Only then did Selina truly understand how Calix saw her.

To him, she was not just a worthless burden; she was the target of all the hatred he had carried with him for years and which had been sharpened into a deadly arrow. She was nothing more than another link to the Marquis.

‘It’s impossible to persuade Calix.’

She let go of the idea of revealing her true identity. A man so focused on calculating his own advantage would never care about old memories. Even if she spoke up with hope in her heart, the only thing waiting for her would be humiliation.

With her heart sinking, Selina lowered her head.

‘If things go on like this, I really will spend my whole life locked away in the cellar.’

Darkness clouded her vision. She felt as if she were back in that cramped, lightless room with her mother.

‘No, pull yourself together. I can’t fall apart here, not in front of them.’

She clenched her fists so tightly that blood welled beneath her nails, desperate to stay conscious.

“Selina, my precious child.”

But a phantom voice drained all her strength away.

She whipped her head around, and there, among the soldiers, stood her mother. Her face was half-decayed, and her eyes were hollow.

“Will you not die with me?”

Selina collapsed to the ground before she realized what she was doing.

The soldiers around her began to frown and snicker openly at her sudden, bizarre behavior.

“…Ha.”

Calix let out a quiet sigh and stepped toward her.

He knew well enough that Selina Ilios Axell was the marquis’s daughter—which meant she was the daughter of a man infamous for his cunning and schemes.

All of this—her appearance, her actions—must be another performance, just like her father’s countless ploys.

“If the marquis was truly desperate, maybe he told you to collapse and throw a tantrum.”

Calix muttered, frowning as he looked down at her. But Selina made no move to get up.

“Stubborn to the point of being a nuisance… Just like your father.”

He sighed, bending down to get closer to her. It was just then, as he reached out to her—

“I… I don’t want to end up like my mother.”

Selina’s voice was little more than a whisper, laden with tears. Her unfocused eyes drifted past him, as though she were speaking into the void. Calix felt an uncomfortable sensation wash over him, like seeing a face you were never meant to see, exposed and vulnerable.

Suddenly, Selina raised her limp hand and grabbed his belt.

“It doesn’t matter if you hate me, Your Grace.”

What she’d taken hold of was the sword at his waist. Before anyone could react, she pulled it free and, just as Calix had done hours before, pressed the blade to his throat.

“Say you’ll marry me.”

Calix, caught off guard by the sword at his neck, let out a hollow laugh.

“I never expected you’d try something like this.”

He said, amusement flickering in his eyes as he watched her.

But the hand clutching the sword trembled violently — Selina had never intended to hurt him. She just wanted to show how earnest she was about the marriage somehow.

With him already hating her simply because she was the Marquis’s daughter, she felt this was the only way she could show him who she really was.

But…

“Go on, then.”

Calix said, perfectly calm. He even tilted his head, daring her to press the blade deeper.

“Let’s see how far you’ll go.”

“If I keep going, you could really get hurt.”

“That’s right. I could.”

Even faced with danger, Calix looked utterly indifferent. Seeing his attitude, Selina gripped the sword more tightly. The soldiers began to close in to restrain her, but Calix lifted a hand, signaling them to stand down.

“It’s fine.”

He said, half-lidding his crimson eyes that gleamed with a dangerous light.

“Go on. Let’s see what you’ll do.”

Something was wrong. The man at swordpoint was far more threatening than the one holding the blade.

“If you can’t do it, just give it back. Don’t waste your strength for nothing.”

But the situation was already slipping out of her control. Calix reached out as if to take a dangerous toy away from a child.

“I know this marriage means nothing to you.”

Selina said, clutching the blade even tighter to keep it from being taken.

“But to me…”

Her hand began to tremble so badly that her voice started to shake too.

“To me, it’s as important as my life.”

She felt tears welling up, threatening to spill over. She’d hoped that doing this might at least enable her to have a proper conversation with him. But if that didn’t work, what else could she do?

‘If all that’s waiting for me is a life spent locked away in darkness…’

The fear in Selina’s eyes faded, replaced by quiet resignation. She stared at the cold steel of the blade.

‘If that’s my future, maybe it’s better to end it myself.’

Her thoughts raced, dark and destructive, shaped by the years she had spent watching her mother waste away in the monastery’s shadow.

The blade, which had initially been aimed at Calix, was now turned back towards her.

But just then—

Clang!

With a swift, powerful blow from his elbow, Calix knocked the sword from her grasp.

“You really did learn all the wrong things from your father.”

As Selina rushed to retrieve her only means of leverage from where it had fallen, Calix kicked the sword away, sending it skittering across the ground.

“His lessons certainly stuck with you. I’ve never met a woman as dangerous as you.”

“…Is that why you want the princess instead?”

Selina’s voice trembled on the verge of breaking.

“Because I’m the marquis’s daughter, because I only learned wickedness—that’s why I can’t be your wife?”

Tears welled in her violet eyes.

“I haven’t done anything to you…”

Her words were as frail and fleeting as a dead leaf caught on a winter wind. The sound of her voice, so pathetically raw, grated on Calix’s nerves, and he ground his teeth in frustration.

“Don’t twist things. You put a sword to my throat and claim you’ve done nothing wrong?”

Blood began to drip from Selina’s palm, where she had gripped the blade so tightly. The drops trailed over his fingers as he took her hand.

With his crimson eyes locked on hers, Calix suddenly lifted her into his arms.

“Let—let me go…!”

She struggled, but he ignored her, striding back toward the palace as if he couldn’t even hear her.

“If you’re planning to tell everyone the Thalian army harmed you, forget it.”

At the city gates, he set her down roughly, like dropping off a parcel, and without another word, turned and disappeared into the night.

‘…It’s really over.’

Selina watched his retreating figure, her heart heavy with sorrow. It felt as if the whole world was being swallowed by darkness.

But even when it feels like everything is over, tomorrow always comes.

“Miss, it’s time to get ready.”

Came a voice, rousing her from her thoughts.

The maids who had travelled with her from the Marquis’s estate began to wake and dress the new bride for her wedding day.

Selina sat in front of the mirror, staring at her reflection. Her eyes were swollen from crying so much the previous night. She looked a mess.

“Has the Thalian delegation arrived yet?”

“I heard from the gatekeeper that they haven’t left their camp.”

“Oh, dear…”

The anxious whispers of the maids drifted into Selina’s ears.

In the end, nothing had changed.

‘So this was always my fate.’

Her stomach churned, but the only small comfort she could find was the absence of her father. If he showed up and threatened her with the cellar again, she felt sure she’d faint on the spot.

‘Please, just let today pass without my father appearing. Let me get through this in peace.’

But the prayer she offered, hands clasped out of sight of the maids, would turn out to be only half-answered.

“Looks like your husband’s not showing up after all.”

A man with sharp, narrow eyes came to stand at Selina’s side.

“So, what are you going to do now? Looks like you’re heading back to the cellar.”

This was her brother, Iden Ilios Axell, a man who bore no resemblance to her, either in appearance or temperament. He had inherited his father’s violent streak and his mother’s arrogance.

Maintaining his dignity was his greatest concern, and he would crush anyone who threatened it.

“But you know, now that I think about it, it’s strange. Is there really any reason to keep you alive?”

The dark mole under his eye only made him look more dangerous.

Selina shrank away from the pure malice in his gaze, unable to stop herself. Noticing her fear, Iden smirked and patted his half-sister on the shoulder.

“I’m kidding. I’m sure you’ll come in handy for something.”

He loved seeing Selina’s frightened face. There was no one he found easier or more amusing to torment. This was the main reason why the maids called Iden a brute and why he had not yet killed his illegitimate sister.

“But really, why isn’t he coming? If it were the princess he was marrying, he’d be here in a heartbeat.”

Selina tried not to respond, but Iden didn’t care—he went right on, saying things that would cut her to the bone.

“Maybe he realised just how worthless you really are?”