Everyone was either turned away or looking at the ground as though they had agreed beforehand.

Surely not…

“Did you order them not to look?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because you don’t like it.”

Nonchalantly, Hector bent down and kissed Charlie’s cheek.

His sharp nose bridge rubbed against her snow-white skin. His large hand wrapped around her slender neck, passing over her chin. A languid smile spread across her lips at the brushing kiss.

“Wait, wait a moment.”

Charlie, who had almost been drawn in completely, barely managed to separate her face from Hector’s.

“Is there a problem?”

Hector narrowed his brow, seemingly displeased. Charlie answered with a deep sigh.

“There are many problems.”

“I made sure others couldn’t watch our intimate acts. So what’s the problem?”

“……”

Charlie felt a headache coming on at Hector’s expression of utter incomprehension.

Wasn’t this tantamount to declaring, ‘As long as they can’t see, we’ll engage in displays of affection anywhere’?

Charlie disliked not only being seen but also the very fact of others knowing.

Complete strangers seeing it once wouldn’t matter.

But the knights were people she encountered daily.

It was like feeling embarrassed when even the slightest mention of skinship or bedroom talk came up in front of family members.

Where do I begin to explain? While Charlie was lost in thought,

“Leon.”

After making love with Charlie, Hector’s pheromone insensitivity had improved considerably.

But it hadn’t gotten better, so Hector slightly frowned at the scent carried on the wind.

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Leon, who had been looking at the ground near the tent, answered.

His appearance of walking while staring at the floor was so funny that Charlie couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.

“Either chase them away or find them.”

“……”

“Or else…”

The unspoken ‘you die’ was conveyed by Hector’s fierce gaze.

Leon’s eyelids fell weakly. A dry swallow passed down his tightly constricted throat.

Charlie, who had been quietly observing the two, raised her head slightly.

“Who came?”

* * *

“His Grace said it was fine.”

Leon looked at Kieran, who was searching for the card, with displeasure.

Ignoring him, Kieran answered while shaking the trees with her wind ability.

“It’s a family heirloom, isn’t it?”

“Sigh……”

Who said that people from the Wilkins family ignore injustice because it’s troublesome?

Kieran’s determination to come every day was truly remarkable.

No, her obsession with the card was scary.

[Who wants to die first.]

Because of Kieran’s visit, Leon had no choice but to report the clash with the Wilkins family.

Of course, Hector was furious, and along with Luke, Leon also received a stern rebuke.

[Should I kill the vice-commander first for running his mouth carelessly?]

[Ugh……]

[Or should I kill the knight commander first for allowing such careless talk?]

[Gah!]

The memory of his breath catching in his throat and his vision going dark flashed by. Leon rubbed his neck, where the sensation still lingered vividly.

It wasn’t just a threat.

If Kieran kept coming like this, he would either die or receive a punishment so severe that death might be preferable.

‘His Grace might drop me in a place where monsters live.’

Shuddering at the thought, Leon said,

“His Grace said to send you back. So please leave before trouble starts and stop coming.”

“If I ask His Grace for permission…”

“Ah, this is driving me crazy.”

Frustrated, Leon clutched at his own hair.

The lost card was indeed the one given by Emperor Constanti.

But it was truly insignificant enough for Hector that he tossed it to the knights.

But he couldn’t say that outright.

“That bastard, saying unnecessary things…”

Should he have killed Luke as Tanner suggested?

No, should he just kill him now?!

Leon glared at Luke, who was watching Kieran from a distance.

“…..!”

The murderous intent that stretched out was so intense. Startled, Luke hurriedly averted his gaze.

“You bastard. Why are you standing around instead of searching!”

Leon ground his teeth and shouted at Luke, who was standing in the shade of a tree.

“It’s not like I lost it… Why are you yelling at me?”

“It’s because of you. Hurry up and help search!”

Leon’s fingertip pointed at the wide field.

“Don’t eat until you find it. Don’t even drink water!”

“……”

“It would be best to kill them both at once.”

A low, deep voice settled ominously.

The two culprits standing with bowed heads next to Hector trembled with fear at their fingertips.

“Dame Kieran, please have some of this~!”

“……”

When Charlie raised her voice, Hector’s face contorted without restraint.

“Should I tear them to death, or burn them to death.”

“……!”

The black aura stretching out with a hiss exuded deep anger.

Leon and Luke, their hair standing on end, shuddered.

The knights involuntarily covered their gaping mouths.

But Hector only watched from a distance, not stopping Charlie.

─ A little while ago ─

“Charlie?”

Charlie stopped Hector, who was about to chase Kieran away, even waving her hands.

Clearly, Charlie and the Wilkins family had no connection.

So why was she so concerned? Hector couldn’t understand.

Just as Hector’s mood was twisting again at hearing that she had even asked Mateo for refreshments,

“You said we should entertain guests when we have them.”

“Guests?!”

As Hector’s brow furrowed, Leon quickly added,

“What could this mean?”

“Mean?”

“Isn’t it the role of the lady of the house to welcome guests who come to visit the family?”

At that moment, Hector’s eyebrow twitched.

Sensing an opportunity, Leon hurriedly continued. He couldn’t die like this.

“In other words, isn’t she trying to welcome and entertain the Wilkins family’s knight commander as the future Grand Duchess?”

“……”

In the Hunt family, which had no Grand Duchess, Tanner was in charge of the household affairs.

But if Hector were to marry, from household management to welcoming guests — it would naturally be the Grand Duchess’s role.

“Taking care of the family members and all that. This is what it means, I’m saying.”

“You’re talking well because you want to live.”

Leon faltered, having hit the nail on the head.

“But when she’s so excited to welcome guests like that… Stopping her would be like cutting off her authority as Grand Duchess, wouldn’t it?”

The interpretation was better than the dream itself.

But Kieran was indeed the knight commander of a ducal family.

A knight commander was the most powerful person in the family after the head.

That’s why Hector didn’t rashly chase him away.

Besides, wasn’t she a woman like Charlie?

Hector let out a displeased sigh.

“Hah……”

* * *

Charlie set down the picnic basket she had received from Mateo.

It was a well-known fact that Hector didn’t like the Wilkins family.

But this time, she hadn’t lied, nor was she taking care of another man.

It didn’t seem right to turn away someone who had been struggling to find the card for days.

And most importantly, Charlie remembered something about Kieran.

[Was it Kieran Scott?]

Kieran Scott.

The woman Noel cherished like an older sister. And also a character Noel had desperately longed for in the original story.

Noel had once given up on a ball where he could meet Liliana.

It was because it was the anniversary of Kieran’s death.

The phrase about him crying for three days and nights in front of the grave before collapsing vividly flashed through Charlie’s mind.

That’s right.

In the original story, Kieran was definitely a dead character.

So why was she alive now?

However, since it was just a few lines of content, Charlie couldn’t remember anything beyond that.

Charlie took in Kieran’s strong yet gentle impression.

“I’m really fine. I’m not in a position to receive such hospitality.”

Kieran seemed flustered by the sudden kindness, not knowing what to do. She hadn’t expected at all to receive such treatment from the Hunt family in this situation.

And the huge bundle Charlie had brought looked as if a tea party was being held.

“No, you’re our guest.”

“……”

Kieran quietly looked at the smiling Charlie.

Charlie, who had taken off her large robe, was infinitely small and delicate.

Like a kitten that fell into a wolf’s den, perhaps?

It was indeed a sight that didn’t match at all with the rugged people of the Hunt family.

Especially when Charlie was standing next to Hector. It aroused a protective instinct in her and a sense of chivalry as if she needed to be rescued right away.

“Let me. I’ll do it.”

As Charlie was struggling, Kieran quickly reached out.

Kieran, being among the top-tier Masters, was superior to Zero-level Charlie in everything from physique to strength.

The mat that Charlie had been struggling with was spread out in one breath, settling gently on the grass.

Following that, her well-mannered movements skillfully prepared the refreshments.

“You’re good at this.”

Charlie couldn’t help but admire Kieran as she poured tea with precise movements.

“Ah……!”

As though she suddenly realized her unconscious actions, Kieran let out a low sigh.

“Please enjoy.”

Charlie gently pushed forward a carrot cake and smiled with her eyes.