* * *

After the Marquis’s family left, Royer returned to the mansion. He handed Luna the termination agreement he had received from the servants, excluding Carlton, and asked:

“Did everything go well?”

He was inquiring about the Marquis couple. He knew they weren’t such people, but he was cautious in case they had asked Luna any rude questions.

Upon this, Luna answered with a fairly bright expression.

“Yes. I explained well and they understood and said they would handle it themselves.”

“I see.”

If the Marquis’s family said they would handle it, they would surely do it right.

It went well, Royer smiled.

“But how are you going to convince Carlton? Seeing that you’ve involved even the Vincent Marquis’s family, unless he’s judged by law, it doesn’t seem like he’ll listen quietly.”

Luna worried that it certainly wouldn’t go smoothly, but Royer alleviated her concerns.

“Don’t worry. Both of them have known Carlton for a long time, so they will persuade him well.”

Of course, if he didn’t listen nicely, there were people who would take measures to make him listen, but Royer didn’t see the need to explain that far.

“That’s a relief then. Anyway, thank you.”

All worries were gone and Luna, feeling relieved, expressed her gratitude.

“I’ll go and wrap up this matter now.”

He took back the agreement he had handed to Luna.

Then once again Luna was left alone, and while she was sipping tea in silence, she saw a carriage approaching from afar.

It was a very familiar carriage, one she had seen often, and a crease formed on Luna’s brow.

“I told him not to come for a while, what’s going on?”

“I want to come more when told not to. Why did you say not to come until today? For someone who said they’re busy, you look very idle. And-“

Antes took a moment to check Luna’s attire.

“You look too pretty. Why are you so dressed up?”

Upon this, the servant preparing Antes’ carriage blushed and closed his mouth tightly.

On the other hand, Luna responded without batting an eye.

“What’s pretty? I just dressed up simply.”

“That’s why I’m asking why did you dress up when you said you were busy.”

“What does it matter whether I dress up or not?”

She didn’t want to mention the Marquis couple had visited, so she retorted sharply.

Upon this, Antes silently stared into Luna’s eyes and then responded as if it was obvious.

“We’re dating, so I can ask that much. It gets complicated if some other guy falls for you.”

“Huh?”

They weren’t really dating out of genuine interest, so what did he mean by that?

When Luna showed a reaction of not understanding, Antes elaborated further.

“Don’t forget that I decided not to leave until someone comes by my side. If the young lady abandons me, I’ll be left alone.”

It was just as she thought. He advised to abandon the idea of living a normal life alone and to aim for a win-win situation together.

Of course, there was no need for such admonition as Luna had no intention of abandoning Antes. She really intended to continue the relationship until someone came by his side, as they had promised.

“Don’t say such nonsense. I have no intention of interacting with anyone other than the young lord.”

It was a statement that could easily be misunderstood, but Antes didn’t misunderstand at all.

He was well aware that she had no interest in him.

While they were having such a foolish conversation, Laura came out from inside the mansion.

Seeing that she had some documents in her hand, it seemed like she was organizing some reports received from the servants.

She, who really liked Antes, greeted him with a half-smile.

“Young lord Antes! You’re here? I was so sad that I couldn’t see you for a while.”

Upon this, Antes responded with a bright smile.

“Me too. Even though such an incident occurred, I was sad that I couldn’t enter and meet.”

“Oh, I wish you hadn’t been prevented from entering and just met as usual. You’ll continue to see each other anyway.”

It wasn’t a simple response. It was a plausible answer as if she knew why the entry was prohibited.

And then Laura fell for Antes’s bait. Luna, who had been drinking tea, couldn’t stop her and just froze, slowly putting down her teacup.

Antes, who wiped the smile off his face, looked back at Luna.

“It seems like it was someone related to me. It’s not Rosemary since it was done in secret.”

Right, this guy. Anyway, he’s quick-witted. He can read people well.

Only then did Laura, who realized that she had been hooked by Antes, quietly stepped back and disappeared into the mansion.

“We’ll continue to see each other, so there must be a close aide. But I have no close aides… Is it a family? Say, parents?”

“…”

Why did he guess it all at once?

When Luna didn’t respond, Antes realized that was the answer.

“My parents came.”

She ended up saying the answer but there was no more hiding it now. It was a success since they didn’t meet, so there was no reason to hide. Luna sighed softly.

“Yes. They came. It seems Carlton went to the Marquisate office. He appealed saying he felt very oppressed.”

As it was obvious he would keep asking, Luna explained what happened today. Since Antes was also involved, she also added what claims Carlton had made.

“Anyway, they came for that reason and said they would handle it knowing it. That’s the end of it. In case our story comes up, I was going to explain that it wasn’t a deep relationship but they didn’t say anything.”

“Our relationship isn’t shallow.”

Antes pointed out the strange part, and Luna frowned.

“I have only the lady, and she has only me, right?”

“It’s not wrong, but it’s a weird statement.”

It was a correct statement but somewhere strange, a refutation that made one want to point out.

“It’s not wrong, so it’s okay.”

For some reason, Antes, who answered stiffly, got up from his seat saying he had to go.

“Already?”

You’re going back just a few minutes after you came to the mansion? Then why did you come? Luna, who knew that Antes wasn’t the type of person to have spare time, asked curiously.

“Yes. I only came to deliver this.”

He handed a bundle of documents to Luna.

Looking through it briefly, it was a work report. Unlike the detailed reports sent every time, it was brief, covering only a few important points.

“It’s the end-of-year report. I’ll send the detailed materials again in the new year.”

“Why did you bother to come when you could have sent a servant?”

“I wanted to come personally since we hadn’t seen each other for a while. It seems like I’ll be busy from now on.”

“As always, only your mouth is alive.”

Luna, who didn’t believe Antes’s words at all, pouted.

Antes was somewhat sincere, but as he was rejected with a single blow, his mouth felt bitter for some reason.

“Be careful. I’ll take a look at the documents well.”

Luna waved her hand. Antes waved back shortly.

In twenty-some years of living, he never thought he’d wave goodbye to someone. It wasn’t as embarrassing or bad as he thought.

“I hope you have peaceful days too.”

With Antes’ greeting, the carriage set off. At the same time, his expression turned cold.

Throughout, Luna’s words, ‘our relationship is not that deep,’ kept coming to his mind.

‘Really insane.’

Why has it been like this lately? After Luna’s words ended, he was embarrassed as he couldn’t control his facial expression immediately.

He was clearly out of his mind. He had believed he was sane all along, but it seemed not.

It was clear that he would only get mocked if he complained to someone, so Antes leaned on the reins.

* * *

After spending a few leisurely days, the last day of the year came close.

And a letter arrived from Carlton, saying he would willingly terminate the contract. Acknowledging his rashness and mistakes, and agreeing to leave the capital.

Luna tilted her head and asked Royer:

“What on earth persuaded him to become so meek?”

There was even an apology letter sent to Emma. It seemed like he was a different person, so she couldn’t help but be curious.

“Well, maybe he realized his obstinacy wouldn’t work anymore.”

Since the Marquis and Marchioness turned their backs, it was explained that Carlton, being a commoner, couldn’t stand up to Luna.

Of course, it was highly likely that the threat from the Marquis and Marchioness was involved, but such an explanation wasn’t mentioned.

Luna, who was rather realistic and quick-witted, acted as if she didn’t know about the sinister side of nobility. There was no need to shock her with unnecessary words.

“By the way, Antes has been scarce lately. Did you two have a fight or something?”

“No, not a fight. If we had, I would just get hit and that would be the end. I heard he’s become a bit busier, so it’s probably because of that.”

“Is that so? Regardless of being busy, I thought he would visit especially today, on his birthday.”

It was a must to meet on birthdays if they were lovers. He was thought to be a lover, but Royer was puzzled by the unexpected indifference. Then he found Luna’s expression hardened suddenly.

“You didn’t know, did you?”

This was definitely the reaction of someone who didn’t know their lover’s birthday. Upon this, Luna blinked a few times before responding.

“He didn’t tell me.”

“Oh, my God. I hope he’s not upset because of that?”

“No, the young lord would know that I didn’t know his birthday.”

It didn’t matter whether she knew or not. With her indifferent answer, Royer touched his forehead, feeling sorry.

“How can such an indifferent couple exist! It’s not too late, how about preparing a gift and visiting him?”

“That sounds good.”

Considering his bad relationship with his family, it was clear that he would spend his birthday alone. Thinking to at least send a cake, Luna remembered something she didn’t get to ask last time she met Antes.

“But Royer. Do you happen to know where the young lord lives?”

“…Yes?”

How should he deal with this person, asking others about where her lover lives? Royer sighed and answered.

“No, I don’t know…”

Of course, he didn’t know either. Royer didn’t know, and didn’t want to know.

“What about the guild? The guild is quite large, you know where it is, right?”

“No.”

There was no need to know as it wasn’t a business partner.

So, in the end, nobody knew where Antes lived or where he worked, even though she was supposedly his lover and his dedicated lawyer.

It was a moment of silence as both individuals were important to Antes, making it difficult to reprimand someone. Whether it was because the day was cold, suddenly, it felt like a cold wind blew from somewhere. A chilly wind by the name of compassion.

“Ah! By the way, wasn’t Antes’s coachman at the mansion? We could ask him.”

Fortunately, it was not entirely hopeless. Antes’s coachman, who was still training Ena, was at the mansion.

Rushing to inquire the coachman about the location of Antes, Luna went on to purchase some cake and wine and looked for Antes. For the first time, she was excited about how he would react as she approached him first.