Before I knew it, the sun was setting, painting the sky with twilight hues.

For a while, I silently gazed at the passing scenery outside the window.

I could understand why Ravenne, despite her poor relationship with Ilion, couldn’t easily accept the broken engagement.

She had nowhere to go and no reason to live after being rejected. Only the shell of being a Duchess could serve as a shield to protect her.

So, to keep that position, she struggled in her own way.

Desperately and relentlessly.

However, feeling sympathy for her didn’t justify her wrongdoings. It was just a bit sad…

“Are you tired?”

“No, I’m fine.”

I had been so lost in thought that I’d forgotten Ilion was in front of me. His voice brought me back to reality.

“If you’re tired, take a short nap. It’ll be a while before we reach home.”

“Oh my, are you offering your lap as a pillow?”

To my unreasonable request, which I blurted out as naturally as breathing, his response was unexpected.

“Sure.”

“……”

I stared blankly at him.

“Uh… You don’t have to force yourself…”

“I thought you’d like it?”

“Well, of course I do, but…”

Could this be a continuation of his strange behavior from earlier? I thought he had calmed down after the banquet.

Having made the suggestion first, I couldn’t back out now. I awkwardly moved to sit beside Ilion.

Then, with stiff, mechanical movements, I laid my head on his thigh. Though I had asked for this, it felt like sitting on pins and needles.

“Your Grace. You used to hate this sort of thing, didn’t you?”

“So you knew I hated it?”

“Well… that…”

I smiled awkwardly and asked back.

“Then, why suddenly…?”

“You looked unhappy…”

He was considering my feelings? Ilion?

Lying down, I couldn’t see Ilion’s expression well. And not being able to see it added to my anxiety.

“Your Grace…”

“What is it?”

There was so much I wanted to ask. Whether he really received a blessing from the Saintess, what he thought of her, why he was suddenly being nice to me… But I couldn’t ask any of it.

Usually, at times like this, I would flirt while smiling, but today I couldn’t even do that. I was afraid that his answer might not be what I imagined.

“I-I hope we arrive home soon.”

I quickly changed the subject.

“By the way, if we were going to borrow a carriage, we should have just asked the headmaster for a teleport.”

“I thought such a request might be rude to her.”

Ilion cleared his throat as if to adjust his voice.

Is that so? But you use Michael like that.

Well, I suppose it might be rude to ask someone so great for just a teleport…

I nodded in agreement with his words.

***

“Lately, Ravenne…”

Ilion suddenly started speaking but trailed off.

“Miss?”

After waiting for a while with no continuation, Sebastian prompted him to continue. Finally, after a long pause, Ilion finished his thought.

“She’s strange.”

“……”

Strange, he says… Isn’t that normal for Ravenne? If anything, Ilion was acting stranger right now.

“What’s so strange about her?”

Sebastian asked, seemingly wanting to hear more.

“Every time we meet, she asks the same question.”

“What question?”

“If I have anything else to say.”

“That is a bit strange.”

Sebastian nodded in agreement.

“And every day she asks if I have any business at the Imperial Palace.”

Well, that doesn’t seem particularly different from usual.

“When I say no, she becomes dejected and leaves.”

“…Now that you mention it, Miss did seem a bit depressed after Countess Rischefeld left.”

“I see…”

Come to think of it, there was no other reason for Ravenne to be in a bad state apart from that incident.

Maybe I shouldn’t have sent those two back like that…

“It seems she’s under a lot of pressure. Her family is pushing her as the future Duchess, but Your Grace shows no interest in her. It’s understandable that she’s depressed.”

Ilion, who had been nodding along, raised an eyebrow and looked at Sebastian.

“Are you trying to blame me again?”

“Of course not. I’m just objectively describing Miss’s situation.”

“……”

Is there no one on my side in this house?

But Sebastian’s words weren’t wrong either.

Ilion had thought that Ravenne was a beloved daughter who grew up cherished at home. He thought her willfulness was due to excessive affection from her family.

But the reality was different.

Thinking back, Count Rischefeld had demanded money as soon as the marriage talks began. If she were truly a beloved child, they wouldn’t have sent their daughter away like they were selling her.

Perhaps that’s why Ravenne always lied about liking him but wanted to leave the mansion.

“…How should I cheer her up?”

“…Pardon?”

“Why are you asking again? You heard me.”

“No, I didn’t hear. It seems my hearing is getting worse with age.”

Sebastian shook his head, feigning innocence. Ilion rested his chin on his hand and glared at him.

Knock knock.

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

“Come in.”

Thry thought it might be Ravenne, but the person who entered was someone else.

“What’s the matter, Lily?”

Sebastian asked, looking at the panting Lily.

“It’s… Miss Ravenne…”

She began with a face that looked like she might cry at any moment.

“She’s disappeared.”

“Have you searched the entire mansion?”

“Yes. We’ve looked everywhere Miss might go.”

“Then call the guards and have them search the garden…”

Ilion, who had come out to check if anyone had entered or left the mansion all day, spotted fluttering hair high up on the mansion.

“Ravenne?”

“Ah, Miss! Goodness, what are you doing up there…!”

Lily, who had also spotted Ravenne, shouted.

Ravenne, sitting on the windowsill of the highest attic room, looked as if she might fall at any moment.

“Surely… She’s not thinking of doing something bad, is she?”

Lily stamped her feet anxiously.

“What should we do? I noticed she’s been in a bad mood ever since the Madam left. Surely, she’s not trying to jump…”

Lily asked Sebastian tearfully.

“Surely not. No matter how heartbroken Miss is, she wouldn’t jump…”

No, come to think of it, there was a precedent. She had thought about jumping off a cliff before.

Given the internal affairs of the Rischefeld family, it wouldn’t be strange if she was despairing over her situation.

“I didn’t know Miss was forced to come to the ducal family. I didn’t know she was treated like that by her family. I thought Miss was someone without any worries…”

“It’s okay, Lily. Now, quickly, let’s go to Miss…”

However, Ilion’s actions were faster than Sebastian’s words. He rushed into the mansion urgently.

***

Why should I, at this age, have to take lessons from morning till night?

Even in my previous life, I studied for 16 years… Does it make sense that I have to study even after being possessed?

What do you think, God who transmigrated me in this world?

Don’t you think it goes against business ethics? It’s not polite. If we had signed a contract, you’d be sued for unfair terms!

“Sigh…”

I escaped to a corner of the mansion to avoid the tutor, but the person I really needed to run away from was someone else.

“This isn’t the time to be blowing soap bubbles here…”

Even as I said that, my mouth kept blowing soap bubbles. The round bubbles wobbled in the air before popping with a ‘pop’ as they hit the wall.

Necessity is the mother of invention. With no healing videos or ASMR available, what else could I do? I had to make my own.

For a while, I watched the soap bubbles floating away on the breeze.

It was tiring to keep asking Ilion every day if he wasn’t going to the Imperial Palace, hinting subtly if he had anything to say.

Even if I wanted to cause a big incident, the surveillance was too tight.

In contrast, Ilion’s reactions were becoming increasingly indifferent…

They say you can fathom ten fathoms of water but not one fathom of a person’s mind. Was the first meeting with the Saintess not as good as expected?

That can’t be, right? She’s not just anyone, she’s Artia. If it were me, I’d be imagining where to get our newlywed home just from eye contact.

Or is he secretly going out for trysts? But whenever I check on him in his free time, he’s always in his office…

“I even set up the meeting with the Saintess, what’s the problem?”

Could it be that his lack of dating experience is the issue?

“…That must be the problem! But that’s not something I can help with…”

“Miss Ravenne! Miss!”

As I was lost in thought for a while, I heard voices calling for me from afar.

They found me quickly. I was hoping they’d find me around the time the tutor was going home.

Having been discovered, I reluctantly waved my hand.

“Sebastian! Lily!”

“Come down quickly! It’s dangerous!”

Sebastian gestured to me with a worried expression.

Although it wasn’t that dangerous with the gently sloped roof and the window in the middle, they still seemed concerned.

“I’ll be down soon!”

I’m sure I’ll get an earful about proper behavior for a Duchess when I go down.

As I sighed, imagining myself having to endure that again, the door behind me burst open.

There stood Ilion, catching his breath.

“Your Grace, what brings you here…”

Sebastian, Lily, and now Ilion too. Really, is it necessary to come catch me personally just because I played hooky?

Ah, Lily. Why did you have to tell Ilion? I’d rather get scolded by the tutor…

“Well, the reason I came here is…”

While I was trying to find a plausible excuse to reduce the scolding even a little, Ilion approached me closely.

His face was slightly flushed, breathing heavily from how quickly he had climbed up.

Is this really necessary? How much does he intend to scold me?

Ilion, who had come close to me, wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me off the windowsill.

“I’ll make sure your family can never approach you again. Or I’ll have them kneel and beg for forgiveness until you feel better. I can even punish them if you want. So…”

“What…?”

Ilion said this while looking into my eyes.

“Don’t think about jumping.”

“Your Grace?”