“……”

For a long time, he said nothing in response to my answer.

As I fidgeted with the rose stem awkwardly, he spoke in a calm tone, lost in thought.

“Would you have.”

“…Pardon?”

“I asked if you would have told me.”

I had no idea how to answer his question.

If I had been able to visit the apothecary without being caught and discovered what the powder was, would I have told him?

Probably not. Especially if I had confirmed it was the same substance I put in the lamberoo tea.

I looked at him and slowly shook my head. His gaze wavered momentarily before settling again.

He resumed walking.

He must be angry and probably wanted to leave me behind, so I deliberately started walking late, but his pace remained slow.

“…Am I allowed to walk with you?”

“So you’re not completely oblivious after all.”

At his response, I quickly fell into step beside him.

I heard him let out a scoffing laugh at my reaction.

“I thought you’d be angry.”

“Why would I be angry about something that didn’t happen?”

“Oh…”

“It just gives me one more reason to keep an eye on you.”

“Ah…”

My admiration for the Grand Duke was short-lived as bitterness quickly set in, and I fidgeted with my fingertips.

“So we’ll soon find out what that medicine is, right?”

“Why?”

“No… just…”

“Afraid it might match the lamberoo tea ingredients?”

Caught. I nodded with my lips tightly sealed.

“Did you put something else problematic in the lamberoo tea that day?”

“…How would I know?”

“If it contained poison, well. That would only serve to kill you.”

He talks so casually about it like it’s not his problem!

I wanted to shout, “It wasn’t me but Lea Azanie who originally inhabited this body. I’m from another world!” But no one would believe such words.

Sigh, so this is how I die…

“To cut to the chase, the sleeping drug detected in the lamberoo tea and the powder in the envelope are completely different, even to the n*ked eye.”

“…What?”

“You’re acting like you’ve never seen it before.”

“I really haven’t!”

He had been walking while looking straight ahead with an indifferent expression, but now he frowned and looked at me.

“Then stop making that face.”

“……”

“You look like I’m about to take your head off.”

“So that means…”

“I was told we need to run tests to determine exactly what it is. Carrisford will contact us once they’ve confirmed it.”

“…It’s really not from the lamberoo tea?”

“It’s not.”

He answered curtly and sighed lightly.

My eyes widened involuntarily as I looked up at him, and gradually joy began to fill me.

“Thank goodness…!”

The fact that it wasn’t what was put in the lamberoo tea meant that at least I wouldn’t be proven guilty because of this.

I had bought some time.

The corners of my mouth tingled involuntarily, and my tears receded.

“You smile too easily.”

The Grand Duke criticized me as if he couldn’t understand, but who cares? I couldn’t contain my smile and grinned broadly.

“Do you know how worried I was? Whew, what a relief.”

In my joy, I hugged Odin tightly, causing him to wake up and push my face away with his front paw in disgust.

The Grand Duke looked at Odin and me with displeasure.

“…Is there any reason to dote on it so much?”

“He’s cute.”

“Hardly.”

As he quickened his pace slightly, I patted Odin’s back, who looked like he might slip out of my arms at any moment, and approached his side.

“By the way, Your Highness.”

“What.”

“Did you finish the hunt already?”

The Grand Duke nearly stopped abruptly at the sudden topic but continued walking nonchalantly.

“Obviously.”

“But isn’t it too early for you to have finished hunting?”

I tilted my head and expressed my doubt, but ignoring my question, the Grand Duke suddenly reached out and gripped my shoulder.

Just as my eyes were about to widen, he pointed somewhere with his chin.

“Stop wondering about such things and just smile.”

“What…?”

“Your Highness!”

The Grand Duke was right.

The ladies, who had been looking for me with pale faces, spotted me and were rushing over.

“How frightened we were!”

Madame Jeanette pressed her handkerchief to her temple and stroked her chest.

The Grand Duke’s statement about the hunt ending early seemed true, as the branch managers were also gathered with their wives.

They said everyone who went hunting failed to enjoy themselves today, so they came to Mertid Square earlier than planned.

According to what Madame Mariette had told me in the carriage, St. Berte Castle’s hunting grounds were renowned as the best in the Empire, like a dream amusement park for men.

But it seemed to vary day by day.

“I’m so sorry for suddenly disappearing and alarming you.”

“No, Your Highness! That’s not what I meant. It’s our fault for not watching over you properly. How is your headache?”

“Haha, it got better after getting some fresh air.”

“What a relief. Fortunately, you ran into the Grand Duke when you went out for air. When we thought the grand duchess might have gotten lost, everything went black before our eyes.”

Madame Jeanette’s face was full of satisfaction as she looked reassuringly at the Grand Duke walking beside me.

She said the ladies had searched around for quite some time, worried that I might have gotten lost due to my amnesia.

Madame Mariette, who looked at the Grand Duke with an infinitely benevolent face as if gazing at a grown son, also nodded and said:

“There are so many people here and the paths branch in multiple directions, making it difficult to find someone. We were very worried.”

“But how amazing that the Grand Duke spotted the grand duchess immediately in such a crowded square!”

When Madame Jeanette, who had returned to the group of ladies, asked this question, Madame Louisa, standing nearby, deeply inhaled the scent of the rose she had received earlier and answered with an excited face:

“That’s newlyweds for you!”

Madame Jeanette nodded repeatedly in agreement with Madame Louisa Terris, the wife of Boswell Terris who managed the Conwisher branch.

“Hoho, that must be it. Did you see how everyone in the square was surprised when you two walked by looking so affectionate? They had faces that showed they never dreamed the grand duchess would appear in Mertid Square alongside the Grand Duke. Word will soon spread about how close you two have become, won’t it?”

“People’s tongues work quickly. All those nonsensical gossip about the attack on St. Berte Castle, rumors about the Hedegen family, and security issues will soon be overshadowed.”

“Of course. With those two staying so close together, it’ll happen in no time.”

Madame Jeanette and Madame Louisa exchanged glances with rather excited expressions.

As people in charge of branches, not mere branch offices, they naturally had great interest in Langchester Bank’s future.

But how powerful must the various rumors circulating about the Grand Duke and me be for them to think that merely walking together would reverse the atmosphere?

“With you two getting along so well, we can finally rest easy.”

“We need to make sure everyone knows about this, not just in St. Berte but at the imperial court and elsewhere.”

“There’s no need to rush. We’ve confirmed with our own eyes that you two are close, so we can relax for now. How fortunate that the grand duchess is actively participating in outside activities.”

“If we wait like this, we might hear good news soon.”

“What good news?”

“News of a child, of course.”

“Ah! That will certainly happen, hohoho.”

Madame Louisa and the other ladies nodded at each other, smiling as if dreaming of happiness. Their attitude was as casual as if having a child was the most natural thing in the world.

What? A child?

Hearing their conversation, I reflexively looked up at the Grand Duke with a start.

The Grand Duke must have heard the ladies too, right?

“Don’t even dream of it.”

At that moment, an incomparably arrogant voice reached my ears.

He was looking at me with indifferent eyes, his gaze half-lowered.

“That will absolutely never happen.”

What? Anyone listening would think I was the one who wanted it.

“Well…”

At a loss for words, I stared at him with my mouth open, and the Grand Duke lifted my chin to close it.

Just then, I noticed Madame Mariette, who was walking at the front, turning to look at the other ladies.

“Everyone’s voice is too loud. How rude to say such things to the grand duchess who is recovering.”

“But we were just happy…”

“Even so, please restrain yourselves.”

After giving them a sharp warning in a calm tone, Madame Mariette looked at me, gave a light nod of acknowledgment, and turned around gracefully.

“We’re sitting separately…?”

I looked down at the table where the Grand Duke and I were seated, then glanced at the people sitting across from us.

The branch managers and their wives were at a spacious table, while the Grand Duke and I were seated at a small round table that could only accommodate two people.

We were sitting on a terrace under a wide awning, not inside the café.

“The ice cream here is delicious. You must try it.”

Madame Jeanette, sitting across from us, spoke to me with a bright smile.

Although the terrace was perfect for enjoying the warm air, somehow it felt like they had seated us this way intentionally so people in the square could see us together. Or was that just my imagination?

“What are those flowers?”

Just then, I heard Branch Manager Randolph noticing the roses each lady was holding.

“A cute little girl from St. Berte gave them to us as gifts.”

Along with Madame Mariette’s gentle response, café staff placed ice cream in front of everyone. The ice cream served in small silver bowls looked deliciously sweet at first glance.

“Enjoy your meal, Your Highness.”

After Madame Mariette spoke softly toward us, she began discussing the fabrics they had bought at the boutique with the other ladies.

I stared blankly at the cheerful-looking ladies’ table, then looked at our deathly quiet table.

“Aren’t you going to eat?”

“I don’t like sweet things.”

“I’ll eat mine.”

As soon as I put a spoonful in my mouth, the cold vanilla ice cream melted like snow.

The Grand Duke, who had been leaning back in his chair and observing me thoughtfully, picked up a teacup filled with coffee instead of the ice cream the staff had left.

“Who gave you that flower?”

“A cute child.”

“A child…?”

“Yes.”

“Then what did that child write inside it?”

What is he talking about?

I looked at him, confused by his incomprehensible words.

“Pardon?”

As I faced him calmly drinking his coffee while keeping his gaze fixed on me, I felt an inexplicable chill—perhaps from the ice cream, or perhaps from his cold stare.

Soon I stopped staring at him, put down my spoon, and picked up the rose.

Feeling his persistent gaze on my skin, I parted the petals as if pushed to do so, and strange words caught my eye.

[Don’t trust the Grand Duke. I’m coming to save you.]