He drove her away for a year. On a day he couldn’t stand it anymore, he impulsively mentioned divorce. It felt less horrifying than having bugs crawl all over his body. At that moment, he didn’t think about the Emperor’s faction or the political marriage.

He pushed her away, and she left… shouldn’t he be happy?

Yet, he couldn’t understand why he felt like he had a thorn stuck in his throat.

The woman who met his eyes flashed through his mind. Her loving eyes on their wedding day, her face offering him a handkerchief she had embroidered, her shocked expression at the mention of divorce, and finally… her indifferent eyes telling him she didn’t love him.

Recalling her back as she left the banquet hall in the arms of the Master of the Magic Tower, he felt a terrible sense of loss.

A strange déjà vu choked him momentarily.

“Your Highness.”

Dietrich, barely breathing thanks to his aide’s urgent call, took a deep breath, his face pale. The startled aide hurriedly supported him.

Shaking off his aide’s hand, Dietrich nodded as if to say he was fine.

“…What is it?”

“It’s time to go. His Majesty is waiting.”

“Ha…”

He wanted to give it all up. But despite their strained relationship, the man was the Emperor, and he was the Grand Duke.

He had no choice but to support the current Emperor. He didn’t like the man, but he understood reality. The Emperor was handling his duties admirably. He couldn’t let his defeatism and inferiority complex destabilize the empire.

Still, sometimes it was exhausting to meet the Emperor as part of his faction. Facing those red eyes, so starkly contrasting his own, reminded him vaguely of that day.

“Let’s go.”

The man straightened his sleeves unnecessarily and took heavy steps.

* * *

The two, having left the banquet hall, were waiting for their respective carriages.

Finally alone, Lysith couldn’t hold back her words. His actions earlier seemed like… jealousy or a declaration that ‘this woman is mine,’ which was utterly absurd.

“Why on earth…”

“Did you see his face?”

“Diet… His Highness?”

“Yes.”

She had seen him, but she couldn’t understand the series of events. As an ordinary person who couldn’t read minds, she couldn’t grasp the thoughts of this erratic man or handle his actions.

“…I did. But why?”

“Why? Doesn’t it feel good?”

“Well, I can’t say it doesn’t. But I don’t feel great either.”

“If it were me, I’d be laughing with satisfaction.”

Seeing Lysith still looking sullen despite his words, Ashites turned his head sharply, visibly disappointed. Even while showing his displeasure, he offered his hand to help her into the carriage when it arrived.

Taking his hand and boarding the carriage, Lysith tilted her head. He had indeed become strangely kind, but his erratic behavior made her unsure if it was genuine kindness. Maybe it was just his personality…

“I’ll come to see you next time.”

“Next time?”

“What, were you planning not to see me again?”

“No… I just didn’t expect you to say it like that.”

“……”

Reflecting on his actions, Ashites gazed into the distance, speechless.

He knew he was erratic, and if he weren’t the Master of the Magic Tower, he would have likely been beaten to death somewhere.

“And you said you’d be leaving soon.”

“I did. But I’ve decided to stay longer.”

“You’re not leaving?”

“Yes.”

Wondering if it was because of her, Lysith shook her head inwardly, thinking she had become more egotistical with a bit of kindness. There must be something else going on.

After saying that he wasn’t leaving, Ashites pointed to her necklace with his index finger, reminding her again.

“And always wear that necklace.”

“I can’t promise to wear it all the time, but I’ll at least carry it with me.”

Satisfied with her response, he nodded and sent her carriage off before boarding his own. His residence was close to the imperial palace, about a 20-minute carriage ride away.

The mansion, too large for one person, housed mages who helped with his work or had visited from the Empire to stay with him.

Although it seemed like they lived comfortably, the reality was that the atmosphere was always tense due to their ill-tempered superior. Still, no one could complain because he was excellent at his job.

The mansion, which was more of a workplace for mages than a personal residence, resembled the Magic Tower. In the hall, mages bustled about, handling their tasks.

As soon as Ashites entered the hall, a mage with a stern expression approached him.

“You’re here? We’ve almost finished up.”

“Put the things I need to see on my desk. I’ll have them done by tomorrow, so take them or leave them as you wish.”

“Yes.”

“You did finish what I asked you to complete yesterday, right?”

“Yes. Here it is.”

As soon as Ashites asked, the mage, seemingly prepared, pulled out a small blue orb from a nearby shelf. Ashites, examining the orb with narrowed eyes, nodded in satisfaction.

Although it looked like an ordinary orb, Ashites handled it with great care as he handed it back to his subordinate.

“Place it in my office where I can see it while working.”

“Understood. But why do you need a tracking device all of a sudden…?”

“Who knows.”

As he watched his subordinate handle the orb with reverence, Ashites recalled the necklace he had given to the woman.

When he brought the necklace, he hadn’t thought much of it, but once he had it, he didn’t want to just give it back. After some contemplation, he carefully inscribed a tracking spell on it. He told her it would reveal her location if she pressed the side…

“Is this… okay?”

“What?”

“I don’t know who you gave it to, but does the recipient know?”

“What’s it to you?”

As the mage sighed deeply and walked away, Ashites thought of Lysith’s unchanged expression until the end.

He had told her to smile, but instead, she kept making faces he didn’t like, which annoyed him. Normally, wouldn’t someone laugh out of relief? If she smiled brightly, she’d look pretty…

Whack!

Ashites slapped his forehead hard with his left hand, causing confusion among the surrounding mages.

“Does anyone know why the Master is acting like that?”

“No idea. Come to think of it, it’s the first time he’s attended a banquet twice.”

“I heard from a friend in the imperial palace that the Grand Duke and the Lady were also there today.”

“Wow, why would such important people attend on the third day of the banquet?”

Rubbing his forehead, which was surely red by now, Ashites pondered. Lysith came because he told her to, but he couldn’t understand why the Grand Duke attended.

He just stared daggers at him and left.

The mages, unaware of Ashites’ thoughts, continued their chatter.

“I heard the Lady is beautiful.”

“Right. Have you seen her?”

“No way.”

“The Master… must have met her, right?”

He felt their glances. Met her? He had gone all the way with her. Several times.

“Damn it…”

Recalling what happened on the terrace, Ashites barely controlled his lower body, which was starting to react again, and glared at the mages who were sneaking glances at him. There were women among the mages, but for some reason, all the ones in the hall right now were men.

Who were they to talk about her appearance?

The mages, unaware of their superior’s muttered curse, continued their gossip, neglecting their work.

“His Highness the Grand Duke is 25 this year, and the Lady is 23.”

“You’re definitely a shop staff.”

“You’re right, but saying it that way makes it sound trivial…”

At some point, Ashites had taken a seat on a sofa in the hall, pretending to look at documents he didn’t need to see, while eavesdropping on their conversation.

They talked about social rumors, reality, and married life… things like that.

More importantly, if she was 23, she was two years older than Ashites. If she was older…

“…Should I call her Noona?”

He eventually put down the document he was pretending to read and, resting his chin on his hand, seriously pondered.

…Would she smile if he called her Noona?

As soon as that thought crossed his mind, he slapped his head with his right hand.

This was severe, even for him.

The mages, startled by the sound of their ill-tempered superior’s self-inflicted slap, fell silent, and the hall was filled with an uncomfortable quiet. Annoyed by the silence, Ashites glared at them, causing them to flinch as if they were struck by lightning.

“What are you doing? Get back to work.”

“Yes, sir!”

As the mages returned to their tasks, Ashites’ sigh was quietly drowned out by the bustling sounds of work.