The storm raged through the wide-open office window, but the room’s occupant made no move to close it. The raindrops, which he would normally have detested, seemed slightly similar to the person he was thinking of.

“….”

Naturally, there was no way he could focus on his work. When he had broken his third unfortunate quill…

“My lord, it’s Redias.”

A voice came from outside.

Diello glanced briefly towards the window. It wasn’t the time for official business.

“Come in.”

What could it be? His mind, which had been dull from the sound of the rain, was filled with questions.

“Yes.”

—Click.

The door opened, and Redias’ dark gray hair, which had been wet by the rain, came into view.

“The window.”

It seemed he hadn’t known it would be wide open. No one other than Redias would have been unaware of the fact that rainstorms were Diello’s most detested form of damp weather. However, he was currently enjoying the raindrops, the water.

“What is it?”

Diello asked. His eyes were closed, and his expression seemed to be suppressing something.

Redias quietly observed his lord. Diello, who had always suppressed his true nature in order to solidify his image as a gentle master, often wore such an expression. However, he had never worn such a smile on his lips before.

He glanced at the window and responded.

“She must be a wonderful person.”

“Yes.”

He had answered quickly, even though he hadn’t said who he was talking about. Redias almost let out a chuckle without realizing it.

“So much so that you can’t take your eyes off her.”

At those words, Diello opened his eyes. His blue eyes met Redias’. Although blue was definitely not a passionate color, heat could be felt from his lord’s eyes. A heat that hadn’t yet cooled.

“It’s getting harder and harder to hold back these days.”

As the corners of his lips rose with difficulty, Redias looked at Diello for a moment.

‘These days’?

So, he had been holding back before then? Redias briefly thought back to the past, from Rick, who had said that he could see love in the lord’s eyes, to Vielle, who had initially dismissed his words as nonsense but later mulled them over.

As time passed, an expression of increasing bewilderment began to appear on his face.

“Haven’t you been unable to hide it for a long time already?”

As Redias finally asked, Diello noticeably froze at those words.

“….”

Embarrassment and confusion were mixed in Diello’s speechless expression.

Surely not.

“…Did you not know it was obvious?”

His intentions were so obvious. At Radius’s words, Diello pressed his hand to his forehead.

“Where on earth did you get the idea…”

The fact that he was speaking to him with such certainty meant that his feelings had been revealed in many places. Diello’s face was dizzy.

“At the moment, it’s just Rick, Vielle, and myself. The maids on the fourth floor seem to have noticed as well.”

Redias subtly glanced towards the door.

He was quick to pick up on rumors within the family, so he already knew. They said he looked at her with eyes as sweet as honey every time. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to say those words. In addition, they also said he looked at the maids with eyes that would kill them if they didn’t leave him with her.

…He couldn’t say that either.

While he hesitated to continue speaking, Diello barely managed to utter a word.

“…I’ve been holding back.”

At those words, Redias finally pressed his hand to his forehead.

“You’ve been holding back?”

That was what he called holding back? To others, it seemed like he had never held back at all.

Redias looked at his lord.

He was staring at his own hand, trying to catch his breath. It was obvious that he was using the raindrops that occasionally splashed into the room to quench his thirst for something.

His lord was quietly burning.

“…It seems like you’ve reached your limit.”

Although it seemed like he hadn’t held back at all, he decided to say it anyway. Redias Argenta was confident that he knew a lot about the state of a man who had fallen deeply in love, as he himself had married after a passionate romance.

By now, he probably hasn’t realized it.

“My lord.”

As Diello’s gaze turned towards him, Redias quietly opened his mouth.

“If this is what it means to hold back, then perhaps there’s no point in holding back.”

It was truly a loyal piece of advice. Diello blinked blankly at the words and then let out a hollow laugh. Hah, he let out a short breath.

Diello, who had rubbed his face, lowered his hand.

“Is that so?”

If Redias came to see him in person and said this, it must be true.

He certainly held back.

As he glanced down at his hands again, the feeling of soft skin brushing against his fingertips was still vivid. He barely suppressed the urge to dig a little deeper, just a little bit more. He trampled on it because he couldn’t suppress it.

Nonetheless, it shouldn’t be like this. Otherwise, it felt like he would not only let out a hot breath but also reveal his desire for her too deeply.

…To his wife, who was often embarrassed and was seen through her flushed face reflected in the mirror.

Fortunately or unfortunately, it seemed that his wife didn’t notice. Or was she deliberately looking away?

He recalled her in the mirror, her in the cabin.

‘…Ah.’

Krua.

Krua Argenta, the sweet Krua Argenta. She was at a loss as she looked in the mirror. She tried to regain her composure as she melted in his touch.

‘…Diello.’

Krua, who was surprised by the kiss, grabbed his shoulder and tightened her grip, as if she was nervous, as if she would push him away at any moment. However, she didn’t push him away even when he gave his sword.

But that was it.

She didn’t allow him to dig deeper, even though he was intoxicated by the scent. She looked at him, completely captivated, and said, “Don’t fall in love.” His fingertips tingled even more at the eyes that seemed to be saying that.

There was only one thing that stood between them.

…The existence of Ferro and the contract they first made.

‘When the real Ferro appears…’

Diello Argenta would break this marriage contract and gain power through awakening… and he would sweep away Alors Duchy. Even though he had clearly promised to do so, it was so difficult to keep that one promise.

No, he hated it.

Ferro, that d*mn Ferro. He was frustrated that he was trapped in this fate nonsense and could not even express his heart properly.

‘My Ferro was Venia.’

Diello thought about the fortunate fact. No, it wasn’t entirely fortunate because he still couldn’t tell Krua about Venia.

What would happen if she found out about this?

Would she still try to leave?

…He would have preferred it if she had come after her as a debtor.

She only gave endlessly to this ungrateful person. She made him have no choice but to love her. Even without Krua, Argenta would have been in trouble with the recent incident at sea and in the swamp.

Argenta didn’t forget favors.

“Diello, you should rest too. You had a hard time underwater.”

“I hate being surrounded, whether it’s water or fire.”

“You might have had bad memories… So get some sleep today. Just focus on sleeping.”

“Nightmares can eat away at you more than you think.”

She, who was so worried about him, had suffered from nightmares not too long ago.

“Really…”

What kind of dream did she have?

What was her nightmare? He wished he could get rid of it. It would be nice if he could repay even a small part of this great favor. She probably didn’t know what she did for him.

“I’m going crazy.”

He closed his eyes.

There was only one time he failed to repay a favor.

During the fire when he was six years old. The girl who was trapped with him. The girl shook him, who had his face buried between his arms and knees, constantly.

“I can’t handle fire.”

The girl wasn’t disappointed when Argenta said that he could not handle fire.

Instead, she held his hand tightly.

“Let’s try it once anyway.”

“We’ll die anyway if we just stay here. It’s better to try anything and die.”

“It’s better than dying without trying anything.”

Those words gave him the courage to move his fire control ability.

When he got up with courage…

―Flash!

When he controlled the flames that were really trying to devour him.

The girl was nowhere to be seen.

After that, he looked for the child who had been trapped with him, but the only child who had been accidentally trapped there was Venia.

However, Venia didn’t even bother to look at him, let alone talk to him, because she knew that the young boy was not only incapable of handling fire but also couldn’t even look at the flames of the brazier properly. Besides, the child’s voice that was clearly left in his head was far from Venia’s.

That was why it wasn’t Venia.

Who could it have been?

“….”

There used to be only one person who he was unable to repay my gratitude to, but now there were two such people.

“I’ve incurred so much debt.”

He closed his eyes.

If he had to repay his debts and gratitude, there were many ways to do so.

But why did he… wanted to have her instead? He wanted to hold her in his hands instead of giving her something?

This was ridiculous.

Even though he knew that, he wanted to beg.

Please give her to him.

Please allow him to have her all to himself.

“Are you thinking about the Madam?”

At that moment, Redias asked.

“The fake Ferro.”

His voice was calm but sounded cold.

—