***

Describe your feelings when you encounter your former fiancé, a sub-male lead from the original work who should be at the imperial palace, on a passenger ship off the southern coast.

“Eric Schwerin? Why are you appearing here?”

……Well, the beginning of this incident goes back to a certain day in August.

***

“Young lady, are you trying to play hide-and-seek with me?”

Mikhail, who had found me tucked away in a dark corner of the tapestry storage room in broad daylight, remarked sarcastically.

“I’ve just now realized that I was hired as a playmate rather than a butler.”

“…Did I ever ask you to find me?”

“Then, is there another reason why you’re holed up in this dusty storage room?”

Mikhail wiped away his sneer and knelt on one knee to meet my eyes.

“Why do you keep hiding in remote and uncomfortable places?”

“You’ll get dust on your clothes. Get up.”

“That’s rich coming from a dust-covered young lady.”

Seeing his determination to keep his knee on the hard floor until I stood up, I finally sighed and rose.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

After asking permission, he gently dusted off my back and the hem of my dress where I couldn’t reach, then asked calmly.

“Has something happened since Young Master Teaerik left?”

“Nothing happened. You know that.”

“You’ve clearly been acting strange since then, but I can’t figure out why.”

After saying that, Mikhail remained silent as if waiting for me to explain, but how could I be honest?

How could I say that I feel like I’m stealing someone else’s life and can’t comfortably enjoy luxury as I did before?

It would only sound insane.

“Sorry for bothering you when you’re busy.”

“……”

Mikhail quietly observed me as I chose to apologize rather than explain, then curled up the corner of his mouth.

“Young lady.”

Extending his hand with its pristine white glove toward me, he spoke coldly.

“Beyond being bothered, I don’t want to worry about you.”

“…Well, I’m still eating my meals on time.”

“You mean sneaking into the dining room like an uninvited guest, eating the prepared food, and disappearing.”

While I flinched at the painfully accurate description of “uninvited guest,” Mikhail’s hand brushed my cheek.

I didn’t have the courage to face him as he demanded answers, so I diverted my gaze to the tapestry hanging behind him.

In the dimly lit fabric, there was a woven image of a man watching a woman leaving in a forest full of blooming lavender.

As I stared blankly at the slightly frayed edges that showed its age, Mikhail gently held my chin and made me look directly at him.

“I would appreciate if you told me what the problem is.”

“It’s nothing.”

I reflexively answered while lowering my gaze. Mikhail withdrew his hand and removed some dust from my hair.

“Then all the more reason to tell me.”

He said while brushing away the dust from his fingertips without hesitation.

“I don’t want to waste any more energy on trivial matters.”

When I looked up at his ice-cold voice, our eyes met—his silver-gray ones locking with mine.

I couldn’t look away, as if pinned by a needle.

“I never realized that serving an incompetent, ignorant, and impolite young lady would be such a difficult task.”

“…Aren’t your words too harsh?”

“You, who can only respond so weakly even after hearing such abuse from a mere butler.”

“……”

“Why should I care and worry about you to this extent?”

Countless emotions were boiling within those silver-gray eyes that had always seemed so calm.

Witnessing the waves of indefinable emotions on Mikhail’s face, I was startled by their unfamiliarity and snapped to attention.

Although he was often—no, frequently—prickly, this was the first time he had displayed such intense emotion.

I stopped my habitual retorts and reconsidered what I had just heard.

‘Incompetent, ignorant, impolite? What a brutal truth-teller.’

But connecting his words and actions, I knew that even those harsh words ultimately stemmed from his concern.

…Well, that probably wasn’t the only reason.

“Mikhail.”

“Stop acting out of character. Just get angry instead.”

Hearing his voice that seemed to be suppressing something, I faced him directly. Then I raised my arm swiftly as if to slap his cheek.

Mikhail didn’t even blink despite clearly seeing it coming. Instead, he remained still as if waiting for the violence.

When I hesitated at the sight, he even asked.

“Why don’t you hit me?”

“Are you disappointed?”

“If being ridiculed by the servants is your wish, I won’t say anything more.”

Fine, I get it.

Reflecting Mikhail’s demands, I grabbed his cheek firmly.

His face is handsome and sharp, but his cheeks are softer than they look.

And his skin is incredibly good.

“What are you doing?”

I almost laughed at his muffled pronunciation, but I held it in and replied as solemnly as possible.

“I’m punishing you, you fool.”

“What kind of punishment is this……”

“Hush, stay still.”

Lowering my voice, I released his pinched cheek and instead pressed both hands against his smooth cheeks to make him look like a goldfish.

Before he could complain, I looked directly into his gray eyes filled with complex emotions and said distinctly.

“First, I’m sorry for hiding away in corners without saying anything. And thank you for coming to find me. I’ll make sure you don’t have to worry about this issue anymore.”

It wasn’t an excuse to avoid the situation, but sincere.

After all, looking from Mikhail’s perspective, I realized what a nuisance I must have been.

He already had so much work managing the territory.

As the supervisor who had to manage all aspects of daily life, he must have had a hard time searching for me whenever I couldn’t control my emotions and hid away.

‘As a grown adult who’s experienced the real world, I shouldn’t be causing more trouble.’

Anyway, I’ll handle the rest myself.

Looking at his still dissatisfied handsome face, I stated my next request.

“So you should also apologize for saying such harsh things to me. Oh, and don’t use the word ‘presumptuous.'”

I added that last part because he had referred to himself as “a mere butler,” and I wanted to avoid another argument about the same issue.

“I was clearly excessive. If you wish to punish me, I’ll accept it willingly.”

Mikhail apologized obediently, stepping back and bowing his head.

‘But Mikhail… you just complained about my weak responses earlier.’

As I watched Mikhail, who had smoothly escaped from his goldfish-cheeked state, I narrowed my eyes and asked out of curiosity.

“The way you keep talking about hitting and punishment, do you really have that kind of preference—”

“I do not.”

Right. Judging by the way he’s cursing me with his eyes, he really doesn’t.

‘I should stop asking about this now. Three times is enough.’

I said I understood and extended my hand as a gesture of reconciliation.

“Let’s go out then. It’s too dim in here; I feel like my eyesight will deteriorate.”

“Why did you come to such a place in the first place?”

Despite his criticism, Mikhail escorted me from the dark corner of the storage room to the bright entrance, helping me get out safely.

After that day, I stopped hiding in remote places without notice or appearing cautiously in the dining room.

Instead, I returned to my moderately lazy, unemployed life, similar to before.

Although the fundamental issue within me remained unresolved, I recognized that showing it outwardly made those around me uncomfortable.

So I decided not to rush and find answers gradually within my capabilities.

…Just when I thought the “Callia Rabius Seclusion Incident” had been resolved.

“Young lady, stop lying down and get up to reply to this invitation.”

“What is this?”

“It’s an invitation to a party on a ship hosted by the Manehil Shipping Company.”

After rejecting all previous invitations, such letters had become rare, but whoever the owner of the shipping company was, they seemed quite persistent.

I closed the book I was reading and casually scanned the invitation Mikhail handed me as I got up.

“Alright. Should I write a rejection?”

“For this one, say you’ll attend.”

“…Huh? Let me see. The date… I think Richard said he would be busy with regular meetings then?”

It’s quite a nice event for a public date, but it’s on a day when Richard isn’t available.

Therefore, I saw no reason to attend, but Mikhail argued the opposite.

“That’s precisely why you should go.”

When I widened my eyes at this unexpected statement, he continued.

“Your relationship with Admiral Aquilus will end in just over two months. If you’re going to continue staying in the south afterward, it would be better to interact with and build relationships with other people besides him.”

His voice was resolute, as if there would be no exceptions.

“That’s true, but just because a contract ends doesn’t mean relationships between people end as cleanly as cutting with a knife……”

But is it okay for me to hope that I can continue living happily with Richard in Callia’s body even after that?