At the time Thea and Philip were having their conversation, Acel was crossing a dark swamp with the knights of his county.

It was called hunting, but in reality, he was investigating suspicious individuals connected to the Grand Duke under the Crown Prince’s orders.

This hunt had also been arranged because of that.

‘…She seemed to have misunderstood.’

Since he was preparing in secret, he couldn’t tell Thea separately. The ‘bear’ hunt itself was code for capturing nobles connected to the Grand Duke.

Bears during this season were extremely ferocious and starving, so approaching them carelessly usually meant a trip to the afterlife.

Fortunately, since they weren’t actually bears, there was no danger of losing his life.

“Count Winter. We’ve discovered a suspicious object here.”

“What does it look like?”

Since it was an unidentifiable object, he only asked without approaching, and the soldier just made an ambiguous expression. That meant it was something he’d never seen in his life.

Acel let out a deep sigh and raised the lamp in his hand higher.

“I’ll check it myself. Return to your position.”

“Yes, Count.”

After dismissing the soldier, Acel carefully approached the object and bent down. Then he discovered a cylindrical suspicious object and realized it resembled a bottle for containing curses that he’d seen in an old tome before.

Someone must have failed while trying to cast a curse.

Acel took a long breath at the complicating reality and told the soldier who’d approached.

“Return to House Winter immediately.”

“Pardon? Then what about the lady at House Yut…”

At the sight of the flustered soldier, stumbling over his words, Acel closed his eyes tightly before opening them again. He needed to resolve the misunderstanding, but it was clear he couldn’t.  

As the situation spiraled out of control once more, he clenched his teeth and forced himself to steady his tightening throat.

“We’re returning. To Winter. I’ll contact my wife separately. Tell the soldiers to prepare to return.”

“Yes, understood, Count.”

The soldier who’d received the order quickly disappeared from Acel’s side, and left alone, he kicked the bottle half-filled with curses on the ground with his foot.

He didn’t know who they were trying to curse, but they had d*mn terrible luck.

This wasn’t a bottle to curse someone else—it was a bottle that would devour the caster themselves.

To get caught by such a crude hex of all things.

“Ha, because of this thing…”

He’d wasted time. Saying he’d barked up the wrong tree again this time, Acel straightened his disheveled clothes and climbed onto the carriage following the path the soldier guided.

Before the carriage ran along the road, the soldier who’d been extremely hesitant asked again.

“Count.”

“What is it?”

“Are you really planning to leave without any word to Lady Winter? It doesn’t look good to me.”

At those words, Acel was about to say he had no hobby of repeating the same thing, but flinched and closed his mouth.

The image of her worrying when he said he was leaving to hunt bears flashed by.

“…Do you think my wife will worry about me?”

“Since she’s separated from those who were originally there, wouldn’t she worry?”

“I left word that I was entrusting things to Lord Philip?”

“She’ll still worry. Letting her know at least that you’re alive… what do you think?”

At the repeated advice, Acel felt an inexplicable frustration surging in his chest. He just needed to say he would, that he’d do that, but why wouldn’t his mouth open so easily?

Eventually, with a tired-looking face, he recited to the soldier:

“Do as you please. You seem to want to inform my wife of my life or death anyway.”

“May I really do as I please?”

“Yes, go to House Yut right now and tell them where I’m going.”

With the permission given, the soldier left his seat in a rush with a brightened face. As Acel stared at that retreating figure, another soldier approached and hesitantly spoke up.

“Count. Please don’t be angry. That fellow is a soldier from House Yut, so that’s why.”

“Were soldiers drafted from House Yut?”

“I understand about thirty came.”

At the report, Acel furrowed his brow sharply and thought—that a soldier who was an outsider was far better for Thea than himself, who was hiding behind things in such a petty way.

“Let’s return.”

“Yes, we’ll prepare the formation soon and follow.”

After hearing the soldier’s answer, Acel returned inside the carriage and roughly swept aside the curtain hanging by the window.

Rustle, rustle, rustle.

“D*mn it, even the curtain won’t listen.”

The curtain that usually flowed smoothly was stiff today. Like it matched his troubled mind, his sighs only grew heavier.

* * *

It had been quite a while since she sent Philip away and stood blankly by the window just looking at the sky.

The Milky Way that seemed about to appear showed not even a glimpse, and the stars had hidden somewhere too—everything was pitch black.

In that situation, there was nothing she could do.

Should she have clung to Philip a bit more to learn more about his news?

“…What am I even thinking?”

Useless delusions kept rising, and Thea laughed bitterly.

Then, just as she slowly came down from the window and was choosing between sleeping or heading to the office.

Beyond the window, though blurry, what seemed to be a soldier from the county appeared.

As traces of the one who was supposed to be missing, who supposedly wouldn’t return, surged forth, Thea bit her lip firmly.

She couldn’t even grasp how to react.

Should she laugh, or should she cry?

‘Or if not that.’

Should she just stand blankly and watch like now? Her dilemma only deepened at the reality she still couldn’t grasp, but that was all.

Soon the soldiers who’d reached the estate’s entrance strolled through the lobby with trudging steps and stopped in front of Thea’s bedroom.

Their intention was clear. They’d come to see Thea. They must know she hadn’t fallen asleep yet.

Just as she was wondering whether she should open the firmly closed door or not.

From outside, they began delivering a weighty report to Thea.

[My lady, the Count is surviving well and has returned directly to the estate. He seemed to hope you would also return home in the near future.]

Along with words wishing her a good night, the heavy footsteps grew distant. At the report that was like a notification, Thea sank down in place.

She couldn’t control her trembling body as the tension released.

Survival, return, notification.

“Ugh…”

The brief words spun dizzily in her head before being expelled as a groan, and when she became hazy under the name of relief.

Thea staggered up and looked at the sleeping pills placed beside the nightstand.

The nanny must have brought them, seeing her eyes looked sunken from not being able to sleep for several days.

She could tell without asking. She’d often brought them before too.

Saying it must have been only the nanny who brought them, she placed the sleeping pills in her palm.

Three pills.

Just three pills would let her sleep like the dead.

But strangely, they wouldn’t roll right into her mouth.

At the feeling like someone was forcibly blocking them, Thea rolled the pills in her palm with her thumbnail.

She needed to know what was bothering her so much.

“Ah, was that it?”

—It’s better not to depend on medication. Someday it’ll surely devour you.

“What did I answer back then?”

Did she say she would, or that she’d try to endure?

Frowning at the unclear answer, she eventually realized this irritation stemmed from something related to him.

A very long time ago, Acel had told her not to depend on sleeping pills. She remembered him looking at her with quite a worried expression then.

Until that time, all sorts of sweet emotions had wrapped around and surrounded them both.

Back then, she didn’t know the two of them would end up standing at the edge of a cliff like this.

Good days, bad days crossed and drew fantasies, and it was after she’d unconsciously swallowed three sleeping pills.

She threw her body onto the bed as her vision quickly grew hazy and looked at the still-dark sky.

Just because she’d looked away, one small star peeked out its face.

Blurry but definitely revealing its body, she stared at the star like she’d bore through it, and when she let out a deep breath, deep sleep had already arrived.

* * *

One week after the bear hunting incident.

Thea slept quite well without sleeping pills since that day became a turning point. Like someone who didn’t know what insomnia was.

Her rough face had become dewy white from living so well, and her body that had been dried up gained weight nicely, so she had as many as ten new dresses tailored.

The household members of House Yut kept looking at her with smiling faces, seemingly pleased by that fact.

Around the time that became burdensome, she was dragged to this garden.

Her mother introducing the garden with constant smiles, the nanny standing beside her, and herself awkwardly only touching the top of the teacup formed a strange harmony.

When her mother finished introducing the garden and walked briskly to the table where Thea was, she stuck out her lips like she didn’t like the plainly set table.

“It could have been more splendid… So Thea. Did you enjoy your rest at House Yut?”

At the question, she wondered what this meant, but brushed it off lightly, thinking it probably wasn’t anything special. She was someone who often said meaningless things.

“I think I enjoyed it in my own way. I gained weight, and they said my skin texture improved a lot too.”

“You seem to sleep well too. These days I keep hearing stories that a woman with her hair down doesn’t stand by the window late at night.”

The woman standing by the window referred to Thea. How could this family be so interested in others’ affairs?

At Winter, this would have been absolutely impossible.

Thea, who’d been grumbling internally that this aspect was uncomfortable, replied like nothing was wrong.

“Yes, I think I can sleep well without sleeping pills now.”

Did she subtly reveal her inner thoughts that they didn’t need to place medication on the nightstand as they pleased anymore, only fiddling with the cold teacup?

The Countess, who’d been glancing at such a Thea, rolled up the corners of her mouth slightly, finding it amusing.

“Good, I’m relieved you’re doing well. By the way, when will you return to House Winter? You should go back soon and organize the household.”

“Why are you worrying about that, Mother?”

“The lady of the house shouldn’t be away for too long. That’s why. Rumors are going around that House Winter is covered in cobwebs because you’re not there.”

At the mention of cobwebs, a chuckle escaped. Winter was a region where spiders couldn’t live due to its regional characteristics.

She should know to use at least a usable excuse… She didn’t understand why she was acting so foolishly.

Thea raised her slightly lowered eyes and stared fiercely at the Countess.

“You should speak properly.”

“What?”