“Don’t worry. I am a gentleman broad-minded enough to accept all of Miss Hailey Salmon’s shortcomings. As you may already know, I wasn’t the one who requested the dance. It was Miss Hailey Salmon. Thanks to that, I was rejected by Princess Britton.”

That meant she was entirely to blame for this situation.

Daniel groaned and rubbed his forehead. Now that he understood the whole story, he took a step back.

“If that’s the case, then at the very least, please send Hailey back home. Even if you’re not married yet, a man and woman living under the same roof will attract ridicule. Nasty rumors will surely follow her.”

“Hm.”

He wasn’t wrong. After some thought, the duke nodded. Daniel waited for his response, thinking that if Hailey were sent back home, he would hide her away somewhere no one could find her.

“After the engagement ceremony, Miss Hailey Salmon will have many duties to attend to in the capital. She’ll also have to attend many social gatherings as my fiancée. So if living under the same roof is a concern, I’ll prepare a separate mansion for her in the capital. I’ll need to hire servants too. In fact, why don’t we—right this moment…”

“Waaah—no!”

Hailey, who had been silently listening to the two men, frantically waved her hands with a horrified expression.

‘No, a mansion? Like buying something from the market?’

She took a deep breath to calm her pounding heart. Daniel, too, looked shocked, his face white as a sheet. His pupils even seemed a little unfocused. It was a natural reaction for a commoner.

“I-It’s fine even if we live in the same house. There haven’t been any issues so far. It’s really okay, Brother. I can take care of my own affairs. A few insults won’t hurt me.”

At her resolute words, Daniel sighed again and held his forehead. He began to doubt whether the girl in front of him was truly his younger sister.

After their mother passed away, Baron Salmon and Daniel had cherished her even more dearly. On rainy days, they carried her to keep mud from staining her skirts. On cold days, they wouldn’t let her move from the fireplace.

The child who had always seemed ten years old suddenly became an adult in an instant. Only then did Daniel realize he could no longer keep her under his overprotection. A bird that breaks free from its egg must soar into the sky.

“But, Your Grace.”

At that moment, Hailey calmly broke the silence. Both men turned their eyes toward her at the same time.

Hailey asked in a rather serious tone,

“Will I continue as your Santier dialogue partner, Your Grace?”

Tayton frowned slightly at those words. He narrowed his eyes as if trying to read her thoughts.

Instead, Daniel asked back,

“Hey, why are you asking that? You’re getting engaged to His Grace, so do you really need to keep being the Santier dialogue partner?”

“But if I quit, I won’t receive my weekly pay. If I stay at the mansion, I’ll still be doing the same work, but just because I become the fiancée, I won’t be paid anymore? That’s really unfair.”

“……”

“……”

The Duke and Daniel exchanged glances. Tayton raised both hands lightly, as if to say, See how generous I am, while Daniel rubbed his forehead, saying,

“Uh, well…”

In the end, Daniel bowed his head toward him.

“Thank you for Your Grace’s generous understanding.”

“Don’t mention it.”

When Hailey asked, “What does that mean?” in confusion at their inexplicable exchange, there was no answer.

Daniel rose from his seat. Unlike when he had stormed in with confidence, his shoulders now drooped like a defeated soldier.

“Well then, I’ll be taking my leave, Duke Gunner.”

Hailey tilted her head and stood to see him off. But Daniel waved one hand as if to stop her.

“No need to come out. I think I need some time alone.”

“…Yes.”

Still unsure of what was going on, Hailey quietly nodded. She silently watched Daniel’s retreating figure as he trudged away.

“The engagement ceremony is in a month.”

Then, a blunt voice called from behind her. Hailey, who had been staring at the parlor door with a worried expression, slowly turned around.

Tayton, sitting with his legs crossed, cast an indifferent gaze her way.

“I’ll give you the most splendid engagement ceremony in the world. I guarantee, you’ll be very satisfied.”

As if waiting for her reaction, Tayton tapped his fingers on the armrest. Hailey returned to her seat.

“Even if the ceremony is a month away, everyone already knows that Miss Hailey Salmon is my future fiancée, so I expect you to behave accordingly.”

“Yes, Your Grace. But…”

Hailey, who had nodded politely, looked up at him with innocent eyes. Tayton’s eyes narrowed slightly, as if to say, What are you trying to say this time?

“After we’re engaged… will we also get married?”

Apparently, the question caught him off guard. Tayton simply stared at Hailey in silence. He looked either confused by the unexpected question or like someone who had just been ambushed.

As the silence dragged on, she mumbled awkwardly, as if to explain herself,

“I mean, marriage feels like such a heavy responsibility… I don’t think I’ve done anything that wrong to deserve that…”

“Miss Hailey Salmon.”

Tayton clenched his teeth and called her name in a low voice. The sound of his voice, spat out as if chewing through something, made Hailey’s shoulders flinch.

“…Yes, Your Grace.”

“Who do you think should be saying something like that? The reckless daughter of a baron’s house so poor it leaks through the roof, and Duke Gunner, the wealthiest and most powerful noble in all of Aislin. Who do you think people would say is too good for whom, hmm? Tell me.”

Hailey, of course, believed she was too good for him. Although she had no money, she had other things the Duke lacked. Things like personality. Or… personality. Or maybe even personality.

Tayton must have guessed the answer from her defiant silence, because his smile took on an even colder edge. His silver eyes gleamed ominously.

Hailey belatedly muttered, “Well, it probably depends on the person,” but his mood had already turned sour beyond repair.

“Don’t worry, Miss Hailey Salmon. I have no intention of marrying you either. Let me say it again—our engagement is for appearances, and to protect my reputation. We’ll break it off at the appropriate time. Until then, it’d be best if you made the most of the opportunity.”

With a chilling mutter between clenched teeth, Tayton stood up. He shot her a cold glare and left the parlor.

Thump, thump.

Hailey watched his back and clutched her head. I did it again, she thought. Nothing in life ever came easy.

***

Hailey quietly opened the front door of the mansion and stepped outside. The chilly night wind brushed her cheeks. She drew her shawl tighter around her shoulders and slowly began walking.

The dim light of the scattered gas lamps pushed back the darkness in small handfuls. Even so, the darkness never completely vanished. The veil of night was thick and heavy.

Hailey inhaled deeply, drawing the air into her lungs. Another sleepless night. By now, she was quite used to them.

Suddenly, she stopped and slowly turned to gaze at the Duke’s study.

“…Huh. Seems like he went to bed.”

She stuck out her lips as she looked at the darkened room. Then, realizing she was disappointed, she made an embarrassed face.

Perhaps, in some way, she had thought of the Duke as a fellow sufferer of sleepless nights. Though for different reasons, they both stayed up through the black night.

“Well, it’s a good thing if at least one of us can sleep peacefully.”

She whispered softly and was about to take another step—

“Can’t sleep?”

“!”

Startled by the unexpected voice, Hailey froze, her face turning pale. The deep, heavy voice that had come from what she thought was an empty space chilled her to the core.

Tayton clicked his tongue in annoyance and muttered,

“How rude.”

He had seen many startled expressions. No, not just startled—he had seen faces twisted in contempt and hatred too many times to count.

But Hailey’s pale face filled him with deep displeasure. Or perhaps, it was a feeling different from displeasure. Something… more.

At that moment.

“Duke…?”

Only then did Hailey, realizing the identity of the dark figure, breathe a sigh of relief. Her tense shoulders sagged.

Tayton quietly looked down at her face—Hailey, who had recognized him and was now relieved.

“If not me, then who did you think it was, Miss Hailey Salmon?”

The displeasure he had just felt vanished without a trace. And Tayton still didn’t understand why.

Hailey snuck a sideways glance at him, pouting as she grumbled.

“Could you please make your presence known when you walk? Jumping out of the darkness like that—I thought you were a ghost.”

“A cursed duke doesn’t scare you, but a ghost does?”

Tayton shot back nonchalantly as he slowly walked. Hailey walked alongside him, answering evenly.

“I can touch you, but I can’t touch a ghost.”

A curse and a ghost were entirely different matters. Fear of ghosts and spirits, like a hatred of snakes, was a primal fear deeply embedded in human instinct.

“And what would you do if you could touch one, Miss Hailey Salmon?”

Tayton’s voice dropped to a low, secretive tone. But she, unaware of it, responded with a matter-of-fact look.

“Hit it. Kick it. Bite it.”

“How blasphemous.”