“Unfortunately, I don’t know much about it.”

“Really? That’s surprising. I thought you would have kept me under surveillance. I was worried you’d be concerned I might reveal information about the grand duchy since I knew so much about it.”

“…I intended to, but I had my own circumstances.”

Hearing his words, Daphne nodded. Kartun briefly shook his head when he noticed her desire to ask what those circumstances were. Daphne lightly shrugged one shoulder and said:

“So I don’t know how Your Highness met your end.”

“Have I changed that much?”

When he asked, Daphne smiled slyly.

“Honestly, or what you’d like to hear? Which answer do you prefer?”

He raised one corner of his mouth crookedly and said:

“Somewhere in between.”

At that, Daphne smiled broadly.

When they first met, they were like oil and water. They didn’t hate each other, but they were too different.

However, after facing life and death together, their hearts gradually opened, and until her death, she had joked with him like this.

The fact that Kartun remembered this made Daphne unconsciously happy.

“Even when you were stoic, you never spoke harshly. But you did become quite spiteful…”

As she spoke, she cautiously observed his expression. But no particular emotion showed on his face.

“If you’re that curious, I’ll tell you when you come to the grand duchy.”

When he didn’t answer, Daphne made a “tsk” sound and turned to look straight ahead.

For a while, the drooping silk blossom leaves swayed gently above the two silent figures.

No one used silence as effectively as Daphne. Eventually, Kartun’s patience ran out, and he spoke first.

“Why do you trust that guild guy so much?”

“In my previous life, he was killed by Leonhardt while trying to protect my mother and younger brother.”

“Don’t take it emotionally. He was just doing his job and got caught up in the incident. It’s a common end for merchants who deal in dangerous goods.”

“I know that. But I want to use him precisely because he’s thorough about his work.”

Honestly, she didn’t want to be so coldly calculating. But to form an alliance with Kartun now, she needed to show him she could be trusted.

After all, she herself would reject an ally who was ruled by emotions.

Finally, Kartun nodded.

“But only until we go to the grand duchy. If he sends spies to my land, I’ll eliminate them completely. And I’ll make sure he never dares to try again.”

“Then please don’t harm him now.”

Kartun frowned at this.

“Did I ever make a fuss about harming my own people?”

Daphne snorted in disbelief.

“Do you think I’m stupid? That woman with the ordinary appearance. You know how many times I’ve shaken her off.”

“…Lara.”

“Pardon?”

“That’s her name.”

“Ah, yes. Lara.”

Daphne glared at Kartun briefly before continuing.

“When I went downtown before, I saw blood splattered on that woman’s… I mean, Miss Lara’s clothes. I thought she might have been removing the spies who were following me.”

“She wasn’t the only one attached to you.”

Hearing Kartun’s words, Daphne’s eyes widened.

“Was it the aristocratic faction? If it was them, their targets would be my father or Ludwig, so why me…”

As Kartun stubbornly kept looking ahead, Daphne gradually trailed off.

“There’s something I don’t know.”

Kartun spoke in a deeply lowered voice.

“That’s why you should accept my help.”

Daphne remained silent for a while, seemingly lost in thought. He didn’t rush her and waited patiently.

Finally, she extended her hand again.

“I’ll cooperate with Your Highness until all the wolves in the Empire are caught.”

Kartun grasped her hand in return.

“Let’s work together until we catch all the wolves and eliminate the monsters.”

Work together.

Somehow, when he said those words, his eyes looked deeper and fiercer.

Daphne unconsciously tried to pull her hand away. But his large, hot hand, covered with calluses, applied more pressure as if refusing to let go.

Just then.

Someone called her name while running from a distance.

“Daphne!”

As she made a visor with her hand to look, Kartun had already recognized the person and frowned.

“He came quickly.”

“What? Who…”

Only then did Daphne realize that the person running at full speed was Werner.

He rushed like the wind to stand before the two, and while panting heavily with his breath reaching his chin, he asked:

“Why, huff… is the Grand Duke, whew… holding my daughter’s hand?”

Daphne frowned at his angry tone, while Kartun smiled as if amused.

⁕⁕⁕

Three hours earlier, the ship carrying Werner had arrived at the port. He set foot on land a day earlier than expected.

The port was in chaos. Merchant ships that should have already been out at sea were returning one after another.

While every dock was busy with unloading operations, Werner mounted a horse.

Seeing this, Ludwig shouted:

“Father, before going to the imperial palace, shouldn’t we organize a brief summary to report to Her Majesty?”

Ludwig’s words were certainly correct. There was a mountain of things to report, from the condition of merchant ships and trade goods to the escort fleet.

No matter how urgently the Emperor had called him back, he couldn’t just show up empty-handed.

But Werner kicked the horse’s side and shouted:

“You do it. Hiyah!”

Ludwig watched the dust raised by Werner’s horse with an incredulous expression.

Contrary to Ludwig’s expectation, Werner’s destination was not the imperial palace but home.

By the time he arrived at the Marquis’s residence, he had ridden at such full speed without rest that the horse was drenched in sweat and foaming at the mouth.

“Your Grace, you’ve returned?”

Anton, who had just expelled Leonhardt and was strengthening security, was surprised to welcome Werner.

It was too much to handle two thunderbolts in one day; even a veteran with years of experience was overwhelmed.

Anton began his report as usual, starting with Christine.

“Madam is out attending a salon gathering. I’ll send a messenger immediately to bring her back.”

But unexpectedly, Werner objected.

“No. She can’t cancel her meeting. Just leave her be.”

Werner climbed the central staircase two or three steps at a time and asked Anton, who was diligently following behind:

“Where’s Daphne?”

For a moment, Anton almost missed a step on the stairs.

It was rare for Werner to ask about anyone other than Christine after returning home. This was the first time he had asked about Daphne.

“She’s currently in the silk blossom garden.”

Hearing this, Werner stopped his steps toward Daphne’s chambers.

“Tell her to come to my office.”

“Well, about that…”

“What is it?”

“She’s not alone right now; she’s with His Grace the Grand Duke.”

“The Grand Duke… you mean Kartun?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“When did he come up… no, why is he with my daughter?”

Anton couldn’t open his mouth, completely baffled by the situation.

Any father would be upset if his only daughter was alone with an unfamiliar man. The problem was that this was Werner.

Despite his extreme loyalty to his master, Anton hadn’t lost his objective perspective.

Honestly, he couldn’t help thinking, ‘Since when did you start caring about your daughter?’

Anton briefly considered where to begin his explanation.

“Well, actually…”

“I’ll listen as we go.”

Werner commanded as he descended the stairs.

Anton followed behind him toward the garden, methodically reporting everything that had happened so far.

On his way to the garden, Werner had to stop several times.

He simply couldn’t believe his ears. If it hadn’t been Anton speaking, he would have kicked him in the rear for talking nonsense.

“Did Leonhardt really do such a thing?”

Anton nodded with a somber expression.

“But Miss Daphne was so composed and strong. She really endured it well.”

Werner almost asked if that was true but stopped himself. While it was fortunate if she had endured well, as a parent, wouldn’t he have preferred that such a thing never happened in the first place?

When this thought occurred to him, Werner felt ridiculous. He knew well that he had no right to say such things.

In truth, it wasn’t that he lacked paternal affection entirely; he simply hadn’t had the thought or leisure to look after her properly until now. He decided to set aside such excuses.

The garden, which had been covered in spring blossoms when he left, was now lush with greenery. He walked almost at a run, following the wonderful fragrance, until he spotted two people beneath the pink flowers.

It was Daphne and Kartun.

‘But why?’

Looking carefully, weren’t they holding hands?

Was seeing her holding hands with Leonhardt as familiar as watching her breathe? Seeing Daphne face-to-face with Kartun gave him an ominous feeling.

By the time he thought they shouldn’t be left alone like that, his feet were already running on their own.

“Daphne!”