The wide brim of the hat clearly blocked Tristan’s view of Liane’s face from his height above her. With Tristan now right beside her, Liane had no choice but to place all her hopes of escaping the situation on the white hat she was wearing.

As Liane stood with her head bowed, she caught sight of the handkerchief Tristan held out, and when she gave a small bow and reached for the end of it, a low voice reached her ear.

“One hour from now. The greenhouse garden.”

Tristan released his end of the handkerchief, and his footsteps faded away.

The maid thanked Tristan and came back to Liane’s side.

The hand clutching the handkerchief Tristan had returned trembled, drained white with tension.

‘He recognized me…….’

***

With the despair of livestock being led to sl*ughter, Liane made her way to the place Tristan had named. Every step toward the greenhouse garden felt like trudging through deep sand.

What was she supposed to say when she got there?

She arrived at the door of the greenhouse garden without having managed even the beginning of any mental preparation.

Liane hesitated at the glass door of the greenhouse garden, worried Tristan might be watching her through the ornate patterned glass, then slowly stepped inside.

She passed through large, exotic trees and plants and made her way deeper in, where she found Tristan at the center of the greenhouse garden, leaning back in a chair at a white table with his fingers laced together, watching her.

Liane pressed her clasped hands together without thinking and swallowed dryly.

This was a mistake she had made. She had to face it herself.

Liane walked slowly up to the white table, bent at the waist toward Tristan, and apologized.

“Your Grace, I am sorry.”

Tristan looked quietly at Liane standing with her head bowed and spoke.

“Please sit, my lady.”

It was a brief remark, but Liane felt an enormous weight pressing down on her as she took the seat across from Tristan.

Tristan said nothing for a long while and simply watched her, so Liane did not dare meet his eyes and kept her gaze fixed on the edge of the white table.

“Liane Aspel.”

Tristan said her name in an unhurried tone, and only then did Liane lift her head. Her expression looked ready to crumble into tears at any moment, and the skin beneath her eyes had already gone slightly red.

“Why are you apologizing to me.”

“Because I… caused trouble for Your Grace.”

Tristan lifted the teacup in front of him and took a sip, as though he had not heard her. He set the cup down, rested his hand on the armrest of the chair, and spoke in a cool tone.

“What kind of trouble, I wonder. Sneaking into my estate under a false identity? Giving me a love potion? Or do you mean slipping into my bedroom in the middle of the night.”

“All of it… I am sorry. I caused Your Grace tremendous harm.”

At Liane’s answer, the corner of Tristan’s mouth curved ever so slightly.

“Harm…….”

Tristan lifted his teacup and watched Liane bow her head again to hide her face.

It would have been easier if he had simply raised his voice and shown his anger, but the Duke of Granville seemed intent on tormenting her to death with perfect composure.

“Lady Aspel.”

“Yes?”

After what felt to Liane like an eternity, Tristan spoke. Only then did she lift her head and look at him.

“What is it you want me to do.”

“Pardon……?”

“Your plan failed, did it not. I was in that room instead of Cedric Blackburn.”

At the sound of Cedric’s name from Tristan’s lips, Liane’s wide green eyes wavered and a single large tear fell. She quickly bowed her head again to hide it.

“You don’t have to do… anything. This is something I must ask forgiveness for. I am truly… sorry, Your Grace.”

Tristan set down his teacup with an expressionless face at Liane’s words.

‘When it comes to counting the harm done, she is the one in the far more serious position as a noble young lady, and yet she says something like that…. From start to finish, I can only think of her as utterly foolish.’

“Have you been staying here at the Hartfield estate this entire time?”

“…Yes.”

Nearly a week had passed with no progress in finding Liane, and he had been growing quietly concerned.

He had hired multiple capable detectives and they had not found a single trace of her, and yet here she was in a place like this……

‘From what he had looked into, it was no exaggeration to say that Liane Aspel had virtually no contact with society or with other nobles. What connection did she have with the Hartfield marquis family that brought her to hide here?’

Tristan studied Liane quietly, then pulled a watch from his pocket, checked the time, and spoke.

“Lady Aspel. Is there a particular reason you have been staying at the Hartfield estate?”

“No. Lord Emilio Hartfield rescued me when I collapsed on the street, and I have simply been staying here briefly because of that.”

Liane answered carefully, having been watching Tristan’s expression the whole time.

‘Emilio Hartfield, of all people…. She ended up rescued by a troublesome one.’

Tristan recalled Emilio’s face and the rumors surrounding him from the various banquets and events where they occasionally crossed paths, then put the watch back in his pocket and spoke.

“Then please explain the situation to the Hartfield marquis family yourself. I will send a carriage tomorrow, so please pack your things and come.”

“Pardon? Where do you mean…….”

“Should we not settle the matter between us, my lady? I apologize, but I have a prior engagement and cannot spare any more time today.”

Tristan rose from his seat, and Liane sat with a flustered expression, unable to answer, her head bowed.

“Ah, Lucillia Doberin.”

At the sound of Lucille’s name from Tristan’s lips, Liane startled and looked up at him.

The corner of Tristan’s mouth rose almost imperceptibly as he looked down at Liane, but she did not notice.

“Your maid, Lucillia Doberin, is currently staying at the Granville ducal estate as a temporary servant. She has been very eager for news of you.”

“Lucille… why is Lucille there…….”

“I will make time tomorrow afternoon, so let us speak again at the ducal residence.”

Tristan left Liane sitting there with a bewildered expression, fastened the buttons of his jacket neatly, and walked out of the greenhouse garden, his shoes clicking against the floor.

Liane stared blankly at the teacup he had left behind, let out a sigh, and rose to her feet.

‘Lucille… I’m so relieved she’s safe. She must have been worrying about me ever since we were separated. I need to see her quickly.’

Liane slipped quietly out of the greenhouse garden, her thoughts sinking deep into what it would mean to leave for the Granville ducal estate tomorrow, and she did not notice at all when footsteps began following her from behind.

Wanting to avoid running into people, she had come out through the forest rather than the garden and was walking the back path that led to the annex, when the annex building came into view.

‘First I should explain the situation to Lord Emilio and say goodbye…….’

At that moment, the sound of a dry branch snapping underfoot came from behind her, and Liane turned around without thinking. The color drained entirely from her face.

“Ah, it really is Liane. I wasn’t sure, but it’s true.”

Arman, who had been following her at a distance, smiled and closed the gap between them.

“How… what are you doing here…….”

“That’s what I should be asking. Running into a sister who ran away from home in a place like this.”

Liane backed away until her back met a large tree, and she startled and spun around.

In that moment Arman had already closed in right in front of her and spoke.

“Liane. To think you had the nerve to run away from home. That’s hardly something a proper count’s daughter should do, is it.”

The smile vanished from Arman’s face and it twisted quickly into anger.

“But now you’ve been caught by me again. That’s just how it is, Liane. You can’t run.”

Arman had been running his hand through Liane’s hair when he suddenly grabbed a fistful of it and yanked.

“Ugh…! That hurts……!”

“It hurts? How do you think I felt when I found out you had suddenly disappeared? The pain you’re feeling right now is nothing compared to the despair I felt when I found your letter.”

Liane’s shoulders trembled as she faced the look in Arman’s eyes up close, a look that seemed to fall outside the bounds of sanity.

“Why are you here. That dress isn’t one I’ve seen before. Who gave it to you? You haven’t already been handed off to some other noble, have you?”

Arman grabbed one shoulder of the dress Liane was wearing and yanked it roughly, and with a tearing sound the lace ripped away and the seam at the shoulder split open.

“Stop! Arman, stop it!”

“You should have just stayed quietly by my side. Then you wouldn’t have had to end up like this in some strange place… huh?”

Arman, who had been glaring at Liane with his face close to hers, suddenly flew backward and away from her.

Liane, who had been grabbed by the collar, lurched from the force of it, lost her balance, and dropped to the ground.

When she raised her head, Emilio’s silver hair was there in front of her.

Emilio, who had been looking toward Arman, turned his head and came toward Liane.

“Are you all right, my lady?”

“…Yes.”

As Liane took Emilio’s outstretched hand and got to her feet, she saw Arman snarling as he pushed himself up off the ground.