Knock, knock.

There is no one who should be coming, so who is it…

Before my brief deliberation could even finish, a familiar voice reached me.

“Loa.”

At that voice, I turned the door handle without a moment’s hesitation.

The one standing at the door was Eden, wearing an expression like a puppy that had been chased away by its owner.

“Eden?!”

“……”

“What brings you here at this hour… no, more than that, have you been awake until now?”

“You said to come if I had a nightmare.”

The expression like Puss in Boots from a moment ago was nowhere to be found, and without even being told to come in, he walked naturally into the room.

“Why are you coming in?”

At my question, he only shrugged his shoulders and gave no answer, lying down on the bed.

“And the pillow, when did you…”

He had not been holding one when I opened the door, yet there he was with a pillow in hand, which made it clear he had come with full intention.

“When I came earlier in the day, there was only one pillow.”

It must have been Brandt who had deliberately left only one pillow, but Eden’s thoroughness had rendered it useless.

“So, did you really have a nightmare?”

“Yes.”

“What kind of dream was it?”

“A very, very frightening dream.”

“A frightening dream?”

No sooner had I drawn close to the bed than a force grabbed my hand and pulled me down, and I ended up lying beside him.

“You are lying.”

“……”

“Eden.”

“It is true.”

“You agreed to tell me what the nightmare was about if you had one. Did you forget?”

“A dream where you disappeared.”

At the unexpected answer, my lips parted but no words came out.

“No one remembered you after you disappeared.”

“……”

“Not even me.”

A brief silence passed.

“Why would that be a nightmare?”

“To me, it is a night…”

I had asked him the question myself, but immediately regretted it. Afraid that he might speak his true feelings, I hastily changed the subject.

“Oh come on, that is not a nightmare, that is just a nonsense dream.”

“A nonsense dream?”

“It means a dream that makes no sense. Like a person walking through the sky, or a self-moving… no, a carriage that flies through the sky, that kind of dream!”

“Is that what you call a nonsense dream?”

“…That is what I call it.”

Of course, most people in the Republic of Korea would say the same.

“It is not a nightmare.”

“……”

“Then, back to your roo…”

As though anticipating the rest of my words, he pretended not to hear and brought up something else.

“And what about you.”

“Pardon?”

“What have you been doing without sleeping until now?”

How am I supposed to say I have been looking at the notebooks this whole time?

When I said nothing and simply stared, he noticed the small lamp on the desk was still on and added,

“Did you find what you were looking for?”

“Not yet.”

“By this hour, the writing should have appeared.”

“It seems she must have written in them at an even later hour.”

Having Eden there made the waiting time pass without boredom. The notebooks that had been scattered messily on the desk were now on the bed before I knew it.

The night sky that had been deeply dark gradually gave way to the dim light of early dawn. Then, little by little, the sunlight announcing its presence began to filter into the room.

The conversation with Eden was not particularly meaningful or important. It was simply small, trivial talk.

Favorite foods, favorite colors, hobbies we turned to whenever we rested.

The notebooks I had checked whenever they came to mind ultimately showed me nothing.

The sun rose quickly and sent long rays of light into the room. Worried the light might be too bright for my eyes, Eden rose from the bed and drew the curtains.

Before I knew it, the soft sound of quiet breathing filled the room warmly.

As drowsiness overtook me and I gathered the notebooks into one place, Eden pulled a cozy blanket over me.

I closed my eyes, using the pleasant sound of breathing as a lullaby. Over my still hand, his hand came to rest gently on top of mine.

The time we woke was after noon had passed.

The moment I opened my eyes, I looked wordlessly at Eden’s face. In truth, it might be more accurate to say I observed rather than simply looked.

There was no great reason I had woken up. My internal clock had gone off, and that was what had opened my eyes.

Not wanting to wake Eden, I slipped out of the room without making a sound. My footsteps heading toward the dining room out of hunger came to a stop not long after, when I ran into Kayla.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, it has been a while since I have been home, and I am sorry for sleeping in.”

“No, it is all right.”

Kayla linked her arm through mine warmly and offered the tea she was holding.

“Actually, I was just about to go wake you, thinking something might be wrong since you were not getting up.”

“Ah, that is…”

“You were talking with the Duke until dawn, were you not?”

“Pardon? Yes.”

“Heh heh. It is not that I know everything as your mother, but my eyes happened to open early today and I came out, and I could hear the two of you talking in the room.”

It seems everything was audible in the quiet of the early morning…

“Loa, your mother…”

“……”

“I am so glad to see you have brightened up.”

She closed her eyes briefly, as though recalling the real Eloa.

“You always used to watch other people’s reactions so carefully.”

“…I did.”

Thanks to walking and talking with Kayla, we arrived at the dining room quickly. She left with a word of love and returned to her own room.

After asking the chef to prepare lunch for Eden and me, I went back to the room. Kayla’s words kept circling in my mind.

So the real Eloa was someone who was very mindful of others.

Returning to the room and drawing back the curtains that had been blocking the sunlight, bright light quickly flooded in.

Eden’s brow furrowed at the light, and then he stretched out his long legs and rose from the bed.

“You are awake? Good afternoon.”

He said nothing in response to my greeting and only looked at me, but I could feel what that gaze was saying.

“I only just woke up myself. Lunch will be here soon.”

He passed behind me as I moved about busily, and before long he reappeared looking perfectly put together.

“Have you thought about what we discussed?”

“Ah…”

During our early morning conversation, the topic of the estate had come up.

Most nobles of standing owned their own estate, but here in Ermensel, only nobles of Marquis rank or above were permitted to own one.

He had mentioned that before officially becoming the Duchess, she would visit the estate to greet the residents and hear their grievances and concerns.

Since the estate was quite large and had many residents, he said they would stay there for ten days.

It was not mandatory, but it had been observed as a custom within the Hylus family for quite a long time. With the exception of Eden’s birth mother.

“If it feels like too much, you can come back after just one day.”

I was not particularly inclined to go, given that I would be divorcing him anyway, but I was curious.

Everyone I had met since coming here had been a noble or their servants, so I was curious about ordinary people.

He had mentioned that within the Hylus estate, magic stones were a part of daily life, so their use was common even among the residents.

Because of that, it would be a problem if the magic stones’ power was absorbed and I collapsed again.

After a brief moment of thought at his words, I opened my mouth.

“No. It sounds like it could be interesting.”

“You do not have to push yourself.”

“Just to be safe, I would like to bring Schmitz along.”

“I will arrange that.”

The two of us, having finished a somewhat late lunch, prepared to return to the ducal estate.

In the midst of the bustle, Kayla’s voice reached me.

“Loa, just a moment.”

I hurried over at her call, and she handed me a small box.

After handing it to me, she drew close and spoke in a low voice.

“Wear this when you need to win against the Duke.”

“Pardon?”

“It is a lucky undergarment.”

“Yes. Pardon?!”

At her bombshell of a statement, a startled exclamation burst out before I could contain it.

“It is a secret that your mother gave it to you, dear.”

Is it really all right to give something like this to your dear child? No, more than that, does something like a lucky undergarment actually exist here too?

Unable to bring myself to refuse, I carried the box and climbed into the ducal carriage.

“Come again any time.”

Only after exchanging farewells with my parents one by one did the carriage begin to move.

“When will we visit the estate?”

“If I send a letter today, we should be able to go in two days.”

I gave a small nod at his answer. The carriage, which had been making good progress, soon turned onto a winding mountain road.

There was one reason we were riding in the carriage rather than using a magic stone to travel, just as we had done on the way to the Count’s estate.

The sorcerer.