Sandy came running in a panic and threw herself between Rowell and Catherine.

“N-n-n-no, Your Grace! You cannot take our Miss away!”

The act of spreading her arms wide and standing before Rowell was brave in itself, but her voice trembled like an aspen leaf. Sandy drew in a deep breath and wrung out every last drop of courage she had.

“Miss has done nothing wrong! How could she have toyed with His Majesty as a one-night amusement! She has never even been near His Majesty’s bedchamber! Our Miss is pure! I, who have served her all her life, can vouch for that! If you take her away right now, it will be the end of our Miss’s purity!”

Panting heavily, Sandy unleashed a storm of words and then looked at Rowell.

Rowell looked past Sandy’s shoulder at Catherine, who had gone completely rigid.

“……”

“……”

Catherine, who had been playing the role of a maid, and Rowell, who had been playing along with that act, were both at a loss for words.

Rowell slowly closed his eyes and opened them again. He was tired.

With someone explaining things this thoroughly, there was no way to pretend he didn’t know. He opened his mouth slowly, as though being pushed into it.

“So you are Lady Rochelin.”

“Ah… yes…”

Catherine seemed to have lost her senses as well.

Sandy looked back and forth between the two of them in bewilderment at the strange exchange. In the brief moment their eyes met, Rowell shot her a glance with an unreadable expression. That gaze was strangely cold, and when she averted her eyes toward Catherine, she was met with openly resentful ones.

Sandy understood. She had no choice but to understand.

Everything was ruined.

It was because of her that Miss had been found out.

She couldn’t quite make sense of it, but it was clear that Miss was going to be taken away because of her.

How could this have happened?

As she had said many times, Catherine was a peerless beauty who was nearly impossible not to recognize. No matter how much she bowed her head, no matter how much her hair draped over her face like strands of seaweed, she was a heavenly sculpture that looked impossibly beautiful.

With someone like that standing face to face with Rowell, it was only natural to assume she had already been caught.

And yet her identity had only just been revealed now? Because of her? Just from wearing that maid’s uniform, presumably as a disguise, Duke Windhart had genuinely not recognized her?

It was then that Rowell spoke.

“There was an order from His Majesty. I must ask you to accompany me to Kelt.”

“I see. His Majesty’s order…”

‘Waaah. I know, I know, you fool. That’s exactly why I was running away from you.’

Catherine wanted to cry.

Because of Sandy, she had lost the chance given to her by heaven. Sandy appeared to have lost her senses. Realizing that Catherine had been caught squarely because of her, she stood there like a plaster statue.

Catherine was in a state of resignation.

Rowell was much the same.

With Sandy watching, he had no choice but to take Catherine with him.

“This way. We will head up to Kelt tomorrow.”

“…Very well.”

“Viscount Delkist also extended the courtesy of asking us to stay the night.”

Rowell added unnecessary words he would not normally have said, and made his way toward the room Owen had prepared.

Trudging along as she was led by his hand, Catherine suddenly noticed something strange.

The last room on the left.

That was where Rowell was heading.

A chill ran over her skin.

「I can’t study when someone is next to me. So I’ll give you a good room to hide in.」

「Go down one floor and take the last room on the left.」

「It’s the room where my friends stay when they come to visit. It’s empty right now, so no one will come in

Amy had clearly told her to go to the last room on the left.

So why was Rowell staying here?

Something was off. From the very first moment she had seen Amy, she had felt a nagging unease. The kind of smile that looked bright on the surface but concealed a sharpened blade underneath.

Was that not her imagination after all, but reality?

Why on earth?

Viscount Owen Delkist was still perfectly alive, and Catherine hadn’t yet fallen for the sweet taste of power. She hadn’t whispered to Edwin to have Owen killed. There was absolutely no reason yet for anyone to hold a grudge against her. So why?

She was full of questions.

In the meantime, Catherine, Rowell, and Sandy had entered the room. Sandy’s room was next door, but having reunited with Catherine in the midst of shock, she had followed them all the way into Rowell’s room.

“Miss, I…”

“Yes, Sandy. How have you been?”

Catherine smiled. With her back teeth clenched tightly.

“I was so worried about you, Miss, that I…”

Sandy’s voice wavered on the verge of tears. But soon the memory of being abandoned by Catherine welled up vividly, and her emotions surged. Her voice grew louder and louder.

“S-so how could you run away like that and leave even me behind! No matter how hard things were! I am always on your side, Miss!”

“Sa-Sandy…?”

“It’s truly too much! Do you have any idea how much I worried and suffered over you?”

Sandy let the emotions she had been holding inside pour out, eyes glistening with tears. Seeing her like that, Catherine grew flustered.

“Oh, Sandy, I’m sorry. It was all my fault.”

Catherine soothed Sandy.

Rowell watched the scene quietly from one step behind. Both Count and Countess Rochelin and Catherine herself showed more human warmth than authoritative airs.

Was that something one learned by watching others.

He was thinking his own thoughts when Sandy composed herself and opened her mouth.

“By the way, Miss.”

“Yes, Sandy. What is it?”

“I think it might be best not to trust Miss Amy too much.”

She began carefully, her nose having turned red.

Sandy knew that Amy was Vivi’s younger cousin, and she knew how close Vivi and Catherine were as friends. That was why she felt cautious about bringing up Amy. But it also felt like something she had to say.

Rowell maintained his silence, creating an atmosphere in which Sandy could speak freely to Catherine. What he himself had sensed about Amy, Sandy had clearly sensed in the same way.

Catherine’s expression grew serious. She too had questions about Amy.

“Why? What’s the reason? Tell me.”

Sandy recounted everything that had happened in the drawing room.

That Amy had volunteered, without being asked, that Catherine had been there. And that she had reported word for word the very request Catherine had made of her.

「Why are you telling me all of this?」

「Because Sister asked me to. She said if I couldn’t go with her right then, I should lie and say I had just come back from a short trip.」

「……」

「I absolutely detest lying.」

Catherine’s entire body trembled.

And not knowing any of that, she had thanked Amy brightly for hiding her, like a complete fool.

Sandy continued.

“She even said she hoped things went well for you, Your Grace.”

“……”

“What else could that possibly mean!”

Sandy glanced quickly at Rowell, then finished:

“It means she was hoping Miss would be caught as soon as possible.”

Catherine bit down hard on her lower lip.

The significant things Amy had said came flooding back to her, one after another.

「But isn’t that a good thing for Sister? Why run away? It’s a golden opportunity to become Empress.」

「Well… the thing is… His Majesty is not my type.」

「What? What are you talking about? The two of you suit each other perfectly.」

「……」

That little…!

What on earth is she scheming?

‘Why do I suit Edwin! Why is she trying to hand me over to that piece of trash?!’

The corners of Catherine’s eyes trembled with fury.

Now that she thought about it, the tightened security at Delkist Castle seemed like Amy’s doing as well.

“…That wretched girl…”

The profanity that only came out when she was alone or with just Vivi slipped out on its own.

She had managed her image so carefully all this time.

“Oh, Miss…?”

Sandy, hearing Catherine swear for the first time, was flustered. Rowell, who had been looking out the window with apparent indifference, turned to look at Catherine without realizing it.

Catherine exploded and shouted.

“Edwin is NOT my type!!!”

– – –

“Please refrain from going outside the room.”

With those words, Rowell stepped out.

The room had originally been given to him, but he had yielded it to Catherine. He could have asked Owen to prepare another room, but.

“The Delkist young lady is weighing on my mind.”

The atmosphere had been as though she was urging him to hurry up and take Catherine away.

The information she had volunteered so freely.

Rowell didn’t want Amy to know that he and Catherine had met. It was instinct.

The room Sandy was staying in was the maid’s room adjoining the guest room. He couldn’t have Catherine stay in the maid’s room. Whatever anyone might say, she was the daughter of the distinguished Rochelin family.

“Reduced to running away.”

The Rochelin family was one of the most prominent noble houses in the Empire. She was absolutely not in a position to be running around like this.

Was that why he felt this resistance.

His loyalty was directed toward the Emperor, but it was also directed toward the Switzelia Empire.

He could not welcome a situation in which an imperial noble was being treated carelessly.

On top of that, the person in question was none other than Rochelin.

The family with Count Carmen Rochelin as its head.

“Perhaps it is because she is his daughter.”

Count Rochelin, who commanded great respect, was someone Rowell himself held in high regard. It was only natural that he would not welcome being in the position of taking away the daughter of someone he respected.

So that was why he had felt so uncomfortable.

It seemed plausible. He finally felt a small measure of understanding toward himself.

Creak.

At that moment.

A door suddenly opened. Opening with the utmost caution.

Rowell’s eyes narrowed. He found himself inadvertently hidden behind the door.

Tiptoeing carefully.

There was someone moving like a stray cat beyond the door.

Rowell crossed his arms and watched the door in silence. More precisely, he watched her through the door.

She had been moving without a sound, and was quietly trying to close the door when her eyes met Rowell’s directly.

“Eek!”

“……”

Rowell tilted his head to one side.

What on earth was he supposed to do with this young lady. His concern deepened, and a slight crease formed between his brows.

At the sight of those narrowed, frowning eyes, Catherine felt her heart shrivel up. That knife-sharp, relentless gaze. He really was born with the fate to k*ll me. Waaah. He’s so terrifying.

“My lady.”

“Yes, yes. Your Grace.”

Catherine answered in a fluster.

It was obvious she had been trying to escape, but she scrambled to produce some kind of excuse.

“My throat was so dry that I was going to get some water…”

Ah, there was water in the room.

Catherine squeezed her eyes shut. Again. As naturally as possible. Something else. Anything at all.

“I drank the water, and then I felt so stifled that I was going to get some air…”

“There was an order from His Majesty to bring you back.”

“……”

Of course there was.

Catherine fell silent. Her expression crumbled in an instant. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep the tears from coming.

It was a fine thing to say “bring you back,” but it was no different from dragging her away like a criminal.

Why on earth did she have to come when Edwin said come, and go when he said go?

A surge of anger rose up, but thinking about it, that was the power of an Emperor.

D*mn it.

‘But my situation is different! If I get entangled with Edwin, I might actually die! And at your hands, no less!’

But even if she said she was fated to die, there was no one who would respond with “Ah, I see” and empathize. And if she said that fate came from the contents of a book, it was obvious she would be treated as a madwoman even more.

Who would ever understand this grievous feeling.

A pair of blue eyes watched Catherine quietly.

She had her gaze cast slightly downward at an angle, wearing an expression as though she might burst into tears at any moment. Rowell stared at her for a long moment, then opened his mouth.

“Do you dislike His Majesty that much?”

“……”

She wanted to answer yes, but the words wouldn’t come out.

If she told the truth, she felt certain Rowell would report everything to Edwin.

Catherine lifted her head and looked at Rowell. Those blue eyes gave nothing away about what he was thinking. His expressionless face offered her not a single hint.

If I say yes, will you not take me away? If so, I’ll be honest.

But that’s not it either.

When it comes to Edwin’s orders, he’ll do anything without hesitation.

A stubborn defiance settled into her red eyes.

Rowell looked at her as though trying to see straight through her. She dislikes him. She dislikes Edwin.

And yet the position he was in, having to take her away regardless, felt perverse.

He felt as though he had sunk to the same level as Edwin.

“Filthy.”

His mood was foul, in the most literal sense.

Was he truly obligated to carry out an order like this.

Something hot kindled inside his chest, then cooled and settled. He reminded himself of the reason he had become Duke Windhart.

Orders were not something to be chosen. They were to be followed absolutely.

It had always been that way, and it would continue to be.

A brief turbulence stirred within those blue eyes. But the surface soon grew calm again.

Rowell’s lips parted slowly.

“…For now, please remain in your room.”