Ilion was as skilled at deceiving emotions as he was at killing them.

Both were quite useful methods for erasing personal feelings, so there was no need to distinguish between them.

The same was true when he discovered that Ravenne had deceived him and joined hands with Sergio.

Though there was clearly a different emotion amidst the anger that boiled up in that moment, Ilion packaged all of it under the single name of anger.

Ilion unconsciously ignored all other emotions.

It wasn’t often that his actions preceded his thoughts. It would be the first time since his distant childhood.

By the time his thoughts caught up with his actions, he was already inflicting abuse bordering on torture, but then he realized it didn’t change anything. It only made the method a bit more subtle.

Ilion had always been wary of emotions swallowing reason. However, like at the casino last time, and now with this kidnapping incident, his thoughts and actions were out of sync.

Clearly, before teleporting, Ilion intended to question Ravenne about her crimes. He was going to make her kneel and realize who she had tried to manipulate.

However, upon finding Ravenne collapsed on the floor, crying, his body moved first, like it was mocking his plans.

When he finally confirmed that Ravenne was safe, Ilion vaguely realized,

That the personal emotions he had been ignoring all this time had ended up devouring his reason.

Even after that, he pondered Ravenne’s treatment for a while, but even though it wasn’t something that would take long, he couldn’t decide easily.

And before he knew it, he was attaching reasons to it. They were mostly unconvincing reasons, and actions he would never take normally.

Last night was the same. Going out for a walk to clear his complicated mind was something he would never do normally.

And as if on cue, the person who should have been lying quietly in bed was showing the eccentric behavior of climbing out the window.

How could each of her actions surpass his expectations like this…

The excuse was truly a masterpiece.

‘Y-you’re indifferent no matter what I do, so I-I wanted attention. I thought… if I disappeared… you might worry… about me…’

Hearing those words, she seemed like nothing more than a naive young lady, but now Ilion could see through Ravenne’s lies.

To make such an implausible excuse after planning to escape the empire by faking her own death.

However, realizing this didn’t mean he would imprison Ravenne for contempt. Or would he let her go as she wished?

Ilion couldn’t choose either option.

To give up money and honor and try to escape, one would need a strong motive, but he couldn’t find any motive in her.

Even Sergio, whom he had considered a possibility, wasn’t the reason, so why was she doing such a reckless thing?

If he wanted to uncover the secret Ravenne was hiding, there was nothing he couldn’t do. With a bit of physical force and magic, he could make her confess the truth in less than 10 minutes.

But if he did that, with high probability…

‘She would break.’

Her fragile body would have neither the ability to withstand torture nor resistance to magic. Her mind would surely break, and she would never be able to speak or laugh normally again.

This was the biggest reason he hesitated to make a decision.

‘But just letting her go…’

Ilion’s thoughts stopped there.

There was no reason he couldn’t fake an accidental death as she wished and let her escape abroad without anyone knowing.

It wouldn’t particularly tarnish the honor of the ducal family, nor would there be any financial loss.

So Ilion had nothing to lose.

Except for Ravenne.

And that fact made him very uncomfortable.

‘…I see.’

Ilion replied, looking at his fiancée who was nestled against him, spouting cute excuses.

He decided to put aside the complicated thoughts that seemed to have no answer.

For now, the priority was to find out the secret Ravenne was hiding from him.

‘To do that, it wouldn’t be bad to play along with this foolish act for a while.’

Whatever she was hiding, if she was underestimating the ducal family’s intelligence network, all he had to do was show her.

In the process, he might also find an answer to these incomprehensible emotions.

The disposition could be dealt with later.

***

“Your Grace.”

“What?”

“Don’t you think time is like gold? It seems there’s nothing in the world as precious as time.”

“For once, you’re saying something right.”

As expected, today too, he never just responds normally.

Be patient.

Yes, as the old saying goes, one act of patience saves you from three… Ah, no, that’s not it.

Pushing aside the miscellaneous thoughts that were about to surface, I continued speaking.

“In that sense, I think the Knight Captain’s time holds a very important value. Isn’t it a waste of that precious time to follow me around drinking tea idly instead of looking after and nurturing the knights?”

“Lucas, do you also think it’s a waste?”

Ilion looked at Lucas, who was standing behind me like a folding screen, and asked. Lucas, with his discipline tightly in check, answered Ilion’s question.

“How could that be! A waste of time, that’s absurd. It’s an honor to be able to serve Miss Rischefeld. It’s something to boast about for generations!”

“So he says.”

“……”

Happy just to have been asked a question by the Duke he admires, Lucas’s cheeks twitched.

No, Captain. Is there really nothing else to boast about for generations?

You’re supposed to be the best knight in the Celestine Knight Order. Shouldn’t you be guarding the borders or exterminating monsters!

I wanted to throw a jab at him right away, but it seemed no words would get through to Lucas, who was as moved as a successful fanboy.

I initially planned to negotiate with Ilion to get rid of Lucas, but to think the final boss would be Lucas himself…! How on earth do I get rid of that?

Someone who’s getting emotional to the point of tears all by himself…

Unable to even reach the negotiation table and cut off at the entrance, I had nothing more to say and just glared at the pile of documents silently.

As we spent some time in silence — a person who wanted to escape from here, a person forcibly keeping that person here, and a person who would like to stay like this forever if possible — Sebastian came looking for us.

“An invitation has arrived from the Imperial Palace.”

Sebastian handed the invitation to Ilion. There was only one thing an invitation from the Imperial Palace could mean at this time.

The victory celebration banquet, the event that marks the entry into the original story.

Feeling anew how fast time flies, I secretly let out a sigh.

I worked hard for about two months with the ambitious goal of getting kicked out of the ducal house, but it was frustrating that it hadn’t led to any results.

Despite working overtime and pouring my body into work, why do I have to feel the hardships of a sales representative whose efforts go unrecognized due to poor performance…

Ah, I want to quit.

But I want to receive unemployment benefits, so please fire me, please.

“His Majesty personally requested that you come along as well.”

“What?”

As I was looking at my evil employer, resting my chin on the sofa and inwardly chanting for dismissal, Ilion said this to me.

“Is that really written there?”

When I looked at him with an expression of disbelief, he showed me the invitation.

“Come on, when has His Majesty ever seen me…”

I thought, but my name was really written there. Looking at it from the front, from the side, even upside down, it was my name.

Right, I was famous enough to be mentioned in articles every day lately. Plus, I even have the Rose Garden painting, so it’s possible. Yes, yes.

Trying hard to ignore the chilling sensation as if the grim reaper was waving from afar, I nodded.

I’m not going anyway, so there’s no need to worry already. Where in the world do people see the face of the King of Hell before they die? I’m absolutely not going!

“Ah, come to think of it, the dress you ordered last time has just arrived, Miss.”

As I was silently smiling, thinking only of how to feign illness, Sebastian chimed in.

“Me?”

“The pink dress you saw when the tailor came last time. You can wear it to this banquet.”

“What?”

A vivid pink dress suddenly emerged from among the forgotten memories.

Right, come to think of it, there was such a dress…

But why is it coming up now?

“It’s embroidered with gold thread and rubies as you wished, Miss. I’m sure it will suit you well.”

“That…”

You’re saying it was really made?

“Why? You clearly said it couldn’t be done back then, didn’t you?”

I hurriedly asked, looking at Ilion.

“You seemed to want it, so I told them to make it as well.”

It’s a surprise, but I’m not grateful at all, you know?

Even without seeing the completed dress, I could roughly imagine how I would look. That my appearance would stand out more than anyone else, in a different sense.

“Won’t I stand out too much in that dress, Your Grace?”

Come on, Ilion. You don’t like attracting people’s attention, right? Say something, will you?

I looked at Ilion with a desperate expression, seeking help, but he answered with his chin resting on one hand.

“It’s fine. Wear it. Didn’t I tell you? From now on, I’ll do as you wish.”

“……”