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Chapter 29
She glanced around for a moment and quietly hid behind a garden tree slightly taller than herself.
Then she returned her attention to the maids’ conversation.
“Yeah. They dragged him back immediately…”
“But why him?”
“His younger brother died a week ago.”
“Oh… what happened?”
“The reason why he died isn’t the important part.”
“Why not?”
“Because that younger brother…”
[Younger brother!]
‘Younger brother? So what! What about it!’
Cookie and Lucillea both became engrossed in the conversation.
The maid paused for a moment, lowering her voice like someone telling a ghost story.
“He… came back alive!”
Another maid, listening, shouted in surprise.
“W-What?! So the younger brother who was supposed to be dead?!”
[Whoa!]
Cookie inhaled sharply in shock, but surprisingly, Lucillea didn’t seem startled.
‘…Huh?’
She simply tilted her head, showing curiosity rather than fear.
From that point, the voices of the two maids gradually faded.
Watching their retreating backs, Lucillea sighed in exasperation.
‘Huh… all sorts of wild stories come out.’
This time… is it a zombie?
‘Well, considering possessions happen here, a zombie isn’t that shocking.’
Then Cookie’s voice echoed in her mind.
[But what’s a zombie?]
‘A corpse that was dead comes back to life and moves.’
[Huh! What’s that?! Like a ghost?]
‘No. Literally, a corpse that died once is moving again. It’s completely different from a soul.’
Lucillea shook her head and muttered quietly.
‘Talk about bad luck. Even with a possession, it had to be this kind…’
“To do it in such a dangerous place…”
At that moment, a voice came from behind Lucillea.
“Do what in a dangerous place?”
‘Eek!’
Startled, Lucillea covered her mouth and quickly turned around.
She met the eyes of a man she had never seen before.
“W-Who—!”
Shh. The man placed a finger over his lips and smiled.
“I didn’t want to get caught eavesdropping.”
“…….”
Lucillea quickly assessed the man.
‘Who is he?’
He seemed about the same age as Elbadin, but he didn’t look like a servant of the Grand Duke’s mansion.
His luxurious clothes and the ornaments dangling from them…
[Those sparkles don’t match this Grand Duke’s mansion!]
Cookie’s comment made Lucillea strongly agree.
‘His face… it glows…!’
Though he appeared suddenly and smiled suspiciously, his very presence exuded elegance, almost like a halo.
His slightly wavy silver hair, purple eyes, pale skin, and gentle smile were like a spring breeze in the Northern Duchy.
Lucillea’s eyes narrowed.
‘Which makes him even more dangerous.’
[Why? He doesn’t look bad.]
‘At this hour, in this mansion, a suspicious adult man casually talking to me—who was spying on the maids. Isn’t that suspicious?’
[Oh! Now that you mention it!]
Instinct spoke.
‘Run!’
Without a word of farewell, Lucillea brushed past the man and hurried toward the west wing library.
As if nothing had happened. As if she had never encountered that suspicious man.
“…….”
The man watched her retreating back quietly and laughed softly. The silver-haired man followed her slowly.
Lucillea tried to walk quickly, but with her shorter legs, he soon closed the distance.
“New face.”
“…….”
“When did you enter the Grand Duke’s mansion?”
“…….”
Lucillea didn’t respond to the voice behind her.
But the man, seemingly full of curiosity, kept asking questions.
“You’re not a maid, right? Did you come here after being chosen by the elite squad?”
“…….”
Unable to bear it any longer, Lucillea stopped in the middle of the garden path.
She spun around and said sharply,
“But who are you?”
“Me?”
“Yes. Who else besides this man is following me here?”
“Sir…?!”
Lucillea looked up at him coldly.
The man looked slightly shocked at being called “sir,” then knelt respectfully and met her gaze.
“You’re right. I rudely asked questions without introducing myself.”
Smiling gently, he said in a friendly tone,
“I am Diego Sidrat, the head of the Sidrat Marquis family.”
“……!”
Recognition dawned on her as memories from the original story resurfaced.
‘The Sidrat Marquis family?’
She had suspected he was a noble.
Not everyone could freely enter the Grand Duke’s mansion.
‘But this man is the head of the Sidrat family?’
She had heard of the Sidrat family, though not Diego by name.
‘The Sidrats were the family who supported Cynthia…’
In the original story, it was a marquis family, not a grand ducal one.
Cynthia, having had an unfortunate childhood, suddenly discovered she had divine power.
Unaware of her power, she couldn’t use it properly.
The Sidrat family recognized her abilities and supported her.
‘It was also because of this family that Cynthia entered the temple.’
More importantly, the secondary male lead’s family was the Sidrats.
Lucillea narrowed her eyes, studying Diego’s face.
‘No way this man is the secondary male lead.’
She asked,
“Do you have a son?”
Diego’s eyes widened.
“How did you—”
“…….”
From his reaction, she guessed he did.
‘His son’s name must be… Raiden. Raiden Sidrat.’
In the original, he was described as a sunny, bright person.
Always smiling, yet his smile never felt fake—a stark contrast to the slightly dark and heavy Serdian.
Raiden knew how to offer the right kind words at the right time, making others feel loved.
Even the heroine Cynthia said, “Raiden’s one word held me back when I was about to fall apart.”
But…
Lucillea’s eyes narrowed further.
‘Why is someone from the Sidrat family in the Grand Duke’s mansion?’
At that moment, a slightly youthful voice called from behind Diego.
“Father.”
Lucillea peeked around Diego to see a boy walking behind him.
[Wow!]
Cookie, seeing Raiden for the first time, gasped in awe, and Lucillea silently admired him too.
‘Whoa!’
The boy resembled his father, with bright silver hair and deep purple eyes.
Under the thinly settled moonlight, Raiden looked almost ethereal.
He walked close enough to Lucillea and Cookie perched on her shoulder, glancing briefly before speaking to Diego.
“What are you doing here? The Grand Duke is looking for you.”
“You know me. I can’t just sit still, so I went for a walk. But…”
Diego’s gaze fell on Lucillea.
“I found a lost child on this dark path.”
Lucillea laughed in disbelief.
‘Who’s lost? I was perfectly fine on my way! And he suddenly appears!’
But she decided not to argue.
If she did, she’d have to admit she had been hiding behind a tree eavesdropping on the maids.
Better to be a lost, fragile girl than to confess that.
Clearing her throat briefly, Lucillea straightened up and smiled faintly.
“Then I’ll be going now. Seems I’ve found my way.”
She immediately turned toward the library.
Then…
“I’ll escort you.”
“……Yes?”
This time, Raiden stood beside Lucillea.
“Even if you know the path, night can be dangerous.”
“…….”
Lucillea looked up at Raiden.
Their eyes met, and his smile was pure and innocent, without any ulterior motive.
[Wow… Lucillea, I feel cleansed just looking at him. He should be a saint, a saint. Or maybe… a holy man.]
‘…….’
Lucillea silently agreed with Cookie’s remark.
If she weren’t careful, she might have fawned over his dazzling smile.
‘No. I must stay composed. He’s not my type anyway.’
‘If anything, my type… is still Serdian.’
Yes. Lucillea preferred the sharp but “gentle only to his woman” type like Serdian, rather than innocent, kind Raiden-like types.
Probably why Cynthia chose Serdian over Raiden in the original story. Lucillea was certain of that.
She politely declined Raiden’s offer to escort her.
“No, thank you.”
“…….”
Swiftly, Lucillea turned and walked quickly toward the library.
Cookie glanced at the dazed Raiden.
[Polite, right?]
Lucillea shrugged.
‘Whatever. I’m not going to see them again, so no need to impress them.’
Dealing with the Grand Duke and his son inside the mansion was already exhausting enough.
Nodding, Cookie murmured in agreement.
The next morning, Lucillea woke early and headed to the east annex.
She felt a little excited at the thought of having breakfast with Serdian.
But…
“We meet again. I’ll be in your care for a while at the Grand Duke’s mansion. I’m Raiden Sidrat. You can just call me Raiden.”
At the breakfast table sat Raiden, whom she had thought she wouldn’t see again.
