Chapter 7

Estelle found his drunken appearance unfamiliar, but she didn’t want to respond. Hearing that he’d come because he missed her made her feel as if she would break again. It was so exhausting….

“There aren’t any servants wandering around at night, but please don’t visit at this hour. And please refrain from saying such things. People might misunderstand.”

“Misunderstand?”

He laughed as if incredulous and pushed in without her permission. She could have closed the door immediately, but didn’t.

Since being adopted into the Dukedom, Estelle had never had comfortable days. Even waking from nightmares, she was scared, but she let him in anyway. Ironically, Raphael was the only one in Duke Pellia’s household who sided with her.

He said he wouldn’t remain her brother any longer, and now he threatened her in another way…. She could only watch him cross the threshold like a fool.

Her heart ached, and Estelle’s lips trembled. She finally answered, belatedly.

“Yes, it’s a misunderstanding.”

“Estelle, you’re still like that? At this point you’re not pretending not to know—you’re practically closing your eyes and ears. Impressive. Someone’s heart is burning itself to ashes while you act like this.”

Raphael, who had only played with her before, now revealed everything as he became drunk.

It was unfamiliar, so Estelle didn’t know how to respond, but she answered anyway.

“You don’t need to burn yourself up like that. All you have to do is step back, Brother. If you do, we can live as if nothing ever happened.”

“As if nothing happened? Now?”

“Our relationship may be strained, but everything is still in place. I was shocked by Duke Blythe’s sudden death, but if Father arranges another marriage, it’ll be resolved soon. Nothing changes.”

Her hands trembled as she mentioned Blythe, but her voice remained calm.

The room was dark, so Raphael couldn’t see her face clearly, but his gaze never left her, as if he wanted to examine her from every angle.

A faint sneer appeared on his lips. Then—

“Aha, ahahaha!”

He laughed like a madman, as if he’d lost his mind. Estelle felt chills throughout her body at his laughter, as if she’d been struck by a cold wave. It was bizarre, bordering on madness.

Even so…

“So you’re going to keep acting like you know nothing, all the way to the end.”

The one who had just sneered suddenly returned to normal, speaking in a low tone.

That frightened Estelle so much that she couldn’t speak further. All she could do was recall Raphael, who had disappeared for a long time before the news of her fiancé’s death, Raphael who showed up at the funeral pretending to be sad, Raphael who entered her bedroom late at night, drunk….

Wasn’t it all strange?

Her ominous intuition told her that Raphael might be the one who caused Duke Blythe’s fall, and she couldn’t hide her anxiety, even dreaming nightmares about it.

Estelle lowered her head. Raphael didn’t corner her with words, but instead pulled something from his trouser pocket.

In the moonlight reflected through the window, Estelle could barely make out what he was holding—a ring case.

“You choose. Either push me further and destroy me, or embrace me and be together…. I’ll give you a month’s grace period, Estelle. Make the best choice.”

When he couldn’t hold back his desire, he would wildly ravage her, but now, he reached out as gently as if caressing a crafted masterpiece.

Raphael tucked her hair behind her ear, handed her the ring case, then opened the door and left. If not for the strong smell of alcohol, Estelle might have forgotten he was drunk, seeing his upright back as he left.

Left alone, she couldn’t leave her lips alone. She bit, gnawed, and licked them over and over before finally approaching the window.

She pulled aside the half-drawn curtain and looked down at the ring case. Under the pale moonlight, she opened the lid.

Her heart raced uncontrollably, as if it would break through her ribs. She hoped it wasn’t a proposal.

When she saw the silver ring filling her view, she held her breath for a moment. An emerald sparkled brilliantly in the center of the band.

Thankfully, it wasn’t a proposal. But what Raphael brought was even more troubling than a confession of love.

She couldn’t not recognize this ring. She knew this emerald, cut by a master jeweler with utmost care.

Because…

‘He showed me this gemstone to use as the engagement ring on the day I first met Duke Blythe.’

Cold sweat gathered on Estelle’s forehead from uncontrollable fear. Raphael’s fate was now clutched in her hands, almost by accident.

If this ring was discovered, she would be suspected as the culprit, but if she named the person who gave it to her, she could cut off any suspicion. Since she rarely left the main residence, there were plenty of servants to provide her with an alibi.

On the other hand, Raphael had been absent from the main residence for several days.

“Ha….”

She let out a deep sigh and sank to the floor. She couldn’t believe the reality in front of her eyes. But Raphael had handed her the ring, expecting her to recognize it.

The answer was clear.

‘I killed Duke Blythe.’

The nightmare had become reality.

***

She hid the ring Raphael gave her carefully. She became so sensitive, checking dozens of times a day to make sure it wouldn’t be discovered.

The servants found her changes odd, but didn’t think it suspicious. Many of them sensed something was unusual between Estelle and Raphael, even though everyone kept quiet.

So Estelle’s questionable behavior was overlooked, but as time passed, her anxiety only grew. It was because of the grace period Raphael had set—a month….

If she didn’t give him an answer before then, she couldn’t predict what Raphael would do, and that was t*rture for Estelle.

She had never cared much about her honor as a noblewoman. She wasn’t interested in her status. Even so, she let Raphael misunderstand because she didn’t want him to self-destruct.

She couldn’t stand to see him throw everything away for her sake…. Yet Raphael had ultimately placed his fate in her hands.

That fact still scared her so much that she couldn’t eat or sleep. Meanwhile, Raphael smiled brightly at her every time they met, as if nothing had happened. He spoke about Duke Blythe as if it was no big deal.

― Since your chosen fiancé suddenly died, Father will take some time to find your next marriage partner. So relax and enjoy, Estelle.

He wasn’t exactly urging her for an answer, but Raphael’s subtle reminders made Estelle’s blood run cold. If it was revealed that he was the one who caused Blythe’s fall, Raphael would lose everything he had. How could he speak so calmly? Was he really okay with being ruined? Did he not care if it all ended?

There were so many things swirling in her mind, but in the end, she didn’t confront Raphael.

The ring must never be discovered by anyone. If someone had to fall, it should be her.

Thinking that way, she made up her mind.

‘I’ll leave.’

If Raphael was planning to destroy himself, it would be better for her to leave the Dukedom.

Because he could give her exactly what she least wanted….

― Even when I say I’d do anything for you, you’re quick to push me away.

‘I’m the same. Because I like you, I don’t want you to be ruined. That’s why I push you away.’

Estelle buried the feelings she had never spoken aloud deep in her heart. She remembered Raphael’s face so clearly—the one who, once her brother, had said they were in the same situation. Herself, crying for the first time in the Dukedom, and Raphael, just beginning to shed his boyish looks….

They weren’t happy memories, but they were so vivid she would never forget them. Estelle believed she could endure just by holding onto that, quietly, always….

Her heart ached.