A slight furrow appeared between Idel’s brows, a situation similar to when she first met Dante Knightley.
“What are you doing here?”
Dante shrugged, withdrawing his outstretched hand, which seemed to have lost its purpose. He had grown accustomed to Idel’s personality.
“Is it strange for me to be here?”
“Isn’t it obvious? Someone who usually swings a sword in the training ground is suddenly standing in front of me without a word?”
“Well, I did come running here, but I didn’t expect you to know how I’ve been.”
“Ugh…”
Just as she was about to retort, saying that wasn’t what she meant, Dante’s eyes, filled with verdant greenery, suddenly drew closer.
“…!”
“Did you cry?”
Idel stiffened, her eyes wide open at the sudden action.
It was fortunate that she had already fallen. If not, she would have surely stumbled again.
Although she inadvertently ignored Dante once more, he didn’t seem to mind this time either.
Instead of waiting for Idel to respond, he chose to reach out and find the answer himself.
His calloused thumb lightly brushed around Idel’s eyes before reaching his mouth.
“Ah.”
“You, you…”
While Idel was horrified at the sight of his thumb being licked, Dante spoke seriously.
“As I thought. I thought I was mistaken because you were laughing out loud… But the salty taste on my fingertips confirms that you were crying.”
“……”
“Is it because of that incident from before?”
Despite Dante’s consecutive questions, Idel couldn’t bring herself to speak. Her thoughts had momentarily halted.
Dante tilted his head, seeing her unable to even respond.
No matter how cold Idel acted, it was a bit strange for her to be this silent.
‘Ah, could it be pain…?’
After all, Idel wasn’t exactly known for her strong constitution. Realizing this, Dante spoke again, his voice slightly serious.
“If you’re having trouble getting up because it hurts, I can give you my back. I’ll take you to the infirmary.”
“…….”
True to his nature of not saying silly things, Dante immediately turned his body and presented his back to Idel. He lowered his body to make it easier for her to climb on.
Finally coming to her senses, Idel quickly shook her head and spoke gruffly.
“……What are you saying? Get out of the way!”
“Uh, are you really okay? I’m confident I won’t drop you.”
“Who’s scared of being dropped? I don’t need it.”
Having managed to muster her usual voice, Idel placed her palm on the ground and pushed herself up.
She wobbled slightly due to her weakened strength, but she didn’t fall again, thanks to Dante, who was close by and caught her arm first.
“Hmph.”
Without any particular greeting, Idel dusted off her skirt and turned her body.
“You scared me for nothing. I’m going. You better not talk to me again.”
“Ah, Idel. Just a moment.”
“I told you not to talk to me.”
“Um, I’m sorry?”
Dante, with a completely unapologetic expression, quickly continued speaking.
“I think there was a misunderstanding at the last meal. In fact, I was about to come find you to clarify something about that incident, but here….”
“Shh. Wait a moment.”
However, before he could finish his sentence, sounds of activity and conversation could be heard nearby.
“Is this the right place? Ugh, do we really have to find her? Miss Gianna can walk around the duke’s residence just fine on her own.”
“Who said she can’t? It’s an order from Sylvia, so we have to at least pretend to look for her.”
Hearing the voices getting closer, Idel suddenly covered Dante’s mouth.
Dante’s eyes, which had widened for a moment, turned toward the sound before returning to Idel. Her blue eyes were serious and calm.
As if she were concentrating on her sword.
So, even though Dante didn’t know exactly what was going on, he led Idel’s hand.
“…This way.”
They hid behind the wall, silencing their footsteps for a moment.
“Alright, let’s just go. Would someone with that personality really come here, to this remote place?”
“Right. She’s probably with the Countess, isn’t she?”
The voices that had seemed to be getting closer quickly faded away again.
After confirming that the servant had disappeared, Dante nodded at Idel.
“There’s no one left. It seems they didn’t intend to check this area.”
“Th- Thank. Oh, right.”
Idel almost let slip a word of thanks without realizing it, while Dante appeared to be seriously contemplating something.
“Idel, does this have anything to do with your strange expression?”
“Strange expression?”
“Yes. The one where you were laughing while crying just now… I mean, that expression where your actions and true feelings don’t match.”
Dante’s serious gaze directly locked onto Idel. Dante Knightley was truly skilled at seeing through the essence, proving her assessment of him as “upright.”
‘I wanted to avoid this as much as possible.’
Idel bit her lower lip in secret.
To be honest, she felt a slight sense of crisis around Dante.
It was a different matter from Gianna, who, with her characteristic brightness, interpreted even Idel’s rough edges in a positive light.
‘Dante Knightley has noticed that all of this is just a façade.’
That’s not a good sign.
Especially with the suspicious ‘Patrick’ sticking close to him. Just recalling his exaggerated behavior and meaningful smiles made her frown involuntarily.
“I’m asking if the atmosphere among the servants is one of the reasons.”
“……”
“I heard from Gianna that Idel hasn’t been raised in the duke’s residence all along. So if you’re not at ease…”
“Hey, do you like me?”
“……What?”
Dante’s eyes widened at the sudden question. Idel seized that moment to press him further.
“That’s right. I told you not to mind me, but why do you keep interfering? It’s like you’re trying to get my attention with nonsense. No, even a dog following its owner would be less persistent than you.”
She deliberately tilted her head and raised the stakes of her words for emphasis.
“Or is it because you can’t accept that I don’t like you? Well, you are the pride of the Knightley family, after all.”
“……”
Idel’s gaze locked onto Dante, who had stiffened. It was a statement that could hurt even her.
Seeing his usually unwavering green eyes tremble slightly made her mouth dry, but Idel didn’t back down.
Whether it was because she was weak against someone like Gianna or due to her momentary emotions, Idel had already decided to handle the ‘original female lead.’
But now she was expected to handle the ‘original male lead’ too? Especially one who was overly honest?
Maybe if he was the mature and experienced one from the time he appeared in her younger sibling’s book review after he grew older, it would be different, but now…
‘I’m not confident.’
Before she even started properly, her plans seemed to fall apart. Especially when she thought about Patrick and Gianna being right beside her.
‘Steady your heart and be resolute.’
Idel gathered her wavering emotions and glared.
“I don’t care who you wag your tail at, but stop dragging me into your ‘good kid’ act. I don’t need it.”
“That’s…”
“You might not know because you’ve grown up so innocently and delicately, but hey, no matter how much you struggle, you…”
You can never be like your mother. That person is already dead.
“…you…”
Idel, who had been about to spill Dante’s weaknesses mentioned in her sibling’s book report, ultimately closed her mouth.
‘No, I just resolved to be tough, but still, touching on parents is a bit… isn’t that crossing the line?’
She wanted to be the kind of person who would say, ‘Ugh, enough! I avoid it because it’s dirty, not because I’m scared,’ not someone who wanted to be the ‘enemy who gave an irreparable wound in their heart.’
And using her deceased mother as a point of attack definitely fell into the latter category.
‘Right, let’s rephrase that.’
Just enough so that the meaning gets across.
With her thoughts quickly organized in a short time, Idel glared at Dante with a clenched fist, as if overwhelmed with emotion and unable to continue speaking.
“Idel?”
“…You don’t know. People who will dislike you will find some reason to dislike you in the end.”
With those words, Idel walked past Dante. She had hesitated, fearing he might hold her back, thinking something was off again.
But perhaps it was because the ‘desperation’ was real?
Fortunately, this time Dante didn’t sense anything suspicious in Idel’s actions. He merely…
‘No matter how much I struggle, people who dislike me will dislike me…’
The words Idel left behind stuck in his mind more than usual.
Dante, who seemed rooted to the spot, lifted his gaze to watch Idel disappear.
Now, the back view he had seen so often felt somehow different from usual.
