His voice was laced with venom, clearly intended to hurt her, but Ariana wasn’t surprised.

She merely repeated his words in her mind, devoid of emotion.

‘So that’s how it is. What we did in bed was just a convenient way for you to satisfy your urges.’

‘That’s why… even our baby—you called her a mistake.’

‘That’s why you didn’t grieve when our baby died.’

Her thoughts grew clearer and calmer.

With her eyes lowered, she whispered quietly.

“When the time comes for me to step aside for the next woman, will you let me live?”

“That depends on how you conduct yourself until then.”

Kenneth’s expression turned completely disinterested.

As if he had touched something filthy, he pulled his hand away from Ariana and took a step back.

“There’ll be a banquet hosted by the Count of Byron. Prepare for it.”

“Yes.”

That was the end of their conversation as husband and wife.

The door shut with a heavy thud, leaving Ariana alone once again.

But this thorny exchange served as a clear compass.

‘I have to leave Kenneth.’

In her previous life, she had been too afraid to ask the important questions, too scared to discover the truth.

But now she knew.

She would be discarded when the time came. No matter how aware Kenneth was of public opinion, he wouldn’t let her go without a fight.

‘In the worst-case scenario, I’ll end up like those people who were hanged in the town square.’

They were accused of a fabricated crime and executed without hesitation.

There was a time when the thought of dying terrified her.

But now, strangely enough, it didn’t faze her at all.

‘After all, I’ve done it once before. It wasn’t so hard.’

If anything, Kenneth must have felt relieved when she dealt with it herself.

Perhaps he regretted that it wasn’t a more beautiful ending.

But what about bibi?

‘Baby, you were not a mistake.’

Ariana clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her palms.

Even though Kenneth’s life had fallen apart because of her and the Aberdeen family, this was a line that should never have been crossed.

“Mom will definitely…”

Josephina had taken her own life, leaving Ariana behind.

But Ariana vowed to be a different kind of mother.

She would be the kind of mother who made her child happy.

She would find bibi again and raise her to be the happiest child in the world.

Ariana wouldn’t raise a child who was too timid to ask for trifle for dessert.

Sniff.

Tears slipped down her cheeks, but Ariana wiped them away quickly.
There was no reason to cry—not this time.
This time, she would save her child.
This time, they would live a long, happy life together.

‘You called our child a mistake, Kenneth.’
However, once a mistake has been made, it can always be repeated.

It can always happen again.

So, this time, Kenneth Clifford—

— will make the same ‘mistake’ all over again.

‘And before you can throw me away, I’ll have disappeared on my own.’

After stealing your child and vanishing to a place where no one will ever find me.

***

After their conversation ended, Kenneth made his way to his office.

He had only gone to see her in the first place because she had been causing a commotion. He had never intended to spend the night with her.

Ariana was merely a tool, kept at his side for convenience.

However, his secretary, Roger Ingles, looked visibly displeased.

With his red hair, pale skin, sharp features, and piercing green eyes, Roger had long served as Kenneth’s right-hand man.

“You should be careful, Master.”

He had also been one of the most vocal opponents of the marriage from the outset.

Even if they needed to compromise with the imperial family to some extent, why did it have to be Ariana Aberdeen?

“Her reputation precedes her, and it’s not good.”

“Do you think I’ll fall for her tricks again, Roger?”

“No, sir!”

Alarmed by Kenneth’s cold tone, Roger quickly bowed his head.

After all, no one resented the opera house shooting incident more than Kenneth himself.

Nevertheless, Roger couldn’t hide his disapproval completely.

“She’s nothing but trouble. That woman brings nothing but disgrace. Even during her engagement to the Crown Prince, her extravagance alone…”

Kenneth remained silent, staring at the smoke curling from his cigar.

He had barely survived the assassins’ ambush, having been hidden away with the help of his loyal retainers and the Kingdom of Duvris.

The world had been busy.

Rumours about Ariana Aberdeen never stopped circulating.

She was labelled a debauched and shameless woman and deemed unfit to be the crown princess.

It was said that she was madly in love with Andrew.

Everyone knew. The whole world knew.

And yet she flailed around in denial, acting desperately as if none of it were true.

It was pathetic. Disgusting.

“Kenneth, please… Can’t you spare just one day — just Wednesday?”

“Even after the party’s over is fine… Please…”

“You can call it an excuse if you want, but please.”

“I never loved Andrew!”

She erased her first husband from existence just to survive.

Kenneth could admit that it was a clever move, albeit a transparently pathetic one done solely to preserve her life.

Even now, over a year into their marriage, Ariana continued to wear that same mask of false sincerity.

Kenneth took another long drag from his cigar.

‘And now she’s calling me ‘Your Grace’?’

When did she become the kind of person who uses honorifics properly?

When he was just the Young Duke, she chirped his name — ‘Kenneth this’, ‘Kenneth that’ — without hesitation.

Even on the day of her sentencing, she said it so casually.

And now? This sudden formality is nothing short of hypocritical.

“I just thought I should be more respectful from now on.”

He didn’t like it.

Beneath her politeness lurked defiance.

Given her situation, she should have been begging for mercy. Instead, there she was, trying to maintain her pride. It grated on him.

‘You have no right to act that way.’

After the incident, Kenneth developed an almost obsessive need for control.

Anything less left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Ariana’s quiet insolence was no exception.

In his view, the right to reject her belonged to him alone.

For her to distance herself first, to act as if she had a choice in the matter, was unforgivable.

Yet none of this turmoil showed on his face.

Kenneth Clifford refused to let anyone see him shaken again.

Ever.

“The woman will only remain Duchess for a little while longer, so spare me the nagging.”

“… Your Grace.”

“I’ve already worn myself out replacing the Crown Prince. Replacing a wife too quickly would only bring more trouble than it’s worth.”

“Understood.”

Roger let out a quiet, regretful sigh.

Still, Ariana Aberdeen would never hold that seat for long.

‘For now, it seems that His Grace took her in under pressure from the Imperial Family. However, Lady Theodora Byron is waiting in the wings.’

With her striking black hair and dark eyes, Lady Theodora Byron was considered an ideal marriage prospect.

Her family owned a shipping company, making her an ideal match for the Clifford, who were spearheading the development of tourism in the south.

Besides, wasn’t her family one of the few to support the Clifford during their darkest days?

‘If he wants an heir, he will remarry her.’

Theodora Byron herself probably believed the same. Without a doubt.

Eventually, Kenneth waved Roger away with a dismissive flick of his hand.

Only once he was alone did he pick up the small frame that was lying face down on his desk.

Inside wasn’t a photo, but a torn-out piece of newspaper.

<The Crown Prince’s Future Bride: The Eldest Daughter of the Aberdeen Viscountcy>

In the photo taken during the engagement ceremony, the woman wore a radiant smile and her face beamed with pure joy.

She was smiling brighter than anyone else in the world.

The article went on to praise her beauty, from her ash-gold hair to her aquamarine eyes.

On reflection, Kenneth realised that he had known this woman since they were young.

And he had never seen her smile like that before.

Whenever he spoke to Ariana Aberdeen, she would either lower her head or fidget awkwardly.

“Still… on graduation day, I’ll invite the person I like.”
“…Will you come?”

In retrospect, he should have found the invitation suspicious.

But she had hidden behind her long hair, looking flustered and unsure.

And, like a fool, he had fallen for it completely.

“There probably won’t be much use for it after graduation anyway. I’ll have to marry someone after all.”

Of all her lies, that was probably the only truth.

It was spoken by the girl who had secretly conspired with her family to weave a charming little scheme.

Kenneth looked down at Ariana, who had once been on the verge of becoming crown princess.

He let out a bitter laugh.

“So this was your real dream all along. Your plan to marry someone after graduation. How unfortunate that I was the one who shattered your glorious future.”

Clack.

He shut the picture frame, no longer wanting to look at it.

***

Andrew Claude.

Ariana’s first husband — the crown prince who fled less than a day after their wedding.

Although he lost the political power struggle, he had always had an impeccable public reputation.

He was known for his restraint and never flirted recklessly with women.

Among men, he was mockingly praised with the ‘honorary insult’ of being a prude.

That’s why no one believed Ariana.

“You went to bridal school, didn’t you? Then you should have practised what really matters.”

In truth, he was a monster.

He was so cunning and greedy that it was hard to believe he had hidden his true nature for so long.

Even the upper-class men he socialised with had no idea about the depravity lurking beneath the surface.

But on the night before the engagement ceremony, drunk on both victory and wine, the man revealed his true self to Ariana —his ‘lawful’ prey.