“I was thinking hard while mumbling, but no good excuse came to mind.”

 

After much deliberation, I eventually chose to vaguely gloss over it.

 

“As I mentioned earlier, he came because he had a favor to ask of me.”

 

“…Are you really not going to tell me what kind of favor my brother asked of you?”

 

A faint resentment lingered in Yves’s eyes as he looked down at me.

 

At the same time, I could vaguely grasp what he was really thinking.

 

‘So that’s why… I wondered why he kept bringing up things he already knew.’

 

From the beginning, when I had just regained consciousness, Endymion had revealed his purpose even in front of Yves.

 

He had asked for help so that Selene could receive a not-guilty verdict in the trial.

 

I had also explained that the reason I mentioned Endymion during the prison visit with Selene was because of the magic tool.

 

Even so, he had suddenly brought up that incident and asked a question that sounded like he was probing my intentions, which had left me puzzled.

 

It seemed that what Yves was truly curious about was what request Endymion had hidden because he found it embarrassing.

 

Of course, regardless of whether I noticed his intention or not, my answer wouldn’t change.

 

“I can’t explain in detail because it seems Sir Endymion doesn’t want Sir Yves to know, but it’s related to Selene.”

 

“I heard the Saint’s Young Lady’s trial is almost certain to end in a not-guilty verdict. Is this request unrelated to that?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Yves sent me a suspicious look and questioned me repeatedly, but I responded with a confident attitude.

 

Because it was the pure truth with no lies mixed in.

 

“I understand.”

 

If he pressed further, I had planned to tell him to ask Endymion directly, but he surprisingly seemed to accept it without resistance.

 

“Then, that means you don’t have any personal closeness with my brother, right?”

 

Since there was nothing to hide, I was about to naturally reply, “Of course…” 

 

When…

 

I couldn’t finish the sentence. It was because a sudden question flashed through my mind.

 

‘But calling love advice a purely public matter feels a bit off, doesn’t it?’

 

If asked whether we were close, I would answer no without hesitation, but the question of whether there was personal closeness or not was somewhat ambiguous.

 

“Why did you stop right as you were about to answer?”

 

When I once again closed my mouth at an odd time, Yves’s suspicion grew even thicker.

 

“As expected, you’re hiding something from me.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“That you’re attracted to my brother.”

 

“What?”

 

“I understand. My brother is indeed more handsome and more capable than me.”

 

I had roughly known from the original story that Yves felt inferior to Endymion, but I had no idea why the conversation topic had suddenly veered in that direction.

 

“That’s not true! The reason I hesitated was that Sir Endymion’s request was about a romantic matter.”

 

Even though I couldn’t understand his train of thought, I decided to honestly confess in order to untangle the conversation that had become twisted like a knotted thread.

 

I felt sorry toward Endymion, but it was better than letting Yves misunderstand.

 

“Since it’s a love life matter, it’s an extremely personal area. That’s why I was wondering whether I should say I have personal closeness with Sir Endymion or not after listening to it.”

 

After boldly spilling Endymion’s secret, I quickly denied the misconception that we were close.

 

“And compared to my apprentice priest friends or Sir Huluppu, Sir Endymion and I aren’t really that close.”

 

Pouring out my sincerity with passion, I drove in the final nail to correct Yves’s misunderstanding.

 

“Besides, you already know that Sir Endymion likes Selene, Sir Yves.”

 

It was something someone as quick-witted as him would naturally know, and I judged it to be the most valid grounds to refute his opinion.

 

“You…!”

 

However, contrary to my expectation, Yves’s voice rose even higher.

 

Moreover, as if about to refute something, he suddenly twisted his face and then tightly shut his mouth.

 

‘Why is he acting like this?’

 

I was struggling to figure out how to respond while watching Yves, whose mood swings were unusually severe today, when…

 

I noticed that the corners of his eyes had turned red, as if he was holding back tears.

 

“Sir Yves…”

 

I was about to ask if he was okay, but Yves turned his back faster.

 

“I’m sorry. Right now, I don’t want to talk to you any longer. Please leave me alone.”

 

🦋

 

After that, I really couldn’t see even a shadow of Yves for several days.

 

‘This isn’t even the cliché relationship of a regretful male lead and a runaway female lead. How did things end up like this?’

 

I had desperately tried to prove my innocence, too. I swallowed a bitter sigh as I headed toward the prison.

 

I had been putting it off because of the Yves situation, but I needed to fulfill Endymion’s request before departing for the Zagros Mountains.

 

Unfortunately, meeting Selene also ended in failure.

 

Just as I had told Endymion, she refused the visit, saying she needed time to think and didn’t want to meet anyone.

 

‘Both Yves and Selene… This is a mess.’

 

To make matters worse, there was also something I wanted to confirm with Selene about the dragon, but that had become impossible as well.

 

‘Should I ask Endymion instead?’

 

He also possessed memories from before the regression.

 

“You got rejected, too?”

 

“…!”

 

Lost in thought while climbing the stairs, I suddenly heard a voice from behind.

 

‘That scared me!’

 

I was so startled that I nearly missed a step, but I managed to grab the railing tightly and avoid falling.

 

After calming my pounding heart, I scolded the owner of the voice.

 

“Sir Endymion, please make some noise when you walk. I almost had a heart attack!”

 

“I didn’t intend to startle you, but I’m sorry.”

 

Endymion’s face was so indifferent that I couldn’t detect any sincerity, but I didn’t bother pointing it out.

 

There was a more important matter at hand.

 

“Still, it’s good that we ran into each other. There was something I wanted to confirm.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“It’s a bit awkward to talk here. Shall we move somewhere else?”

 

It wasn’t a major secret, but it wasn’t something to discuss in the middle of the stairs either, so we moved to the garden in the center of the Papal Palace building.

 

“Have you ever seen the dragon that attacked Dilbat with your own eyes, Sir Endymion?”

 

“Hmm…”

 

He stroked his chin and fell into thought. Then, in a slow tone, he began.

 

“Once… I saw a ball of fire falling from the sky together with Selene.”

 

“Even from far away, could you tell it was a dragon at that time?”

 

“No. I couldn’t see its form clearly.”

 

“Then how did you know the being that attacked Dilbat was a dragon?”

 

“It was when a support request came in from another timeline. The messenger delivering news of Dilbat always said a dragon had appeared.”

 

It was as I had suspected.

 

‘No one actually witnessed the dragon, so how did the messenger in the game know?’

 

It was a part I had never found strange before.

 

But after experiencing various recent events, I had realized that nothing described in the original story could be casually overlooked. While retracing the game’s plot, this question had suddenly come to mind.

 

“Is that the end of your questions?”

 

“Yes.”

 

I answered firmly without the slightest hesitation.

 

I hadn’t resolved the doubt, but there was nothing more I needed to confirm with him.

 

“Haa… I also have something I want to ask you.”

 

This time, Endymion let out a long sigh and asked me.

 

“What is it?”

 

“What should I do now? If Selene keeps avoiding me forever…”

 

He trailed off with an expression as if he were deeply troubled.

 

‘If someone saw him, they’d think the world was falling apart.’

 

We hadn’t even had a proper conversation with Selene yet, but he was already worrying excessively. To comfort him, I calmly spoke up.

 

“Don’t think so extremely. She must be confused after learning such a shocking truth in a situation where she has no leeway.”

 

I explained from Selene’s perspective so that Endymion could understand her feelings.

 

“While I’m away meeting the dragon, Selene will probably finish organizing her thoughts too.”

 

I had said it to narrow the gap in their thinking, but Endymion reacted sensitively to a different part.

 

“Wait, are you saying you’re going to abandon our issue and head off to the Zagros Mountains?”

 

“I don’t have a choice either.”

 

Originally, the Holy Kingdom had wanted to proceed with the Saint appointment ceremony immediately, but I had barely managed to postpone it by using the oracle I personally received from Goddess Astarte as an excuse.

 

Because I kept delaying the schedule, the complaints from the Pope and the seven archbishops were growing day by day.

 

When I told him that, even Endymion could no longer voice any complaints.

 

“Well, there’s an old saying that the more urgent it is, the more you should take a detour.”

 

“Was there such a proverb?”

 

“Anyway, I’ll be going now. See you next time!”

 

Leaving behind the puzzled Endymion, who was tilting his head, I quickly departed.

 

After parting with him, the place I headed to was my now completely familiar room.

 

‘Except for the downside of being on the very top floor, it’s really the best.’

 

With that silly thought, I climbed the stairs and soon arrived in front of the familiar door.

 

As I reached for the doorknob, I glanced at the room next door.

 

‘I wonder if I’ll be able to reconcile with Sir Yves before leaving for the Zagros Mountains.’

 

Recalling the worry I had been trying hard to forget, I opened my room door. Inside, surprisingly, stood Yves, the same person who had said he wanted to be alone, in front of the window.

 

“Sir Yves?”

 

When I cautiously called his name, Yves, who had been looking out the window, slowly turned his body.

 

Strangely, his silver eyes, which always sparkled clearly, seemed unusually murky and sunken today.

 

“Laura, where have you been?”