Jurgen appeared, emanating a chilly aura, and he clearly looked displeased. Vanessa let out a small sigh and rolled her eyes.

Surely he wouldn’t treat Lady Agnes roughly―like he did with Tolman― but since he was such an unstable person, she couldn’t let her guard down.

Worried that Agnes might get hurt, Vanessa pondered before gently caressing Jurgen’s cheek with her fingertips.

When he stiffened at the unexpected touch, Vanessa forced a smile and spoke softly.

“Duke, there’s no need to be so sharp. We were just talking.”

“……”

Jurgen’s terrifyingly fierce expression seemed to soften slightly, and he let out a small sigh. Then, adjusting his hold on Vanessa to a more comfortable position, he scolded her coldly.

“You must know what that woman did. Didn’t Garcia tell you?”

“I know, but… so what? She had a one-sided crush on you, so in her frustration, she might have…”

“That irritating habit of yours, becoming infinitely generous towards those you take a liking to, hasn’t changed.”

Vanessa’s eyes widened as she looked at Jurgen, who spoke as if he knew her well. It was always a mystery when he acted like this.

While Vanessa was momentarily silent, Jurgen turned to Agnes and spoke sharply.

“If you came to the banquet dressed like that, you should be trying to hook up with someone for the night. Why are you making advances on another person’s fiancée?”

“Advances…? I was just trying to build a friendship.”

“Friendship? Your intentions are obvious. I wonder how long the Duke of Turnia plans to let you run wild like an untamed colt.”

“Father accepts whatever I do. Why are you meddling in other people’s family affairs?”

Somehow, the conversation between the two flowed naturally and familiarly. Could they be close…? No, that didn’t seem to be the case. They were glaring at each other like they wanted to kill each other.

‘Come to think of it, wasn’t the Duke of Turnia one of the people who was friendly towards Jurgen?’

Perhaps it was related to that background. Or maybe it was simply because Agnes was such a mad woman that she didn’t even fear Jurgen…

“Please stop talking to Father about me under the pretense of giving advice, Your Grace. I’m not your little sister.”

“I’m not the one bringing it up first. Your father comes to me seeking advice like he’s complaining, what am I supposed to do?”

“Well… that’s because Father still wants to match you and me! Ah, really! I’ve told him more than a hundred times that I don’t want a cold-blooded man like you!”

Vanessa quickly processed the new information she had just overheard. So, the Duke of Turnia wants to match Jurgen and Agnes together.

“I don’t want to be matched with you either. So hurry up and choose a decent man to get engaged to. Not those loose screws you usually meet. That way, the Duke of Turnia can rest easy―”

“Loose screws? What’s wrong with my lovers? You think you’re in your right mind?”

The way they bickered looked just like siblings.

Though she wasn’t sure, it seemed there must have been something between them even after the incident where Agnes tried to pounce on Jurgen. Especially if the Duke of Turnia was actively trying to match them together.

‘If I hadn’t come between them, they might have ended up married…’

Of course, it wasn’t that Vanessa wanted to interfere. Jurgen was the one who brought her here.

Anyway, from Vanessa’s perspective, they seemed like a well-matched pair. So unconsciously.

“You two seem really close. It’s nice to see.”

When she casually remarked this, both Jurgen and Agnes made expressions as if they had just eaten rotten eggs.

“Uh, um, did I say something wrong…?”

As Vanessa watched their reactions in the suddenly awkward atmosphere, Agnes, who had been deep in thought, suddenly clapped her hands as if she had realized something.

“Ah, good heavens! Now I see it was one-sided! My eyes must have been like dead fish!”

After shouting such incomprehensible words, Agnes burst into laughter while holding her stomach. Vanessa was bewildered, unable to follow what Agnes had said or why she was suddenly laughing.

“My goodness, to think that the great Jurgen Drake… I never thought I’d see such a day…”

Agnes wiped tears of laughter from her eyes and for some reason gave Jurgen a mocking glance.

As an unusual murderous intent flowed from Jurgen as he glared at her, someone suddenly joined the conversation.

“What interesting conversation are you all having?”

‘The Emperor…!’

For the first time since coming to the Imperial City, Vanessa was glad to see the Emperor. The fierce aura Jurgen was emitting had been making her stomach hurt.

The Emperor skillfully mediated between the two, suggesting that since Agnes and Vanessa were of similar age, it would be nice if they became friends.

Agnes agreed happily and linked arms with Vanessa. Vanessa didn’t mind either, so she nodded in agreement, but…

‘Hmm…’

Jurgen’s expression was very, extremely, unfavorable. Dark and gloomy, he looked just like the grim reaper. He was glaring menacingly not only at Agnes but at Vanessa as well… She already had a headache thinking about how much he would nag on their way back to the mansion.

Having become friends with Agnes through the Emperor’s matchmaking, Vanessa agreed to exchange letters with her regularly.

Vanessa felt somewhat emotional about having made a friend since coming to the Empire. Being captured by Jurgen and being put in a situation where she had to marry him was like a natural disaster to Vanessa.

Add to that, the troublesome presence of Escal, the whereabouts of Arno and Saskia unknown, and Declan who made her blood boil just thinking about him…

In such a situation, like sailing a small boat through a storm, there shouldn’t have been any room to make friends.

That’s why she didn’t expect any new relationships… But to think she’d make a friend, and a female friend of the same age at that. For the first time in a long while, her heart felt warm.

“Your smile reaches your ears.”

In the carriage returning to the mansion, Jurgen made his usual sarcastic comment. As expected, Vanessa nodded indifferently in agreement.

What could he do about it? Even the Emperor had encouraged them to become friends.

“It would be better not to get too close to Agnes Turnia. She’ll only be a bad influence on you.”

“You really hate Agnes, don’t you?”

“Would you like someone who did that to you?”

“……”

Well, Agnes did try to pounce on Jurgen n*ked after all… It would be hard to leave a good impression after that. Vanessa nodded in understanding.

“…But, it’s been so long since I made a friend.”

At Vanessa’s subtle comment, Jurgen quietly looked at her. Vanessa carefully watched this difficult, willful, and mad Bloody Avenger of a plunderer, trying her best to act pitiful.

“I naturally grew distant from my childhood friends as we grew up… and from age twelve, because of my strange misfortune, accidents kept happening and everyone avoided me. In Terevron… I had no one on my side. Even the maid who I believed was the only one helping me ended up betraying me.”

“……”

“And after coming to the Empire― well, that goes without saying, right? I’m a foreigner with no connections in this country. Even you, who wants to marry me, said your goal is to keep me by your side and torment me until death.”

Jurgen’s golden eyes turned fierce. Thinking it was time to tone down her words, Vanessa deliberately changed the subject while feigning innocence.

“Anyway, what I mean is… I don’t think it would be bad to interact with Agnes occasionally. His Majesty the Emperor even encouraged it, right?”

The Emperor’s will was truly a good excuse. Jurgen glared at Vanessa silently for a while, then let out a brief sigh and said.

“Do as you please. Whatever you do, nothing will change anyway.”

There it was again. That talk about nothing changing.

He looked like a prisoner who wanted to live his entire life in a prison of his own making, closing off all possibilities in life.

While that certainly wouldn’t be a desirable way of life, there probably hadn’t been anyone in his life so far with enough influence to change him.

Vanessa didn’t think she could be such a person. However, she vaguely felt it. That her existence was special to Jurgen. Ever since that moment when he revealed himself to be ‘RauÐi’…

‘What can I do?’

Her bold determination to make Jurgen her ally and use him seemed somewhat hollow now.

His life was too heavy for her to wield lightly, and it didn’t seem like she could wield it at all.

Nevertheless, Vanessa needed to draw him to her side. Only then could she use his power as a foundation to bring down Declan.

If lies and tricks don’t work on someone, how about honestly conveying your thoughts as they are?

Having made up her mind, Vanessa carefully began.

“…Listen, Duke. I…”

She neither watched his reaction nor cowered under his pressure. She just looked at him straight on, hoping her intentions would reach him.

“I want revenge on Declan.”

“……”

“Funny, isn’t it? You want revenge on me, and I in turn want revenge on someone else.”

Human grudges are like a chain reaction. There are no complete winners or losers, no perfectly good or evil humans… Life is this ironic.

“You can take your revenge on me all you want. I’ll also take my revenge on Declan until I’m satisfied. …Honestly, I feel wronged since I have no memories. But your hatred seems real. Maybe my thoughtless past self did something unforgivable to you and forgot about it…”

Now Vanessa considered the possibility that she might have really brought Jurgen and used him like a servant for a year before discarding him.

Like picking up a street dog or cat, she might have taken in young Jurgen―RauÐi―raised him, and then abandoned him…

And then, completely forgetting about it.

‘Ah, this is really the worst.’

If that was really the case… she would have nothing to say even if he took his revenge.