Only after waking did she realize it was because of Verheigen, but still.

Lysith absolutely refused to have such a dream again.

Seeing Lysith’s serious face, Verheigen made a contemplative “hmm” sound.

“Then you can embrace me while sleeping.”

Seeing him speak with a light smile, Lysith could only respond with a bewildered tone.

“Why should I?”

“It’s an imperial order.”

Would I go to prison for just one slap at that smiling face? With such thoughts, she finally turned and embraced the man’s thick waist. She felt his arm naturally wrap around her back.

Being close, she caught a scent of musk that felt both familiar and unfamiliar. He didn’t seem to wear perfume though.

Blinking drowsily before finally closing her eyes, Lysith suddenly thought:

‘……Though I don’t know why he’s acting like this, his affection level must have filled up somewhat, right?’

If so, doing the main quest here…….

Carefully opening her eyes slightly and lifting her head, she saw the man’s peaceful face with closed eyes.

‘Is he asleep already? Already?’

“Your Majesty……”

Just when she had thought about the quest, her partner had already fallen asleep. No, how long had it been since they took this position? Growing suspicious, Lysith raised her hand and waved it in front of his eyes, but he remained motionless.

She couldn’t wake him up either. Even if she did, she had nothing to say. If he asked why she woke him, well… it’s not like she could suggest they cuddle. Should she go with an aggressive woman concept?

‘No. That would be too different from the original Lysith……’

Though truthfully, she had already changed quite a lot until now. More than that, Lysith wasn’t very confident in actively leading situations like explicitly climbing on top or demanding intimacy.

No, maybe she could have tried it with someone else. But thinking about this man as her partner made her feel her courage shrinking already.

With no choice but to give up, Lysith closed her eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

These strange shared nights continued for several days.

“……Again?”

“Yes.”

“Come here.”

“……”

“You’re already lying in bed waiting now? How adorable.”

“Today I first… yawwwn……”

“You’ve completely relaxed. To yawn in front of me.”

One day Lysith fell asleep first, and the other days Verheigen fell asleep as soon as he embraced her and rested his head, leaving no chance for the quest.

‘Tonight I’ll definitely manage somehow. If not, I’ll at least test the waters!’

……Honestly, it didn’t seem like it would be easy since he was the Emperor.

With such thoughts, she walked through the corridor to go for a walk when suddenly, after a long time, the system window popped up with a ‘ding’ sound.

[Passive: The Melancholy Of A Divorced Woman (ON)]

‘Why suddenly this…… Wait, could it be.’

This sudden activation had happened once before. And this clearly only activated when that man was nearby. Since she couldn’t see him in her view, he was likely behind her.

Then should she keep it on for now — no sooner had she thought this than the man who appeared behind her grabbed her forearm as she walked slowly.

“……Lysith.”

“Your Highness the Grand Duke?”

The two met in a corridor that was grand yet simultaneously empty with no passersby.

Lysith didn’t bother bringing maids with her inside the imperial palace. Though Verheigen knew this, he said nothing about it, so Lysith continued to walk around alone. The area was limited to begin with, and she didn’t move around much anyway.

Thus, only Dietrich and Lysith were in that wide corridor.

When Lysith turned around with a surprised face, she first noticed his complexion looked twice as tired as before.

He had grabbed one of her forearms. Was it his own consideration not to grab her wrist, which would have been easiest to grab, or not? With mixed feelings, Lysith swallowed a sigh and turned toward the side he held.

Seeing that she showed no signs of simply walking away, Dietrich let out a small sigh of relief and muttered in a somewhat desperate tone.

“Just a moment, just a moment is fine. Talk with me for just a very brief moment.”

“……”

Though she did have bad memories of him and honestly didn’t want to treat him kindly, the fact remained that this man was a male protagonist she needed to capture. After briefly contemplating before this anxious-looking man, Lysith lightly nodded.

“Alright.”

Slightly relieved at Lysith’s words, Dietrich removed his hand from her arm and asked permission for an escort. She stared at his hand for a moment before inevitably accepting his offer.

The previous Lysith would have happily accepted this escort. She must have wanted it so much.

Such thoughts filled her mind chaotically.

If there was a reason he had to treat her that way, she definitely wanted to know it. If not, honestly, why should she care whether he clung to her or not.

It was true that she didn’t want to prioritize romantic relationships.

But that only applied when there was no past history, right?

Actually, she suddenly thought that if not for that nightmare, she wouldn’t have felt such strong aversion. But that nightmare had been excessively vivid, and even now when she closed her eyes, she could almost hear his voice.

Unaware of Lysith’s complicated thoughts, Dietrich blankly stared at the small hand placed on his palm. After grasping it with utmost care, he slowly began walking.

The Emperor had restricted the areas where she could walk, and she couldn’t go beyond them.

The imperial palace was so vast, and her range of movement so limited that she didn’t seem to notice, but Dietrich could tell at a glance.

This was a form of confinement.

Grinding his teeth slightly, Dietrich headed beyond the Emperor’s restricted area. Though most corridors had knights standing guard, there wasn’t a single one where he was heading.

It seemed they hadn’t bothered posting knights in this less frequented and less visible corridor. Having spent his childhood in the imperial palace, Dietrich knew well what lay ahead in this direction.

The two entered an empty room no longer in use, and were enveloped in their usual silence. Lysith waited for Dietrich to speak, while Dietrich carefully chose his words.

And after considering various appropriate expressions, what he finally chose was unfortunately the worst.

“……Really, won’t you look at me like you used to?”

Lysith’s impression when she heard that was exactly this:

‘Has something happened to his head?’

With such a desperate face, he said he had something to say, so she thought he would at least make excuses. Something like why he had to treat her that way.

But what’s this about not looking at him like before?

“Are you serious?”

“……”

At her response tinged with incredulity, he too seemed at a loss for words and remained silent. Seeing this, Lysith openly sighed “haah,” and Dietrich briefly clenched his fist before speaking again.

“If you ask… why.”

“Of course my answer remains the same, Your Highness.”

Why? How could he say this now? She possessed all the memories of the original Lysith’s married life. Though the childhood memories might be hazy, recent memories were as vivid as yesterday.

He hadn’t explicitly verbally abused her or used her body. It’s just… his eyes were excessively honest.

It would have been better if their relationship had stayed within the Grand Duke’s residence, but unfortunately, high society wouldn’t leave her alone. At the center of that society was Lady Pallaize whom she had met recently.

They said the Grand Ducal couple’s relationship was like this, divorce wasn’t a far-off story, the Grand Duke hated the Grand Duchess so much…….

But people’s words could quickly flip, and above all, Lysith knew such talk would soon disappear if they changed.

So she tried so hard. Since he never talked to her, she didn’t know why he hated her so much, but if she could just approach him first somehow…

Then, things might improve from how they were.

She didn’t know why he had urgently demanded their wedding night. But she thought perhaps he wanted to become a couple at least in name.

Even in political marriages, consummation was normal, yet they hadn’t done so.

Finally organizing her chaotic thoughts, Lysith clenched her fist.

“After… treating me like… that.”

“……”

“Do you perhaps still hope I love you?”

When she raised her gaze from the floor, she saw the man’s eyes trembling, unable to find their bearings. For a moment, she let out an incredulous breath.

……Ah, really?

She had thought she was quite good at reading others’ psychology, but apparently not. Come to think of it, though she had known this man for several years, she could never understand what he was thinking.

“Don’t you remember?”

“What……”

“In the carriage, you told me I was just an object and such.”

This was also what had appeared in last night’s nightmare. Though blurred in her memory, the dream had been unnervingly vivid. If she tried to recall it, his voice from that moment felt as if it could ring in her ears at any second.

The man’s face turned white, contrasting with his pitch-black hair.

“……”

“Seems you don’t remember.”

“Ah, no….. I remember.”

When Lysith sneered, a voice that seemed painfully dragged from inside emerged between his lips. Even at Dietrich’s voice like this, Lysith maintained her incredulous expression as she asked again.

“After saying such things, you ask this now.”

“That……”

Dietrich bit his lip.

He didn’t know what to say. He had only just realized it, but he was poor at conveying his thoughts or feelings to others. He had never done such things in his life.