She was on the shorter side to begin with, and following Kalintz and Ernst, both of whom had legs far longer than hers, was no easy task.

“H, Her Highness will be all right, won’t she?”

“She’ll be fine. As long as she’s with His Grace Remarque.”

Ernst said it and then slid a quick glance at Kalintz.

The jaw muscles were pulled tight. He was definitely grinding his teeth.

Why did it have to be that young duke again.

It was, of course, a rational choice.

She couldn’t alert the Valian royal guards to someone who might be connected to Duke Brienne, and she couldn’t recklessly chase after them alone either.

The young duke of a friendly nation, and one capable of taking down two men barehanded without breaking a sweat, was a perfectly suited companion for the situation.

Blair had made the best possible call even in that urgent moment.

But as was usually the case, the problem was the emotional side of things.

His expression was something else.

When Kalintz heard that Blair had gone after the suspicious person with Rashid, his face had turned absolutely terrifying.

Worry and irritation, jealousy and fury, all tangled together in one expression.

Ernst had known him since the age of seven, and he had never once seen Kalintz show that many emotions at the same time.

Then again, today was hardly the only time he had seen an unfamiliar side of him.

“Haah……”

Ernst let out a deep sigh and hoped this storm would pass quickly.

“Split up and search.”

Kalintz had no idea what his own voice sounded like.

His mind had gone dark, and only a few simple facts remained in it.

Blair was chasing someone who might be an assassin. And of all people, she was with that damned Armos bastard.

“I’ll check the lake. Miss Royce, it’s dangerous, so please come with me.”

Ernst turned sharply with Tilda and disappeared. Kalintz was about to move when he stopped.

“……Hh.”

He took a short, controlled breath. It was an effort to pull back the reason that was crumbling beneath him.

Kalintz began working through the situation quickly.

First, Blair would be unharmed. With that dark-skinned bastard there, she wouldn’t get hurt, at least.

He caught himself grinding his teeth without realizing it and moved on to what Tilda had said.

Blair had spotted someone suspicious in the banquet hall and gone after them. For her to make that call so immediately, she had probably seen them with a weapon.

So had Brienne really sent an assassin.

No. He didn’t think so. Kalintz shook his head.

Most people were no match for him. He had trained relentlessly from childhood just to survive, and even the royal knights couldn’t subdue him easily. Duke Brienne knew that well.

A surprise attack through someone he recognized might have some chance of working, but in that case, a masquerade was exactly the wrong setting. He would only let his guard down if he could easily identify the face.

Then what was it. If not an assassin targeting him……

Kalintz looked at the dense foliage and the solid stone wall beyond it.

The Valian palace walls would have gaps too.

He walked quickly toward the undergrowth.

Toward where someone carrying Brienne’s secret orders and slipping out of the palace would likely go.

He had gone some distance when he spotted disturbed foliage. Fresh tracks.

Kalintz followed the trail at a run. Through the thick trees, an ivory-colored wall came into view.

And then.

“I simply wanted to confirm once more. Whether there is a chance for me.”

An unpleasant voice grated on his ears.

“Pardon? A chance…… what do you mean?”

Blair looked at Rashid with a puzzled expression at the unexpected words. His grey eyes met hers steadily.

Blair’s eyes widened as she felt the strange undercurrent flowing through that gaze.

“No…… Your Grace Remarque, are you saying right now……”

“Blair. I like you. When I first saw you in Eiron, I was drawn to you rationally, which is why I asked your name. I was quite disappointed when your husband appeared so quickly.”

The directness of it, without a trace of hesitation, left Blair speechless.

“It may sound shameless, but…… even after returning to the Armos Islands, you stayed in my thoughts for some time. A woman with a husband, and the princess consort of Eiron at that…… ha.”

He let out a short, self-deprecating laugh.

“And then today, I saw you at the banquet. I recognized you at once.”

She suddenly remembered Rashid saying earlier that he had recognized her immediately. So that was what he had meant.

Blair could only blink, at a loss for words.

“That’s why I’ve been feeling an enormous amount of self-reproach all day. I was actually about to leave for the Armos Islands right away.”

Rashid paused briefly, then continued.

“And then I heard it. That you and Prince Kalintz are in a contract marriage.”

Blair bit her lip, regretting how careless she had been, but what was done was done.

Rashid took one step closer to Blair.

“Blair. When the contract with Prince Kalintz ends, what becomes of you?”

“……Do I have to answer that?”

Blair wanted to say she didn’t know herself, and that was exactly what was so frustrating.

“No. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. I simply want to say that I am also an option.”

Blair looked at Rashid’s steady grey gaze. She could feel the sincerity in it, without a trace of falsehood.

“I know you have some feelings for Prince Kalintz. Even within a contract relationship.”

“……”

“But I don’t want you to get hurt. If you come to me, I’ll make a promise. You will never have a hard time. Not once.”

The corner of Rashid’s mouth curved attractively.

“If you don’t want the burden of a crown, that’s fine too. The Armos Islands don’t place much importance on succession or bloodlines.”

Just as he said, the Armos Islands were governed by ability alone. Marriage and heirs were not things they fixated on.

“The Armos Islands are freer than Eiron, freer than Valia. You can do whatever you want there. The fact that you were once the princess consort of Eiron won’t be an obstacle in the slightest.”

Rashid had no habit of speaking indirectly. Whether that was the Armos way or simply his own nature, she couldn’t say.

“Thank you, Your Grace Remarque. For thinking so well of me. The words about not wanting me to get hurt, they felt genuinely warm.”

Blair spoke with sincerity.

Receiving someone’s goodwill was an unfamiliar thing, but a grateful one.

“Honestly…… being with you wouldn’t be a bad choice for me either.”

Blair continued in a measured tone.

“To be honest, my head is a mess, and I have no certainty about how this relationship will end. My feelings go back and forth so many times a day it’s maddening.”

A quiet sigh slipped out before she realized it.

“When I think about it that way, maybe going to the Armos Islands would be better. At least I wouldn’t have to deal with headaches like this.”

Now that she knew Kalintz’s feelings as well, Blair wasn’t sure she could stop her heart from moving toward him, or whether that alone would ever be enough.

And yet was starting something new with him as a lover the right thing? That too came with the same worry about what lay ahead.

In the end, there was no clear answer to any of it.

But.

Blair took a moment to choose her words, then opened her mouth slowly.

“Even so. No matter how tangled everything is, one thing is certain.”

Rashid held her gaze in silence.

“Whatever happens, I don’t want to run away right now.”

She could not easily decide how to handle things with Kalintz. But she did not want to stop here. Everything was uncertain, but one thing was clear: she did not yet want to leave his side.

And the matter of Duke Brienne could not be left unfinished either.

Rashid had been looking down in silence at Blair’s words. He spoke in a quiet voice.

“Even knowing it might end in nothing but hurt.”

“Even so.”

Blair looked straight into those grey eyes as she spoke.

“And…… it might not.”

She remembered Kalintz’s anger, asking what she was so afraid of that she would give up before even trying.

She had bristled at the time, but he was right. She was the one letting past failures make her flinch before she had even started.

“I see.”

Rashid held her gaze for a long moment, then let out a breath that was almost a laugh and murmured,

“I expected some degree of rejection, but it stings more than I thought.”

“……I’m sorry, Your Grace Remarque.”

“If you truly feel that way, at least leave me a little room for lingering feelings.”

“Pardon? No, that’s a bit……”

Blair’s expression turned awkward, and Rashid laughed out loud again for some reason.

“You really are straightforward. That unguarded quality of yours is quite charming, I must say.”

The blunt compliment made Blair clear her throat in embarrassment.

“Ahem. I think we should be heading back.”