“I’m telling you, I’ll just take you to the carriage.”

“I said I don’t want that either.”

“If you don’t want your face seen, just wear a mask.”

“That would look obviously suspicious.”

“You say no when I try to make it easier for you. You don’t like it when I suggest solutions. I can’t understand you at all.”

Thadeus muttered to himself and let out a long sigh. Then suddenly he took off his outer coat and wrapped it around my body. At a glance, I might look like a large bundle of luggage. But we’d have to pass through all those crowds, and this wasn’t enough to put my mind at ease.

“Just put me down!”

I struggled violently with all my strength, but Thadeus’s menacing voice followed.

“If you keep annoying me, I’ll throw you in the river.”

Vicious Thadeus was exactly the kind of person who would actually do that. Though I still didn’t like it, if I didn’t want to provoke him further, now was the time to surrender.

‘Stubborn as a bullfrog!’

Just in case the wind blew and exposed my face, I put on a mask and curled up my body as much as possible while being held by him.

‘But this… isn’t too bad?’

I didn’t want to admit it, but I couldn’t deny the fact that Thadeus’s embrace was comfortable. Enough that I might occasionally remember it even after this insane contract ended.

Eventually, my feet touched the ground again when we arrived where my carriage was. Thadeus didn’t look tired at all despite having carried a fully grown adult woman.

‘His stamina really is monstrous.’

Still, maybe because I’d rested briefly, I seemed to have more energy than before. I waved my hand at Thadeus, signaling him to leave. But he looked around the carriage, seemingly searching for someone.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you leaving?”

“Where’s your maid?”

Come to think of it, Rachel wasn’t visible. She should be making a fuss looking for me by now. I felt puzzled, but nothing good would come from Rachel catching me with Thadeus. Getting him to leave first was the priority.

“She’ll be around here somewhere. So hurry up and disappear.”

“What if she’s not?”

“That won’t happen. Rachel isn’t someone who’d leave me behind.”

“Then shouldn’t she be visible right now?”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

Thadeus flung open the carriage door. Rachel wasn’t there. She wasn’t visible anywhere around either. A frightening thought began to emerge—what if something had happened to her while waiting for me?

“I’ll take you home.”

“Is going home important right now? What if something happened to Rachel?”

I looked around and called out desperately for Rachel. Still, Rachel didn’t appear. Just as my head was filling with bad thoughts, Thadeus, who’d been staring intently somewhere, strode forward. There was a patch of grass swaying by itself even though no wind was blowing.

“She’s here.”

At Thadeus’s words, Rachel, who’d been curled up tightly, slowly stood up. The grass had grown so densely and tall that we hadn’t noticed her. She bowed her head deeply at Thadeus standing right in front of her and shuffled out hesitantly.

“M-Miss. I’m here.”

“What were you doing there? I was so worried because I couldn’t see you!”

“Well…”

Rachel couldn’t continue, glancing nervously at Thadeus. She seemed uncomfortable with his presence. I pushed his back firmly, telling him to leave.

“We found Rachel, so we’re good now, right? So go ahead.”

Perhaps feeling awkward about staying longer, Thadeus nodded. Just as he was about to turn back, Thadeus turned his steps around again and whispered secretly in my ear.

“I’ll send another letter tomorrow, so don’t go anywhere and just wait quietly.”

Since we met today, I thought we wouldn’t meet again for a while. I never expected to see him again this quickly. I couldn’t believe this situation and asked him with a dazed expression.

“Aren’t you… busy? I heard people in the knight order are so busy they can’t even think straight. Why are you the only one so leisurely?”

“Only idiots who can’t handle their share get pressed for time. That doesn’t apply to me.”

He really couldn’t be anything but insufferable. When I stared at him with a sour look, unable to find words, he laughed softly, seemingly finding my face amusing.

“See you tomorrow then.”

Only after Thadeus completely disappeared did Rachel, who’d been standing far away, approach with sparkling eyes. I naturally expected her to nag about worrying her, but her voice was filled with unfamiliar excitement.

“I didn’t know… you and Young Master Thadeus were in love.”

“What? Love…?”

“Actually… I saw you and the young master from the cake shop. I followed because I was worried, and you were pressed so tenderly together in front of the Frea Tree too… I thought our miss still needed my care, but when did you grow up so much…”

Rachel suddenly started sniffling, seemingly overcome with emotion. Looking at her expression, she seemed to be imagining me already married to Thadeus, peacefully having grandchildren. 

Even though it was just imagination, the thought itself made me shudder and I screamed without realizing it.

“Stop! It’s not like that, Rachel!”

“You don’t have to be embarrassed in front of me. If you’re concerned because you had a crush on Young Master Schwein until just recently, you don’t need to worry. Love changes, after all.”

“Thadeus and I aren’t in that kind of relationship…!”

“If you’re not in that kind of relationship… then what kind of relationship are you in?”

Her eyes widened. Honestly, making another excuse here would be strange. But I couldn’t exactly say I’d pounced on Thadeus first, violated his purity, and ended up with this ridiculous contract as punishment.

‘If I tell her the truth, Rachel will be deeply shocked.’

She’d cry out to God in despair that she didn’t raise me to be such a frivolous young lady. One thing was certain—letting Rachel misunderstand was far better than revealing the truth.

At this rate, who knew how often Thadeus would summon me, and making new excuses each time would be exhausting. Plus, with Rachel’s help, my parents would let me move around freely without much suspicion.

“Then, could you… keep it secret from my parents?”

“For how long?”

“I’d like no one to know for a while.”

Rachel pondered deeply, then smiled brightly at me.

“Alright. I’m on Miss Clea’s side, so I’ll be careful with my words in front of the mistress.”

“…Thank you, Rachel.”

As soon as I returned home in the carriage, I collapsed onto my bed. My whole body ached like I’d been beaten. Meanwhile, I felt overwhelmed about how to clear up Schwein’s misunderstanding.

“I’m not Thadeus’s fiancée… but can I confidently say I’m nothing to him?”

If I said I was nothing to him while having s*x with Thadeus, that seemed like deceiving Schwein. Plus, most importantly, Schwein probably didn’t care whether I was his fiancée or not.

‘Maybe he’s relieved that the annoying young lady has backed off?’

That thought made me feel endlessly depressed.

* * *

The next day, just as Thadeus said, a letter arrived at the house. Rachel, who discovered the letter first, came running with an excited voice.

“Another letter came for you, Miss. Could it be… from Young Master Thadeus?”

Just looking at the indifferent handwriting on the envelope made it obvious the sender was Thadeus. When I nodded, she spoke with the face of someone in love, uttering sweet words.

“Oh my… you met yesterday but he couldn’t bear even that short time apart. How devoted must he be to send another letter like this?”

‘No, Rachel! Wicked Thadeus only has lewd thoughts of freely exploring my body during the promised period.’

Since I couldn’t say this truth, I nodded with a reluctant face. Unaware of my mountain of worries, Rachel was busy fluttering beside me like a girl.

“So what does the young master say? That he wants to see you right away? Or that your face circles in his head all day? Or maybe… that he wants to hurry up and get married…!”

A laugh escaped me at Rachel’s words without realizing it. That person would never spout such romantic words. Plus, the young lady promised a future wasn’t me—it was someone else. Without any expectation or emotion, I tore open the envelope to find only a location and time written plainly, just like yesterday.

“Pervil Lake entrance, by 13:00.

-Thadeus Chervandia-”

Rachel still looked at me with sparkling eyes, seemingly curious about the letter’s contents. Her voice, screaming internally with excitement, seemed loud in my ears.

“Come to the Pervil Lake entrance by 1 o’clock.”

“Pervil Lake… isn’t that the place famous as a dating spot for couples these days?”

“Really? Of all places, why would he pick somewhere like that?”

At my indifferent words, Rachel showed a worried expression wondering what to do with this dense miss of hers. I felt somewhat wronged but couldn’t say anything, so I quietly swallowed my feelings.

“Now that it’s come to this, I can’t just sit still. I’ll do whatever it takes to make you look the prettiest at the lake!”

I could only sigh at Rachel burning with enthusiasm. I didn’t care how that Thadeus person saw me. If only today’s meeting were with Schwein instead.

“No, you don’t have to.”

“Because he’ll like you even without dressing up? That’s obviously true for our lovely Miss Clea, but there’s no man in this world who’d dislike a woman dressing up prettily.”

Seeing she wouldn’t listen no matter what I said, I eventually nodded.

Rachel muttered to herself, pondering which clothes and accessories would suit me better. Seeing her happy appearance, I comforted myself that this was good enough.