* * *

“Open the door.”

“Yes…?!”

The servant, being used to following orders, hesitated to open the door to Fersen’s room.

It wasn’t that there was an issue with Fersen. It’s just that he hadn’t been given the hallucinogenic drug this time.

The servant remembered how on the first day, Fersen couldn’t recognize Deborah as Luna and asked the butler about it.

But unlike the butler, there wasn’t a remedy for this situation. The servant felt that he shouldn’t let anyone in without preparation. But if he interfered unnecessarily, he was sure he’d get a slap across the face.

Therefore, when the butler gave a slight nod, the servant with a hesitant face carefully opened the door.

The Duke, with a click of his tongue at the timid behavior, turned around.

“Lead the way.”

Luna, upon hearing that, swallowed her saliva and cautiously stepped inside.

Thankfully or unfortunately, the calming scent coming from inside eased the tension.

As they stepped further in, they saw Fersen lying on the bed. Was he asleep? His eyes were closed. Maybe the scent was so potent he couldn’t wake up.

‘Being confined in this room in this state…’

Even though he deserved it for his actions, she couldn’t help but feel pity.

Even if it was just one-sided from Fersen, they were once genuinely friends.

Caught in her conflicted feelings, the Duke urged Luna to awaken their past bond.

“Are you just going to stand there and watch?”

It wasn’t sarcasm. There was a glint of hope in the Duke’s eyes. He seemed to want to ensure and feel relieved that Luna had Fersen completely captivated.

‘It’s okay. If Deborah was in this situation, it would be understandable to be nervous…’

She was the real one. There was no need to put on makeup and pretend.

With that thought, she turned her head back to Fersen.

“…Luna?”

Hearing her voice, Fersen immediately recognized Luna.

“F-Fersen…?”

“Luna…!”

When Luna called Fersen’s name, he hugged her waist like a lost puppy finding its owner.

Luna’s hands flailed for a moment, but remembering the Duke’s gaze, she lightly patted Fersen’s hair.

That gesture was evidence enough. Having witnessed their affectionate interaction, the Duke turned away and left.

Of course, he wasn’t completely satisfied. After all, his son, after a long separation, was desperately clinging to a woman, and he didn’t want to see it anymore.

Meanwhile, the butler, Beth, and the servant at the door watched in amazement as Fersen clung to Luna’s waist.

When Fersen hadn’t taken the hallucinogen, he distinctly recognized that Deborah wasn’t Luna. What on earth was happening now?

“P-Fersen? Can you let go of me for a moment?”

Luna wanted to say, ‘When did we become this close? The Duke’s gone, let’s part ways!’ but she asked with a soft smile.

Fersen, after gazing at Luna’s face for a while, slowly released his grip.

He blinked and shook his head, then rubbed his eyes and spoke.

“…You seem clearer today. You always seemed blurry before.”

“Is that so? Did your vision suddenly improve or something?”

Luna responded with a dragged-out tone. It appeared that the hallucinogen didn’t make the hallucinations clear, but rather blurred them, disturbing his mind.

Fersen stared silently at Luna, the first clear vision of her in a long time. Even when she was right beside him, he felt a void, as if she wasn’t there. But now, just looking at her face was enough to fill his heart.

“…Is there something on my face? Is my makeup bad?”

Luna felt uneasy under his gaze and tried to dodge the subject, but Fersen replied immediately.

“Why would that be? You’re beautiful. As always.”

Whether she was angry or hit him, Luna was always beautiful to him. He didn’t even notice her makeup; everything about her was beautiful.

‘How can someone be so consistent? We had such a bad breakup, but he’s still saying such things. Of course, Deborah did try to reconcile in between…’

Feeling awkward due to the unexpected compliment, Luna turned her gaze and noticed the butler and Beth watching her. She lowered her eyes and waved her hand.

“…Then, I’ll be going now. I just dropped by. See you later.”

With that, she turned and hurriedly walked out of the room.

After a long time, seeing him was pitiful, but there was no need to face him any longer. There were other things to do.

“Hold on…!”

Fersen reached out to stop Luna, but she was already far away.

Suddenly, he felt he couldn’t let Luna go like this today. Even if it meant escaping the room, he tried to follow her, but…

“Ugh!”

He couldn’t muster the strength to even stand up properly.

Meanwhile, Luna had left Fersen’s room, and the door slammed shut as if she would never tolerate Fersen’s antics again.

The room’s fragrance had lightened when the door was momentarily open, but now it intensified.

If things continued this way, he’d have to lie in bed again, waiting for someone to wake him up.

And the next time he woke up, he feared the vivid Luna he saw today would be gone.

So, Fersen, with his mind starting to fade, struggled towards the source of the fragrance that was debilitating him.

* * *

“…Never do that again. Do you know how shocked I was?”

Returning to the room, Luna was sternly scolded. Beth was reprimanded for daring to make such a terrible proposal to the Duke.

“If it weren’t for young master Fersen getting used to Deborah’s face…”

Beth was angry, asking what Luna would have done if she had pretended not to know.

Fortunately, Beth and the butler believed that Fersen, being more familiar with Deborah’s face, no longer needed hallucinogens and would recognize Deborah as Luna.

It was an obvious conclusion since there’s no way they would think the real Luna appeared.

Even though she had no such intentions, Luna, looking down, promised in a sullen voice to be more cautious in the future.

“…Anyway, you’ve gained the Duke’s trust. Please bring me the documents soon. I’ll arrange for young master Fersen to prepare to leave the mansion.”

But just as she was saying that-

Knock-knock.

“The Duke is waiting for you in his office.”

A servant of the mansion called Luna to the office to receive a promised check.

Both Beth and Luna’s eyes lit up. An opportunity to confidently enter the usually restricted office had come.

“…It might be hard to find everything quickly. Just look discreetly. I’ll find a way to get the Duke out of the office. You don’t have to take everything.”

A few documents with critical evidence were enough, such as a list of hundreds of fictitious people created by the Duke and nobles.

Beth gave Luna a key, which could unlock most of the drawers, suggesting she was always prepared.

With such preparations, Luna felt this might be her only chance to steal the documents and headed towards the Duke’s office.

* * *

“You’ve fooled my stupid son well.”

The Duke’s feelings seemed mixed. Although everything was going as planned, he wasn’t exactly happy about using and discarding his own child.

Nevertheless, he still intended to honor the promised check. He stamped and signed a check for five thousand gold and handed it to Luna.

“The remaining five thousand gold will be paid after childbirth.”

Ten thousand gold in total, a larger sum than Luna expected, made her nervous as she took the check.

And, just in case, she checked if anything was missing, and something strange that wasn’t found in a normal check caught her eye.

“This…”

This was the part where the recipient was designated. It was a restriction that anyone other than the person concerned couldn’t retrieve the money.

It was surprising that she, a poor person who didn’t even know the number of checks, recognized that item, but it wasn’t something worth hiding.

“It’s just a precaution. Just in case you run away with the check and disappear.”

The Duke smirked sinisterly.

Seeing the transaction was done, and there was no reason to stay, but suddenly, there was an alert.

“Your Excellency! Your Excellency! Come out quickly! Something terrible has happened!”

Beth’s voice came from outside the door, sounding urgent as if there was a fire, which made the frowning Duke rise from his seat.