21. I’m sorry. I’ve just… attacked Lord Rashid’s weak spot. 

‘Don’t think about it, don’t think about it!’

Evelyn, trying hard to ignore the firm muscles and scent she could feel against her skin, lifted her head from where it had been resting on Rashid’s chest.

Meeting his calmly wavering blue eyes, she forced a smile.

“Are you all right, Lord Rashid? More than me, I mean.”

“……”

“You fell from a higher spot than I did.”

“Ah… I suppose it’s a bit of a problem.”

“?”

“Because you’re sitting… between my legs, and that’s, well…”

At those words, Evelyn became acutely aware of the sensation against her bottom.

A head taller than the average man, Rashid had distinctly present thighs, legs, and everything in between.

“Uwaaah…”

Embarrassed, Evelyn quickly pulled her body away from where it had been nestled.

“I’m sorry. I’ve just… attacked Lord Rashid’s weak spot.”

“……”

The moonlight slipping through the palm-sized window lit up Rashid’s face.

For some reason, his face was flushed red.

“Y-you must weigh more than I expected!”

“Well, I am quite tall…”

When Evelyn glanced at the snapped-in-half ladder and began to speak, Rashid replied in an equally awkward tone.

After that, an awkward silence lingered between them.

And after a long while—

“…Um, Lord Rashid. How did you end up here…?”

Unable to bear the silence any longer, Evelyn finally opened her mouth. Rashid’s eyes wavered.

“I came to find you… to apologize.”

Hesitating in a way that was unlike him, Rashid suddenly moved his hand and pulled something from the pocket of his jacket.

“You left this behind, so I thought I’d bring it.”

What he held out was the box of cookies sent by the crown prince.

Unfortunately, the impact from the fall had left all four corners of the box deeply dented.

“My cookies!”

Evelyn cried out in a mournful voice.

“Uh… do you think she’s okay?”

A bun-faced man asked the mustached one.

The man who looked like a steamed bun glanced nervously at the door to the basement.

“She’s the secretary of the famous Duke Egenhart. If we mess with her, won’t we face some serious backlash?”

But Norman shook his head.

“There’s no need to worry about that, Charlie.”

「Lure Evelyn out using Baron Berge as bait. Then give that woman a taste of bitterness.」

That was the client’s request.

‘Telling us to teach a noble lady a lesson—this must be some kind of love-and-revenge plot.’

Though the client’s face had been veiled, judging from the dress and jewelry, she was clearly a noblewoman.

Even now, Norman could still smell the thick rose scent that had clung to her.

“Looks to me like she got dumped by the Duke and is out for revenge.”

With that assumption, Norman accepted the job.

“Boss, what do we do with the old man?”

Charlie pointed to Baron Berge, who was tightly bound with rope.

“Drop him off quietly at home. We still need to keep milking him.”

Even if his daughter had gone missing, the loan document Baron Berge signed was still useful.

Just that alone would let them extort a good 10,000 gold more in the future.

That alone was already a profitable enough scheme—but Norman had become greedier.

Namely, for the 3,000 gold Evelyn had declared she would pay as interest.

“As soon as that woman withdraws 3,000 gold from the bank tomorrow morning, we’ll make our move.”

“I’ve already contacted One-Eyed Cody. He gets excited whenever a young woman’s involved.”

One-Eyed Cody was a notorious slaver, known for abducting naive women and selling them to islands off the southern coast or mountain villages in the far north.

Even a noble lady, once sold off, could never return to the capital again.

“There are other ways to give her a ‘bitter taste’ too, but…”

Grinning lecherously, Norman recalled the fat wad of advance payment they’d received.

***

Crunch, crunch.

Evelyn stuffed even the broken cookie crumbs into her mouth and chewed them thoroughly.

‘At times like this, you need to keep your stomach full.’

That was Evelyn’s personal motto.

Though the cookies had been crushed under Rashid’s muscles, they were still edible.

Rashid stared at Evelyn with an appalled expression as she meticulously cleaned up even the tiniest cookie pieces.

“Want a piece?”

“…I’ll pass. I feel like I’d be resented forever if I accepted.”

“No way. I’m not that petty. Besides, you’ll need your strength soon, so you should eat.”

“Strength?”

Evelyn pointed to the broken basement ladder.

“To get up there, you’ll have to use magic, right?”

“I won’t.”

“Eh?”

“I have no intention of wasting my mana on something so trivial.”

At his firm tone, Evelyn was thrown off.

‘Seriously? Is he for real?’

“If you don’t use magic, I don’t think we can get out of here.”

“I came in the Duke’s carriage. If I don’t return, the coachman will report it to the guard or something.”

“You’re surprisingly laid-back.”

As Evelyn muttered in disbelief, Rashid suddenly furrowed his brow.

“…Come to think of it, didn’t you say Baron Berge was being held captive?”

“If those bastards have any brains, they won’t harm Father. His name is on that 10,000-gold loan document. They’ll want to keep milking him, so they’ll have to let him go.”

“That kind of interest rate—thirty percent—is outrageous.”

Murmuring in disbelief, Rashid gazed intently at Evelyn.

“This whole situation feels like someone deliberately set it up. Lady Evelyn, have you perhaps made any enemies?”

“Of course not. What kind of grudges would a plain, ordinary person like me ever incur?”

A plain, ordinary life.

That was Evelyn Berge’s ultimate goal.

To bring the two main characters of the original story together and safely exit the plot.

‘I’ve done my best to keep a low profile all this time just for that purpose…’

“Pfft.”

At the short sound of Rashid’s laughter, Evelyn opened her eyes wide.

“Why are you laughing?”

“…It’s nothing.”

“You don’t look like it’s nothing.”

Rashid’s usually composed lips trembled slightly, as if he found something amusing.

Oh, come on. What’s so funny?

“If you’ve got the leisure to laugh, how about using a little bit—just a tiny bit—of magic? Spending the night in a place like this is ridiculous.”

“Lady Evelyn.”

“?”

“Magic is nothing more than a relic of the past century. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“Ah.”

“In this day and age, there are plenty of things that can replace magic. Railroads, ships, factories, and machines will only continue to advance.”

At Rashid’s confident tone, Evelyn gave a slight nod.

“Using an obsolete relic, now barely remembered, is not something I desire. The only thing I need from my ancestors is my name.”

As a descendant of dragons, Rashid was, by nature, unlike others.

His body, his senses, even his destiny—everything about him was far removed from that of an ordinary human.

There were probably other circumstances Evelyn didn’t know about as well.

‘Was that fact such a burden to him?’

Evelyn hadn’t realized until now that Rashid had been living with such contradictions, and her feelings grew complicated.

Just as Evelyn began to feel a faint sense of pity toward Rashid—

“Of course, I’ve inherited more than just the name Egenhart.”

As if to shift the mood, Rashid added a retort.

“Oh, that’s right!”

Snapping out of her thoughts at his boastful tone, Evelyn came to her senses.

Good grief, as if Duke Rashid Egenhart is in any position to grumble about his inheritance!

“That’s right. You didn’t just inherit the name—you inherited the title, the mansion, all kinds of real estate and mines as well.”

What a silver spoon of silver spoons!

“Haha, I almost made the mistake of feeling sorry for you.”

Especially considering her own situation—getting held hostage by debt collectors over a loan her father incurred.

Realizing her own reality, Evelyn pouted.

“Pfft.”

Rashid let out another brief laugh.

“Lady Evelyn.”

Before she could respond, he reached out toward her.

“……”

Before she knew it, Rashid’s fingertips touched her lips.

For some reason, Evelyn couldn’t resist that touch.

The tickling sensation on her lips stole away her thoughts, and her eyes were drawn to his platinum hair glowing in the moonlight.

“On your lips…”

“……”

“There’s another crumb.”

His tone was playful.

And indeed, a sizable cookie crumb clung to Rashid’s fingertip.

“Weren’t you the one always nagging me to maintain proper decorum?”

“Are you seriously trying to make a big deal out of picking a crumb off my lips?”

And so, the bickering began again.

But for some reason, Evelyn felt relieved.

The moment Rashid’s fingers had touched her lips earlier, an unexplainable sensation had overtaken her mind.

It was unfamiliar, and yet it made her senses feel heightened and full.

She’d known Rashid Egenhart for over ten years, and yet this was an entirely unexpected feeling.

‘Why is my heart beating so fast?’

It must be because of all the chaos today throwing off her condition.

Evelyn placed both hands over her chest and took a short, deep breath.

“Is that some kind of new exercise?”

To his teasing question, Evelyn replied calmly.

“I think I’ve been under too much stress. I’m trying to calm myself down.”

“Even with me here, you’re still stressed?”

“Don’t you think it’s because I’m with you that I’m stressed?”

Not an inch of space between them—a taut, perfect point of tension.

Thanks to that, the awkwardness from his earlier touch had completely vanished.

“Lady Evelyn, do you…?”

Rashid’s furrowed brow hinted at something unspoken, but he didn’t get the chance to finish.

Creeeeak—

The trapdoor in the ceiling above them opened with a strange sound.