That night—

“Uh, um… Grand Duke—”

“Not ‘Grand Duke.’”

Calix pulled Selina firmly into his arms, showing no intention of letting her go. Being held like this wasn’t unpleasant, but for Selina—who still hadn’t finished getting ready—it was an awkward situation.

“You should call me Calix.”

More than that, his attitude was different from usual. No matter how gentle he was with Selina, Calix was, at his core, a man who carried an inescapable chill. Yet now, it was as though that coldness had melted away without a trace under the light of the sun.

“My name.”

Calix said it again, gently cupping her cheek. When his captivating red eyes curved softly, Selina — like someone bewitched by the midsummer sun — could only obey him, dazed.

“Calix……”

A satisfied curve touched his lips.

“One more time.”

Feeling as though she were being treated like a child, Selina puffed out her cheeks in protest. Seeing this, Calix’s smile faded and he let out a quiet sigh.

“It feels like leaving a child by the water’s edge and walking away.”

There was a reason for his treatment of her.

Calix was planning to be away from the Grand Ducal Castle for about three weeks. Due to reports of unrest near the border, he brought his departure forward.

She had been informed in advance, so she wasn’t particularly disappointed. The problem lay with Calix himself.

“Every time I’m gone, something serious happens. How am I supposed to leave without worrying?”

Resting his chin in his hand, Calix looked at Selina, his eyes filled with genuine concern.

Although incidents had occurred in his absence, she had never imagined that they would burden his heart so much.

“I—I’m not a child. I can manage on my own. This time, I absolutely won’t give you anything to worry about.”

“There’s no such thing as ‘absolutely’ in this world.”

“Then I’ll mostly not cause any trouble!”

“And not everything goes according to your will, either.”

“Then….”

‘What am I supposed to do?’

Flustered, Selina’s eyes darted around. Although she had only spoken to reassure Calix, her words seemed to carry no weight at all in front of him.

Avoiding his gaze, she searched for something — anything — to say while he looked at her, clearly waiting for an answer. Empty reassurances would never work on him. She needed words that could truly convey her sincerity.

As she hesitated, a single thought brushed through her mind.

Slowly, she lifted her hand and gently brushed his cheek.

“I love you.”

At first, it was a word she spoke without fully understanding her own feelings; it was forced out by his persistence. Since that day, however, she had realized several times a day that she loved Calix.

As he had said, there were no absolutes in this world, and nothing ever unfolded entirely according to one’s will. While he was away, something else might happen that she could not handle

“I love you. Very much.”

But this feeling — this alone — was something that no one could change. As long as Selina herself did not change, it would remain the one immutable truth.

As Calix watched her in silence, the corner of his lips slowly curved upwards.

“Do you know this?”

He leaned down and murmured softly, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

“I’m weak to you.”

The kiss that had started on her forehead spread across Selina’s face. This unbroken trail of kisses made it seem as though he was claiming her as his own. If his lips had left any trace of color behind, her face would be completely stained by now.

‘Do you know this, Calix? I’ve been weak to you for a long time already.’

As if cradling unspoken memories of the past, Selina carefully wrapped her arms around him.

“Wait quietly for three weeks.”

Hearing his low voice, Selina came up with a plan.

Maybe she could confess what had happened at the monastery when she saw him again after three weeks.

***

The next day, Calix left at dawn.

As soon as Selina woke up, she went to the table. There she found a gift that she had not had time to prepare for the hunting festival, along with a note.

She had once said that she would make her husband a handkerchief to wish him safety.

Despite her clumsiness, Selina had made one herself and left it behind with a handwritten message.

[Please think of this handkerchief as me.]

It felt too intimate to say aloud, so she wrote the words in a note instead. Nevertheless, Selina couldn’t help worrying whether Calix had seen the note and taken it with him. What if he had left too early and missed it altogether?

‘It’s gone.’

Her relief was short-lived. When she looked at the table, she saw something lying on top of it that hadn’t been there the night before.

[Think of this as me.]

There, resting, was Calix’s cravat, which he habitually wore.

Selina carefully took it in her hands. Perhaps it was because of the words in the note, but the cravat truly felt like Calix himself.

***

A week had passed since Calix and the knight commanders departed to inspect the border.

Despite the dangers they faced, life at the Grand Ducal Castle continued as normal.

Selina went about her duties with the cravat Calix had left behind tied around her wrist like a bracelet. When she first arrived, she had been completely overwhelmed, making mistake after mistake. Now, having grown accustomed to her role, she could handle even the smallest matters arising within the grand duchy with confidence.

Today, she was preparing for the approaching Day of the North Wind.

It was hard to believe that a cold as brutal as midwinter could descend without warning at the end of summer. Yet records from previous years suggested that its power was far greater — and far harsher — than one might expect.

[In the span of two days, lush green forests turn into snow-covered mountains, and rivers where fish once leapt freeze solid in an instant. Those who step into the plains unaware that the Day of the North Wind has begun are unable to withstand the cold and freeze to death.]

Once the brutal Day of the North Wind had passed, everything reportedly returned to normal, as if nothing had happened. It was astonishing that the frozen crops revived afterwards.

The real problem lay in the fifteen days of relentless cold, which were so severe that people could not step outside their homes.

Late summer was a time when the harvest was not yet complete. Naturally, food supplies were severely depleted during that period.

‘So they’ve been lending supplies from the grand ducal castle and reclaiming them once the harvest is finished.’

‘If they use the same method this time, it won’t be too hard.’

Just as Selina was about to start distributing supplies—

“Madam. The guest you were expecting has arrived.”

Lady Lily appeared at just the right moment.

“Oh! Already?”

Selina’s face visibly brightened.

“Yes. As you instructed, she’s waiting in a quiet room where no one will notice. I’ll guide you there.”

Selina put her documents to one side and followed Lady Lily. The guest she was due to meet today was none other than the apothecary Calliope had recommended.

“I guarantee the skill, so don’t worry. The only problem is—they’re a bit of an eccentric…….”

Calliope had trailed off, then broken into a bright smile as she added,

“If they don’t listen, feel free to drop my name and t*rture them until they do.”

It was difficult to know whether to laugh at that cruel joke. However, if Calliope was vouching for them, they must be exceptionally talented — and that alone was enough to kindle hope.

“I couldn’t obtain an antidote. But if I explain my condition in detail, maybe they can create something similar.”

She had never clung desperately to life. She had lived with the belief that dying at any moment would not have been unusual.

But after meeting Calix, that began to change, slowly and subtly. A fervent desire to live took root in Selina’s heart.

‘Please… let there be a miracle this time, too.’

She had never witnessed a miracle in her life. And yet, at some point, God began to scatter beautiful light before her, as though offering her comfort for all the hardship she had endured.

Selina allowed herself to hope once more. She wished for another miracle.

“This way.”

The room Lady Lily led her to was truly isolated. Dust lay thick around it, as though even the servants rarely came here.

‘I wanted somewhere quiet, but bringing a guest to a place like this… I should apologize.’

Keeping this in mind, Selina stepped inside. The moment she crossed the threshold into the dark, dusty room, she sensed that something was amiss.

This was not just an unsuitable place to receive a guest — it wasn’t a space intended for people at all. The room was crammed with unused belongings, and without a single window, the interior was barely visible.

“L-Lady Lily… I think you may have given me the wrong room—”

Panicked, Selina reached for the doorknob to step back outside. But the door would not budge, as though it had been locked from the outside.

Just as she desperately twisted the handle again and again, trying to understand what was happening—

“Selina.”

A voice rose from the depths of the darkness—thick and heavy, sinking like a swamp.

“I never imagined you would dare betray your father… and the Empire.”

Her heart dropped.

The man strode forward and grabbed Selina by the hair. The childhood trauma she had endured returned to haunt her and she froze, unable to breathe.

Terror and confusion consumed her mind.

They said the Marquis had left Thalia.

Then why was he still here?

“I couldn’t bring myself to leave you behind.”

Before she could grasp the answer, the marquis’s voice—trembling with rage—pierced her ears.

“I’ve decided to expose every last bit of your filthy, wretched true nature to Calix… and then leave.”