But…… if I leave here….

Where should I go?

To the Lehart mansion where my parents live?

Though it had once appeared in her dreams countless times as a place she missed, now the thought of returning brought emotions other than joy to the forefront.

Diez knew better than anyone that she couldn’t return to the past.

Everyone in society would already know she had been sold as the late Duke’s mistress. The things she had endured here for five years remained like scars branded all over her body.

Suddenly, she recalled when she had accidentally encountered her father in the salon. At the time, she had been too flustered to do anything but flee, but thinking about it now, she finally understood.

I…… don’t have the courage to go back.

The world that had once been so kind to Diez was already gone. Hadn’t she already experienced this at the late Duke’s grave?

‘I heard he sold his daughter in exchange for an enormous debt……’

‘Who would have ever predicted she would end up like this?’

The noble ladies whispering about her, making sure she could hear.

Her father’s wavering gaze when they met in the salon.

As Diez belatedly gathered her wits and raised her head, Jürgen calmly spoke his next words.

“You needn’t worry about the remaining debt. I won’t demand anything in return.”

“……B-But.”

“If I intended to be difficult about a mere few hundred million, I wouldn’t be leisurely having breakfast with you like this.”

After saying this, Jürgen refilled his teacup. Savoring the warm, fragrant tea, he embodied the image of a composed duke more than ever.

The contrast between the man maintaining his meticulously composed appearance and the woman sitting across from him in emotional turmoil created a strange juxtaposition.

“Miss Schleicher.”

“……”

“I asked for your thoughts. Won’t you answer?”

Seeing Diez still unable to speak, Jürgen revealed a bitter smile for the first time.

“It’s rather foolish of me to even demand an answer. It’s clear that you wouldn’t want to stay in my mansion any longer.”

His throat felt increasingly parched. Perhaps because he didn’t want this fact revealed, Jürgen kept sipping tea that didn’t even match his taste.

Suddenly, his gaze shifted toward Diez’s attire. Since all her previous clothes had been burned, she was naturally wearing the old dress Jürgen had procured the day before.

The silk ribbon laced up to tighten her chest caught his attention at some point. It was a natural progression to recall the previous night when he had stroked himself while imagining grasping Diez’s white br*asts in his hand.

For a fleeting moment, he furrowed his brow as he felt his lower body growing tense. With this woman nearby, he felt like he was losing himself. Diez was like a poisoned chalice in the form of fragrant olive oil.

Rather than drinking it and losing control, it would be better to throw it away.

Even now, how ridiculous he must look, continuously sipping tea in her presence.

In truth, he thought it made no sense.

Was it possible to be this shaken because of a faded first love?

What was truly shaking him?

It wasn’t just memories of a first love. There was something else. Though it felt like he almost knew, Jürgen consciously cut off the train of thought, not wanting to consider it further.

“I’ll provide a car to take you to the mansion.”

As time passed, this situation became harder to endure. Certain that Diez had only one answer to give, Jürgen put down his teacup and adjusted his collar as he spoke.

“I’ll have the servants take care of any luggage you wish to bring……”

“N-no.”

Interrupting him, Diez cried out urgently.

“I…… I don’t want to go back.”

I have nowhere to go back to. Not anymore. Words that couldn’t escape her lips were silently swallowed.

Now it was Jürgen who began losing his composure.

Don’t want to go back, she says.

It was a response he hadn’t anticipated at all. It was also something that should never have come from Diez’s mouth in the picture he had designed.

“……May I ask why?”

His voice became noticeably rougher. Diez, unable to meet Jürgen’s gaze directly, stared at the empty plate before her.

Where should she begin? There was so much swirling in her mind, but forming even one sentence seemed impossibly difficult.

It felt as though they were conversing in a foreign language, making it extremely difficult to utter even a single word. Perhaps it was because she had been left too long in an environment where proper expression of will was restricted.

Tick, tick. As only the clock’s second hand moved indifferently, Diez finally offered her best attempt at an explanation.

“Because…… no one will welcome me back.”

“That seems like a hasty judgment.”

“You’ve seen it too, Your Grace. What marks remain on my body…… What would people think of me? How could I face my parents with this body?”

Her voice trembled pathetically at the end as her emotions intensified while speaking. Watching her calmly, Jürgen asked again.

“Then tell me. Would staying in my mansion improve your situation in any way?”

After a moment of silence as if at a loss for words, Diez raised her gaze. It was the first time since entering the dining room that she met his eyes.

Struggling to maintain the eye contact she had worked up the courage to make, she asked quietly.

“Your Grace. May I ask…… what exactly you meant when you said you would nullify the contract?”

It was an unexpected question. Perhaps it was because he felt as though his inner thoughts had been completely exposed, despite knowing that couldn’t be the case. He reflexively countered with a question.

He realized it was a mistake too late.

“What do you mean?”

“I wondered if you had some intention in mind when making such an offer.”

“Why would I make such a proposal?”

He said, sharply furrowing his brow.

“You are my father’s former mistress. Isn’t it natural that I would want to remove you from my mansion as quickly as possible?”

At these words, spoken like an excuse, Diez lowered her gaze again.

“I know that I’m a dishonorable presence to Your Grace. You probably find my very presence here disagreeable.”

Though maintaining composure before Jürgen was always difficult, she tried not to let her voice tremble as she continued.

“If you don’t have any other intention…… I’m not sure how much of my debt I’ve repaid so far, but could you give me a chance to repay a bit more before I leave?”

“……What kind of chance are you referring to?”

“I, I know a little embroidery.”

Diez’s earlobes turned slightly pink as she briefly raised her gaze to meet his eyes.

“It was one of the things I was good at. I’ve heard that girls with good handiwork embroider handkerchiefs and sell them to noble ladies. So…… I think I could do that too. Of course, even then I probably couldn’t repay even half of half the debt, but if I did that, I might be able to face others with a little more dignity……”

She trailed off and glanced at Jürgen’s expression. If she left now, she might forever be labeled as a pr*stitute who sold her body to the Duke. Though she didn’t know how embroidering to pay off her debt would make much difference, Jürgen had no immediate reason to refuse her request.

“If you could help me do just that, I would be truly grateful. I believe this wouldn’t be disadvantageous to you either, Duke……”

“Do as you please.”

He cut off Diez’s words. His mood seemed strangely twisted, so Diez had to quietly wait for him to continue.

“I’ll give you 3 months. That’s how long you can stay in my mansion. After three months, I’ll throw you out without mercy, so keep that in mind. Understood?”

“Thank you, Duke.”

“Finish your meal. I’ll be leaving now.”

She might not have felt it, but Jürgen was finding it equally difficult to remain in this situation. He rose from his seat with what might have seemed like hasty movements and walked past Diez.

A servant approached to attend to him as he left the dining hall. Jürgen, who wanted neither attendance nor anyone near him for the time being, waved the servant away.

The servants at the Klaus ducal residence knew how to keenly sense their master’s mood. Striding through the corridor without making a sound, Jürgen headed toward the open balcony instead of returning to his office. He needed to calm his troubled mind.

Standing in a space where no one dared to peek, Jürgen leaned against the railing and quietly sighed with a contemplative expression.

‘I don’t want to go back.’

Surprisingly, it was Diez who had refused his offer to send her home. He had thought she would brighten at his words about freeing her from debt and from himself.

Diez Schleicher had chosen to remain here.

This was an outcome even Jürgen hadn’t anticipated.

When she asked for a little more time, ironically, what came over Jürgen was a sense of relief.

Had he secretly been hoping she would stay by his side?

He felt pathetic and foolish.

Why had his throat burned so much while facing Diez across the table? Perhaps it was natural that he had no appetite.

She’ll only be poison to me if I keep her by my side.

Though he knew this fact better than anyone, when she said she didn’t want to leave, Jürgen felt relieved inside.

It was impossible to deny his innermost feelings that he couldn’t share with anyone.

Not even himself.