplies…’

As he kept running, he soon saw a familiar figure. A tall and slender figure, short black hair, a unique sense of intimidation that could be felt from afar…

Catherine was right.

It really was Reinhardt.

However, the strange thing was that other than his black horse, there was no one else by his side. The soldiers and carriage that had clearly followed him were nowhere to be seen.

‘Don’t tell me…’

Jade felt a bad feeling and approached him before he shouted at the top of his lungs.

“Don’t tell me you saw my letter and just abandoned the Tartars and everything and came running back?!”

“That’s right, why?”

Despite the fact that he wanted him to come back quickly, he didn’t think he’d just leave the Tartars alone and come back without knowing what happened to them.

‘Our Grand Duke has gone crazy…!’

—