The instant Ines registered it.

“It seems you’re looking for a book.”

A low voice fell just a few steps away.

They say a great shock can stop the heart.

“Hah……!”

The only reason she did not scream was entirely thanks to a lifetime of ingrained etiquette.

“I apologize. I had no intention of startling you……”

The one who had sent Ines’s heart plummeting to the floor was Killian.

In truth, the moment she heard the voice, she had instinctively known it was him, but it took a moment for that knowledge to reach the rational part of her mind.

“Grand Duke……”

From the moment she recognized it was Killian, the shock gradually subsided, but the lingering effect left her voice coming out rather faint. The unsteady state of her seemed to look a little precarious to him.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

Killian whispered low and reached out, lightly taking hold of her arm. As though that alone had triggered something, the strength suddenly left her legs. Ah, had he noticed and grabbed her in anticipation?

“Oh.”

Ines’s body swayed and she ended up folding into Killian’s arms.

“I, I’m sorry. My legs gave out all of a sudden……”

Ines came to her senses and tried quickly to straighten herself, but Killian was faster, lifting her into his arms.

“Ah……!”

As her body rose into the air, Ines instinctively wrapped her arms around Killian’s neck to hold on.

“There’s a sofa inside. You seem quite startled, so it would be best to rest for a moment.”

“Ah……”

To go limp from a mere fright, and on top of that to end up in his arms like this. And thinking about it now, Killian had even made a sound to warn her. Tap tap, that sound had undoubtedly been Killian deliberately knocking on a bookshelf.

Ines squirmed with embarrassment, not knowing what to do with her wrapped arms. Killian’s gaze briefly dropped toward her.

Seeing Ines with flushed red cheeks, he looked mildly at a loss, then gave a small ahem.

“I apologize for the presumption of touching you without permission. I grew up swinging a sword, so my hands sometimes move faster than my words.”

A small laugh escaped her at the added remark.

“Presumption? If it hadn’t been you, I would have made quite a spectacle of myself…… if anything, I should be the one thanking you.”

At the small expression of gratitude, Killian gave a low laugh. Ines’s eyes wavered almost imperceptibly as she watched, up close, the corners of those straight lips lift ever so slightly.

“Ha ha. I startled you and caused all of this, yet you’re thanking me. I’m rather humbled.”

His quiet laughter made the arms holding her tremble faintly.

Ines thought about looking up to meet the beautiful eyes that would be carrying that smile, then fixed her gaze on his sharp jawline instead. She was not confident she could handle the embarrassment if their eyes met.

In any case, Killian was certainly smiling more often than he had at this point in her past life.

‘Back then, we barely even spoke before the wedding……’

It was not close enough to call friendly even now, but compared to before, it was a remarkable improvement. Rather than awkwardly avoiding each other when they crossed paths, they would at least stop and exchange a few words.

Small changes like this made Ines’s resolve to change the future all the more firm.

It was not long before the sofa Killian had mentioned came into view.

He set Ines down on it with remarkable gentleness. Ines settled into her seat somewhat awkwardly and opened her mouth with care.

“……Thank you, Grand Duke.”

“Think nothing of it.”

The soft light coming down from the high ceiling illuminated his loosened expression. His eyes, met unexpectedly at close range, were curved gently. Heat rose to her cheeks in an instant.

A brief, awkward silence followed.

Killian spoke first.

“May I sit for a moment?”

“Oh, of course……”

There was no need to ask Ines’s permission. Killian had been in the library first, after all.

“Thank you.”

Killian gave a simple nod and settled onto the sofa across from Ines.

As he moved from close by to the other side, his scent naturally left her as well.

She felt shameless for noticing, but the pang of loss that slipped in between was something she could not help.

‘Think of something else……’

The attempt to shake off the feeling and redirect her thoughts succeeded, because a fact that had been hidden behind her earlier shock surfaced.

‘……Come to think of it, he was right outside the door.’

In that case, had he heard the commotion Lena had caused?

The library door was thick and said to be well soundproofed, but Killian was said to be the strongest knight in the Empire. On top of that, mages were known to have keener senses than ordinary people……

The question was not hard to guess the answer to, and it was resolved quickly.

“Earlier, I inadvertently heard what was happening outside.”

Killian brought it up first.

“Ah…… I thought you might have.”

Ines smiled awkwardly. She had not been the one to cause the scene, but the embarrassment was unavoidable.

Killian seemed to choose his words for a moment, and what he said next was unexpected.

“Has that maid been insolent toward you before?”

“Pardon?”

“I am not proud of eavesdropping, but…… from what I heard, she was speaking to you quite rudely.”

“……Was she?”

Ines tried to recall the scene just now, but could not think of anything rude enough to make Killian’s expression go that hard. And considering Lena had been worked up at the time……

“……If anything, she was on the more polite end.”

Perhaps because Ines had kept her distance throughout the journey to the North, unlike before, Lena and Sana had been remarkably warm and deferential to Ines’s face, whatever they might have said behind her back. They had needed to win her favor, so it was only natural.

In any case, Lena had been far more courteous than the Ines of before the return, and even more so than the maids who had attended her in the princess’s palace.

That was to be expected. The imperial palace’s “ladies-in-waiting” could only be daughters of noble or near-noble families, after all.

“Hmm, I really couldn’t say.”

“……Is that so.”

Ines shook her head slightly, and Killian murmured a beat late. His expression was oddly dark, and Ines looked around before offering her thanks.

“Thank you for worrying. Though, is worrying too strong a word……?”

“……No, I was worried.”

“You’re very kind, Grand Duke. In any case, Lena is being sent back to the capital, so there’s no need to concern yourself further.”

The more she spoke, the more Killian’s expression seemed to grow heavier. Was that her imagination? Ines grew slightly uneasy.

“……I’m sorry for causing a scene.”

She tried apologizing in case he was displeased by the disturbance in his home, but it had the opposite effect.

Killian closed his eyes and opened them again with the look of someone who had just been struck hard on the head, then let out a deep sigh.

“There is no need to apologize for that.”

At those words, Ines had been about to say something like ‘your expression seemed off, so I wondered if you were displeased……’ but a voice that flashed through her mind made her stop.

‘Please do not apologize for something that was not your fault.’

Those were the words Killian had said to Ines on the day she woke from her illness, when she had apologized for causing trouble. Being the kind of person he was, he probably would not have welcomed what she had just swallowed either.

Since returning through time, whenever Ines was with Killian, she felt a quiet regret about the years that were now gone. Not the regret of repenting for her foolishness, but a different kind, the regret of having spent five years as his wife and still knowing so little about him.

Whatever feelings Ines had for him, the two of them had maintained a comfortable distance throughout those five years.

Before everything fell apart, they had occasionally smiled and talked, but that had been entirely thanks to Killian’s warmth.

The pregnancy, that was……

‘……Killian had not taken me to his bed because he wanted to.’

In any case, Ines knew remarkably little about Killian for someone who had spent five years as his wife. If she had known him better, she might have understood why his mood was low right now.

Fortunately, Killian’s expression returned to normal quickly.

“Shall we leave the subject of that maid here.”

It was a welcome suggestion, given that she did not know the reason for his low mood, and Ines nodded quickly. Even so, she was already quietly wondering what to say next.

Being with Killian made her emotions surge and her eyes drift toward him with a longing she could not help, yet she still wanted to be near him.

Of course she did. Ines was still in love with Killian.

‘If only I were better with words……’

No matter that she had lived five more years and knew the future, a talent for conversation did not appear out of thin air.

“Speaking of which, it seemed you were looking for a book.”

Just as Ines had finally worked up the resolve to say something, Killian opened the door for her first.

It was the same question that had sent her heart plummeting to the floor a little while ago.

“Ah, that……’

Ines hesitated for a moment, remembering what she had murmured when she entered the library.