“I think it’s remarkable that you so readily chose that frightening journey to Thalia.”

The ladies gathered around the table each offered Selina words of praise.

“Many in the Empire admire you, Duchess. Thanks to you, we’ve found peace—there’s no other way to see it.”

Unaware of the true circumstances behind the marriage, they seemed to hold a vague but favorable impression of her. Under ordinary circumstances, such compliments would have left Selina flustered and blushing.

“Ah… thank you. You flatter me.”

But now, responding promptly was all she could manage. Her mind was preoccupied with the conversation she had overheard earlier between the Marquis and his aide.

A creeping sense of foreboding had taken hold. Excusing herself on the pretext of attending to a minor matter, Selina slipped away to follow the aide.

Fortunately, she was wearing riding clothes rather than a cumbersome gown, which allowed her to move easily through the dense undergrowth.

The aide glanced around, wary of prying eyes, and ventured deeper into the thicket. The more furtively he moved, the sharper her suspicion became.

“Is everything prepared?”

As she had feared, the man he was meeting in secret was none other than the marquis.

“Yes, all preparations are complete. We’ll release them toward the end of the hunt. If we claim they’re merely the stragglers driven off by the beaters, it should be easy enough to fool people.”

“Good, good. I knew you’d handle it well.”

Hidden among the foliage, Selina listened intently.

‘So they were after Calix, after all.’

If it was her father, she could easily believe he’d go that far. Even when Calix had come to the Empire as Thalia’s envoy, the marquis had tried to have him assassinated by sending knights after him. He had always regarded Calix as a thorn in his side.

And now—given this rare opportunity to allow weapons openly—he clearly had no intention of letting it slip away.

‘But what exactly is his plan?’

Acting alone would draw too many eyes.

The marquis was the sort who always plotted from the shadows. In a spectacle as grand as this, she doubted he’d dare to openly threaten Calix.

“How convenient. It wasn’t intentional, but with Selina being treated like a savior by the Imperial crowd…”

Yet the more she listened, the more she felt something was off from her initial suspicions.

“And the timing couldn’t be better. Didn’t His Majesty promise to grant any wish as a reward? Imagine the headlines—‘That Thalian who couldn’t even protect his own wife, blinded by greed for a prize.’ Perfect.”

“If all goes well, Calix will be ridiculed not only in the Empire but back in Thalia as well.”

“Exactly! That’s what I want.”

‘Couldn’t protect his wife?’

As the conversation veered in a direction she hadn’t expected, Selina’s unease began to twist into something else entirely.

“But, my lord… even low-ranking demons are still dangerous. The duchess could be seriously injured.”

The marquis gave a dismissive cough.

“Well. There are too many people here for her to actually die, aren’t there? If things look dangerous, there are plenty of soldiers who’ll draw their swords and step in. It won’t get out of hand.”

It was only then that Selina realized the one crucial thing she had failed to see. The marquis’s target wasn’t Calix at all—it was her.

“What if we changed the target to the duke instead…?”

“Tch. Haven’t you seen my knights fall to that man? You can’t overwhelm him with numbers, you can’t kill him with an assassin—he’s like a monster.”

‘I see…’

The marquis meant to use her as a pawn to harm Calix indirectly. He knew facing Calix head-on was impossible, so he was aiming for the easier piece to move—Selina herself.

‘…I’ve always known I was just another piece on my father’s game board.’

She had known it all along, yet the truth still hurt when it was staring her in the face. Part of her had foolishly hoped that if she obeyed him, he might feel differently towards her, if only slightly. Maybe when he spoke kindly, it wasn’t an act?

‘Of course not.’

Selina crushed that last grain of hope into nothing and made her way back to the other ladies.

“Um… what do you say we all go for a walk? The breeze is lovely today.”

As if sensing her need for an escape from her tangled thoughts, it was the general’s wife who suggested it. Though older than Selina, she had a girlish air as she lifted her parasol and proposed a stroll to the group.

Perhaps this was the perfect moment to put thought into action.

“All right, madam.”

Selina smiled brightly and rose to follow her.

“The breeze is nice, but the sky looks a little dark.”

“I hope it’s not about to rain.”

“If it does, the monsters will hide to avoid it—makes for poor hunting.”

“Hoho. Even if the monsters appeared right before him, my husband wouldn’t be able to hunt them. He’s terribly timid, you see.”

Amidst the cluster of ladies walking in small groups, Selina pretended to take in the scenery, subtly stepping back a pace at a time.

‘He’ll instruct Iden to delay Calix, making sure that he’s the last one to arrive.’

She recalled the marquis and his aide’s plan—to injure her in order to harm Calix.

All the other husbands will have arrived, but Calix will be nowhere in sight. Selina will be left waiting for him alone. Then they’ll release the monsters they’ve kept penned, sending them straight at the isolated Selina.

And when they embraced, he made sure to coat her back with a scent monsters are drawn to. They’ll go for her and no one else.

Though she already knew he was a meticulous man, she couldn’t help but marvel grimly at her father’s precision. The marquis would use and discard anyone if it served his purpose.

‘I have to get out of here.’

She glanced around. Thankfully, the nearby soldiers were too busy chatting, and the ladies had drifted a good distance ahead. Seizing the moment, Selina slipped away onto a secluded path where no one’s eyes would follow.

The deeper she went into the overgrown forest trail, the farther she seemed from the hunting grounds.

‘This won’t be enough. The marquis will find me.’

She walked, then walked faster. Whenever she imagined the marquis’s footsteps closing in, she quickened her pace until she was nearly running.

For someone unaccustomed to much movement, the climb up the steep path was exhausting. But the farther she went, the safer she would be from his reach—that thought alone kept her moving.

Perhaps it was the long ride to get here, combined with hardly eating anything. Her entire body trembled, and waves of nausea rose again and again. Her eyes, reddened from strain, welled with tears.

“Hhh…”

Selina bit down on her lip. Even after being disappointed beyond measure, some part of her had still clung to hope. And now, faced with the truth, she could only feel foolish and ashamed for it.

She simply…

‘Maybe… I just didn’t want to believe I was alone in this vast world.’

Some are loved by their parents,
some are loved by their lovers,
some are loved by their companions.

But there was no one in the entire world who would love Selina. Admitting that to herself was unbearably bitter—so bitter it ached.

‘Maybe… even if I were to disappear without a word, no one would come looking for me.’

Tears welled, blurring her vision. Through the haze, the steep mountain path came into view. Her trembling legs made it impossible to climb with ease. She clenched her teeth, willing herself to push forward, but her body had no strength left. Even drawing breath felt like a struggle.

A thought crossed her mind.

‘Why wait for the right moment to slip away?’

The very idea of waiting for the right moment had been born from the sliver of hope lodged in one corner of her heart. That maybe, someday, when the time was right, Calix’s heart toward her might change.

A foolish, fragile hope. But that seed had never once sprouted.

“…Maybe this is the perfect moment to vanish.”

Standing on the high slope, Selina gripped a tree and looked down. If she disappeared here, she might not have the antidote and would die little by little, but at least she wouldn’t be a burden to anyone else.

Below the small cliff, an unfamiliar patch of plants grew thick. She stared down at them blankly.

Rustle—

The tree, its roots shallow to begin with, gave way under her weight.

“Oh—”

She couldn’t even let out a scream before plunging downward.

By the cliff where she fell, a weathered sign read: Danger. Restricted Area.

Meanwhile, Calix—knowing nothing of what had happened—was dealing with a different kind of aggravation.

With a faint smile in his eyes, he asked Alter and Zenfri,

“Why the hell does that bastard keep following me?”

Iden trailed behind him. He seemed to be moving with painstaking care, trying to muffle his footsteps. However, for Calix, whose senses were razor-sharp, his presence had already been given away.

“Maybe he sees Your Grace as a rival! It could be that competitive streak—determined to beat the Grand Duke no matter what, since you ‘took’ his sister!”

“I envy the way your mind works sometimes.”

Zenfri replied with a weary smile, ruffling Alter’s hair.

“How do you manage to spin everything into such cheerful, positive nonsense?”

Calix spoke in a voice laced with annoyance.

“Let’s just shake him off. He’s a nuisance.”

“That’s easier said than done. I’ve tried losing him more than once, but the man chases like his life depends on it—there’s no escaping him.”

Calix’s gaze slid toward a snare set beside a tree. It looked like someone had dug the pit to trap monsters, then loosely covered it with a layer of leaves.

“Then we’ll just have to use… other methods.”

A faint smirk tugged at one corner of his lips.