Leticia encountered an unexpected person while examining the third bookshelf.

He had noticed Leticia entering the library but waited until she approached him before speaking. He sat on a couch nestled between the bookshelves, leaning back as if he had no interest in the books around him. In one hand, he held a glass filled with a brown liquid, yet his gaze was far too clear for someone who had been drinking.

“Where did you acquire these books?”

“I asked first.”

He set his glass down. Leticia had no desire to engage in a pointless verbal sparring match.

“Yes, I couldn’t sleep, so I thought I’d try reading.”

“Why? Because things aren’t going as planned?”

Leticia felt sorry for him, knowing his lover had died. But her sympathy was nothing compared to the depth of his grief.

So even when he mocked her, she had no words to counter him.

Her offer to help his lover had never been entirely pure in intent.

Leticia had tried to make him accept her help, striving to balance their uneven relationship.

She needed him far more than he needed her.

That was why their relationship was so lopsided.

When she learned about his lover, she had foolishly felt glad, thinking she could help.

If they could exchange support equally, Leticia wouldn’t feel like she owed him entirely.

The pride she thought had burned to ashes still lingered within her.

But now she understood.

She would have to sell every last shred of her remaining pride to beg him for help.

She decided to be honest. Above all, she intended to truly apologize to him.

“I’m sorry for trying to use your lover as an opportunity.”

“…”

This time, Callius didn’t tell her to leave.

He silently observed her. His golden eyes, warm despite their unreadable depths, softened his sharp aura.

“I don’t know exactly what happened, but I understand that she was precious enough for you to throw away everything you’ve achieved. As you said, you don’t need my help. But I need yours. So…”

“Are you saying you’ll do whatever I ask?”

“If it means you’ll help me, yes.”

Surprisingly, saying those words wasn’t difficult.

Perhaps it was because the person she was pleading with wasn’t a ferocious predator, but a wounded animal.

“I’ll do anything I can to help.”

He remained silent for a long time, as if weighing her usefulness.

When he finally spoke, Leticia felt the tension in the air loosen slightly. Her throat felt parched from the stress, but she didn’t show it.

“That’s strange.”

He murmured as if talking to himself. Yet his gaze, firmly fixed on Leticia, made it feel less like a monologue.

“By now, you must know I want to kill Mathias with my own hands, even without your wishes.”

His tone wasn’t mocking her for apologizing despite knowing this.

Though he wasn’t crying, he looked as if he were.

Having resolved to be honest, Leticia voiced a thought she could have kept to herself.

“You look like you’re in pain.”

“…”

“My apology won’t make the pain go away, but…”

No matter how genuine her apology was, that fact wouldn’t change.

“I’m sorry for disturbing you.”

Leticia picked up the lamp. Behind her, the darkness deepened.

“Did you know?”

She had barely taken a single step when he spoke again.

Leticia raised the lamp to illuminate him.

Though he was hidden behind the bright light, making it hard for him to see her, Callius met her gaze unerringly.

“You look like her.”

“Pardon?”

“Your hair color, your eyes, even the shape of your lips.”

His gaze moved as if carefully examining each feature, one by one.

Leticia immediately understood who he was comparing her to.

“That’s… strange.”

It wasn’t just a curious coincidence that the unwanted wife resembled the deceased lover.

In that moment, Leticia recalled the occasional déjà vu she felt when he looked at her.

There were times when his piercing gaze seemed to see something beyond her.

Now she understood.

When he looked at her, he was thinking of his lover.

Knowing someone was imagining another person while looking at you should have been unpleasant.

And it was.

But her discomfort was quickly overshadowed by pity.

After all, he had to see the person he loved in the woman he didn’t.

‘It’s because I feel sorry for him.’

Leticia dismissed her discomfort as mere sympathy for him.

“Good night, Lord Maxis.”

No reply came from him.

As Leticia returned to her room, a thought crossed her mind.

She had always believed that emotions lingering after death were limited to hatred or fear.

In reality, such feelings didn’t fade after death—they only grew stronger.

She realized that emotions left without a recipient could never be resolved.

The dead could not speak.

Thus, emotions belonged solely to the living.

‘Perhaps loving the dead is harder than hating them.’

Back in her room, Leticia approached her bed but stopped to look at her reflection in the mirror.

The woman staring back at her now resembled Callius’s lover.

Leticia raised her hand to trace the features he had mentioned—her eyes, nose, and lips.

Despite the similarities, the affection his lover had rightfully claimed was completely inaccessible to Leticia.

Not that she wanted his love, of course.

But honestly, if Callius had harbored such feelings for her, wouldn’t her revenge against Mathias have been a little easier?

Perhaps that was why.

Leticia found herself envying that woman.

A woman whose name, age, and origins she didn’t even know.

And she knew she would never experience those emotions herself—not in this life.

There was no room for tender feelings in her revenge.

Leticia dismissed her idle thoughts and lay down.

And then, she dreamed.

—

“Leticia.”

A man called her name tenderly.

Leticia turned to face him as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

She kissed his cheek lightly and pulled back, but he leaned in, continuing the kiss with a deeper one.

Leticia wrapped her arms around his neck.

He laughed.

Though his eyes were closed, she felt the curve of his lips against hers.

The man was her lover.

After a long, lingering kiss, he rested his forehead against hers.

“Leticia.”

When he called her name again, Leticia lifted her head.

His face filled her vision, becoming clearer.

“Do we really have to eat breakfast now?”

His playful grin was charming.

—

Leticia woke abruptly.

She must have only slept for a moment, but sunlight was already streaming through the curtains.

As she regained her senses, the details of her dream became clearer.

“Why would I dream something like that…?”

Realizing what she had dreamed, she felt mortified.

No, it wasn’t just embarrassment—it was shame.

Not because she had dreamed of kissing someone, but because the man in her dream was none other than Callius.

“Ridiculous.”

She muttered to herself, burying her face in her pillow.

—

“Madam, did you not sleep well?”

“Do I look like I didn’t?”

Christine examined Leticia’s reflection in the mirror with a puzzled expression.

Even Leticia thought she looked more haggard than usual.

It wasn’t just because she hadn’t slept well—the dream from that morning had left a significant impact.

As she ate breakfast alone, Leticia came to a conclusion.

It was a conclusion she reached after much thought, though she wasn’t pleased with it.

‘I must have really envied her.’

It was the only logical explanation.

Her sympathy for Callius and her envy of that woman had intertwined into a peculiar mix of emotions.

Leticia felt drained, burdened by a secret no one else could know unless she spoke of it herself.

“I did toss and turn a bit.”

“Oh dear. Did you have a nightmare?”

Christine asked with concern.

Could it be called a nightmare?

Considering how mortified she felt afterward, it might as well have been.

“In a way, yes.”

“I’ll ask Nora to prepare some tea to help you sleep. Or perhaps a drink—something strong enough to knock you out.”

It wasn’t the healthiest suggestion, but Leticia knew Christine meant well.

“Thank you, Christine.”

“Of course. By the way, a letter arrived for you yesterday, madam.”

“For me?”

There was no one who would send Leticia a letter, at least not with friendly intentions.

Christine handed her a small envelope with no markings.

Leticia opened it immediately.

Do you like how my castle looks?

From that single line, Leticia knew who the sender was.

It was the princess, Kelsior Metherdea.