“You’re saying that to comfort me, aren’t you?”

“I’m saying it sincerely.”

Perhaps because Sikar Blake said it like that, my heart pounded as if it had broken down.

That I’m his number one priority, to this indifferent man. It felt so good, but I didn’t want to show it, so I pretended indifference and spoke with a blank expression.

“Well, it comforts me a little.”

“I wish it comforted you a lot, but ‘a little’ is troubling. I may not be able to bless you, but I can protect you so not even a single drop of water touches you. Isn’t that somewhat comforting?”

Actually, those things didn’t matter much. What comforted me wasn’t that he considered me his top priority, or that he protected me from a drenching.

Of course, it’d be nice if he did those things, but what comforted me more was seeing him trying so hard to comfort me.

Because of that, I couldn’t control my expression and ended up laughing. When I laughed, Sikar Blake looked at me and smiled in return.

“Looks like you’re a bit comforted now.”

He looked so adorably pleased with himself as he said that.

While we were grinning like fools, Hersia arrived holding the brownies Seo Yeon had made.

“Madam Duchess, please try one. They’re truly delicious.”

Hersia handed one to me and also gave brownies to the twins. The twins each took a freshly baked brownie, then made astonished faces as if they’d seen stars.

“Wow! So delicious!”

“Really tasty!”

Nothing tastes better than freshly baked brownies.

“I’ll go distribute some brownies to the people now.”

“Please do, Lady Hersia.”

Seo Yeon sighed as if relieved of a burden and came to sit beside me.

“How does it taste?”

“You seem to be truly skilled at cooking, Lady Seo Yeon.”

Seo Yeon smiled brightly, looking satisfied.

“I suppose I got good at it because I love doing it.”

It wasn’t just well-made—it was exceptionally well-made. Luid jumped around excitedly as if intoxicated by the brownie.

“Nanny can do absolutely everything! I wish Nanny were my mom.”

At Luid’s careless remark, Seo Yeon froze in surprise on the spot, and I too stared at Luid in shock.

“Luid. Do you really wish Lady Seo Yeon were your mother?”

I asked seriously, but Luid nodded casually while munching on his brownie.

“If I were to get a mom, since Nanny cooks well and treats me kindly, I think it’d be great if Nanny became my mom.”

I wanted to ask Lucy too, but her expression wasn’t very good. Seo Yeon, seeming to already know this, waved at me as if to say “don’t,” so I kept quiet.

Though Lucy was thirsty for the void left by her mother, her affection for her father was also special—no matter how kindly Seo Yeon treated her, it’d be too much to expect her to readily accept a new mother.

As we chatted while eating brownies, the sun gradually set and twilight began to spread.

“So even this blue sun is setting now.”

Seo Yeon spoke wistfully, gazing at the fading blue sun, and I too looked at the sky with a sense of regret.

Everyone gathered in the square gazed at the setting blue sun, making wishes and offering prayers.

Had I ever felt this wistful watching a setting sun before?

Once the sun sets and tomorrow comes, the red sun will rise again—but we’ll never see this magnificent blue sun again.

Watching the sun set felt like watching the fleeting moments of our own lives.

Regretful that all these fleeting moments would never return, we instinctively clasped each other’s hands tightly and gazed at the setting sun.

That blue sun, which, once gone, we’ll never see again.

The crowd’s cheers began only after the sun had fully set.

“Vika. What’s happening that it’s so noisy?”

“The mages from the Mage Guild have come out.”

“So that’s why it’s loud.”

Ah, I remember. In the original story, after the sun set, mages from the Mage Guild emerged to conclude the festival.

Hearing that mages from the Mage Guild had appeared, my earlier wistfulness over the setting sun quickly turned to excitement.

Suddenly, from the center of the square, a huge firework burst upward like a rocket, and the citizens’ cheers roared like thunder.

Shortly after, mages arrived here. They conjured small sparks in their hands and playfully flicked them toward the citizens. Among them, I spotted Jeremi Iker.

People instinctively dodged, fearing the sparks might hit them—but all of them were illusions and had no physical effect.

The twins were shrugging their shoulders as if eager to be hit by sparks, so I gently pushed them forward.

“If you stand there, the mages will play fun games with you.”

The twins beamed at me.

“Thank you, Madam Duchess!”

I was this excited—how much more excited must the children be?

Unlike our high spirits, Sikar Blake stared ahead with a stern expression.

“Not fun?”

Sikar Blake swept back his hair with a bored look.

“There’s nothing fun about it. But more importantly… Pasium is over there.”

“P, Pasium is over there?”

Seo Yeon, startled, unnecessarily hid behind me while asking where.

“The white-haired man over there is Pasium.”

The white-haired man Sikar Blake pointed to had white hair, but his slightly wavy hair made him look like a cute young man.

“That pure-looking man is Pasium? That’s impossible.”

“It’s really impossible. I thought Pasium looked very scary, but he’s so cute!”

In the original story, his face was never revealed because he always wore a hood, so no one knew what he looked like.

Yet he turned out to be a man with such a cute, youthful face…

Seo Yeon seemed too shocked to speak.

‘He looks just like an adorable youngest brother!’

Sikar Blake snorted cynically.

“Pasium has nothing left now. His cage shattered—he knows who he is, but he’s lost his memories, has eyes yet cannot see, has a tongue yet cannot speak.”

“He seems pitiful somehow.”

“You’re hardly the one to say that, since you’re the one who made him like this.”

Ah, right—I did that to him.

Back then, he was an enemy with opposing beliefs. I had no choice, but that’s why I can now feel pity for him.

Even though he couldn’t see, Pasium walked quite well and conjured sparks for the people.

It felt tragic to think that such a boyish, sweetly smiling man had lived harboring such terrifying hatred.

“If only I hadn’t been cursed, I wouldn’t have been defeated by someone like him.”

Sikar Blake seemed irritated, recalling that incident.

“By the way, lately the curse doesn’t seem to manifest much. How is it?”

“You haven’t forgotten that this curse worsens over time, right? It’s not that the curse manifests less—it’s just that Kian Blake treats it well.”

Right. In the original story, it worsened progressively until it led to death. I recalled how Sikar Blake died fighting Kian.

Now, thankfully, Kian regularly treats Sikar—so there’s no chance Sikar will die from the curse.

Jeremi, who had approached unnoticed, spotted the twins and bounded over like a rabbit, delighted.

“Oh! Twins. What are you doing here?”

“As you can see. We’re with the Duchess.”

When petite Lucy pointed at us as if to show him, Jeremi immediately greeted us.

Meaning, he shot sparks at us.

Seo Yeon and I clearly knew the sparks were fake, but when they flew toward us, we screamed and dodged anyway.

But before we could dodge, Sikar Blake easily deflected the sparks with his sword.

“You blocked it?”

It slipped out—I was amazed that his sword could deflect sparks, even if they were fake.

Meanwhile, Jeremi kept playfully shooting sparks, but Sikar easily deflected them while explaining to me.

“My sword deflects most magic.”

Ah, so it’s a sword that repels magic—that’s why. Still, it’s really amazing!

“I did say I wouldn’t let even a single drop of water touch you.”

No, this kind of prank is fine to just leave alone.

Seo Yeon, evidently surprised by Sikar’s unexpected words, gaped at me and whispered,

“Good heavens. Madam Duchess. D, did I really just hear those words from Duke Sikar Blake himself?”

I smiled awkwardly and replied,

“Yes… Occasionally, he says things that don’t suit his personality.”

Ordinary people might think Sikar was crazy for saying he’d protect me with such a fierce expression, but Seo Yeon, who knew Sikar’s personality better than anyone, looked utterly astonished.

“I didn’t know he could say things like that.”

Reidox probably wouldn’t be sweet in that way—he’d be sweet like honey dripping everywhere.

“The Marquis is very gentle, isn’t he?”

“Ah… As you know, the Marquis is naturally calm by nature…”

“By the way, when will you tell me your love story?”

Seo Yeon, embarrassed, lowered her head and covered her mouth.

“Since the children are here today, I’ll definitely tell you next time.”

“Thank you for not refusing, Lady Seo Yeon.”

“Don’t mention it, Madam Duchess.”

Sikar looked very composed deflecting sparks, but Jeremi, who had been stubbornly shooting them, finally raised his hands in surrender, looking tired.

“You’re tough, Duke.”

“Showing off again.”

Jeremi grinned innocently and placed his hand on his hip.

“Today, I have three hundred thousand elite mages with me.”

“Thirty, you mean.”

Jeremi smirked, pretended to bow to Sikar, then shot sparks at me again.

Sikar swiftly deflected the sparks that flew right before my nose with his blade.

Jeremi then opened his mouth slightly in surprise and clapped.

“I concede. I admit defeat. And thank you for indulging my prank today.”

“I only indulged you because it’s today. You know that, right?”

“Of course. If I pulled this prank any other day, you’d have sliced off all my hair with that sword.”

He certainly was someone who went overboard.

Normally, Sikar doesn’t accept Jeremi’s sparring challenges, so today, given the occasion, he must have decided to play along.

The twins, who had been playing nearby with small spark sticks, stared blankly in amazement at Sikar’s swordsmanship.

Their expressions clearly said Sikar’s dazzling swordplay was more entertaining than the fireworks.

Meanwhile, Kian Blake arrived. He held a spark stick—wherever he’d gotten it—and handed one to me.

“Mother. Look at this. The mages distributed these to the citizens in the square.”

Indeed, all the citizens held spark sticks in their hands.

They were strange spark sticks, magically made, with wicks that didn’t burn.

Suddenly, a loud explosion sounded, and fireworks shot skyward like bursting flashes.

Immediately, Kian covered Lucy’s ears, startled by the noise.

I was briefly startled by the bursting sound, but seeing Kian’s action surprised me even more.

“Did you see that? Just now? Kian covering Lucy’s ears.”

Seo Yeon, also surprised, gaped at me.

“Yes. It was incredible.”

Then Reidox quickly covered Seo Yeon’s ears, and Sikar covered mine.

Are they all copying Kian now? These men are really funny.

Still, it didn’t feel unpleasant.