“You don’t need to know that either.”

“What!”

“Hurry and answer. Will you continue living here digging up potatoes, or will you take revenge?”

After finishing his words, the man took out a pocket watch from inside his clothes.

“I’d like you to decide within 10 minutes.”

“What did you say!”

“I’m quite busy.”

“Are you threatening a lady of a count family?!”

Amber grabbed the man’s clothes tightly.

“Think as you wish.”

The man indifferently pulled away the hand holding his clothes.

“Rather than doing this, it would be better to just say, ‘Please help me.'”

Even as they engaged in meaningless arguments, time continued to pass.

Eventually, Amber put down her pride. It was a very light thing compared to revenge.

“Please help Amber get revenge……”

Amber mumbled with her head bowed low.

“Good.”

The man smiled with satisfaction and extended his hand.

At that moment, a strong wind blew and his robe was pulled off.

It was Virtanen with light black hair.

* * *

“Black hair, black hair……”

Bella, the guild master of Phantom Guild, was examining immigration records again today.

She had confidently said she would definitely find the culprit.

But.

Since she hadn’t found even a single hair of the culprit yet, her headache was getting worse day by day.

“D*mn it, I can’t find it.”

Bella clutched her head and groaned.

“D*mn, where on earth is the person with black hair!”

As the darkness outside deepened, Bella spat out increasingly stronger curses.

“Someone, anyone, please find a clue……!”

As if answering her heart, the firmly closed door opened and Garfield rushed in, shouting.

“Boss! I found a clue!”

Thud.

The chair Bella was sitting on fell backward, and a loud noise echoed.

“Puhah, boss, what are you doing?”

Her subordinate, Garfield, burst into laughter as he approached her.

True to the sound, the chair was broken. Various documents were scattered in all directions.

“You found a clue?”

But the person involved showed no signs of pain. Rather, she was smiling brightly.

“Boss, aren’t you hurt? Laughing after falling, are you perhaps an idiot?”

“Stop talking nonsense and tell me what the clue is!”

“I swear……”

Garfield sighed softly, then handed over the documents he had brought.

“I investigated the inns in Renet and found one that had received an extremely suspicious guest.”

“What kind of guest?”

When Bella asked, Garfield began to tell her what he had learned, as if he had been waiting.

The longer the story went on, the more Bella’s face settled into calmness.

“Is that person still staying at the inn?”

“I’m not sure, the innkeeper is quite stubborn. I got this information from another guest staying at the inn.”

“I see……”

Bella closed her eyes. The facts she had learned came to mind one by one against the darkened background.

After organizing her thoughts, Bella slowly opened her eyes. Unlike before, her emerald eyes were now filled with vitality.

“That inn. How far is it from here?”

“It’s about a two-hour carriage ride.”

“Should we take Lady Eileen with us?”

“Yes, I think so too.”

How happy would she be when told they had found a clue.

Thinking of Eileen who would give her a bright smile, a soft smile spread across Bella’s face as well.

Around the time Bella was contemplating the clue,

“Hmm, this time these people……”

Jackson was also racking his brain to find clues.

Knock knock.

“Commander.”

Along with a somewhat heavy knock, a voice calling for him was heard.

“Come in.”

When Jackson gave permission, Mason opened the door and entered.

“Commander, aren’t you going to eat?”

“Ah, has it already gotten that late?”

Already, for five hours.

Jackson, who had been holed up in his room looking only at documents, laughed dejectedly as he looked outside, which had already turned dark.

“It can’t be helped since it’s important work.”

Jackson reached out and opened a small drawer. It was filled with small snacks, including chocolate.

“I can make do with these for meals. Don’t worry.”

He took out a chocolate bar wrapped in blue packaging and showed it as he spoke.

“More importantly, are there any clues about the black-haired person?”

“Well……”

At Jackson’s question, Mason rolled his eyes.

He had come to talk about the black-haired person. But in his current state……”

Well, it would be fortunate if he didn’t collapse upon hearing it.

“What’s the matter?”

Jackson asked while taking a bite of the chocolate bar. The sound of crunching flowed between the two.

“I have something to tell you, but first, please finish eating that completely before listening.”

“Hmm?”

What could be so important?

Jackson tilted his head but then said okay and quickly finished eating.

“So.”

Jackson neatly folded the wrapper and threw it in the trash bin, then gave him a look that said to speak.

“……There are two pieces of news, bad and good. Which would you like to hear first?”

“Two of them?”

“Yes.”

Finding the proposal quite interesting, Jackson pushed the documents aside and said.

“Let’s hear the bad one first.”

“……Are you sure?”

“Of course. Originally, you should eat the bitter thing first and then the sweet thing to make it taste better.”

Jackson chuckled softly and looked at Mason.

“Say it.”

His eyes conveyed that he wouldn’t blame him for anything. Mason swallowed hard and opened his lips.

“Amber, that is, Amber de Rozley has escaped.”

“……What?”

It was enough to make him choke if he had been eating the chocolate bar as Mason had said. Barely able to breathe, Jackson frowned deeply and said.

“Not like her previous attempts……”

“She has escaped.”

Unless he saw it with his own eyes, he couldn’t believe it.

How could she escape with guards watching……”

Above all, how could a woman alone escape from deep in the forest?

Feeling a sharp pain in his head, Jackson touched his forehead.

“How should I report this to the master……”

As soon as he reported this fact, Aaron would surely rage.

He felt dizzy.

“……For now, there’s also a possibility that Count Rozley broke his promise, so please monitor him as well.”

Jackson covered his face with one hand and ordered.

“Um, Commander. Don’t you want to hear the good news……?”

“Ah, the good news.”

The bad news was so bitter that he couldn’t even think about the good news. Jackson let out a small sigh.

“Well, at this point where Amber has escaped, any news would be useless to report to the master……”

Let’s hear it anyway.

Feeling rapidly fatigued, Jackson sank into his chair.

“I found a clue.”

“A clue? What kind of clue are you talking about?”

With his mind already filled with thoughts of Amber, he couldn’t understand Mason’s words.

When Jackson responded indifferently, Mason sighed softly and said.

“I found a clue about the black-haired person.”

“……What?”

“I found an inn where that person is presumed to have stayed.”

The pain that had spread across Jackson’s face had turned to jubilation by the time Mason finished speaking.

“Really? Are you certain?”

“I believe so.”

“My goodness, not everything in the world is bad!”

Jackson quickly rose from his seat and put on the coat hanging on the wall.

“I’ll go to the master. Mason, please prepare to depart for that place.”

First, I’ll go kneel and apologize, then tell him this fact.

After organizing his thoughts, Jackson headed out the door.

* * *

The snow that had been lightly falling during the night began to accumulate, and by morning, it had painted the world white.

“More snow than I expected.”

Aaron, who had woken up early, stood on the balcony looking at the outside scenery.

Shrubs maintaining their green color even in the white snow, and camellia flowers proudly showing off their red color.

It was such a peaceful scene.

“Hmm?”

While appreciating the peace created by the snow, he felt a warm presence behind him.

“Eileen, are you awake?”

He could tell who it was without turning around. Aaron quietly accepted her warmth.

“Mmm……”

Her voice was still heavy with sleep. Finding it adorable, Aaron let out a small laugh.

“Did I wake you up?”

“No……”

Eileen buried her face in Aaron’s back and shook her head.

Was it because of the thick fur on the coat she was wearing? She felt cozy and in a good mood.

“You must still be sleepy, why did you wake up so early?”

“My eyes just opened.”

“How admirable, so unlike Lady Eileen the sleepyhead.”

Aaron added in a playful voice and giggled.

“Eileen, just a moment.”

It was nice to be embraced like this, chatting softly. But Aaron wanted to see Eileen’s face too much.

Aaron gently pulled down the hands that were holding him.

“I want to see your face.”

After that, he turned around and this time held Eileen in his arms.

“Good morning.”

Aaron kissed Eileen’s cheek several times in small pecks as he greeted her.

“Good morning to you too, Aaron.”

Eileen responded with a bright eye-smile.

Isn’t that smile unfair so early in the morning?

Seeing that smile felt like sunshine had descended upon him. It was so warm.

“Eileen.”

“Yes?”

“If I marry you, will I be able to see your smile every morning?”

Aaron asked while stroking Eileen’s hair.

The golden hair flowing through his fingers was indescribably beautiful.

“Of course.”

Her curved eye corners were even more beautiful. Liking that look, Aaron gave her a long kiss.

As their breaths mingled and their cheeks turned rosy, Aaron pulled away and asked.

“How about it?”

His voice asking for permission was still sweet. Eileen shyly nodded her head.

“Then.”