Raindrops started to fall from the sky.

‘Now, even the rain is coming down…’

Lowen let out yet another sigh—one of countless since leaving Zeroden’s territory.

He glanced sideways at the duke, who was staring blankly at the campfire. With that emotionless face, it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

A few hours ago, the duke had told him to prepare a horse, stating that he would enter the palace alone.

— I will enter the palace immediately. Prepare the horse.

— What? Right now?

— Even if I have to go alone, get it ready.

Lowen didn’t know the reason, but he couldn’t refuse the duke’s order, which had been issued alongside an icy glare.

Unlike usual, only Lowen accompanied him, and the duke had ridden relentlessly. As a result, the two of them were already near the border between Zeroden’s land and the capital.

The rain grew heavier. As the fire weakened, Alex stood up from the rock he had been sitting on. Seeing this, Lowen was startled.

“Your Grace, are you planning to depart again?”

“The rain is falling. Judging by the sky, it will only get worse. We should arrive in the capital before it pours.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to wait here until it stops…?”

Alex frowned. Lowen was momentarily surprised by the rare expression on the duke’s face, but the cold voice that followed cut through the air.

“Then stay here. I’ll take you back on my way home.”

“Your Grace…”

“As you know, I am not a man generous enough to tolerate your complaints. Especially not now.”

Under the faint moonlight, Alex’s eyes glowed.

The sheer eeriness made Lowen instinctively touch his throat, but he couldn’t back down.

If he let the duke enter the palace alone, there was no telling what he might do.

According to the servants at the estate, there had been a minor quarrel between the duke and the duchess.

With his keen intuition, Lowen quickly deduced that the root of that argument lay in the royal palace. And, of course, he knew that this had made the duke extremely angry.

If he let the duke go alone now, he feared what the man—who cherished his wife deeply—might do in his fury.

Lowen cleared his throat a few times and then slowly rose from the rock he had been sitting on.

“Your Grace, let’s go.”

“Don’t worry. I am not as ignorant a man as you imagine.”

Lowen was taken aback. The duke’s words made it seem as though he had read his thoughts.

“W-What do you mean? What thoughts?”

“The thoughts of a fool who values his own neck are obvious.”

Alex pulled his cloak over his shoulders and adjusted his gloves tightly.

Then, he strode toward the horse he had tied up earlier. Lowen hastily donned his cloak and scrambled to follow.

Unlike themselves, who had rested at a shelter for travelers, their horses had been left tied in an open clearing.

The thick rain had soaked the saddles completely. As Lowen took out a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe the saddle, the duke suddenly snatched it from him and wiped his own horse’s saddle instead.

“Your Grace, I…”

‘Don’t you have the handkerchief the duchess gave you?’

However, the wise Lowen said no more. He already understood the reason.

***

Morning had come.

Unlike usual, a steady drizzle fell from the sky.

The cloudy sky beyond the window looked unsettling. Elicity quickly sat up in bed.

‘I couldn’t sleep…’

After her husband left the bedroom last night, she had barely slept at all.

No, it would be more accurate to say that she hadn’t slept at all.

Unlike usual, her husband had been aggressive. Then he had left the bedroom. Who could possibly sleep soundly after that?

A long time ago, on their wedding night, something similar had happened.

Her husband had known nothing, and she had trembled in fear. From that moment on, their relationship had twisted.

‘But now, it’s different.’

If she calmly talked things through with him about last night, they could make up again.

‘Besides, it’s not good for parents to fight, especially for Bella’s sake.’

Was it really for her daughter’s sake?

A quiet voice whispered in her heart, but Elicity ignored it.

She hurried the maids as she changed into new clothes, glancing at the clock repeatedly.

The more time passed, the more she wanted to speak to her husband as soon as possible.

However…

Unfortunately, Elicity couldn’t meet Alex.

She had skipped breakfast and gone straight to his bedroom, but instead of Alex or his aide, she was greeted by the chamberlain, Celon.

She froze at the sight of the cold, empty bed.

Even after scanning the entire room, Alex was nowhere to be found.

“Where is my husband?”

“…Pardon?”

At Elicity’s question, Celon looked even more flustered than she was.

“Haven’t you heard? He left for the royal palace.”

It felt like ice water had been poured over her head.

Elicity stepped closer to Celon and raised her voice.

“He went to the palace? But he just returned last night!”

“He said he remembered something he needed to do. The moment he came up to the bedroom, he mounted his horse again and…”

Celon trailed off awkwardly, as if mumbling.

But Elicity barely registered his words.

Beyond disappointment, a sense of unease crept over her body.

‘His business at the palace was already finished. There were no summons for him to return. Then why…?’

Her anxiety swelled, like a balloon expanding.

Elicity bit her trembling lips.

“Are you certain he went to the royal palace?”

At her question, Celon’s eyes widened.

However, it was not a curiosity. His eyes clearly understood the meaning of the question.

Elicity, too, had never wanted to ask this question.

But in Madonia, when noblewomen refused their husbands’ advances, there was always one question they asked if their husbands were absent.

And it was a question she had asked herself a few times before her return.

‘Could he have gone to see another woman?’

As soon as the thought struck her, Elicity felt as if she had been hit on the back of the head.

She couldn’t believe that she had so naturally come to suspect her husband’s infidelity.

“He really did go to the palace, Madam!”

Celon asserted firmly, as if he truly meant it, but Elicity only felt bitter.

“Y-yes, of course.”

‘He said he loves me… There’s no way he would go to see another woman.’

But they had a small argument the night before. And she had, even if just slightly, rejected Alex, causing him to leave the bedroom.

As that sequence of events replayed in her mind, Elicity felt her chest tighten.

“What business does he have at the palace? Why was he in such a hurry?”

Elicity did not hide her anxious and unstable emotions.

Her trembling tone gave her away completely—there was no hiding it.

Seeing her like that, Celon grew even more flustered and stammered.

“T-that, well, I don’t know the reason either… He just said he was going to the palace and told me to prepare the horses. I do not have the right to ask why, Madam.”

He doesn’t know.

At that moment, it was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her, bringing back her rationality.

Regardless of the truth, it was obvious whose side the servants in the mansion would take. They would stand by their master, not the mistress.

Whether he had gone to the palace or to a club to meet a mistress, they would never tell her the truth.

Elicity almost let out a bitter laugh at how foolish she had been to forget such a simple fact.

“I see.”

“Madam, you must not doubt the master.”

“That’s right. He must have truly gone to the palace.”

Retia and Olivia each chimed in.

But in truth, whether he had really gone to the palace or not didn’t matter.

What mattered was how wretched she felt for still doubting him.

―Elicity, I love you.

‘Really?’

She still didn’t know.

For now, she just didn’t want to hear her husband’s affectionate voice echoing in her head.

It only made her compare the present to the past when she had not been loved.

She could feel all the gazes in the hallway watching her—some with concern, others with curiosity.

She was the duchess.

For thirty years, she had worked tirelessly to become the perfect noblewoman.

She could not allow the household servants to gossip about her relationship with her husband.

More than anything, what if her beloved daughter heard that her parents had fought?

‘Absolutely not.’

Elicity forced a gentle smile.

“Yes, now that I think about it, His Grace has a lot of responsibilities. Of course, he must have gone to the palace.”

“Madam…”

Retia looked as if she might cry, but Elicity turned away as if nothing was wrong.

Of course, it wasn’t easy.

Right behind her was the bed she had shared with him just a short while ago. Memories don’t simply vanish.

But Elicity gathered every ounce of strength and walked forward with firm steps.

Her stride did not waver.

“There’s much to do today. Bring my meal to the study.”

“…Yes, Madam.”

Understanding her mistress’s heart all too well, Olivia responded in a composed voice.

And so, Elicity slowly and elegantly walked through the corridor, reaching the study.

―I just want Mommy to be happy!

The voice of young Bella rang in her head, making Elicity stop in her tracks.

***

The journey from Zeroden’s territory to the royal palace in the capital typically took ten days by carriage and four days on horseback.

For knights pushing their horses to their limits, it could be done in two.

But Alex and Lowen had arrived at the palace in less than two days.

As Lowen handed the reins to the gatekeeper, the dark circles under his eyes were heavy.

But Alex, unmoved by his subordinate’s exhaustion, spoke coldly.

“Then take care of the horses.”

“Y-yes…”

Lowen nodded weakly, his movements sluggish.

Alex watched him with a hint of disdain before stepping into the palace.