***

“Are you really okay, miss?”

Rose asked anxiously as she gently brushed Reina’s hair.

“I’m fine.”

Reina replied calmly, her gaze fixed on the mirror.

The lavish appearance staring back at her felt unfamiliar. Though she had been given many jewels and dresses by Kaelid, she had never gone out of her way to flaunt them.

She hated the thought of wearing something that came from him. It made her feel as though she were waiting for Kaelid, welcoming him.

But today—just for today—she wore the most expensive and beautiful things she owned.

“Does it suit me?”

“It suits you so well… it’s almost frightening.”

Rose answered in a slightly trembling voice.

‘Please—please let this plan come off without a hitch.’

Inside, Reina prayed with desperate fervor.

She had finally decided she truly had to leave. Her mother—still hanging on by a thread—had whispered one thing for the first time in over a dozen years: Leave.

She had shown Zephion a shameful face. She had secretly wished the boy would go away. And Zephion had nearly died.

She could endure none of it any longer. So she resolved to go.

‘What happened to Zephion was no ordinary robbery.’

No one in House Berend cared that he’d been stabbed—and, in truth, that was only natural. Whatever the reality, on the surface Zephion was just a stray the family had picked up off the street. Who would even talk of revenge over a single injured orphan?

She tried to find out more about the incident through Yuta, but oddly, nothing came of it. Many people had witnessed it, yet the culprit vanished without a trace, and nobody matching the description attacked another carriage afterwards.

If they had been real highwaymen, they wouldn’t have stopped after one failed attempt. The fact that the attacker had drawn a blade so readily, clearly intending to kill, was also significant. Ordinary robbers only brandish a knife to threaten and then flee with whatever valuables they can steal.

‘I’m sure it isn’t Kaelid.’

At first, Reina suspected Kaelid. He had always viewed Zephion as an irritant. However, when she confronted him, he seemed only amused. In front of the boy, he even demonstrated exactly to whom Reina belonged.

If Kaelid had truly intended to kill Zephion, such theatrics would have been pointless. Zephion certainly annoyed him, but it was clear that Kaelid didn’t consider the boy important enough to kill.

The next name that came to mind was Eldan.

‘It can only be him.’

From their one encounter, he must have begun to suspect the truth — that Zephion was the last Marquess of Baltgar. Golden eyes. An unmistakably similar face. Anyone who had known the late Marquess and Marchioness of Baltgar would have had little difficulty guessing the connection.

If Eldan had discovered Zephion’s identity and intended to kill him, he wouldn’t have stopped at one attempt.

It wasn’t that Reina doubted Yuta’s abilities; it was the fact that Zephion was under threat of assassination that terrified her. One successful strike and there would be no turning back. She stared at the heavy necklace resting carefully against her pale throat.

Even if she put vengeance aside, she had reached one unshakable conclusion: she could not afford to lose Zephion.

Above all else, she cherished that boy. In fact, she loved him so much that she was even willing to put revenge on hold to prioritise him.

The words of her mother to leave had also weighed heavily on her. There was a quiet message behind those words: forget vengeance and just go.

Perhaps, as her mother said, Yeria could only be free by leaving.

‘I hope he’ll accept me…’

She had agonized over how to escape—dozens of times. She knew it wasn’t enough to simply run away from House Berend. She had never attempted it, but instinct told her that Kaelid would never let her go without a fight.

Then, at last, she’d come up with one idea—the young duke.

The only person with power that could rival the mighty Marquessate of Berend. And conveniently, he was still unmarried.

If she were to marry him and leave the Berend estate, even Kaelid wouldn’t be able to stop her.

Though the duke had never once treated Reina as a sister, on the surface, their relationship was nothing more than that—adopted siblings.

So if the duke proposed and she accepted, there would be no grounds to oppose the union.

‘If I can just marry him… I can take Zephion with me.’

Just as Kaelid had once told his father that Zephion was a stray orphan he’d taken in, maybe she could say the same.

She could claim she wished to look after him until he came of age. And from what she’d heard, the duke was said to be a rather kind-hearted man.

If she could only escape this place, perhaps she could let that boy live quietly for the rest of his life.

It didn’t seem so terrible to hide every truth, to set aside hatred and revenge and simply close her eyes. Once she left House Berend, she would no longer have to hurl herself into the flames.

Zephion remembered nothing anyway; if Reina kept silent, he could be perfectly happy. He could grow up like an ordinary man—perhaps never living as a noble, yet still meeting a young lady his age and building a contented home.

‘If the duke proposes—if I can truly leave this place—then I should free Zephion from any thought of revenge as well.’

She was abandoning the single purpose for which she had raised him, yet the idea brought her a strange sense of peace. When had that boy come to mean so much to her?

“All finished.”

Rose said, fastening a bracelet around Reina’s wrist, her expression still tinged with worry. The earrings dangling from Reina’s lobes sparkled brilliantly. She looked her reflection in the mirror—she had never thought herself beautiful, but tonight she felt she might just capture a man’s heart.

“How much time do we have?”

“About twenty minutes.”

“I guess I should head down now and wait.”

Twenty minutes remained until the appointed time. Reina rose, leaning on her cane.

She had been exchanging letters with the Duke over the past few days. Had Kaelid known the contents, he would have exploded with rage. However, perhaps because she had been obedient for a while, he hadn’t suspected a thing.

She had expressed her interest in him far more boldly than any other young lady would have dared to do. Although she wasn’t particularly active in social circles, the two had met on occasion, and the Duke had responded rather favourably.

Of course, it was impossible to tell whether his response was simply polite courtesy towards her bold advances or whether he felt something more genuine.

The moment Reina opened the door, she found Zephion standing in the hallway, eyes wide in surprise.

“Pi Pi?”

His lips moved silently. Blinking as though struck speechless, the boy finally let out a strained whisper.

“You’re… beautiful.”

“…What?”

Was that really such a flustering thing to hear?

Her cheeks grew a little warm.

“You’re really, really beautiful, Reina.”

“…Thank you.”

Rose, standing a little behind her, looked proud and pleased.

“You’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen in my life.”

“Don’t be so sure. Life’s long.”

His sincerity practically dripped from every word, and it made Reina feel even more embarrassed. She gave a playful response, then tapped her cane lightly on the floor.

Snapping out of his daze, Zephion quickly reached out his arm. She rested her hand on it, like always.

“What’s the occasion?”

“What do you mean?”

“You dressed up because of the guest that’s coming today, didn’t you?”

Reina gave a small nod at his slightly excited voice.

“Who is it? The whole estate’s been in an uproar since this morning.”

“The Duke of Kinanas.”

“The Duke of Kinanas…?”

Zephion’s voice dropped in an instant. The brightness that had lit up his face just moments ago vanished, replaced by a rigid expression.

“…He’s a man.”

“That’s right.”

Reina answered lightly. She already knew this wasn’t something he’d be happy about. Zephion acted as if he had romantic feelings for her.

‘It’s probably just because there’s no other woman close to him right now.’

Once he started living a normal life and met girls his age, this feeling would surely fade away.

“Did you dress up like this… for that man?”

The question came with an accusatory edge, and Reina nodded without hesitation.