“Then what should we do? If the emperor is involved, wouldn’t it be good to come up with some countermeasures?”

“It would be nice to have countermeasures, but honestly, even without them, I’m not particularly afraid of them invading.”

“What?”

“If they come, we’ll fight and win. I don’t think I’ll lose to them in my forest.”

From behind, Lime whispered, “Overconfidence is the beginning of failure,” only to be smacked on the back by Olivia, who said he was inviting bad luck. Having seen Alois fight, Olivia found his confident words reassuring. She couldn’t imagine him losing either. However, she worried about other things.

“But other animals might get hurt, or nature might be destroyed.”

No matter how strong Alois was, it wouldn’t be easy to protect all the animals across such a vast area. Moreover, if their opponent was connected to the emperor, in the worst-case scenario, they might bring imperial soldiers, which could result in significant damage even if they won.

“I’ve been worrying about that aspect too, so I’ve been considering relocating the animals that stay here to another place.”

“So many little ones?”

“I’ve made some inquiries about it, but I haven’t received an answer yet.”

Needing subordinates he could command like limbs, Alois had contacted a subordinate he had met at the resort. Though it would be difficult for that aged person to act directly, it seemed possible for him to at least help by recommending suitable individuals. The problem was that communication wasn’t smooth—perhaps he had genuinely gone on a trip during that short time.

“What if I go find the administrator and try to negotiate?”

“I absolutely opposed it. Sis, it’s too dangerous.”

“I’m not keen on it either. My opinion is that since he’s not someone trustworthy, trying to negotiate would be meaningless.”

“I don’t trust the administrator either. But since he keeps spreading strange rumors about me in the village……”

Olivia nudged Lime’s side and relayed the rumors he had mentioned to Alois as well. Unlike Olivia, what irritated Alois was that she had been linked to scandalous rumors involving a man not worth mentioning. He coldly raged, promising that the next time they met, he would make sure the man couldn’t use his mouth.

“If he keeps spreading such rumors, I wonder if it’s a preparation for something. He might be trying to create a sense of crisis among people by saying dangerous creatures live in the forest or that there might be results of forbidden experiments there, to manipulate them as he wishes.”

“You mean a public opinion campaign.”

“Yes. And I’d feel sorry if the villagers got unnecessarily involved… If I show the villagers that I have no connection to this forest and am living quite normally, wouldn’t the rumors about me at least die down?”

While Olivia’s words made some sense, the reactions from Alois and Lime weren’t particularly positive. Both were more concerned about Olivia’s safety than anything else.

“Wouldn’t it be okay if Lime went with me? Lime, you’re good at combat, right?”

So good that you even received a commendation from the emperor! This seemed to be news to Alois, who looked Lime over with a fresh gaze. He had assumed he had some skill since he managed to penetrate the thorn bushes, but it appeared he also had a certain political sense.

“If I go out too……”

“Alois, you can’t. We don’t know when the reply to your message will come, and you said the administrator recognizes your face. It could lead to misunderstandings and make things worse.”

Indeed, if the duke himself went out into the world, it could introduce annoying political issues and complicate matters. It would be better for everyone to resolve this as a matter between the forest, Olivia, and the administrator.

“Hmm……”

An assessing gaze turned toward Lime again. Though he felt wronged about receiving such looks from the duke for no reason, when asked if he was stronger than the duke, that wasn’t the case either, so Lime quietly kept his mouth shut and only grumbled inwardly.

“He does seem like he would protect you with his life……”

Though not entirely smooth, the plan Olivia proposed was approved. However, to proceed, Olivia and Lime would have to leave Alois at the mansion and go to the village. Given that Alois had strongly opposed them going to the resort alone, Olivia racked her brain about how to persuade him this time. First, make innocent eyes, convince him she absolutely wouldn’t run away, keep the duration as short as possible……

“No need to worry so much.”

“Eh, what?”

“I think I know what you’re worried about, and if you return safely, you may go.”

Both Olivia and even Lime were surprised by the permission Alois granted so simply and easily, staring blankly at him. Meanwhile, Alois maintained a calm expression, merely playing with Olivia’s fingers by intertwining them with his own.

“Really? You’re not angry and sending me away for good or anything like that?”

Seeing Olivia’s cautious demeanor, perhaps confronting his own past severity, Alois took her hand and pulled her to sit on his lap.

“Honestly, I don’t want to let you go. I want to keep you where I can see you, where my hands can reach. But now there’s no other way, so I have no choice but to respect your opinion.”

It seems our duke has grown a bit. Feeling dazed yet secretly proud, and also strangely missing his past obsessive behavior, Olivia embraced his shoulders and gently stroked his back with a mix of relief and regret.

“I absolutely won’t run away. You know that, right?”

“I know.”

“I’ll go out for exactly one week and then come back. Really. I promise!”

A pinky finger extended. Alois stared at that finger for a moment before slowly hooking his own finger with hers. Feeling that their relationship had progressed a bit further and become more solid than before, Olivia was thoroughly excited.

“Thank you for trusting me.”

Trust, huh. Alois looked at Olivia, whom he adored, with a complex expression before silently nodding.

* * *

Once their plan was decided, everything else proceeded smoothly. Since the forest and village were close enough that traveling between them took less than a day, there was no need to prepare anything special. Only Lime, who needed to protect Olivia in case she got hurt, was busy maintaining his weapons.

“I’ll bring a surprise gift for Alois when I return.”

Olivia had apparently made some plan during this time and boldly promised Alois there would be a surprise event when she left. Alois bid her farewell as calmly and nonchalantly as possible, saying that returning safely—preferably early—would be the best thing.

Olivia and Lime left the forest through the passage in the thorn bushes that Alois had opened for them.

— Will she be alright?

— She’s just going to greet the villagers and come back, she’ll be fine.

— But she’s also going to meet the administrator.

— She has to confront him about spreading false rumors; it can’t be helped. That younger brother is supposedly strong.

The animals living in the forest, including the escaped wolf-dogs, gathered around the thorn bushes, chattering about Olivia who had left the forest. Most were concerned, hoping for her safe return. Alois sat on a stump, absentmindedly staring at the sky while half-listening to the animals’ chatter.

— She’ll return safely.

— That’s right. She promised to come back.

Unlike the other noisy animals, the cats approached Alois quietly and spoke to him. When Alois extended his finger, they offered their chins. As he gently scratched them, the cats’ bodies stretched out languidly.

— You did well to trust her and let her go.

But Alois shook his head with a bitter smile at another cat’s words.

“I didn’t let her go because I trusted she’d return.”

At this sudden shocking confession, the languidly stretched cats perked up their ears. Though they were cats, they had eyes and ears everywhere in the forest and mansion. Naturally, they had a general understanding of the relationship between their master and the human.

Our master isn’t someone who would let someone he doesn’t trust go so easily, right? The cats quickly exchanged glances.

— If you didn’t let her go because you trusted her……

“I considered all worst-case scenarios. Including the possibility that she might abandon or betray me after returning to the village.”

— If you’re that anxious, why did you let her go? Why not just keep her locked up!

Alois chuckled at the innocent cat’s response and stood up from his seat. Since staring at the sky at the entrance wouldn’t make her return any sooner, he needed to wait while doing whatever he could.

Despite Olivia’s joy, Alois hadn’t really trusted her that much. This didn’t mean Alois suspected her. It meant he hadn’t grown enough to comfortably trust not only Olivia but all other humans.

He still feared she might leave and never return, and he hadn’t been able to abandon his possessiveness that wanted to keep her by his side. But the reason he let Olivia go this time was…

“Because I felt I should at least pretend to trust her.”