The red cord tied around Selina’s wrist was the ribbon she had given Calix on the day of the hunting competition.

‘It looks like Calix was here….’

She clenched the ribbon tightly in her fist. It couldn’t be—but it felt as though a trace of warmth still lingered in the cord.

‘Is this a dream? Or maybe… have I ended up in the afterlife?’

Selina stared at the ceiling as her thoughts drifted.

When she was abducted and taken to that dreadful place adorned with mounted deer heads, she never thought she would survive. She hadn’t even hoped that anyone would come to rescue her. No one would ever come to such a remote place.

“Would there really be another madman willing to come all the way out here, besides me?”

All of a sudden, Calix’s words from the day of the hunting competition resurfaced in her mind.

‘Even back then, I already owed him my life once.’

This time as well, she had survived because of Calix.

‘Is Calix all right?’

She hadn’t been able to check his condition because she had lost consciousness, which unsettled her deeply.

The last image she had seen was of him climbing through the broken window frame. His injuries from the monster attack couldn’t possibly have healed yet. What had he been thinking?

The fact that Calix had saved her — that he had come for her while she was unconscious — filled her with such intense joy that it nearly ached.

And yet, Selina could not bring herself to feel at ease.

‘He got hurt again because of me.’

The words of the man who had kidnapped her echoed endlessly in her mind.

He said that by protecting her, Calix had made those around him resent him.

That was why she had stopped them from killing Libero.

Libero had been a soldier in the Thalia army, wearing the uniform of the Knights Order. To the people of Thalia, he would have been an object of admiration and reverence. If Calix were to kill such a man—

‘And if it was because he killed someone for abducting me—someone from the Empire….’

Whether Calix wanted it or not, he would inevitably become the target of countless grudges.

All because of Selina alone.

‘I couldn’t let Calix bear that kind of resentment.’

This did not mean that her resentment and fear of the kidnapper had vanished entirely.

Even now, her hand, which had once gripped shards of glass, trembled faintly. Back then, she had decided that if things went wrong, it would be better to die.

As those memories resurfaced, the nightmare followed close behind, brutally seizing her slender wrist.

Selina jolted upright, gasping. If she fell asleep like this, she was certain that she would be dragged back into that horrific dream once more.

Just as she was about to get out of bed, she saw several letters neatly arranged on the bedside table.

Most were from people she didn’t recognize, offering words of concern to the Grand Duchess for enduring such a grave ordeal. A few extended invitations to social gatherings to be attended once she had recovered.

As she sorted through them, she discovered an unmarked envelope with no sender’s name on it.

At that moment, her heart began to pound uneasily.

Letters that concealed the identity of the sender usually led to only one conclusion.

[Congratulations on bringing the heat-preparedness event to a successful close. It is truly gratifying to see that Your Grace’s relationship with His Grace the Grand Duke is growing ever closer. Please do not forget the duty that only you, Madam, are meant to fulfill.]

At first glance, the letter seemed to be a congratulatory message. However, it referred to Selina’s ‘duty’, which was something that no ordinary person could possibly know.

Her duty was to uncover Calix’s weaknesses.

The author of the letter knew that.

They were an informant, sent by the Marquis to keep watch over Selina.

‘…So there really was one.’

Selina crushed the letter in her hand.

Only moments ago, her heart had been swelling with thoughts of Calix. Now, it plummeted straight to the depths.

“Your existence will bring misfortune to Thalia.”

Perhaps Libero had kidnapped her to eliminate the threat she posed to Thalia. Perhaps allowing herself to die at his hands would have been the best way to protect Calix.

Nevertheless, Calix saved her, sustaining injuries in the process.

‘I owe my life to Calix—again and again….’

And yet, instead of being of any help, she was doing nothing but placing him in danger.

“What should I do…?”

Selina clenched the letter tightly.

Tears fell in heavy drops, splashing onto the crumpled envelope.

“What am I supposed to do…?”

Tears spilled freely from her violet eyes. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t find an answer: what she should do to resolve the situation, or how she might escape this horrific quagmire.

She didn’t want to put Calix in danger.

“How can I… how can I keep you from being unhappy?”

Inside the empty room, her sobbing voice lingered for a long while.

***

“Her Grace has gone to meet Her Highness Grand Duchess Calliope.”

Calix came after hearing that Selina had awoken, only to be told that she was no longer there.

Calliope?

Was she more important than the person who had saved her life?

Even to him, the thought seemed petty. Nevertheless, he assumed she would return soon and decided to visit again in the evening.

“Her Grace has gone for a walk in the garden.”

Yet once again, the only thing that awaited him was the news that Selina was not in her room.

“…She hasn’t even fully recovered, yet she seems to be moving around quite diligently.”

“On the contrary, walking a little may actually aid her recovery.”

Despite Calix’s obvious displeasure, Lady Lily remained unruffled.

“Fine.”

Having got out of bed after only three days, her desire to walk around was understandable.

However, even after a whole day had passed, Selina never once appeared before him.

Thud.

“……”

Thud.

“……”

Thud.

“Your Grace! This is distracting! Why on earth did you come all the way to the training grounds just to torment us?”

Zenfri finally lost his patience and shouted at Calix, who had spent hours picking up and throwing the arrows scattered across the training grounds.

In response came a voice cold enough to send a chill down one’s spine.

“…I said I’m going to train. Do you have a problem with that?”

All the knights present thought the same thing, yet none of them could bring themselves to say it aloud.

Zenfri shuddered briefly when he met Calix’s chilling gaze, which didn’t acknowledge him as anything other than an insect, but he didn’t back down.

“If you’re going to train, then train properly! At the moment, Your Grace, you’re not doing anything except staring at the windows of Her Grace’s room! If that’s what you want, just go and look for her. Why come all the way to the training grounds and make things uncomfortable for everyone?”

In an instant, Calix’s expression hardened to a frightening degree.

Zenfri flinched and his shoulders trembled when—

“Zenfri. Do I make you uncomfortable too?”

The Grand Duke—who seemed beyond any doubt to have lost his mind—posed a strange question.

“Pardon me. What I mean is—not that you are uncomfortable, Your Grace, but that the situation itself is.”

“Then be specific. What about this situation makes you uncomfortable?”

“Well… Your Grace outranks all of us. When someone of your stature comes here looking as though they want to say something but then says nothing and carries on as before, it makes us nervous. That’s what’s uncomfortable.”

Well said, Zenfri!

Several knights gave him a discreet thumbs-up that Calix couldn’t see.

Zenfri was the only one who dared to speak his mind in front of Calix; perhaps this was because they had known each other since childhood.

“So it’s uncomfortable because I have something to say but don’t say it.”

“If we’re being precise… yes, that would be it.”

He wasn’t entirely sure that was correct, but Zenfri answered anyway, hoping to survive the situation.

“I see. Very well. Carry on.”

Rather than delivering the sharp rebuke everyone had been expecting, Calix merely waved a hand, before striding off as if suddenly preoccupied.

‘As expected. He’s definitely lost his mind.’

Zenfri stared grimly at his retreating back.

“…What was that, exactly?”

The only people left were the knights, who were utterly baffled and had no idea what was going on.

Meanwhile, Selina was in the library.

She had met Calliope, who was worried about her, and she had taken walks in the garden. But, truth be told, she had spent most of her time there.

There was something important she needed to do. After sending the maids away, she read alone.

“I just want to rest for a while and read something light….”

She had phrased it that way to avoid arousing the Watcher’s suspicion. In truth, the book she was reading was The History of Divorce.

This substantial book recorded not only cases of divorce among Thalia’s nobility, but also precedents from other nations. It even contained examples of couples who were married off for political reasons and later parted ways, like Selina and Calix.

[Marital chastity is of paramount importance in a political marriage. However, a princess who entered into such a union neglected her duties as a wife, instead frequenting social gatherings and spending her nights in unrestrained indulgence. She eventually formed a relationship with another man, a fact that was widely known among her social circle. On the grounds of the princess’s licentious conduct, the duke submitted a petition for divorce, which was ultimately approved.]

Selina stared blankly at the line: [The duke submitted a petition for divorce on the grounds of the princess’s licentious behavior.]

Among the nobility, even when a marriage was unwanted, a legitimate reason was required for divorce.

‘If I were to give Calix a pretext….’

Then Calix would be able to divorce without suffering losses to the Empire—and this time, he would truly be able to make the choice he wanted.

‘…All right. Let’s do that.’

Clenching her small fist tightly, Selina looked down at the invitations she had received.

One envelope caught her eye—the one bearing the name Countess Salome Minuet.

“Countess Salome lost her husband during the war. She inherited the title and lives alone, and perhaps because of that loneliness, she frequently hosts parties that draw a great deal of gossip. I would not recommend attending her gatherings.”

Lily’s explanation of the countess surfaced in Selina’s mind.