“No, Lucy. If it were the Count, he would be after me, not you. Why do you think I wear shabby clothes and even a wig whenever I go out for Rihasbin business? Even changing carriages each time.”

“Because you stand out.”

Lars finally spoke, his voice heavily cutting through the air.

“Lucienne was a suspect in the murder of the previous Baron, whom they had marked. Then suddenly you brought her into your home as your sister. After the succession ceremony, there was a series of conspicuous actions. An ordinary noble miss wouldn’t follow recitation gatherings around and build friendships with royal administrators.”

As his coolly settled gaze flew toward me, I slightly lowered my eyes and gripped the milk cup.

“They must have been curious about what role Lucienne plays. I thought they might take an interest in you, but I didn’t expect it to go this far.”

Lars’s words were mixed with a faint sigh. As I slowly rolled my eyes, I knew the time had come.

“So it’s already too late.”

I put down the cup and gazed at Lars, who narrowed his eyes.

“If the Count is watching me, would I be safe even if I went to a convent on a mountaintop? Who could protect me there if I became endangered? If they kidnapped me to threaten my brother, how long could he hold out?”

“……What? Lucy, that doesn’t sound particularly good.”

“But it’s true. If the Count is as cruel as rumors say, he could easily use me that way. This kidnapping incident would have revealed how much my brother cares for me.”

Kirhin, who had been making a sour face, quickly nodded in agreement. Lars exhaled a long sigh and tilted his head back. Seeing his gaze wandering the ceiling as if in contemplation, I calmly continued,

“I want to help both of you as Lucienne Bickman. When you start formal trade with the Rihasbin merchant group, you’ll need many hands. Who will you trust with trade settlements and ledger keeping? For your reference, I’m already handling all the summary tables and cost settlements. As you probably know.”

Startled, Kirhin hurriedly waved both hands while checking Lars’s reaction, but Lars only hardened his gaze and remained completely motionless. I pulled myself up straight and put strength into my voice.

“When this deal expands, the Count will respond in some way. Trade with the duchy was the money line he had been monopolizing. Lord Lars and my brother might be in danger. Then whether I’m in a convent or anywhere else, I’ll be in danger all the same. Because I’m a member of the Bickman family.”

Kirhin started groaning while pulling at his hair. Since persuading him was already a done deal, my attention was fixed solely on Lars, who was staring into space. With clenched fists, I firmly stated my final point.

“So let me do it. I’m confident I can work harder and better than anyone. If we’re all going to be in danger anyway, let me do something too. That way, even if I die, at least I won’t feel wronged.”

Silence descended. Kirhin slightly raised his head and stole a glance at Lars. I observed him too.

As if ignoring our suffocating gazes, Lars kept his eyes firmly closed, but after a long while, he opened them with a sigh-like exhale.

“I’ll admit I underestimated you.”

He spoke quietly and stood up abruptly.

“We’ll postpone the convent. I need to look into a few things first.”

Without giving time for farewells, he widened his stride and instantly moved away. I blinked with an “Oh” and jumped to my feet.

“Wait a moment!”

I quickly grabbed what I had prepared in advance and ran after him. Lars, who had been pressing his temples with his fingers, frowned as he turned to look at me.

“What now? What fearless words are you going to say with that tiny tongue of yours……”

He was much taller than me, so I had to stand on tiptoe. As I stretched out my arms to unfold the well-dried cloak and place it around his shoulders, his sharp chin touched my forehead.

The scent I loved most in the world brushed against my nose. His presence felt closer than I expected, making my heart pound and causing me to swallow hard.

What would happen if I embraced him right now? What if I lifted my head and kissed that chin?

But no matter what, I still didn’t have that much courage. With a face turned bright red, I grabbed both ends of the cloak to wrap it well, and only then did I lift my eyes to look at him. Lars was already looking at me like he’s gazing at his biggest headache.

“Thank you for coming to rescue me.”

I tried not to appear intimidated, but my voice inevitably shrank. I looked somewhere around his chest and moved my lips.

“I thought if someone came to rescue me, I hoped it would be you.”

When I felt Troy’s knife-wielding hand rise high as I rushed toward the burning ledger, I thought: I hope I don’t die. No, if I were to die, I wish I could see his face just once before dying. Just once.

I stared at his face with that exact emotion. Those well-defined, thick eyebrows and those beautiful eyes I praised, that high nose bridge and those lips that created a cold yet enchanting atmosphere. No matter how much I looked, I never tired of it. No matter how much I looked, it wasn’t enough.

It would be nice to draw a portrait and look at it every day, but there was no way he would allow that while hiding his identity. So all I could do was take him in with my eyes whenever I had the chance.

“……Why are you looking at me like you’re going to devour me?”

Perhaps tired of my persistent, deep gaze, Lars frowned and brushed my face. As he wrinkled his nose bridge and pulled his head back, he muttered to himself.

“I still think locking you up in prison is the right thing to do.”

The ironic tone at the end of his words made my eyes widen. With an excited expression, I raised the corners of my mouth and asked.

“But I seem useful, don’t I?”

Lars looked down at me, laughing with an incredulous face and let out another long sigh. His hand lightly pressed down on the top of my head.

“Go. Don’t think about anything today.”

Shaking his head, he headed for the door. I kept my eyes on his back until the end. My heart wouldn’t stop pounding as I seemed to see hope.

“Our pebble has done it again. From what I can see, that’s as good as permission.”

At the sound of small applause, I turned my head. Kirhin stood askew with his arms folded, laughing with a dejected face.

“You brat, don’t tell me you helped with my work from the beginning for this? To gradually dig your way into this business?”

“What I wanted from the beginning was just one thing. To be helpful to both of you.”

As I approached him with a bright smile, Kirhin let out a laugh and ruffled my hair.

“To be able to bake and boil that ice wall of a man, there’s probably no one in all of Edmus who could withstand your persuasive skills. What’s your secret?”

“……Betting everything.”

I quietly said, looking toward the door where Lars had disappeared.

“Thinking only about that in every moment I’m awake.”

Kirhin, who had opened his mouth wide at my answer, soon let out a hollow laugh. He spoke in a low voice.

“Your feelings have deepened, haven’t they?”

“You must be tired, brother. Please rest. And thank you for finding me.”

I simply smiled with my eyes and bowed my head politely, and Kirhin clicked his tongue briefly, seemingly displeased.

“Don’t talk like we’re strangers. You must be more tired, so go rest. I’ll take you to your room.”

I walked through the mansion, wrapped in silence due to the late hour. After filling my stomach and with Lars gone, I was suddenly overcome with fatigue that made me feel like I might faint. Kirhin, who supported my staggering arm, opened the door to my room.

“If you’re scared, ring the bell. Your brother will come.”

“I don’t think I’ll have time to be scared.”

I blinked my drowsy eyes and spoke in a half-sunken voice, and Kirhin smiled faintly, let me in, and closed the door. I walked to the bed and collapsed on it immediately.

There’s still something I haven’t done. I need to go find Nina. I need to see what she’s thinking now.

“Nina…… need to see……”

My mumbling voice disappeared in an instant, like a candle being extinguished. Caught by sleep’s grip, I plunged right in. I didn’t have any strength left to resist.