“Ah, I take back the secret.”

“……”

“It’s just that…”

“I didn’t write that I wanted to leave.”

My heart sank at his cold rebuke, and I looked up at him with a startled expression.

It was such an unexpected statement that I was flustered and at a loss for words.

“What…?”

I sensed his ice-cold eyes, like frost-covered daggers baring fierce teeth, falter for a moment.

He seemed to realize from my surprised expression that I couldn’t have written such a thing.

“……”

I could tell by how quickly his gaze softened.

Looking at those piercingly cold eyes that had become devastatingly subdued, I moved my lips that refused to part.

“It was just a letter.”

“……”

“I wrote it because I’m grateful to Lady Mariette. She deliberately spoke to me and helped me not feel awkward among the other ladies. I just wrote a letter expressing my gratitude. Their journey home is so long.”

“……”

“I wasn’t keeping secrets from Your Highness. I didn’t even hint at wanting to leave.”

After watching me silently, he turned his head away.

Though his expression seemed blank, his jaw looked rigid as if he were clenching his teeth.

“Go upstairs.”

I couldn’t fathom what was going on inside him as he deliberately avoided looking at me.

It wasn’t even clear what had upset him so deeply.

“All right.”

I stared at him for a moment before walking toward the stairs with Medlin.

What exactly went wrong?

Was choosing the word “secret” such a grave mistake?

True, I had promised not to hide anything from him…

But does that mean I can’t even joke around? He was laughing it off just fine earlier…

After climbing the spiral staircase for what felt like forever, I turned to look at Medlin.

“Medlin, has the Grand Duke always been this moody, with such severe emotional ups and downs?”

“What? Not at all.”

Medlin denied it, waving her hands as if she’d heard news more shocking than the sky falling.

“On the contrary, he’s frighteningly calm, my lady.”

Even after seeing what just happened?

I suppressed my urge to retort and continued up the stairs, treading heavily.

I could sense Medlin glancing down the stairs in confusion.

“Would you like a cup of tea?”

Carlo looked up from the documents he was reading when Norbert asked.

“You seem to be in poor spirits…”

Carlo responded to the butler’s gentle suggestion by placing the documents on his desk, signaling his agreement.

“Hah…”

Norbert watched as Carlo closed his eyes and pressed his fingertips against his eyelids, then skillfully poured tea from the teapot.

“The relationship between Her Highness the Grand Duchess and Lady Swinton seems to have grown quite close. Close enough to suggest Lady Swinton has let go of her old feelings.”

After keenly observing Carlo, Norbert spoke calmly as if he hadn’t been spying on him at all.

“Is that so.”

Ignoring Carlo’s indifferent response, Norbert respectfully placed the teacup in front of him and nodded.

“Perhaps you should check the contents of the letter the lady wrote to Lady Swinton. If you contact her separately, you could confirm its contents immediately.”

Carlo slightly furrowed his brow at Norbert’s words as he quietly sipped his tea.

Norbert continued in a serious tone, pretending not to have noticed his expression.

“The lady didn’t write letters before losing her memory, did she?”

“……”

“Of course, back then she sent them to her family home, the Azanie comital residence. Your Highness was away on campaign at the time, and since an Azanie knight came directly to receive the letters from the lady, we servants had no way to check them. But a letter to Lady Swinton could be verified.”

“If you’re asking whether I can’t even trust a letter the grand duchess gave to Lady Swinton, then stop.”

“Of course not.”

Norbert raised his eyebrows as if quite surprised, adopting an attitude suggesting he had no such intention, but Carlo knew his motives all too well.

Carlo let out a cold, bitter laugh, furrowed his brow, and ran his hand through his hair.

“Her expression was quite telling.”

He had seen Lea embracing Lady Swinton, handing her the letter, and looking regretful as she sent them off.

Though he hadn’t called it imprisonment, he had indeed confined her to this castle, and she, surely aware of this fact, must desperately want to escape.

“What expression do you mean…?”

“The face of someone wanting to leave.”

“The lady?”

Norbert showed surprise, as if the Grand Duke’s answer was completely unexpected.

To Norbert, it seemed the grand duchess was merely sad to see Lady Swinton leave.

But perhaps the Grand Duke wasn’t wrong.

Who could truly know what was in another person’s heart?

Norbert watched Carlo thoughtfully for a moment before slowly beginning to speak.

“Does that pose a problem?”

“……”

Carlo, who had been absently picking up a document while holding his teacup, paused.

“…Does the lady’s desire to leave present a problem for Your Highness?”

“……”

“Until now, you’ve ignored whatever feelings the lady might have harbored.”

“……”

“That would have meant that whatever actions the lady took had no significance to Your Highness.”

“……”

“But what you just said sounds exactly as if the lady’s actions are affecting Your Highness enough to disturb your peace of mind.”

Carlo looked at Norbert as if he had received unwelcome news.

“If it appeared that way, I regret it.”

“I apologize if I’ve spoken out of turn.”

“You don’t mean that.”

Carlo smiled bitterly, almost coldly, and mechanically took another sip of tea.

Then he habitually looked down at his documents.

Yes, that woman’s emotions couldn’t affect him at all.

Whether she wanted to leave or not, whatever feelings she harbored, the only thing he needed to concern himself with was that she couldn’t leave this castle until she became clear evidence in the attack incident.

He lowered his eyes and calmly read the printed text.

The problem was… Norbert was right.

“……”

Though he was looking at the documents in front of him, he felt a burning in his throat.

Yes, that woman should be nothing special, yet she kept getting under his skin.

She was merely a tool to be used, but he became angry when she wasn’t in sight, and when she showed signs of trying to escape, base emotions took control of his body and his blood boiled.

That woman’s inner thoughts needed to be completely exposed to him.

When they weren’t, his temper twisted viciously, and he wanted to tear everything apart with his own hands, stripping flesh from bone to verify everything.

‘It’s a secret.’

Ridiculously, the reason he couldn’t dismiss her words as usual was that his instincts flared at the fact that there were things about her he didn’t know.

The grand duchess’s shiny eyes looking up at him, startled by his violently intensifying aura, briefly flashed through his mind.

He squeezed his eyes shut, feeling as if an unwelcome headache had arrived.

“Knock knock—”

Just then, the grand duchess peeked her head in, imitating the sound of knocking on the door with her voice.

Earlier, she had clearly stomped up the stairs with an angry face, making noise as if wanting him to hear.

“…Are you busy?”

At the Grand Duchess’s question, Carlo stared at her blankly.

The thought crossed his mind that her white face, bathed in sunlight, was particularly full of vitality.

It was the healthiest complexion she’d shown since entering this castle.

Though traces of sulkiness remained, her cautious lips and the various emotions crossing her face were visible thanks to a vitality he had never seen in her before.

Normally when she came to his study, he would habitually say things like “get out,” “scram,” or “close the door”…

“What is it.”

His prominent Adam’s apple moved irritably before his calm voice emerged.

At his gruff response, the grand duchess, who had been standing with her eyes wide open, seemed to feel awkward and shook her head vigorously.

“Nothing. If you’re busy, I’ll come back later.”

“Is something wrong?”

He spoke again just as she was about to turn away.

His hand, gripping the documents, gradually tightened.

The grand duchess, who had been about to leave, hesitantly turned back toward him.

“Aren’t you busy?”

“I’m not.”

At his response, which somehow seemed resolute, the grand duchess hesitated briefly before composing her expression and approaching.

The sound of her long dress brushing against the carpet was excessively slow. Had it always been like this? Carlo felt somewhat parched as he watched her.