Even though I was doing something terrible, creating an embarrassing history in real-time, Ilion showed no interest in me despite my efforts. It felt like he was avoiding me, and unless I sought him out first, I couldn’t see him even while living in the same house. It truly felt like I had gone back to the first day at the mansion.

“What are you doing, Master?”

While I was lying on the sofa in the parlor, reflecting on myself, Royden opened the door and came in.

“Playing rock game.”

“What is that?”

“It’s a game where you lie still and do nothing.”

Royden was amazed that humans even had a name for such activities. Although the premise of ‘humans’ was wrong, I didn’t bother correcting him. I didn’t want to engage in conversation.

Royden, who was staying at the mansion, was keeping himself busy. Using the excuse of wanting to collect stories, he visited the servants and the knight order, often stealing their memories without permission. Fortunately, people merely thought of Royden as a capable mage, and thanks to his excellent social skills, they were generally favorable towards him. They didn’t know he was stealing memories…

“Aren’t you going to the Duke today?”

Royden asked after watching me lie still for a while.

“I will.”

“Then what are you doing here?”

He leaned closer, standing in front of the sofa. I replied while staring at his swaying sky-blue hair.

“Thinking.”

“Thinking about what?”

“How to make the Duke want to recover his memories.”

“It seems your plan to seduce Ilion isn’t going well.”

He must have read my memory again. I muttered with a displeased expression, seeing Royden mention the plan’s name I hadn’t told him.

“What do you mean it’s not going well? It’s already halfway successful.”

They say starting is half the battle, so since I’ve started, it’s halfway successful.

“Success is success, and failure is failure. What’s halfway successful?”

Oh, really. Must you nitpick everything?

Annoyed by Royden’s tactless intrusion, I turned my body to face the sofa backrest. I didn’t want to meet his eyes and have my memories read.

However, Royden sat down on the sofa where I was lying.

“It’s cramped. Please move to the other side.”

He didn’t budge despite my polite request. Instead, he leaned closer.

“Do you want me to help if things aren’t going well?”

His lazy voice sounded somewhat dangerous, and his sky-blue hair tickled my cheek.

“No, thank you. Also, you’re too close, so please back off.”

His help was never free. He would surely demand something in return.

“I’ll help you this time without asking for anything.”

“I said no.”

“I was going to tell you why Ilion fell for you. Are you sure you’re okay with that?”

“……”

Listening to his words, I couldn’t help but turn my head quickly.

“You’re curious about that, aren’t you?”

His crescent-shaped eyes smiled slyly. I felt slightly tricked, but I couldn’t resist asking.

“Why did he fall for me?”

“Well, you see…”

Royden leaned in like he would whisper a secret, even though we were the only ones there.

At that moment, the door to the parlor opened with a click. Royden’s lips curled slightly.

“Who is it? Who came?”

I asked, and he just smiled broadly and straightened his posture.

“Someone came at a really bad time.”

“…I suppose I’ve interrupted.”

It was Ilion’s voice.

Rather than interrupting, what did he mean by that?

“Indeed, you came at the most interesting moment.”

Though he always wore a frivolous smile, this one seemed particularly suspicious. I briefly considered how our situation might appear to Ilion.

“No, it’s not like that. This is…”

As I hastily pushed Royden away and stood up, I saw Ilion’s cold expression.

“Sorry for interrupting. I’ll come by later if I have time. I have something to discuss.”

With that, he left, closing the door behind him.

I stared blankly at the spot where Ilion had stood, then glared at Royden.

“You knew the Duke was coming, didn’t you?”

“I told you, I was going to help.”

Royden seemed to find the situation amusing.

I had a lot to say, but now wasn’t the time to deal with Royden. Prioritizing my tasks, I left Royden behind and hurriedly followed Ilion.

“Duke, please wait. You’ve misunderstood.”

I caught the hem of Ilion’s coat as he walked away. Though he seemed unwilling to stop, he responded with an irritated voice.

“What misunderstanding?”

“Nothing happened with Royden. We were just talking.”

“You don’t need to explain to me. I don’t care who you’re with or what you do. Just be careful not to cause any rumors. There are many eyes even within the mansion.”

His cold eyes looked down at me. He seemed genuinely angry.

“I told you, it’s a misunderstanding. Why are you so angry?”

“I’m not angry.”

“You are. Even a passing child could see how childish you’re being.”

“Miss Rischefeld.”

He called my name in a low voice. He always used my surname when he was angry, confirming he was indeed upset.

“Why are you so angry if you don’t care who I’m with or what I do? Should I guess?”

“Stop with the unnecessary words.”

Ilion pressed his forehead as if he had a headache.

“Can’t you just be honest? Before losing your memory, you were much more straightforward…”

“Master! Spinel wants to eat snacks. Do you want some too?”

We’re in the middle of an important conversation, and you’re talking about snacks?

I swallowed my rising anger at Royden, who appeared out of nowhere, grinning as he asked.

“No, I don’t. You two can eat.”

“But snacks taste better when shared.”

“I said I don’t want any!”

While I was briefly bickering with Royden, Ilion had already turned away and was walking off into the distance.

I watched his receding figure and sighed.

I could have chased after him again, but I didn’t. Both Ilion and I were quite heated at the moment.

In a way, it was fortunate… No, it wasn’t. If Royden hadn’t been there, none of this would have happened!

Any fleeting sense of gratitude I felt towards him vanished.

“Royden, don’t you have somewhere else to go?”

I asked, glaring at him, who was the cause of all this trouble.

“I don’t.”

“Then go back to your nest.”

“I don’t have a nest. My place is beside you, Master, so where should I go?”

Why do you still call me Master? You’ve taken all my memories as you wanted! On top of that, you’ve collected all the memories of the people living in the mansion, so who exactly is your master?

Suppressing the anger that was about to explode, I asked,

“What about hibernation?”

“That’s a long way off.”

“What about winter sleep? Don’t reptiles hibernate?”

“What do you think I am?”

Why? Dragons are reptiles, aren’t they!

“Then just enter eternal rest!”

“Oh my, Master. That’s a bit harsh.”

It’s not a joke!

***

“Grrr…”

Count Glenn looked at the black dog baring its teeth at him. The dog, which was on high alert, soon began barking fiercely at him. It resembled someone who couldn’t recognize their owner and was running wild.

The Count watched the scene indifferently and called over a passing soldier, requesting to borrow a sword.

“A sword, my lord?”

“Why, is there a problem?”

“No, my lord.”

The soldier was surprised because his master, who had spent his life reading books, suddenly asked for a sword.

However, the master’s next actions made him doubt his eyes even more.

Without a moment’s hesitation, the Count slit the dog’s throat. There was no hint of guilt in the way he skillfully wiped the blood off the sword.

Is this really the Count of Glenn he knew?

He had heard that the Count’s personality had changed slightly after the assassination attempt a few days ago, but this was like a completely different person.

The soldier cautiously asked, watching his master’s expression.

“Wasn’t that a dog you cherished?”

“No matter how cherished, a dog that can’t recognize its owner is useless.”

The Count replied with a cold smile.

The soldier swallowed hard, accepting the sword handed back by the Count, who now seemed unapproachable.

Count Glenn, or rather, Klaus who had taken over his body, looked around with a languid expression.

The Count’s domain was quieter and more boring than expected. The Count’s family and his subjects were all living the same daily routine, immersed in the peace brought by the fertile land.

The fact that killing a dog could become a topic of conversation showed how dull the place was.

Klaus glanced at the maids whispering about the dead dog below the terrace and then turned his gaze away.

The door opened, and a child peeked in.

“Dad, can I come in?”

It was Count Glenn’s young daughter, Riana.

“Come in, Riana.”

With permission granted, Riana ran over with her short limbs.

“I came to bring you the newspaper.”

“Thank you.”

As he patted the child’s head appreciatively, Riana smiled with rosy cheeks like a peach.

The newspaper she brought was filled with news of a new emperor ascending the throne.

“What was his name again, Antias or something?”

The previous emperor had many children, and just as his father couldn’t remember all their names, Klaus couldn’t recall the names of his siblings. The name Antias felt unfamiliar.

“Oh, wait. Was it that Father couldn’t remember my name alone?”

Perhaps because he was a child born to a concubine he didn’t love, or maybe because he resembled him so closely it was eerie, the previous emperor often treated Klaus as if he didn’t exist. Not only him but also his mother.

A mother who went mad begging for love and a father who confined her in the Imperial Palace and treated her as if she didn’t exist.

And a child who wasn’t loved in between them was nothing special in Klaus’s childhood story.

“What does the article say?”

As he opened the newspaper and read about Antias, Riana, curious, climbed onto Klaus’s knee and asked to see it too.

“It says a new emperor has ascended the throne.”

“A new emperor? Does that mean the scary emperor is gone now?”

Klaus hadn’t done anything particular to Count Glenn, so he was surprised at his bad reputation.

Klaus smiled and asked the child.

“Why is he scary?”

“Just… Mom said so. That he’s a scary person.”

“That’s right, he is a scary person.”

Klaus placed Riana on his knee and looked at her face.

“He’s the one who killed his father and brothers.”