“Why are you looking at me like that?”

He asked. Caught off guard, I quickly averted my gaze and mumbled a hasty excuse.

“It’s nothing.”

Nevertheless, he studied my face carefully and soon looked concerned.

“Have you been crying?”

I shook my head. But he took a handkerchief out of his br*ast pocket and handed it to me anyway. After hesitating for a moment, I accepted it.

Suddenly, I was reminded of a memory from my childhood: my brother comforting me in the same way when I was crying. The memory made my nose tingle again.

“I don’t believe I’ve seen you before at the Duke’s party, my lady.”

Once I had calmed down a little, Louis spoke, seemingly trying to change the subject.

“It’s my first time here today.”

At my reply, she nodded knowingly.

“Ah, a work of Lady Eleanor, I presume?”

“Yes.”

It seemed that Louis was familiar with the rumours circulating in social circles. He had probably seen the commotion at the banquet a few days ago, too. Feeling a little embarrassed, I lowered my gaze.

“To find you crying alone in a place like this… It seems some rather unfortunate rumours have spread.”

He continued gently, as if trying to comfort me.

“Many ladies are desperate to marry their daughters off to the Duke of Cassel, yet somehow it seems all the attention has been directed at you.”

“…..”

He was probably trying to be considerate, not wanting me to feel ashamed because of the rumours. But I had no response.

I knew little of the social world. Even when I was Diana, I knew very little. Now, I knew nothing at all about the past three years. I worried that he might start prying deeper.

Thankfully, Louis changed the subject again.

“Would you like some company for a while?”

Louis was as considerate as ever. When I hesitated, he stood up, smiled gently, and offered me his hand.

“I may not be the master of this estate, but I visit the Cassel duchy often enough to show you around. The estate is quite spacious, so it’s a nice place to spend some time.”

His hand stirred memories from long ago. I remembered holding his hand as a child and wandering around the imperial palace with him. In hindsight, those were probably the happiest days of my life.

“Diana! Over here!”

“Louis!”

Smiling faintly at the memory, I reached out and took his hand.

“Thank you.”

I followed him as we strolled through the Duke’s garden. Although I knew these paths by heart, I pretended to be amazed by the estate’s grandeur and feigned unfamiliarity.

We didn’t speak much as we walked. But I found comfort in the silence itself.

Soon, we arrived at the entrance to the greenhouse. The moment we stepped inside, I was greeted by a beautifully arranged display of plants, and the mingled scents of grass and flowers filled the air.

“Wow… the greenhouse is so beautiful.”

“The greenhouse here is famous for its beauty.”

Of course, I already knew that. The greenhouse, lovingly tended by the gardeners every year, had always been one of my favourite places. It was only a short walk from the small garden to reach it.

“Thanks to Your Highness, I’ve had the chance to see such a lovely place. Thank you.”

Louis gazed at me quietly. Feeling uneasy under his gaze, I turned my head away. Then he reached out and gently brushed my cheek.

My body stiffened. For a moment, I was worried — what if my brother had feelings for Brianna?

Instead, however, he ran his hand over my cheek and removed a flower petal that had become caught in my hair.

He held up the small pink petal and smiled playfully.

“Looks like it got caught while we were walking through the garden.”

“Ah… thank you.”

The loneliness that had weighed so heavily on me just moments ago quietly faded away.

I smiled sincerely.

Even though I knew I shouldn’t rely on this feeling for too long.

***

The party was tedious.

Holding a glass of wine, Claude returned to his office. Beyond the large window, the bright sun was setting dramatically.

“I wouldn’t mind spending a night with you. Is that what you were hoping for?”

He raised his hand and brushed it along his jaw.

Even to himself, the words sounded absurd.

Although he had recently taken up drinking and gambling — activities he had previously never paid attention to — he still kept women at a distance.

The reason was simple: he wasn’t interested.

The flood of marriage proposals from women coveting the position of duchess repulsed him utterly.

“But please, don’t tell me you’ve sunk this low.”

“What did you say?”

“You weren’t like this before.”

“…”

“Please don’t lose the dignity the Duke once had.”

But what made this woman so different?

He was sure that this was their first meeting.

Of course — Brianna Elwin was only twenty.

‘Then why does she speak as if she knows me?’

Claude frowned and strode over to the window to draw the curtains.

But when he inadvertently glanced out of the window, his frown deepened.

Lady Elwin was walking side by side with Prince Louis, and the two of them looked rather close.

‘She was weeping just moments ago, and now she’s strolling around so shamelessly.’

‘Could she be trying to marry Prince Louis?’

Given the rumours that she was desperate to marry for money, it was entirely plausible.

‘To think she’d dare to set her sights on the royal family…’

‘Brianna, was it?’

Claude recalled hearing that Baron Elwin had died in an accident, leaving enormous debts behind.

Although the matter had never interested him, he clearly remembered it causing quite a stir at the time.

Lady Elwin’s situation was pitiful, but Claude was a cold man.

In fact, he despised people like her — those with such obvious ambitions.

‘For a mere baron’s daughter to even consider attending a party held at the duke’s estate…’

Is she out of her mind?

Maybe she intended to attend this party from the beginning, even before the anniversary banquet was established. After all, it was a social event where the children of many noble families gathered.

He invited her at Lady Eleanor’s suggestion, thinking it might show her the bitter reality of life. But she seemed far bolder than he had expected.

‘Perhaps Sir Taren was also part of her plan. I may have unwittingly got in the way.’

The thought made him chuckle under his breath. But the laugh didn’t last long.

The moment he saw Brianna smiling brightly at Louis, Claude’s face stiffened.

‘Why do I keep thinking of my former wife whenever this woman is near?’

“Claude?”

He caught her instinctively when she tripped in the ballroom. Yet, even as he held her in his arms, she had the audacity to call his name.

It was probably just a ploy, but for a moment, he saw Diana’s face as if she were looking back at him through Brianna’s eyes.

Her face and voice bore no resemblance to Diana’s, and yet…

Claude yanked the curtain halfway closed irritably.

‘…..’

Yes, even just now, he had seen Diana’s face reflected in hers.

Though she was cornered like prey, her eyes hadn’t wavered — just as Diana’s hadn’t when she was cornered.

Diana’s death.

It was a memory he desperately wished to forget.

That night, when the rain swallowed the world, their carriage had plummeted off a cliff.

Sensing the danger, he had instinctively pulled his wife into his embrace. But the situation was dire — there was no guarantee they would survive.

Nevertheless, his only thought was to protect Diana. He shielded her with his entire body.

The screeches of monsters echoed outside. There was no time to react before the carriage tumbled down the cliffside.

The violent impact stole his consciousness away.

When he finally opened his eyes, he was lying in the infirmary at the ducal manor.

Three days had passed since the accident.

Thanks to layers of healing magic, the pain was dulled, but his body was covered in grievous wounds.

“The Duke is awake!”

“Where’s Diana? Where is my wife?”

“The Duchess…”

The butler couldn’t finish his sentence.

A heavy sense of dread gripped Claude, who forced himself out of bed immediately. He ignored the healer’s desperate pleas for him to rest.

“Take me to her now! Now!’

The servants led him reluctantly to a chamber beneath the manor.

Inside, a woman lay pale as paper with her eyes closed. She seemed to be asleep. But Claude knew instantly that she was dead.

Diana was dead.

‘Diana… is dead?’