‘So she’s been selling my information to Elizabeth for money all this time?’

Before becoming friends with Elizabeth, Saena often ran into her at shops whenever she went out. She remembered thinking it must be fate since they met unusually often even at the few gatherings she attended.

But that wasn’t a coincidence.

Even when she was indifferent about preparing for the debutante ball, or when she woke up from her comatose state, somehow Elizabeth always found her at just the right timing to change her mind.

That wasn’t a coincidence either.

It was absurd.

[She also intentionally approached the Prince. Got acquainted with the Prince as part of Elaine Barnes’ group and found evidence of entering the Prince’s palace from before Elaine Barnes’ broken engagement.

Then entered as a Hebeta after receiving spirit power measurement.]

Constantine must have thoroughly investigated, as the investigation results were quite extensive.

Besides matters related to Saena, there were many suspicious activities Elizabeth had conducted overall, with analysis showing that her schemes which were somewhat clumsy in her mid-teens became quite meticulous and premeditated later on.

But unfortunately, traces remained because Elizabeth wasn’t wealthy.

Since House Valdez’s assets weren’t much, Elizabeth, being the third daughter, had negligible private funds, so she had to sell her accessories to handle the initial fees and recruitment costs needed for such behind-the-scenes operations. Moreover, most of those accessories were obtained by intentionally seducing and encouraging men for this purpose.

Quite many traces remained that could be tracked since she used jewelry and accessories rather than cash.

‘How wrong I was to think she just had good social skills…’

Looking at it, Elizabeth’s behind-the-scenes operations seemed to continue, and her contact with informants planted in each family also appeared to continue.

Recently, the social circles were quite stirred up hearing that a marquis’s daughter from quite an old family had entered as Elizabeth’s maid, but looking at it now, it seems she got dirt on them through bribing maids like this.

There was much talk wondering why someone of a marquis’s daughter’s status would enter as a maid to a Hebeta who wasn’t even a Crown Princess, but there were reasons for everything.

In some ways, isn’t she frighteningly good at knowing and using the ways of this world?

‘Becoming a duchess before wasn’t for nothing.’

She wondered how Elizabeth could suggest a contract marriage knowing Constantine’s circumstances when they had no connection, but if she had steadily collected inside information from noble families in this way…

Saena’s eyes grew cold.

‘This time… things won’t go your way.’

She will soon reap what she has sown.

* * *

After putting an eye on maid Amy, Saena sought out her father.

The two talked alone for quite a long time.

About House Debov’s Guardian Spirit (though the covenant was broken now).

She sought him out wondering if there might be information only the family head would know as she had discussed with Constantine before, and there really was such information.

“House Debov’s Guardian Spirit was called the ‘Guide’ or ‘Guide of the Crossroads’,” he said.

It was said that as a Guardian Spirit that emitted small lights like fireflies, those who didn’t know better would easily mistake it for some kind of light spirit.

“But the reality was different.”

Rather than any physical abilities, it was a Guardian Spirit that showed the right path when one faced major crossroads in life. The Count speculated this was probably the biggest reason House Debov had survived without falling into decline for so long.

However, a family head several generations ago fell in love with someone they shouldn’t have loved, and despite knowing it wasn’t right, they insisted on that path and nearly led to the family’s extinction.

Getting caught up in tremendous conflict, almost all the male direct line died out and they barely continued the family line through descendants of a daughter who had married far away, but during this period, they lost the Guardian Spirit.

Saena could tell this referred to that period when the family records were distorted and several portraits were missing.

‘With Yolly…’

It seemed both related and completely unrelated.

But she didn’t feel bad about gaining a somewhat deeper understanding of the family history and characteristics of the Guardian Spirit.

It’s never bad to know more about anything after all.

* * *

Until dinnertime after her long conversation with her father, neither Constantine nor Sage had returned.

They must have gone quite far.

Rather than waiting aimlessly for him, she had something to do.

Since she came to Delvon, there was somewhere she had to visit. Saena headed to the rear garden with brisk steps.

“Wow, it’s grown so much!”

Saena was surprised to see how much the sprout in Yuri’s tree spot had grown when she visited the rear garden after several months. What was originally just a sprout had grown more than expected and already taken the form of a small sapling.

— Hmm.

Yolly’s reaction was strange.

Though she hadn’t particularly intended to come together, he came along.

“I got you here, don’t you remember?”

— I remember.

“Then why are you reacting like that?”

— Just finding it curious how things are taking their place anew.

“You find things curious too?”

— What a silly question.

Then he added,

— Saena, having you by my side like this is what’s most curious.

“……”

That should be my line.

— I swear I won’t let anything that tries to harm you go unpunished. You must never, ever disappear.

His words carried the weight of time that Yuri had to endure.

Saena felt her heart grow heavy, but she didn’t want to show such feelings to him.

“My, how reliable! My brother!”

Though only an older brother by 30 minutes! Saena continued in a rather cheerful voice.

“With this atmosphere, it’s exactly the timing when you used to say ‘Get on brother’s back!'”

That’s what he often said when acting as her brother.

— I can still give you a piggyback ride now, want one?

“I don’t want to ride on Yolly’s back.”

He grinned and suddenly disappeared.

“……?”

Then soon reappeared making his presence known behind her back.

“…Yu, ri??”

It’s Yuri. It’s Yuri. Definitely… Yuri…!

“You- You could materialize in human form too?!”

— Well, it’s an exceptional case, but I can.

“Then why until now…”

— Anyway, I’m a Guardian Spirit now, so isn’t being in beast form more appropriate than human form?

Saena’s eyes sparkled as she examined him, surprised by this unexpected appearance. She was so struck by both surprise and joy that she was rather speechless, but her eyes kept observing him endlessly.

He looked like Yuri but was subtly different.

First, his overall coloring was somewhat faded. His black hair that had originally been the same color as hers was not as dark as Saena’s but closer to ash color.

And the atmosphere. How to put it… he gave off a subtle atmosphere that didn’t quite seem human.

— Now I can give you a piggyback ride. Come on, get on.

“……”

Even in this human form, Dad and Sage wouldn’t recognize him, would they?

She felt bitter all over again.

‘If I feel this way, Yuri must feel twice as sad.’

Gathering her emotions, Saena slowly climbed onto Yuri’s back.

Soon, Yuri stood up.

Perhaps because he was a Guardian Spirit, she couldn’t feel any body heat where they touched. It felt distinctly different from flesh and blood, creating a clear sense of dissonance.

But even so, Saena felt moved.

Though she knew Yolly was Yuri, emotions she hadn’t felt when seeing him only in Yolly’s form now overflowed upon encountering his human form. The language they used to share in the old days came back, and the habits from that time seemed to return and cling to her body.

As soon as she got on his back, Saena dangled her legs and pressed her cheek against his shoulder. Then she completely relaxed and leaned on him very comfortably.

“You know that time when you used to go out a lot at night…”

— Yes.

“Once I tried to climb down that tree too…”

— Yes.

“…So there I…”

— Yes.

The gentle flowing conversation made her feel like she had returned to the past.

Perhaps because of that sense of security, Saena’s eyes slowly closed.

Though his body temperature was different, the comfort he gave remained the same. It was similar yet somewhat different from the comfort Constantine gave her.

While the latter was a reassurance rooted in trust in his strength, the former was an innate comfort born from sharing a womb and growing up together over time.

Being carried by someone she could trust, the gentle swaying rhythm naturally led her into the world of sleep.

Soon, only soft breathing remained.

Yuri carefully slipped into the mansion with her in that state.

After confirming there was no presence in Saena’s room, he went in and laid her on the bed. He carefully covered her with the blanket and gently tapped her nose bridge with his finger while whispering.

“Sleep well.”

As he was leaving the room, he felt a gaze right then.

‘Saya. Your persistent husband seems to have returned.’

Though the gaze boring into his back was quite bothersome, Yuri didn’t bother to look back.

Feeling something suspicious, he could sense the other following. Yuri quickened his pace and as soon as he turned the corner, he dissolved his manifestation to hide.

No sooner had he hidden than Constantine also turned the corner, looking around with a stiff expression.

Watching this, Yuri laughed inwardly.

‘Your husband’s going to be quite annoyed.’

The faint presence snickered as it gradually disappeared.

* * *