“Congratulations!”

When news of Selina and Waldemar’s engagement spread, the barracks were filled with celebrations. However, Selina did not accept Waldemar’s proposal.

“With a son-in-law like you, how could I not welcome it?”

With the duke showing such clear approval, the marriage was already treated as a foregone conclusion.

‘This was never a matter that required agreement between the two of us in the first place.’

Selina clenched her fists under the table, her knuckles turning white. She did not want to marry Waldemar. The fact that he had saved her life was irrelevant — gratitude and being bound together for life were not the same thing.

Even if she were to speak to her father, nothing would change. The duke had already made his calculations: the advantages this marriage would bring and the profit it would yield. A man whose ambition was to swallow Thalia whole would naturally believe that, by taking Waldemar — who carried the blood of the Grand Ducal House of Thalia — as his son-in-law, he would be able to claim Thalia as his own all the more completely.

‘But why Waldemar?’

Selina had known for a long time that Waldemar wanted to marry her, but she had never understood why.

She searched for an opportunity to speak with him. They needed to talk about the forced marriage.

“But that ‘Elder’ is the real problem. I hear the Thalian forces are rallying under him. Have you identified who he is?”

“We haven’t confirmed his identity yet. However, judging by the fact that several high-ranking nobles are following him, we suspect he may be an aging meritorious house that once served on the frontier.”

The discussion inside the barracks had turned entirely to this so-called ‘Elder’, leaving Selina with no opportunity to speak.

Just as she was about to let the conversation pass her by, she suddenly realized that the title ‘Elder’ sounded familiar.

‘The man I saw in Murkin Village was also called ‘Elder.’’

He was the man who had rescued her from slave traders, yet he had also humiliated her further. The memory made her face flush with heat.

‘At the time, I thought he was just some strange man.’

However, judging by the way the conversation was unfolding, it seemed that this elder was the central figure, rallying the remaining forces of Thalia.

‘If the man who helped me back then is the same person…’

She should have spoken to him more and tried to find out about him as a person. Allowing him to leave without confirming his identity properly filled her with belated regret.

It was at that moment, when she seemed to be listening absently yet quietly absorbing every detail about the Elder, that…

“I’ll excuse myself for a moment.”

Waldemar finally stood up, having not moved until now. Selina, who had been watching him out of the corner of her eye, quietly stood up and followed him.

Once they stepped outside the tent, a cool breeze blew past them. Autumn-colored leaves drifted down one by one, scattering across the ground. Selina deliberately stepped on the fallen leaves, letting them crunch beneath her feet.

Hearing this, Waldemar turned around.

“What is it?”

She thought it was absurd that he could speak so calmly after raising the subject of marriage in front of everyone. However, there was no time for arguing, so she got straight to the point.

“I never accepted your proposal. Who do you think you’re marrying without my consent?”

“Oh. I’m fairly certain we discussed this a few days ago.”

He nodded lightly as he replied.

“When a proposal is made three times or more, I don’t consider it a question anymore—at that point, it’s closer to a notice.”

“…Then it seems we were never on the same page. In that case, let me be perfectly clear this time. I have no intention of marrying you, Commander—”

At that moment, Waldemar’s expression shifted, turning unreadable.

“Alter, was it?”

How did Waldemar know about Alter?

Countless thoughts flashed through her mind, but Selina forced herself to remain outwardly calm.

‘Stay calm. I don’t know how much Waldemar actually knows yet. He might have mentioned the name simply to test me.’

She tried to steady her racing heart.

Unfortunately, things did not unfold the way she hoped.

“I hear he was the captain of Thalia’s knights.”

Waldemar already knew.

She had gone to the village to find Alter, and had been brought there to rescue him from captivity. Now, Alter’s life was in danger, too.

The commander spared no one connected to Thalia: Viktor, Rocheste.

Anyone who did not submit to him was mercilessly slaughtered.

“What are you planning to do with Alter?”

The thought of Alter meeting a horrific end made her vision blur. Selina grabbed Waldemar by the collar, grinding her teeth.

“You will not lay a single finger on Alter. You may have killed Thalians indiscriminately until now, but it ends here. I won’t allow it.”

This was as dangerous an act as defying a superior’s orders. If anyone else were to notice, the situation could become perilous in an instant.

But Selina no longer cared about her own safety.

All that mattered was protecting Alter.

She could not let him suffer the same fate as Viktor or Rocheste.

“So you did know.”

Waldemar twisted his lips into an unpleasant smile and suddenly yanked Selina’s wrist towards him. Tightening his grip around her arm, he shoved her back into the dead end of the tent. Enveloped in darkness, where no light could reach, she saw his pupils dilate.

“I already told you. I don’t care what the deputy commander does. Whether the person you saved was Alter or anyone else makes no difference to me.”

He seized her chin and forced her to look up at him. His eyes, which had once merely been dark, now burned with a feverish gleam. When Selina tried to retreat, he pressed closer, boxing her in until she could not move any further.

“To me, he’s nothing more than a useless mongrel. Still, if you want him to live, I’ll tell you how. So listen carefully.”

Waldemar spoke in a low, coercive voice, as though issuing an order.

“Accept this marriage right now, and promise to love me more than anyone else in the world. If you play your part well, I might just keep quiet and turn a blind eye — just long enough to let that bastard live.”

Selina bit down hard on her lip.

He had been using Alter as a means of blackmail from the start. All he wanted was for this marriage to proceed smoothly, no matter the cost.

“Why are you going this far?”

Her voice was dry, cracked like parched earth as she asked.

“It’s simple.”

He lifted the corner of his mouth, stroking her cheek as if she were a harmless pet.

“Because you were Calix’s wife.”

“…What?”

Selina could not immediately understand it. How could that possibly be a reason to want to marry her? Pushing her confusion aside, she replied.

“I don’t know anything about Calix. He never explained things to me in detail. If you think you can use me to find out about him, you’re wrong.”

“What use would I have for information about a dead man?”

Waldemar’s eyes narrowed into thin, curved slits. This expression, reminiscent of a devil’s tail flicking in satisfaction, caused Selina to flinch and step back instinctively.

“What I want is everything that belonged to the man who killed my father.

Everything that should have been his from the very beginning. Things that the name Calix had no right to touch — things that should bear nothing but his mark alone.

He muttered like a madman, then abruptly stiffened and lifted her chin once more.

“And for that reason, having you matters a great deal. Because you were the woman Calix truly loved.”

Selina glared at Waldemar until her eyes burned, but he did not care. In fact, he seemed pleased, as though breaking her spirit only served to further defile Calix’s name.

“So follow me quietly.”

With that, he pressed his lips against hers.

It was a completely unemotional kiss, and she could not avoid it.

Tears welled in her eyes as she glared at him as though she could kill him with her gaze. Waldemar grinned, clearly amused, and ran his fingers through her hair.

‘Just behave yourself. If you do, I won’t care if you save that dead man’s subordinate or go digging up graves trying to find his corpse.’

Having given her that brief piece of advice in a tone that was almost paternal, Waldemar turned away.

“Crazy bastard…”

Yet Selina could not make herself move immediately. Where his lips had touched hers, her skin felt foul and she wanted to scrape it off completely.

She lifted the back of her hand and repeatedly rubbed her mouth. Her already dry lips soon became swollen and raw, but she did not stop. She scrubbed harder, as if doing so might erase the filth and revulsion Waldemar had left behind.

Only after rubbing her lips countless times did she finally turn and head back towards the banquet.

It was then that she noticed it.

A dark shadow stretched along the canvas wall of the large tent. She froze, unable to take another step. Then the owner of that shadow took a long stride forward and emerged into view.

“Are you… finished with your business?”

The low, slightly rough voice belonged to Callios.

As though he had been waiting for her all along, a single fallen leaf rested atop his unkempt hair.