She intended to meet the duke while delivering his meal and ask him to allow her to work as a maid.

“Uh……”

Delphia blinked and scratched her head uneasily.

“Hmm. Lady Irina, the thing is……”

“Why not let her try?”

An unexpected ally came to Irina’s defense.

It was Rio.

Still seated, Delphia twisted around and frowned at him.

“Hey, you.”

“Lady Irina is a guest, so His Grace may respond differently to her. Besides, has he ever harmed a civilian?”

“……No, but still.”

Delphia groaned deep in her throat, looking as though she were wrestling fiercely with the decision.

“Lady Delphia.”

Irina could not allow such a wonderful opportunity to escape. This was her chance to prove her usefulness not only to Delphia and Rio, but also to the duke.

“I can do it.”

“She says she can.”

Delphia looked back and forth between Irina and Rio before finally shaking her head in surrender.

“Fine. However, Lady Irina doesn’t know her way around the estate yet, so I’ll accompany her……”

“I’ll go.”

Once again, Rio cut her off.

Delphia stared up at him as though she had seen a ghost.

“What has gotten into you? You aren’t the sort of person who does favors like this.”

“She is their daughter.”

Rio shrugged.

Then he set down his tray, seized both of Delphia’s arms, and hauled her to her feet.

“Besides, doesn’t our dear Delphia Baraton have other work to complete besides attending to Lady Irina?”

“Huh? Do I have something to do?”

“What? Have you forgotten? You said you would finish that report and deliver it to His Grace by the end of today.”

“Aaagh!”

Delphia turned deathly pale.

Apparently, she had completely forgotten about it.

Rio clicked his tongue.

“Isn’t it urgent?”

“It is! It’s extremely urgent! But……”

A crease formed between Delphia’s brows as she glanced at Irina.

Her eyes made it clear that she felt uneasy about leaving Irina alone.

“Please don’t worry about me.”

Irina smiled, her cheeks turning pink.

“I didn’t sleep properly last night, so I was planning to ask whether I could return to my room and rest today.”

It was a lie.

The moment she returned upstairs, she intended to clean the entire room until not a single speck of dust remained.

“Ugh, I suppose there’s no choice. I’ll leave her to you.”

Delphia fell for the lie completely. She released a long sigh and shook her head.

“But leave the meal outside His Grace’s door, knock, and then step away. There’s no need to enter his room.”

‘Then what is the point of delivering it personally?’

If he failed to hear the knock, the entire meal would grow cold.

Although Irina questioned the instruction inwardly, she nodded obediently.

“And you—don’t pick a fight with Lady Irina!”

“When have I ever picked a fight with her?”

“You may not intend to, but your personality does it for you.”

“…….”

Rio’s expression darkened as he continued holding Delphia in place.

Realizing that it was time to escape, Delphia stuffed the remaining bread from her tray into her mouth.

“Theng I’ll be goig! (Then I’ll be going!)”

Then she fled faster than light.

Rio sighed as he watched Delphia practically sprint out of the dining hall. Then he turned toward Irina.

“Have you finished eating?”

“Ah, yes! Yes!”

Irina answered quickly, swallowing the last of her food.

Rio casually picked up her tray and moved it aside.

Then he looked down at her, his expression impassive.

“Let’s go, then.”

“Yes.”

Irina sprang to her feet and hurried towards the tray holding the Duke’s meal.

She reached out to pick it up, but Rio beat her to it.

Lifting the tray effortlessly with one long arm, he turned away.

“Let’s go.”

“Um, I can carry……”

“That won’t be necessary.”

Rio left the dining hall, and Irina hurried after him with short, quick steps.

‘He’s so fast.’

He walked so quickly that merely keeping up with him was exhausting.

“Lady Leonid.”

When Rio finally spoke after they had walked for some time, Irina was far behind him, panting for breath.

“……Why are you standing all the way back there?”

“You’re walking…… too quickly, Sir Rio.”

“You should have said something.”

“I didn’t even have time to open my mouth.”

“Ahem.”

When Irina looked at him pointedly, Rio cleared his throat and looked away.

The two of them resumed walking along the long corridor.

This time, Rio matched Irina’s pace, which made the journey considerably easier.

After walking for a while, Rio asked a question casually.

“Is there anything you would like to know about Count and Countess Leonid?”

“What?”

Irina turned toward him.

“I mean exactly what I said. I asked whether there was anything you wished to know about your parents.”

At his question, Irina lowered her head.

“Not really……”

Her answer was scarcely louder than a whisper.

“I see. Forgive me for overstepping.”

Rio nodded slightly, then turned his gaze forward once more.

“To tell you the truth, I accompanied you because I thought you might have questions. I heard that His Grace was unable to explain everything properly yesterday.”

“……Were they good people?”

“Yes.”

There was not the slightest hesitation in Rio’s voice.

“They were exceptionally good people. They fought until the very end for His Grace and the knights of House Winfried.”

‘I see. They truly were wonderful people.’

Irina lowered her head even further and bit her lower lip.

The patterns carved into the marble floor came into sharper focus.

“You don’t look well, Lady Leonid.”

“The truth is……”

Still staring at the floor, Irina began to speak.

“I keep hating myself.”

“What do you mean?”

Rio frowned.

“Why would you hate yourself?”

“Well……”

Irina continued as she slowly walked forward.

“My parents were good people in every possible way. Lady Delphia told me about them this morning. They loved me, worried about me, and even made arrangements for my safety before they left.”

‘Yes, the villain in this story is the man that Delphia told me about that morning. Viscount Ventren.’

He was the evil man who broke his promise to her parents and abandoned her.

She knew perfectly well who was truly at fault.

Even so…

“I keep resenting my parents.”

‘They should not have left.’

‘They should have simply stayed with me.’

‘No matter what happened with the war, they should not have gone off to fight like everyone else. They should have just stayed with me.’

“If they had…… I would have grown up normally, and my parents wouldn’t have died.”

Tears entered Irina’s thin, trembling voice.

“……Lady Leonid.”

“My parents were war heroes, and if even you say they were good people, then they must truly have been wonderful. I know I shouldn’t resent them.”

Irina lowered her gaze.

Her voice gradually began to break, as though tears had risen all the way to her throat.

“But I keep resenting them.”

It was only after she came here that she realized just how precious and wonderful all that she had lost due to her parents’ decision truly was.

Soft bedding.

A room sheltered from the wind.

Delicious meals.

Most of all, she could have spent those long years surrounded by love instead of suffering.

Instead of being burdened with memories she wished to erase, she could have made countless unforgettable memories.

‘I would have been so happy.’

“I’m a terrible person, aren’t I?”

Irina raised her head and forced a smile as she rubbed her eyes.

“I truly am awful.”

“No. You are not a bad person, Lady Leonid.”

Irina lowered the hand she had been pressing against her eyes and stared at Rio.

“Anyone in your position would feel the same way.”

“Would they?”

“Yes.”

Rio smiled.

It was the same strained smile Irina had worn only moments earlier.

“I felt the same way.”

“You did too, Sir Rio……?”

“Yes.”

Rio nodded lightly.

“I hated my parents as well. I understood why they had made their choice, but I still resented them for it.”

“I see……”

“So I left our estate without any plan and came to House Winfried.”

Rio let out a quiet laugh, apparently amused by the memory.

“My parents must have been beside themselves the moment they discovered what I had done.”

Irina blinked at his laughter.

Meanwhile, they reached the end of the corridor.

“That is the room His Grace uses.”

Rio’s expression returned to its usual impassiveness as though he had never smiled, and he pointed ahead.

“Ah, yes.”

Irina quickly returned to the present.

‘So this is His Grace’s room.’

She committed its location to memory.

The next time, she intended to bring his meal by herself.

“As Sir Delphia explained in the dining hall, simply leave the food outside the door and knock. Afterward, I will show you around the estate……”

“Rio! Hey, Rioooo!”

Rio’s lengthy explanation abruptly ceased.

When they turned toward the urgent voice, they saw a man running toward them from the far end of the corridor.

“What happened?”

Rio frowned at the man, who reached them in moments.

“Well…… Hah…… I need you to come to the training yard immediately.”

Wiping the sweat from his chin, the man added,

“Layton caused another incident……”

“Again?”

Rio’s voice sharpened.

“He caused trouble earlier, and now he’s done it again?”

“Don’t be too angry. He regrets it too. Still, I think you should come immediately.”

“…….”

Hesitation crossed Rio’s face.

Judging by the situation, he clearly needed to leave at once.

However, he was clearly reluctant to leave Irina there alone.

“It’s all right. You can go.”

Irina reached out and took the tray from beneath Rio’s hands.

“I knock, leave the food outside the door, and go downstairs. That’s all I need to do, correct?”

“Yes, but……”

“Don’t worry. Go!”

Irina pushed against Rio’s back, then smiled brightly.

“I can manage something this simple. I worked at a tavern for a long time, you know.”

“……Then I shall leave it to you, Lady Irina.”

“Yes. Please don’t worry.”

Irina pressed more firmly against Rio’s back and pushed him several times until he reluctantly started to walk.

Moments later, he disappeared down the corridor with the man, who bowed to Irina politely before leaving.

“Phew.”

After steadying her breath, Irina knocked upon the duke’s door.

Knock, knock, knock.

There was no answer.

She tried knocking again, but the result was the same.

‘Surely he isn’t away from his room.’

Tilting her head, Irina lifted the silver cloche slightly.

A large piece of meat had been arranged appetizingly upon the plate.

‘It’ll become tough if it gets cold.’

No matter how high-quality the meat was, it would inevitably become tough once cooled.

Some of the meat Irina had eaten in the past was impossible to break down, no matter how long she chewed it for. She had to swallow it whole.

She could not allow this meat to become so tough.

‘Besides, there’s something I must tell him.’

Didn’t she have an important reason to meet the duke in person?

‘All right. Be brave.’

Irina steadied her breath once more and raised her voice as loudly as she could.

“Your Grace, I’m coming in!”

She opened the door.