“Speaking of which, you mentioned buying a mansion, right? Given the unpleasant incident with the carriage, you might want to go to the place I recommend.”

After laughing for a while, Antes suddenly brought up the mansion. He tapped on the right side of his chest as if he had something prepared.

Not understanding his gesture, Luna looked at her own chest, but before she could misconstrue, Antes clarified:

“The contact is in the pocket of my coat.”

“…”

Silently, Luna reached into Antes’ coat pocket and, as he had said, found a contact with an address and name.

“I’ll tell you in advance, if you say you’ve come by my recommendation, they’ll understand.”

“You’re leaving?”

“Why? Should I not?”

Caught off guard by his sudden declaration of leaving, she reflexively asked. Antes leaned in, looking as if he’d caught something big.

She sighed in exasperation.

“No, I wanted you to leave, but you stayed for so long I wondered if you really meant it.”

“I’m really leaving this time. I can’t leave my territory unattended for too long. Plus, I need to check on your mine.”

Her mine. Thanks to Antes’ shrewd dealings, money kept pouring in despite Luna’s inactivity.

Gold was valuable, but Luna knew nothing about trading. If it weren’t for Antes, she’d still be searching for vendors, pulling her hair out in frustration.

Realizing this, her wavering feelings leaned more towards gratitude.

“Thank you for everything.”

“Why the sudden sentiment?”

“For the mine, the carriage, the contact…well, excluding the fact that we’re dating. That was my mistake. The situation got too big to backtrack. Even if my father didn’t know, he’d have found out.”

Perhaps it was something she hadn’t thought of, because Antes was staring at her so intently that Luna, who was embarrassed from the middle, ended it as a joke.

Even so, Antes, who saw through her sincerity, replied by returning Luna’s hair, which was slightly disheveled by the cold wind, back to their place.

“The mine was a good deal for me too. It will play a significant role in expanding my territory. Giving you a few contacts is nothing. In fact, I should be figuring out how to do more for you to ensure you don’t back out of our agreement.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Plus, I’ll get another chance to tease Fersen.”

The mention of Fersen made Antes’ eyes shimmer in the moonlight.

It looked like he was anticipating a fun event, yet there seemed to be an indescribable emotion he was hiding.

Luna wanted to ask him about it, but noticed some people peeking from the windows leading to the garden, and their conversation ended there.

Her family sure had a knack for interrupting at the wrong times.

* * *

Despite his busy schedule, Antes left for the Vincent estate long before morning.

‘When it came to delaying his departure, it felt like forever. But sending a handsome, single man alone into the dangerous night? When did that become the norm?’

Have at least breakfast before you leave.

It wasn’t because Luna was sad about Antes leaving that she thought that way.

Because of the heavy drinking at the party, she wanted to sleep in late, but Emma and Laura woke he rup to say goodbye to him.

“Take care.”

Luna tried to suppress a yawn as she spoke. Each member of the Baron’s family looked puzzled.

“…Why?”

What, are they supposed to act like real lovers and shyly smile and kiss each other on the cheek? Does it seem like it?

She wanted to say it with a stern face, but she was so sleepy that it was hard to even stand properly.

“No, you’re just too cold…”

“You’ve just started dating, and yet, Miss…”

Laura and Emma scolded, to which Luna replied with a face not at all embarrassed.

“What a shame. You stayed too long, so the young lord should leave.”

She even gave him a hint to hurry up.

At that, Antes suddenly looked upset and said:

“The young lady is just shy. It would be a lie to say I’m not disappointed, but I can’t push or rush you, so I’ll accept the sentiment and leave for today.”

“…”

Thus, a cold and stern person who couldn’t say a kind word to her departing lover was born.

She felt so tired she could collapse, but thankfully, she found the energy to speak a few more words. Luna mustered up a look of pity.

“Please take care. I hope we meet soon so I can hear stories of the young lord’s childhood that I missed last night. Especially the one about hitting someone’s head with a rock was memorable.”

“…”

Extended conversations when tired were never good.

Antes responded with a bright, sun-like smile.

“I’ll also follow the young lord down soon. I’m looking forward to what’s there besides the gold mine, haha.”

The Baron was enthusiastic. Unfortunately, there was nothing other than the gold mine, but the mere presence of it was enough to rebuild his territory without disappointment.

“I’ll arrange a place for the Baron.”

“Thanks, but won’t it be bothersome for you?”

“It’s not troublesome. You’re our top client and my lover’s father. I’m pondering what more I can offer.”

“Haha. It’s good to see Luna laughing non-stop with someone as trustworthy as the young lord.”

Defeated by Luna, Antes clung to the Baron.

Seeming to challenge again, Luna prepared herself, but it seemed Antes had no intention of a physical confrontation as he asked Luna:

“Will you also go down with the Baron?”

“Me? No, I’ll stay here. I might visit the mine briefly, but I won’t live there.”

Originally, she thought about following the Baron, but the capital was more comfortable. With Seira’s affairs sorted, everything was fine now.

Having confirmed Luna’s intentions, Antes nodded and politely bid the Baron farewell.

“I’ll take my leave then.”

After whispering something to Royer, Antes quickly left the Baron’s house.

Whatever Royer heard, even half-asleep, his wide-eyed expression exclaimed, ‘It’s a miracle.’

Excluding Luna, the Baron’s family members couldn’t hide their joy about her meeting a good person.

‘A good person? Surely they heard the same story about him breaking someone’s arms and legs and hitting someone’s head with a rock just yesterday.’

Moreover, he even had a personal lawyer for accidents. How many accidents has he caused to even ask what his master did wrong? It was easy to notice the weirdness, but they only saw the good in Antes.

‘…Still, is it better than being as scary as rumors suggest? He’s kind to the family.’

Being nice to ingratiate himself with her family was annoying, but seeing them all smiling, she couldn’t think of him entirely negatively.

‘Let’s part on good terms.’

Luna vowed with a serious face. If she broke up badly with Antes, everyone would surely be shocked, as if they might faint.

But how can one break up so that it’s rumored they parted on good terms? She had never had a good encounter before, so how would she know?

Luna, with a headache, looked aimlessly at the disappearing carriage of Antes, leaving behind the people of the Baron, and headed to her room. For now, she needed to sleep.

* * *

“Wait, what? Who did what?”

When the attendant reported the tumultuous incident, Duke Rodrian asked in a shocked, raised tone.

Swallowing hard, the attendant opened his mouth again.

“…The young lady Peils slapped young master Fersen’s cheek and left the mansion with the Baron. It seemed they were prepared to use force if necessary, as young lord Vincent was with them too. It appears young lady Peils and young lord Vincent are in a relationship and left together-“

Crash!

Before the attendant could finish, the Duke threw the wine glass he was holding.

While it didn’t hit him directly, the shards that bounced off the wall made a scratch on the man’s cheek. Still, the attendant couldn’t even let out a small whimper, and he deeply bowed.

“And what did you do? Is this all the report you have? The knights? Fersen? …What were they all doing while that insignificant girl slapped him and left with the Baron?”

“…”

There was no way to subdue with force when Antes was around. Furthermore, Fersen, who had found out about the relationship between Luna and Antes, was almost in shock.

When the attendant didn’t answer, the Duke started throwing objects around, all of which were valuable.

Luckily, he wasn’t aiming at the attendant but at the empty wall.

“Fersen, what is he doing?! After causing such a disgrace, why isn’t he here explaining and asking for forgiveness?”

“…Well…”

The attendant hesitated, sweating profusely. Fersen was currently in an unstable state, so there was no other way to explain.

Guessing the state of his son, the Duke strode toward Fersen’s room.

“Your Grace!”

It was clear that if the very angry Duke confronted Fersen, it would be disastrous. Shaking off his fear and pressure, the attendant quickly followed the Duke, trying to stop him.

“Your Grace! It’s late, so please rest tonight and meet him tomorrow-“

“Don’t overstep your bounds!”

Slap! A fierce hand slapped the attendant’s cheek.

The attendant, with his cheek swelling in an instant, followed the Duke. Now, there was no issue he could intervene in.