At that moment, Duke Vicheravali’s gaze, which had been fixed straight ahead, turned to the girl in his arms. Having succeeded in catching his attention, Reibella smiled awkwardly and continued in a slightly shrinking voice.

“I’m tired……”

“Tired? As I thought, you must have fallen ill during the journey.”

“I think I’ll be fine after sleeping, no, I will be fine!”

Though she insisted confidently, Duke Vicheravali wore an unconvinced expression. But when Reibella looked up at him with her hands clasped together pleadingly, he reluctantly nodded.

“Very well. But you must tell me if you feel unwell.”

“Yes!”

With a bright smile, Reibella left his arms and followed Kieran, who had introduced himself as the butler.

Unfortunately, Reibella still couldn’t set foot on the ground this time either. Aiden, the knight who had taken care of her attentively during the journey in place of Duke Vicheravali, carried her in his arms.

“Are you comfortable, Miss?”

“I’d be more comfortable if you put me down.”

“That’s impossible. You’re still too fragile……”

“Indeed, Miss is like, how should I say, like a piece of sugar……”

Sir Cleo, who had followed them at some point, nodded at Aiden’s words.

She could only sigh at the situation she had experienced far too often over the past week.

Whether it was characteristic of the Vicheravali family, they were all far too prone to exaggeration.

Reibella let out another soft sigh and looked around. The air was certainly different from the capital.

“Why is Miss going to the annex?”

When Aiden asked Kieran, who was walking ahead, noticing Reibella looking around warily, he answered with a smile.

“It will take some time to prepare the room. Plus, there’s the matter of the Elder Council.”

“I see.”

Aiden answered indifferently and leaned towards Reibella.

“That’s what they say, Miss. Don’t worry too much.”

Seeing his playful smile, it seemed he had asked the question to ease her concerns about the unfamiliar environment.

Instead of words of thanks, Reibella gave him a gentle smile. At this, Aiden’s eyes widened before he chuckled.

“It’s so nice that you’ve come, Miss. I think you’ll get along well with the young master too.”

The young master referred to Royan.

“Come to think of it, the young master wasn’t there earlier. Will he come to the victory celebration later? Though it’ll just turn into a drinking party, not something children should see.”

At Cleo’s casual voice, Aiden cleared his throat and struck his side. Ugh, Cleo clutched his side with a groan.

“Why did you do that, Commander?”

“Be quiet. You can go now. We seem to have arrived.”

Just as Aiden finished speaking, they arrived at the annex.

Following this, Kieran stood in front of a room, opened the door wide, and stepped aside from the entrance while saying.

“This is your room, Miss.”

The room he guided her to was very spacious and decorated delicately. As if proudly declaring it a girl’s room, it had pink pastel wallpaper, numerous dolls lined up on one side, a bed with a canopy, and even a small vanity.

It was such a lovely room that any ordinary girl would have gasped in delight.

“It’s nice, Miss. We can play house here together.”

“Why would Miss play with the Commander? Could it be that Commander is abandoning the Second Knight Order to aim for Miss’s guard…… oof!”

Cleo, struck again, finally collapsed, doubling over with a groan. Regardless, Aiden placed Reibella on the bed.

Then Kieran brought in a maid with green hair and introduced her.

“This is Charlotte. She will be attending to the lady from now on.”

“I am Charlotte, Miss.”

She was a cute woman wearing large glasses. Reibella greeted the innocent-looking maid.

“I’m Reibella. Nice to meet you.”

But before those words could reach her, Aiden quickly pulled her away. They seemed to be having some conversation in the corridor outside the room, and his voice could be heard clearly as he chanted like a mantra.

“Miss is more fragile than glass, so you must be very careful with her.”

How insistently he emphasized this.

Though Reibella stomped her feet to show she was healthy, absolutely denying this while belatedly returning, Charlotte seemed to have already recognized her as ‘glass.’

Perhaps because of this, when Reibella stood by the window to watch the knights leave the annex, Charlotte began pacing anxiously.

“You must be tired from the journey, so how about washing up and going to bed? The wind is still cold.”

It was summer, so even the night breeze was warm, if not hot.

“I’m fine. Charlotte, you don’t need to worry so much.”

“No, Miss. Healthy people don’t get fevers just from riding in carriages. And please speak casually.”

Because Charlotte was worrying excessively, Reibella had to sigh and move away from the window. When she headed toward the bed, Charlotte quickly closed the window as if she had been waiting for this moment.

Then she asked with a relieved expression.

“How is the bed?”

“It’s good…… no, it is good! It’s fluffy.”

Though told to speak casually, it had been so long since she’d received such treatment that it felt awkward.

“I’m glad you like it, though it was prepared in a hurry. Soon you’ll be able to sleep in an even better bed. The room in the main building where you’ll be staying will be incomparable to this one!”

The main building.

‘That’s when I’ll meet Royan.’

If she had to name someone she absolutely shouldn’t meet in the duke’s castle right now, Royan would be all ten fingers’ worth of that list, someone she really didn’t want to meet.

Though she was curious about him as the main male protagonist, she was equally afraid.

The daughter of a family annihilated for the crime of abusing the princess. She would be like a thorn in his eye in many ways.

‘I hope I don’t get adopted if possible.’

Nothing good would come from being legally entangled with the Vicheravali family. In the worst case, she could get caught up in Vicheravali’s downfall.

‘It would be nice if the Elder Council doesn’t meet within two months, but that’s unlikely.’

The adoption procedure required first obtaining the approval of the family’s Elder Council, then Duke Vicheravali would send an official document to the Emperor, who would stamp it with his seal for approval.

However, the Emperor had already given permission and issued a document to Duke Vicheravali stating he would approve whatever the outcome.

It would be fair to say the adoption would be confirmed once the Elder Council’s approval was obtained.

So while it would be best if the Elder Council didn’t meet, it hadn’t been long since Duke Vicheravali returned from war.

Seeing how many vassals had welcomed his return when they entered the duke’s castle earlier, it seemed a meeting would be held soon. The matter of adoption would come up then.

‘Come to think of it, Royan wasn’t there earlier.’

Even an ant had come out to wait for Duke Vicheravali when news of his arrival spread. Yet his son Royan hadn’t shown himself.

‘That’s rather fortunate.’

That he didn’t see her being carried like that.

At this age, Royan would still be a young boy who might miss his father’s embrace. If he had seen that scene, he might have added the misunderstanding that she was someone who stole his parents.

“Miss. Duke asked if you would like to have breakfast together tomorrow.”

At the whispered question, Reibella was about to habitually answer yes but stopped.

‘Wait a minute.’

While meeting Duke Vicheravali wouldn’t be bad, Royan might be there too.

“No, I’m tired, so breakfast is……”

“You’re not too ill, are you? Should I call Philip, no, the doctor?”

“I just want to spend time alone today…… I’ll wash up and rest.”

“The bath water is ready, so……”

“Ah, no. I’ll bathe alone today. I’m used to bathing alone, so it’s more comfortable.”

“Then we’ll do that today. But if you need me for anything, even something small, please make sure to ring the bell beside you. Understood?”

“Yes. I understand.”

“Then I’ll be nearby, so please make sure to call me.”

When Reibella nodded readily, Charlotte kept glancing back as if reluctant to leave before finally exiting the room with an anxious expression.

The room became quiet.

Though she had told Charlotte she would manage on her own, once she actually tried to wash up and settle in, she felt tired. Above all, the bed was so soft after such a long time that it was difficult to get up. It was incomparably better than the one in the imperial palace. 

 But sleep wouldn’t come. Was it because of the change in environment? Her heart felt restless for no reason. Her heart was beating loudly as if she was about to take an important test.

‘Why am I so anxious?’

There was nothing to be anxious about right now.

‘Everything that needs to be done is planned.’

Now that she had arrived in Louvindisi, she first needed to confirm exactly when the caravan heading to the Kingdom of Baribe would depart and which merchant group was going. She also needed to secure travel funds to follow that caravan.

Finding the merchant group would be as simple as going out to look, and she planned to borrow money from Duke Vicheravali’s pocket. She had plenty of information, and she could trade that information with Duke Vicheravali.

But why was she so anxious?

‘Should I take a short walk?’

Unable to bear it any longer, Reibella jumped up from the bed. Thinking some cool air might help, she quickly opened the door.

Peeking out, the corridor was dark and quiet. Though servants passed by occasionally, Charlotte didn’t seem to be around.

Reibella snuck out and walked along the marble floor.

Perhaps because she was wearing soft shoes, swish-swish, the sound of her shoes sliding echoed off the corridor walls. As she took one step after another, suddenly another footstep mixed in.

It belonged to someone who had just entered the annex, light but slow footsteps that conveyed fatigue.

Reibella’s head naturally turned toward the direction of the sound.

And she saw him.

A boy with purple eyes and silver hair.

It was Royan.