His mood turned dark in an instant.

The endless sea of pink blossom came to an abrupt end. At the edge of the rose garden, Aiden let go of her hand.

Leaving his mistress behind with shimmering eyes full of unshed tears, he walked away without looking back.

By the time he returned to his study, the sunset’s intoxicating glow had completely faded.

He held the postponed audience with his vassal and even hosted him for dinner. Then, without allowing himself a moment’s rest, Aiden took his seat at the desk once more.

“Your Grace. The documents you requested.”

His loyal aide placed a thick stack of papers on the desk.

“……”

“It’s the report containing the detailed records of the laundry maids.”

As Dennis habitually took out a handkerchief and carefully dusted the desk, Aiden picked up one sheet.

‘Beka Smiden.’

“Beka.”

The black-haired maid was Beka.

Over her plain name, Sveta’s soft voice seemed to echo.

The memory of her voice was enough to make the anger he had felt towards her earlier disappear without a trace.

Aiden was fully aware of this and let out a quiet, incredulous laugh.

‘Have I lost my mind?’

How else could he explain such fickle emotions?

He gave a dry, bitter smirk.

Dennis watched him, puzzled.

In an instant, Aiden wiped his face of all expression and started reading the report.

***

Sveta remained standing in the garden until darkness settled over it.

The sudden feeling of being abandoned rooted her feet to the same spot.

“There is no need for such things.”

“Such… things.”

He had spoken about having a child as though it were just another object.

Aiden, the man she loved, did not want a child.

Just as he had never truly wanted her.

With trembling fingers, Sveta pressed her hand against her flat stomach.

A strange, hollow feeling spread through her.

She could still remember the warmth of the baby she had once held, Caleb’s soft scent, and the fragile yet undeniable weight of him in her arms.

Now, a life far smaller than Caleb’s had taken root within her barren body — within someone who had nothing at all.

The truth pierced her like a sharp thorn.

Silently, Sveta mourned.

‘Poor thing. Why did you come to me of all people…?’

She clenched her fist to stop the tears spilling over.

The slender stem that she held in her palm felt smooth, yet it hurt as though she had been pricked by thorns.

She could clearly feel the small rose that Aiden had given her.

Perhaps the answer had been decided the moment he released her hand, leaving her only with this stem of sorrow.

‘Farewell.’

That was the answer that had quietly formed in Sveta’s mind.

Although Aiden had promised to spare her life, she was no longer naive enough to accept such a promise unquestioningly.

She did not want to be at the mercy of his ever-changing heart any longer.

Even if it turned out to be the wrong decision, it felt like the only right one she could make.

Before she knew it, the world had fallen into complete darkness.

It was only when nightfall concealed her that Sveta finally allowed her tears to fall.

Facing the direction in which he had disappeared, she whispered softly into the darkness.

“Why… why have you never answered me? Why do you always cast me—and my heart—aside?”

Instead of the reply that would never come, all she could hear was the wind whistling past her.

Even if he had been standing beside her, she knew he wouldn’t respond.

To Aiden, neither the child nor she herself had any real significance.

At best, they were a nuisance. Something irritating.

They could be nothing more.

And yet Sveta whispered as though he were still there.

“I have no choice but to run… if you treat me this way.”

Her frail voice dissolved into quiet sobs.

Ominous thunder rumbled overhead, swelling across the sky. Even her soft crying was drowned out by the sound of it.

Soon, the rain began to pour down.

***

Soaked through, she headed straight to the bath as soon as she returned.

Not long after, Beth entered to assist her.

“Sveta, are you all right? Have you been crying?”

“……”

She shook her head slightly.

The humid bathroom was filled only with the sound of water sloshing around.

Beth carefully washed her, watching her expression anxiously.

As she did so, her own eyes reddened with unshed tears.

She sighed softly.

“How did we end up like this?”

“……”

Silence fell once more.

When the long bath finally ended, Beth draped a robe over Sveta’s shoulders and led her to the familiar mirror, still not saying a word.

Having put down the undergarments, the ivory comb, and the fresh towels, Beth took her place behind Sveta.

While fragrant oil was gently worked into her hair, Sveta idly turned the comb that had been handed to her.

After a long while, she finally spoke.

“…I’m going to leave.”

It was little more than a whisper—so soft that even Beth, standing close beside her, nearly missed it.

Beth’s eyes widened in shock.

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“Beth… let’s run away.”

Beth blinked several times before a bright smile spread across her face.

“You’ve finally decided. That man will live just fine without you—but I can’t live without you.”

“……”

“And you’re pregnant.”

As if she had known all along, Beth gently stroked Sveta’s lower back.

“We have to protect the baby. If it’s your child, then it’s mine too. You’re my other half. We’ll raise the baby together.”

“……”

“I’ll be a good aunt. I’ll try my best. All right?”

The baby in her womb.

It was no longer just a vague anxiety, but a reality.

To protect the child during their escape, she would need help. There was no reason to keep it hidden.

Having made up her mind, Sveta slowly nodded.

Beth’s blue eyes sparkled with growing joy.

“I knew it. I was right, wasn’t I? You really are carrying a child! I just knew it.”

Still smiling, Beth pressed several quick kisses to Sveta’s cheek, then leaned close to whisper at her ear.

“It just so happens the Old Madam is……”

“What about her?”

“She’s making a plan to smuggle you out.”

“…….”

The story Mrs. Nora had told her once came to mind.

The Old Madam who was said to be confined in the West Wing. And the laundry maid who ran errands for that woman.

So that was Beth.

Recalling the Old Madam’s angry face, Sveta shook her head stubbornly.

“But I don’t like her.”

Beth nodded as if she understood.

“She’s difficult and ill-tempered, that old woman. But if she’s our only option, we have to take it.”

“……”

“Thankfully, I’m the one who runs her errands. I think she trusts me. So…”

Beth bent deeply at the waist and wrapped her arms tightly around Sveta.

Looking in the mirror, the two women appeared remarkably similar; even their expressions mirrored each other’s.

Their faces were filled with the same worry and fear.

Sveta stared at the fear reflected in Beth’s eyes.

Just as one of the remaining Zloytans had recognized her, Beth could also be exposed at any moment. She had risked her life to enter the ducal estate for her.

Standing before someone who had staked everything on her, Sveta felt a deep sense of shame for saying that she disliked Lady Noma.

In quiet understanding, she gave a small nod.

Beth returned it with a firm nod of her own.

“So I’ll listen to everything that’s said behind closed doors. If that old woman has ulterior motives, I’ll find out and tell you.”

“…All right.”

“We’ll just use Lady Noma.”

“……”

“We only have to get out of this estate—no, out of this country.”

“……”

“Lady Noma is locked away in the West Wing anyway. She won’t be able to do anything to us.”

Though Beth spoke firmly, as if convincing herself, unease suddenly crept in.

‘Is this a foolish choice?’

But even if she were caught, Sveta doubted Aiden would kill her immediately.

He had liked her body far too much.

‘As long as he doesn’t discover the pregnancy…’

She had just started to think that it would be best to leave before her bump started to show, when there was a blinding flash of lightning that split the sky.

A deafening crack followed, as if the heavens themselves had torn apart.

Rain poured down relentlessly from the fractured sky.

It felt like an omen of misfortune.

“I’ll be back in two days, Sveta. I’m supposed to visit Lady Noma at dawn tomorrow anyway. She says she needs her feet washed or something. She’s so noble — it drives me mad!”

“…All right.”

“Don’t worry. Nothing will happen.”

Beth pressed a kiss to her pale cheek, drained of color from worry.

“I love you. I love you, Sveta.”

After whispering those tender words again and again, Beth left.

As Sveta turned them over in her mind, the restless night deepened.

***

The rainy season had started earlier than usual.

Two days had passed since the rain first fell.

On the eve of his sister’s death anniversary, the Duke locked himself away in the training grounds for the whole day, as he did every year.

Sssake!

An arrow tipped with pheasant feathers sliced through the curtain of rain. It hit the center of the target, which was already covered in arrows.

“Your Grace.”

“……”

Ignoring his aide’s call, Aiden drew another arrow and nocked it.

His gaze was razor-sharp, a far cry from the calm, composed expression he usually wore.

His neatly kept blonde hair was soaked through, damp strands clinging to his forehead. Rainwater traced the curve above his upper lip and slipped between his reddened lips.

There was something almost decadent about the sight of him, yet the air around him was as sharp and unforgiving as the tip of an arrow.

Dennis watched him warily before speaking once more.

“It is a letter from Lady Noma.”

Without hesitating, he released another arrow, which tore through the rain. Another shaft forced its way into the tightly packed target.

Aiden flicked the bowstring with his bare fingers. Raindrops shattered and scattered at his touch.

“Your Grace, this makes the fourth today.”

His mother had sent messages through maids several times already, all of which he had ignored.

Now, as though she had resolved to bombard him with letters instead, one arrived nearly every hour.

“I attempted to return them, but each time she sends another…”

“It may be best to read it and provide a reply.”

His aide was right.

Aiden knew well how relentless his mother could be.

“Hold it up.”

When he tilted his head slightly toward his aide, Dennis unfolded the letter at his master’s eye level.