* * *
“Don’t dig too deep trying to understand, Master. It’s only natural that you can’t. Unless you’ve spent years locked away in prison, unable to die even if you wanted to, you won’t be able to grasp this way of thinking.”
That’s right.
To finally escape from prison, to finally break free from the novel’s grasp, only to contemplate death… That’s a thought only someone utterly exhausted could entertain.
The Master met my hollow gaze in silence, then murmured to himself,
“If Vivisian refuses to reveal the truth until the day he dies… then I will.”
At first, I was about to ask why he would do such a thing.
But in that moment, I caught a glimpse of his expression.
It was so unbearably sorrowful that I couldn’t bring myself to ask.
It was the same look I must have worn countless times while drowning in the memories of my time in prison.
So I didn’t say no.
I simply smiled and told him to do as he pleased.
I wasn’t particularly fond of the idea of my fate being dictated by others.
But if the truth were to come to light—not through the confession of a sinner, but through the actions of someone who had considered me, even if only a little—perhaps that wouldn’t be such a terrible thing.
Time had passed since I was made the temporary duke.
People still avoided me, but no one went out of their way to drag me out and execute me anymore.
Life went on, in a semblance of peace.
Somewhere along the way, I had grown accustomed to handling paperwork. I could now complete it even while half-asleep.
Nothing particularly important ever landed on my desk, so I went through my tasks leisurely.
A pile of unfinished documents sat on my left, and a finished stack on my right.
Two hours after I began, the left side was empty.
With nothing left to do, I found myself nodding off.
Just as I was about to drift into sleep again—despite my earlier resolve not to—Master let out a loud sigh from beside me.
I supposed it must have been frustrating for him to see me sleeping while he worked.
Rubbing my face, I forced myself upright.
“There’s nothing to do, so I’m too sleepy.”
He pressed his chilled palm against his face, muttering an excuse under his breath.
He couldn’t see with his eyes covered, but he could still tell that the Master was staring at him intently.
The gaze was so piercing that the crown of his head tingled.
Instinctively, he reached up to touch his hair, then turned to look at the Master.
With a faint crease between his brows, the man seemed lost in thought before he finally spoke.
“Sir Vivisian, sleeping all the time just because you have nothing to do isn’t a good habit.”
“Is that so?”
“Why not read a book? If you sleep during the day, you won’t be able to sleep at night.”
“Mm, yeah, I’ve been having trouble sleeping at night.”
He rubbed the back of his neck as he agreed.
Maybe it was because he kept nodding off in the morning, but lately, he hadn’t been able to sleep properly at night.
“But I was like this even in prison… It probably won’t affect my health. Ah, but does it bother you, Asis? If it’s inconvenient, I won’t sleep.”
He held back a yawn that threatened to escape, pressing his lips together.
Seeing that, the Master shook his head in exasperation.
His gaze was cold with disbelief, but the corners of his eyes drooped slightly with sympathy.
The contrast of emotions was almost amusing.
Then, the Master rummaged through his robes and tossed something toward him.
Reflexively, he caught it.
A cube.
“A cube? Why?”
He turned the slightly mixed-up cube in his hands, examining it.
It had been a while since he last solved one, so he fumbled at first, but soon, he got the hang of it and restored it to its original state.
The Master remained silent the entire time he worked on the puzzle.
When he finished and placed the completed cube on the desk, he lifted his head.
The Master hadn’t responded, but their gazes met—he was still staring.
“It’s something to keep you occupied.”
It was a polite yet strangely unfriendly remark.
Then, the Master grabbed the perfectly solved cube, messed it up again, and handed it back to him.
“Sleep in the evening.”
With that firm statement, the Master turned away.
Just before he did, for a fleeting moment, his expression seemed oddly relieved.
Was he really that bothered by the fact that I was just sleeping?
Tilting his head in mild curiosity, he looked down at the cube.
Well, playing with this was better than zoning out.
It would be evening before he could leave work, meaning there was still a lot of time to kill.
He leaned back into his chair and focused on solving the cube.
After about ten cycles of solving and scrambling it again, a knock sounded at the door.
When the Master opened it, a familiar scent of perfume wafted in through the gap.
The moment he turned his head, he saw the person he had expected.
“Count? Is something the matter?”
The man outside was looking at him as well.
When the Master called his name, Haen briefly glanced down at him before curling his lips into an elegant smile.
“I have something to discuss with the Duke. Would you mind stepping out for a moment?”
Instead of responding right away, the Master flicked a glance at him, silently asking for his opinion.
He gave a small nod, signaling it was fine, and only then did the Master acknowledge Haen’s request and leave the room.
As the door shut, he set the cube in his hand down.
It made a faint clatter as it landed on the desk, momentarily catching Haen’s gaze.
Of course, Haen’s attention soon returned to him.
Casually taking a seat on the sofa by the office window, he smoothed out the slight wrinkles in his clothes.
“Looks like you’re settling in well. Even solving cubes in your free time.”
“Yeah. Turns out, being a duke suits me. Maybe it’s my true calling.”
If it had been any other elder, they would’ve foamed at the mouth, demanding that he come down from his position at once.
But Haen merely let out a light chuckle—he knew all too well that this wasn’t the case.
“You haven’t visited in a while. What brings you here all of a sudden?”
“Did you miss me?”
His straightforward question was met with an absurd response.
He wasn’t even sure if he had heard it right.
‘Have I been locked up for so long that I’m starting to hear nonsense?’
Beneath those icy blue eyes, resentment ran deep.
Saying something like that with such an expression made it almost laughable.
He shook his head, and with a faint, humorless smile, Haen finally got to the point.
“Oh, right. I forgot to mention—Vivisian, come down to the hall with me for a bit.”
“The hall? Why all of a sudden? Did you find the collateral family?”
“No, but I think it’s about time we addressed that apology. I gathered some people for it.”
“…In the hall?”
“Yeah.”
If Haen noticed the way his face stiffened, he didn’t show it.
His response was lighthearted, almost breezy.
The fact that he had arranged all this without consulting him was so absurd that he had no words.
As he just blinked in disbelief, Haen spoke again in a firm yet weary tone, as if dealing with a problem child.
“Vivisian, I had to convince them with great difficulty. You won’t get another chance. You need to apologize today. I’ll handle the compensation—just make sure you apologize properly. Understood?”
“…Yeah, sure. Whatever. So, you still haven’t found the collateral?”
“I think we’ll find them soon. We’ve identified a potential candidate… Why?”
“Nothing. Just hoping you find them quickly.”
Speaking as if it were a trivial matter, he stood up and straightened his rumpled clothing before pulling out the wheelchair from the corner of the office.
As he played the ridiculous role of an invalid, Haen spent the entire trip down the stairs drilling the words of the apology into him.
He instructed him to repeat it word for word, and he merely nodded absentmindedly, turning his gaze away.
When he looked up, he saw the hall was already filled with quite a number of people.
To prepare for any possible disturbances, knights were stationed at intervals.
But to be honest, he didn’t place much trust in them.
Keeping his expression calm, he slowly wheeled himself forward, leaving Haen behind.
When he was within ten steps of the person at the front, he stopped.
His gaze met those of the gathered individuals—none of them shouting, none of them cursing.
It had been so long that he didn’t even remember their faces.
Not all of this was his doing, but they were people who had gotten caught up in Letiyan’s scheme to bring him down.
At one point, he had secretly tried to compensate them out of guilt.
Now, he wasn’t sure.
He still felt regret, still felt sorrow, but he didn’t know what more he could do.
With a wry smile to himself, he schooled his features into neutrality and spoke in a slow, deliberate tone.
“My apology is long overdue. I sincerely regret the wrongs of my past. Nothing like this will ever happen again. No amount of money can heal your wounds, but I hope it serves as a small comfort. Compensation will be provided.”
Letiyan bowed deeply to those who had suffered due to his wretched family.
Apologizing on their behalf didn’t even wound his pride.
“This isn’t an apology made in hopes of forgiveness, nor is it to ease my own conscience. If you find it difficult to accept, you don’t have to.”
Only after finishing those words did he raise his head.
The weight of the stares pressing down on him was almost suffocating.
But more than that, what stung was knowing there was nothing he could say to people accusing him of sins he hadn’t committed.
Their expressions were mixed—some in disbelief, some questioning why he was doing this now, and others seemingly at peace, as if they had already let go of it all.
* * *
