“Miss!!!”

From the end of the corridor, the sound of servants running in reply to their mistress’ call for help. Cesare looked down at his empty hand that Damia had slipped from with a face that she couldn’t read.

Damia thought she saw bitterness in his expression. But the next moment, Cesare surprisingly smiled.

“There’s no point in bringing up my name, Damia. I’m not supposed to be back yet— so you’d better be smart.”

“…..”

“And don’t spread your legs to him anymore.”

Damia frowned as she listened to Cesare’s quick closing remarks. Today, he spoke in enigmas, but Cesare jumped through the window and disappeared before she could organize her thoughts.

“Miss, what’s going on?’

“Are you all right, my lady?!”

The servants, who rushed in, opened the door and looked inside her room. But Cesare had already left.

“Damia, what’s wrong? What’s going on?

Noella, who woke up from sleep, appeared with a slightly swollen face and worriedly inquired. Even though Damia was her stepdaughter, she seemed to be sincerely concerned and wondering if something had happened to her. Noella came out in such a hurry that even the slippers on her feet were uneven.

“Mother.”

Damia bit her lips and studied her stepmother’s face. Did Noella know that Cesare is back? If she knew, it would be natural to tell her—but why didn’t you say anything?

Damia lowered her eyes to hide her doubts. And lightly apologized politely as if it was nothing.

“I must have had a nightmare, Mother. It was so vivid that I thought someone really broke into my room. I’m sorry for the disturbance.”

I wanted to bite my tongue to say this even though I didn’t do anything wrong. But now I had to do this.

The north was a small place. There were few new faces. Crossing one bridge, and you were bound to bump into someone you knew. However, Damia’s reputation would be in shambles if rumors spread that a mysterious, monstrous man broke into the bedroom of an unmarried virgin.

‘Maybe that’s what Cesare was aiming for.’

Damia was furious, but she stepped back for now. Now there are too many listeners, including employees. Conscious of this, she painted it as if it was no big deal and sent out the servants who were still looking around the room.

“Sorry for the late-night disturbance. You can all go.”

“Yes, Miss. Have a good night.”

The servants retreated with puzzled looks and confused expressions. Soon, Damia and Noella were the only ones left in her bedroom.

“I’m glad nothing happened. Whew, I was so worried and thought something happened to you.”

Noella, relieved and ignorant, held her thumping heart. While the Count, her husband, was away, she would be in trouble if anything happened to his daughter. She thought it was fortunate that it was just a nightmare.

“You’re so mature that I thought you were fully grown-up, but even you have days like this.”

Noella, who covered her mouth and laughed in relief, was about to turn around. But Damia quickly reached out and grabbed her sleeve. She whispered quietly in her ear, who looked back startled and curious.

“But it’s weird, Mother. When I woke up… I saw my brother, Cesare.”

In my bedroom.

Noella’s eyes grew big upon hearing Damia’s words. Damia kept her eyes on her face and studied her reaction carefully. Noella scarlet eyes avoided her glaze and as if she was embarrassed, and barely replied:

“But Cesare hasn’t returned from the Temple yet, dear. Besides, he’s not the kind of kid who would sneak into his adult sister’s bedroom… You probably saw it wrong— half asleep.

Damia lowered her eyes, guarding her expression. It was an answer as she expected. That’s why Cesare had warned her that it was no use mentioning his name.

Well, if she said someone who wasn’t here broke into the bedroom. Who would believe what Damia said? There was no doubt that her accusation would be dismissed as a dream.

Even if Damia insisted and seriously announced the issue, the loss was more significant than the gain. An unrelated step-brother hid in his sister’s bedroom in the middle of the night—Ha.

There would be no greater scandal in the northern conservative community. Damia’s precious family would become abused in the evil gossiping mouthpiece of the people.

When Damia thought of her family’s honor being defiled and torn into pieces countless times—there was only one possible answer.

“………. Yes. Since I was sleeping, I might have misseen it. “

But one day, I will make Chesare pay for what he did.

Damia smiled, picture-perfect, as she suppressed her seething insides.

Cesare was obviously visibly agitated when she brought up the “things” with the Temple. It was the first time that she had seen him so flustered, as sneaky and cunning as he was, like a snake.

‘It must be important.’

Who should she investigate to learn more about these items? Akkard? They overheard the same conversation in the locker together…. did he understand what that conversation meant?

Damia thought of his hot hand, which was scrambling through her skirt without hesitation, even in the locker. And then Cesare, who squeezed his neck exhorting her to choose him with his persistent eyes…. naturally, a tired sigh flowed out between her lips.

“Haaaa.”

Her body wasn’t worth a damn to the man she loved, but there were too many people that she didn’t care about who coveted it.