Lukas took a soft cloth from the drawer beside his bed and began quietly polishing his sword.

From the scabbard engraved with the crest of the ducal family to the sharply honed blade.

He worked in silence—until suddenly, he burst out laughing.

"‘Well… I like you too.’"

That face kept replaying in his mind, and Lukas had to stop what he was doing. After laughing to himself for a while, he took a deep breath and picked the cloth up again.

He regretted confessing. Now that he’d been turned down, it hurt more than he’d expected.

Maybe it had been too soon. It had only been two or three months since he realized what he felt.