When Cecilia had been younger, her ideal man had bright hair and skin, smiled easily, and was kind.

He had to have intellectual charm and be a romantic. To have a conversation, he needed to be familiar with social culture.

It would be great if he knew swordsmanship, but a barbarian who only knew swordsmanship was awful.

Russell Cardros was the complete opposite of her ideal man.

It was strange. The barbarian she had despised at twenty-one years old… now that she looked at him again…

‘Charming…’

Cecilia quickly erased the word from her mind. For some reason, she didn’t want to acknowledge it.

Russell wore a strange expression.

‘She seems fine.’

When he carried her out, he thought she had lost her mind and was going hysterical. But now, her eyes were clear.

‘Could it be… she doesn’t recognize me?’

Well, if she had recognized him, she wouldn’t have been able to hide her disgust. Just like the first day they met at Grand Duke Jericho’s castle. She was always so honest about her feelings, a spoiled little girl.

He smirked crookedly and said,

“There is no one who can punish me for touching you without permission.”

He expected her to tremble with anger. But to his surprise, she merely scoffed.

Russell asked, just in case,

“…Do you know who I am?”

“Do you really think I wouldn’t recognize the person I married a few months ago? Regardless, what you just did was truly rude.”

Russell stared at her, speechless. He opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it again. He seemed to be pondering a difficult issue before speaking.

“Didn’t Hoffman explain about the restricted areas in the castle?”

“I didn’t hear anything.”

“Hoffman didn’t tell you?”

“I really didn’t hear anything.”

“…I didn’t have time to explain because we had to leave that area quickly. I apologize for startling you, that was my fault.”

Cecilia nodded in bewilderment.

She didn’t expect him to apologize so easily.

In the world she had lived in, it was rare to receive an apology. Admitting fault meant submitting to the other person, and if you lost a power struggle, something would be taken from you, or you would be exposed to a weakness.

Among nobles, an apology was usually along the lines of ‘I’m sorry if I upset you for such-and-such reason.’

When Cecilia accused him of being rude, it wasn’t to receive an apology but to place him in her debt. In noble society, debts had to be repaid.

But now that he had apologized, she no longer felt like holding that debt over him.

“So beyond that door is a restricted area?”

“This whole section is. How did you even get in here?”

“I was just… walking. No one stopped me.”

Russell frowned.

“…Is it unlocked? That can’t be.”

Cecilia could barely hear him muttering under his breath.

“So that hallway with just a door—why did we have to leave so quickly?”

“That’s…”

Russell looked at her carefully and said,

“Are you cold?”

Only then did Cecilia realize she was trembling, hugging herself.

“Your lips are blue. I’ll take you back to your room. This way.”

Cecilia had a mountain of questions she wanted to ask, but now her jaw was shaking and her teeth were chattering. The rattling noise her teeth made was about to become embarrassingly loud, so she clenched her mouth shut tightly.

Russell, who was walking a few steps ahead, glanced back at her. Cecilia glared at him disapprovingly.

‘He should match his pace with mine. Doesn’t he know it’s proper etiquette to escort a lady?’

Cecilia silently criticized him. Perhaps it was the cold, but she felt even more irritated. She hugged herself tighter and continued walking.

Suddenly, something heavy was placed on her shoulders.

She looked down at the black leather vest that now covered her and glanced at him. Just at that moment, he turned his head, so their eyes didn’t meet.

It was common courtesy for a gentleman to offer his coat or cloak to a lady shivering from the cold.

But because it was so unexpected, and perhaps because he seemed a bit embarrassed, it felt different this time.