Selina wrote a letter accepting Countess Salome’s party invitation and handed it to Lady Lily.

The lady accepted the letter, looking slightly taken aback, but she did not ask for details and simply replied that she would deliver it properly.

‘…Was this really the right thing to do?’

She sent the letter immediately, afraid that if she hesitated, she would have second thoughts. Even so, her heart felt unbearably heavy.

The fact that she was going to the party not to enjoy herself, but to say goodbye to Calix forever, made it even more painful.

Just as another thought threatened to surface, Selina shook her head sharply.

‘It’s the right choice. Someone like me would only be a burden at Calix’s side.’

Yes, things should have been this way from the beginning.

Suppressing the jumble of emotions that kept trying to surface, she headed back to her room.

Her ankle had not fully healed yet, so she staggered slightly as she pushed the door open.

“You certainly get around well for someone whose leg hasn’t even healed.”

Before she could react, the man who had been inside the room lifted Selina up without warning.

“Y-Your Grace?”

She froze in shock at the unexpected sight of him.

In truth, however, she had been thinking about Calix the whole time she was climbing the stairs. Now, her heart was pounding as though she had been caught hiding a secret.

“I see you’re at least aware that you’ve done something wrong.”

Calix laid Selina down on the bed, his expression impassive.

Despite his sharp tone, he lowered her down very carefully, as though he was afraid of hurting her.

“This is the first time I’ve ever saved someone and not even received a word of thanks.”

He moved closer and sat beside her, tilting his head slightly.

“I came to make sure you hadn’t forgotten that rather important fact—that I saved you again.”

How could she possibly forget?

It was precisely because of that that her heart had been in turmoil all day.

Unable to openly confess her feelings, Selina steadied her voice and replied as calmly as she could.

“I apologize. I was busy with other matters these past few days and failed to properly thank you.”

Even to her own ears, her tone sounded stiff and distant.

Perhaps Calix sensed this, too, because he narrowed his eyes in puzzlement.

“…All right. Then tell me—what exactly have you been so busy with, to the point of dragging around a body that hasn’t even healed?”

“That’s…”

Uncertain how to respond, Selina squeezed her eyes shut.

She would have to tell him sooner rather than later. It would be better to do so sooner rather than later.

“Countess Salome invited me to a party. I’ve already sent a letter accepting the invitation.”

Countess Salome.

Calix turned the name over in his mind, his brow slowly knitting together.

“Salome Minuet, you mean.”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“Didn’t Lady Lily tell you about her?”

“I—I already know.”

With each answer Selina gave, Calix’s expression hardened in a frightening way.

Although he said nothing, his face clearly showed what he was thinking.

As expected—

“It seems you’re feeling perfectly fine now. To be thinking about going out to parties the moment you open your eyes.”

His once-controlled voice warped, like the string of a violin snapping mid-note.

“So that’s it. You were busy because you were excited over something as trivial as a party. Had I known you were this busy, I wouldn’t have come. I simply didn’t realize.”

“I should have come to see you first, Your Grace. I truly apologize—”

“Now that I think about it.”

Calix cut her off sharply, his voice low and firm.

“I’ve been too busy myself to point it out until now.”

From his roughened tone, it was painfully clear that he was forcing down a surge of anger.

“You’ve always liked roaming around as you please.”

Selina lowered her head, unable to meet his gaze.

She knew only too well what situations he was referring to.

When she crossed from the Empire into Thalia, she had disappeared from the carriage of her own accord.

On the day of the hunting competition, she ran off alone again.

This time, she had gone out for a walk without heeding the instruction to keep an escort — and had ended up like this as a result.

“What exactly is it that makes you keep stirring up trouble wherever you go?”

The words fell like blades, sharp accusations stabbing at the top of her lowered head.

Selina knew herself better than anyone else did. Wherever she went, misfortune seemed to follow her.

That was precisely why she was trying to leave Calix’s side. If she stayed with Calix, she was sure that she would only bring greater calamity upon him.

“…I’m sorry.”

She apologized sincerely.

For acting recklessly all this time.

For making nothing but choices that had burdened him.

She apologized for her own paralysis, which left her unable to move forward or back now that she had finally realized her true feelings for him.

“…Sorry?”

However, Selina did not realize that apologizing to someone who never wanted an apology was like adding fuel to a fire.

“Is that all you can do? Spit out that d*mn apology?”

Calix muttered through clenched teeth.

He hadn’t thrown himself into danger and allowed his body to become covered in wounds just to hear her say those words.

His body had moved before his mind could register what was happening — so quickly, in fact, that even he couldn’t explain exactly why. One thing was certain, though: this was not the reaction he had expected from Selina.

She could have thanked him, as she always did. She could have asked if he was hurt.

Or she could have clung to him as she had on that rainy day, showing some sincerity.

Instead, it was neither this nor that.

All she said was that she was sorry.

Why did it feel so awful to realize that they had been thinking of entirely different things?

“You know that illness you said you’d had since childhood.”

At last, Calix—his voice frighteningly calm—lifted Selina’s chin.

His red eyes were dark, sunk deep.

“It seems like a disease that won’t let a single day pass quietly without causing some sort of incident.”

“I’ll prescribe something for it.”

“Until your body has fully recovered, don’t even dream of stepping outside this estate.”

“……”

“From now on, wherever you go and whatever you do, you will move only with my permission.”

As he spoke, Calix pulled the blanket up, covering Selina all the way to her neck.

“If you dare act on your own again, I’ll make sure you never so much as set foot beyond the castle walls for the rest of your life.”

After saying everything he had to say, he left the room without once looking back.

Bang!

The sound of the door slamming shut echoed loudly through the silent room.

‘…He must be very angry with me.’

Selina bit her lip and remained silent.

She had, of course, expected him to be angry to some extent. In political marriages, marital propriety was said to be paramount, and because he cared deeply about appearances, this expectation would affect him more than most.

Even so, she had never imagined he would express his anger to this degree.

‘…Should I not go?’

Selina had originally intended to be childish and stubborn, refusing to back down even if he opposed her. However, after seeing how angry Calix was, she couldn’t bring herself to act so willfully.

In fact, her fear of being hated by him had taken over.

After all, Calix was still special to her.

“Haah…”

Selina let out a deep sigh.

The mere fact that she was disliked was enough to make her heart ache and leave her feeling unsettled. So, could she truly endure a future without him?

She was consumed by regret over her choice, but it was too late to change it.

She had never meant to make him angry.

***

Calix yanked open the collar of his shirt, which felt suffocating against his throat, and angrily dropped into a chair in his office.

He had heard that she had been roaming the estate and assumed that she had made a full recovery. Yet her deathly pale complexion unsettled him. The image of her pale face, the first he had seen in days, played over and over in his mind.

He had lashed out at her in the heat of the moment, but he knew only too well that what had happened to Selina was not her fault. It had happened in Thalia, after all. Ultimately, he was to blame for failing to protect her properly.

And yet, the instant he heard that Selina intended to attend a party, he lost all reason and behaved abominably.

That gathering was infamous even among the nobility for its licentiousness.

Calix had never attended it himself, but he had heard the rumors — one could not enter without a mask. Everyone wore masks.

What did that imply?

That people would indulge in acts so shameful that no one in their right mind would commit them openly.

And she intended to go to a place like that?

For a moment, it felt as though flames were flaring violently within his chest.

‘What am I even doing right now?’

In hindsight, he realized that something had felt amiss ever since they returned to Thalia.

Whenever Selina was involved, he struggled to make rational judgements. Instead of thinking things through before acting, he now acted first, driven entirely by emotion.

This change was alarming enough to unsettle even him.

Perhaps his judgement had dulled since returning to Thalia.

Or maybe his mind simply refused to function properly when Selina was around.

“Have I truly lost my mind…?”

Just as Calix let out a self-reproachful sigh—

“Yes. I’ve been watching for the past few days, and it does seem like you’ve gone quite mad.”

“I told you so, Your Highness. He must have injured his head while hunting that monster during the competition.”

Voices that grated on his nerves drifted in.