As he made a pitiful face, Dario felt something drop on his head and looked up. Raindrops were falling.

The sky had seemed to darken faster than usual, and sure enough, it was about to rain. As he hesitated, not knowing what to do, he saw Lucienne extend her slender hand.

Her lips formed a gentle curve as she felt the rain falling onto her outstretched palm. At that expression, which resembled a general who had gained the upper hand in battle, Dario looked at her with a feeling of despair. Lucienne turned to him with a composed face and said:

“Since I may already be infected, I fear spreading the disease to my mansion if I return like this. I request that you let me into the castle instead.”

“That’s not possible! That’s just your thinking, no one knows if the disease has spread, and also……”

“Then let’s wait and see. In this rain.”

Dario, who had been desperately scrambling for words with his confused mind, gaped at Lucienne’s indifferent retort that seemed to have been waiting for this moment.

The raindrops were already leaving stains on Lucienne’s bright sky-blue dress. Her exposed snow-white nape looked newly chilled. Though the weather wasn’t cold, the wind often turned quite chilly at night. Dario, who had finally come to his senses, shouted with bulging eyes:

“At least wait in the carriage! No matter what, you’ll catch a cold if you get rained on in such thin clothing!”

Lucienne, who had been silently watching him look around for something to shield from the rain, suddenly asked:

“What’s your name?”

“It’s Dario.”

As he reflexively bowed his head, Lucienne seemed to smile slightly. Moving one step closer, she spoke quietly, almost in a whisper:

“Don’t interfere, Dario. My wish is to faint here after getting soaked in this rain.”

Dario, who had been covering his head with his hands, stared at her blankly, unable to understand.

Lucienne was looking at the illuminated castle with her beautiful brow furrowed. There seemed to be something like dignity in her straight shoulders and upright back.

The rain was getting heavier, to the point where the raindrops hitting his head felt painful, but her posture remained unchanged. Even as the sky-blue of her dress grew increasingly darker, the rain seemed to have no effect on her.

What should he do? If such a delicate woman stayed in the rain for too long, she might really faint. His orders were to put Lucienne in the carriage and send her back, but he lacked the skill to get her, who stood like a tree with deep roots in the ground, into the carriage.

The duke seemed to know Lady Lucienne well, but did he really have to be this cold? If he wanted to reject her proposal, there must be other ways.

Of course, even he, who had only briefly experienced it, could tell that this lady was quite difficult to deal with.

The Duke Diconmeyer he had observed was a man of few words with little facial expression, but he was a fairly decent nobleman who didn’t mistreat his subordinates.

Since he rarely engaged in conversation with anyone except his aide Yanken, it was difficult to guess his personality, but perhaps because of his mercenary background, he felt somewhat different from other nobles. Once, he had even found him napping on a tree stump near the hunting grounds.

What kind of history could exist between such a person and this lady?

……He didn’t seem to dislike her.

How much time had passed? As he pondered, Dario shrank his shoulders, feeling the cold in his thoroughly soaked body.

His lips trembled. If he, a robust young man, felt this way, it would be even worse for that noble lady. Looking at Lucienne with worried eyes, he saw she was still enduring steadfastly in the rain like a statue.

Though she appeared unaffected, upon closer inspection, her lips, shrouded in darkness, were gradually turning blue.

This couldn’t continue. Just as he thought he should bring something to cover her body and tried to move his stiffened limbs, Dario paused. He saw Lucienne’s lips, which had been staring intently at the castle, gently part.

Turning his head, he saw someone striding across the darkness.

Finally letting out a sigh of relief, Dario bit his lip. As he tactfully stepped back, Lars approached and spread the cloak he had brought wide, covering Lucienne’s shoulders.

His handsome eyes were deeply furrowed as if angry. A low, suppressed voice flowed out.

“I would have told you to pay more attention to your own safety.”

Lucienne’s pupils, which had been glaring at the man who appeared before her, took on a strange light. Her pale cheeks were trembling slightly.

“It seems your plague has healed already, Your Grace.”

Her voice was sharp, like it was covered in thorns. She lowered her eyes quietly and bent her knees.

“Lucienne Bickman greets Duke Diconmeyer.”

Though the sound of rain was quite loud, Dario heard Lars’s long sigh. After a while, he spoke in a tone tinged with resignation.

“Take Lady Bickman inside.”

“Yes, master.”

Feeling relief as if a stone had been lifted from his chest, Dario couldn’t help but smile.

It seemed the outcome of this battle had just been decided.

* * *

Despite it not being the season for it, the fire in the hearth was blazing hot enough to make the room stuffy. Having barely slept the night before and having traveled in an uncomfortable carriage for a long time with her body cramped, she was now boiling to raise her body temperature that had dropped from the rain.

She struggled to hold onto her loosening consciousness as she sat on the sofa. Though it was hot, she strangely felt chills and pulled the heavy cloak that was about to slip down, tightening the front, when a teacup was placed before her with a clatter.

“Here, in tribute to the little miss’s tenacity.”

The owner of the gruff voice had a familiar face. A broad jaw, rough stubble marks, and a large bear-like man who seemed to look down on people.

So he was definitely one of Lars’s companions whom she had encountered after being released from her kidnapping by Troy Langberton following Laurel’s death.

Hearing the mocking title, she recalled the gaze that seemed not to like her very much. She gently pushed away the teacup and said:

“Would you give me brandy if you have it? Milk tea with just honey isn’t to my taste.”

At that, the man opened his eyes wide in surprise and let out a laugh. His unexpectedly friendly expression seemed to ease the tension in her shoulders a bit.

He took out a flask from his chest and tilted it into the teacup, mixing amber liquid into the milk tea. A fragrant aroma spread subtly.

“I apologize, Lady. Then rest comfortably before you leave.”

The large man, whose leather vest stretched tightly over his shirt, grinned and turned away. As Lars appeared beside him, her heart tightened.

She quickly reached for the teacup but couldn’t grasp it. Lars had snatched it first and downed the milk tea in one gulp. Frowning in disbelief, she opened her mouth.

“……I thought that was tea brought out to serve a guest.”

“I can’t serve tea with alcohol in it, especially alcohol from someone else’s drinking flask.”

As Lars gestured, the waiting servant retreated with small steps. A laugh of disbelief escaped her lips.

“Let me tell you in advance, Duke, brandy is not much different from water to me. So I would appreciate it if you didn’t bring out milk tea with just honey, the kind children might drink.”

She didn’t want any more childish treatment. She deliberately raised her eyebrows fiercely, but Lars responded impassively:

“Well. There’s a rule here that alcohol is only consumed before sunset, so I must refuse that request. Please understand if the hospitality is lacking, as you arrived suddenly.”

Increasingly.

“Is that a rule of the Diconmeyer family?”

“A kind of.”

Lars casually replied and sat in the chair opposite her. The servant placed another teacup filled with milk tea and disappeared. Because her throat was too parched and the tea’s fragrance was good, she eventually took a sip.

The sweetness of honey and the extraordinary fragrance of the tea blended smoothly, lingering in her mouth. It was undoubtedly Golden Leaf, which was so expensive that she had rarely even tasted it, let alone had it in milk tea, and which only grew in the Langska region.

Golden Leaf came only from high mountainous areas where harvesting tea leaves was difficult, and only the most tender and young leaves were selected and carefully dried on velvet cloth for a long time. It was a luxurious milk tea worthy of its name, and she forgot the situation and emptied the teacup completely, savoring the taste. A relaxed smile flitted across Lars’s lips.

“It seems the tea suits your taste.”

“Brandy would have been better.”

Thinking it was a childish response, she hid her embarrassment and put down the teacup. But without giving her time to catch her breath, a low resonant voice suddenly came at her.

“I cannot accept your proposal, Lady Bickman.”

It was fortunate she didn’t hiccup. If she had, she might have jumped up and left out of sheer embarrassment.

Looking at her with his still vivid green eyes, Lars coldly added,

“I don’t need to share the responsibility for your reckless disregard of your own honor. I hope you find a better match.”

She hadn’t been able to sleep last night because she had imagined their conversation dozens, hundreds of times. His rejection of her proposal was so expected that it wasn’t surprising.

“Why?”

She smiled faintly and asked.

“Because the Bickman family is cursed?”

“What are you……”

“Because after Baron Christopher Bickman, Kirhin Bickman also lost his life in an unfortunate accident?”

She saw Lars’s face harden. She forced her lips to remain firm, fighting their tendency to loosen.

“Shall I tell you how much I know? My brother went there to save someone. He received a letter from His Highness Pelowic. But there happened to be an attack by Askun. Of course.”

“……”

“I know it wasn’t Askun who killed my brother. The wounds on his body weren’t caused by weapons Askun uses.”

A heavy silence hung in the air. Lars tried to maintain an expressionless face, but she could tell what he was recalling from his downcast eyes.

Her heart felt like it was turning cold at the thought of pale-faced Kirhin. Her voice trembled slightly.