“Kaiel……!”

Kaiel stopped in his tracks. Delia opened her mouth towards his broad back.

“Let’s talk. You said the rumors were false. That the goal is to kidnap Her Highness the Princess. Why do you think so?”

But no answer came, no matter how long she waited.

“Kaiel…… Are you not going to say anything to me? I……”

Delia’s heart ached as she spoke. It was because Kaiel quietly moved his arm and removed her hand from his sleeve.

Again.

That strangely distant behavior.

Kaiel had pushed her away many times, but lately, it hurt more than before.

Delia struggled to keep her trembling eyes fixed and asked again resolutely.

“Where have you been all this time? Huh?”

But as the distance between them closed, Kaiel stepped back again and started walking ahead.

“Kaiel……”

It seemed that she had truly offended him with the misunderstanding last time.

Delia took a deep breath and let it out.

It seemed that it would be much faster to ask Niol what she was curious about. If she stayed with Kaiel any longer, she felt like her eyes would well up with tears.

“Grand Duke. Please call me again when you’re ready. I…… I’ll be going now.”

But to her surprise, this time, Kaiel turned his head slightly and spoke.

“Where are you going? I told you to follow me.”

Seriously.

If he was going to act like this, why did he insist on having her follow him?

Why wouldn’t he answer her questions?

Could she expect him to accept her apology for what happened before?

Pushing aside the questions filling her mind, Delia followed his steps.

“Stand here.”

How should she understand this incomprehensible instruction?

After entering the office, closing the door, and sending all the servants away, Kaiel suddenly made her stand still. Delia stood quietly in a dumbfounded state, looking at him.

“I’m standing.”

“……Right.”

Kaiel’s state seemed somewhat strange. His slightly furrowed brow showed a peculiar tension. After a moment, he opened his mouth with a sigh.

“I’m going to do something now. I apologize in advance. So answer honestly.”

“What……?”

Before she could finish asking, Kaiel, who had been keeping his distance while talking, suddenly approached her.

One step, two steps. Despite the considerable distance between them, with his stride, it took only two steps to close the gap.

His following question made what little composure Delia had left completely evaporate.

“Are you scared?”

“What?”

Delia lost her words for a moment before answering.

“No?”

Her tone was resolute, as if such a thing couldn’t possibly be true.

Kaiel came even closer while keeping his gaze fixed on Delia. The distance between them was now about the width of a balloon.

“Are you afraid?”

“……No. Um, Kaiel, why…… what are you doing—”

His actions continued without hesitation.

“Are you scared?”

Delia looked down at Kaiel’s hand gripping her wrist, then raised her head again. Unlike his incomprehensible actions, his expression was quite serious.

Delia shook her head.

“No. I’m not scared.”

“Now.”

This time it was her head. As his large hand gently stroked her hair down to her nape, Delia unconsciously shrank her shoulders. At the same time, his hand quickly pulled away.

“Are you scared?”

For a moment, there was a hint of concern in his voice as he asked if she was scared. Delia hastily shook her head.

“No, this is…… Anyway, I’m not scared, Kaiel.”

His gray-blue eyes settled on her, examining her every expression.

The large hand that had held her wrist moved up her arm and carefully touched near her neck. The palm that settled as if cupping her neck felt warm.

“This.”

Delia somehow felt his hand on her neck was trembling slightly. No, it wasn’t just a feeling.

Thinking about why he was acting this way, past memories came to mind.

Before, his hand had touched her neck, and red marks had remained where his hand had passed.

His grip had been that strong, and it had happened because he never had a need to control such strength in his life.

So now…

It seemed Kaiel was completely removing all strength from his hand, afraid he might fail to control it again. Just looking at how his hand was stiff like a wooden model showed this.

Delia smiled gently as she grasped his trembling hand.

“Not at all. Are you doing this because you’re worried I might be scared of you? Aren’t you underestimating me too much? And look. It seems like you’re more scared than I am.”

For a moment, their eyes locked intensely. After a while, Kaiel spoke in a low voice.

“But last time, your eyes……”

“I’m sorry for misunderstanding and judging you as I pleased. I wasn’t afraid of you then. Looking back, it was more my problem…… I guess I should say I was just scared of the situation. I’m sorry.”

Even after she finished speaking, Kaiel’s expression remained frozen. Delia clapped her hands together and brushed them off.

“Well. From now on, I’m going to do something, watch carefully.”

First, what she did was reach out and interlock her fingers with his.

“I can do this,”

After unlocking their fingers, she raised her hand and lightly patted his shoulder.

“And I can do this too.”

Finally, she lifted that same hand and lightly tugged at his earlobe. For a moment, Kaiel’s pupils constricted.

“I can even do this, see? Do I still look like I’m scared of you?”

Looking at Kaiel who stood frozen in place, Delia continued.

“So now please answer my questions. Why did you say the rumors were fake, what’s this about Her Highness being a hostage, and what have you been doing all this time?”

As her hand fell away from his earlobe, Kaiel glanced at her and immediately grabbed her hand again as he answered.

“I’m the one who suggested kidnapping Ashlene.”

Delia’s mind went blank for a moment. She was already focused entirely on the large hand holding hers, and his answer was too shocking.

“You, you personally suggested the kidnapping? How dangerous! Was that why you were away all this time?”

“That……”

Kaiel, who had briefly closed his mouth, frowned while rubbing his forehead with his other hand.

“I just avoided you because you seemed scared of me.”

“That’s impossible! Really!”

Kaiel tightened his grip on her hand as he continued.

“We’re going to strike Floren. It was the Empress’s order.”

“Her Majesty the Empress ordered it?”

Why suddenly?

The Empress, whom she thought had no connection to this matter, was involved.

There was no reason she could think of for her to step in.

Delia came to the most plausible conclusion.

‘It seems my previous threats worked. Has she reformed? If she’s willing to step in and resolve the Floren issue on her own…’

The events flowed similarly to the original work, but this time there were changes in the specific elements.

In the original, Kaiel had noticed Floren’s plan and acted independently, but now these series of events happened under the Empress’s orders.

Also, while in the original, Floren and Sheriton had joined hands to attack Tranade, this time Tranade was allied with Sheriton.

If there was anything questionable, it was the timing.

‘It’s strange to attack Floren now.’

According to the original, Floren should have been taken over by Kaiel much later in the novel.

‘It’s too early.’

The rapid progression of events from the original wasn’t entirely good for her. The system’s pressure would only increase as things moved faster.

With complicated feelings, Delia shook her head to suppress her inner confusion.

“Didn’t Floren suspect anything?”

“Apparently, there were rumors about my bad relationship with the Crown Prince and Princess. I think I know who spread them.”

Feeling guilty, Delia hurriedly said.

“What fool would believe just rumors.”

“Anyone becomes foolish when they’re angry or desperate. Still, they probably won’t be completely unsuspicious. They’ll try to verify somehow.”

Delia slowly nodded.

“So, for now, Floren will trust you and attack the imperial palace? To take Her Highness as hostage?”

Kaiel nodded.

“They’ll be confident that the military is concentrated in the capital and borders.”

“And you’ll strike Floren at that moment, right?”

“Yes.”

“Kaiel, my hand hurts.”

Kaiel, who had been kneading Delia’s hand throughout his answers, stopped at her words and let go.

“I didn’t mean you had to stop touching.”

Delia gripped his hand tightly again and asked.

“Does His Highness know all about this plan too?”

Kaiel looked at her with a seemingly displeased face.

“Why?”

Delia shrugged with a slight smile.

The good thing about diverging from the original was that now Kaiel was working together with Niol. Above all, the fact that their relationship hadn’t deteriorated would be very helpful for future events.

“Kaiel. I have a favor to ask. Are you free tomorrow evening? I want to try something fun.”

He seemed to try to gauge what the ‘fun’ thing might be, then his eyes sparkled.

“Yes.”

* * *