“…Constantine?”

Here was another difference.

“Mm. Just a bit more…”

Unlike in the past when he would disappear as soon as the sun rose, Constantine’s wake-up time gradually became later, and conversely, the time he spent in bed was subtly getting longer and longer.

‘The reconciliation is good, but…’

It was hard to believe this man who started dawdling(?) in bed every morning was the same person who used to wake up before dawn and dressed in veiled clothing.

“Get up. I think the butler is looking for you.”

Despite hearing Nadia’s voice from outside asking if the master was awake, rather than opening his eyes, he pulled Saena closer into his embrace.

‘He’s completely, completely different…’

Though she thought she had worked hard to understand him, she kept being wrong as time passed.

Until now, he had maintained certain boundaries.

‘No, was his habit of waking before sunrise not because he was busy?’

Everything had been because of the patterns.

As if to prove that his previous behavior had been forcibly restrained, after removing the veil of secrets that needed to be hidden, he had been acting accordingly. She tried to reassure him when he acted urgently as if being chased by something, worried that she might be reluctant.

‘Those patterns are fine with me. I’d rather like to study them. So I wish you wouldn’t worry about that.’

Saena tried to reassure him.

Each time, he would somehow make an even more desperate expression before getting excited and pouncing on her at points she couldn’t understand, so she had no idea if she had succeeded or not.

But even so, it seemed enough now.

“It might be urgent.”

Knowing that the butler wouldn’t normally look for them when they were in the bedroom, Saena urged him once more.

“Hah…”

Finally, Constantine raised his upper body groggily.

With an expression that clearly showed he really didn’t want to get up.

As he raised his body, his sparkling white silk-like hair cascaded down, tickling her skin. When Saena flinched at the sensation, he swept his hair back behind his forehead and smiled, stretching his lips.

“Good morning, Saya.”

A morning greeting full of warmth. Followed by a kiss.

“Yes. Good morning.”

It was a gentle start to the day.

* * *

After Constantine left, Saena stretched fully before getting out of bed.

She noticed several papers carelessly thrown under the bed yesterday. Saena bent down to pick them up. These were traces of her ambitious attempt to copy his back again yesterday.

“…What kind of letters are these even.”

Despite her ambition, the results were terrible.

She would surely start with scholarly intent, firmly gripping her pen, but why did it always end up in bed…

Even the few letters she managed to copy were so crooked they were completely illegible, making it truly embarrassing.

‘Hmm… Next time, I’ll write them properly.’

Today too, Saena organized the papers while making the same repeated promise.

‘Now I should do some actual work.’

Having lost track of dates these past few days, Saena deliberately tried to recall tasks she needed to do in reality.

‘Work handover and…’

Ah, she should have asked the Duke about this part. She went to ask but everything got delayed because of that incident in the office.

“Well, let’s start with something else. Then the black diamond translation and…”

She needed to research the connection between the ancient text translation and the Arlesian on his back.

Then suddenly she remembered,

“Oh no, Yolly!”

How was Yolly doing? How many days had it been since she’d seen him?

He must be completely upset… She worried about getting hit by his bear paw.

“Ah, I’m so sorry…”

Before, whenever Constantine came to Saena’s bedroom, Yolly would somehow panic and scurry out of the room.

Since he was strangely able to understand human speech, Saena was reluctant to show him intimate moments between spouses. While that seemed fortunate in a way, she felt very uncomfortable thinking that Yolly might be wandering around with nowhere to go after leaving the bedroom.

‘Though the smart Yolly probably wouldn’t do that.’

She didn’t think of him as just an ordinary pet. That’s why lately, she spent nights mainly in Constantine’s room, hoping Yolly would rest in her room while she stayed here.

But recently, she had completely forgotten about Yolly while worrying about Constantine’s strange desperation and anxiety. Inwardly blaming herself, Saena hurried to the Duchess’s room.

“Yolly~”

She expected him to come running with a ‘kyang kyang’ as soon as she entered, since he hadn’t seen her for so long, but strangely, there was no sign of him.

“Where did he go?”

Saena thoroughly checked the sofa where he often settled and near the pillow by the bed.

“Yolly~ Where are you hiding?”

Is he refusing to even show the tip of his tail because he’s upset…

She would feel better if he hit her with his bear paw in anger.

Feeling very guilty about neglecting him until now, Saena searched the room thoroughly. But he was nowhere to be found.

Finally, she concluded that Yolly wasn’t here.

‘…Where could he have gone?’

Could he be in the reception room? Yes, maybe that’s it.

Come to think of it, she didn’t seem to have instructed the employees beforehand to always let Yolly stay in her room. Someone who came to clean the bedroom might have found him and taken him outside.

She should have emphasized that Yolly wasn’t just an ordinary pet…

Trying to suppress the rising anxiety, Saena left the bedroom. She pulled the cord to summon the servants, and shortly after, a maid came.

“Madam, you called?”

“Ah, have you seen Yolly?”

“Yolly? You mean that beast?”

“Yes.”

“I haven’t seen him, I think. Isn’t he in the room?”

“No. He seems to have gone outside, could you ask around if anyone has seen him?”

Saena instructed the maid.

“Madam.”

The maid returned after a longer time than expected. During the wait, her anxiety had grown even more than before and showed in Saena’s demeanor.

“What did you find out?”

When she asked urgently, not even trying to hide her anxiety, the maid seemed flustered.

“Well… I asked all the maids in charge of cleaning your room and the servants who might have been nearby… but no one has seen him.”

She hesitated slightly while answering, seemingly anticipating that Saena wouldn’t like her response.

“Who saw him last?”

“…I think they saw him a few days ago…”

“Exactly how many days ago.”

“…Um, three days ago… no, four days ago!”

“Find the person who saw him most recently.”

“Yes, yes!”

Though she hadn’t been at Castle Cream long, the maid had never seen Saena angry or frowning at the employees, so she hurriedly left, not knowing how to handle Saena’s cold demeanor.

‘Yolly…. Where on earth did you go.’

Surely he hadn’t left without saying anything to her?

Just imagining it made her chest tighten with emotion, and Saena pressed her hand against her heart.

“…Must find, must find him.”

She couldn’t just sit still and leave it to the employees. Saena opened all the doors attached to her space and checked each one again.

The bedroom attached to the reception room, auxiliary bedroom, dressing room, bathroom, utility room, and even the terrace…

Just like when she had thrown open doors at the Debov house looking for Yuri, Saena’s movements were urgent.

“Madam!”

Then somehow Darielle burst in.

“…Darielle!”

“I heard you finally came out and came to see you… What’s wrong?”

“Yolly! Yolly is missing!”

Hearing her tearful voice, Darielle seemed momentarily speechless.

“Recently, since the Madam has been staying in His Grace’s room, I only handled the logistics work. I’m sorry.”

“That’s not the issue. We need to find him quickly!”

“Yes! I’ll go ask around right away!”

“I’m coming too!”

Saena couldn’t possibly sit still and wait patiently, so she rushed out the door without thinking. There was nowhere else to search in the room area.

As she crossed the corridor, the maid who had left earlier returned and, seeing Saena, quickened her pace to run over.

“What happened!”

Saena asked without giving her time to catch her breath.

“It seems no one in the castle has seen him for the past three days.”

“What? Three days?!”

How could Yolly be missing for three days and no one came to report it…

No, no. She hadn’t paid attention during those three days either. Saena wanted to tear at her hair.

Uncharacteristically, rage boiled up inside her.

The void left by Yuri’s absence was somewhat bearable because of Yolly’s presence.

Being the only one in the world who remembered Yuri was, in fact, not easy. It sometimes made her doubt herself.

Was Yuri’s existence actually just a dream? Perhaps her memories were wrong?

Such doubts denied Yuri’s existence and spread like poison, leading to extremes. Eventually, it would make her deny even her own existence.

‘Perhaps this whole life is an illusion?’

That kind of extreme thought.

At such times, it was Yolly who kept Saena anchored to reality. Yolly’s existence.

His ‘kyak’ sounds and tapping before bedtime would remind her again that Yuri’s existence wasn’t a lie.

Yolly’s presence had greatly helped her adapt so easily to life in the unfamiliar Castle Cream. While Constantine’s kindness was also a major reason, it wouldn’t have been nearly this easy without Yolly.

But if Yolly had disappeared…

“Madam!”

Suddenly her heart constricted madly and her head spun. As complex emotions of either anger or fear swept through her, Saena felt darkness descend before her eyes.

* * *

In actual time, Saena’s fainting spell lasted only about ten minutes.

It was brief. But chaos erupted in that short time.

The Duke, upon receiving the report, dropped his work and rushed over, and everyone who had ever served the Duchess, including Nadia and Darielle, was summoned.

“I’m greatly disappointed that this is the level of Castle Cream’s employees.”

“We-we’re sorry…”

A cold air settled around Constantine after hearing the full story.

“Yolly!”

Then Saena’s cry pierced through that coldness. She had regained consciousness and rushed out of the room. Constantine startled and supported her.

“Saya! You’re awake?”

The employees who had been trembling from his emanating chill felt it dissipate rapidly and exhaled in relief.