Sometimes kindness can be a sharper blade than cruelty.

…Why you.

Why does it have to be you.

He was more resentful to the red-haired woman worrying about him right in front of him than to the red-haired woman glaring at him from behind. Do you know what I did to you? You don’t, do you? You helped because you don’t know!

But you should have left me alone!

His soul screamed in agony.

Just, no matter where I fall and die, no matter where I get beaten, whether I’ve been abused all my life or not, you just… you just… me…

As a child, he wished someone would protect him. Hope never came despite his waiting. Ethan survived on his own. At the end of it, he drove an innocent person to despair, and now that person saved him.

“This is a matter concerning Trisel.”

He drew a line as best as he could.

And you are no longer of Trisel. You no longer bear the name that became a tragedy for you.

“Do not interfere.”

It felt like a demon was laughing behind him.

* * *

The heavy snowfall in the north buries many secrets.

For instance, how the first wife of the former Duke died. And how the former Duke himself died. What kind of life the only heir, who became a Duke at the tender age of five, endured.

All of these were kept strictly secret.

If you dig through the snow, a simple truth emerges.

The first secret: The Duchess died of a fever.

She truly died of illness, not poison. But the former Duke believed that his beloved first wife had been poisoned. The suspect in his misunderstanding was his second wife, Bridget Erentis.

His suspicion was quite reasonable. Although there was only circumstantial evidence, each piece of it was strong.

Bridget Erentis, as a maiden, had fallen in love with the married former Duke at first sight and pursued him relentlessly. She even said she was fine with being his mistress.

Moreover, Bridget was a distant member of the royal family, and the Hener family was known for their greed. If they wanted something, they had to have it. With such beliefs, they built a great kingdom.

In summary, Bridget was greedy, and a year after she showed her desire for the former Duke, the Duchess died of a fever.

The Duke easily solidified his misunderstanding that Bridget had poisoned his wife.

The second secret: The former Duke married Bridget right after his wife’s death. And on their very first night together, he committed suicide in front of her.

Bridget Erentis, who had been overjoyed that her wish came true, had to watch as her love died, leaving a curse. The former Duke’s actions were swift and cold, leaving her stunned with wide eyes.

‘Did you kill my wife because you wanted me?’

She had no chance to correct the misunderstanding.

‘Remember this moment for the rest of your life. The person you loved, who you drove to death.’

Never forget, even when you die.

Leaving such a curse, the former Duke departed.

Bridget Erentis did not forget. She could not forget. Because a boy who looked exactly like her cursed old love was alive and breathing.

The third secret: Bridget Erentis could not bear the existence of the boy.

A child who looked just like her love. A child who inherited the blood of the woman she most envied, resented, and was jealous of. She hated the boy, and the boy hated her in return.

She would continue to remember and remember the silver-haired man as she lived. Then, shouldn’t the silver-haired man also remember her? Hatred runs deep. So deep that it cannot be uprooted.

Bridget Erentis knew this truth well.

So she engraved a hatred deeper than her own into the boy.

Because she hated the boy so much. Because he was hateful and detestable.

And the boy, so… so…

Bridget, who was pacing by the window, crossed her arms and looked around the room. The man sitting in the chair had his head tilted back, showing only his prominent Adam’s apple. His silver hair hung down.

Bridget felt an urge to yank out that hair. Damn it, damn it, damn it. As she walked over, heating up that deep-seated impulse, she saw the swollen side of the young man’s handsome face.

She bit her lip and sneered.

“Why are you slouching like that?”

Ethan Erentis still didn’t move. Like a corpse. Or a sinner. Bridget, twisted inside, approached very close and looked down at him.

“How does it feel to be protected by a woman?”

A slight twitch of the eyebrows. A trembling cheek. Aha.

“Lady Laurel, she looks quite like me, doesn’t she?”

“……”

“Well, both of us have red hair. We’re probably the only ones in this kingdom with that color. Do you think she will… Ugh!”

“Shut up.”

The man who simply grabbed her by the neck smirked.

“Shut that mouth. It makes me sick.”

Ethan, gauging the strength of his grip, then threw Bridget to the floor. The woman, who had fallen pathetically, quickly got up. Her brown eyes were filled with malice.

“Don’t forget, Ethan Erentis.”

“……”

“I hold your father’s seal!”

“So what.”

“What?”

Ethan let out a nonchalant sigh.

It might have been an excuse that worked on him in his previous life, but it didn’t matter to him now.

Father’s seal. It was important.

It was a family heirloom of Trisel and a symbol of his responsibility for the north.

But before that woman, that wretched witch, intervened, hadn’t he already decided to die? The north wasn’t particularly important to him anymore. They would manage just fine without him.

Even if they didn’t, he didn’t care. In truth, the north had also let that woman die. The primary responsibility lay with Ethan Erentis, but the north wasn’t entirely innocent.

So if they couldn’t manage, so be it.

If they fell, they would fall as their karma dictated.

“You, you… right now…”

“Don’t worry. I won’t kill you.”

At those simple words, Bridget Erentis’s expression twisted pathetically. Half relief, half disappointment.

Why disappointment?

One of Bridget Erentis’s secret wishes was for Ethan to kill her. Just as his father, that idiot, had left a curse on her with his death, she hoped to leave a curse on him with her death.

If Ethan truly tried to kill her, she would have pondered every night about what final words to leave, what words to stab him with. So Ethan Erentis had no intention of fulfilling that woman’s wish. Not a chance.

…Aside from that, why had he left her unscathed in his previous life?

Why hadn’t he broken a single bone, whether her wrist or ankle, and left her intact? Because he didn’t want to get his hands dirty? Because of that damn seal? Because he knew she would happily commit suicide if she became disabled?

Or had he lived that way for so long that a part of his brain was broken?

This is ridiculous… I was truly the biggest idiot among idiots. Ethan felt annoyed in many ways.

He stood up and looked down at the woman filled with blue venom. The nightmare that had seemed so big and terrifying in his childhood was now much smaller than him.

Maybe he should do something about it now. It was just as he was tempted to reach out.

The cool voice that had protected him suddenly intervened to stop him.

‘This is Tyche, and with Their Majesties and Their Highnesses absent, I am responsible for Tyche. I have a duty to treat all guests of Tyche with respect.’

According to that logic, this woman was also Hyacinth’s guest.

If Bridget Erentis got hurt, Hyacinth would, well, not be troubled, but she would be disturbed. That wouldn’t do.

“How dare you think of killing me?”

“……”

“Considering what your father did to me, you should at least have the decency to feel sorry for me!”

“……”

“You inhuman bastard!”

If he died first, he couldn’t guarantee that this woman wouldn’t do something to Hyacinth.

One unfortunate end was enough.

There couldn’t be a second. Ethan Erentis had to eliminate all potential sources of misfortune for Hyacinth before he left.

Just when he thought he had found a path, he was back at square one. He felt like a child lost in a maze, knowing nothing.

The day of death seemed far off, and atonement even further.

Ethan suddenly felt an undeserved sorrow.

* * *

And the very next day, Tyche became bustling.

The reason was clear: the royals and nobles who had gone hunting returned all at once. They had hurried back, cutting their trip short.

Duke Ethan Erentis of Trisel.

The mysterious high lord, shrouded in mystery, had appeared in Tyche for the first time! How could they not come to see!

Curiosity. The emotion that even the king and queen couldn’t resist. Those who returned with eyes ablaze were immensely satisfied to see the silver-haired young man. They looked like cats that had eaten their fill.

‘The more handsome men, the better. Tyche will be lively.’

Queen Johanna lightly clapped her hands.

‘The Duke has grown up, so the north will have no worries.’

King Kendrick nodded with relief.

Unlike last time, Ethan Erentis completed the formal audience with a clear mind. Although his lack of social skills made the conversation awkward and stilted…

During the ceremony, he discreetly glanced to the side, watching Hyacinth without anyone noticing. Once again, the sunlight cast a spell, turning Hyacinth’s hair golden, and for a brief moment, the woman with golden hair was dazzlingly beautiful.

And she didn’t look at him. Not even for a moment.

Without the slightest interest, she played with her cousin’s fingers beside her.

Her hands, fidgeting in the sunlight, were white and pretty. It was a relief that they were intact.