“Leave.”

“But Your Grace, it’s been far too long since you last had a proper meal. If this continues, your health will suffer.”

“I said leave.”

The words fell like ice: short, sharp and cutting. They carried a warning, as if anything less than immediate obedience would unleash a storm.

And yet Hans could not back down.

“I can’t, Master! If this goes on, you’ll collapse! Please… I’m begging you…”

It was the first time Hans had ever raised his voice in front of Claude; his tone was firm yet desperate, and his voice was shaking.

Claude’s gaze finally shifted to him.

His eyes were red and brimming with tears that were on the verge of falling.

It was a face Claude had never seen before.

The man who had always stood by him calmly and steadily was now trembling with open emotion.

“…”

But Claude… had no strength left to care.

Everything was a burden. Everything was noise.

He simply shut his eyes.

***

“If, like Prince Louis… I offered my life. No—if I gave up everything I have…”

“Would it still not be enough?”

He’s unstable.

Elio couldn’t forget the look on Claude’s face when he saw him at the ball last.

The Duke of Cassel had looked like a man on the verge of breaking down.

At the time, Elio thought that bringing Brianna back would solve everything.

But now, he realised it wasn’t that simple.

Diana had left behind far more than anyone had anticipated.

Moreover, Elio simply couldn’t harden his heart. He had never had the strength to be cruel.

Even in those brief moments, he had come to see just how kind Diana truly was.
And now… he was certain of one more thing.

The Duke of Cassel had truly, deeply loved her.

‘I can’t let things go on like this.’

Though Princess Diana had done her best to conceal her emotions, Elio had sensed it—subtly, instinctively.
She still harbored lingering feelings for her former husband.

‘For Diana’s sake… I have to help Duke Kassel return to himself.’

Motivated by a quiet sense of responsibility, Elio travelled to the duke’s estate. He knew he wouldn’t be welcomed.

“Good day. I am Elio von Delia, the Empire’s Chief Royal Mage. I’ve come to see the Duke.”

“May I ask the nature of your visit?”

Hans looked at him with wide, startled eyes. The shadows beneath the butler’s eyes suggested sleepless nights and heavy burdens.

“I just came to check if he was all right.”

“The Duke hasn’t been receiving visitors lately. I can’t say if he’ll agree to see you.”

Hans murmured, his voice subdued. Then, with a change of expression, he stood up straight and his tone hardened.

“But I’m glad you came. Let’s go up.”

It was the look of a man reaching for even the smallest hope.

Elio followed Hans upstairs.

This was his first visit to the Cassel estate, and he was struck by its sheer size. It was far grander and more stately than the Delia household. Portraits of past Dukes and Duchesses of Cassel adorned the walls throughout.

Trying not to appear too curious, Elio kept pace with Hans, though the mansion’s atmosphere made him pause for thought.

There was a strange chill in the air, and an air of lifelessness that made it hard to believe that anyone truly lived there. A few servants moved quietly through the halls, all of them looking weighed down by something out of place during the current season of celebration in the Empire.

‘Something’s wrong here…’

Elio said nothing, but quickened his steps.

After climbing the stairs and passing through a long corridor, they finally came to a large set of doors. Hans stopped and turned towards them.

“Master… You have a visitor.”

He knocked gently and called out softly, but there was no answer — even after waiting a long time.

“…I’m going in.”

Creak—

As Hans slowly opened the door, he was greeted by a room in complete disarray.

The duke’s bedchamber was a complete mess.

Nevertheless, the room’s overwhelming grandeur could not be ignored.

Elio felt strangely small beneath its weight as he followed Hans in, shifting his gaze uneasily.

The Duke of Cassel lay sprawled across the bed as though he were already dead.

Empty and half-full bottles, as well as several glasses, were scattered haphazardly around him — clear signs of nights spent drowning in drink.

Claude wore only a white shirt that was half unbuttoned and clung loosely to his thin frame.

He didn’t so much as glance at them, resting with one arm draped across his eyes.

“…”

Elio stared at him with growing concern. Even in the short time since they’d last met, the duke had become noticeably gaunter.

“I’ll take my leave, then.”

Hans said, bowing respectfully before stepping back — his expression betraying no surprise, as if he’d anticipated this outcome all along.

Elio, who had been observing from a short distance away, stepped closer to the bed where Claude lay, still unmoving.

“…Your Grace.”

He said, barely managing to find his voice. The duke’s eyes remained shut.

“…Your Grace.”

Elio tried again, drawing even closer.

Finally, Claude lowered the arm that had been shielding his face and opened his eyes.

Their cold, icy blues met.

“Get out.”

That was all he said.

“…”

It was exactly the reaction that Elio had expected, and it confirmed his worst fears.

The Duke was in ruins.

When Elio didn’t leave, Claude’s gaze sharpened into something fierce and unforgiving.

“I said—get out!”

“Pardon the intrusion.”

Elio replied, refusing to move. Instead, he stepped right up to the bed and gently took hold of Claude’s arm.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

You look unwell. I’d like to cast a healing spell to help you recover.”

“Don’t touch me.”

Despite this cold warning, Elio remained beside the bed, biting his lower lip as he stood his ground.

He would never have dared to do this before.

He and the Duke were hardly close — far from it. There was no obligation to do this.

But the guilt weighing on him was too heavy to ignore.

“Just close your eyes and breathe slowly.”

He ignored Claude’s glare of pure disgust.

The moment Elio tried to channel healing magic into the duke’s body, Claude sat up straight. His cold gaze was filled not so much with fury, but with despair.

“Mage! I’m warning you – take your hands off me! Now.”

But Elio’s trembling hands didn’t stop.

Gripping Claude’s wrist, he forced the white light to surge into him.

He could feel the duke’s incredulous gaze on him, and the shame was so overwhelming that he couldn’t bring himself to look at him.

“It’s done.”

“Are you trying to die?”

“I’m sorry.”

Although Claude’s voice was icy, it lacked a genuine air of threat.

Beneath that, however, something heavier lingered — something more complex than anger.

As Elio slowly released his grip on his wrist, his hands began to shake.

Plop! Plop!

Tears spilled from the young mage’s eyes, dotting the bedsheets below.

He couldn’t hold them in any longer.

The grief that had been buried deep in his chest surged upwards with painful force.

Strangled sobs escaped him as he gasped for breath. Finally, his legs gave way, and he collapsed onto the floor beside the bed.

Claude simply watched in silence.

Sunlight poured into the room, but it brought no warmth, only a still, aching hush.

Only Elio’s muffled sniffles broke the quiet.

Claude stared down at him for a long moment, then parted his lips.

“I…”

His voice was hoarse, dry and ragged.

Elio, who had been wiping away his tears, lifted his head and looked up.

Claude’s gaze lingered on the wrist that had just been infused with healing magic.

“I don’t deserve this.”

“…”

“You should go.”

His voice lacked conviction, sounding more like a plea than an order.

This was why Elio couldn’t bring himself to obey.

He was certain that if he left, the man in front of him would simply disappear from this world.

So he made a decision: he would talk about the woman who had broken the Duke of Cassel so completely.

Because, as much as it hurt, it seemed to be the only thing Claude might still be willing to listen to.

“Princess Diana.”

Hearing the name he longed to hear, Claude’s eyes shifted to Elio.

“In hindsight, Princess Diana was incredibly brave.”

Claude said nothing.

“Even when she was trapped in an unfamiliar body, she quietly did everything that needed doing. She wanted to help in every way she could so that Brianna could return to her own body.”

Diana had never tried to steal Brianna’s life; she had simply been searching for her own place in the world. It hadn’t been Claude’s fault — Diana was simply too pure and steadfast, and events took their cruel course as a result.

“She was completely selfless, and that only fills me with guilt. I should have stopped her — I should have found some way to keep her alive. But I was so blinded by the chance to save Brianna that I did nothing.”

Before he knew it, fresh sobs shook him. He had come to comfort Claude, yet it was he who was in tears.

Meanwhile, the Duke of Cassel sat in silence, listening to every word.