It would be a lie to say I wasn’t surprised.
But if you ask whether it was something unexpected, I’d say it wasn’t.
Kyle, who heard the news Vermilion brought, stared at the other person with his usual indifferent gaze, slowly nodding his head, then spoke.
“It’s faster than expected.”
“You’re not surprised?”
“No, I was quite surprised. I didn’t think they would move so proactively.”
I had expected such a full-scale action to happen much later.
From the beginning, to the Eyes of Dawn, Creed Eleonore wasn’t particularly a valuable target.
Of course, he was the most suitable tool to target Sylvia, but even without him, their organization wasn’t weak enough to not target Sylvia.
So, though it was disappointing, I had assumed they wouldn’t get too involved in this matter, thinking they would just discard such a small pawn.
Even if it was just Sylvia, they might try to eliminate her for their original goal, but I never expected Creed to be on the elimination list this soon.
Anyway, on the surface, he’s an important figure, regarded as the next head of the Lyard family.
It seemed they would avoid touching someone like him, thinking it would cause unnecessary trouble.
‘Does this mean that the failure of this plan made him furious?’
Why is he being so proactive? Kyle wondered.
There are two possibilities.
The first is that the person who found the connection between Creed Eleonore and the Eyes of Dawn somehow learned that it was Kyle who was the instigator.
If they saw him as a threat and decided to cut him off early, it would make some sense.
The second possibility is that, as Kyle thought earlier, maybe he just acted out of anger. But that seemed very unlikely to Kyle.
After all, Creed Eleonore had been patiently planning for years, even before the regression, trying to gain Sylvia in secret, so it was clear they were patient.
This means the first possibility is more likely.
“Did you hear any specific plans?”
“No, unfortunately not.”
“This is troublesome. If it were just about taking care of myself, that would be one thing, but now with Sylvia…”
Kyle clicked his tongue lightly and frowned.
An assassin wouldn’t be able to leave even a scratch on his body, so that wasn’t something to worry about, but the problem was Sylvia.
Just when he had decided to stay as far away from her as possible, this news comes.
Now, it looks like he’ll have to stay close to her and protect her for the time being.
On top of that, he has to worry about whether they’ll come in the middle of the night, so it’s troublesome in many ways.
At least if he left the surrounding surveillance to Primo and set up a barrier, it could serve as a preventive measure, but he wasn’t entirely sure of that either.
“Anyway, thank you. Thanks to you, we can prevent danger.”
“You don’t need to thank me. It was part of the contract from the beginning. By the way…”
“…?”
Vermilion, who had been smiling kindly with a mask-like expression, suddenly narrowed his eyes.
The smile, which had been full of goodwill, now held a mischievous glint, almost like Sylvia’s smile.
Kyle frowned, sensing a strange unease, and Vermilion spoke with a subtle tone.
“I heard it’s just a contractual relationship, but you seem to have gotten quite close with the princess. Especially during dinner, it seemed like you were quite enjoying yourself.”
“If you’re going to say useless things, just get lost.”
“You seem to be reacting sensitively, so I guess you’re aware of it?”
“Awareness, my ass.”
Kyle, who usually refrains from cursing unless alone, growled loudly, but Vermilion just shrugged with a leisurely expression.
Though he was a man to be revered for his magic, in moments like this, Vermilion couldn’t help but realize he was just another immature peer.
It was clear that Vermilion also had some feelings for Sylvia.
A man who doesn’t care about a woman he doesn’t even have feelings for doesn’t exist.
Yet, despite this, he maintained an attitude that he didn’t care about her, which was frustrating to observe from the outside.
“If I may offer advice, a man’s cold attitude is quite off-putting.”
“If you have time to say such nonsense, just get lost. Let me think for myself.”
“Right.”
Despite Kyle’s harsh words, Vermilion just got up from his seat with a mischievous smile.
He wasn’t the type to meddle in other people’s love lives, so he’d just have to watch this unfold.
Still, Vermilion found himself oddly fond of Kyle, who seemed to have such human traits that he hadn’t expected, even though he appeared so distant as a magician.
The rope he had chosen didn’t seem so bad after all.
The next day, Sylvia woke up to a fresh morning and got ready.
Back at the Kaintreche Castle, on lazy days, she used to wear simple clothes and didn’t bother with makeup, but since staying at the Lyard family’s mansion, she had lost that habit.
No, it was more like she was forcing herself to correct it, so it didn’t pop out on its own.
Even though it was a bit cumbersome, she had gotten used to dressing in pretty clothes and doing light makeup.
‘Good.’
As she checked herself in the mirror one last time, she smiled contentedly.
It was obvious that Kyle would avoid her as much as possible from the morning, so it was clear she would have to start a game of hide-and-seek.
Her first goal today was to spend some time alone with Kyle before breakfast.
She convinced herself that she could do it, grabbing the doorknob and trying to leave the room.
Creak.
“Good morning, Sylvia.”
“Ahhh…!?”
At the sound of a familiar voice suddenly coming from beside the door, Sylvia let out a sharp scream and stumbled backward.
But because she shifted her weight incorrectly due to the shock, her body tilted, and the distance between her and the ground gradually narrowed.
Just as she squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for the coming impact, something grabbed her hand roughly and simultaneously supported her waist.
Grab.
“Are you all right? It seems I startled you this morning.”
“Ah… I-I’m fine.”
When she realized that Kyle was holding her by the waist and their faces were close together—almost like a scene from an intense ballroom dance—Sylvia’s face flushed red.
As Kyle straightened her body and let go of her hand, a fleeting sense of disappointment flashed across Sylvia’s face.
But more than disappointment, what bubbled up even more strongly was confusion.
Because she couldn’t figure out why Kyle was standing idly by her door in the middle of the day.
“More importantly, Kyle, what brings you here?”
“I thought I’d stop by to have a quick chat before breakfast. The weather’s nice today, so I wondered if you’d like to take a walk.”
“…Huh!?”
Was this a dream or reality?
Kyle—of all people—was suggesting a stroll, essentially inviting her to a private moment together?
Pinch.
Sylvia pinched her cheek, wondering if she was still caught in a sweet dream, but the sharp pain proved that this was not a dream.
That meant the Kyle standing before her wasn’t some figment of her imagination but the real deal?
If that was true, then… was Kyle playing some kind of trick on her?
She couldn’t help but think so because, considering Kyle’s behavior toward her recently, he had practically been radiating a vibe of “Stay away from me.”
Sylvia had even been racking her brain earlier, wondering how to approach him.
That’s how clear it had been—Kyle’s attitude toward her had been unmistakably cold and distant, almost like he was trying to push her away.
But today? It was like the sun had risen in the west—or perhaps from both the east and west at the same time.
Feeling suspicious, Sylvia stared at Kyle for a moment before she couldn’t hold it in any longer and blurted out,
“…Kyle, are you feeling unwell today?”
Kyle was so taken aback by the question that he was momentarily at a loss for words.
But he couldn’t exactly argue—it was his fault things had turned out this way in the first place.
“No, I’m perfectly fine, so don’t worry.”
“If you say so… I’m glad to hear that.”
Even as Sylvia nodded calmly and sighed in relief, she still seemed unsettled as her eyes roamed over him.
Just then, a servant approached them and bowed respectfully.
“Excuse me, Lady Sylvia. The madam would like to see you for a moment this morning. Do you have some time?”
“You mean right now? Yes, of course… I have time.”
Of all times… For the matron of the Lyard family to summon her directly in the morning?
She had thought today would be a lucky day since Kyle had sought her out first thing in the morning, but now it seemed her plans were starting to unravel.
Even so, since conversations with Roxanne were usually pleasant, Sylvia forced a smile and turned to Kyle.
“Sorry, Kyle. It looks like we’ll have to postpone our walk for later. I’ll see you later.”
“No, I’ll come with you.”
“…What?”
Sylvia’s eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected response.
Come with her? Where to?
Was he really planning to follow her?
The Kyle she knew would have gladly taken the excuse to walk away without looking back.
Slide.
“…Kyle, are you sure you don’t have a fever? Maybe you should get checked…”
“……”
Feeling that something was seriously wrong, Sylvia stood on her toes and placed her hand on his forehead to check his temperature.
‘Was I really that cold to her?’
Kyle was once again left speechless by Sylvia’s sincere, worried expression—there wasn’t even a trace of teasing in it.