For my survival friendship, I was sadly attached to him.

It would have been too much to try to get away from him.

‘You gave me the time to fall, right?‘

Nocton called me to his mansion everyday as he said.

“Come again, Valrose.” That’s what I’ve heard the most from him.

Well, that’s a consequential story.

To be more honest, I crossed my mind at that time.

I never intended to see the Duke again.

I realized I was in a book, and I had a little time, and even though most of them were superficial relationships that only accumulated by letters, my relationship with Alice—the heroine—was getting stronger.

I didn’t think there was any reason to live up with Nocton.

In the first place, dropping the present in front of the people who gave it would only have that meaning.

‘Get out of my sight.’

If it wasn’t for the party that was held a few days later, maybe that would have been the end of my relationship with Nocton.

I know it’s not an permanent end, but it’s not because Alice and I are friends.

There was another party at the family house where I first saw Nocton.

Usually, children were not respected, so I attended the party in the hands of my mother, with no gratification in refusing to do.

As soon as I entered the party, I found the boy who stood out the most.

Black hair, a face delicately painted on a white skin like a flour.

Because some time has passed, his arms and legs are longer than before, and his good physique makes the black suit wrapped around his body nicely.

He was as beautiful as ever, but as I found out his true personality, he didn’t look so sweet anymore.

That’s not fair.

I turned my head before our eyes met.

It seemed like I could feel a deep look in the back of my head, but it was probably the illusion of being conscious of him.

Even though I turned my head, my ears were focused on his sound.

But Nocton Edgar remained silent, and only the murmur of the person next to him was heard.

“So this time, I’ll….”

It was Sheryl Bornaine.

The second daughter of the Marquess of Bornaine, who I didn’t like much for some reason.

The first is that they divided families and treat each other differently, and the second is that they know their family is well-known so they try to hit the person who is out of standard.

And the most crucial reason was that I’ve heard her mob talks.

‘The Duke Edgar’s successor, his face is pretty. I don’t know anyone who’s willing to talk to him, but if you acted nice, wouldn’t you be able to play with him?’

‘But Sheryl, no matter how much, It’s Edgar—’

‘Have you ever seen the Duke’s eyes before? My father told me that the Duchess’ parents also said they have that purple color before, but there’s nothing more. There’s a saying that even the employees of the family secretly ignored him.’

‘Oh my God, that would be true if the employees did it!’

‘Yes, he will be soon in a miserable condition. Why are you afraid of a mouse living in a big house?’

The giggle was clear without knowing I was on the back terrace.

It seems that it was a little bit later when Edgar began to move in and out of the Duke’s house.

I was furious at the word of mocking directed to Nocton. I tried to open the curtain and leave at once, but I couldn’t do it at the thought of the moment.

For different purposes, Sheryl Bornaine’s way of thinking was the same as mine.

It was me who approached him first, thinking that it might be a good opportunity when he’s lonely.

I had a good reason, but from the standpoint of Nocton, there would be no difference between them.

Thinking that way, I couldn’t stand up for it, so I rationalized by saying it’s no good for Nocton if a commotion broke out.

I’ve forgotten.

A belated guilty conscience pricked my heart and I turned my head to Nocton unknowingly.

And at that moment, my eyes met with his.

So the look that seemed to cling to my back was not an illusion, and now he was staring at me as if he had no idea what I was thinking.

It was a heavy stare because I couldn’t lose.

But he was the one who turned his head first, so he might not have thought of the same thing.

He pretended not to see me from the start and spoke a few words to Sheryl Bornaine.

Nocton was smiling a usual, and my heart fluttered at the sight of his smile that beautiful like a silver plum.

‘I don’t think I’ll be able to play with someone if I’m good at them.’

Will Bornaine still laugh at Nocton?

Does he know what Sheryl Bornaine said?

The girl’s cheeks were red, and Nocton was smiling softly like he always did.

Maybe Nocton’s nature is not bad, but he changed his attitude in the light of what I approached.

I don’t know if it’s original or burned, but the fact that I approached him for another purpose….

He may have noticed.

I didn’t see it, but it wouldn’t be too strange if there were a few more hyenas who were willing to get something to eat. If the same thing had been repeated, my shallow water would have looked white.

That made me feel guilty, and my heart ached at the way he looked so friendly to Sheryl Bornaine.

Perhaps even Bornaine’s innermost thoughts could have been known, but I’m not sure.

However, I could not hold onto him in that moment and say what Cheryl Bornaine had said. It’ll only look like a hepatic, and if he really doesn’t know, he will get hurt.

It’s a feeling of guilt and sympathy that doesn’t know the object.

Knowing that, I could not let it go, so I finally headed back to the Duke’s mansion a few days later.

“Um … Hi, Nocton.”

The boy looked very surprised, but he didn’t kick me out.

To be honest, it was the most amazing thing.

He must have been reading a book on the chair by the lake before I came; as soon as I came inside, I saw a book lying in his chair.

It was a book that seemed difficult just by the cover.

“What are you reading?”

“….just old books.”

“Uh … looks very expensive.”

“I tried hard to save it.”

In away, it was a cold tone, but I was stuck by the impression that Nocton was feeling rather awkward.

As a result, I became awkward and could only dream of my fingertips on my head, too.

I asked the question to break the silence, but that must made he thinks I interested in the book, and Nocton handed me the book.

I didn’t want to read a single letter of this kind, but there was no other way to shake off the awkwardness, so I read the book as if it were 5 cm thick.

I’m sure I’m reading letters, but I can’t get through the whole page because there’s nothing come to my brain.

Is this another suggestion that I should have return to my home immediately?

In the confusion of all sorts of thought, something wriggling caught my sight.

That’s it. It was a caterpillar attached to the book.

“Ahhh!”

I even forgot to look at Nocton and threw the book out in surprise.

The book flew straight to the lake.

Reflectively, I reached out to pick up the book … and fell into the lake.

Step, byuur….

I blamed my own stupidity for being drowned in by a series of sounds.

How long has passed to explore the lake again? I didn’t know but I must have missed this lake.

Due to the sudden fluctuations in my field of vision, I closed my eyes and struggled with my arms and legs.

Even if I have entered it once, there is a wide gap between being prepared and not.

The sound was deafening, as if someone had blocked my ears, and the water backflowed inside made me feel sick.

But not long after that, I came out of the water.

To be exact, I was pulled out to the ground.

I could feel his hands tapping my back while I was coughing violently.

I was still in agony, and only the warmth that touched my back was clear.

Nocton helped me.

Both the guilt and the awkwardness suddenly disappeared.

My mind was refreshed as if the complex emotions had melted into the lake.

Just as the sound of my breath went evenly, Nocton took out his hand away from my back and talked nervously.

“Is it your hobby to fall into the lake of another’s house?”

“Oh … thank you—”

He, who had dropped the cuff button in the lake, spoke in a sweet tone. At the moment, the tenderness in his tone was unfamiliar.

But it didn’t feel like it was a metaphor because it looked surprisingly good together.

I raised my head in a daze to leave a thank you, and at the moment, I saw the soaked boy.

He was everything but dry, and the black hair was dripping.

The reflection of the sunlight and the gleamingness of his appearance made him stand out even more, but somehow there was a strangle laugh at the sigh of Nocton, who swept away his wet hair and distorted his expression.

Although he did not look funny at all, he was so different from what I had seen before.

The way he still speaks in elegant way, when he looked like a wet puppy in the rain, is really, really out of place.

I couldn’t stand the tickle from my chest, so I laughed loudly.

“….shut up.”

The boy, whose eyes were round for a moment, spoke coldly at once, but his ears were red as an apple, forcing me to laugh even more.

✴️✴️✴️

“Listen to me, Marquis Bornaine’s daughter.”

After Roa Valrose fell into the lake and left the mansion like someone who would never return, he said so to the Sheryl Bornaine, whom he came across.

He did not feel guilty while hypnotizing.

After all, she was the one who wanted to play with him.

Bornaine tried to shake his heart, so it wouldn’t be wrong to be caught.

He stared indifferently at the girl whose eyes were clouded.

Whether hypnotized or brainwashed, the beginning of mind magic was the title of the subject.

When the title changes, the magic will shake, and if it was a weak hypnosis, it can be broken by itself.

In order to continue the magic, it’s better to maintain a consistent title of the target, not to induce intense emotions, and also to limit the place and time of meeting.

The best way is to overlap the magic, but it has to be avoided because it can damage the target’s mind.

If he had done something wrong, his magic could be found.

Even though the days of being executed only by the existence of black magic are over, the perception of black magic is still bad.

Furthermore, as a man of many enemies, he liked to hide his weapons.

Therefore, Nocton was especially careful about his opponent’s title when he used magic.

In fact, it was better to call them by their first name than their surname, but he did not bother to spell the name of others after he made a mistake on Valrose.

It was the same for Sheryl Bornaine.

“Yes, Duke Edgar.”

Nocton hypnotized Bornaine because he wanted to confirm something.

After Roa Valrose left his mansion, he was very agitated.

He has been reminded of the past several times, so much that he want to turn back time, even though he’s the one who did it.

Why he is so shaken?

He was so confused and wanted to pinpoint the cause.

Maybe it’s because the person who’s always around him has disappeared and he became lonely.

‘Maybe it’s because Roa Valrose is gone.’