Sabina took a deep breath.
She couldn’t keep feigning ignorance any longer—not when Adrian was being this earnest.
“I want to believe.”
How foolish of her.
She had already been betrayed by humans more than once. Yet here she was again, daring to hope.
Suppressing the shame that kept rising within her, Sabina deliberately turned away, her tone cold.
“Follow me.”
—
A little while later.
Adrian finally stepped inside the warehouse.
It should have been packed with herbs and reagents—but it was completely empty.
Adrian didn’t seem surprised.
Instead, he simply turned to Sabina with a face as cold and sharp as a finely honed blade.
“How long has it been like this?”
“Sir Adrian.”
“How long… like this?”
Adrian paused for a moment.
He had just realized something new.
When anger reaches its peak, your mind goes blank.
His insides were boiling, and words refused to come out properly.
She was someone he had brought here.
Someone under his care.
And that person—had been treated this unfairly.
Swallowing his rage, Adrian forced himself to speak calmly.
“Have you been living like this, lacking even the basics?”
Sabina looked at him in silence.
Her lips parted briefly, then she replied with a sharp, clipped tone.
“This isn’t something you should be meddling in.”
“Please, Sabina.”
Adrian’s voice rose without him realizing.
“What do you mean, it’s not my business?!”
“Why are you acting like this now?”
Sabina’s calm question stabbed into his ears like an icicle, as she turned it back on him.
“You’ve never cared about this kind of thing before.”
“That’s because you never told me—!”
“And what exactly should I have said to you?”
Sabina’s red eyes remained steady and still.
“That the Valencia dukedom doesn’t think kindly of me? That they’re displeased with how I go through expensive reagents and herbs like water?”
“Sabina…”
“So I should’ve asked you to intervene, is that it?”
With that, Sabina let out a long sigh.
“But do I even have the right to ask for that? I haven’t produced a single result from my research so far.”
“Don’t say that, Sabina.”
Adrian gritted his teeth.
“The temple and even the imperial court have investigated this, and none of them found any answers. I never demanded a solution right away. I just—”
“I know. At least, that’s what you think.”
Sabina nodded slightly, gazing at Adrian.
“And I’m grateful for that. Truly. But do you think others feel the same?”
“…”
Adrian fell silent.
Sabina continued in a soft, even voice.
“If just one word from me caused conflict within the dukedom—what if you ended up bearing the duke’s wrath because of me?”
“Th-that’s not—”
“You and I are different, Adrian.”
His words caught in his throat.
Adrian clenched his jaw.
“Damn it.”
Sabina was right.
Adrian had lived his life without ever wanting for anything.
Recognized as a Hero by the Church of Legalis.
Second son of the Duke of Valencia.
His status had allowed him to live without concern for the opinions of others.
He had never once worried about someone else’s gaze or walked on eggshells.
“I… I mean…”
His lips moved, but no words came out.
Sabina sighed deeply.
“I’m sorry. I think my nerves are a bit frayed right now.”
“…Sabina.”
“I’ll be heading to rest now. You should go back too, Sir Adrian.”
Her voice was soft, but the message was clear—he was being dismissed.
With that, Sabina turned away.
And Adrian…
Could not bring himself to stop her.
—
I lay flat under the bushes, watching my sister and Adrian.
They were standing in front of the reagent warehouse, talking about something.
But I couldn’t hear what they were saying from this distance.
“Is she really shocked?”
Feeling a pang of guilt, I curled up smaller.
…Still.
I couldn’t just sit by while my sister was suffering like this.
As I tried to steel myself—
Suddenly, my eyes flew wide open.
“W-What?!”
My sister abruptly turned and walked away.
Adrian was left standing there, simply staring at her retreating back.
He couldn’t bring himself to stop her.
“What the heck? What’s going on?”
My heart dropped.
“Did they… fight or something?”
Startled, I jumped to my feet.
I felt bad for Adrian, but right now, my sister was more important to me.
“I need to calm her down first.”
After one last glance at Adrian’s troubled expression, I took off running after her.
But even as I ran—
Adrian’s helpless face lingered in my mind.
—
He didn’t even know what possessed him to get into the carriage.
On the ride back to the dukedom’s townhouse, Adrian was overwhelmed with self-loathing.
“Yeah… I’ve been too indifferent all this time.”
Sabina’s words kept ringing in his ears.
> “Why are you acting like this now?”
“You’ve never cared about this kind of thing before.”
Even as she drew a clear line between them, Sabina had shown no emotion.
As if she no longer had any expectations of him.
> “You and I are different, Adrian.”
Those words pierced his chest like a dagger.
Adrian shut his eyes tightly.
Just the fact that proud Sabina had said something like that… filled him with guilt.
And yet, apart from the guilt—
“Something’s not right here.”
Support for Sabina had already been approved by his older brother, the Duke of Valencia.
The Duke himself had felt the urgency, given the sudden rise in demon beast activity.
There was no reason for his brother to suddenly obstruct what had already been agreed upon.
“Well, anyway…”
The carriage came to a gentle stop.
Adrian slowly opened his eyes.
Beneath his golden lashes, his green eyes gleamed like sharpened blades.
“Whatever mess my negligence caused, I’ll clean it up.”
With that thought, he stood up.
Upon entering the townhou
se, Adrian discreetly summoned one of the duchy’s informants.
“Bring me every supply list that was sent to Sabina.”
His voice was cold as a winter wind.
“And find out if anyone in the household has had a sudden change in their spending habits.”
