‘What kind of answer is that?’
I stared at him wide-eyed in disbelief, but Rastan continued with a faint smile.
“While you are staying here, I hope you will just make yourself comfortable. And I would be grateful if you could stay as long as possible.”
At this point, it almost felt like Rastan’s and Sally’s lines were synchronized.
Fortunately, that was as far as it went. As if he didn’t want to burden me, he lightly changed the subject.
“By the way, when are you planning to break off your engagement?”
“As soon as possible.”
“Then it seems we will have to visit your family at least once. To discuss the matter with them.”
“That is exactly the problem. To break off an engagement between nobles, the consent of both families’ heads is needed.”
As for the money that had to be returned to House Lansval, I could prepare it even with the funds I currently had. More than that, the real issue was persuading my father to agree.
I also had to convince him not to sell me off to some other strange noble House after the engagement was broken.
Since there was no solid proof that my family wasn’t behind the attempted kidnapping, I hesitated even to go and bring the matter up.
Yet Rastan, who would surely be aware of all those issues, asked as if it were nothing.
“Are there any other problems? For instance, the possibility that you might regret this decision.”
“Regret? My intention to break off the engagement is absolutely firm.”
At that, he lifted the corner of his lips in satisfaction.
“I see. Then may I help you with that?”
“How?”
“I will try persuading Count Krone to agree to the annulment. Ah, and do not worry about the money.”
I realized at once that he was trying to spend his own money for my sake again, and immediately opened my mouth.
“That’s…!”
But he was faster.
“Did I not tell you? To me, it is money that makes no difference whether I have it or not. If it proves useful to you, that alone would give me the greatest joy.”
“Even so, you cannot just spend money like that…”
“Evelyn.”
Rastan gently stopped me as I was about to rush ahead.
“If you scoop a cup of water from the sea, does the sea diminish?”
“That…”
When I fell silent and stared blankly with my mouth slightly open, he smiled.
“I want you to use some of this seawater. Even if you use it freely, it may not even show. I am telling you this so you won’t refuse things like this again.”
Unable to answer either that I would or that I wouldn’t, I just blinked stupidly.
“Is it okay for me to spend your money so freely… just because we are friends?”
At that, the smile faded from Rastan’s face, and his voice lowered.
“To me, you are not just a friend.”
Curious about what he would say next, I widened my eyes and looked at his face.
“To me you are precious, my one and only…”
He stopped there, seeming to hesitate over the next words, then pressed his lips together as if he couldn’t bring himself to say them.
After waiting a moment, I teasingly picked up the unfinished end of his sentence.
“Friend?”
He let out a slow sigh.
“…Haa.”
“My goodness. Do you really have only one friend in the world?”
I smiled with my eyes, pretending to be surprised. Rastan, as if returning to reality at my joke, lightly lifted the corner of his lips again.
“I have many acquaintances… but if you define a friend as ‘someone who stays by my side purely for my sake, without calculating what they might gain from me,’ then that seems to be the case.”
This time, it was my turn to be left speechless.
‘What is he even saying? He’s the one giving everything to me.’
I could have thought it was calculated behavior meant to draw me into a contract marriage.
But if it were only for that purpose, it was far too excessive every single time, and every time, I could feel his sincerity.
‘Which means…’
I didn’t know the exact reason, but this gullible Duke liked me and was doing his utmost for his one and only friend.
In my previous life — no, until not long ago — I thought I knew Rastan well. But now I had to admit it.
‘There is still so much I don’t know about this man. No, I actually know him even less than I did in my previous life. What kind of person he really is.’
Even so, no matter who he was or what kind of feelings he held for me, I could feel that he was being sincere with me.
Hadn’t he told me that he wouldn’t care even if I were a witch — no, even a demon— when I worried about that myself? If so, then it was only right that I become that kind of person for him as well.
‘No matter what kind of power Rastan has, whether he tells me everything right away or not.’
Just a friend who trusts him as a person, and helps him with all her strength.
‘I don’t know when I’ll find Rosie and leave this ducal estate, but at least while I’m here, I’ll do everything I can to help Rastan in every way possible.’
I lifted my eyes and met his beautiful blue gaze.
“If that is how you define a ‘friend’, then I will be your true friend. Because you have already been that kind of person to me.”
Rastan stared at me blankly, then his face turned as if he might burst into tears.
Something seemed to surge up inside him, emotions too complex for me to grasp, clearly reflected in his eyes.
“…”
After looking at me in silence for a moment, he stepped forward and pulled me tightly into his arms.
“Thank you. I cannot fully express what I am feeling right now with just the word thank you, but I cannot think of a better one.”
He released his hold, then took both of my shoulders and looked into my face with eyes as if gazing at the most beloved thing in the world.
As if holding back what he truly wanted to say, he bit his lip until it reddened. Then, slowly, he opened his mouth again.
“If I were to burden you right now, you would fly away. Like a butterfly riding the wind.”
“A burden…?”
Rastan bit his lip again and lowered his gaze.
As his cool eyes dropped, a sudden shadow fell over his face.
The abrupt change in atmosphere made me tense without realizing it, and I swallowed hard, focusing on his words.
“If I act rashly, you will obviously get scared and run away.”
He raised one hand and lightly caught my chin between his thumb and forefinger, lifting it slightly.
At the end of my naturally raised gaze were his blue eyes that felt like they might pull me in.
After quietly looking into my eyes for a moment, whatever crossed his mind made him let out a faint, crooked smile.
“I’ll just dig a burrow and wait. So that one day, you will catch the scent of honey and walk in on your own.”
This man really was treating me like an animal, a butterfly, a bear…
“I already came to the ducal manor of my own will.”
At that, one corner of his lips lifted in a self-mocking curve.
“That is right. On the premise that it is temporary, and only your body.”
What he meant was that he wanted me to stay here not just temporarily, but for a long time, with my status bound to his.
Which meant, in the end…
‘So this is how he’s asking for a contract marriage?’
A small, incredulous laugh slipped out at the thought that high-ranking nobles all twisted and turned their words like this to convey their true intentions.
But honestly, while I was receiving all kinds of help and benefits from him, it also felt ridiculous to give back only a pitifully small favor and call it a fair deal in my own head.
‘If I’ve been receiving this much, it’s about time my conscience grew a spine. Or has it already?’
And more important than conscience was the fact that I was human too. To be honest, no matter what this man — who seemed like the very embodiment of the word “charm” — did, it didn’t feel burdensome or unpleasant.
‘No, not unpleasant? That’s underselling it. Even if it’s fake, even if it’s temporary, becoming this man’s fiancée would be an honor to me.’
At the very least, Rastan would play the role of a devoted fiancé for appearances alone.
Which meant that as long as I held the status of fiancée, I could legally monopolize this captivating man.
‘…Of course I know. It’s a bit of a crazy thought.’
But my heart was honest. Just thinking it made it start pounding rapidly.
Like I said before, this absolutely wasn’t because I was some woman who fawned over men. Rastan was just excessively attractive.
“Ahem.”
Embarrassed by my own thoughts, I cleared my throat for no reason and lifted one hand to cup his cheek.
“Rastan.”
At that, he raised his hand with a slightly dazed look and covered the back of my hand with his own.
“If you want, I will stay here for as long as I can. I cannot promise until when, though.”
Even after finishing my revenge and finding Rosie, I could still stay a few more days, at least.
Hearing that, Rastan looked somewhat moved.
He lowered his hand to grip my waist and pulled me close to him, and in an instant, my entire body was pressed tightly against his.
