Some fears never fade.

Not even after dying once.

She remembers that repulsive hand gripping her.

The sound of casual, thoughtless laughter echoing above her fallen body.

It was the night before her engagement.

As was customary, Ariana was staying in the imperial palace.

Andrew Claude dragged her into a private chamber by her filthy hands.

“What’s wrong with getting a head start on what we’re supposed to do on the first night?”

“Your Highness, please! We’re not—this isn’t—”

“Ariana Aberdeen. Is your family really going to disgrace itself like this after all the trouble you went to to earn my favour?”

“Ah—!”

Struck hard across the face, Ariana curled up, trembling in fear.

But when her face began to swell and become disfigured, Andrew finally seemed to remember.

They were on the eve of their engagement ceremony.

Even drunk, he was fiercely proud of his carefully cultivated image as the noble Crown Prince.

He couldn’t possibly allow his future bride to appear anything other than perfect.

“Tch. How annoying. We still have to take photos.”

“Hngh… ugh…”

“If you shed a single tear out there, Aberdeen.”

He muttered, smiling mockingly as he gently tapped beneath her eyes.

He held a candlestick in his other hand, its tip glinting dangerously.

“You wouldn’t want those pretty eyes of yours poked out, would you?”

She had never smiled harder in her life than she did at the engagement ceremony that day.

It was a smile born of pure survival instinct.

Despite everything, Andrew was cunning.

He spread rumours that Ariana Aberdeen had come to him of her own accord, even before the ceremony.

He portrayed himself as the perfect gentleman who had gently turned her away, even though she had offered herself willingly.

All of this was just a smokescreen to hide the monstrous thing he tried to do in his drunken haze.

But the public believed the Crown Prince.

Andrew was hailed as a romantic and refined man.

Ariana, on the other hand, became infamous and was labelled a cunning seductress.

Adding fuel to the fire, Andrew sent the House of Aberdeen lavish and excessive gifts.

Had they been returned, perhaps the rumours would have died down.

However, despite Ariana’s protests, Josephina accepted each gift with delight.

Even when Andrew fled, the stain on Ariana’s name remained, like dried mud that couldn’t be scraped off.

Dirty.

Extravagant.

Greedy.

A wicked woman.

That’s why, even after marrying Kenneth, she did everything she could to defend her reputation.

But…

‘This time, I won’t.’

She now knew all too painfully that all her efforts had been in vain.

From now on, she would save her strength for what really mattered.

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

This time, it wasn’t Kenneth.

It was one of the estate’s servants.

“Come in.”

“Good day, madam.”

Ariana half-expected another maid, probably someone who cursed her behind her back like most of the staff here.

But when she saw the girl who stepped inside this time, a small, genuine smile touched her lips.

The maid had thick, chestnut hair braided neatly over one shoulder, and she exuded the unmistakable air of someone fresh from the countryside with big dreams.

“Hello, Emily.”

“…! M-Madam, how did you know my name—?”

“I know the names of every servant in the estate.”

After all, there had been a time when she had earnestly tried to fulfil her role as the proper lady of the house.

Seventeen-year-old Emily Vance looked utterly moved, her face lighting up in awe.

To her young eyes, the Duchess of a great noble house like Ariana’s must have seemed impressive indeed.

‘But soon, she’ll be just like the others.’

It was only a matter of time before the older maids taught her to whisper about her mistress behind her back.

The gratitude shining in Emily’s eyes because her name had been remembered would vanish before long, too.

It was all so fleeting and meaningless.

Still, Ariana offered Emily a gentle smile.

“I don’t believe I summoned you. What brings you here?”

“Ah, well… It’s just that today is Wednesday, madam. I came to ask if I should confirm the Duke’s schedule.”

“Ah.”

A quiet sound of dismay escaped Ariana’s lips.

So much had happened in such a chaotic manner that she had completely forgotten to ask Kenneth about it when she saw him.

‘I forgot to ask about Wednesday evening…’

Unlike the Aberdeens, the Cliffords owned a vast estate.

Its residents could spend days without crossing paths if they wished.

Kenneth left her in the enormous mansion and only visited when he felt like it.

She might as well have been a silent criminal awaiting punishment.

Even a mansion filled only with servants felt suffocating, like a gilded prison.

“Kenneth, please. Can’t you spare just one day? Just Wednesday?”

Wednesday was the only day of the week when his workload eased slightly.

She just wanted a couple of hours.

She thought that if they could just sit down and talk properly face-to-face,

If they could talk properly—then maybe, just maybe, they could thaw the frost between them.

“We’ll see.”

“Thank you. I’ll wait for you.”

But he never came.

The so-called ‘Wednesday dinner’ turned out to be nothing more than Ariana’s one-sided, pitiful affection.

He didn’t even bother to say he couldn’t make it.

She was left with nothing but the ache of waiting in vain and the cruel hope that he might show up next time.

But that foolishness had to end.

“No, there’s no need to ask His Grace about Wednesday’s schedule anymore.”

“Ah—yes, madam!”

“And from now on, you won’t need to run this errand again.”

“Pardon?”

Emily blinked in surprise, her pale green eyes wide.

Although she was a new maid on the estate, she had overheard enough gossip to realise just how important ‘Wednesday dinner’ was to the Duchess.

The Duchess would wait for hours in the empty dining hall!

Two place settings had been laid out on the table, and Emily clung stubbornly to her hope.

She hesitated, then asked cautiously,

“I’m supposed to relay this to Secretary Ingles. Forgive me, but how should I explain it?”

“Just tell him I’ve come to my senses.”

“Excuse me?”

It must have been unbearable for a man to see a woman he despised begging for time to defend herself.

From now on, there would be no more dinners and no more desperate attempts at intimacy outside the bedroom.

No more opportunities to hurt each other.

Ariana offered the flustered girl a faint, almost awkward smile.

“Tell him I won’t be bothering His Grace for time anymore, either.”

“…Understood.”

Emily bowed and quietly left.

Ariana turned back to her thoughts.

Her focus had already shifted to what lay ahead.

She needed to focus on being reunited with her baby, Bibi.

‘First… I need a place where I can hide with the child.’

The Aberdeen family had lost all their wealth and severed all their connections.

Ariana had no one left she could rely on.

As long as House Clifford remained powerful, anyone who saw her would undoubtedly report her.

‘Then staying anywhere within the Cremisa Empire might be impossible.’

It was an extreme conclusion, but perhaps the only answer was to disappear entirely from the country.

She needed a way to escape. Funds to make it possible. A safe place to settle…

‘I’ll need to go out for a bit.’

It was risky, but she had to go outside and gather information herself.

***

Every Wednesday, Kenneth would receive a small card bearing familiar handwriting.

Last week was no different, with a thick white card bearing the same handwriting.

The message on it was light and delicate, like petals softly drifting to the ground.

***

Dear Kenneth,

With the arrival of the season of blooming flowers, I hope today’s sunlight has warmed you gently.

I’m writing to you under the pretext of flowers to see if you might be free this afternoon.

I would be delighted if we could share dinner together tonight.

If not, however, please don’t hesitate to let me know.

Yours always,

Ariana

***

It was as if she had forgotten that he had ignored all her requests over the past year.

She continued to write to him without fail.

If this was her strategy for ensnaring men, he had to admit that she was remarkably patient.

As usual, he planned to throw the letter away as soon as it arrived on Wednesday.

But the maid who came to him this time was empty-handed.

Kenneth glanced indifferently at the visibly nervous girl standing before him:

Emily Vance.

She had passed House Clifford’s meticulous servant vetting process without issue — there was nothing about her that raised any questions.

She wasn’t someone Ariana regularly commanded either, so she wouldn’t lie out of misplaced loyalty.

“She said she won’t be asking about this Wednesday’s schedule.”
“…I see.”
“The reason?”
“She said she’s come to her senses, Your Grace.”

“…”

Kenneth narrowed his cold, teal eyes.

First, there was her overly polite demeanour, which had irritated him slightly.

And now this.

‘Come to her senses.’

It was as if seeking his attention and forgiveness had been a foolish delusion all along. Now, she was resolutely declaring that she would no longer cling on to him.

‘How dare she.’

He hadn’t yet decided when to let her go.

She was trying to let go on her own.

The maid, already shrinking under the weight of the duke’s presence, stammered out her next words.

“She said she won’t bother Your Grace about this matter ever again.”

“I see.”

With a dismissive flick of his hand, Kenneth signalled for her to leave.

Emily quickly scurried out of the room.

Roger, watching the Duke’s brooding expression, spoke cautiously.

“Isn’t this for the best, Your Grace? You’ve been busy arranging meetings with Duvris, after all…”

“You’re not wrong.”

It should have been a relief. He had one less thing to deal with.

She was finally staying quiet, sparing him the irritation of her flowery little notes.

It should have been convenient.

“But Roger.”

“Yes, sir?”

“I don’t appreciate unexpected variables.”

“… Ah.”

After what he had suffered before, he couldn’t allow anything outside his control to take root.

Nothing irritated him more than being pulled in an unpredictable direction.

“If Ariana leaves the estate, inform me immediately. I need to know what she’s scheming.”

“Understood!”

***

Over the next few days, Ariana began stepping out.

— dressed simply and inconspicuously.

Although an escort had been assigned to follow her, she knew their purpose was to monitor her, not protect her.

However, it wasn’t unusual for noblewomen in the Cremisa Empire to visit places of worship during the week to pray.

Even if they whispered behind her back and called her a temptress, Ariana was still a noblewoman.

In the grand central cathedral, radiant with stained glass, she bowed her head in earnest prayer.

“Please… let me see my bibi again.”

This time, she was determined to be a good mother, no matter what it took.

And yet, of all the churches scattered across the capital city of Lenthia, she had chosen the grand central cathedral for reasons other than its beauty or size.

Ariana, under constant surveillance, had noticed something that others might have overlooked.

This sacred place offered her something far more precious: a chance to gather information without arousing suspicion.