Nigel’s brows furrowed with a sense of being caught off guard.

The woman’s body in his hands was unbelievably delicate and soft.

Feeling as if she might crumble with just a little force, Nigel shuddered as though he was burned and let go of his hands.

Unaware of this, Marienne grinned and held out the liquor bottle.

“Would you like some? The soldiers offered it, and I refused, but somehow I ended up holding it. Hic!”

Soldiers? It seems she wasn’t just selling healing arts?

She has a talent for disgusting people.

Under his cold gaze, Marienne took the bottle back.

“You don’t like this either, I see. Um… but, Duke. I have something to ask you.”

Despite no response, Marienne approached him.

“Do you hate me that much?”

When there was no reply, Marienne nodded to herself and added.

“I understand. Everyone did. But you know, even when I was teased as a beggar from Villao Orphanage, it wasn’t so bad. Because I was still a child of Villao Orphanage, after all. Even when the tanner shouted at me, calling me ‘damn Marienne’, it was okay. Everywhere I went, I was the tanner’s Marienne. Then I became Marienne Rose of Rose Shoe Shop. You can’t imagine how happy I was.”

Marienne, who had been smiling broadly, suddenly began to sob.

“But you know, Duke. Now I’m… nothing. I’m empty. It’s strange. I always try hard, but in the end, I end up alone. What did I do wrong? Why do people only take my heart and never give? Am I… such a worthless person?”

Tilting her head slightly, Marienne hugged the liquor bottle.

Tears flowed down the corners of her eyes as she smiled.

“But why did you hold me back, Duke? Because you need my ability? Then you could have just… said, ‘Help me, Marienne.’ Just one word would have been enough. Then I would have given you everything like a fool. Why did you do that?”

Nigel turned his head with an irritated sigh.

“I should hate you, but I can’t, and it’s frustrating. A part of my heart keeps trying to understand. There must be circumstances. There must be reasons you can’t tell. I hate myself for this. Tell me. Do you want me? For how long? How much? I hope it’s for a very long time… very, very desperately.”

Nigel ran his fingers through his hair irritably.

“Marienne Rose.”

“I liked you so much… Every day I prayed for you. That you wouldn’t be in pain, that you wouldn’t suffer, wishing for your happiness, I begged the Moon Goddess every single day without fail.”

Somewhere, a splash of water was heard.

It seemed a fish was trying to disturb the calm lake once again.

“I guess I’m being punished for that. For liking you without knowing my place.”

“That’s enough.”

“I will. From now on, even if you tie scarves to each strand of my hair, I won’t fall for you. Never, ever again, will I give my heart to anyone.”

“Shut your mouth. Before my patience runs out.”

Biting her lower lip hard, Marienne grabbed Nigel’s sleeve.

He looked down at her with a displeased gaze.

Her large eyes were brimming with tears.

“I’ll do whatever you want. You can torment me. I don’t mind if you scare me. Just, please, even if it’s just a little, fill me up. So I can live on.”

Splash, the bold fish leaped fiercely above the lake.

And Marienne collapsed into Nigel’s arms, losing consciousness.

The fallen liquor bottle spun dizzily.

* * *

When Marienne opened her eyes to a terrible headache, it was a bright morning.

Suddenly remembering last night, Marienne tried to get up abruptly but groaned from the headache and pressed her temples.

Looking around, fortunately, it was her room. Though she was in a chemise, not her outdoor clothes. It wasn’t even what she wore yesterday.

Who changed her clothes?

A chill ran down her spine.

Marienne clutched her throbbing head and desperately tried to recall her memories.

She had met her mother and returned to the castle, trudging dejectedly.

She thought about running away, but she had no money and couldn’t put her brother in trouble because of her.

So she returned to the castle and walked aimlessly inside.

As she walked, she found herself in the backyard behind the kitchen where cheers were erupting.

Perhaps because it was the last night of the banquet, soldiers, servants, maids, and various other staff had gathered to have their own party with leftover food and drinks.

Instead of elegantly dressed musicians, a coachman was playing the flute.

A dance floor had formed around a bonfire, and Marienne sat at a table watching.

Fortunately, no one paid attention to the gloomy woman with her hood pulled up.

Marienne looked at the beautiful banquet hall in the distance and then shifted her gaze to those dancing around the campfire.

It felt as if her heart had melted, leaving a huge hole.

Would she have to live this lonely for the rest of her life?

Was it her fate to wear away like a mismatched cog, spinning uselessly among them?

Just as Mrs. Rose had abandoned her, as the tanner had sold her for a few coins, as her parents had left her at the orphanage, who would hurt her next?

How should she live from now on?

To suppress her sadness, she grabbed a bottle of liquor within reach and drank. Bitter alcohol poured down her throat.

As she became drunk and her hood fell off, men started to crowd around her.

Barely managing to shake off the flirting crowd, she ran and found herself on the path to the forest.

Ridiculously, she still had the liquor bottle in her hand.

That’s how she ended up at the lakeside where she met the Duke.

As her memory reached that point, Marienne grabbed her disheveled hair.

“What did I babble on about…”

Mumbling, she suddenly opened her eyes wide in shock.

Fragments of the night’s memory suddenly came back to her.

Good heavens!

The Duke had carried her drunk self through the forest path.

She remembered the rough sensation when she caressed his chin.

She also recalled nuzzling her cheek against his chest like a cat, intoxicated by the heavy heartbeat and his scent.

When she remembered whining and hugging his neck, asking him to hold her tighter, she wanted to jump out the window.

“I’m crazy! I’ve lost my mind!”

Forgetting her headache, Marienne paced frantically around the room.

What to do, what should I do?

Did he carry her all the way from the lakeside? That long distance?

Oh no… what should I do! Surely not the clothes too? Oh, please, anything but that!

“Are you awake?”

“Rahta!”

Rahta, who had her tail wrapped around the bedpost, yawned lazily. Then she grinned at the pale Marienne.

“Looks like you remember.”

“W-What?”

“Last. Night.”

“Last night?”

“Who do you think put you to bed when you were drunk?”

“What?”

“And who changed your dirty clothes? Even your underwear, all of it.”

Marienne covered her plump chest with both arms and glared.

“You ran out saying you were going home, tsk tsk tsk, how sneaky. This is why the quiet ones who cause trouble are scarier.”

“What did you say!”

As the angry Marienne lunged at Rahta, the door opened.

A maid with a chilly demeanor entered carrying a meal.

She set the tray down on the table with a clatter and began scolding.

“Miss Rose! How could you get so drunk you lost consciousness! You vomited all over your clothes! Do you know how hard it was for me to change your dirty clothes?”

“…So it was you.”

The angry maid confronted her.

“Are you pretending not to remember that night? Who else could it have been if not me!”

Marienne ran over with open arms and hugged the maid.

“What are you doing? Miss Rose, let go of me!”

“Yes, it was you! It could only have been you.”

The maid grimaced, trying to avoid Marienne who was forcefully trying to press her cheek against hers.

Rahta giggled, hiding behind the bedpost.

It seems it should remain a secret that it was Nigel who had laid Marienne on the bed in the dark night, wearing stained clothes.

And that he had gazed down at the sleeping Marienne for a while.