Chapter 23

With her uncomfortable body, she opened the third drawer of the bedside table. Inside was a ring case.

When she collapsed after attempting to poison herself, the engagement ring Raphael had given her had still been on her ring finger. Raphael had taken it off and put it away neatly.

On the day she woke, Estelle had learned its location from him. She took out the case. When she opened the lid, a sparkling diamond appeared.

Raphael predicted her next move and bit his lower lip. A bead of blood appeared. His expression was filled with pain and hardly changed.

Estelle held out the ring case and spoke again, her refusal firm.

“Raphael, I can’t marry you. Take this and go back to the capital. When you tell Father about my death, he’ll either order you to confirm the body or handle it personally. When that happens, Raphael, you’re the only one capable of managing it properly. And you’re the only person who can help me escape this family.”

Estelle continued to avoid looking at Raphael, whose face looked as if he might suffocate at any moment.

What could she possibly say to someone who had pushed her to the very end? Foolishly, a feeling of pity stirred inside her, but she didn’t want to comfort him.

If she left any room for him here, she might be pushed by him again in the future and attempt s*icide once more.

Raphael didn’t even glance at the diamond ring Estelle held out. He could do anything for her… except for the one thing she asked. And yet, she claimed there was truly no one but him who could help her escape from the dukedom.

Without realizing it, tears fell from his reddened eyes. Were they tears of atonement? Or tears of regret and self-loathing for everything he had done to Estelle?

He didn’t know. The tears simply kept falling.

Estelle was surprised to see him cry for the first time, but she couldn’t turn back her resolved heart.

She parted her lips.

“Raphael, I don’t want to hate you anymore. If I stay with you, I’ll surely die. And I haven’t forgiven you. Right now, I’ve barely managed to survive, but I don’t think there’ll be a next time. So, Raphael, if you want to save me, just let me go. That’s the only way I can live. If you just let me live, I’ll forget everything in the past.”

Her words pierced Raphael’s heart and tore it to pieces. There was no hesitation in her expression as she finally declared their separation.

Raphael felt as if the ground beneath him was shaking, but he gritted his teeth and endured it. His vision blurred behind a curtain of tears.

He wanted to accuse her of being cruel, but he realized something. He wasn’t even qualified to be by Estelle’s side, let alone protest. Forgiveness was nothing but an extravagant luxury…. The relationship he had stubbornly clung to had ended today.

Estelle said she couldn’t live. She might end up hating him even more if things continued like this…. How could he possibly hold onto her? In the end, he had ruined everything.

Raphael, hands trembling, grabbed the ring case. Tears pooled on his chin and fell at her feet.

Even if he became a pathetic, groveling dog, he still wanted to stay by her side.

I was wrong. I was insane. I’ll never hurt you again. Please don’t abandon this selfish me.

There were so many words swirling in his mouth, but all that came out was a sob full of tears. He dropped the ring case he had been clutching. The diamond ring, worth a fortune, rolled across the floor, but he didn’t even notice.

Raphael buried his face in her thigh, his tears flowing endlessly. Estelle flinched but didn’t push him away.

There would soon be little left of Raphael for her to remember….

***

Two days later, she headed for the western border, determined to leave the Empire.

Raphael, carrying only the diamond ring Estelle had handed him, returned to the main residence of the dukedom. He did as Estelle instructed, informing Duke Pellia with the false news that she had died from neurotoxin.

The Duke raged uncontrollably. Since no one had informed him that Estelle had regained consciousness, the Duke believed she had died after struggling at the brink of death.

After sending Estelle away, Raphael lost even the will to live, but he still couldn’t die. He would never see her again, but if Duke Pellia ever found out Estelle was alive, Raphael was the only one who could protect her.

Now, that reason alone forced him to keep breathing and living, even if his future was hell.

The Duke had no interest in the corpse of his daughter who had taken her own life, but he insisted that the cause of her death must not become known among the noble factions. So, he planned to fake her death as a fall, just like Duke Blythe.

Raphael, thinking of the Duke’s attitude, remembered how Estelle, even as she left the Empire, always called the Duke ‘Father’. She was so kind—almost foolishly so—her kindness bordered on obsession.

Because of her, her father continued to act, unaware that his own life was spared thanks to her mercy.

Raphael’s insides boiled, but he knew he was no different from the Duke. So he obeyed, only for her sake.

Soon after, Raphael took full charge of Estelle’s funeral. Following Duke Blythe’s sudden death, many nobles attended the news of Estelle’s unexpected passing.

The cause of death was said to be a fall, just like Duke Blythe, but Estelle’s body was never found. Everyone mourned at the tragic funeral where even the body couldn’t be recovered, but there were many whispers behind the scenes.

Some said Estelle’s death wasn’t a fall but s*icide, and that her unhealthy relationship with her brother Raphael was the cause… Others claimed Estelle had run away from her brother and vanished without a trace—strange rumors of all kinds.

There was a survivor among the servants who had followed Estelle from the western villa, so it was clear where the leaks came from.

However, Raphael was no longer the same as before—he simply watched. Even if Estelle was alive, she was officially dead. No matter how terrible the rumors, the dead couldn’t speak, so no one could uncover the truth from her. The rumors would end as rumors.

All Raphael needed to do was keep the knights in line. Yes, that was the reason he kept breathing. Even if he missed her so much he ached, living for her safety was the punishment Estelle had given him.

A few days passed, and the last day of the funeral arrived. After finishing all the arrangements, Raphael entered the bedroom.

Without Estelle, who had always been with him in the main residence, he was drowning in a living hell, but he couldn’t destroy himself completely.

Until he safely inherited the family, until that damned Duke died, he had to remain the respectable Young Duke.

But he wanted to lose consciousness, even for a moment, so he searched for the whiskey he drank last night.

Before changing into his indoor clothes, he wet his lips with whiskey and drank three glasses in a row. Quickly intoxicated, Raphael lay down on the bed and fell asleep.

The sunset that had stretched across the horizon turned into a dark evening. Raphael slept until then, but suddenly became alert when he sensed movement in the bedroom.

Foolishly, the thought that Estelle had returned flashed through his mind. It couldn’t be, but he was already seized by false hope.

Raphael, sensitive to the presence, lay straight in bed but didn’t get up immediately.

The person who entered the bedroom wandered around the area near the dresser, then quietly placed something down.

Raphael, pulling out the dagger he had hidden at his bedside, sprang up just before the intruder disappeared.

The suspicious figure tried to escape as soon as Raphael awoke, but was caught instantly. Raphael pressed the dagger to the intruder’s throat, and the way the person begged for their life was utterly pitiful.

Raphael wondered how someone had managed to slip past the main residence’s security, but guessed it was because there were many outsiders today, being the last day of Estelle’s funeral.

Still, how did they know to enter the Young Duke’s bedroom…?

He asked in a low voice, “What are you here for?”

Raphael was not exactly a man of spotless reputation, so he had no shortage of enemies. He wondered if someone from Duke Blythe’s household had investigated the family head’s death and sent an assassin. He swallowed, thinking perhaps he had left traces behind, but it turned out not to be the case.