Unlike the eager ladies who flattered him, she had been a timid one who just fidgeted and couldn’t even approach to speak to him, which made her memorable.

Both then and now, he remained equally uninterested in her. However, her incredibly arrogant behavior irritated him.

He had seen plenty of women putting on airs in front of him, but this was the first time he’d witnessed such a stark contrast, which must be why it bothered him.

Wasn’t she the younger sister? The hierarchy in this household must have collapsed.

Whether the Shifield family had always been this chaotic or had become worse after Baron Shifield’s death, Cassion had no time to concern himself with the Shifield barony’s circumstances.

Having no reason to listen to the chattering woman any longer, Cassion immediately covered her mouth with his hand.

“Mmph!”

“Your constant chirping is driving me crazy. Would you please stop talking?”

Cassion removed his hand from Natalie’s mouth, but she was so shocked that she didn’t move at all.

“Finally, some peace and quiet.”

However, the silence lasted only briefly. Soon after, Natalie started squawking again.

“Alicia, are you out of your mind?!”

“This is becoming troublesome.”

Already feeling unpleasant and irritated, he couldn’t just stand by while this woman kept provoking him. Though he felt sorry for the lady named Alicia, Cassion’s patience had already run out.

Thud.

At that moment, Cassion flipped the woman who had grabbed his shoulder. No matter whose body he was in, subduing an opponent wasn’t difficult with the right technique. Especially when the opponent was also a woman.

He had wondered if it would be possible given his unfamiliarity with this body, but fortunately, it moved according to his will. The woman, suddenly thrown to the floor, looked up at him with a dumbfounded expression.

“I apologize for the rudeness, but I have urgent business.”

“C-catch Alicia right now!”

When Natalie shouted with a completely distorted face, servants who heard her words emerged and approached to grab Cassion.

Is going outside such a problem?

Cassion couldn’t understand the servants’ attitude toward him. What reason could there be to confine someone inside the house, preventing them from going out?

Whether the eldest daughter of the Shifield family was confined to the mansion or not was none of his concern. However, if they were going to interfere with him right now, the situation changed.

Three of them.

Fortunately, none appeared to be knights.

Cassion skillfully evaded the three men with his small body as he headed toward the door. He managed to avoid one, but couldn’t dodge the other two, so he had no choice this time either.

He kicked one in the vulnerable spot between his legs and swept the other’s knee, effectively binding their feet.

“Urgh!”

Ignoring those kneeling before him, Cassion calmly left the mansion.

Bang! Only after the door closed did Lady Shifield belatedly emerge from her room.

“What’s all this commotion so early in the morning…”

Discovering her daughter sprawled on the ground, Lady Shifield rushed to her urgently.

“Are you alright? What happened?”

“Mother, something’s wrong with Alicia. She said she didn’t want to get married, and now she’s finally gone mad!”

Natalie couldn’t understand the situation.

Alicia’s tone had suddenly become arrogant and curt, like a nobleman from a prestigious family. Without having gone mad, there was no way to explain the current situation. She suspected Alicia might have eaten something bad.

“Gone mad? Are you saying she’s developed a mental illness?”

“It seems so. She’s not just slightly crazy, she’s completely lost it. She pushed past the servants and went outside. Must be rebellion.”

“She pushed the servants? Is that even possible?”

Lady Shifield wore an expression of disbelief. She had good reason, since Alicia suffered from androphobia.

Whenever she stood before a man, she couldn’t even speak, trembling and turning pale. It was impossible for her to push away male servants.

“It’s true. If you don’t believe me, ask them.”

Before Natalie finished speaking, Lady Shifield’s gaze shifted to the servants.

“Is what Natalie said true?”

“Y-yes, my lady.”

“What? It’s true? Let’s say she temporarily lost her mind. How could three men fail to catch one weak girl? Especially one with a fear of men?”

“We apologize.”

The servants bowed their heads in unison to apologize. Lady Shifield, shaking her head, asked Natalie:

“So? Where did Alicia go?”

“I don’t know.”

“Then what are you doing? We need to catch her quickly! It will be disastrous if she escapes. Get up now!”

When Lady Shifield, pale-faced, pointed at the servants and threw a fit, they hurriedly went outside to catch Alicia.

Watching them with an anxious heart, Lady Shifield was suddenly gripped by an ominous premonition.

She wouldn’t go directly to meet Henry, would she?

Henry was a merchant guild master who had been discussing marriage with Alicia. Lady Shifield had been intercepting money meant for Alicia by exploiting her fear of men.

She had been complacent, believing Alicia couldn’t have a one-on-one conversation with Merchant Henry, but now she was being blindsided!

If Alicia could speak normally with Henry, it would be a disaster for Lady Shifield.

She wouldn’t demand money directly, would she?

Lady Shifield needed to capture Alicia somehow, or her source of income might be cut off.

* * *

After leaving the barony, Cassion shook off his pursuers and headed toward town.

Despite his friendship with Baron Shifield, he didn’t know the exact geography or location. Cassion had to walk to a nearby shop and ask the store owner.

“Could you tell me how far this place is from the capital?”

“Isn’t this Lady Alicia? Where are the servants who usually accompany you? Why are you alone today?”

He seemed to recognize Alicia. However, he merely looked at her with surprise that she was speaking to him at all, without answering her question, causing Cassion’s voice to drop coldly.

“Stop the chatter and answer me, please.”

“I-it takes about three days. Only if you travel through the night might it take just two days.”

Three days? He hadn’t realized it was such a remote countryside.

‘If it were my original body, it would be possible, d*mn it!’

He wanted to ride a horse day and night, but he couldn’t. It was impossible to ride a horse without sleep, dressed like this.

It would be fortunate if his body returned tomorrow, but he needed to consider the alternative. Even if it took three days, he had to leave somehow, but how?

If he couldn’t ride a horse, should he find a carriage?

The problem was that he had no money. He left the store and approached the most naive-looking coachman.

“I’ll pay you immediately upon arrival at the Lowden duchy, so please depart now. I need to get there as quickly as possible.”

“A-alright.”

Intimidated by Cassion’s demeanor, the coachman started the carriage.

Only after confirming the carriage was moving could Cassion sit comfortably. He silently gazed out the window.

Unlike the capital, densely packed with buildings, this place was tranquil with few signs of people. The unfamiliar scenery, rarely seen in his daily life, felt strange but not entirely unpleasant.

After living almost every day consumed by work, he felt leisurely and relaxed for the first time in a long while. He had been working himself to exhaustion deliberately to avoid feeling this kind of leisure.

Cassion had been having recurring nightmares. He needed to move busily and exhaust his body to sleep deeply, so he avoided creating such relaxed moments.

He will surely suffer from nightmares again tonight. He felt irritated by this unexpected idleness. Cassion closed his eyes, trying to ignore what he saw outside the window.

Just as he was about to spend the time meditating until the carriage reached the Lowden estate, an ominous thought crossed his mind. In his haste, he had only just realized it.

‘What might the Shifield lady be doing with my body right now?’

With mountains of work that needed to be handled today, there was nothing she could do. It would be fortunate if she could substitute for him, but short of a miracle, that was nearly impossible.

Perhaps it would be better if she just stayed still. No, that would be quite troublesome too.

Either way, it was equally frustrating. Cassion shook his head repeatedly, desperately hoping that nothing bad was happening at the Lowden estate.