‘Hmm?’

Audrey, leaving the messenger bird rental shop, looked around with a puzzled expression.

‘Is it just my imagination?’

She kept having the illusion that someone was watching her.

But whenever she looked around, they would vanish without a trace, leaving her feeling uneasy.

Duke Frith, observing her, began worriedly.

“Is there a problem?”

“Ah, no!”

But his stern face was perfect for urging someone to hurry.

Misunderstanding his expression, Audrey instead hastened her steps.

“……”

Meanwhile, Derek secretly glared into the crowd. He seemed somewhat displeased.

Thud thud thud.

Audrey, just coming down the stairs, paused.

The ground trembled slightly as if a herd of buffalo were passing by.

‘What’s that?’

Just as she turned her head to find the cause.

Thump!

A child who had been running from afar collided right into Audrey.

It happened in the blink of an eye.

“Ouch!”

“Ah!”

“Lady Kevelson! Are you alright?”

People’s gazes gathered on the two who had landed on their bottoms in the middle of the road.

‘Ow ow ow…’

Audrey was on the verge of tears from the stinging pain in her tailbone.

Unable to answer, she just squinted one eye in pain when urgent footsteps were heard from afar.

“Are you hurt? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“…!”

It was Duke Frith, who had rushed over like the wind.

He examined her condition with a rigid face, looking here and there.

For some reason, his thoroughness in checking for possible fractures seemed excessive.

When all she’d done was land on her bottom.

“I-I’m fine-.”

“What about your palms?”

“……”

Audrey, swept up by his intensity, reflexively held out both palms.

But how strange.

She should be the one in pain, yet somehow Duke Frith’s face looked more agonized.

‘What could possibly be injured on those tiny hands!’

It was because Dodori’s small, precious hands were covered in blood in several places.

Ah, how painful it must be for Dodori!

It was heartbreaking to see him hesitating, unable to touch the palms held out before him.

“…They’re all scraped.”

Only then did Audrey, who had been blinking, lower her gaze.

‘Is it that bad?’

She had felt a slight sting. Small drops of blood had formed in several places.

But compared to when she had tumbled down the stairs in her hurry to see Claude, it was almost embarrassing to make a fuss.

“This much is fine.”

“……”

Audrey calmly took out her handkerchief and roughly wiped her palms.

Unaware that someone’s heart was being torn into thirty-five hundred pieces, watching her.

Fortunately, the child also didn’t seem to be seriously hurt.

Except for the dazed look on his face.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“…Are you a candy fairy?”

“Huh?”

The sudden question was innocent.

The child was staring, mesmerized, at the soft, fluttering light pink hair.

Derek’s gaze also turned to the side.

‘…Yes, it’s you.’

He had finally found the culprit behind this incident.

Not only daring to body-slam Dodori, but trying to slip away without even apologizing?

He looked coldly down at the child who barely reached his waist.

“You should apologize first in situations like this.”

“Ah, I’m really fine-.”

“Hurry. Say you’re sorry.”

“Really, I’m fine.”

“Wow.”

But the child didn’t even listen to Derek’s words.

“It’s so soft!”

“Ouch.”

“…!”

Instead, as if to provoke him, the child grabbed Dodori’s hair and pulled it.

‘How dare you, something even I don’t touch carelessly!’

And whenever their eyes met, the child would secretly grin behind Dodori’s back, which was infuriating.

‘…This is no ordinary child.’

Derek’s gaze naturally sharpened.

What kind of cunning child was this? To abuse Dodori’s kindness in such a way!

“Candy fairy, candy fairy! Let’s go play in our forest!”

“Hmm?”

“The forest! There are lots of fun things there!”

Have you ever seen such a shameless child?

Derek immediately drew the line.

“No. We’re on our way to have a meal. And we need to treat those wounds.”

“Candy fairy~”

“Didn’t your parents teach you not to follow strangers?”

“Let’s go play in the forest, please?”

“…What terrible manners.”

Unable to bear it any longer, Derek stepped between the two.

He subtly hid Dodori behind his leg.

It absolutely wasn’t because the child was a boy. It was just for smooth conversation.

“Where are your parents?”

“……”

“You were chattering away just fine, but when it’s inconvenient, you clam up.”

“Your Grace. Children get scared when pressed like that.”

“……”

Lucas, who had been observing from a distance, stepped in to mediate.

But Duke Frith frowned in displeasure.

‘Scared?’

How on earth did that face look scared?

The child was blatantly ignoring a grown man three times his size.

“And… it might be difficult to answer.”

“……”

“You know.”

Lucas cautiously glanced at the child.

Following him, a pair of bright red eyes also scanned the child’s attire.

Clothes that seemed roughly patched together, and worn-out shoes with soles falling off.

It was clearly one of two situations.

Either both parents had died in the war, or they had to work all day and had no time to care for the child.

Pelios was that kind of land.

“Your Grace.”

“…Hah.”

His harsh expression softened somewhat.

Duke Frith awkwardly bent his waist, trying his best to meet the child’s eyes.

But his words remained utterly firm.

“We don’t have time to play with you.”

“……”

“Instead, I’ll give you this.”

He held out a piece of paper stamped with the ducal seal.

It was a token promising to fulfill a pledge in the name of Duke Frith.

“Go find the administrator and show it to him. He will help you whenever.”

“……”

“And one more thing.”

“……”

“You shouldn’t follow strangers carelessly. The same goes for taking people with you.”

Duke Frith, having placed the paper in the child’s hand, slowly stood up.

“Not everyone in the world is kind, you know.”

“……”

It was divine fortune that the child had met Dodori today.

Especially in these times when child disappearances were frequent.

‘At least he has an eye for people.’

Where else would one find someone so adorable, without malice, and with such a generous heart?

If it had been someone sinister, they might have kidnapped the clueless child without a second thought.

“Your Grace, we’re approaching our reservation time.”

“We should hurry if we’re going to stop by the physician.”

Derek and Audrey boarded the carriage to continue their busy schedule.

Despite the sudden accident, his perfect plan couldn’t afford any disruptions.

“……”

The child stood still, looking up at them.

As if abandoned.

Lucas hesitated for a long time, troubled by the sight.

“What are you doing? Let’s depart now.”

“…Yes.”

The carriage carrying the three of them disappeared around the corner in an instant.

And at that moment.

Rip. Tear.

Small hands tore Duke Frith’s token into shreds.

The pieces of paper were mixed with trash and tumbled across the ground.

The child stared blankly at the scene with an expressionless face.

“……”

Then promptly stomped on it and disappeared.

***

Duke Frith was a man with a more excessive health anxiety than expected.

As soon as they visited the physician, he made such a fuss with that stoic face.

‘What is this…’

Audrey’s hands were tightly wrapped in bandages as she came outside.

Should she be thankful that at least her fingers weren’t injured?

A chill ran down her spine at the thought that she might have ended up with blunt hands like a starfish.

But Duke Frith’s fussing didn’t stop there.

“Bring a stretcher.”

“…!”

Not long after, a stretcher covered in silk appeared.

Naturally, the only person meant to ride it was Audrey.

“I-I’m really fine!”

“If you accidentally put weight on your palms while getting out of the carriage, it would be disastrous.”

“No, that much is-.”

“…What if you permanently lose the use of your hands?”

Was this a threat or concern?

In the end, Audrey was carried on the stretcher from the carriage all the way into the restaurant.

In Duke Frith’s mind, this was his way of being considerate to her.

Weren’t they still at that fresh stage where “princess carry” would be too intimate a skinship?

He didn’t want to seem hasty.

“Well then, I hope you create pleasant memories.”

The place he had reserved was a greenhouse-style restaurant with glass walls.

Thanks to the plants placed throughout, it felt as if they were dining in a forest.

The sunlight streaming through the glass ceiling also contributed to the perfect atmosphere.

“Eat.”

“…Yes.”

Audrey struggled to pick up her fork.

It seemed that if she showed even a moment of discomfort, he would immediately offer to feed her.

Moreover, she had a mission that absolutely had to be accomplished today.

The so-called “Getting Rejected by Duke Frith.”

In particular, she planned to seal the deal with “eating voraciously,” which was supposedly highly effective in making someone lose all affection.

It would be even more perfect if she showed greed for food.

‘I can fix this anytime.’

No matter how fierce Duke Frith’s momentum was, it was too early to jump to conclusions.

As Charlotte said, isn’t it true that in relationships between men and women, no one knows until they enter the wedding hall?

There was still plenty of time.

However, there was one small, unexpected problem:

For Audrey, who had been educated in dining etiquette since childhood, the word “voracious” was extremely abstract.

‘I just need to eat quickly and a lot, right?’

Sure enough.

Misunderstanding this, Audrey held her head high and moved only her mouth vigorously.

She also didn’t forget to leave food smeared around her mouth.

‘Look! See how voraciously I’m eating!’

However, far from losing affection, Duke Frith’s heart dropped all the way to his toes.

‘…Why is she doing that?’

It was because her bright green eyes were looking up at him lovingly today.

The lips that had driven him crazy all night were also moving ostentatiously.

As if she knew exactly what kind of dream he had last night.

‘…!’

Suddenly, heat rose to the back of his neck.

Derek quickly turned his head sideways, afraid of being caught.

But he couldn’t stop his gaze from instinctively following Dodori.

‘Ah!’

It felt like his heart was melting.

Now even the bread crumbs on Dodori’s mouth looked enchanting, as if sprinkled with starlight.

‘…The Milky Way must look like that.’

Dodori’s adorable face contained the universe.

Eyes like black holes that pulled people in. Both cheeks flushed from the sun’s heat.

Derek couldn’t take his eyes off that enchanting scene.

His face looked as if he had gained some profound realization.