“What?”

He raised the corner of his mouth at an angle, finding my behavior ridiculous.

I stared at him sternly and pouted my lips.

“Please don’t smile like that.”

“How am I smiling?”

‘Prettily!’

I snorted, gulping down the answer that almost popped out.

“Never mind. Can’t you cover your face a bit?”

“…………”

Dylan closed his mouth in disbelief at my innocent scolding.

I felt apologetic but it couldn’t be helped.

This cave, where the sun had already set and only the bonfire was burning in the dark, seemed like a romantic feature to me.

I didn’t know whether it was the sound of the rain falling to the floor or it was because his of dazzling appearance that seemed to shine through on its own.

What I knew for sure was that one wrong step here would lead to an out-of-control and dangerous flow.

‘Dylan has someone he loves.’

I mumbled those words inwardly and turned around.

Fortunately, Dylan seemed to understand what I meant and leaned quietly next to me.

The cramped space, enough that our shoulders touched was uncomfortable, but we eventually managed to settle into silence.

────── 〔✿〕──────

Anissa, who was nodding off like a sick chicken next to him but remained vigilant, barely fell asleep until dawn.

Dietrich smiled silently as he run his fingertips through her hair which was clinging to her round forehead.

“You’re still pretty.”

Her eyes, which used to sparkle like well-crafted rubies were now azure like the summer sky, but they were still lovely.

The small but sharp nose and the small lips underneath were still the same.

“You still have a bad memory as well.”

In the silence disguised as peace, he felt a burning thirst.

As always, she exuded a faint scent that seemed to disappear as soon as he held it in his hand.

Maybe he didn’t mean it when he had said he didn’t resent her for forgetting him.

There were times when he wanted to grab her and raise his voice, forgetting his promise to Vassago.

If she never remembered him, he would no longer be able to protect her.

‘There are some things I have to do in advance.’

Then he had to come up with some measures so that she would be all right even if she was all by herself.

Unable to control the shadows anymore, he moved his body carefully so that Anissa wouldn’t wake up and went out of the cave.

“Oslo.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

It was not possible for his knight not to follow the Grand Duke who had suddenly left the Viscounty.

Oslo, who had jumped out from behind a tree as if waiting, bent his knee to express his awe to his master.

“What of that matter.”

“All the people involved have been decapitated with their heads hung on the castle walls.”

“Good job.”

It was a pity that he gave an easy death to those who insulted Anissa, but his promise with Vassago was choking him faster than expected.

He groaned as he pressed a finger against the stinging demon pattern.

“Are you all right?”

Oslo restlessly supported Dietrich on the shoulder.

He cleared the pain with a brief sigh and nodded his head as he glanced at the cave.

────── 〔✿〕──────

‘Who is that person?’

I slowly blinked at the sight of a large built middle-aged man kneeling in front of Dylan.

Their silhouette, seen under the dim moonlight, looked like a master and a servant at first glance.

‘The problem is Dylan looks like the master.’

Dylan was just a servant of the Grand Duke of Lagrange, but why was that man, who definitely looked like a knight, bowing his head to him?

As I narrowed my eyes and focused on what they were saying, unexpected words came out of the man’s mouth.

‘Your Grace?’

There were only two people who could use that title in this empire.

Hermann Euclid and Dietrich Lagrange.

“Ah.”

Only then did I feel like the scattered pieces of the puzzle were being put together one by one.

I clapped my hands together and started looking at Dylan, no, Dietrich’s appearance.

‘So he’s Dietrich.’

That fact wasn’t particularly shocking.

I nodded casually as if I had just remembered the fact that I had already known.

In fact, my insensitive reaction was more shocking.

‘Why am I not surprised?’

Not even a sense of betrayal as I had thought he was a servant like me and so we established a friendship.

‘Is it because he really didn’t seem like a servant?’

Maybe it was also because he didn’t have that unique attitude of groveling or faking a smile characteristic of people who were ruled.

I shrugged and confirmed that Dietrich was approaching, so I laid down again in my place.

“Is she still sleeping?”

He approached with a low sigh.

I wrinkled my nose to pretend I was asleep at the cool scent that made the tip of my nose a little bit cold.

A stinging gaze fell on my brazen cheeks and soon a long shadow fell over my closed eyelids.

Without opening my eyes, I called him softly.

“Dietrich.”

“Why.”

“As expected!”

“What is as expected?”

“I called you Dietrich and you answered!”

His eyes widened greatly as I faced him closer.

“Did your memory return?”

I was going to argue with him for lying to me but Dietrich asked me a random question first. I slowly blinked at his face filled with expectation.

“What memory?”

“…….If not, never mind.”

I tilted my head to the side and frowned. He looked disappointed as if it wasn’t the answer he was expecting.

“How did you know my name?”

“I accidentally overheard you talking to the knight outside.”

“Ah.”

“Why did you lie? I mean, why did you tell a lie?” [1]

I didn’t know how to treat a high-ranking noble like a Grand Duke. The Viscount didn’t seem all that noble compared to a Grand Duke.

‘Hermann was a bit of an unusual person so I’d have to make an exception.’

Of course, considering that he continued to pose as a commoner, the Grand Duke of Lagrange could be compared to Hermann in a way that he was also unusual.

However, fearlessly getting angry at him could get my head sliced off. That’s the difference in our status.

Besides, wasn’t the Grand Duke of Lagrange a villain nicknamed as the strongest among villains in this world?

“Is it a game of high-ranking aristocrats?”

He’s really a villain who didn’t look like a villain.

With that thought in mind, I cleared my cracked voice and raised myself.

“That’s not it.”

He smoothed a hand over his eyelids and sighed softly.

“Your Grace.”

“Don’t call me that.”

Dietrich frowned as if he was uncomfortable with the title that came out of my mouth.

“If you don’t like it, then please answer my question.”

“…..If I had said that I am the Grand Duke.”

“If you had said?”

“Do you think you would talk to me?”

I shook my head at Dietrich’s question.

“No.”

Because I wanted to avoid as much as possible the characters who were the main characters of the original, such as Hermann and Dietrich.

It was already tiring living my life as a maid, and it would make my life even more tiring if I get involved with them.

‘But is it that important to him whether I talk to him or not?’

I was nothing but a mere maid.

Dietrich smiled briefly and pressed down on his temple as if he knew that.

“That’s why I did it.”

“But there is no need for you to converse with me.”

“There is.”

Dietrich’s voice was firm as if he had been preparing for quite some time.

I waited for him to continue, but his tight lips seemed to have no thoughts of opening.

“……..”

In silence, the pattern engraved on his neck began to move dangerously like a snake.

I instinctively realized that the snake and Dietrich were connected to the reason why he couldn’t answer my question.

A normal tattoo wouldn’t have moved alone like that.

“What did I mean to you?”

At my question, Dietrich slowly moved his lips.

“Do you want to know?”

Of course, I wanted to know the truth.

However, I clenched my fist tight because of his tattoo, which was constantly moving in an insidious way in front of my eyes.

“No, wait.”

Don’t answer.

When he opened his mouth, the snake seemed to open its large mouth as well as if to swallow him whole.

I hurriedly covered Dietrich’s mouth with both my hands in fear. Nevertheless, a desperate confession was uttered.

“My everything.”

Didn’t he say earlier that he couldn’t say it? His confession, which leaked from between his teeth, passed through the back of my hand and settled in my heart.

Ah.

My heart pounded in an anxious and nervous feeling. It was beating so fast different from when my heart fluttered in excitement because of what happened earlier.

“You’re my everything.”

“……….”

“I’d rather die than live without you, Anissa.”

But I wanted to avoid that at all costs.

Notes:

[1] Anissa switched to formal speech.

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