Of course, you knew what I was talking about! Terdeo gently closed his eyes and twirled my hair with his fingers.
"Every time I see you, my thirst just keeps coming back."
"Well, then, drink some water."
"Are you trying to kill me with thirst?"
Terdeo slowly ran his tongue over his lips. Strangely, I felt a similar thirst rising in my throat. I sneered at Terdeo, who was baring his teeth as if he was about to swallow me whole.
"Seems like the one who's hungry isn't you, but me."
I reached out and grabbed the collar of Terdeo's shirt, pulling him closer. Then, I lightly bit his lower lip, just enough to feel a tingling sensation without drawing blood. As I felt his thick lips, my breath grew hot.
"Tonight, the one who needs to be careful isn't me, but you."
Terdeo stared blankly, seemingly surprised by my actions. But soon, he burst into loud laughter that echoed through the mansion.
"If that's the case, I'll have to eat you whenever I want."
Terdeo smiled widely and tilted his head. As I caught his deepening scent, I gently closed my eyes. My heart was pounding. Just as his upper lip lightly touched mine, I heard hurried footsteps.
"Mom!"
"Sis!"
The cute little ones burst into the room without knocking.
"We decided to form an alliance! Sis!"
"We're going to team up and take Mom away from His Highness the Duke... Huh? Why are you two like that?"
"Sis, why are you lying on the bed? Uh? His Highness, why are you lying in the corner of the floor?"
Caught off guard by the sudden entry of the children, I pushed Terdeo away with all my strength and fell onto the bed. Terdeo, who was suddenly pushed, was thrown to the corner of the floor. He rubbed his neck and pretended to be unaffected as he got up.
"I just dropped something on the floor."
Then, he looked at the two children with a somewhat menacing expression.
"By the way, you two think you can beat me together?"
Aillette and Selpheus, who had declared war, clenched their fists tightly and got into a fighting stance. Terdeo, amused by their brave appearance, spoke in a scary voice to intimidate them.
"Let's see if you can beat me."
Terdeo sneered.
"I'll start counting from one and then come to catch you two. Let's see how well you can run. One, two..."
"Heehee! His Highness is coming to catch us! Selpheus, let's run!"
"We won't be caught! We're incredibly fast!"
The two children, who had apparently become close, held hands tightly and laughed confidently as they ran out of the bedroom. Terdeo, watching their retreating figures, slowly walked out and tilted his head back. He mouthed 'rest' to me and closed the door to let me rest.
"Three... I'm coming to catch you."
I heard Terdeo's slow footsteps as he followed the children. Beyond the bedroom, I could hear the innocent laughter of the two children. It was the first time I had heard such lively spring laughter in this mansion. Feeling the warmth, I fell onto the bed and closed my eyes. It was a happiness I never wanted to lose. *** It had been a few days since I returned from the Artenu Empire.
"That's strange."
I sipped my tea and tilted my head.
"The witch is too quiet."
Gloria, who was enjoying tea time with me, nodded.
"It seems she hasn't even gone to that temple. She just takes a walk around the palace grounds and doesn't go out."
I thought she would definitely take action after her identity was revealed. But contrary to my expectations, Dodorea did nothing.
"Even more surprisingly, she forgave Reina, who tried to run away. What's her plan?"
Terdeo, who had been busy with rebel affairs, also said he hadn't seen Dodorea.
"What does Phineas say?"
"It seems that in ancient times, there was a magic that could extinguish souls."
"Such magic existed?"
"Given that so many witches are not alive today, Phineas speculates that many witches disappeared due to this soul-destroying magic in ancient times."
Gloria put down her teacup.
"Of course, we can't use magic, so we need to find an alternative. ...There must be a way."
"..."
"More than that, I looked into what you asked me to."
Hearing Gloria's words, I rolled my eyes. What did I ask her to look into? I couldn't remember immediately because of all the recent events.
"You asked me to investigate the maid Rebecca Knights and the noble Fortun."
"Ah...!"
I nodded, clapping my hands. Since Adeus had already told me the reason he approached me, it was fine, but...
"Have you been busy with parties and salons because of my request?"
I felt a bit guilty and looked at Gloria. She smirked and reached out to gently stroke my hair.
"No. I was enjoying myself after a long time. I also gathered various information. There's a difference between hearing it secondhand and hearing it directly."
"Thank you."
"Before you even heard it?"
Gloria laughed loudly and continued.
"Anyway, the Knights family is currently debt-free and very clean."
The moment I heard Gloria's answer, my eyes narrowed. Rebecca's face came to mind.
"From what I heard, the Knights family was heavily in debt and on the brink of bankruptcy."
"That's also true. The Knights family almost fell, but a large transaction at the last moment paid off all their debts, and now they are managing their territory well."
I suddenly remembered a conversation I had with Rebecca. When I asked if she was struggling with the family's debt, she hastily waved it off, saying her relatives had helped her manage it.
"Seems different from the rumors in society."
Recalling that moment, my eyes narrowed involuntarily.
"Exactly. You wouldn't know unless you investigated it yourself. They're not a particularly influential family, so no one would bother to investigate them."
Being on the brink of bankruptcy due to heavy debt was a disgrace for a noble family. Even if it were true, they would usually deny it. But the Knights family didn't try to shake off those rumors.
"Could this have happened before she became my maid?"
"A few days after she became a maid for the Laphireon family, the large debt was paid off."
Last time, when I brought Rebecca to the mansion, I deliberately ordered her to bring flowers from the garden. If the Knights family was still struggling with debt, they wouldn't have been able to hire a gardener, and the garden wouldn't have been well-maintained. But the servant who brought Rebecca brought very beautiful flowers from the Knights family's garden. They were even expensive and rare flowers imported from another country. I recalled Rebecca's nervous chatter when she first met me, her tears of fear when she saw Cersia, and her constant weeping and worrying over me whenever I was hurt or in danger. I clenched my fists tightly. When I dismissed Rebecca from the mansion and asked Gloria to investigate, I had a hunch this might happen. But hearing it directly made my heart heavy.
"Are you okay, dear?"
Seeing my silence, Gloria asked worriedly.
"Did that maid betray you or do something bad to you?"
She seemed ready to burn down the Knights family at any moment. I wanted to talk to Rebecca first. I forced a smile.
"No, nothing like that. I'm fine, Lady Gloria. Thank you."
"Really?"
"Yes, of course."
"If she ever hurt you or tried to betray you, tell me anytime. I'll tear her lips and snap her neck."
"Yes, if that's the case after talking to her, I will..."
I clenched my fists so tightly that my palms ached.
"Then I will definitely tell you."
"Alright. I trust your judgment and caution. We can talk about Fortun another time, right?"
"No, it's fine. Let's talk about it now."
Gloria took a sip of tea.
"There's nothing particularly surprising about Fortun. ...However."
"However?"
"It's strangely difficult to find news about his time studying abroad. It seems he doesn't know anyone there."
Gloria rubbed her eyes.
"I think I need to investigate this further."
Adeus had said he wanted to take revenge on Terdeo. Could he have deliberately erased his past for revenge? It's not impossible. The precious person Adeus lost due to the war led by Terdeo. I nodded, feeling a bitter taste in my mouth.
"Please do."
My heart was in turmoil, as if a storm had just passed. I checked the clock and put down my teacup.
"Can I take my leave early today?"
"Do you have prior commitments?"
"There's a bird that visits around this time... I need to check on it today."
I have a lot of questions.
"Wild birds can't be tamed. Don't get attached or use it. Think of it as a bird that will come and go."
Gloria smiled as if she knew everything. I smiled back at her and got up. I instructed a nearby maid to prepare the carriage. I got into the prepared carriage and left the mansion. As I reached the entrance, I saw a familiar figure lingering nearby.
'A bird that has lost its nest.'
I opened the carriage window and whispered his name softly.
"Adeus."
Hearing my call, Adeus, who had been looking around the mansion, stiffened and raised his shoulders. When he turned around, he was holding a gift as usual.
"Come here."
I beckoned to Adeus with my fingers. He ran forward like a puppy upon receiving my command.
'Not a bird, but a lost puppy.'
I could almost see a tail wagging behind Adeus, as if he had found his owner.
"Let's talk in the carriage."
I gestured to the carriage, and Adeus shook his head, offering the gift in his hand.
"I just wanted to give you this and leave..."
"Get in. Do you want me to say it twice?"
I pressed my temples, and Adeus reluctantly climbed into the carriage.
"Is your injury better now?"
"Injury?"
"…It's better now. I can walk around comfortably on my own."
"When I rescued you from the mountain, you couldn't walk on your own, could you?"
Adeus, who was caught off guard, flinched and lowered his gaze. This obedient reaction was something I had never seen before.
"I have a question. Why have you been giving gifts for days and just leaving?"
Adeus scratched his head and laughed awkwardly in response to my question. It was refreshing to see him back down, after always rebutting me endlessly and leaving me speechless.
"If you're going to give gifts, it's better to see me face to face."
Seeing me face to face would help clear up misunderstandings with Terdeo and allow him to apologize directly to Terdeo. Adeus smiled bitterly and avoided my gaze. He mumbled softly.
"I thought you wouldn't want to see me..."
Adeus slumped his shoulders pitifully, like a dog abandoned by its owner. Seeing this, I opened my mouth wide in surprise.