“I cannot say I fail to understand why you would think that way. However, I am not Simon.”

Though he spoke calmly, he looked as though he had suffered a considerable shock.

Hm. Was I too harsh?

“I came here for one reason alone—to save you. When I saw that you had been confined within the estate, it felt as though my heart were being torn apart—”

“Wait. Just a moment.”

As I listened quietly, something struck me as odd, and I cut him off at once.

“We first met in the courtroom, didn’t we?”

At my question, the Duke tilted his head.

“No?”

He stared at me with innocent eyes.

“So… you did not recognize me. I cannot believe this.”

This time, he appeared shaken for an entirely different reason.

“I’m not sure what you mean, but only the attendants you sent came to the estate. You did not.”

“……”

“And the first to visit the estate was not Your Grace, but Eric. I heard he was once a swordsman in the Duchy.”

Duke Balthazar fell silent at my words.

For the first time, he wore a vacant expression, as though momentarily stunned. I quickly retraced what I had said, wondering if I had made a mistake.

But there had been none. I had merely stated the facts.

“I am Eric.”

I had thought their eyes looked oddly similar.

No—wait. Just a moment.

“What did you say?”

“I said that I am Eric.”

Yes, I heard you. I do have ears.

But that’s not what I’m asking.

“I was under the impression that Your Grace’s name was Kindroshetto. Am I mistaken?”

“Yes. That is correct.”

At that confirmation, I found myself at a loss for words.

In an instant, my mind went blank—just as it had in a previous life when Louis struck my head with a hammer.

“So the one in front of me is Eric… and then where is the Duke?”

“Right here.”

So… from the very beginning, he hadn’t sent an attendant. He had come in person?

“Then why did you deceive me?”

I had thought something was strange from the moment I faced the Duke.

He had wrapped those bandages so thoroughly that even after removing them, I failed to recognize him. True, I had kept thinking they seemed similar—but who would have imagined it was the same person?

Now that I thought about it, “Eric” was the name of the hunter who kills the corrupt king in my latest novel. It was such a common name that I had never even considered it might be an alias.

Only now did I realize that the nagging sense that something was amiss all this time had stemmed from this very thing. I had been so focused on securing the divorce that I paid no attention to what was happening around me.

“Had I arrived in proper attire, I would not have been able to remain long at the estate. Simon may be ignorant, but he is a suspicious man. At the time, it was the best option.”

That was true.

With that striking appearance of his, had he entered the estate openly, Louis would have thrown him out regardless of rank. Louis was the sort who imagined me seducing every man in the world.

Yet while Louis behaved like a brute within the estate, he acted the part of a decent man before outsiders.

If he was the Duke, he could have simply crushed Louis with his title. Why, then, go so far as to disguise himself as an attendant?

“I did not intend to deceive you, my lady.”

He spoke as though it were nothing at all, but a cold sweat broke out across my back.

Until I learned his true identity, I had spoken to him informally, assigned him grooming tasks, and treated him freely as an attendant.

More than anything, the embarrassment was unbearable.

More than anything, I was mortified.

If I could have, I would have buried my face straight into the plate before me—but I forced myself to appear composed.

“Thanks to you, I’ve had the rare experience of ordering a Duke about like a servant. I’m not sure how I’m meant to atone for such discourtesy.”

In the end, I spoke slowly, half resigned.

The Duke shook his head.

“I did it of my own will, so please do not trouble yourself.”

He wasn’t merely some noble—he ruled an entire duchy. How could I possibly not trouble myself over having him wait on me?

“Two more brownies, please. And a crème brûlée as well.”

While I let out an awkward laugh at the memory of my past behavior, the Duke raised one hand and placed an additional order with perfect courtesy.

The items he requested arrived shortly after.

“I can only be grateful that you’re willing to overlook my madness.”

“If we are to speak of madness, I would say I have the greater claim.”

That wasn’t meant as comfort, was it, Your Grace?

“In this Empire, I am known as a butcher, after all.”

And I had treated that so-called butcher like a servant.

“I truly do not mind, so there is no need to worry.”

Why did the sight of him smiling so nonchalantly irritate me like this?

He may be fine—but I’m not. It bothers me to no end.

“Please try this as well. It’s said to be just as delicious as the brownies—popular with everyone, regardless of age.”

As if to shift the atmosphere, the Duke placed the newly ordered dessert before me.

“Thank you for being so considerate.”

I didn’t want to make things more awkward, so I didn’t refuse. It seemed better to eat something than to continue talking, so I picked up my spoon.

“Mmm.”

But when I tried to scoop up what was in the dish, it wouldn’t budge. No matter how I tried, something hard blocked the spoon.

What is this?

I leaned in slightly and caught a scent—sweet, yet faintly bitter. Almost as though sugar had been burned.

“Ah, that’s caramel.”

Had I been sniffing too obviously? The Duke, noticing me, quickly picked up his spoon.

“You break the top with the spoon like this, then eat it together with the custard beneath.”

He demonstrated with his own portion. Not wanting to forget, I immediately followed his example.

“My goodness.”

With a simple tap of the spoon, the light brown caramel surface cracked sharply. It splintered like shards of glass.

“So there are desserts like this. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

It was so fascinating—having never encountered such a thing before.

Then, suddenly remembering that the Duke was sitting across from me, I lifted my head slightly.

He was staring at me with an indulgent expression, as though deeply pleased by something.

“Is there something on my face?”

“Is there something on my face?”

He had been staring at me for quite some time, so I asked out of embarrassment. Yet instead of answering, the Duke simply nodded.

Startled, I hurriedly took out a handkerchief from my sleeve, intending to wipe my face.

At that very moment, the Duke rested his chin on his hand atop the table and smiled.

“Yes. Loveliness.”

Is he insane?

***

Afterward, I returned to the estate.

So much had happened, yet the only things that lingered in my mind were brownies and crème brûlée.

D*mn it. They were far too delicious.

“Master, shall I prepare your meal?”

Shasha bowed politely as she took my outer coat.

“No. Just prepare your own. I ate quite a bit of dessert, so I’m full.”

“Yes, Master.”

Shasha bent at the waist and was about to leave when—

“Shasha, wait. Come here a moment.”

Recalling what I had heard while alone with the Duke, I stopped her.

“Yes, Master?”

She straightened her posture and looked at me.

“Are you, by any chance, a noble as well?”

“Ah, well…”

She flinched in surprise, then began to fidget.

Judging by her reaction, I was right.

A fallen noble who was now no different from a commoner—I had brazenly been ordering around not one, but two nobles.

“Why on earth did all of you hide your status and come here?”

Pressing a hand to my forehead, I let out a low groan.

“Our lord commanded it so suddenly that we had no choice.”

“By ‘lord,’ you mean the Duke?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

So that was why she had hesitated when I previously asked about “Eric.”

Thinking back, all those odd moments finally began to make sense.

“I normally lead troops on the front lines. I never imagined I would be summoned here.”

Now that her identity had been revealed, Shasha’s tone was noticeably different from before.

“Then you’re a knight. I thought as much.”

Her name had always seemed too long for a commoner. Unless one was a noble, names were usually simple and brief.

“Just in case… what about the other attendants?”

“Ah, they are all knights belonging to the order I command.”

So that was why the estate’s own knights had gone quiet.

It suddenly occurred to me that perhaps the reason they had not sided with the House Steward was because they had been thoroughly subdued.

“Then… should I be addressing you formally?”

I murmured the question to myself, but Shasha’s eyes widened and she waved her hands hurriedly.

“No. Please continue to speak to me informally.”

“Hmm? Truly?”

“Yes. I prefer it that way.”

To command a knightly order in the Duchy surely meant her status exceeded mine. If anyone ought to bow their head, it should be me—not Shasha.

Still… if that was what she wanted, perhaps it was best to oblige.

“All right. I understand.”

I nodded at Shasha with a small smile.