“What do you think I do that for?”

Amelia was taken aback by his question asking why he acted that way at night. Isn’t she the one who knows him best? Even in such a moment, it seemed like he was joking, yet at the same time, it didn’t seem so either. He was looking at her with a hurt expression even though she was the one who asked.

As if she had hurt him. That made no sense. If anything, it would be the other way around.

“How would I know that?”

“……”

“It’s you who changes every night, Your Grace.”

The more she answered, the deeper his gaze became, making Amelia flinch. She didn’t understand why he was looking at her like that. Anyone would think she was tormenting him. It was Raphael who emitted an aura of ‘do not come near me’ at night and even destroyed the nightstand.

“Wife…”

So stop making such a pained expression. She was the one who got hurt, not him.

“You don’t know anything.”

“I don’t understand what Your Grace has been trying to say since before.”

It was frustrating now. Since she’s going to run away anyway. She had been ignoring him because she had no more business to see him, but it was hard to endure not knowing anything. She became curious about why he changed like this, why day and night were different.

The most curious thing for her was why he kissed her. She wanted to know that.

“The one who said to avoid unnecessary contact… was Your Grace.”

At night, he’s wary of even a fingertip touching, and during the day, he seems desperate to touch her. She was confused about which rhythm to follow.

“… So don’t arbitrarily… come near me.”

“I don’t remember.”

“What?”

She expected him to obviously agree since that’s what he emphasized since the first day she possessed this body. But Raphael’s sudden ‘I don’t remember’ made her react foolishly.

“I don’t remember such a promise.”

Raphael’s shameless response left her speechless. It wasn’t that he really didn’t remember; he was lying. Yet his attitude was so confident. To an outsider, it might even be mistaken for truth.

“It was a foolish thought.”

“…Your Grace?”

“If you don’t know, shall I tell you? My dear wife seems quite innocent.”

Amelia averted her gaze as his face suddenly drew close again. Is it that we can’t talk unless we’re close? Raphael’s cool ocean scent that hit the tip of her nose made her feel strange. If she didn’t keep her mind sharp, she felt like she would sink into it and become dazed.

“Why I do that every night.”

“……”

The sensation of all the hairs on her body standing on end made it difficult for her to even stand still.

“I feel like I can’t control myself. I want you right now.”

***

She knew that what he meant by wanting her was not pure at all. Was the reason he had been with her every night… because he couldn’t control his desire? She couldn’t maintain her composure because of the draining feeling.

She couldn’t believe that he could want a woman he so hated. Clearly, Raphael did not just dislike Amelia. But how could he suddenly want her?

“It doesn’t make sense……”

She couldn’t pinpoint when it began. Initially, his attitude was exactly the same as in the original work… But when did it start to change?

Was she dropped into a world where only the names of the protagonists are the same but everything else is different? If not, it made no sense.

“……”

Had he suddenly started to like her? Amelia shook her head at the hypothesis, though she thought of it herself; it seemed more credible that this wasn’t the original work.

“Ha……”

Now, she worried about how to face him. If she hadn’t known, she could have treated him casually, but knowing everything made it impossible. Somehow, all of his actions started to make sense. He was a typical man who fell in love and clung to a woman.

Love……?

No, it wasn’t love. It seemed like Raphael wanted her not because he loved her but for some other reason.

“He definitely said… he needed me.”

It couldn’t be love, especially not for Raphael Lloyd Siegfried. He had another woman he liked. It was just a simple craving.

“Not good.”

Him starting to want her was definitely not a good phenomenon. Her plan to escape from Siegfried could only be possible because Raphael had no interest in her. But what if Raphael suddenly refuses to let her go?

“No…!”

She realized that if he made up his mind, no matter what she did, nothing would be possible. Wasn’t she supposed to die a lonely death as a grand duchess who’s an extra? She thought everything would go smoothly… But Raphael’s changed attitude and her unknown relationship with the imperial family made everything confusing.

In fact, if it weren’t for Leonel, she thought she could escape from Siegfried safely on her own. She also believed she wouldn’t attract much attention in noble society.

“There’s something I don’t know.”

Because she had read the original work, she arrogantly thought she knew everything. Since she already knew all the facts, it would be easy to use them to her advantage. However, there were too many things she didn’t know, from the secret of the first prince to Aaron, who looked exactly alike her.

“Your Highness? Is something wrong?”

As soon as she opened the door, Ann and Jane followed. They were friendly towards her but did not stop monitoring her.

“I’m going to rest in the library.”

“We’ll wait in front.”

Amelia frowned at the statement that they wouldn’t leave her alone until the end. She now realized. The Amelia in the original work was shrouded in mystery. It couldn’t be helped because she died too quickly.

“Let Leonel in if he comes.”

“Yes, understood.”

But now it was different. Unlike the original Amelia who secluded herself in the castle, she was active outside.

“The race blessed by God……”

The Master referred to the imperial family as such. Because they were blessed by God, they were born with silver hair and purple eyes. She wondered what this god was about. The Master didn’t mention god for no reason.

“God, god……”

Fortunately, the Siegfried family’s library was immense. Depending on the power of the family, it seemed comparable even to the imperial library.

When the Master first mentioned the race blessed by God, she didn’t understand what he meant. She didn’t take the existence of gods seriously because she often met priests due to Raphael’s overprotectiveness. She just thought of them as a kind of doctor.

“Should I look into myths?”

The Master’s words gave her a premonition that she might be missing something important. The content related to gods wasn’t detailed in The Woman of the Sun. But it might naturally blend in. Aaron, who uses holy white magic, and Sierra, who suddenly appeared as a saintess.

It turns out everything was related to gods. Sierra being able to naturally blend into noble society was because the power of the temple was significant in this empire.

“Why did I overlook that.”

But no matter how much she searched this vast library, there were no books related to gods or the imperial family. There should be at least one book about the founding myth or stories of the imperial family… It must have been deliberately omitted.

She couldn’t ask the Master again. Somehow, she had a premonition that for this matter alone, the Master wouldn’t properly inform her.

“How can this be?”

No matter how many times she looked around, similar materials did not appear. What is the state religion of the Khalid Empire? She had no interest in it even while receiving treatment from priests.

“Should I visit a temple?”

She didn’t know if there was a temple in Siegfried’s territory. Seeing that they always brought priests to the grand ducal palace, it seemed they weren’t completely rejecting them… But people from Siegfried always seemed uncomfortable whenever priests visited.

If there’s nothing about the imperial family, there should be books about the Siegfried family. Usually, families have their stories well-placed in libraries. Maybe she could find other clues there.

“…Why isn’t here?”

Strange. Even if there’s nothing about the imperial family and temples, there should be materials about the family, but she couldn’t see anything. It was unsettling that just those three things were missing among these vast books.

“Did I not find it?”

That couldn’t be since she had looked around several times.

“You must be looking for something important.”

A low voice pierced her ears. The leisurely tone didn’t feel urgent but contained an inexplicable pressure.

It was Raphael, who had just made a bombshell statement.