Since it hadn’t been Anna, suspicion returned to him once again.
He was always looking at me with that disapproving glare, like I was constantly up to something.
And now, wasn’t he being a little too quiet?
I should go to Milan again.
I rose to my feet at once.
Milan was at the training grounds. When I arrived, the knights who saw me stopped what they were doing.
“Count! The young lady is here!”
Milan soon spotted me. Perhaps because I rarely came here, his eyes narrowed the moment he saw me.
“What are you doing all the way out here?”
“I came to watch your training.”
“What?”
“I was curious how you do things.”
This time, I decided not to bring up the reason I came right away. If he were going to tell me just because I asked, he’d have said it already.
Now that things had grown even more distant between us, I needed to lower his guard.
Whether that’s even possible…
I smiled brightly—like I used to in my previous life.
“It’s not like I come here often. Can’t I watch just for a little bit?”
“No.”
A flat rejection. Milan gave me a look of pure annoyance.
“Looks like you have something to say. If you do, spit it out.”
“I don’t have anything to say…”
If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have come all the way here—but I responded with a straight face.
“I’m not here to get in your way. Don’t look at me like that.”
“Seems like you don’t realize how much you’re already getting in the way.”
“You used to only lecture me when we talked. Now we don’t even talk at all.”
“If you’re that desperate to hear my nagging, I can oblige.”
“No, thanks. I didn’t ask to hear it.”
I shot back quickly, and Milan let a faint smirk cross his lips. Then he lowered his voice and said,
“There’s no reason for you to suddenly act all friendly with me. Are you the type to come watch my training because you’re bored? You?”
“Why are you being so suspicious?”
“Can you honestly say you wouldn’t be suspicious if you were me?”
He spoke like he already knew exactly what I was thinking. Maybe my behavior really was suspicious since I never acted this way.
“Go act friendly with the brother you do like and get lost.”
He clearly wasn’t going to believe I came just to watch. There was no reason to stay.
I was driven out of the training grounds in no time.
“What the heck. Why did he bring that brother up?”
I grumbled on my way back to the mansion.
“Is he really clueless, or just pretending?”
There was definitely something off about him—but from his behavior, you’d think he had nothing to do with it. It was confusing.
If it’s not even Milan, then where could it possibly have gone?
Frustrated, I was walking down the hallway when I ran into a maid. She was carrying a laundry basket and had just come out of Milan’s room.
Looks like Milan’s laundry.
She gave me a polite nod, and I didn’t think much of it—until something caught my eye through the mesh holes of the basket.
“Wait a moment.”
“Yes, miss?”
I stopped the maid. I’d seen something in the basket.
Taking a closer look, I was sure of it.
A handkerchief with dirt on it?
The clothes in the basket looked like the ones Milan wore during training.
“Are those his training clothes?”
“Yes, miss. The only new laundry today is his training attire.”
“I see.”
It could’ve been dirt from the training grounds—but the training clothes were spotless.
In fact, Milan’s clothes rarely got dirty. He was the one leading the knights in training, not rolling around on the ground.
So why is only the handkerchief covered in dirt?
“Um… miss?”
While I was lost in thought, the maid called out nervously. She looked uneasy under my gaze.
“Oh, sorry. You can go.”
She looked relieved and hurried off, almost running downstairs in case I stopped her again.
The hallway was now completely empty.
Meaning there was no one around to see me enter Milan’s room.
That handkerchief was suspicious.
Why would Milan have a handkerchief with dirt on it? It looked like he’d used it to wipe mud off his hands.
“…Guess I’ll just check for myself.”
If I didn’t find anything, I could drop the suspicion. After confirming the hallway was clear, I stepped into his room.
It had been a while since I was last here.
Just the same.
It was exactly as I remembered—tidy and organized. I used to visit this room occasionally in the original world, but I didn’t have time to get sentimental. I was trespassing.
I slowly scanned the room.
Nothing on the desk, bookshelf, or display case stood out. I turned my attention to the desk drawers—there were three. I opened the top and the one beneath it.
“Nothing.”
Just his neatly arranged belongings. The bottom drawer was the same.
“Then…”
I glanced around the room. My eyes landed on a framed picture hanging on the wall. I recognized that frame.
Could it be there?
I went to the bookshelf and pulled out the book at the very back. It looked like an ordinary hardcover, but it wasn’t a book. Opening the cover revealed a hollow space inside.
It was the case Milan used to store the key to his safe.
Still the same in this world.
So far, so good. I chuckled quietly, took out the key, and returned the case to its place.
Then I carefully removed the frame from the wall.
Behind it was the safe.
No guarantee it’s in there, but…
I held my breath as I opened it.
The interior wasn’t much different from what I’d seen before when Milan opened it. Just the right size to be hidden behind the frame.
Inside were neatly stacked gold bars.
But in one corner of the safe was something that definitely didn’t belong.
Something that had no business being here in the original world: a black mana stone.
“It was Milan.”
I murmured in shock.
The mana stone I’d buried was sitting right there inside the safe.
Did Milan know what it was when he hid it?
I reached for it—but just then, I heard footsteps outside.
“There.”
“…!”
Milan’s voice came from just beyond the door—so close, it was like he was right outside. I froze in place.
He’s back already?
I was sure he’d be training longer—but somehow he’d returned.
“Did you call for me, Count?”
A woman’s voice followed. Sounded like he was with a maid.
Why is he back so soon…?
At least he didn’t sound like he was about to come in just yet. I had to move fast.
All I could think about was not getting caught in here. I hadn’t even touched the mana stone. I shut the safe and quickly put the frame back in place.
Just as I finished, the doorknob turned.
Already?!
With no time to think, I slipped into the cabinet against the wall.
The moment I got inside, footsteps entered the room.
Milan’s here!
Isn’t it still training time?
Whatever the reason for his early return, I hoped he was just dropping in quickly.
I still had the safe key in my hand. I hadn’t had time to put it back yet.
My plan was to take the mana stone later and return the key afterward.
Eventually, Milan would notice the stone was gone, but that didn’t matter.
He couldn’t exactly accuse me—after all, he said he hadn’t found anything.
Sure, he’ll suspect me—but he can’t prove it.
I held my breath, waiting for Milan to leave.
There were no sounds inside the room. I’d heard footsteps earlier, so he might’ve sat down in his chair.
Why is it so quiet…?
There were a few more footsteps, then silence again.
What’s he doing?
I could only wonder in the stillness.
Then I heard footsteps again, this time sounding urgent.
As I was trying to figure out what was happening, the door opened—and I heard him walk away.
Did he leave?
I waited a moment, then cautiously cracked open the cabinet door. The door to the room was wide open.
He’s not gone for good.
He’d probably be back, so I quietly shut the cabinet again.
Sure enough, the footsteps returned.
What the…?
The sound was getting too close. Heavy steps, moving fast—
“Eek!”
Before I could even prepare myself, the cabinet door flung open.
I screamed.
Milan frowned down at me.
“You… What are you doing in here?”
“Ah…”
How did he know I was in here?
I’d been caught red-handed.
“There were signs someone entered my room.”
It was like he’d read my mind.
“When I checked the key’s hiding place, the key was missing.”
“You saw signs?”
“The bottom drawer. I’d left it slightly open on purpose. But when I returned, it was completely closed.”
You did that on purpose? Not just because it wasn’t fully shut?
“I figured you might come. You’ve been suspicious of me, after all.”
Milan’s gaze was icy.
“I knew from the moment you tried to sneak off with Mother’s heirloom. It’s not like you’re short on jewelry—so why take what’s not yours?”
But you opened the safe in front of me.
In the past, Milan had opened the safe casually right in front of me. He’d never once been cautious around me.
“Tell me. How did you know where I kept the key?”
“Well…”
Should I just say I found it while snooping around?
“I just… already knew.”
But what came out of my mouth was something else entirely.
“What?”
“You opened it in my dream. That’s how I knew. I figured it’d be in there.”
No matter what I said, I was going to get scolded anyway.
Milan frowned deeply at my reply.
“There you go again with nonsense… Why would I open that in front of you?”
“Well, in the dream, you just did.”
“Ridiculous.”
Milan looked at me with a mixture of exasperation and disbelief.
“First that other incident, and now this. The brother you want must only exist in your dreams.”
“…?”
The brother I want…?
