“That look is not good. What are you thinking about, dear miss? I have no intention of letting you go without hearing what makes you so troubled.”

When Arne still hesitated to speak, Cedric pulled her closer and hugged her.

At the same time, his upper body leaned back, causing Arne to fall into Cedric’s chest.

“If you don’t want to talk, shall we just take a nap in the shade?”

Cedric laughed lazily. He gently stroked Arne’s face.

“Everyone will be waiting. It’s also not polite.”

“What does politeness matter when your mana has bottomed out?”

Cedric was sincere. He truly enjoyed the scent of grass with his eyes closed.

Cedric slowly patted Arne’s back and waist.

“People might misunderstand if they see us.”

“I’m not particularly concerned. What matters now is your physical condition, miss. It’s dangerous if your mana drops any further here.”

Cedric was strangely firm in situations like this.

He really seemed to have no intention of going back until Arne opened her mouth.

“Miss, what has made you so sad?”

“I wanted to wear a beautiful dress like Bianca and meet Cedric.”

“And?”

“I wanted to stay there and have tea and talk with you, not go get the tea.”

And it was embarrassing. When Cecil ordered her to stand up from there.

As if she was an eternal outsider who could never fit into this noble circle.

She felt pitiful.

So, the Arne of her previous life clung even more to magic.

The merit of Roa, the secret knight of Ronia, allowed Arne to sit at the same table with them for a moment.

But now she can’t even use magic.

She felt sad, as though she had become useless and worthless.

“Everyone thinks I’m a grand mage, but now I can’t even perform simple magic. The thought of what those people would think of me if they suddenly knew about that crossed my mind.”

“And?”

“I thought for a moment about leaving this duchy, but I….”

Cedric watched as Arne clenched her fist tight.

“I used to have red hair and red eyes.”

Red hair and red eyes carried many meanings.

Before the empire declared peace, it was the appearance of a defeated country subjugated by the empire.

They were war slaves. A slave’s child is, naturally, a slave. It was hard to be treated as a person.

Wherever they went. Whether in the empire or other countries, anywhere.

Even after peace was declared and the slave class disappeared, they were not free from people’s perceptions.

Although Lady Arne, as a noblewoman, was somewhat treated better, she was not fully accepted within the noble society.

Her very existence was a shame and humiliation.

Bianca and Cecil frowned just by looking at Arne.

“The reality of having nowhere to go is sad.”

“……And.”

“But now that I think about it, no matter where I go, the fact that I am Raniarne with red hair and red eyes doesn’t change.”

At that moment, a small flame sparked in Arne’s red pupils.

“That’s why, where to go isn’t what’s important. What’s important is making sure they can never casually order me to bring tea again, no matter what color my hair and eyes are.”

Cedric faced Arne’s flickering red pupils.

They were captivating red pupils.

Because they possessed a flame that, though it flickered dangerously, would never go out.

Cedric felt that flame was noble and desirable.

It was provocatively tempting to the point of madness.

“I will definitely go to the Grand Duke’s banquet, just to show them.”

Arne’s red lips whispered a seductive tone that seemed to brush lightly.

“Please hug me, until I’m full inside.”

Cedric found it hard to open his mouth easily.

His heart throbbed wildly. He pulled her close so as not to miss the expression on Arne’s face, who was avoiding his gaze. Cedric couldn’t look away anymore.

Though she seemed fragile enough to break and scatter at any moment, her gaze burned more intensely and fiercely than anyone else’s.

Receiving that intense gaze with his whole body was overly stimulating.

Like a pitiful young animal struck by an arrow yet desperately crying for life with a feeble whimper. So how could he not?

But to ask to be embraced, to be filled completely.

Does this woman know she was born to drive people mad?

Or am I the beast driven mad by this woman?

Her captivating voice, which seemed to enchant all his senses, trembled slightly, making it hard for him to bear.

He felt as if he were caught in a trap in which he had laid himself, needing to turn away immediately.

“Hold me.”

Her moist red pupils finally poured out the raw sincerity deeply buried within her, without shedding tears.

“Don’t hurt me.”

Tension flowed through Cedric’s hands while holding Arne. His veins bulged as if they would burst on the back of his hand.

His arm muscles were already taut, seeming like they would burst.

“I don’t want to be hurt.”

Her trembling voice was sincere. Perhaps because her mana had dropped even more, her body trembled as well. That made Cedric feel an even stranger sense of guilt.

‘Was I such a beast?’

No, what man could hear such words and not be shaken?

Especially when such a beautiful person whispers it right in front of him.

Cedric gripped Arne’s wrist tightly with the last thread of his sanity.

“Cedric, it hurts.”

Arne’s frown and short moan made Cedric’s body tense up completely.

She was pleading with him to let go of her wrist. But it felt like she was asking him to let go of his sanity, driving Cedric almost mad.

Cedric exhaled deeply.

What was he thinking, leaving her in pain?

“My lady.”

“Yes.”

Arne’s eyes that met his were clear and untainted. If she had any ulterior motive to seduce or use him, he wouldn’t have been so shaken.

Cedric slowly reached out and firmly pulled Arne’s head closer.

In an instant, Arne’s body rested on Cedric’s chest.

Her trembling body gradually found stability.

Obviously, the larger the area of contact, the faster the mana was transmitted.

As Arne instinctively burrowed into Cedric’s embrace to survive, his body stiffened solidly.

She had no idea how her innocently uttered words and minor actions stirred the man before her.

So she acted like a rabbit that kept rubbing its head against a predator.

“My lady.”

At Cedric’s call, Arne turned her head. When her nose brushed against Cedric’s nape, he flinched.

“Even if you wear a plain black dress, even if you might collapse at any moment, even if rumors fly about you being the empire’s mad villainess, you received an invitation to the Grand Duke’s banquet.”

Cedric clenched his fist. He was barely holding on even now. Yet she shook him like this.

“It’s because your very existence shines brightly enough on its own. An invitation to Renigrad’s banquet is not something anyone receives. So it’s okay to take pride in it.”

“…….”

Arne couldn’t say anything. It was the first time she had heard such words. They were so tender that she struggled to hold back her tears. It made her greedily want more.

“Shall we get married after all?”

“My lady.”

“Yes.”

“Stop talking nonsense and just focus on quickly growing healthy.”

Arne glared at Cedric with her lips tightly sealed, bearing his characteristic arrogant and lazy look.

‘I will definitely make those lips beg for marriage.’

Cedric smiled languidly.

“What might our lady be thinking about now?”

“Will you marry me after I have my debutante ball in half a year?”

“We’ll see about that.”

“Ah…”

“The lady is young. Half a year means two seasons, and two seasons are more than enough time for thoughts to change.”

‘No, we’re meant to meet anyway!’

Arne couldn’t bring herself to say it out loud and looked at Cedric sullenly, full of dissatisfaction.

Regardless, Cedric just smiled languidly.

“Besides, the lady doesn’t really know what kind of person I am. You might want to run away once you find out.”

“I think I’d still want to be by your side even then.”

At that moment, Cedric’s gaze sharpened. The fleeting expression on his face was not his usual gentle demeanor but one that made people tense.

“Lady, you shouldn’t speak so carelessly. I’m quite possessive; once someone becomes mine, I never let them go.”

Arne swallowed nervously under his piercing gaze.

But Cedric soon tapped Arne’s mana core lightly with a relaxed expression.

“And now your mana is fully replenished. Get up.”

Cedric impatiently distanced himself from Arne and quickly walked away, leaving her behind.

‘Was he waiting just to leave like that?’

Perhaps Cedric was just taking care of a sick patient out of a sense of responsibility after all.

“Let’s go together.”

Belatedly realizing that people were waiting, Arne hurried after him.

* * *

As Arne approached Cedric, his back stiffened and he subtly increased the distance between them.

‘Did I do something wrong? Was I too annoying?’

Taking care of a sick person requires a lot of effort. Even if Cedric had shattered her mana core, he might have become annoyed by now.

Arne retracted her extended hand. The hand that had been floating in the air fell limply.

Then, a cool hand touched her face.

“Don’t worry too much, my lady.”

Cedric, whom she thought had left, brushed back her disheveled hair.

And then he turned and entered the drawing room again.

“Where have you been, Cedric? We’ve been looking for you.”

Bianca rushed towards Cedric, glancing at Arne. Soon after, Cecil’s sharp voice rang out.

“Arne, why are you coming just now? A precious guest from Renigrad has been waiting.”

Cedric stepped in front of Arne and faced Cecil.

“I met her on the way back because I dropped some precious tea leaves I was examining. I was late because I was picking them all up.”

Arne’s gaze turned to Cedric. She blinked at his clever lie.

‘Such a half-hearted lie couldn’t possibly work. Why would a duke’s son bother picking up spilled tea leaves?’