When Luna didn’t think to open the door, Antes pushed it open on his own.

“Why? You suddenly disappeared. How could I stay still?”

He said, trying to hold back his anger, as he lowered the mask that covered his face. His lips were firmly pressed together.

“Didn’t you see the note?”

Luna blinked in surprise as she asked. She had left a note when she disappeared unexpectedly, thinking he would understand.

Could it be that the message wasn’t delivered properly?

If so, it would be reasonable for him to be angry. It would seem as though she had disappeared without any word.

But considering that he had come here, he must have heard she was here. Maybe Deborah, who had returned belatedly, told him?

As Luna was speculating, Antes, looking even more annoyed, replied:

“I saw it.”

“What do you mean, you saw it? Then why did you come?”

She had taken the time to carefully write the note, so there was no need for him to respond with such a grim expression.

Seeing Luna’s bewildered face, Antes, with a furrowed brow, responded with his arms crossed:

“How could I not come when you went straight into enemy territory?”

He had been so shocked when he first read the note. He felt his heart drop, truly understanding what that felt like.

He wished he could throw everything aside and stay by Luna’s side 24 hours a day.

He was so worried he thought she might catch a cold if the wind blew. He couldn’t just stand by when she said she was going to charge into the middle of enemy territory with just a note.

“Would you accept it if I suddenly said I would infiltrate an enemy estate and you just replied, ‘Okay’?”

Trying to get Luna to understand how he felt, Antes changed his approach. Basically, he was asking her to put herself in his shoes.

Luna, who seemed to have never thought about it that way before, immediately widened her eyes and shook her head at Antes’s words.

“Uh… no.”

“At least I’m sturdy. In a worst-case scenario, I can fight my way out. But the Lady is’t like that.”

With a look that said he was dying of worry, Luna realized she had acted impulsively.

Even if she believed she could handle things even if her identity was discovered, considering a lawsuit was the worst-case scenario, that wasn’t the problem. It was the worry.

“I was thoughtless. I’m sorry.”

Luna sincerely apologized. Although she had done it because of a golden opportunity, it was true she had caused worry.

Seeing Luna understanding why he was angry and genuinely apologizing, Antes calmed down.

“I won’t do it again. So, please cool down, okay?”

She even shook his arm, asking him to calm down. How could he continue to be mad?

Luna smiled as she saw that he was clearly not angry anymore.

When Luna smiled, the corners of Antes’s mouth slowly began to rise. But then he quickly remembered they were in the middle of enemy territory and became serious again.

“Alright. So, what should we do first? Since we’ve infiltrated, we have to finish the job.”

He said, implying he would take all the risks. Luna then showed him not only Deborah’s contract but also the perfect evidence.

“We just need to escape. I’ve taken out all the documents. I’ve secured the evidence.”

“…I see.”

Why was everything so perfect? She had only infiltrated for half a day and already gathered documents that could ruin the enemy’s plans. He felt a bit foolish for getting angry.

“Then we should quickly escape-“

“Ah, there’s one thing I’m worried about before that. That’s also why I couldn’t escape.”

Antes felt a bit uneasy hearing that there was something more important than escaping the mansion. Luna then explained about Beth, who had distracted the Duke to help her.

“I’m worried about Beth, who drew the Duke’s attention so I could find the documents. I haven’t even seen her face yet.”

“If it’s that servant, I saw her earlier.”

“You did? Where?”

“On the first floor.”

Antes didn’t know where Luna was, so he had searched from the first floor and worked his way up. Although he arrived at the mansion quite some time ago, it took him a while to find Luna.

“It didn’t seem like a particularly dangerous situation. If anything, the one who looked to be in trouble was someone else.”

Luna asked for a detailed explanation after hearing that rather than putting herself in a dangerous situation, she was putting others in a dangerous situation.

“I don’t know the whole context, but from what I saw, the Duke was grilling the butler about whether he really had an affair with the Duchess. The servants seemed to be on edge.”

“…What?! An affair?! The butler and the Duchess?!”

Surprised, Luna widened her eyes, unable to grasp the situation.

“I was too busy looking for you to see the entire thing. But it definitely wasn’t a situation we needed to intervene in. What we need to do now is escape.”

Antes was right. Beth had confidently said she would buy them some time. Besides, rather than immediately helping her, it was better to cause a big scene to distract the Duke.

“Understood. Let’s wait till dawn and then escape.”

“No need to wait till dawn. Just check downstairs and we can leave.”

“…Check downstairs and leave? What do you mean?”

What downstairs? Luna looked confused by Antes’s nonchalant words. In response, he gestured towards the window illuminated by the moonlight.

Following his gaze, Luna asked:

“…Are you suggesting we escape through the window? Using sheets or curtains to climb down?”

“No, I meant just…”

Just jumping. Antes then realized that the method he had come up with was something that ordinary people couldn’t think of, and thought about it for a moment.

If he told her outright, she might get scared and refuse. Instead, as he was about to wrap her arm around her shoulder.

Creak-

The door opened without a knock.

Could it be Beth? She was the only one they expected at this hour. Both Luna and Antes tensed, staring at the door. The person who entered was completely unexpected.

“What is this? What are you doing right now?”

Fersen looked at Luna and Antes in turn, shouting at them with an intense, furious gaze.

He was supposed to be incapacitated by a sedative, how did he get here? Antes quickly shielded Luna and retorted:

“What we do is none of your business. What are you doing here?”

“…We? You said ‘we’ just now?!”

Instead of an answer, he latched onto the word ‘we’.

She clearly promised that she would never meet Antes again, no, she would sort things out and stay by his side forever, but then she betrayed him again.

With bloodshot eyes, Fersen couldn’t hold back and lunged at Antes.

“I’ll kill you, argh!”

However, the natural strength difference was too great. Antes kicked Fersen in the abdomen, causing him to retreat.

Frowning, Antes lifted Luna over his shoulder.

“W-what are you doing?!”

Between the sudden appearance of Fersen, Antes’s actions, and being carried away, Luna was very confused.

There was no time for explanations. Antes quickly headed for the window.

“Wa-wait…!”

But Fersen couldn’t let them go like this, rushed at Antes, wrapping his arms around his kicked abdomen. Despite the pain from the kick, he rose, leaning against the wall, preparing to charge again.

“…I’m sick of it.”

Antes, who was sick of seeing that disgusting face that said he was going to kill them, set Luna down behind him.

He had been holding back, but if Fersen intended to harm both him and Luna, there was no reason to keep doing so.

“I’ll make sure you never walk again.”

Antes was ready for Fersen’s next charge, but unexpectedly, Antes wasn’t Fersen’s target.

“…What?!”