Saena stared at ‘it’ without taking her eyes off, startled by the overwhelming presence of the enormous being.

“You…!”

The Duke seemed somewhat angry. Had he not summoned it by his own will?

Even the Duke himself looked surprised watching it suddenly appear and take form.

“Kyaang!”

Yolly, perhaps startled at the sight, barked at the black lion.

The black lion stared intently at Yolly before moving its massive body lazily closer.

As it approached Saena, it lowered its head, almost touching Yolly. The size difference between them was so enormous that if the lion just stuck out its tongue once, it could swallow Yolly whole.

Saena found herself mesmerized by the black lion. Without realizing it, she raised her hand to touch the bridge of its  nose.

“Caligo!”

The Duke shouted at the black lion as he approached.

Startled by his shout, at the same time,

“Keung!”

As Yolly jerked its body, Saena’s hand missed before she could touch anything.

Before she could lower her suspended hand, the black lion began dissolving its form starting from its legs.

Whoosh.

As quickly as it had appeared, it vanished as if it was being absorbed back into the Duke.

‘…Caligo? Not Morev?’

Does it have a different name? Or is it a twin Guardian Spirit?

The feeling had been different anyway, but hearing it called Caligo doubled her questions.

“Hah…. I apologize, my lady. Usually, it doesn’t act so willfully…”

Though his expression didn’t change much, judging by the slight angle of his eyebrows, the Duke seemed somewhat embarrassed.

Why?

“But… you said you’d show me Morev anyway, didn’t you?”

“That’s… true, but I hadn’t planned to show it so suddenly like this. Were you not startled?”

“Not at all. It was fascinating and wonderful.”

So much that I want to see it again.

While Morev looked impressive from afar, seeing it up close gave it a truly extraordinary presence. It felt as if the temperature of the entire lobby had shifted to a different level.

And thanks to Morev’s sudden appearance, Yolly’s mischief was quietly overlooked, for which she was secretly grateful.

“It seems… this one is the cause.”

“Pardon?”

“Did you bring it intentionally?”

“…No, this one secretly hid in the baggage basket. We couldn’t go back, so I told it to stay still, but I didn’t know it would suddenly jump out. I’m sorry.”

“No need to apologize. But what exactly is this creature?”

“…A puppy?”

Duke Kramer suddenly held his chin while observing Yolly, then raised his eyebrows.

“…A puppy, you say? This?”

“……”

Though Saena had been somewhat doubtful herself, what else could it be but a puppy? She had considered it a puppy, thought of it as a puppy, and told everyone it was a puppy.

“Rather than a puppy…”

“……”

The Duke tilted his head slightly and looked down at Yolly intently. His expression even carried a hint of intimidation.

Sensing that pressure, Yolly puffed up its body and needlessly growled, “Kreung, kreurung.”

“It looks closer to a wolf than a dog…”

“…A wolf?”

Saena had never seen a real wolf. Much less a wolf cub. So she couldn’t tell the difference.

She only knew that wolves and dogs looked similar.

‘Is that why everyone said it didn’t quite look like a dog?’

“Though even calling it a wolf doesn’t quite…”

The Duke, slightly furrowing his brow while muttering, raised his gaze to catch Saena’s eyes and asked quietly.

“May I hold–?”

“…Pardon?”

As the Duke approached, naturally extending both arms, Saena felt her heart drop with a thump.

“The creature, I mean.”

“…Ah.”

He meant Yolly.

‘Why did I get flustered when it should have been obvious?’

She felt her face flush with embarrassment at her own reaction. She hurriedly held Yolly out to the Duke, but of course, this creature chose that moment to struggle and protest.

“Kwaaang!”

It protested not just with its body but with its voice too.

Seriously, why are you acting like this? Did you follow me here just to embarrass me?

Suddenly, she felt a strong urge to give it a knock on the forehead.

But any of Yolly’s resistance proved pointless. The Duke paid no mind and firmly took its small body, bringing it close to his face to stare intently into Yolly’s eyes.

“Oh?”

Violets bloomed again in Yolly’s eyes. The color that had briefly appeared and disappeared before had returned.

But she couldn’t make a fuss and leaned in closer to look in front of the Duke, so all she could do was widen her eyes and peer curiously.

After examining Yolly for a long while, the Duke returned it to Saena.

“It’s a good creature. It will be helpful when it grows up. Raise it well.”

Saena quickly looked into Yolly’s eyes again after receiving it, but they had already returned to their usual appearance.

‘Surely, I didn’t imagine it?’

There seems to be a pattern to when the eye color changes, but I can’t figure out what triggers it.

…Does it change when meeting new people? It had done so when first meeting Saena, so maybe that’s it.

“Well then, shall we go in?”

“Ah, yes.”

Come to think of it, we’d been standing in the hallway this whole time. Saena looked for Smila to hand Yolly back, but the Duke stopped her.

“You can bring it along.”

“…Yes. Thank you.”

Perhaps because even a wolf posed no threat to the Duke. His willing permission gave her an odd feeling.

This man had always been generous with Saena. From their first meeting, she had unintentionally been repeatedly rude to him.

‘That man seems to have no heart. Always hunting demonic beasts, he’s become like one himself!’

When she heard Elizabeth’s complaints about her husband, Duke Kramer seemed to her like the world’s most cold-blooded and indifferent person. But seeing him now, perhaps they just hadn’t gotten along well.

The Duke didn’t appear particularly cold or indifferent.

Lost in various thoughts while quietly following behind him, they soon arrived at a door.

The Duke opened the door himself and stepped aside to let Saena enter.

Even the doors in this mansion were large and heavy like the Duke. The door, carved with intricate antique patterns, showed the craftsman’s touch in itself.

Despite the door being plenty large, with the tall Duke standing there, it somehow made Saena feel psychologically small as she passed by.

As she carefully entered, trying not to brush against his clothes, a pleasant scent penetrated her lungs. Like the dawn scent you might encounter deep in a forest… A fresh but somehow lonely fragrance.

Come to think of it, she had felt this impression before, perhaps due to the environment where the Duke lived.

From the entrance lined with conifers, living in this classical mansion that seemed more suited to an arboretum than a garden, it was natural for such a scent to permeate one’s body.

Trickle.

The sight of tea being poured into her cup snapped her back to awareness. She found herself already seated on the sofa.

When she’s with the Duke, she keeps losing focus slightly. Yet his guidance was always so natural that she followed without even realizing it.

Having lived 10 years more, her mental age should actually be similar to or higher than his, but somehow, it didn’t feel that way at all.

‘It’s clear that you don’t mature just by breathing and aging.’

Well, if aging brought maturity, people like George Hollander wouldn’t exist. It struck her anew that age was truly just a number.

Saena observed the interior while sipping her tea.

The reception room was entirely black and white. It was a style found nowhere else in the Empire.

Like the style of clothing the Duke usually wore, the reception room was the same. The furniture was made of blackened wood, while the curtains and other decorations were mostly white.

“This.”

He held out something.

What the Duke pushed toward Saena across the table was a small box. Again, it was black.

‘Don’t tell me this is all black wood too?’

The carriage, the furniture, and even the storage box—all made of black wood?

She knew they were a wealthy family, but to this extent? Or perhaps there was another reason.

Saena stared at the box he offered before raising her eyes to meet the Duke’s gaze.

As the Duke raised his arm and gestured, all the attendants except Royter left the room.

“You may open it.”

What could it be? Something requiring a certain security that all attendants needed to leave?

As Saena picked up the box, Yolly trotted over and sat on her lap.

“Kyang?”

Was Yolly curious too?

The box was quite heavy for its size. Though not ornate on the outside, looking closely revealed ancient text densely carved all over, suggesting it was more valuable than if it had been studded with jewels.

Though she wasn’t certain, it must be a device to protect the contents inside.