“Freemont goods are circulating in the market. They’re selling at prices cheaper than what we handle, so word of mouth is rapidly increasing sales. Shall we deal with the Nix merchant group?”

Though Quido’s voice breaking his thoughts was displeasing, Beitram merely frowned and asked.

“Do you know who you encountered?”

“No. But I confirmed his face.”

“So you’ve never seen him before.”

“No.”

That was as expected. Beitram nodded and spoke in a low voice.

“First, search around Prince Pelowic. Someone might recognize him.”

“We could also find out from Baron Bickman or Lucienne Bickman.”

At Quido’s ominous suggestion, Beitram tilted the corner of his mouth.

“We’ll do that if we come up empty-handed. Dealing with the merchant group comes after confirming our opponent.”

“Understood.”

Quido bowed his head respectfully, opened the door of the moving carriage, and jumped out. Beitram watched with indifferent eyes as he rolled in the mud and disappeared, then reached out to close the rattling door.

It would take quite some time to reach Balshwin Castle, but it didn’t seem like it would be boring. He closed his eyes, thinking about the moves Lucienne had made.

Recalling the intense calculations she must have made to decide to sacrifice her bishop as bait for misdirection, a smile spontaneously flowed from him. His lips were gently curving.

* * *

It was darkness where nothing could be seen. With my body tightly bound in chains, I sat in front of a chessboard. Across from me, a huge beast with sharp teeth growled, drooling. It seemed to have already devoured something, as the smell of blood was overwhelming.

Should I move the rook? No, it would be taken by a pawn. Advance the queen? Ah, it would be taken by a bishop in three moves.

No matter how much I racked my brain, I couldn’t see a way out. It was hard to breathe, as if my throat was being strangled. I was overcome with the urge to flip the board, but all I could move were just two fingers.

With a desperate feeling, I picked up the bishop. It was the move with the highest possibility among what I could squeeze out. But the moment I placed the piece with trembling hands, the beast began to rampage with a horrifying scream of delight.

A mistake. It had seen through my feint!

The chessboard was overturned, and pieces rolled around. As I turned my head in fear, something flew into my arms. A scream burst from my lips as I made eye contact with Kirhin, whose head had been cleanly severed, spurting blood.

“Aaaaargh!”

I couldn’t save him. Because my thinking was short-sighted, Kirhin ended up dead. As I flailed in terror, someone grabbed my arm.

“Calm down, kid. There’s no one here.”

“No, no, no.”

I shook my head. Tears fell in drops. My heart was beating as if it would burst any moment. Those lifeless blue eyes were still in my arms. Taking rapid breaths, I frantically clung to the person and pleaded.

“I’m sorry. I was wrong. It was my fault. Please, please just one more, one more chance……”

“Lucienne.”

A quiet but powerful voice gently pressed down on the nape of the rampaging fear. An arm lightly embracing my heaving shoulders patted my back.

“You did nothing wrong. Nothing went wrong. Rather, you did very well.”

I did well?

My pounding heart gradually found its rhythm. My eyes, which had lost focus and were shaking in the afterimage, soon clearly outlined the figure before me. It was my room.

Not wanting to leave his solid embrace, I hugged him tightly. Fear was still flickering its tongue at my feet. If I let my guard down even a little, it would bite my ankle and drag me into the darkness.

He seemed to flinch for a moment, but soon resumed rhythmically patting my back.

“What, what about my brother? Is he safe? And the Count?”

“They’re fine. Kirhin went out to attend to merchant group business after waiting for you to wake up, and the Count would have arrived at his castle long ago.”

“Long ago?”

“It’s almost sunset. You’ve slept for over ten hours—aren’t you hungry?”

The tension in my shoulders, which had stiffened at his teasing tone, eased. Finally, I blinked and raised my head. A handsome chin was right in front of me.

Lars’s expression, glancing down at me, was so composed that I could truly feel that everything was alright. As I stared at him intently, he raised his eyebrows and let out a small laugh.

“Now will you let go……”

“No.”

“What?”

“I said no.”

I interlaced my fingers around him and buried my head. I remembered how cold and frightening he had been the last time I saw him. My hands wouldn’t let go. If I did, he might turn his back on me again in that way.

He let out a long sigh, and his chest, which was touching my cheek, heaved greatly. I could hear a heartbeat somewhere. I felt his gaze looking down at my face as he tilted his head.

“What noble family’s daughter embraces a man so shamelessly?”

“I don’t care what you say!”

My voice, which burst out convulsively, had tears in it. When I squeezed my eyes shut, tears that had welled up again wet my cheeks. Hearing my breath quicken again, Lars clicked his tongue.

“I told you. The Count isn’t here. He left long ago. That means there’s no need to be afraid.”

……Who’s afraid because of the Count? I’m afraid you’ll push me away again.

But if it was advantageous to use the Count as an excuse, I could certainly do so. I trembled and twisted my cheek into a more comfortable position. His warm body temperature was addicting, like the first taste of sweet nectar.

Sighing as if he had no choice, Lars adjusted his awkward posture and asked.

“I heard you two played chess until dawn. What exactly did that man say?”

For some reason feeling annoyed, I pouted my lips and retorted.

“Maybe we played because it was fun.”

“Ah, so fun that you fainted as soon as the Count left.”

However, as if unwilling to humor me, Lars immediately kicked away my petulance. Smacking my lips, I mumbled and shared the story.

“At first, he started playfully, but when I played half-heartedly, he seemed to get angry. He said if I didn’t win even once, my brother wouldn’t see the morning sun.”

The sharp anger felt in Lars’s brief exhalation was palpable. It felt good to feel these emotions up close. I wanted to stay like this forever if possible.

“What did he say when he showed you this?”

I lifted my head from his chest and glanced down. In Lars’s palm was the perfume bottle.

Seeing the perfume bottle in his hand again reminded me of the day of the succession ceremony. I was so happy that he had returned alive that losing the perfume bottle didn’t matter at all. Although even that day, he had gotten angry with me and left.

Come to think of it, doesn’t he get angry at me too often? What have I done so wrong?

Feeling a surge of emotion again, I sniffled.

“When I said I wouldn’t play the game with my brother’s life at stake, he said he would kill the owner of this perfume bottle.”

As I finished speaking, Lars’s long fingers slowly gripped the perfume bottle. Seeing his fingernails turn white, he seemed to be applying considerable force.

“So.”

His voice, which had sunk low, fell on my nape after a while.

“You won.”

I nodded. Though the dream had a tragic ending, I was truly grateful that everyone was safe in reality.

Wondering if he would praise me, I perked up my ears, when his hand grabbed my shoulder. Expecting him to pat my head, I hunched my neck, but instead frowned at his hand pushing my shoulder away. A cold voice was heard.

“Now let go.”

“No……”

“I’m asking to see your face, you stubborn one. After making someone worry so much.”

The rapidly poured words hit my ears. Blinking blankly, I suddenly raised my head. I could see Lars, who had moved back, frowning.

Seeing him with the red sunset shining through the window as a halo, the last shadowy image of the Count that remained in my heart completely disappeared. My lips opened spontaneously.

“Were you worried about me?”

As if stating the obvious, he flicked one eyebrow and tilted his head slightly.

“When I heard the news and rushed over, Kirhin was dozing and said he hadn’t seen anything, and you fainted as soon as the Count left. How could I not worry?”

My foolish face felt like it was melting like ice touched by fire. With my cheeks burning, I rolled my eyes and grumbled.

“But what if you came here? The Count might have done something. It’s dangerous.”

“You’re talking about danger? You, who faced that man alone for hours?”

“Is me dying the same as something happening to you?”

“Yes.”

At the straightforward answer, I froze stiff. Lars, who had been looking at me with sharp eyes, soon added with a crooked smile.

“Who was it that cursed me to come find you first if you died?”

“That, that, who said to come right away? Whether it’s 30 years or 50 years later, anyway, I asked you to come find me when I die.”