“Excuse me…”

But I couldn’t continue speaking.

“……!”

A cliff lay before the man.

Far below, the deep blue sea waited, ready to swallow everything. Even for a good swimmer, jumping from here would be a gamble.

Moreover, in aristocratic society where swimming—which required removing clothes—was considered vulgar.

The likelihood of this seemingly noble man knowing how to swim was slim, which meant…

‘No!’

He might be trying to commit s*icide.

Before I could fully process this conclusion, my body moved first. Acting almost instinctively, I moved in an instant and reached the man.

At that moment, neither the fact that he was a stranger nor my status as a Countess nor any etiquette mattered to me.

Without hesitation, I stretched out my arms and wrapped them around his waist.

I interlaced my fingers tightly to ensure I wouldn’t lose my grip on him.

“Stop, that’s a cliff!”

He hesitated. Instinctively, I realized this was my chance. While his body was relaxed, I pulled at his waist with all my strength. Our bodies staggered. As his heavy body collapsed backward, I fell with him.

Thud.

We crashed to the ground. His heavy body fell on me, doubling the pain of hitting the ground.

My entire body ached and my head went blank for a moment. But I held onto consciousness firmly.

If I lost focus now, this man might die.

The tension from the unpredictable situation made my heart pound as if it would burst. So much that I couldn’t even feel the pain of my crushed body.

How long did I hold him like that?

When our body heat and heartbeats began to feel like my own, a low, heavy voice penetrated my ear.

“…you?”

I was too tense to hear properly, but the vibration was clear.

“What? What did you just say…”

It was just as I asked in confusion.

“……!”

I felt a rough sensation pressed down on my wrist. Then, with the hot sensation covering my face, I couldn’t help but catch my breath.

But that was nothing compared to what came next.

The man’s fierce gaze turned toward me as he bound my wrists like a prisoner.

It felt like I had disturbed a dangerous predator that shouldn’t be touched. My skin crawled.

A low, savage voice stuck to my earlobe like a warning.

“…Who are you?”

“Who… What do you mean by that…”

Just as I cautiously responded to his incomprehensible words, a cold sneer brushed my cheek.

“How amusing.”

His eyes, expression, gestures—everything was cold, yet he said it was interesting. That itself instilled a chilling fear.

What exactly did this man find amusing?

Above all, this man was clearly under some serious misunderstanding.

I had only tried to save him, yet he abruptly asked who I was.

If not that, could he be insane? Was his attempt to jump off the cliff part of that?

As worry rose within me, the man twisted his lips into a distorted smile and said:

“Whose orders are you following?”

Though his voice was light as he asked, his gaze was suffocating just to look at.

“Orders? I haven’t received anything like that.”

But I wasn’t foolish enough to be unable to speak. At my answer, the man’s gaze narrowed.

“You haven’t received any orders?”

At his suspicious look, I let out a bitter laugh. This man was clearly suffering from paranoia.

“You must have many enemies. I was just trying to save you, but hearing you talk about orders and such…”

“What?”

Wrinkles formed between the man’s brows. But I continued steadfastly.

“But I’ve never seen someone like you in the central social circles.”

“Central social circles?”

At my words, the man made a strange expression. Until now, it had been intimidation disguised as composure, but now he seemed genuinely surprised.

“Are you a noble?”

At the man’s question, I was at a loss for words. I was a bit taken aback. I had addressed him respectfully, assuming he was a noble. Following the etiquette that one should use respectful language when status is not revealed.

But if I had been respectful to a commoner. If the man before me wasn’t a noble…

Just imagining it brought a wave of embarrassment. No, it couldn’t be. I repeatedly reassured myself as I opened my mouth.

“Aren’t you?”

The man’s attire was splendid. Moreover, his accent and gestures were clearly from the capital. Yet he claimed not to be a noble?

The anxiety that my perfect certainty might actually be a perfect error swept through my mind.

But fortunately, or should I say:

“You’re using the capital’s accent. And seeing your hair tied up, a wife from a central noble family?”

The man asked as if he understood. But instead of answering, I pressed the man who still hadn’t provided an answer.

“Please answer first. Are you a noble?”

“…Well, let’s say I am.”

The man agreed, but somehow seemed evasive. Normally, nobles would be not just displeased but outraged if their noble identity was questioned.

But if this man wasn’t insane and was truly in his right mind, and had been trying to die…

‘Perhaps he has no lingering attachments.’

It made some sense.

“If you’re a noble, you must have learned chivalry.”

“……”

“Including that you shouldn’t grab a lady’s wrist and threaten her.”

While relieved on one hand, my wrist throbbed where the man had grabbed it. At my words, the man’s eyes wavered before settling calmly.

The force binding my wrist loosened simultaneously.

Then the man rose from on top of me, and I stood up, shaking out my skirt.

It finally felt like things were proceeding properly. But the relief was short-lived as a sense of crisis soon overwhelmed me.

After all, the man before me had been trying to jump off a cliff just moments ago. There was no guarantee he wouldn’t try again.

My heart raced as I watched the man gazing down the precipice.

“Surely you’re not going to jump again?”

At my words, the man turned his head to look at me, then laughed derisively.

“Today my luck is bad, so even if I tried to jump, I wouldn’t.”

“Now you’re being respectful?”

“Seeing earlier, you seem to appreciate chivalry.”

…This was my first meeting with the man.

❀❀❀

Though we parted after that conversation, we kept running into each other the next day, and the day after, endlessly.

I continued to speak to him, fearing he might throw himself off again.

“The weather is really nice today.”

“My maid packed me a sandwich. Would you like to share?”

Because I saw loneliness in the man’s eyes. I couldn’t forget that look—not belonging to anything, and seemingly without even the desire to belong.

I’d heard that having just one reason to live can prevent someone from making an extreme choice.

I tried to help him find that reason.

Fortunately, my efforts seemed to work. The man who initially ignored me gradually began to respond to my words.

“The weather today is really nice…”

“It’s raining. Don’t fabricate the weather just because you have nothing to say.”

After that, our relationship deepened gradually, and before we knew it, we had become close enough to share everything.

“Am I lacking charm as a woman? We lived together for three years, so why wasn’t it me that my husband chose? I don’t understand what the problem is.”

The reason I came on this trip, and what happened at the Floredo mansion. I told the man everything, and he always comforted me kindly.

“…You’re plenty charming, Levedi. It’s your husband’s eyes that are strange for not recognizing such a lovable woman.”

I might have developed some feelings for him. But I was already married, and I deliberately denied the emotions that arose every time I faced him.

Above all, the man never once told me his name.

Even his claim to be a noble was dubious, but I maintained our relationship, dismissing the possibility that his noble-like, dignified appearance could belong to a commoner.

He was the first person I could open up to about my stifling life. I didn’t want to lose him.

And eventually, I even said something like this:

“I wish my husband was someone like you. My husband and I don’t communicate at all.”

However, the day I said those words was my departure day, and before that, the man had also vanished without a trace, so nothing changed between us.

But that story was a secret among secrets known only to the two of us.

Yet somehow…

“Are you now resorting to stalking? I’ve never told anyone about that conversation.”

…Could the Duke know this fact?

Moreover, the Duke claimed that he was that man.

But that man and the Duke had completely different physical appearances. Unlike “that man” with common brown hair, brown eyes, and an overall sharp impression, the Duke had black hair, red eyes, and a gentle impression.

Unless their souls had switched, there was no way two people with no physical resemblance could be the same person.

The Duke was clearly playing a prank on me.

“I thought you were a level-headed person, but you’re more reckless than I expected. To even drag in someone else who isn’t you to gain my favor.”

That’s when it happened. As soon as I finished speaking, the Duke asked:

“Was he a special person?”

The Duke’s eyes looking at me were filled with expectation.

“What do you mean?”

When I asked, not understanding his disjointed question, he added:

“Seeing how displeased you are at me pretending to be that man, he must have been quite special. That man who met you then.”

I couldn’t understand the Duke.

“Whether that man was special or not, what does it have to do with you, Duke?”

His attitude had crossed a line. We had barely known each other’s faces for a month. Moreover, our relationship was that of business partners, nothing more, nothing less.

Could he be acting this way just because we kissed once?

Or was he being petty because I rejected him?

Either way, it was terrible. I opened my mouth, my anger rising.

“It’s true we just kissed, but it was clearly a mistake. For you to act so pettily because of that, I’m really disappointed…”

But my words didn’t continue to the end.

“…It does concern me.”

“……”

“…Because that man was me.”

A heavy voice settled in my ear. Around that time, my eyes met the Duke’s. His ruby-red eyes were as subdued as his voice.

From head to toe, there wasn’t a single aspect of him that wasn’t serious.

I was confused.

Was he really lying?

It seemed closer to the opposite.

But that was just a feeling. Soon, a cold sneer escaped between my lips.

“I didn’t know you were the type to make such absurd claims, Duke.”

Unless a miracle or magic had occurred, the Duke must be insane.

Come to think of it, his proposal of a contract marriage was strange from the beginning.

Why would a man lacking nothing in looks or wealth propose to me?

And he claims it’s not with the purpose of swallowing our family.

Without further consideration, he must be insane. I wanted to end the conversation here. But there was an unsettled aspect that made it difficult to conclude.

‘How should I end this?’

Our marriage was a fait accompli. I had already made the declaration in front of Father and Josh. I couldn’t overturn the marriage now.

But knowing he wasn’t in his right mind, proceeding as planned was also…

As my hesitation deepened…

“It’s not a claim, it’s the truth.”

The Duke’s resolute voice cut through the space. His straight and calm gaze turned toward me.

“Since you don’t seem to believe me, let me show you.”

I didn’t understand his words. Show me? Show what exactly?

While bewilderment grew endlessly within me, I noticed something in the Duke’s hand.

It was a pendant.

The Duke had taken out a pendant that had been hidden under his clothes.

“Can you prove it with a pendant?”

I asked with a slightly mocking tone, and the Duke smiled without showing any displeasure.

“This is not just any pendant.”

The Duke’s large, rough hand stroked the pendant, showcasing a craftsman’s delicate technique. Like a predator carefully handling a small, fragile animal.

My mouth went dry with an inexplicable tension. But soon regaining my senses, I slowly examined the pendant the Duke had mentioned.

The pendant in the Duke’s hand was notable for its platinum chain, elongated body, and a purple diamond embedded in the center of the body.

Even at a glance, it seemed quite expensive. That was the extent of my impression. Besides looking valuable and being exceptionally well-made, the pendant didn’t seem to have anything special about it.

“Is there some magic cast on that pendant?”

These were my words, having almost confirmed that he was a madman.

“You’re perceptive.”

The Duke looked at me with eyes filled with surprise, as if wondering how I knew.

While I was stunned and blank, he briefly exclaimed and then explained:

“Look at the purple gem in the center.”

With his one line of explanation, I suddenly felt like I was at a magic show. But magic is just an illusion. And now this man seemed intent on showing real “magic.”

It was an absurd situation, but my heart raced for some reason. Perhaps I was even looking forward to it.

‘It’s fascinating.’

I had been taught that magic doesn’t exist. But if magic really did exist, if it had made me remember the Duke differently…

“This gem rotates. If you apply a light force with your hand like this…”

The Duke, who had pinched the edge of the gem with his index finger, slightly twisted the gem sideways.

When my gaze was fully directed at the purple gem:

‘Huh?’

What was happening? Nothing had changed. He was still holding the gem, and his attire remained the same. Had something changed?

“You need to look up. It’s not magic that changes clothes.”

The Duke’s spirited voice brushed my ear. The moment I raised my head at his words:

“……!”

I couldn’t take my eyes off the Duke’s face.

“You’re that man from back then…”

Something impossible had happened.

The Duke had transformed into the brown-haired, brown-eyed man I had seen at the beach.

Not just his hair and eye color had changed; his features were subtly different too, to the point where I would believe he was a completely different person.

No, the person had completely changed.

“How on earth…”

I staggered in shock. My legs also gave way, and I was about to collapse when the Duke, or rather “that man,” approached me and grabbed my waist.

A strange sense of stability arose from the firm hand wrapped around my waist, but now wasn’t the time to feel such things.

“What exactly is going on here?”

I asked without even thinking of escaping from the Duke. At my words, the Duke grinned, then ran his hand over his face and opened his mouth.

“I told you. That man was me.”

“I was taught that things like magic don’t exist.”

Explaining why I had to misunderstand him sounded like an excuse. I felt sorry because I was both flustered and had even internally labeled him as insane.

The Duke nodded at my words.

“That’s understandable. The current state religion rejects magic.”

“That means…”

“The state is hiding the existence of magic. But as I’ve told you before, as a merchant, I do anything that makes money.”

I tilted my head at the Duke’s words. Doing anything that makes money? That means…

“Are you saying this magic is illegal?”

“In a way, yes.”

“Isn’t that dangerous then? If something goes wrong…”

My words came out like rapid fire because I was so shocked. Then I faced the smiling Duke.

“Why are you smiling?”

“Because I’m happy.”

“What?”

Among what I had said, or in this current situation, was there anything to be happy about? Not understanding, I kept trying to recall my memories when the Duke quietly added:

“Because you’re worried about me.”

“That’s…”

“I know. It’s concern for a business partner.”

The Duke uttered exactly the excuse I was about to make, without the slightest error. Suddenly, a thought occurred to me:

“Don’t tell me there’s also mind-reading magic?”