“Sorry?”

Lowell, believing the Duke was angry, quickly began to apologize but then paused.

“I understand that you don’t fully grasp the reasons behind the annulment.”

“…My lord.”

Kylance gazed steadily into Lowell amber eyes.

Lowell was his trusted right-hand, loyal to the core. Even if he knew the truth, he would keep it until his death.

But… Kylance was done thinking about it, done speaking of it.

“Now that the revenge is complete, I don’t want to dwell on it any longer. So, Lowell, erase all thoughts of Lady Blante from your mind.”

Kylance drew a clear boundary, signaling that he no longer wished to discuss the matter.

Though Lowell was curious about what “revenge” meant, he quietly lowered his head.

“…Yes.”

He decided that whatever happened to Lady Blante was no longer his concern, now that the engagement had been broken off, and he buried his discomfort deep inside.

“Leave.”

After observing Lowell solemn face, Kylance let out a short sigh and gave the order to dismiss him.

“I will take my leave.”

As Lowell exited, the butler spoke.

“My lord, Lord Deryl Lowes has arrived.”

“Let him in.”

When the door opened, Deryl Lowes entered and greeted Kylance with the proper courtesy.

“Stand up.”

“I have completed the task you assigned, my lord. Here is the annulment agreement signed by Lady Blante.”

As soon as Deryl Lowes stood, he placed the agreement on the desk. Kylance’s eyes landed on the white envelope.

The annulment agreement.

It was something he had prepared himself. He had instructed Deryl Lowes to bring it back with her signature.

While he could have met her face to face one last time to end it all, Kylance couldn’t bear the thought of seeing Ariel’s face, knowing that she still longed for Duke Blante.

He didn’t want to see her grief-stricken expression, haunted by the memory of someone he considered his enemy.

That’s why he had hoped Deryl Lowes would hurry and bring the agreement back, so he could sever the connection quickly and cleanly.

But why did it feel so… wrong?

He had expected that seeing the signed agreement would bring a sense of relief, as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. But instead, his mood sank sharply.

“…Did she sign it without any resistance?”

“Yes, she signed it right away without saying a word.”

“She signed it immediately…”

At least she didn’t throw a fit and refuse to sign, he told himself.

However, despite this logical thought, Kylance’s mood was already at rock bottom.

It was he who had let go of her, yet he couldn’t shake the feeling that Ariel had abandoned him.

Had he secretly hoped she would beg him to take back the annulment?

Kylance asked himself this question and then let out a bitter chuckle. He had cornered her to the point where she couldn’t possibly beg.

What had he truly wanted from Ariel? He couldn’t even understand himself.

But now, it was all finished.

Kylance reached for the annulment agreement. After placing the envelope in the deepest part of the second drawer of his desk, he spoke to Deryl Lowes.

“Good job. You can go now and rest.”

“…My lord.”

Deryl hesitated, unable to leave at Kylance’s command.

“Is there something else you wish to say?”

At Kylance’s question, Dery Lowes hesitated, unsure whether it was right to deliver the message. He felt he should be cautious, considering his loyalty to his lord.

Yet, he couldn’t shake the words Lady Blante had insisted he pass on.

Despite the situation, Deryl Lowes held no animosity toward Lady Blante. In fact, he had a favorable impression of her.

He had always thought that Lady Blante’s strong character would be well-suited for the role of the Duke’s wife.

Deryl Lowes made up his mind to let this one thing slide.

“…Lady Blante asked me to pass along a message to you.”

“Ariel?”

“Yes.”

“…Go ahead.”

“She said she believed in your promise until the very end… and asked me to make sure you heard this from me.”

Kylance’s emotionless expression wavered for a brief moment. Without realizing it, he clenched his fist and spoke.

“…Leave now.”

Noticing Kylance’s clenched fist, Deryl Lowes bowed and quietly exited.

Once Lowes left, Kylance was once again alone in the office.

He exhaled a deep breath.

“Promise…”

The moment he heard her words, he immediately knew what she was referring to.

The memory of the day he proposed to her was still so fresh in his mind, as if it had just happened.

The vow he made on his knees to stand by her side until the end of his life.

“…I wish she had caused a scene.”

If she had caused a scene, he would have thought that she, too, had fallen into the worst of it, and perhaps he would have felt some relief.

But hearing her words that she had believed in him until the very end, Kylance felt as though he had been plunged into a pit of despair.

Even though he had backed her into a corner, she never let go of his hand first.

She had upheld the sacred vow of their engagement, unlike him.

“Well… you wouldn’t understand.”

That’s probably why she could remain so composed.

How would she react if she knew what he had done in the name of revenge?

He removed the evidence that could prove Duke Blante’s innocence. If she knew that, could she still love him like this?

If she found out about my betrayal, she would likely end up just like me…

As Kylance continued his thoughts, a scornful smile tugged at his lips.

No matter how much he tried to bring her down, he couldn’t imagine Ariel spiraling into the same ruin he had, consumed by revenge.

Even if she were in his place, she would probably have chosen a different path.

Ariel was never the type to risk everything on a foolish revenge.

“The more you hate and resent someone, the more you destroy yourself in the process. Kylance, don’t ever fall into that trap.”

Kylance remembered the words Ariel had spoken long ago.

How could such a daughter come from Duke Blante?

In frustration, Kylance stood up and turned toward the window.

The expansive garden of the mansion stretched out before him, a scene of late autumn. Fallen leaves had piled up beneath the trees.

“…I will forget you.”

He would erase every memory of her.

The smile, the voice, even the gaze filled with emotion, would be completely wiped away.

Time would eventually help him forget. And with it, the overwhelming sadness and sense of loss would fade away.

But what if… even with the passage of time, he couldn’t forget? What if nothing changed, no matter how much time passed?

Kylance clenched his fist, feeling a cold, hollow emptiness inside. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them, he looked up at the sky with a resolute expression.

The sky, heavy with dark clouds, seemed to mirror the darkness within him, as if a storm was about to break.

***

After four days of constant autumn rain, the weather finally cleared, and a bright, sunny day arrived.

The sunlight, after four days of rain, felt oddly out of place against the damp earth.

Yet, it was nice to see the sun again, even if that feeling didn’t last long.

Ariel smiled as the sunlight bathed her, but reality quickly set in, and she dropped her smile, letting her lips curl down in response.

Now is not the time to enjoy the sunshine.

Ariel let out a heavy sigh as she glanced at the scattered ledgers of the Duke’s estate on the table.

After her annulment with Kylance, she had spent the past four days at the Duke’s residence, trying to assess the situation. She had gone through everything—finances, overdue fief duties, and the estate’s business operations.

The more she looked into it, the worse it seemed.

A severe drought had hit the land, making it impossible to collect taxes, and the estate’s main source of income, the shipping company, had suddenly gone bankrupt overnight.

It was hard to understand how a shipping company that had been stable for over 40 years could suddenly collapse, but that wasn’t the main issue at the time.

The real problem was that the companies finances were completely depleted.

In addition to everything else, now there was the charge of treason.

It wouldn’t be surprising if the Duke’s name were wiped from the Empire at this point.

Others might have given up, especially with the added charge of treason. But Ariel hadn’t lost hope yet.

She couldn’t afford to give up. She had made up her mind to trust her father.

So, she would uncover the truth—about her father’s wrongful accusation and the one who had framed him.

But to do that, she first needed to protect her family…

Ariel was honestly sure that the Emperor wouldn’t destroy the Duke’s family.

Those unfamiliar with history might laugh at her for thinking so, but the relationship between the Blante family and the Imperial family was far from trivial.

Pentium VII. Emperor Arnold of Pentium.

Emperor Arnold had been very close to Achille Blante, the Duke of Blante, because Achille had been the Emperor’s tutor during his youth.

Even after he became Emperor, Arnold often sought Achille’s counsel during tough times, and when the Duke passed away, he attended his funeral and shed tears.

To honor the Duke’s memory, the Emperor placed the royal sword in the Duke’s coffin.

He said that as long as the sword remained in the Duke’s family tomb, no one would dare destroy the Blante family.

While this event occurred centuries ago, the sword still rests with the late Duke in his tomb.

And while others may not be aware of this, the Emperor certainly was.

It was a story that was always part of the royal family’s history lessons.

Therefore… the Emperor could never bring himself to destroy the Blante family.

If he did that, it would be as if he were disregarding the will of the 7th Emperor.

Moreover, with her father, the head of the Blante family and the key figure in the treason, taking his own life…

Despite the heartbreak, as Kylance had said, the Blante family now had a chance.

A chance to survive.