* * *

Returning to her room as if nothing had happened, Deborah unexpectedly felt her legs give way and she slumped into a seat.

Pretending to be fine and acting indifferent wasn’t an easy feat.

Moreover, despite her efforts to appear okay, her heart felt like it would burst from worry about his mother. She wanted to meet and see for herself but felt tears about to fall, knowing that wasn’t possible in the current situation.

“Don’t worry about your mother, she’s really fine. I’ll find a moment of carelessness to arrange a meeting, so just be patient for a little while.”

The servant, who seemed to sense Deborah’s feelings, consoled her. Deborah nodded, holding back her tears.

In truth, the servant’s words weren’t based on direct observations, so it wasn’t possible to determine their truthfulness.

However, there was no other choice but to trust her.

“Also, young master Fersen isn’t a bad person, so I don’t think anything bad will happen.”

The word ‘perhaps’ was implied but left unsaid.

This wasn’t to say that they would recklessly send Deborah out. Given Fersen’s current state, he wasn’t capable of doing anything on his own, so idle words were best avoided.

With the help of the servant, Deborah took a bath and adorned her face with a variety of cosmetics she had never seen before.

After a while, the servant, checking Deborah’s appearance from various angles, let out a small exclamation.

“…To anyone who looks, you would be mistaken for Lady Peils.”

Although Deborah did resemble Luna, on closer inspection, there were subtle differences between them. But with makeup adjustments, she looked almost indistinguishably similar.

“Really…?”

Deborah, upon seeing her reflection, asked with a shaky expression.

So this is what Luna Peils looks like. The image did resemble her, but it was fairer and the eyes were sharper.

As she continued to gaze into the mirror, captivated by the face that was both familiar and slightly different, the servant handed her something.

“Engage in casual conversation with Fersen and then give him this to eat.”

Deborah looked down to see a small, round pill. The servant readily answered Deborah’s questioning gaze:

“It’s a sleeping pill. Once taken, he’ll fall asleep within minutes. Don’t worry, it won’t harm him.”

The employee reassured her that there would be no problem with the body.

“You’ll be given one pill every day, so use it judiciously and put Fersen to sleep. Of course, you mustn’t forget what the Duchess has entrusted to you before he falls asleep.”

Deborah hid the pill and nodded with a serious expression. Any mistake wasn’t permissible. Not just she, but everyone might be in danger if there were slip-ups.

With her resolve renewed, she left the room with the servant, then sought out the butler. She needed to ensure all preparations were flawless.

“It’s identical. Apart from sleeping, you should look like this every day.”

The butler, who had seen Luna’s face more than anyone else in the mansion besides Fersen, assured her confidently.

Relieved, Deborah nodded in agreement.

The butler began listing precautions once more and then escorted Deborah to Fersen’s room. His room was located in the sunniest and most scenic part of the mansion.

“Lastly, if you feel like you’re about to make a mistake, just keep your mouth shut. Today is just a formality, so no unnecessary talk.”

The butler, giving advice like a broken record, sighed deeply as he knocked on the door.

Knock, knock.

“Young master Fersen, you have a visitor.”

There was no response from inside, but without waiting for one, the butler signaled the door guard, who immediately opened the door.

“…!”

An unfamiliar scent wafted out. Without thinking, Deborah covered her nose and mouth. The door guard explained:

“It’s an aroma to calm one’s mind.”

Upon deliberately smelling again, a faint medicinal scent was discerned.

What situation demanded such calming scents?

Having been reassured that everything was prepared, her heart raced at the mention of an aroma for calming.

“Go in.”

The butler ushered her in, signaling for her to follow. One consolation was that both the butler and the door guard accompanied her.

Following them cautiously, Deborah saw Fersen lying motionless on a large bed. He was turned away, so his face wasn’t visible, but bandages were wrapped around various parts of his body. Thankfully, his condition didn’t seem life-threatening.

“Young master Fersen, young lady Luna Peils has come to visit. She wishes to apologize, saying the last incident was unintentional.”

While thinking about it, the butler informed Fersen about Deborah’s visit. At that moment, Fersen, who had been lying still without any movement, visibly jumped in surprise.

“Who’s here…? Luna?!”

Then, as he turned his head, Deborah finally saw Fersen’s face.

‘Uh…? It’s very different from what I imagined…’

Different. No, completely different. He didn’t look like someone who would make a contract with a woman he barely knew and spend the night together.

Just showing a gentle smile and expressing affection would probably make many fall for him, so why did this situation happen?

And then, Fersen, upon seeing Deborah’s face, contorted his face and blurted out something unexpected.

“…Where is Luna?”

* * *

Upon returning to the mansion, Rosemary immediately wrote a letter to Crown Prince Callion. It was a request for an urgent and important meeting.

Receiving the letter, Callion involuntarily furrowed his brows. Not even Marquis Vincent, but a mere heir sent a letter wanting to meet him.

Of course, he wasn’t saying he would refuse. Although they hadn’t met often, he was curious about why she, who always acted oddly, had sent such a letter.

So, he called an aide to send a reply on his behalf.

“Tell her I can’t meet any day other than today.”

Upon receiving his response, as if she had been waiting, Rosemary visited the imperial palace.

“We meet often, Lady Vincent.”

“…It’s an honor that you remember me, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

Though her words were polite, Rosemary, with a look that suggested she wasn’t particularly pleased to see him, finished her formal greeting and sat opposite Callion.

“So, what business do you have to request a meeting with someone as busy as me?”

Callion, as always, arrogantly asked.

She hadn’t pleaded. She had just said she urgently wanted to meet, but Rosemary’s eyebrows instinctively furrowed at Callion’s exaggeration.

However, it wasn’t her place to point that out. Struggling to maintain her composure, she cautiously broached her concern.

“How do you feel about someone who steals a close friend’s lover?”

“…Suddenly?”

However, her urgency led her to blurt it out.

She thought he’d understand given his past actions, but Callion looked clueless. Rosemary, clearing her throat, slowly explained,

“Oh, I mean, Your Highness would never do such a thing, so I’m asking how you view people who commit such despicable actions, like trying to steal a friend’s lover.”

“…”

So, why are you asking me that? Unfortunately, Callion once again couldn’t understand Rosemary’s intentions.

Seeing his genuinely puzzled expression, and interpreting it as guilt, Rosemary offered him advice.

“Surely, one should dissuade such behavior, right? In fact, I think the same. While one can’t control feelings, that doesn’t mean-“

Rosemary seemed to have a lot to say, continually voicing her concerns. The essence was: one shouldn’t steal a friend’s lover. Anyone who does so is worthless. Do they even realize how much pain they inflict?

Listening quietly, Callion couldn’t shake off a growing sense of weirdness. Rosemary didn’t specify who she referred to, but he felt accused.

Rosemary didn’t say exactly who was doing this, but somehow he felt like the target was himself.

“But as you said, one can’t control feelings, right? Even if advised against, would it stop?”

To test the waters, seeing Rosemary suddenly stop talking, her face contorted in anger.

“How can you say that…! So you’ll continue behaving like this?!”

What, is it really me? I didn’t do anything, but suddenly what happened?

Could she be referring to Antes and Luna Peils?

Since he had never meant to do that at all, he should have corrected her by asking her what she was talking about, but the situation was turning out to be really funny.

Calion, who was bored and thought it was a good idea, decided to play along.

“I told you. Feelings aren’t easily swayed.”

Seeing his very serious response, Rosemary looked devastated, her hand shaking as she held her tea cup.

How could he correct her misunderstanding when she was reacting like this? He had found Antes funny, but Rosemary was amusing in her own right.

So Carlion covered his mouth with his hand and laughed for a moment, pretending to be worried, then calmed down his expression again and conveyed his thoughts to Rosemary again.

“Of course, if someone more interesting appears, things might change, but for now, I don’t know.”