Ian’s face twisted slightly.
Of all the spells listed, he couldn’t understand why his eyes had been drawn to the most absurd title.
On any other day, he wouldn’t have spared it a glance, dismissing it as preposterous nonsense unworthy of consideration.
But this time, something akin to intuition nudged him to pick up the paper and examine it more closely.
“…….”
Meanwhile, Kyle, standing respectfully with his hands clasped together in front of him, stole another cautious glance at his master.
Is something on his mind?
Ian’s expression, however, was difficult to read. It wasn’t entirely smooth, but neither was it sharply furrowed. Instead, it hovered in that ambiguous space between calm and tense.
Unable to bear the silence any longer, Kyle cautiously opened his mouth.
“Um, my lord?”
“Get out. You’re in the way.”
Unsurprisingly, the response was a curt dismissal.
It was a cold-hearted way to treat a subordinate, but at that moment, Kyle felt nothing but relief.
Thank you, gods.
Being granted permission to escape the suffocating atmosphere of the office was a blessing in itself.
Relying on his unparalleled survival instincts, Kyle chose to flee before Ian could change his mind.
“Then I’ll take my leave.”
Hopefully, you and Her Grace can resolve this peacefully without involving me again.
Silently wishing so, Kyle activated the teleportation spell.
With a flash of dazzling light, he disappeared from the office.
Under normal circumstances, he would have left through the door, but this was no time for formalities.
Meanwhile, Ian remained lost in thought, his eyes fixed on the papers in his hand.
His pale, slender fingers rhythmically tapped the sheet, a faint tap, tap echoing in the room.
“…….”
A long silence ensued.
Minutes passed, and fragmented memories began to flash through Ian’s mind, disjointed and out of order.
“Until now, I’ve endured for the sake of His Majesty the Emperor and my father, but I can’t do it anymore.”
“I feel like I’m at a disadvantage in this relationship.”
“I’ve changed my mind. I think it’s important to meet new people, too.”
Thinking back, there had been a time earlier this spring when he found Eloise’s sudden change in behavior suspicious.
She had gone from avoiding him so thoroughly that he questioned whether they even lived in the same house, to barging into his office unannounced, proposing ideas about education and lessons that didn’t suit her, and even unexpectedly making appearances in social circles.
It was as if she had become a completely different person overnight, doing things she’d never done before.
I did find it strange at the time…
But back then, Ian hadn’t paid Eloise much attention. Though he noticed something felt off, he didn’t give it much thought and let it pass.
Now, however, things were very different.
Looking at Eloise as she slept beside him at night, Ian often found himself regretting how he had acted in the past. Both he and their relationship had changed significantly since then.
Suddenly, a particular memory surfaced, and Ian’s fingers, which had been tapping the paper, froze mid-air.
“It’s… like insurance, really.”
“I’m just… anxious. I don’t know how long this relationship will last.”
“I’ve tried to figure it out, but I don’t know what to do. You don’t understand how helpless I felt.”
Eloise, averting her gaze.
Eloise, confessing her anxieties.
Eloise, crying.
She had spoken as if she might one day be forced to leave him against her will.
And now that he thought about it, when Ian had asked her to accompany him to Jesats next spring, she had replied with, “What if I’m not here by then?”
Ian placed the paper down on his desk with a faint thud.
“Why those words, of all things…”
A rare expression of faint confusion flitted across his face before disappearing.
“No, that can’t be.”
It was a ridiculous notion.
The idea of a person’s soul being exchanged was preposterous.
Unlike commonly understood magic, sorcery was widely dismissed as nothing more than baseless superstition, believed in only by the gullible.
That was precisely why he hadn’t paid much attention in the past when he heard that the Grand Duchess was interested in bizarre spells.
But if—against all odds—such a thing were possible…
Could it mean that the Eloise he knew now was not the same “Eloise Alpheus” he had once known?
“That’s absurd.”
Shaking his head, Ian pressed his lips together tightly.
“…….”
Once again, his gaze returned to the paper.
❖ ❖ ❖
Late in the afternoon, Ian suddenly summoned me to his office.
These days, if he needed something, he would usually come to my office or wait in the lobby, suggesting we go for a walk.
So the fact that he had sent a servant to ask me to come to his office must have meant he was truly busy.
“Ian, you called for me…?”
As I opened the door and called for him, I shut my mouth.
As soon as I entered, I saw Ian sitting at his desk, busily reviewing documents.
I expected this, but he really is busy.
Seeing him like that made me hesitant to speak, so I just stood still.
How much time had passed? Ian finally glanced at me briefly over his glasses.
“…Ah, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it was you, my lady.”
“It’s fine, go ahead. I’ll wait here.”
I waved my hand dismissively and was about to sit on the sofa when Ian, having shifted his gaze away from me, spoke in a casual tone.
“Marquis Alpheus sent you a letter.”
“My father?”
“Yes. It seems it was mixed in with the letters that came to me instead of being sent to your office. It should be on that table. Would you like to fetch it?”
“…Ah.”
No wonder he had called me during such a busy time—it was because of this.
I looked toward the table.
And the next moment, my expression turned awkward.
There were far too many letters stacked on the table.
Of course, that wasn’t the problem itself, but the real issue was something else.
What should I do?
The fact that I had never received a letter from the Marquis of Alpheus.
It made sense, given that my father, who had treated me as a bargaining chip for the family, wouldn’t send me letters affectionately.
Moreover, in the original story, there was only a brief description of the Alpheus family, with no mention of their symbols or family seal.
As that thought crossed my mind, I became anxious.
Is this where the trouble begins?
I subtly glanced at Ian.
Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, he seemed too busy with his work to pay much attention to me.
Wait, think calmly, think calmly…
Desperately repeating that to myself, I let out a silent gasp a moment later.
Although it was a brief part in the original story, there was a mention of the Marquis of Alpheus wearing a family heirloom, a lily brooch, at Eloise’s wedding.
If it’s a piece of jewelry worn by the head of the family, it must be the family symbol, right?
In that instant, my eyes were drawn to a turquoise seal with two lilies crossing.
Could this be it?
Now that I thought about it, Eloise’s turquoise eyes were also a characteristic passed down through her family.
I silently cheered in my head.
There’s no such thing as certain death!
Of course, I had a strong survival instinct.
Suppressing a grin, I confidently reached for the letter.
“I found it. I’ll take this, Ian.”
Ian, who had been absorbed in the documents, lifted his gaze to meet mine.
His eyes briefly flickered to my face before moving to the letter I held.
“……”
However, there was no response.
He simply stared at the letter in my hand.
What’s going on? Why is he reacting like this?
I felt a sense of unease as his expression grew dry and stiff. Eventually, he took off his glasses, stood up with a sharp scrape of his chair, and walked toward me.
“…This is strange.”
“Ian?”
Flustered by his lowered voice, I called out to him, but he didn’t answer. Instead, he stood in front of me.
Looking down lazily, Ian gently grasped my wrist and checked my pulse.
Thump, thump, thump.
My heart raced.
But at that moment, I could feel that this rapid beating wasn’t from excitement, but from anxiety.
Something’s wrong.
It was in that moment that I sensed it.
“I know that the Marquis of Alpheus uses a seal without the family crest when sending informal letters.”
He snatched the letter from my hand.
“And this one… has the seal of the Count Royden, not the Alpheus family. They’re similar, but not the same.”
His even, unemotional voice caused my heart to sink with a thud.
“I’m sure the intelligent lady wouldn’t have forgotten the family seal by now, and you certainly haven’t forgotten the format of your father’s letters.”
His dry gaze turned to me.
It was as if he were looking at a stranger, not me.
“Who are you?”
• • •
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