“I chose this personally for you, my lady. We can’t have you looking unsophisticated.”

Louise was being considerate so that she, who grew up in the provinces, wouldn’t become a laughingstock by wearing outdated dresses.

“You don’t know which events are suitable for you to attend, my lady.”

She was selecting appropriate parties for her, who was unfamiliar with the subtle tensions of social circles.

“It’s all for your sake, my lady.”

Everything she said was direct advice for her, who still lacked capacity as a Duchess….

This dependent lifestyle of going where Louise said to go, wearing what she said to wear, and doing what she said to do had continued for over a year.

Alisa didn’t have many complaints about those days, but the current Duchess is no longer the same as she was before.

‘I don’t think I need to do everything Louise tells me to do.’

It wasn’t just because of their positions as a Duchess and a maid, but because her constant pressure and grating words kept bothering me.

If we were to continue living together, it seemed necessary to discuss what attitude we should take towards each other from now on.

“Louise.”

She raised her head at my call.

That’s when it happened.

Knock knock.

There was a knock at the door.

Who could it be? The doctor had already come and gone, and there’s no one who would visit me at this hour. Is it Mrs. Ronan, the head maid? Or the butler? My head tilted involuntarily in question.

Louise, who approached the door to respond, seemed startled after confirming who was outside. She knelt to pay respects to the visitor.

If Louise had to show such respect, it must be….

A chill ran down my spine at the sudden, unexpected situation.

Of course, I thought I would meet him someday, but not now.

No! I’m not mentally prepared yet!

“My lady, His Grace the Duke has arrived.”

As soon as Louise finished speaking, I hurriedly slipped into bed.

* * *

People call Alisa Penvernon the luckiest woman of the century.

They mock that it was mere luck that allowed her to become a Duchess.

It’s not wrong.

A lady from a count’s family in name only, an ordinary girl you could see anywhere, occupying the position of mistress of the Penvernon family! Isn’t that perfect fortune?

But is it really?

Is it truly as great as people envy and desire?

I gazed with eyes full of doubt at what they called the greatest luck God had gifted me.

It had the appearance of an admirably beautiful man.

A sleek figure like an elegant black panther, a dazzling beauty that instantly captured one’s gaze. To think that with such an appearance, he was the master of the most powerful ducal family in the empire and also the strongest magic swordsman in history, he was indeed a man who had it all.

Although I already knew his face from Alisa’s memories, when faced with the real person, I was momentarily speechless at his overwhelming presence.

I sat in my place, just blinking and staring at him quietly. He was looking down at me too. His deep black hair looked like the dark night, and his golden eyes shone brightly like a full moon hanging in that night sky.

The one who spoke first was him.

My husband, the master of the Penvernon duchy, the male protagonist of the story, Rashid.

He said,

“I thought you’d still be unwell, but you look quite alright.”

“…Yes, after all, several days have passed.”

He examined me with an indifferent tone. I followed suit and answered calmly.

“Thank you for your concern. I’m relieved to see that Your Grace also appears to be well.”

It was a formal response. Would Alisa have answered like this now? I wanted to imitate her as much as possible, but it was difficult to be exactly the same. It can’t be helped. Even if I have Alisa’s memories, I’m not the real Alisa, so it was hard to speak and act exactly like her.

“You’re relieved?”

Rashid’s brow furrowed slightly. Could it be that I chose the wrong answer? But it was such an ordinary response. I continued cautiously, feeling tense.

“Yes. I was worried… that something might have happened.”

“You, about me?”

He looked down at me coldly. Like the moonlight of this world I had seen before, it was an eerie and sharp gaze.

“Why?”

Rashid asked. His contemptuous gaze pierced me sharply as if determined to uncover my true intentions.

The pressure he exuded was almost suffocating. Was he suspicious of me? Of what? Did he think the woman he married by the Emperor’s order was up to something? Or could it be that he had somehow realized that I wasn’t Alisa?

Trying to suppress my anxious heart, I carefully answered.

“Why, you ask… I am your wife, after all.”

“Wife, huh.”

Repeating my words, Rashid gave a sardonic smile. Not all curved lips indicate a smile. The emotion embedded in his expression was clearly distrust and suspicion.

“You could have honestly said you wouldn’t have cared if I hadn’t returned, and I wouldn’t have minded.”

“Pardon?”

“My wife is exceedingly kind.”

His mouth was smiling gently, but his eyes weren’t. His yellow eyes now looked like a nocturnal beast. Feeling like prey, I slightly lowered my head to avoid his gaze.

“I’d prefer if you worried about yourself rather than me.”

Rashid’s voice resonated above my head. I wasn’t so dull as to not realize that it wasn’t sincere.

I was perplexed by his obvious indifference and slight hostility. Considering the reason for his marriage to Alisa, it wasn’t incomprehensible, but what I knew was the ‘Rashid who had Alisa as his first love’ from the novel. So what was this situation now? I was utterly confused by his attitude, which was much harsher and sharper than I had imagined.

He told me to worry about myself. It seemed reasonable at first glance. It was certainly absurd for a frail woman who had nearly drowned to be concerned about the well-being of Rashid Penvernon, a man of immense power.

‘But… to have such an attitude towards someone like that.’

As I continued to think, anger slowly began to rise.

As if in sync with this, Alisa’s past days of living in melancholy, the emotions she had felt, raised their heads and formed a mire deep in my heart. Things like fear, sadness, resentment, inferiority, and loneliness gripped my ankles.

“No.”

I quietly opened my mouth. My voice came out calmly, unlike before, tinged with a coldly settled heart.

“I suppose it would be difficult to be kinder than a husband who didn’t honestly say he wouldn’t have cared if I hadn’t woken up.”

As I reflected his words back like a mirror, Rashid narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Are you angry, wife?”

A small ripple appeared on his face, which had been as calm as a still water surface. It was a very faint vibration, but I could notice it. Perhaps it was the first time his wife had addressed him in this manner.

The Alisa Penvernon that Rashid knew was a docile and timid Duchess. A quiet and shy woman who understood her position in a political marriage very well and didn’t try to go against his mood.

Alisa was certainly like that.

She had been.

“Of course not. Rather, I’m grateful. I’m concerned that Your Grace seems to have wasted unnecessary time because of me. After all, you’re someone too busy to pay attention to your wife.”

“You’re angry.”

“Do you think this is something to be angry about?”

“I do think it’s unlike you.”

It was an excessively typical line.

“Do you know what’s like me?”

“……”

“Is that really like me?”

How much does Rashid know about Alisa? Is what he knows really the true Alisa? He can’t be certain, yet he so easily says, ‘It’s unlike you.’

“It seems you need more rest, wife.”

“So I—”

Just as I was about to take a breath to retort to his words.

Drip.

Some thin liquid quickly flowed down from under my nose to my lips.

Ah. This familiar sensation, this feeling is surely…

As I wiped my mouth while suppressing the unpleasant feeling, my hand became soaked with blood. Oh my, it’s a nosebleed?

I could feel something flowing from the other nostril as well. The blood started to pour out so suddenly, it began to soak the bedding.