In the morning glow, Reina Selyuse gazed out the carriage window at the passing landscape. After returning to the Selyuse ducal mansion last night, she hadn't slept. Walter Eldrich's words wouldn't leave her mind. (Being watched. Constantly doubted.) Deep in her chest, anxiety and something else twisted together. That knight's piercing gaze. His low, measured voice. His overwhelming presence. She cut breakfast short and ordered the carriage. Today's charity work with "White Lily's Hand" was at the clinic "Laurel's Light" in the outer districts of the capital. A place where her nursing knowledge from her past life could be useful. But there—— The carriage stopped before the Selyuse mansion's main gate. "I have been waiting for you, Miss Selyuse." A figure with neatly arranged jet-black hair stood before her as she descended. A blue crest marking the Imperial Knight's rank was etched on his right hand. Over 185 centimeters tall. Steel-blue eyes like cold iron. Walter Eldrich. "Eh......" Reina Selyuse caught her breath. Barely one night since their parting. Why was he here? "I have been ordered to serve as your escort today." He spoke curtly, his expression unchanged. His voice carried no emotional wavering—purely professional in tone. Yet something seemed hidden beneath that surface. "An escort, you say......" Reina Selyuse felt confused. From her past-life knowledge, there were indeed scenes in the game where Walter Eldrich shadowed the protagonist. But that was within the context of "conquest" in the game. How would it play out in reality? (My stomach hurts.) She became aware of it—the tension of acting under this man's surveillance. It was a sense of danger, yet accompanied by an odd flutter in her chest. "Are you prepared?" Walter Eldrich asked, his tone short and blunt. Yet his gaze observed Reina Selyuse without mercy. "Yes. I plan to head to Laurel's Light." Reina Selyuse answered. She couldn't tell if tension was seeping into her voice. "Then let us go." They boarded the carriage. In the narrow space, only their breathing echoed. Walter Eldrich gazed out the window, but his ears caught every movement Reina Selyuse made. She knew it well—that cold knight's observant eye. The capital's morning was quiet. Most merchants hadn't yet opened their shops. Only the sound of the carriage wheels rang across the stone pavement. Soon, the boundary to the outer districts came into view. Beyond the city walls. The district where the poor lived. The carriage stopped. Before the clinic "Laurel's Light." The building was old but kept clean. Wooden walls. Small windows. A sign with its name carved above the entrance. Reina Selyuse descended from the carriage. Walter Eldrich followed silently. His movements were flawless, without a single wasted motion. "Inside," she said, stepping into the clinic. As she pushed open the door, multiple patients came into view. Those with injuries. Those bedridden with illness. Physicians and nurses moved about in hurried confusion. Doctor Heinrich Grossman, the clinic's director, looked up upon noticing Reina Selyuse. A stern-faced man in his fifties. "Ah, Miss Selyuse. Thank you as always." "The pleasure is mine. I shall assist again today." Reina Selyuse answered politely. But her gaze turned toward Walter Eldrich. "Um, that person is......" The doctor tilted his head, instinctively recoiling from the knight's overwhelming pressure. "Imperial Knight Walter Eldrich. I shall accompany you as escort today." He introduced himself concisely. His posture carried tension. Clearly, he was not meant to be in such a place. The empire's greatest knight, in a clinic for the poor in the outer districts. That incongruity brought a strange atmosphere to the room. "Y-yes, understood." The doctor tensed. Walter Eldrich stood against the wall, arms crossed, preparing to observe Reina Selyuse's every move. Reina Selyuse asked the doctor about today's tasks. "Today, if you could help with bandage changes for the patients and initial examinations for the newly arrived, it would be a great help." The doctor explained. "Understood. Then, let us begin." Reina Selyuse moved toward the patients. Walter Eldrich followed at a distance behind her. In the examination room, an elderly patient offered her bandaged arm. Reina Selyuse carefully removed the old bandage. Beneath it lay an infected wound. "How long ago was this injury?" "About a week ago, when something struck it." The patient answered. "I see. Then we must first disinfect it to prevent infection." Reina Selyuse took disinfectant from the medicine shelf before the doctor. Those words—"disinfect," "infection"—caught Walter Eldrich's ear. (Those words. Not standard medical terminology in this world.) His eyes sharpened. Reina Selyuse pretended not to notice as she applied the liquid to the patient's wound. "By doing this, we remove the harmful elements from the wound. And maintaining a clean environment accelerates recovery." She explained carefully. Her hands clearly operated from medical knowledge. In the game, the villainess Reina was supposed to be ignorant and arrogant. But in this reality, she faced patients with sincerity. After wrapping the fresh bandage, the patient offered thanks. "Thank you. The pain seems to have lessened......" "That is good. Tomorrow, keep it clean. Wash it with water and apply a fresh bandage." Reina Selyuse's instructions were based on her past-life nursing knowledge. Different from this world's medicine. Yet for the patient, it was salvation. Moving deeper into the clinic, another patient awaited. A boy, perhaps eight years old. A wound on his hand. "This child was injured by scrap metal yesterday," a nurse explained. Reina Selyuse gently took the boy's hand. She examined the wound. Signs of infection. Swollen purple. "This means there are germs present, yes?" She murmured. "Germs"—again, not this world's medical terminology. Walter Eldrich's gaze grew even sharper. "Where did you learn such knowledge?" He spoke. Low. Stern. Reina Selyuse's body stiffened for a moment. "Ah, I merely read it in books. Medical texts." She deflected while breaking into cold sweat. But Walter Eldrich's expression didn't change. He didn't believe her words. His eyes sought to expose her secret. (What do I do? He's suspicious. He's almost figured it out.) Reina Selyuse's heart pounded violently. Yet she continued her work. Applying disinfectant to the boy's wound. Her hands trembled slightly, but the necessary motions for the patient were executed flawlessly. Midday. In a back room of the clinic, Reina Selyuse organized medical instruments. Fatigue had accumulated. Working all morning under Walter Eldrich's gaze. That pressure was beyond imagination. Suddenly, her hand reached toward a low shelf. Medical instruments were crammed inside. "Just a moment." Reina Selyuse leaned forward. As she reached for an instrument deep in the shelf. Her foot caught on the shelf. Instruments fell. The sound of metal. Reina Selyuse instinctively closed her eyes. She expected impact. But impact never came. Instead, strong arms supported her. "......" Reina Selyuse opened her eyes. Walter Eldrich had wrapped his arm around her waist. That arm's strength was perfect, catching her just before the fall. Simultaneously, his other hand caught the falling instrument. In an instant. Perfectly. "......" For that moment, both were silent. Reina Selyuse felt his body heat. Warm. Strong. The hardness of his chest. Her body pressed against his. The distance was nearly zero. Her heart pounded violently. (What is this? What is this feeling?) Her cheeks flushed. Walter Eldrich too showed slight change in his breathing. His eyes wavered for just a moment. Reflected in them was Reina Selyuse's face. The redness of her cheeks. Her eyes. He consciously tried to maintain composure, to deny what he felt. But the warmth transmitted through the arm supporting her couldn't be denied. "Be careful," he murmured low. Then he released her. The motion was flawless, as if nothing had happened. Yet between them lingered a moment of intimacy. "I-I am terribly sorry." Reina Selyuse answered in fragments. Her face was completely flushed. Her gaze averted downward. (What just happened? He... supported me. Such a thing never occurred in the game.) She was confused. Walter Eldrich returned to the examination room immediately. He took distance. Standing against the wall. But his gaze turned toward Reina Selyuse again. This time, different emotions mixed within it. (Why did I help her? Was it natural action? Or——) He recognized his own agitation. That recognition irritated him further. This abnormal fixation on this woman. It was clouding his judgment. (Until what you truly are becomes clear, my eyes will not waver.) He swore it internally. Late afternoon arrived. Work at the clinic neared its end. Reina Selyuse received a report from the doctor. Several patients' conditions had improved. Her dedicated efforts were bearing fruit. "Thanks to you, Miss Selyuse, we are truly helped. To have such a person in the charity work—the reputation of White Lily's Hand only grows." At the doctor's words, Reina Selyuse smiled softly. "I am grateful to be able to help the patients." Those words came from her heart. Unlike the villainess in the game, she truly wished to help these people. The carriage was prepared. Reina Selyuse and Walter Eldrich began their return to the capital. Inside the carriage, illuminated by the dimming sunset glow. The two sat facing each other. Silence flowed. Heavy. Sweet silence. "Your work today was admirable," Walter Eldrich spoke unexpectedly. His voice low, matter-of-fact. "...Thank you." Reina Selyuse answered, bewildered. She hadn't expected praise. "However," he continued. "My doubts remain unresolved. Whether you truly act from goodwill. Or whether you harbor some other purpose." "How long will you continue to doubt?" Reina Selyuse protested despite herself. Her voice carried exhaustion and resignation. "Until you speak the truth." Walter Eldrich's answer was cold. Yet his eyes held a faint warmth. Reina Selyuse noticed that gaze. And she thought. (Enemy? Or......) The carriage arrived at the Selyuse mansion. Walter Eldrich descended and gazed at Reina Selyuse. His eyes were as sharp as yesterday. Yet something seemed to kindle in their depths. "Until tomorrow." He spoke those words and departed. Reina Selyuse watched his retreating back. A heat throbbed deep within her body. She now recognized that it was bound to his presence. (Is he truly an enemy? Or something yet unseen? Either way, there is no escape.) Holding that thought, Reina Selyuse entered the Selyuse mansion. To the conservatory within. The only place of respite for now. White flowers glowed in the evening light. There, Reina Selyuse whispered. "Will I be watched again tomorrow?" Anxiety and anticipation. Both twisted together in her chest.