I picked up a few snacks prepared in the rest area. As I chewed on a cookie and looked around, I noticed that even the people in this rest area for employees were already gathered in groups, chatting and laughing together.

Since it was my first time here, I couldn’t easily join their conversations.

If I got to know people better, coming to places like this might be fun, but it wasn’t easy to break the ice with strangers just yet.

Miss must feel the same way, right?

Thinking that made my heart ache.

If I were by her side, I could at least be someone she could talk to, but I couldn’t even do that, which made me feel stifled and frustrated.

After letting out a small sigh, I stood up. Since there wasn’t much to do here anyway, I thought it might be better to take a walk.

Miss might look for me in the middle, so it seemed best to just stroll around a nearby path and come back right away.

I had just walked down the corridor and was about to enter the garden.

“Claire Evernizer.”

A familiar voice called out from behind. I stopped in my tracks at the sound.

In hindsight, it was strange. What connection did I have in the capital for the voice I just heard to be familiar?

When I was about to turn around in confusion, the person who had stopped me called my name again in a pleasant low tone.

“Claire.”

And only after my name was called did I realize where I had heard that voice before.

“Ale… hm!”

I almost called out Alex’s name, but quickly covered my mouth with both hands.

I had momentarily forgotten, but this was the capital.

And the man in front of me was one of the highest-ranking nobles.

As a mere maid, I couldn’t just call him by his name or nickname.

It might have been acceptable in the special circumstances of the warehouse, but not now.

If someone else saw me calling him by his name, they might try to imprison me immediately.

So what should I call him?

Could I call him Your Grace at this moment?

I quickly ran through my thoughts.

Come to think of it, on the last day at the warehouse, Alex’s subordinates had called him Your Grace.

In this empire, Alex was the only one who held the title of Duke at such a young age, so it wouldn’t be strange for him to think I knew his identity.

I blinked and took a deep breath to calm my pounding heart.

Then, I slightly averted my gaze from Alex, who was still silently looking at me. If we kept making eye contact, I might be charged with disrespect. I carefully lowered my hands from my mouth.

“Oh, hello, Your Grace. Have you been well?”

I lifted the hem of my skirt with both hands and respectfully greeted him. Alex looked down at me with a displeased expression.

Then, suddenly, Alex looked around. Curious, I followed his gaze.

There was no one nearby except us, but other servants and maids were watching from a distance.

They seemed to be conscious of Alex.

“Claire, let’s move to another place.”

Alex’s tone was calm.

But that calm tone made me even more uneasy.

What does he plan to do by moving to another place?

Is he planning to eliminate me because I know about his injury?

No way…

No, it was entirely possible.

Alex was capable of such things.

He’s a villain, after all. What wouldn’t he do?

The title of life saver?

Well, I wondered how much that could protect me. I decided not to rely on it.

In the original story, the person who should have saved the injured Alex during the rainy season was Miss Veronica.

Originally, Alex’s life saver should have been Miss Veronica, not me.

But considering the consequences, the answer was clear.

Miss Veronica, who saved the dying Alex in the rain, lost everything and slowly fell apart due to his obsession.

So, the title of life saver that I held was just a flimsy title that could be stripped away at any moment.

“Um… Your Grace, how about we talk here?”

A corridor where everyone could see and anyone could pass by!

Hoping that he wouldn’t kill me in such a visible place, I pleaded with him.

But unfortunately, Alex shook his head firmly.

“Move.”

With such a decisive command, how could a mere maid argue? I eventually nodded reluctantly.

“Yes, understood…”

Following Alex felt heavy.

I felt like a pig being led to the slaughterhouse.

Is he planning to take me to a secluded place and say, ‘You know too much,’ and dispose of me quickly?

My palms were sweating the entire time I followed Alex.

I was somewhat relieved that Alex wasn’t in the ballroom with Miss, but I didn’t want to be in this situation either.

“Your Grace.”

I finally mustered the courage to call out to Alex, who was walking ahead.

Alex stopped abruptly in a secluded part of the garden.

He slowly turned to look at me.

The blue eyes I saw in the warehouse still shone beautifully like jewels.

I saw my hesitant reflection in his blue eyes.

I blinked for a moment and then forced a smile.

“May I know why you called me here?”

I tried my best not to show my nervousness, but my voice trembled slightly.

Instead of answering, Alex slowly looked me over.

Watching his gaze move from top to bottom, I pressed my lips together and waited for his response.

How much time had passed? Just as I was about to collapse from the pressure, Alex finally spoke.

“Are you feeling well?”

“Pardon? My health?”

It was such an unexpected question.

Is he worried about me? Really?

“I… I’m fine.”

So far, my arms, legs, and neck were all intact, so I guess I was fine.

Alex seemed slightly relieved by my answer and let out a soft sigh.

Then, as he had in the warehouse, he gave a faint smile.

“I’ve been worried about you since we parted.”

Oh my God. Worried about me?

Why is he acting like this?

Finding it hard to understand the situation, I just blinked.

Alex chuckled.

“It seems quite different from back then.”

Of course, it couldn’t be the same.

Back then, we met as a patient and a villager wanting to help him, but now our statuses were clear.

Moreover, I realized that he was a villain who would kill if necessary.

Of course, I understood that it was an unavoidable situation back then. The attackers were trying to kill Alex. But from my perspective, being exposed to such danger was terrifying. And remembering how he seemed fine even after killing someone made it even more…

So, it was impossible for the situation now to be the same as when I simply thought I should send him back.

“You know. Back then, I didn’t know anything, but now I know everything.”

When I finally spoke, Alex seemed to smile bitterly.

“That’s unfortunate. Still, I wish you would treat me as you did when you met me in the warehouse.”

“How could I possibly do that? I’d rather apologize for the rudeness I showed back then. I’m truly sorry.”

I apologized to Alex as politely as possible.

“I came to this boring ball just to meet you, but it seems that was my mistake.”

Alex’s voice had become a bit stiff.

But I had no time to worry about that.

“You came to meet me?”

“Yes.”

Alex nodded obediently.

Why did he come to meet me?

Curiosity filled my mind as if I were lost in a maze.

“Why?”

Rather than pondering internally, I directly asked him for an answer. It felt like the Alex I met in the warehouse and the one in the capital overlapped.

But Alex didn’t answer immediately.

Is it something difficult to talk about?

As I wondered, Alex finally spoke.

“What do you think?”

“Well, to thank me, maybe?”

“That’s part of it.”

Oh, so the title of life saver is quite useful after all.

I could even receive Duke Berzel’s gratitude.

As I looked at him with newfound appreciation, Alex extended his hand toward me.

Still unable to grasp his intention, I closed my eyes tightly.

But even after some time, I didn’t feel any harm.

After a while, I cautiously opened my eyes.

In front of me was a container filled with what looked like a luxurious red liquid.

“Oh? This?”

“It’s a potion.”

Alex finished his sentence plainly and handed me the potion bottle.

At a glance, it looked much more luxurious than the one I had used on Alex in the warehouse.

It seemed to be a high-grade potion, incomparable to the cheap, low-grade potion I had bought.

“Is this possibly a top-grade potion?”

“Yes.”

Alex answered briefly and continued.

“In the future, I plan to repay everything I received from you, one by one.”

I was curious about the ‘in the future’ part he mentioned, but first, I examined the potion bottle in my hand.

There was a mark on the bottom of the bottle certifying that it was made by the Mage Tower.

Well, it made sense. A noble of the empire, and a duke at that, wouldn’t give me a fake potion.