## Tonight
"Then tonight. Don't sleep and wait."
"...Yes?"
"I suppose I can do what I've been enduring."
Claudel's eyes widened.
"Wait. That is..."
"I suddenly got very busy. I'll have to finish my work before dinner."
Before she could say anything, Kaian put down his cutlery and stood from his seat, wiping his hands on a towel.
"I will hear from the butler whether you've emptied the dishes diligently. Don't leave anything behind—just eat it all."
Kaian left the room with long strides.
As he walked toward his office, he felt his lips twitching without even realizing it, so he ran his hand over his mouth.
"They say that if you show utmost sincerity, even heaven will be moved."
After being devoted to his benefactor, he finally had a feeling that something good would happen.
"Why did he suddenly act like that while eating?"
Kaian hurried to the office to finish work quickly, and the butler who saw his retreating back tilted his head in confusion.
I didn't know what to do.
"Ah. How..."
I hadn't known that Kaian would visit me every day like this.
As my illness worsened and I hadn't been able to eat well, there was no way my body could easily recover from a major injury, but I couldn't refuse Kaian's intimidating glare as he watched me eat, so I forced myself. My starving body struggled even with that.
Over the past few days, I'd been able to feel a difference in the strength coursing through my body.
However, my chest hurt terribly every time I swallowed, so I didn't want to force myself to eat, and I didn't feel comfortable with Kaian, who visited so often.
*You're a benefactor.*
*You saved me.*
I hadn't saved him because I wanted Kaian to think of me as special.
I was going to die soon anyway.
For a moment, I'd thought it would be better for me to get hurt than for him to get hurt.
That was all.
I often had fleeting thoughts when I saw the cold man holding back his temper, or softening his eyes after glaring at me, as if he would accommodate me.
*If...*
If Kaian had treated me like this from the day I first came to Rowen Castle, maybe I would have liked him?
When I caught myself having such thoughts, I was just grateful and wanted to stop forcing him to come to me out of a sense of obligation.
However, when he picked up me—who still couldn't move my legs well—and repositioned me, even for a moment, the body heat that came from his broad chest where I rested my head, or from the large hand that held mine, was warm.
*It's probably because of the illness.*
That's why I was so cold.
My coughing fits like icy spikes in my chest made me so cold that even the slightest hint of warmth made me feel sad and weak-hearted.
I was so starved that even a lump of food the size of a fingernail fed my gasping body and left a ray of warmth in my lonely, love-starved heart.
But I hadn't forgotten that before I'd even come to his land in Rowen, I'd heard of Kaian's notoriety in Valmonde, and I knew he was the same man who had shunned and humiliated me all my life.
Kaian was an amazing and frightening person.
As far as I knew, he was only five years older than me.
But was the difference between twenty and twenty-five that great?
Unlike me, who was full of unknowns, he'd inherited the position and title of head of the family at only eighteen years old, and still ruled this vast territory and its numerous residents.
The sense of intimidation emanating from him scared people, making them hunch down and lower their heads.
Was it really that different to be raised as a successor from the beginning?
I was curious, but the rest of my life was too short to find out.
If I continued like this and died, he'd be very upset, right?
Even if I didn't particularly like him.
I was just trying to tolerate it without getting hurt.
One good thing was that my life really wouldn't last long, so it was highly likely that I would live comfortably like this.
I didn't think Kaian, who took care of me as his benefactor, would hurt me by invoking that title.
I had nothing to leave behind, so I continued to organize my personal affairs.
Although it wasn't much, I left everything I had to Hannah.
Hannah.
"So, where did Hannah go?"
My stream of consciousness, where I'd been thinking about various things regarding Kaian, finally returned to reality.
*You can just endure it.*
What on earth was he going to endure?
"I think I said everything I wanted to say."
My will and consent weren't required.
Anyway, I wanted to talk to Hannah quickly, but even after quite some time, she didn't come back.
---
## Hannah's Confrontation
Hannah was running briskly near the castle gate.
She felt sweat rising on her forehead, and now her fighting spirit was also rising.
Soon the person she was looking for caught her eye.
"Hey! You there!"
When Hannah screamed, Antjone turned around.
"Hey? Did you just say 'hey'?"
In the Rowen estate ruled by the Temnes family, the young lady who was a Temnes relative didn't like Hannah's attitude because no one treated her so carelessly.
"Yes. I said hey."
Hannah, setting aside all manners of respect, approached Antjone.
"You have to be respectful to be respected. Give it to me."
"What, what?"
Antjone flinched when she saw Hannah holding out her hand.
"The stolen ring."
"What?"
Hannah was sharp and had a keen eye for detail.
When she was very young she'd had no tact or strength, but by the age of ten, she was able to do the work of an adult.
A theft was a very serious matter.
It wasn't normal to lose something belonging to the master you served.
Since it would only end when someone was dragged out of the castle in tears, Hannah, who'd grown up in the castle among the maids from a very young age, couldn't help but be sensitive to that.
*I was suspicious all along because the Duke's personality was so strange.*
After Claudel got injured, he came to see her several times a day. Hannah didn't mean to observe it deliberately, but she saw it often, and when she did, she looked more closely than before.
Anyway, in Hannah's opinion, Kaian simply seemed to have no experience with women.
In Castle de Valmonde, all kinds of rumors circulated about Kaian. All kinds of stories flourished in the imagination about his wealth and skills, and about his status as someone who couldn't be overlooked.
The Kaian and Rowen Castle that Hannah actually saw seemed to have greater prestige and wealth than what she'd heard about in Castle de Valmonde. She wondered if they'd intentionally downplayed that part because the people of Valmonde didn't want to acknowledge Temnes.
On the other hand, Kaian, who was said to handle three virgins in one night, seemed unlikely.
That's because he couldn't communicate well with even one Claudel, let alone three virgins.
He wanted to say something, but when Claudel didn't give him the answer he wanted, he would get angry and leave.
In the past, when such an incident occurred, they wouldn't have to see each other for days, but these days, he came to visit several times a day under the pretext of being her 'benefactor', so every time he appeared, Kaian shamelessly returned as if he'd never shouted at her and stormed off.
Usually, those who enjoyed women's company knew women's hearts well.
That's how they could enjoy themselves with many people.
It was as if they chopped up their body but not their heart, and gave each woman a piece of the well-spoken words that said, *You are the only one for me.*
However, when Hannah discovered that Kaian's attitude toward women and his speaking skills were poor, she also became suspicious of Antjone's actions.
Then she'd seen it today.
In an attempt to openly insult and deceive Claudel, Antjone had come wearing something that showed off her injured ankle and calf and called Claudel a "cripple." But she'd covered up the blue diamond ring she'd been proudly showing off when Kaian appeared.
Moreover, the ring had disappeared from Antjone's finger after she'd left empty-handed, having removed the ring while handing Hannah the bouquet.
*She took off the ring while pretending to give me a bouquet.*
Why?
Why?
Hannah had heard that Kaian favored Antjone so much he'd passed on his mother's mementos to her?
Hannah hadn't told Claudel that she'd bumped into Antjone that day.
Because Antjone had wanted that.
Why bother telling her something that would upset her so much when she couldn't resolve it?
There was no need to chase down Kaian and check.
However, she'd been seething inside alone, and today, when she saw Antjone disappearing in front of Kaian as if running away, her impulse took over.
"I'll take it out while I'm being nice, all right?"
"W-what are you talking about?"
"My lady's first-night gift."
Antjone's blue eyes widened and wavered aimlessly.
"Don't you have any pride? You stole the gift that someone else's husband gave his wife."
"You... You. What are you talking about? Do you have any proof?"
"Proof?"
Hannah grabbed Antjone's left wrist.
"This ring is proof. Give it to me!"
"Ouch! Are you insane? It's mine!"
Antjone and Hannah struggled. Antjone, who was fighting to keep Hannah from taking her ring, put her hands behind her back and slapped Hannah on the cheek.
*Smack.*
Antjone said with a huff,
"You... I won't let you get away with this. How dare a Vermont servant touch Temnes?"
It was then.
*Slap!*
A sharper, harsher sound fell on Antjone's cheek.
"Fine. Good. Let's go confess right now. Who will the lord punish—me, who slapped the thief of Temnes, or you, who dared to steal the jewel that the lord gave to his wife?"
"This is mine! How many times must I tell you that Kaian gave it to me?"
"Liar."
"What lie did I tell..."
"What you said about spending the night with Kaian was all a lie, wasn't it?"
"Well, well...?"
Antjone's face contorted as Hannah put a sneer on her lips.
"Do you know what kind of position the Duke prefers?"
In fact, she didn't know either.
"Well, what is that..."
"You should have seen the petal marks that were obsessively engraved on our lady's body and the bruises that were created when she was gripped so hard as if being restrained."
Even if Claudel had them, there was no way she would have shown Hannah.
"You have no way of knowing how desperately the two of them could be heard calling each other's names throughout that long night, even outside the bedroom door. I was so worried they might run out of breath."
So, nothing like that had actually happened.
However, since Hannah had received much of an early education from the maids of Castle de Valmonde with whom she'd hung out, she threw out whatever words came to her mind at Antjone.
"You don't even know, do you?"
"No! Kaian can't do that!"
*Look at this?* What had she said that gave Antjone that shocked look?
Even if Kaian had a hobby of playing around with women as rumored, at least it was clear that person wasn't Antjone.
How dare she call their lady a cripple over something like theft?
Grinding her teeth, Hannah spoke to Antjone.
"I'll take it out while I'm being nice, all right?"
---