It had been two days since Daniel came to visit Kisa in the middle of the night and said something strange.
After suggesting that she meet someone who knew about Seyard’s past, Daniel had to leave the wall shortly afterward.
This was because the sounds of guards periodically patrolling around the Vansfelt townhouse could be heard.
[Anyway, I’ll arrange a meeting soon, so just wait.]
[What? Wait—]
[See you later, Kisa.]
Even though Kisa hadn’t expressed any intention to meet, Daniel drew his own conclusion and disappeared with the sound of quick, running footsteps.
The guards who spotted the suspicious figure shouted, “Who’s that?” but they apparently failed to catch him.
The next morning, judging from the nanny’s story about how they almost had a burglar during the night, it seemed his identity hadn’t been discovered.
Well, whether Daniel was caught behaving suspiciously at his ex-fiancée’s house and humiliated or not, it wasn’t particularly important to Kisa.
The problem was that since then, Kisa’s mind had been constantly troubled by the information he had dropped before leaving.
That Seyard frequently visited gambling houses? That he had a woman he was seeing?
It was so different from the Seyard she knew that, honestly speaking, she couldn’t believe it at all.
However, there was something not quite right about dismissing it as Daniel’s blatant lie.
Having known him for many years, she understood.
Daniel Lowens was an arrogant and contemptuous scoundrel, but he wasn’t the type to slander others by making up falsehoods.
It was more a matter of pride than morality.
He placed considerable value on his characteristic of being straightforward.
That’s why, despite his openly rude behavior toward Kisa and others, he proudly packaged it as straightforwardness or honesty.
For such a Daniel to attempt to defame Seyard by presenting a fake witness was, to be honest, hard to imagine.
‘No. I can’t say I know everything about that guy.’
In fact, hadn’t she been hit from behind several times after harboring naive thoughts about him?
As it turned out, he was the kind of man who could pledge eternity to another woman while having a fiancée, and who could oppress Kisa even by using force.
It wouldn’t be strange to assume that he might reveal an even lower side of himself since he was now backed into a corner like never before.
Above all, between Daniel, who had disregarded and deceived her all this time, and Seyard, who had helped her immeasurably, whom should she believe? This was a question that didn’t even need to be asked.
Kisa should trust Seyard. That was the answer she arrived at after a relatively short deliberation.
In fact, if we were to consider it coldly, even if he really did frequent gambling houses and had a woman he was dating, that wouldn’t be a crime.
Though the perception wasn’t particularly good, gambling wasn’t specifically a crime in the Kingdom of Sorbi, and dating was even less so.
She also had no intention of reprimanding Seyard for not adhering to religious discipline when he hadn’t entered the monastery by choice.
Additionally, he wasn’t obligated to reveal all his circumstances to Kisa.
His past of visiting gambling houses and having a woman he was seeing were all part of his private life.
Daniel, not knowing the truth, seemed to think Kisa wouldn’t tolerate Seyard having another woman, but the two were bound by a contract.
In other words, as long as the terms of the contract were fulfilled properly, they could share love with different partners.
“……”
At that moment, she felt a slight pain in one corner of her heart.
Somehow, she felt uncomfortable and depressed.
Wondering what the reason might be, Kisa eventually found a suitable answer.
If, by any chance, Daniel’s assertion was true, then Seyard would have lied to her.
Certainly, on their first date, in the garden of the Count Vansfelt’s mansion, he had said something like this:
[Since I learned about dating from books, I was worried if it would work in practice.]
If he really had a lover, it would be hard to believe he had never been on a date before, so this statement was most likely a lie.
In fact, not just this, but several other of Seyard’s words and actions had given the impression that he had no dating experience.
So that was it. Kisa’s heart felt uneasy because she had discovered the possibility that he might have lied.
Recently, Kisa had relied on Seyard a lot.
She had consulted him about worries she couldn’t tell others, and honestly shared her true feelings.
Betrayed by her fiancé, estranged from her best friend, and even her nanny being more her father’s person than hers, Seyard was the only one to whom Kisa had shown her raw self.
Although there might be unavoidable circumstances, if he had really lied, it was natural for Kisa to feel disappointed.
After all, she alone had dealt with him with complete sincerity.
Yes, it was nothing more or less than that.
After defining the emotion stirring within her, Kisa decided on a course of action.
Regardless of her disappointment, she needed to avoid the meeting that Daniel had said he would arrange soon.
To be honest, while she wasn’t entirely uninterested in this so-called witness, she didn’t want to act according to Daniel’s intention to separate Seyard and her, which would be tantamount to betraying Seyard.
Moreover, even if Daniel’s claim was true, Kisa had no intention of backing out of the marriage contract.
The situation had grown too large to easily reverse at this point, and if she were to part ways with Seyard, Kisa would inevitably have to reunite with Daniel. That was the last thing she wanted.
Let’s assume Seyard was truly a hooligan and a liar who hid the existence of a lover.
But even so, could Daniel be considered a better choice than him?
He, too, was hardly faithful in his conduct and had Hazel by his side. That woman who wore the mask of a friend while deeply loving him.
No matter how many times she reconsidered, not only was there no advantage, but he also blatantly disrespected and disregarded Kisa.
In contrast, Seyard was always kind and respectful toward her.
Daniel might call it hypocrisy and pretense, but to Kisa, false kindness was a hundred times better than honest rudeness.
At least, what had changed her in a more positive direction was not the ten years spent with Daniel, but the past couple of months.
It was crystal clear whose hand she should take between the two.
Therefore, it was better to forget the story Daniel had told her that night.
Having sorted out her thoughts and agreed to Seyard’s second date proposal, however…
“You seem lost in thought today. Did something happen in the meantime?”
From inside the carriage heading to their destination, Seyard perceptively noticed Kisa’s unusual demeanor.
In truth, she was partly responsible for this. Despite firmly resolving to forget Daniel’s claims, when she actually saw his face, the distracting thoughts multiplied.
Could there really be another face hidden behind that seemingly benevolent and sincere face?
Despite trying her best not to think about it, such doubts kept welling up in her mind.
To an extent that even Kisa herself couldn’t understand why she was so concerned about his hidden side.
Perhaps it was inevitable that the perceptive Seyard would notice.
“If that’s the case, how about telling me? I can’t promise to solve the problem, but we can think about it together.”
A kind suggestion, as always.
It seemed impossible to believe he was hiding another face.
“Thank you for your concern, but it’s nothing. I just didn’t sleep well last night.”
“Is that so? That’s a relief.”
He didn’t probe further, but somehow it didn’t seem like Seyard was truly satisfied with Kisa’s answer.
Like with the handkerchief incident, he had an uncanny ability to see right through her heart.
Nevertheless, Seyard was the type who wouldn’t force an answer out of her.
But how could she possibly tell him? To share Daniel’s nonsense with him…
‘Huh? Actually, there’s no reason I can’t.’
At that moment, Kisa changed her thinking.
She had vaguely thought she should hide it from Seyard all this time, but thinking back, she wondered if there was really a need to do so.
Daniel was trying to separate Kisa and Seyard.
Of course, Kisa had decided not to pay heed to his story and planned to refuse if he arbitrarily arranged a meeting with the witness, but would Daniel give up so easily?
If, by any chance, Daniel tried to spread rumors and damage Seyard’s reputation, Seyard should be prepared to counter it.
Therefore, sharing the information was the best option.
‘Why didn’t I think of this earlier?’
After a brief contemplation, Kisa soon found the answer.
She was feeling guilty about having her heart swayed by Daniel’s suggestion, even if just for a moment.
To be honest, even now, it was difficult to assert that she trusted Seyard without a shred of doubt.
And to be even more honest, she was curious about how he would react to the suspicion about him.
Because that might reveal the truth.
Kisa wanted to trust him. At the same time, she disliked herself for not being able to say she completely trusted him.
“Um, Seyard.”
So, under the pretext of sharing information with Seyard, she tried to gauge his reaction.
“Actually, a few days ago, Daniel came looking for me and said some strange things.”
With a slightly trembling voice, Kisa spilled everything she had heard that night.
As he listened to the story, the smile gradually disappeared from his face.
After the story ended, he, with an expression that was hard to read emotions from, slowly opened his mouth.
“Kisa.”
Kisa’s heart pounded.
“Do you believe those words?”
