“…Libehi Winterd, you said?”

“You may simply call me Duke Winterd, as is customary in the Eastern Empire.”

The crimson pupils—like eyes that had stolen the burning kiss of the sun—fixed themselves on Larinne.

‘Is it really you, Libehi?’

That gaze possessed an irresistible force, like a plant compelled to follow the path of the sun without question.

‘But if that were true… something is different.’

There was a clear difference between the person Larinne remembered and the envoy from the enemy kingdom standing before her.

The way he looked at her was different.

The Libehi she knew had gentle golden eyes, softly gleaming like a full moon lingering at dawn.

Not those crimson pupils that looked as though they had just pierced through a beating heart.

Still, it was not as though there was no resemblance at all.

The man before her made her thoughts spin in confusion.

‘Is he merely someone who resembles him?’

‘Or could it be…’

A passage she had once read in a book surfaced in her mind.

‘Some monster curses can even alter a person’s appearance…’

The faint possibility made her heart pound harder than it ever had before. The beating was so fierce she wondered if her heart might burst out of her chest.

“Do you have something you wish to say?”

“…Ah.”

With a small gasp, Larinne regained her senses and turned fully toward Libehi Winterd.

The crimson gaze briefly dropped to her feet as she took a step away from Seidon.

Her pale lips parted with difficulty.

“Your name… you said it was Libehi…”

“Libehi Winterd. It is a common name in the northern regions. The surname Winterd even more so.”

Had she mistaken him for someone who merely resembled him?

She could not be sure.

In her homeland of the Kingdom of Gurmen, surnames were not used. The Lemens were an ethnic group who did not distinguish families by last names.

This was part of their culture, rooted in the belief that all Lemens were family.

Everyone was known only by their given name.

Before she came here, she had not been Larinne Ontuevi; she had simply been Larinne. And he had simply been Libehi.

The lingering doubt lodged in her throat, refusing to fade.

“Have you always used that surname?”

“I do not know whom you are thinking of, but most likely not.”

The firm answer felt like a line being drawn between them.

‘Can two people truly resemble each other this much?’

Perhaps it was nothing more than the foolish illusion of someone who could not forget the one who had already died.

“Are the two of you acquainted?”

Seidon asked in an unpleasant tone.

The confusion within her remained unresolved, but with the man responding so decisively, she could not continue pressing the matter.

‘He’s dead.’

‘He died long ago.’

So she had to accept it.

This man bearing the surname Winterd was not him—the one she longed for.

“No. This is our first meeting.”

She answered while looking straight at the man who resembled him.

The man standing before her was simply the representative of the envoy from the Kingdom of Lirmen, a rising power the Eastern Empire had recently begun to court with great effort.

Yes.

A stranger.

Even though she understood that with her mind, her mouth still felt strangely dry.

“If I offended you, I apologize. I was rude, Duke Winterd.”

“It was hardly rude.”

Within the heavy tangle of their gazes, the man slowly parted his dry lips.

A crimson tongue slid out and leisurely traced across his lower lip.

It was as though he were doing it deliberately for her to see.

The movement was strangely indecent.

Just watching it made Larinne feel inexplicably unsettled, and without realizing it, she curled her hand into a fist.

Chapter 3. A Strange Whisper (continued)

“If you are truly concerned about having been rude, then you may allow me to greet you in the Lemen manner.”

“The Lemen manner…?”

Did he mean that greeting?

Before Larinne could even ask Seidon for permission, Libehi Winterd closed the distance between them in an instant.

Then his large, knuckled hand reached out and touched the hair that had been brushed to one side over Larinne’s shoulder.

“!”

Even though he clearly saw her flinch, the man named Libehi Winterd did not withdraw.

Instead, with a faint smile that seemed as though it might vanish at any moment, he slowly bent his waist to meet Larinne at eye level.

“In the Kingdom of Lirmen, this is how we show courtesy when meeting someone we are pleased to see.”

The man’s red lips descended upon her snow-white hair.

“I have truly wished to meet you.”

The faint breath that slipped between his slightly damp lips brushed her nape so gently that it felt almost like a caress.

Her slender shoulders shrank inward.

His soft lips had not even touched her bare skin directly, yet her entire body tensed.

If she remained like this any longer, it felt as though she might be swallowed by him.

“Lord Winterd. What exactly do you think you’re doing?”

At that moment, Seidon—his face dark with anger—roughly twisted Larinne by the wrist and cut the conversation short.

In the Eastern Empire, touching the hair of the opposite s*x was considered a form of s*xual provocation.

Unable to contain his temper, Seidon flew into a rage, forcing the meeting to halt for a time.

When the negotiations resumed, Larinne had to wait outside the annex until the diplomatic discussion concluded.

If she crouched beneath the slightly open window, she could overhear the private conversation between Seidon and Libehi Winterd.

“Therefore, during our stay here, we hope that our delegation will be permitted to receive treatment with divine power.”

“So the rumor is true—that someone in your delegation requires purification from a curse.”

“Of course. We intend to provide ample compensation in return.”

“In that case, the Kingdom of Lirmen should open the dam on the upper Pactio River during the famine season.

In return, the Eastern Empire will grant priority trading rights for its specialty goods for the next three years.”

Seidon’s demand carried a somewhat arrogant and audacious tone, and Larinne found herself listening more intently.

The matter of opening the dam could directly affect Pellet’s escape plan.

At present, the entire eastern continent was in the dry season.

In about two weeks, when the Pactio River would dry enough for its riverbed to become visible, Larinne planned to escape the Eastern Empire by following the waterway beneath the riverbank where the surveillance was weakest.

But if the Kingdom of Lirmen, which controls the upper Pactio River, opens the dam…

Then the plan to escape along the waterway would have to be abandoned.

That was troubling news—especially when the group meant to escape with her included children and the elderly. Losing the safest route would not be welcome.

No… there’s no need to worry yet.

They wouldn’t trade such a valuable political card just for divine power treatment.

Moreover, it was well known that the Lirmen royal family had little interest in the Eastern Empire’s specialty goods.

Larinne believed the Lirmen delegation would politely refuse.

After all, even if this meeting was meant to establish diplomatic relations, there was no reason for them to give up their own advantage so easily.

“Agreed.”

What?

If she had not quickly covered her mouth, she might have gasped aloud.

‘What are they thinking?’

Contrary to her expectations, the Lirmen delegation accepted the proposal without hesitation.

Larinne could not grasp their intentions.

‘…Weren’t they supposed to negotiate about establishing joint administration over the Northern Perpetual Snow Mountains?’

For four years since its founding, the Kingdom of Lirmen had insisted on an isolationist policy.

Even the fact that they had suddenly changed their stance and agreed to diplomatic talks was surprising enough.

Yet now they were offering to surrender a politically advantageous bargaining chip—opening the dam—with such ease.

It unsettled her.

Whatever the reason, anything that posed a risk to Pellet could not be ignored.

“Very well. For two months, the Lirmen delegation will be granted access to the Grand Temple.”

“There is one condition.”

“A condition?”

“The one who must provide the divine power treatment is Lady Larinne.”

“Is there a particular reason it must be so?”

“Is it not rare to encounter someone with such powerful divine power? I merely wish to receive the finest treatment befitting a distinguished guest of a nation.”

“……”

The conversation between the two men fell silent.

Larinne worried that Seidon might once again fail to control his temper and draw his sword. But that concern proved unnecessary.

This diplomatic relationship was more important to Seidon than she had imagined.

“I will inform the secretary. The envoy of Lirmen must ensure the promise is kept.”

Larinne quietly let out a dry laugh she had been holding back.

‘So he intends to sell even my abilities.’

Her fiancé had always treated her like an object, so it did not hurt her anymore. Such things could no longer even scratch her heart.

“It would be best to conclude today’s negotiation here. We still have many days ahead of us.”

The negotiations for the day had ended.

Before long, the sounds of movement from the annex began to fade.

Larinne had been crouching beneath the window frame until her legs grew numb. Once the footsteps had moved far enough away, she slowly straightened her back and stood.

She intended to return to her chamber immediately and send word to Pellet.

‘We need to change the escape route. If we go ahead with the current plan, we might all be swept away by the river.’

Children and the elderly were among the group.

Larinne felt responsible for planning a route that avoided as much danger as possible.

Lost in these thoughts, she overlooked the condition of her legs after crouching so long.

The moment she took a careless step—

“!”

A sharp tingling shot through her leg, and she staggered, unable to keep her balance.

At that exact moment, an unfamiliar hand wrapped firmly around her waist.

Thanks to that, she avoided falling in an embarrassing heap.

But—

“My, that was dangerous.”

The low voice that sounded directly beside her ear made the back of her neck shrink like a startled turtle.

If she had seen herself in a mirror, it might have been quite a sight.

Larinne did not even need to turn her head to know who it was.

Libehi Winterd had leaned halfway out through the window frame and caught her before she could fall.

“I did not expect you to come here so soon.”

The tips of her ears burned as if scorched by fire.

The damp cadence of his voice seemed to flood over her senses, and the heart inside her chest slowly began to pound wildly.

“…My apologies.”

“Think nothing of it.”

Larinne quickly stepped away from him, who spoke with a joking tone that held no trace of amusement.

The dull ache in her legs mattered less than the frantic pounding in the left side of her chest.

“You must have already heard the terms of the negotiation.”

Was he truly someone who would interfere with the plans she shared with the Pellet companions?

If that were the case, Larinne had no intention of granting the request of a delegation from an enemy kingdom.

“I do not know what you were thinking when you made such a demand of His Majesty the Emperor, but I do not believe I can assist you. The Grand Temple has many capable priestesses. It would be better to request their help instead—”

“I need no one but you.”

His voice cut her off with such firmness that Larinne momentarily lost her words.

For some reason, whenever she stood near this man, it became difficult to maintain her composure.

“…That sounds as though you are suffering from a very serious curse.”

“If that were the case, would you feel any pity for me?”

“You speak in a way that makes your intentions difficult to understand.”

“It means that even if I must rely on your pity, I would still like to exist within your time.”