As Fendrick strode in without hesitation, a man standing near the entrance hurried over to stop them. He appeared to be a guard.

“Hey, you two! You can’t just walk in here. Only authorized individuals may—… huh?”

When Fendrick lifted his hat just enough to show his face, the guard’s eyes widened.

“Gasp—! Marquis Lorhast? Why are you dressed… like this…?”

He looked at Fendrick in complete bewilderment. Then his gaze shifted to Katarina. Both of them were unmistakably dressed like commoners.

“Then this young lady is…?”

“My attendant? May we enter?”

“O-of course! Please, go right ahead!”

The guard quickly stepped aside and gestured them in.

Fendrick bent toward Katarina and whispered.

“Sorry for calling you my attendant.”

“Why? I’ve been promoted—from maid to attendant. And… that man recognized your face?”

“I used to come here often.”

“I didn’t know you liked books that much.”

“If I didn’t, would I have stocked the mansion’s archives like that? Ah—though it is lacking in romance novels, isn’t it, Miss Shaieren?”

Fendrick flashed her a teasing smile. Since Katarina had indeed searched the archives for romance novels, her face turned bright red.

The Imperial Library was magnificent and breathtaking. Statues stood at every turn and murals adorned the ceilings. It felt like a place where centuries of history slept quietly.

Large windows filled the halls with light, yet none of it touched the bookshelves directly. Sofas and desks were arranged throughout so that visitors could read comfortably.

“You were interested in medicine and pharmacology, weren’t you? That section is over here.”

“No. I—I’m not particularly interested.”

Katarina avoided his gaze, eyes darting away.

Fendrick gave a mischievous smile.

“Really? Then should we look at something else? The romance novels are that way.”

“I—I want to see them!”

“I knew you would. Go on.”

Having finally made it inside the Imperial Library, Katarina knew she couldn’t afford to waste this opportunity.

At first, she hesitated under his gaze, but she soon started quickly checking the books she needed. She briefly copied anything that looked important into her notebook.

While she searched the pharmacology section, Fendrick brought over a few books too.

He opened one carelessly and sat down, observing Katarina as she moved swiftly from shelf to shelf.

“I’ll arrange a visitor’s permit for you. So just skim through things today. By your next outing, the pass should be ready. Then you can take your time reading.”

“My… next outing?”

Katarina froze.

Her “next outing” was the day she intended to slip away quietly from the mansion.

But Fendrick, not knowing this, simply assumed it was because the date was still far off.

“The only downside here is that books can’t be taken out. If there’s a book you want to read quickly, tell me. I’ll have it bought for the mansion.”

Katarina stood there with the half-open book still in her hands, staring at him blankly.

‘No matter how I look at it… this isn’t how someone treats a mere maid, my lord.’

Why was he being so kind to her?

Katarina realized the answer — or at least, she thought she did.

She couldn’t be sure whether her guess was correct, but the kinder he was to her, the more foolish hopes took root inside her.

Could she tell him that his fiancée had threatened her?

If she did, would he retrieve an antidote from Loretta for her sake?

‘…Stop it. Don’t think nonsense. What kind of fool would choose a maid over his fiancée?’

It was all just a fleeting game.

She couldn’t afford to misunderstand.

Katarina gave him a faint smile and quickly put away the books she’d been reading.

“Aren’t you hungry? Let’s get lunch.”

“Shall we?”

Fendrick rose at an unhurried pace.

Once they returned to the carriage, he asked.

“Where shall I take you next, Miss Shaieren?”

His teasing tone made her chest flutter, and Katarina scolded him lightly.

“Don’t call me that.”

“Then what should I call you?”

He clearly knew her name, yet still asked like that. The days when he refused to call her by it felt like a distant memory now. Today was undeniably a special day.

“Well… since you’re dressed like someone else today, I’ll be someone else too. Just for today, call me Rina.”

Fendrick tilted his head.

“Rina? Is that your nickname?”

“The late Mother Superior used to call me that when I was very young.”

“Then that’s not someone else. That’s the younger you. Rina… what a lovely name.”

A smile spread across his lips and before she could react, Fendrick leaned in and pressed a quick, audible kiss to her cheek.

“Ah!”

Katarina let out a tiny shriek, cupping her cheek as she frantically glanced around.

“My lord, you can’t do that outside!”

But Fendrick only kept smiling.

“Then you stop calling me ‘my lord.’ Use my name. Fendrick. If that’s too long, just Fen.”

“W-what?”

Katarina kept one hand pressed to her cheek, her eyes wide.

“H-how could I possibly…?”

“Just for today. I told you—I’m not your master, I’m your coachman. Think of me as someone else.”

It was ridiculous.

Fendrick calling her by a nickname was one thing, but a maid calling her master by an affectionate name—that was an entirely different matter.

And yet… she wanted to.

It might be the only time she would ever get the chance.

As if under a spell, Katarina whispered.

“Fe… Fendrick, sir.”

“No ‘sir.’”

“Fen.”

And the most beautiful smile bloomed on his lips.

“Mm? Rina.”

His yellow eyes gradually shifted into a warm, honey-gold light.

Katarina stared at them, enchanted. Did he know that his eyes changed color with his emotions? Did he know how breathtaking that was?

“M-market.”

Katarina snapped her gaze away and looked forward.

“Let’s go to the market. I’ve always wanted to see one.”

“As you command.”

Fendrick cheerfully drove the carriage onward.

When they arrived, he handed a few coins to a stable boy and left the carriage in his care.

“From here, we walk. The carriage can’t go in.”

The reason was obvious at once. The narrow street was packed with people standing shoulder to shoulder, and long rows of stalls selling all kinds of goods were set up on both sides of the street.

The air was filled with enticing aromas: savory fried food, salty fish, and freshly baked bread.

The next alleyway was filled with sparkling glass jewelry beside polished fruit and rows of dark, meaty sausages.

Vendors shouted their pitches and customers bargained loudly — the entire place was alive.

Katarina stood there, looking around in a daze. Her hunger had been forgotten, and her mouth hung agape in sheer amazement.

Worried that she might get swept away and lost, Fendrick quietly took her hand.

She flinched in surprise, but didn’t pull away.

Soon enough, Fendrick began buying food after food, eager to let Katarina taste everything.

“These are things you can’t eat at the mansion.”

One after the other, lamb skewers, sugar-coated fruit, fried bread and soda mixed with fruit juice were brought to her lips.

She paused in front of a stall displaying pretty bracelets, but when Fendrick offered to buy her anything she wanted, she quickly moved on.

She knew only too well what would happen if she stared at something for too long, such as that ribbon.

After wandering the market for quite some time, they finally bought the long-awaited ice cream — vanilla for one and strawberry for the other.

But before either of them could finish, their tongues brushed, the ice cream slipped, and the kiss that followed melted it completely.

“Rina…”

Hearing him say her nickname felt strange and unbearably sweet. Her first taste of ice cream ended up being a kiss from this man.

‘Ah… it really was a happy day.’

By the time they returned to the mansion, the sun had already set.

Katarina immediately changed back into her maid’s uniform.

The girl who had played in the marketplace… now returned to the pigsty where she belonged.

***

That night, a man appeared in Fendrick’s office. He had pulled his hat low and raised his collar to hide his face. He was the same figure who had shadowed Katarina the previous day.

He removed his hat and bowed to Fendrick.

“My lord.”

“Well? Did you find anything?”

“Yes. But before that, there is something I must report first.”

“What is it?”

“It appears Lady Pescar has a lover.”

Fendrick lightly furrowed his brow.

“Is that so? Did you identify the man?”

“Not yet, sir. I will find out soon.”

A lover, for Loretta.

Not particularly surprising.

The man continued his report.

“It seems Miss Shaieren has been investigating some sort of poison. A poison that shows almost no symptoms immediately after ingestion, but gradually worsens the body… and k*lls the victim about a year later.”

“Is such a poison real? I’ve eaten almost every poison known to humankind, and I’ve never heard of anything like it.”

“There is no such poison, as far as I know either.”

“Ah.”

Fendrick let out a short exclamation, as though something had finally clicked for him. Then he began to laugh quietly.

“Haha… I see what happened. This must be Loretta’s doing. Should I call this fitting for a woman of Lorhast… or something else entirely…”

He shook his head.

“Still—there’s always a chance, however slim. Verify it. And if such a poison does exist, bring the antidote too.”

“Understood.”

The man placed his hat back on his head and disappeared into the veil of night.