Whizz.

Thud.

Rohana remained silent. She had already prepared a carriage for departure, but for now, she simply kept shooting arrows.

Aside from stopping Brandt from charging at her, there was nothing more Heath could do for her.

Heath quickly moved his hands, trying to ignore the growing heaviness in his heart. Even though he had long anticipated this moment, the weight of it felt unusually burdensome.

A marriage bound to end in betrayal — even if they didn’t intend it, Heath, having lived longer, knew well that Kaiden would inevitably harm Rohana in some way, just as he had “disposed of Axton.”

Even so, seeing her so shaken now made Heath angry at his lord’s irresponsibility.

‘Why did he have to stir her heart, knowing it was a relationship that could never be?’

Whizz.

Thud.

Through his narrowed eyes, Heath saw the arrow hit the target.

Wearing a dress from Nopthal, Rohana continued to shoot without complaint, seemingly unbothered.

She hit the mark every time, yet her pale, expressionless face remained unchanged.

“My lady.”

When Heath called out to her, her gaze darkened as she turned to him.

“The reason we never mentioned it is…”

‘Kaiden didn’t mean to make you pay for the sins of your parents, my lady. He’s too righteous for that. Besides, I didn’t want to trouble you with uncomfortable stories.’

Although a whirlwind of thoughts clouded Heath’s mind, nothing came out of his mouth. Instead, a small sigh escaped through his slightly parted lips.

“There was no obligation to tell me.”

Rohana gave a faint, bitter smile before drawing her bow again.

However, her hands trembled slightly on the bowstring. She soon lowered the bow, the sound of wood lightly clashing echoing as she did.

“Don’t worry about it.”

As she draped her cloak over her shoulders, her polite words held no trace of emotion. Unlike herself, her face seemed overly expressionless.

As they walked toward the carriage, it was Rohana who spoke first.

“They say Empress Aurelia has disappeared.”

Heath nodded.

“When? Any progress?”

“She disappeared yesterday. Other than taking a single carriage, she didn’t take anything else. The imperial guard is currently searching for her whereabouts.”

Rohana let out a small sigh and then silently climbed into the carriage, closing the door behind her.

It’s going to be a long trip.

Heath, unconsciously retracting the hand he had extended, thought to himself.

“Let’s go.”

At Heath’s command, the horses and carriage started moving. The carriage raced toward Nopthal at full speed, with Heath’s homing pigeon already cutting through the sky ahead.

***

The carriage arrived well past midnight. Rohana opened her eyes as she was told they had arrived.

The castle was larger than the one in the capital, if not gigantic. The grand ducal residence was splendid beyond belief, adorned with extravagant fountains, beautiful conifers, and ornamental trees decorating the garden and surrounding woods.

Nopthal.

Though this place, so different from the original, felt frightening now, her heart remained calm, contrary to her thoughts.

His firm body pressed against hers, his beating heart, his unwavering lips, and, most of all, the intense gaze that had once taken her breath away.

Since they were in a contractual relationship, since they were having a not-quite-romantic relationship between adults, she could ask him directly.

‘I’ll ask.’

‘What exactly happened?’

‘Why did you return to the imperial palace while looking for me back then? How did that happen?’

‘I’ll ask.’

As the carriage came to a full stop, Heath opened the door.

“Thank you.”

Rohana smiled at Heath. At that moment, a familiar figure appeared in the main entrance. Dressed in only a white shirt and pants, Kaiden stepped outside, without any other clothing.

“What happened? I only received word that you’d be arriving suddenly.”

Kaiden looked at Rohana, while Heath shook his head slightly in her peripheral vision.

Since she had left early and arrived past midnight, even neglecting tomorrow’s trial, it was only natural that Kaiden would be puzzled.

“Let’s talk.”

Rohana quickly walked past him.

But suddenly, she stopped in her tracks.

Someone who should absolutely not be here had appeared in her line of sight.

“Duchess.”

The woman, lightly bending her knees in a curtsey, was dressed in the same blue dress she wore the first time she had met the Golden Woman when Bardi returned from Nopthal. A Nopthal blue dress, her golden hair freely cascading in an eastern style.

Rohana’s lips parted slightly in shock.

“How are you here…?”

“When I heard the duchess had arrived… I thought it was only proper for a guest to come out and greet the hostess.”

Rohana stared at her for a moment, as if seeing a hallucination.

“Why is this person here?”

Her trembling voice reached Kaiden, who furrowed his brows and called for Iz in a loud voice.

“Iz!”

Iz, who had been rushing down the stairs, looked distressed.

“I’m really sorry.”

Iz, uncharacteristically flustered, tried to explain, but Rohana interrupted her.

“Why are you here?”

Rohana’s voice, as if speaking to herself, caused Aurelia to smirk down at her from the top of the stairs.

“You should probably ask the duke. Seems like communication isn’t going well between you two.”

Before Aurelia could finish speaking, Rohana turned to face Kaiden.

“Why is *she* here? Why is the empress here?”

Kaiden quietly grabbed her arm. Her thin arm trembled with tension as he held it firmly.

“I’ll hold you accountable later, Iz.”

It was the first time Kaiden’s voice carried such a deadly tone. Iz saluted and moved to roughly drag Aurelia away, but Rohana didn’t let her go.

“Duchess,” Iz said in a troubled voice.

“Rohana,” Kaiden added.

“Get her out of here.”

Rohana looked up at Kaiden. Her violet eyes were red with tears.

“Send her back to the capital immediately.”

Their eyes locked. Heath could be seen approaching, the tension about to burst.

Just as Rohana was about to speak again, Kaiden opened his mouth. His black eyes were hard and cold as he looked down at her.

“That won’t be possible.”

The tears that had been welling up in Rohana’s eyes froze, unable to fall. She let out a breath, her body suddenly losing strength, and her arm went limp.

“Rohana, let me explain…”

Rohana turned away and continued walking.

“Rohana.”

Kaiden’s hurried footsteps echoed as he followed her. The sharp sound of heels striking the floor filled the air.

In the large chamber where she arrived, starlight poured in from the towering windows. Her cold gaze swept across the room. The door closed behind her with a sound.

“Rohana.”

“I’ve taken care of Emily and Gregory Hanover. Just as you wanted, the Arin clan will never be the same, and… I let Emily live the way I wanted her to.”

Rohana laughed bitterly at herself, who had run this long distance, determined to ask and listen.

‘What did I even intend to ask? I’m so tired.’

She was tired of living as herself.

It would be enough to just stick to the contract. Whether or not Aurelia was brought back was his choice. It wasn’t part of their agreement.

So there was no reason to be angry. Yet, for some reason, her voice trembled.

“I’ll return to my own chamber now. Sharing the same space with only a different bedroom, after all, feels uncomfortable.”

Just as Rohana turned to head to her room, Kaiden roughly pulled her back.

Startled as if burned, Rohana resisted with all her strength, but Kaiden didn’t let go of her.

Looking at the wrist he was holding, Rohana retaliated.

“Do you still want something from me?”

Perhaps it was because she was the daughter of his sworn enemy, and he didn’t care what happened to her. Kaiden’s brow furrowed.

“At least let me explain…”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Her voice cracked. The words she thought she wouldn’t be able to say finally left her lips.

“About my parents… why didn’t you tell me?”

Kaiden’s brow creased deeply. His narrowed black eyes wavered.

“Why didn’t you tell me that I was the daughter of the family that wronged you…?”

She gasped for breath, even as she exhaled. Given what had been done to him, it wouldn’t have been a stretch for him to betray the empire, to be the one behind it all.

‘So you had your reasons.’

“Did you not tell me because you thought I wouldn’t stand by your side, no matter what you did?”

Her voice broke into pieces. While Rohana struggled to catch her breath, Kaiden seemed to finally understand her words, and his gaze fell.

“No, you were right. You had to go that far to make me completely betray the Hanover, didn’t you?”

Though tears quickly filled her large eyes, Rohana gritted her teeth and held them back. She had no intention of crying.

“You thought that if I realized it earlier, I might become wary or scared and refuse to cooperate with you…”

“Rohana.”

Her words came faster and faster.

“That’s why Aurelia is here too. Now that you’re done with me.”

Her voice grew louder, as if someone were choking her. The grip on her wrist tightened. Her pleading eyes gradually sharpened.

“Stop it.”

“You should have just told me everything when we made the contract. You didn’t need to go through all this trouble, mixing romance into it to deceive me.”

As she faced him, her voice only grew louder.

“Rohana!”

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