Rachel tried to put the duck in her mouth because she wanted to stop having useless conversations, but she had to put down her fork and opened her mouth again.

"Thanks to your Majesty's concern, I was able to spend my time without getting bored."

"...."

"Your Majesty? Was there anything else you wanted to say?"

Ian shook his head slightly, and looked away.

Rachel quickly moved her hand and pushed the meat into her mouth.

She thought that Ian would talk less if he was eating.

'The conversation was longer than usual today.'

Three days.

It's already been three days since he started coming to this mansion in the morning and evening.

Of those three days, this was the longest conversation we'd had.

He stopped by this mansion for breakfast and dinner, but there were many meals when he only ate without a single word of conversation.

There was no dialogue on those times other than a small bow of greeting to him.

'Does he look a little happy today?'

Rachel glanced at Ian, who was taking a sip of red wine.

If Rachel had been able to act of her own free will, if there were no threats to her safety if she asked the way she wanted.

If she wasn't the maid who ran away, and Ian wasn't the emperor, she would've asked him if he was crazy.

No, in the first place, there would've been no reason to sit and eat with him.

Unfortunately, Rachel was the maid who fled, and Ian was the emperor.

Because it was uncomfortable and she was forcing herself to endure it, Rachel took medicine to relieve her stomach ache after he'd left every day.

When she saw Ian looking happy for some reason, a small anger rose inside her.

Since she'd lived as a free citizen without serving anyone for six years, she hadn't fully adapted to this life yet.

"Your Majesty, have you been busy today?"

Rachel glazed at Ian once, and carefully opened her mouth.

She thought that if she could match his moods, perhaps the day when he lost interest, she could return to Ravenna without incident.

So she'd asked cautiously, while paying attention to his mood.

"...No, not really."

Honestly, she wasn't interested in his answer, but Rachel nodded and opened her mouth again.

"When you've finished eating, will you be returning to the Imperial palace?"

Rachel quickly asked a question, because Ian seemed to like conversation more than silence.

"...Why?"

"What?"

"Do you want me to do that?"

Rachel blinked as Ian asked her that.

"Shall I sleep here since it's so late?"

Ian said as he looked out the dark window.

He seemed to be thinking about whether to sleep in the mansion overnight since it was dark outside.

It's dark, so he thinks I'm worried about him returning.

But that was nonsense.

He arrived at the mansion only after the sun set today, so it was clear that it had been dark when he'd traveled from the Imperial palace to the mansion.

Ian had been returning safely so far, so what caused the sudden change in heart.

"What should I do?"

Rachel frowned for a little while after he asked her such a strange question.

Of course she wanted him to go back to the Imperial palace. It was hard to understand why he was asking the obvious.

"My opinion doesn't matter. You may do as you wish, Your Majesty."

"...."

He looked at Rachel silently, and soon picked up his wine glass again.

"I'll sleep here tonight."

Rachel nodded quietly because she didn't know what to say.

The Imperial palace and this mansion belonged to him anyway, so it was his to do with as he pleased.

If there was anything that worried her a little bit, it was that she would have to spend more time with Ian.

However, Ian let Rachel leave after he finished eating, so she'd been worried over nothing.

Rachel, who'd returned to her room in a hurry, wasn't tired because it was still early, but she quickly turned off the lights and laid in bed. For some reason, she thought she had to do this.

***

The next morning, Rachel woke up with tears in her eyes after she suffered from nightmares.

It would have been nice if this was the rural village of Ravenna, but it was the mansion in the capital where Rachel had opened her eyes. She wiped away her tears, and turned her eyes to the window.

The red dawn sun was shining.

Rachel didn't want to leave her room because the emperor was in this mansion, so she sat blankly in bed and looked around the room in a daze.

At that time, a box on the tea table caught Rachel's attention.

"Was there something like that?"

Rachel approached the box as if she was possessed and unlocked the latch.

"Wow."

As soon as the lid of the box was opened, a small exclamation flowed out of Rachel's mouth.

In the box, there was a necklace that was more beautiful than any other accessory Rachel had ever seen.

Shiny jewels that resembled midsummer's day and well-worked silver.

Rachel stared at the necklace as if she was enchanted, but never touched it with her hands.

She stared blankly at the mysterious emerald for a long time, she hurriedly closed the box and secured the latch.

"...."

Then she put it back on the table where she found it.

It wasn't hers, but she regretted opening it for no reason.

Feeling somewhat anxious, Rachel hurried out of the room because she didn't want to stay in there anymore.

"My lady?"

The maid, who stood outside the room, was surprised to see Rachel in a light slip.

She seemed to be thinking of how troubled Rachel would feel if she met the emperor dressed like that.

"I've prepared water for you in your room."

"Oh, thank you."

Rachel smiled awkwardly, and returned to her room. She changed her clothes in a hurry, and left the room again.

She deliberately turned her head away from the tea table while she changed.

Her heart was pounding from the beautiful necklace.

When Rachel came out of the room, she tried to ask the maid about the necklace, but she fell silent again.

The necklace was not originally in the room.

She certainly hadn't seen a box like that yesterday evening. If the necklace had been in the room when she'd arrived it would've been in one of the jewelry boxes.

So someone must have brought it on purpose.

"Ha..."

Rachel hadn't even looked near the dressing table containing accessories, except when the butler gave her a tour of the room.

Moreover, if she'd known that what was on the tea table was a necklace, she wouldn't have opened it.

"Why did I touch something that wasn't mine?"

However, no matter how hard she berated herself, it was a mistake that she'd already made.

A deep frown settled on Rachel's forehead.

Throughout her breakfast with Ian, Rachel was anxious and couldn't eat properly.

She'd been in this state since the moment she saw the necklace.

She was dizzy from the worries that were rushing through her head.

She could feel Ian's gaze on her, but Rachel tried to ignore it and pushed the food into her mouth.

"Um... Did you see it?"

"Yea, cough! ...What?"

At Ian's sudden question, Rachel choked on her food, and coughed several times before carefully asking her own question.

Rachel's eyes were full of worries.

"I mean the necklace."

"No, no!"

Rachel dropped her gaze as she bowed her head in panic.

When she glanced up and noticed Ian frowning, Rachel squeezed her trembling hands.

He probably realized that what she'd said was a lie.

"You haven't seen it?"

Rachel's gaze wavered uneasily as she heard Ian's voice again.

She nodded anxiously as if she was being interrogated.

"Then let's go up to your room after we're done eating, and see it together."

Ian's voice didn't contain anger or reprimand, but Rachel could see that he was firmly annoyed.

Ian continued to eat again, but Rachel couldn't do anything but hold her trembling hands still.

She was caught.

"Actually I saw it."

Has her time come?

Rachel bowed her head and murmured as if she was confessing to a crime.

"Hmm? You saw it?"

Ian's eyes got a little bigger.

He tilted his head slightly.

As if he didn't understand Rachel.

Ian raised his eyebrows a little as if he didn't understand her behavior, she'd said she hadn't seen it earlier, but now she was confessing that she had.

Of course, he wasn't upset, he was just curious.

Why did she pretend that she hadn't seen it when she could've just said she had from the beginning?

"But I didn't touch it, I just looked at it."

Rachel rushed to make an excuse.

"There was something on the table, and I was curious, so I opened the box... I never touched the necklace. If I had known it was a necklace, I never would have touched it. I swear I didn't steal it... "

"...."

"I didn't."

The more Rachel talked, the more Ian's face hardened.

Rachel's heart was beating quickly, as if it was about to burst, when she saw his expression a step too late.

"I'm sorry."

Rachel's face turned pale, but she opened her mouth with a tearful look in her eyes.

"What?"

"I didn't know that it was yours, but I..."

Rachel couldn't finish her words and closed her mouth while holding her tongue.

"It's yours."

"...What?"

"It's all yours."

Ian said while putting the silverware down.

"What? It's mine?"

Rachel was surprised and asked.

However, Ian was no longer answering Rachel's question.

"...Why?"

Rachel blinked quickly and opened her mouth again, staring into his eyes.

Of course, it was Rachel's, Ian had given it to her as a gift.

Rachel didn't seem to understand at all.

"I gave it to you."

"Wait, who said that?"

Ian was taken aback by Rachel's question.

Then he frowned slightly.

Rachel, who'd been staring at Ian, quickly lowered her gaze.

"If you don't like it, then throw it away."

As if he didn't like something, he swept his hair over.