Supporting her as she stumbled had been pure chance. She had fallen into his arms first, and he had only reached out reflexively.

Yet in that moment of contact, something unfamiliar—but not unpleasant—washed over him like a gentle tide.

A tingling, almost ticklish sensation, spreading warm and soft…

“Absurd.”

He cut off the thought, muttering in self-mockery.

Had this affliction not been caused by the memory of that terrible day?

The fact that the only exception was the daughter of the man responsible filled him with unspeakable disgust.

“I will be… your mistress!”

Her smooth voice lingered at his ear.

“But you, with a mistress? No one will believe it.”

His friend’s teasing words followed close behind, and a strange defiance rose from somewhere deep within.

“Then I’ll simply make them believe.”

As he murmured low, he dried his hands with a soft towel. At that moment, a knock sounded.

Midnight had come. The appointed hour.

◯◯◯

Sveta Luce entered through the great oak doors, which swung wide open.

At Aiden’s slight nod, she lowered her head in greeting and carefully took her seat at the end of the sofa.

Her eyes were the clear blue of midday skies and her hair was the colour of a sunset. The white glow of moonlight fell across her slender shoulders.

Her eyes were as clear as the midday sky. Her hair was steeped in the hues of a sunset. The white glow of moonlight fell upon her slender shoulders.

Holding the whole day within her, she waited for him to speak.

Aiden asked,

“…How did you know?”

“If a royal decree were issued, you would be forbidden to kill. Which means your revenge would be impossible. Her Majesty the Queen decreed long ago that no royal order shall ever permit a private murder.”

She answered his abrupt and incomplete question without hesitation.

“So you don’t want to marry Her Majesty after all?” I thought you were just looking for an excuse.”

“You are aware that you are among the targets of that revenge.”

“Yes, I know… very well.”

Even as she spoke of her own death, her posture remained upright. That irked him. Yet her keen mind pleased him.

Once more, Aiden found himself delivering contradictory judgments of Sveta.

“You are right.”

From the beginning, his marriage to the Queen had been arranged by his father, Charles Strilland.

The old duke was proud to be descended from the royal line of Muwieo, but bitter about having fallen behind in the struggle for the throne.

This duality bred a blind obsession: to see his bloodline ascend the throne. This seemed to be his only wish in life.

His decision to pass his title to his second son, Aiden, rather than his dissolute elder son, was made for this reason.

However, Aiden had no intention of living as the Queen’s puppet or his father’s breeding stallion.

He had no desire for the glory of being the Queen’s husband or the honors that would follow.

Revenge.

That alone would be his glory and his honor.

“I will help you.”

“What is your scheme?”

“I only wish to live happily, even for a single year.”

Her voice was almost innocent. There was a hint of sorrow in her expression.

Perhaps she intended to buy time and then escape. Aiden narrowed his eyes and studied her.

But she did not avert her gaze. Instead, as if proposing a bargain, she demanded:

“Protect me for the year we agreed upon.”

So that was it.

Her intentions were laid bare before him.

Aiden recalled the reports he had received shortly before Zloytan’s downfall.

“Chieftain Hisendra is dead. Her husband, Jace Gould, failed to seize control.”

“And?”

“Taking advantage of the strife, Duke Baiton of Prisada led an army to crush the Zloytans.”

“And Jace Gould?”

“He became a fugitive. His whereabouts are unknown.”

Jace had once been the eldest son of Count Gould of Aetania.

When the count and his wife were executed for plotting rebellion, Jace alone survived. He was said to have joined the Zloytans soon after.

A tall and striking man, he had always used his appearance to his advantage.

This was enough for Hisendra to choose him as her husband based on his looks alone. This concealed his dim intellect and foolish behaviour.

The fact that he had not been cast aside, even after exploiting his wife’s name, was testament to that.

While Hisendra was carrying his daughter, he led the group astray and caused Bloody Saturday.

In his small mind, there could have been only one thought: vengeance against the royal house of Aetania, who had executed his parents.

‘He must never have imagined that it would make him a target for every royal house across the continent.’

From then on, Zloytan began to decline.

The discontent that had been brewing for over twenty years finally erupted following Hisendra’s death. Civil strife was inevitable. The foolish Jace Gould was powerless to quell it.

Consequently, he was unable to protect his daughter either. She and her father had become prime targets for elimination by the opposing faction.

As Aiden had acquired the portrait through that faction, he could easily guess as much.

However, he had no way of knowing how she had managed to enter Baron Luce’s household. He knew, though, that the Baron’s protection alone would not keep her alive.

‘So she came to me.’

And in truth, it was not a bad arrangement for him either.

With this woman as bait, he could draw out both Jace Gould and the forces that opposed him.

“Very well.”

“One more thing—there’s something I must ask you.”

“…What is it?”

“When I die, spread the news far and wide. Say that Beth Gould is dead.”

Her calm mention of death, without even the flicker of an eye, irritated him. Still, Aiden’s reply came with the same indifference.

“Gladly.”

“…….”

“From this night forth, you will come to my chambers each evening and leave at dawn.”

“Yes.”

When she answered, Aiden stood up. After hesitating for a moment, Sveta stood up to follow him.

Looking down at her awkward stance, he suddenly and impulsively extended his hand.

“…But you should not expect kindness from me.”

“…I understand.”

Her voice was thinner than before and wavered in a way it never had before. The faintly downcast look on her face gave him a strange sense of satisfaction.

But that feeling lasted only a moment because she took his hand.

Her slender fingers came to rest gently on top of his.

“…….”

The touch was soft, slightly rough, tingling against his skin.

A strange sensation climbed his arm, spreading slowly up his neck. It gathered at the back of his head, flooding like water past its banks.

The feeling shook him—pleasurable yet unbearable. Aiden clenched his teeth, the muscles of his sharp jawline twitching.

“…My lord Duke?”

Sensing something amiss, Sveta tried to pull her hand away. But Aiden was faster.

He tightened his grip, pressing their palms together.

Her gaze lifted to him, confusion clouding her eyes.

Aiden paid it no mind, twisting her wrist slightly so their fingers laced, leaving no space between them.

The delicate back of her hand was pinned tight beneath his.

A shiver ran down his spine. It was as though some new, unnamable sense had awoken in him.

In terms of intensity, it was similar to the loathing he usually felt when touched. However, this feeling was completely different in nature.

“Ah…!”

A soft cry escaped her lips as his grip became painful. She squirmed, but Aiden, consumed by his focus, did not let go.

With his other hand, he pressed against the small of her back. A warmth spread where their bodies met.

Her sunset-coloured hair framed her face, her dark lashes quivering faintly. Lifting her eyes, she looked at him.

“It hurts…!”

“So?”

“Let me go.”

“Did you not say you would be my mistress?”

At that single word, Sveta’s small resistance stilled.

Obediently, she lowered her gaze.

As he grew accustomed, the warmth of her body, the unfamiliar heat of another’s skin, wrapped around him. That alien sensation turned to something like relief.

For Aiden, who had lived with only the narrowest sense of touch, it was a staggering shock.

“You must learn, somehow, to grow accustomed to contact.”

Ivan’s advice echoed in his ears. Foolish words, he had thought then. And yet…

With this woman, perhaps it was possible.

When at last he composed his face and released her, Sveta staggered back and collapsed onto the sofa.

Aiden washed his hands in the basin at the side of the room. It was habit.

“I will assign guards to you. In case you try to flee.”

“…As you wish.”

Her answer came faintly; her face was distant and the tips of her small ears turned red.

After drying his hands, Aiden left her where she was and went over to the bed, which was hidden behind a curtain.

The lavish chamber was devoid of warmth, smothered in austere shades of white and dark grey. White and dark grey covered every surface.

Even a strand of her orange hair would have marred the starkness of the space.

And so Sveta remained on the sofa, awake through the long night.

At last, as though the heavens split open, the red sun rose, and Sveta quietly rose to her feet.

“Take it off.”

“…Pardon?”

When had he woken up? His low, husky voice slipped through the long curtains.

The curtains parted and the duke stepped down from the bed, slowly shrugging off his nightclothes.

Sveta could do nothing but blink, unable to take her eyes off his sudden actions.

“What… what do you mean?”

“Your clothes.”

Before she knew it, he stood before her.

His broad chest was sculpted with precision, the muscles defined in fine detail. His smooth skin seemed almost more beautiful than hers.

The long veins running like rivers along his outstretched arm took her breath away.

He slowly tugged at the lace ribbon with his fingertips.

“For someone who is supposed to look like she’s spent the night in passion, you are far too…”

His gaze drifted to her hair, which was still neatly braided but now hung loose around her.

“…too tidy.”

“Ah… I see.”

“You should wear that instead.”

He tilted his chin towards the bed stool, on which a neat pile of nightclothes had been laid out. Clearly, they had been prepared in advance.

“Understood.”

Forcing her voice to stay calm, she hesitated, then turned her back toward him.

“Would you… undo the buttons for me?”