“What about you? Why do you go to such lengths? You said it yourself. They think of you as a tool anyway. So why?”

“Because I chose it.”

Leticia wondered if there was any need to say more than this.

The boy in front of her was just a stranger with no particular relationship to her. Just as Leticia felt, the other party didn’t seem particularly interested in forming a friendship with her either.

But rather, there was something comfortable about that.

That’s why she could speak so casually.

“I was a tool of the Herta Empire. They say all royals are like that, but I was used as a hostage for the empire. Since I was a tool anyway, I simply chose who would use me. The Herta Imperial family wasn’t a very good master.”

“Is it okay to speak so badly of them?”

“What does it matter? This is Basilinte. The people here would probably like it more if I spoke badly about the empire.”

“That’s true, but…”

Colin glanced at the red marks on Leticia’s hand and added.

“Anyway, come with me first. You want to get rid of those marks, don’t you?”

This was where being perceptive was good.

Colin brought Leticia to his room, sat her on the bed, and came back with a basin of cold water.

When she immersed her slightly throbbing hand, a chill rushed through her. Leticia shivered slightly at the goosebumps on her arm.

Then a blanket was draped over her shoulders.

“You shouldn’t catch a cold.”

“People don’t get sick just from washing their hands in cold water.”

“You never know. And if something like that happens, they’ll interrogate you about why you’re sick. Would you like that?”

Convinced by Colin’s words, Leticia pressed her lips shut.

As she kept her hand in the cold water for a while, wrapped in the blanket that carefully covered her body, she could see the red marks fading.

“Why don’t you just tell him? That it hurts.”

Leticia raised her head, which had been lowered.

Colin, sitting beside her, was looking down, not at Leticia but at her hand.

If it had been concern or pity, she would have ignored it, but Colin’s question was filled with pure curiosity.

“Chamuka can’t feel guilt anyway. Even if you tell him, he won’t particularly blame himself.”

It was so accurate that Leticia nodded unconsciously.

“Besides, he’s just holding your hand a bit too tightly while sleeping, right? I don’t see why you need to hide it. You don’t seem like the type who, you know… acts frustratingly by hiding your pain.”

“But Her Grace Astrid worries.”

Leticia thought the red marks had almost disappeared by now, so she took her hand out of the water. As soon as she recognized her wet hand, the moisture dried up to the point of being fluffy.

Colin looked at her hand with a bit of wonder.

“I just don’t want Astrid to worry about even the smallest thing between me and Basilinte.”

If Leticia said her hand hurt, Astrid would naturally suggest that Chamuka hold her hand during the day. Since the Grand Duke who holds her hand during the day could hold it while sleeping.

But then Astrid, who still didn’t trust the Grand Duke with Leticia’s life, would want to stay with Leticia at night too, and probably wouldn’t sleep properly while monitoring the Grand Duke. She would try not to show it to Leticia, but still.

Leticia didn’t like that.

“Her Grace Astrid truly loves her family, and I don’t want to be an obstacle to that love.”

“Doesn’t that mean she cares about you enough to weigh you against her family?”

Colin whispered, finding it strange.

“You act like you want to be loved, but you seem to dislike actually being loved. Like someone who’s about to leave.”

“I don’t have anywhere to go.”

“You can still leave even if you have nowhere to go. By the way, that’s what my aunt said when she got divorced.”

Bringing up Isana made it impossible to refute.

Colin quietly looked at Leticia, who had closed her mouth.

Despite being just a child, he was a handsome sprout with a future bright enough to look forward to, but in fact, more than that, something in his intuition tingled whenever he saw this child.

This was similar to the intuition he felt when his aunt returned home after her divorce.

Among the family members who were making a fuss, begging Isana to go back even if she had to grovel, Isana Lefri standing there calmly seemed somehow…

To Colin, she looked like a golden angel statue covered in mud.

Had the god of gold given him some revelation?

Since he was six years old and knew nothing, Colin had instinctively stuck to Isana and wouldn’t let go. He took her side over his parents and siblings and always brought good things to Isana first.

And as he grew older, Colin realized he had grabbed a golden thread.

Disappointed with the family, Isana only kept Colin close, and whenever she happened to go to the Basilinte main castle, she only took Colin with her.

Unlike Isana’s brother, the Master of the Lefri merchant guild had fallen out of Isana’s favor and couldn’t even enter the outer castle.

Watching this, Colin instinctively realized.

If he continued to stay by Isana’s side like this, he would probably become the next Master of the Lefri merchant guild.

It seemed his intuition was indeed a revelation from the god of gold.

And this time, his intuition was fixed on the handsome sprout before his eyes.

Unlike Isana, this one seemed wary and didn’t seem to like him much, but anyway, at least there was no hatred, so it was fine.

Colin had held Isana’s hand during her worst moment, and he was confident he could do the same for his second golden angel statue.

“Someday when you want to leave, or want to run away. Or when it seems like no one will help you. Yes, whenever things get tough, contact me. I’ll help you.”

“…? Why would you? What kind of relationship do we have?”

“It’s because we don’t have any relationship that I can help you. The calculation is clean.”

I don’t think I’ll ever need to contact you. Leticia muttered.

But Colin continued regardless.

“You probably know this, but I don’t pity you. Honestly, I don’t think anything except that you’re handsome and I’m envious.”

“I know.”

Shouldn’t one normally be shy when someone says to their face that they’re handsome?

Colin was confused by Leticia’s brazen response, wondering whether this child had low or high self-esteem.

“That was just a joke to lighten the mood, but you took it seriously…”

“It is the truth. I have eyes, too. I know I’m handsome.”

“Don’t you have any intention of being modest?”

“Why? Isn’t it more deceptive to say ‘Oh, I’m not that handsome’ with my face? Unless you want to look stupid.”

The back-and-forth conversation had no particular purpose and contained no important information.

Just meaningless conversation filling the dawn air, and Leticia suddenly remembered her days with the Borba troupe. One night long ago, when she was chatting with her brothers and sisters.

She couldn’t even remember what they talked about. In fact, the content wasn’t important.

It was just important that they were together at that moment.

Reminded of a happy memory after a long time, Leticia smiled quietly.

Colin paused, seeing that face. And unconsciously muttered.

“You look even prettier when you smile.”

“I’m not pretty, I’m handsome.”

Leticia covered the ends of her eyebrows and the corners of her eyes with her hand and added.

“Of course, when I cover this area like this, I do give off a pretty vibe. But I look more handsome without covering it, so why would I deliberately cover it?”

Analyzing appearances was fundamental for actors.

Leticia already knew that her deep, distinct eyes gave a refreshingly handsome impression.

“Oh, you’re right.”

As Leticia lowered her hand, Colin raised both hands to cover the ends of Leticia’s eyebrows and the corners of her eyes.

Leticia frowned as her vision narrowed due to the covered eye corners.

“Like this, you really do look pretty…”

At that moment, a familiar voice flew between them.