“The atmosphere here doesn’t feel like a newlywed home at all.”

“Shh! Quiet! Please be quiet!”

Having returned from the border, Sam found himself in the castle’s kitchen even before reporting his return to Callius.

To him, the kitchen was heaven. Sneaking bites of the food as it was being prepared was pure bliss. Nora’s cooking skills were improving by the day. The once simple meals had doubled in variety since he last saw them.

Everything was prepared for the lady of the house.

Sam reached out for the fragrant soup but was promptly smacked on the back by Nora.

“If you’ve returned, why don’t you go rest quietly? The atmosphere is tense enough as it is.”

“So, why is the atmosphere so bad, Nora?”

Sam asked, looking wistfully at the soup.

Nora didn’t have the time to answer every single one of his questions. She was busy preparing food, and besides, she thought it was improper to gossip about the master and mistress’s affairs to Sam.

But then again, perhaps it wasn’t entirely improper.

Sam had been a long-time companion of Callius, staying by his side since his mercenary days.

If anyone knew about Callius having a lover, it would undoubtedly be Sam Huon.

“Hey! Why are you hitting me again, Nora?”

“The more I think about it, the more infuriating it is. Sam, tell me. You knew, didn’t you?”

“Knew what?”

“About his lover!”

Sam, dodging Nora’s furious hands, backed away and hit his head against the wall. The pain was fleeting, but he still couldn’t understand what Nora was talking about.

“A lover? Who has a lover?”

“Who else? Callius, of course!”

Since Callius had been granted his title and the vast lands of Siscreek, Nora had refrained from calling him by name.

But now, she shouted his name without a care for decorum.

Sam, blocking Nora’s swinging spatula with his hand, quickly responded.

“Callius has a lover? What are you talking about?”

“Don’t even try to tell me you didn’t know.”

Nora was still seething with anger.

Sam mulled over her words.

Callius had a lover. The castle’s atmosphere had been unusually tense.

The pieces of the puzzle clicked together in his mind.

“Wow, I’ve got to hand it to him. He doesn’t waste any time.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I told him that if he didn’t like his wife, he should at least get a lover.”

“What? You idiot!”

Sam, having seemingly figured out Nora’s pattern, skillfully dodged her blows this time.

“So, about this lover… Is she pretty?”

“Sam Huon! Don’t you dare set foot in this kitchen again!”

Nora grabbed him by the ear and dragged him out of the kitchen.

Sam stumbled slightly but managed to keep his balance.

“When did he even find the time to get one?”

Sam had suggested the idea of a lover to Callius only a few days ago at the border.

Well, with his looks, it wouldn’t take long for a line of potential lovers to form once he made up his mind.

Feeling a twinge of envy, Sam clicked his tongue and headed straight to Callius.

He was determined to ask just how beautiful this lover was.

Still lamenting the soup he hadn’t tasted, Sam quickened his pace.

—

It had been almost ten days since Leticia had last seen even a shadow of Callius.

During this time, she spent her days eating alone and passing the hours reading books.

Even so, the days felt unbearably long.

Simply mentioning his deceased lover had provoked an immense fury in Callius.

In hindsight, Leticia realized she had acted recklessly, losing whatever trust they had built.

The truth was, it wasn’t Callius who had been distrustful—it was her.

Embarrassed by this realization, Leticia couldn’t bring herself to approach him again.

But she couldn’t just let time slip away like this either.

‘Should I write him a letter?’

But then again, she worried that writing a letter might only remind him of the fact that she had read the one he wrote to his lover.

“Good day, madam.”

Lost in thought, Leticia didn’t notice someone approaching her from the other end of the hallway until it was too late.

When she finally snapped out of it, a man she had never seen before was standing in front of her.

Judging by his attire, he wasn’t a servant.

But he didn’t look like a knight either; his outfit was too casual for that.

As far as Leticia knew, Siscreek didn’t yet have an established order of knights.

“This is our first meeting. My name is Sam Huon. Should I say I’m an old friend of Callius… or rather, Lord Maxis? Please, call me Sam.”

“Oh… It’s nice to meet you, Sam. When did you arrive at the castle?”

“Not long ago. Before this, I was stationed at the border.”

Leticia assumed that the border he mentioned was the one near the Penencil region, where Callius had recently visited.

“You must have had a hard time. Have you managed to rest?”

“Nora’s cooking has taken care of that already.”

If he was an old friend of Callius, it must mean they had known each other since before Callius received his title.

Leticia wondered if Sam might know something about Callius’s lover.

But now wasn’t the right time to ask.

She didn’t want to give the impression that she was still prying into Callius’s personal affairs after everything that had happened.

“Then please rest well, Sam.”

“Thank you, madam.”

Leticia gave him a brief nod and walked away.

As he watched her retreating figure disappear down the hallway, Sam tilted his head in confusion.

“I thought she was the lover.”

When Sam finally found Callius, he asked him outright how beautiful his lover was.

Callius frowned slightly, as though he didn’t understand what Sam was talking about.

[None of your business.]

[How can I not be curious? Will it kill you to tell me? Huh?]

[Yes. So shut up.]

Callius ended the conversation as if that was the best answer he could give.

But Sam didn’t stop there.

[Oh, so she’s not that pretty, huh?]

[…]

Callius’s movements slowed noticeably.

Though he tried to hide it, it was clear that Sam’s words had struck a nerve.

Seeing this, Sam smirked.

Callius opened his mouth as if to say something, then finally muttered a single word.

[She’s beautiful.]

[To what extent?]

[To the point where you can’t forget her after seeing her once.]

When Sam asked where he had found such a beauty, Callius simply laughed.

No, to be precise, he laughed while grabbing Sam by the scruff of his neck and throwing him out.

Now that Callius had a lover, Sam felt a bit awkward about meeting the lady of the castle.

He decided to keep a low profile and spend his time quietly enjoying the castle’s wine.

But then, he ran into the lady of the castle in a hallway.

His impression of her could be summed up in one sentence:

“The unforgettable one isn’t the lover—it’s her.”

Though he hadn’t met all the renowned noblewomen in the capital, Callius’s wife surpassed his expectations.

If it weren’t for their current circumstances, he thought they would have made quite a fitting pair.

In any case, Callius was an incredibly lucky man to have even his arranged wife turn out to be so stunning.

—

Late at night, Leticia couldn’t sleep and got out of bed.

The nights were no longer as cold as before. Even with the windows open, the breeze was cool rather than chilly.

The more time she had, the more her thoughts wandered to the past.

And the more she dwelled on the past, the more it tormented her.

She hated having so much time to think.

Her body was comfortable, but her mind was restless, as if it wanted to settle down even though nothing had truly changed.

[Protect Rearbon.]

Her father’s solemn voice echoed in her ears like a ringing.

But it was her father who had lost Rearbon, the very thing she was supposed to protect.

If protecting Rearbon was her duty, then what had been her father’s duty?

Thinking that far, she felt stifled.

Without even grabbing a shawl, Leticia wandered down the hallway.

The moonlight was bright enough that she didn’t need a lamp to see.

She thought about turning back but didn’t want to.

In the end, instead of returning to her room, she headed for the library.

The library in Siscreek Castle, like the dressing room, had been purchased in its entirety from a noble’s estate.

Leticia cautiously stepped inside.

The tall bookshelves made the library darker than the hallways, slowing her steps.

She found a lamp inside and lit it.

As the surroundings gradually brightened, the spines of the books came into view.

Running her fingers along the spines, Leticia felt an odd sense of familiarity.

Noble libraries tended to be more about display than personal taste.

Sometimes, nobles would even open their libraries to the public to showcase their collections.

“The ‘Book of Romulon’…”

The ‘Book of Romulon’ was written by Valdain Romulon, one of the early chroniclers of Metherdea and a key figure in its foundation.

While Romulon had written many books, the ‘Book of Romulon’ was particularly rare.

Unlike his other works, it contained personal opinions and anecdotes that weren’t included in official histories.

Among the people she knew, only one person had ever owned a copy of the ‘Book of Romulon’.

Her father, the Duke of Rearbon.

Of course, he couldn’t have been the only one to own a copy.

Still, it was surprising to find such a rare book in Siscreek.

Leticia continued reading the spines of the books.

The more she read, the stronger her sense of déjà vu grew.

Every book here felt familiar to her.

Not because she had read or heard of them, but because this library felt like an exact replica of Rearbon’s.

“Couldn’t sleep, so you came to read?”