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Chapter 10
Ivnia carefully raised a question.
“Are you not going to let this person go?”
“A lady of a noble house always needs a knight.”
Although the question was addressed to Seven, the answer came from Guillermo.
It seemed that, like Hanna, this knight was also someone recruited for the new lady.
He had been forcibly detained in an unwanted place for three years.
It wasn’t a situation where a guest passing through could meddle.
He had been captured after invading the castle, so it was hard to take his side.
Seeing Ivnia’s conflicted expression, Guillermo added a comment to help her make a quick decision.
“If you want, you can take him with you. But you should know in advance that he invaded the castle with the intention of stealing.”
“Oh…”
“No, my lady! That’s not wrong, but I didn’t mean it in a bad way, my lady! Are you listening to me?”
When Ivnia whispered quietly, Max desperately tried to persuade her to change her mind.
The fact that he was defending himself by saying he didn’t have bad intentions suggested that he wasn’t completely innocent.
Ivnia didn’t want to willingly add more hardship to her life’s second chapter, which had already begun with difficulty.
She avoided Max’s eyes and muttered.
“I’ll think about it…”
“My lady! Please reconsider!”
“Don’t make a scene, Sir Max.”
Guillermo cut him off with irritation.
His warning was not just a caution.
The moment Guillermo flicked his fingers, Sir Max disappeared from sight, as if he had been sent elsewhere.
Ivnia had never seen someone move like that, so she thought only Ram could do it.
Perhaps she was wrong.
Guillermo, who had easily removed the troublesome man from her sight, leaned his cheek on his hand and spoke with concern.
“Did I bring such a knight without manners in front of the lady?”
“Do you expect a knight to behave properly after making him chop wood for three years?”
Seven responded, sounding exasperated, then let out a long sigh.
He shook his head and said,
“Now that introductions are over, I’m leaving. You, kid, if you ever feel like talking to that fish-brain doesn’t make sense, come find me. Don’t come often—only when it’s necessary.”
The crow called Levi also seized the opportunity to say goodbye.
“I’m leaving too. Tell the master that if he doesn’t bathe me today, I’ll run away. Caw!”
Seven left through the door as he had entered, and Levi flew out through the window.
The problem was that the window was closed, and the crow was larger than a child and strong enough to break the glass.
As Levi flew out with agile skill, the glass shattered with a clattering sound, breaking along with the bars.
Ivnia’s bedroom was ruined in an instant.
Hanna, frightened, shouted, “I’ll go get a broom!” and ran out.
After the commotion, the room finally fell silent.
“Well, let’s set aside the unimportant issues.”
After a brief silence, Guillermo shrugged and dismissed the situation. Then, crossing his arms, he slowly walked toward Ivnia.
His mysterious silver hair softly swayed above the black mask.
Although the mask covered almost his entire face, the visible eyes and lips revealed enough to roughly read his expression.
He looked down at Ivnia with a mixture of interest and suspicion and said,
“By the way, why does our bride want to leave this place?”
“……”
“Is there even a reason to?”
Ivnia thought for a moment.
If he learned the hidden truth, would he punish the person who had deceived him—or would he consider her tragic story and show mercy?
Ivnia didn’t delay her answer. The answer was obvious.
“Is it strange that I want to leave?”
“It is strange. Didn’t Sir Max say it’s dangerous for a woman to wander alone?”
“Litberg is no different from a foreign land to me. It’s hard to be confident it’s safe.”
Guillermo’s eyebrows lifted slightly. He seemed to be gauging the truth of her words.
Someone like him probably wouldn’t feel danger anywhere in the world, so he would have difficulty understanding ordinary people’s standards.
As expected, he remained silent, unsure, and couldn’t accuse her carelessly.
Ivnia added, as if to drive a wedge in.
“There’s a crow that scolds me for looking around, and a knight who looks like he’d get tetanus if I touch him.”
To escape the awkward situation, Ivnia “sold” the two who had been relatively unfriendly to her.
Fortunately, it worked, and Guillermo took a step back.
“Is that so?”
As she heard his murmured words, she felt the momentum shifting toward her.
It was now time to change the subject naturally.
“If you don’t mind, may I ask one question?”
“Go ahead.”
“Why do you seem displeased that I’m leaving?”
She had been given the chance to ask, and it was a question she had actually been curious about.
Why had this man brought a fake bride before his master?
Even though he knew she wasn’t the daughter of the Hassen family, but the reincarnation of the former wife.
The question seemed to intrigue Guillermo as well.
He raised the corner of his mouth as if amused and walked past Ivnia toward the window.
She had thought before that he didn’t seem like the kind of person who would serve under someone else.
He could act polite when necessary, but he never hid that his respect depended entirely on his mood.
Guillermo tapped the broken window with a bird-like gesture and asked,
“Do you remember what that crow said earlier?”
Ivnia recalled what Levi had said.
It wasn’t difficult. The crow hadn’t said much before leaving.
“…He said he’d run away if he didn’t get a bath today?”
“He called me a slave.”
“Oh.”
Now that she thought about it, he had said that too. He even emphasized it twice.
She had assumed he was just trying to irritate her, but perhaps there was a more serious meaning.
Guillermo pressed his fingers to his forehead with a look of anguish and murmured.
“Damn it… that’s the truth.”
“…Weren’t you some kind of butler?”
“I used to be a great being. Until that arrogant blessed one, who gained immortality despite being born human, came looking for me.”
As he spoke, Guillermo slowly traced the air above the window with his remaining hand.
The shattered glass returned to its original form, and color rose like smoke inside it.
Only after the window was fully restored did Ivnia realize he was drawing a scene from the past.
Inside a tiny, puppet-like stage, two finger-sized people were engaged in a fierce battle.
Of course, because of the style, it didn’t feel particularly fierce.
“We fought for three days and nights. It was unfair. I did nothing wrong, but he came and attacked me unprovoked. He knew me, but I knew nothing about him.”
“Ah…”
“There were moments when victory leaned toward me, but in the end, he cowardly used my weakness to bring me down. It was a humiliating defeat. He even captured me and dragged me to his home. He told me to clean the castle if I wanted to live. Ha, what a joke!”
“I see…”
Ivnia responded reluctantly.
Even though the story was only told from his perspective, she had the feeling there was more to it.
From what she’d observed, Agram was not the kind of villain who would use force against innocent people.
But the man in front of her had already deceived her and the Hassen count’s family.
Ivnia asked with the most rational expression she could manage.
“But what does that have to do with keeping me here?”
