* * *
“It’s been a while, senior.”
Yuri beamed at Milled Pitnam, who had helped him back during their academy days.
“I didn’t expect you to reach out to me during a time like this… You look the same, though?”
“I haven’t been able to leave much lately, so I’ve just been training. You know how overprotective my parents are.”
Ha ha ha.
Yuri laughed heartily and looked at his senior, who had already graduated.
‘Was this maid connected to the independence army too? Or did she just luck out and get a job here?’
He remembered Martius mentioning the maid who got fired from the estate was now working at a count’s residence.
“This tea is delicious. Somehow it feels… special.”
“The new maid is quite skilled at brewing tea.”
Milled smirked at the compliment and gestured toward the maid they’d been tracking.
“Thank you.”
The maid blushed, thrilled to receive praise from a noble.
“With the Duchess gone and the independence army stirring up trouble… I don’t think the capital’s ever been this tense.”
“So many have died because of them—it’s unavoidable.”
“Some people are even saying the Duke has gone mad.”
He lowered his voice as if confiding in Yuri.
Of course, the maid would’ve heard, too, but she kept her face perfectly neutral.
“Hm. I haven’t seen him much lately. What’s going on?”
“Instead of killing them, he’s been capturing independence fighters alive.”
“No more executions?”
“Yeah. He’s trying to win them over.”
So among the nobles, rumors had started: ‘The Duke, maddened while searching for the Duchess, was using the independence army as an excuse to seize control of the capital.’
“He doesn’t seem like the type.”
“Love always blinds people, doesn’t it?”
Milled said with amusement gleaming in his eyes.
Tyrants in history didn’t appear out of nowhere.
The Duke had that kind of power.
If he and his knights truly wished, the royal palace could fall easily into their hands.
Anyone who had worked with Duke Graham would never suspect him of that—but the world was full of reckless fools.
Milled, now an adjutant to the 2nd Knight Order under the Crown Prince, watched the young man across from him.
‘Why did this little one come to find me now?’
Suppressing a smile, he composed his expression.
“Be careful too, senior. Don’t get caught up in something you’ll regret.”
“It’s me. I’m just looking after the knight order’s administration, nothing much. Ah, I have a favor to ask—could you do that for me?”
“A favor?”
Yes, a favor.
With a meaningful smile, he signaled the maid to leave.
She bowed politely and exited at once.
“So, why did you come?”
“What do you mean?”
“Be honest with me.”
There had to be a reason why someone who was so smitten with the duchess suddenly came running to him.
After glancing at the door the maid had exited through, he pressed Yuri for an answer.
With no choice, Yuri confessed the secret about the independence army with a reluctant expression.
[Yuri and someone else have been recruited.]
“Tsk.”
The more people who knew, the higher the risk of exposure.
Sylvian clicked his tongue at the note from his younger brother.
He couldn’t help trusting Yuri, but the fact that another ally had joined made his thoughts spiral.
“Karl’s narrowing the search, bit by bit.”
They would have to flee again soon.
He had surely already combed through the residential areas nearby.
It was only natural for him to investigate the homes of nobles.
‘And then, with the count’s daughter suddenly starting to sponsor someone, of course he’d start getting suspicious here.’
To avoid suspicion, he had purposely approached those with lower titles, pleading his innocence.
Sylvian thought of the small house purchased under Elizabeth’s name.
Until he knew Karl’s true motive and why he had been kidnapped, he had no intention of returning to the ducal estate.
Besides, he hadn’t met Zeroth yet.
He wondered what state Zeroth would be in, searching for him.
“How is it that Zeroth goes around making such wild rumors spread?”
Lying in bed, Sylvian sighed deeply. Spring was just around the corner.
The culprit behind his kidnapping was still unknown, and neither Karl nor the independence army had been dealt with.
Time kept slipping by with nothing resolved.
He had lived over twenty years without Zeroth, and they’d only shared a little over a year of married life.
And yet, the empty space beside him felt cold and desolate.
‘Would he even take me back, knowing someone else has touched me?’
He realized he had been relying on Zeroth more than he thought.
Zeroth had been the first to offer him a truly warm shelter.
He had loved purity so much.
Even if they hadn’t gone all the way, still…
Sylvian rubbed his face as he glanced at the empty space beside him.
He couldn’t help but chuckle at how things weren’t going as he’d planned.
‘If it’s going to make you look that pained, then maybe don’t torment me in the first place.’
He didn’t know why Karl hated Zeroth so much, but Sylvian had a feeling that unless he resolved this situation, Karl would continue to torment him for the rest of his life.
Claiming it was under orders from the kidnapper, Karl would sometimes touch him with a confused, troubled expression.
In his eyes—eyes that failed to hide anything—there had always been guilt and hesitation.
If he couldn’t commit to it properly, why pretend to play the villain?
Sylvian let out another heavy sigh at Karl’s half-hearted actions.
If only he were a perfect villain, then maybe he wouldn’t be this conflicted.
“I miss him.”
The words left his mouth in a small, pouty whisper that made him laugh.
He really must’ve been brainwashed by Zeroth, who once said a wife’s duty is to love her husband.
A sudden wave of fear hit him—that maybe Zeroth, who valued chastity so much, might abandon him. He wanted to run away but held it in.
Right. In this life, he would finally achieve longevity with Zeroth—something they couldn’t do in their past life.
Now that the original story was over, the goal was to live a long, happy life with him.
Though the room was warm, Sylvian still felt cold.
Clutching the blanket tightly, he fell asleep.
* * *
