Several days had passed since her visit to the dress shop.

Standing before the duke’s office, Sveta knocked gently on the door.

A moment later, the heavy wooden door opened, and a pale man leaned his face out. It was Dennis, the duke’s aide.

“His Grace is currently in the reception room for a meeting. Is there something urgent you need?”

“No, it’s not urgent. I just wanted to see him… Would it be all right if I waited inside his office?”

“Ah, of course. Please, come in.”

Sveta stepped into the office. Just as she had expected.

The night before, Aiden had mentioned that he would be meeting with vassals who had come up from Czernok, which was precisely why she had chosen this time.

The moment she entered, the sight before her overwhelmed her, and a soft exclamation slipped from her lips.

“Wow…”

Through the tall, expansive windows, a vast labyrinth garden stretched out below, sunlight slanting across it at an angle.

Was there a breeze? The wisteria vines hanging in heavy clusters like bunches of grapes over the rounded arch at the maze’s entrance trembled faintly.

‘He works while looking at this every day. Perhaps that’s how he manages to work for so long.’

She pictured Aiden spending entire days bent over documents or leaving for one engagement after another.

Just then, Dennis’s paper-white face slipped into her absent line of sight.

“Isn’t it beautiful?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Please, have a seat.”

“Thank you.”

Forcing herself back to her senses, Sveta sat down on the leather sofa she had been shown to.

“Shall I have some tea brought in?”

“Yes, please.”

While Dennis gave quiet instructions to a maid, Sveta’s gaze wandered through every corner of the office.

Before long, she noticed a map hanging on the wall behind the desk and walked toward it.

‘Levizan, in the northeast.’

She had rarely had occasion to look at maps before, so even distinguishing Aetania from Prisada was not easy for her.

‘I heard Prisada is a large, long country…’

Taking a step back, her eyes settled on a territory that appeared distinctly elongated at a glance. She moved closer again to examine it.

Northern Prisada—Baiton.
The territory bordering Baiton—Levizan.

Lifting her gaze toward the top of the map, she soon found the name Baiton, and to its left, Levizan.

“…Found it.”

She murmured softly.

From behind her, Dennis asked.

“What have you found?”

“Oh, I was curious where Levizan was. I want to follow along to the hunting festival.”

“I see.”

“Could you perhaps explain Levizan and the surrounding area to me?”

Setting down the documents he had been holding, Dennis carefully raised his pale finger.

Pressing lightly against one side of the map, he began to explain.

“From here to here—that is Levizan. And between Levizan and Baiton lies a rocky mountain range.”

“Ah…”

‘So that’s where Zloytan had made his base.’

She gave a small nod.

Noticing the way her eyes sparkled as she listened, Dennis moved his index finger here and there across the map.

“If you go further down, the eastern side transitions into dense forest instead of mountains. Do you see here? The castle of House Strilland is located here. The hunting festival will likely be held somewhere around this area.”

“Beyond this mountain—would that still be Baiton?”

“Yes. That’s correct.”

“How long would it take to get there? To Levizan, I mean.”

“It depends on the schedule, but likely around ten days.”

“I see.”

‘Twenty days for a round trip.’

Carefully committing his words to memory, Sveta asked more actively this time.

“Then Czernok is a port city, so it should be somewhere down here… Ah, here it is. Czernok also borders another country, doesn’t it?”

Dennis nodded with a gentle smile.

“That’s right.”

“Thank you for explaining, Aide.”

Just as Sveta returned his courtesy with a polite smile, a familiar voice came from beyond the half-open office door.

“And what exactly did you explain?”

Sveta looked at the aide in surprise as his already pale face turned even whiter.

‘It’s possible to grow even paler than that…?’

She could easily guess the reason he had lost all color in an instant. It was the duke’s possessiveness.

Aiden disliked it even when she so much as exchanged words with someone else.

She turned her head toward Aiden as he entered the office.

To ease the irritation directed at his aide, she offered him a faint smile.

“I was asking about Levizan. I’m curious about the hunting festival.”

“Again with that nonsense.”

“…Are you truly not going to take me with you?”

“…”

At Aiden’s small jerk of his chin, Dennis immediately moved toward the door.

He ran into the maid who had been about to enter with the tea. Hastily setting the silver tray with the tea set down on the table, he slipped out as though fleeing.

“Are you going to remain silent again? Please answer me, Duke.”

“It feels as though you have some other scheme in mind.”

His eyes narrowed for a fleeting moment. He truly was a perceptive man.

‘At this rate, will he hear my heart pounding?’

As her pulse began to race uncontrollably, Sveta forced her voice into calmness.

“If you think that, then I won’t go.”

“You’ve made the right decision. It’s cold and dangerous. You’re better off staying at the ducal estate.”

Perching casually against the desk, he caught her by the arm and pulled her toward him. Trapped between his firm thighs, she felt his arm wrap around her back.

His familiar scent seeped into her senses, and the tips of her ears burned.

“Then we’ll be apart for over a month. Will your fiancée be accompanying you to Levizan as well?”

“…The young lady of the marquis will not be attending any official events.”

Aiden let out a long breath as he brushed the bridge of his straight nose against her flushed ear.

His warm breath spread along the back of her neck.

Suddenly, an odd ticklish sensation stirred low in her abdomen. Sveta bit lightly at the tender flesh inside her cheek.

When she lifted her head, his green eyes shimmered with complicated emotions. She realized he was hesitating.

And through that hesitation, she understood that she still had a choice.

‘I was planning to cross from Levizan into Baiton… But if he leaves me behind.’

Perhaps escaping directly from the ducal estate would not be so bad. The distance was considerable; this time, he might not be able to pursue her immediately.

She calculated the timing.

Late September, when the hunting festival would be held. It was also around that time Ivan had promised to tell him about the miscarriage.

“Don’t tell him. Please… keep it a secret from the Duke.”

“Instead, I’ll inform Aiden in a year. You can grant me at least that much, can’t you?”

Remembering the day she had lost the child, Sveta drew her shoulders inward.

After she gently disentangled herself from his embrace, Aiden spoke.

“Very well. I will take you to the hunting festival.”

His voice was lower than usual, clearly betraying his reluctance.

“Why?”

“Because I think it would be better if you stayed by my side.”

“…”

Sveta carefully returned to the sofa and, without a word, tilted the teapot.

As the tea poured with a soft trickling sound into two cups, Aiden frowned slightly.

“…Do you not wish to drink?”

“…”

Instead of answering, Aiden moved slowly to sit opposite her. Rather than lifting the teacup, he fixed his gaze steadily upon her.

She curved her eyes gently in a polite smile, then lowered them with graceful composure.

A moment later, she glanced toward the map.

‘What is she thinking?’

Her persistent insistence on attending the hunting festival seemed suspicious. Until recently, she had behaved as though she desired nothing from him at all.

Such an abrupt change could only have a reason. He did not know what she was hiding, but it was certainly something that would not please him.

That was why Aiden had intended not to take Sveta to the hunting festival.

Yet when she had just said, in a faintly trembling voice, that she would remain at the estate—

A dark suspicion had suddenly risen within him.

‘Was this what she had been aiming for all along…?’

He reversed his decision.

It would be better to keep her close and watch her. This time, he would not lower his guard.

Pouring white wine into a glass set aside, Aiden spoke.

“Considering your unusual tastes, I imagine you would enjoy the hunting festival.”

Sveta’s eyes widened. When she opened them fully, her ordinarily gentle gaze shifted at once into something bold. He found the change pleasing.

“Do I have unusual tastes?”

“You weren’t aware?”

“…No.”

Aiden let out a faint, amused scoff before asking.

“Shall I teach you how to shoot a bow?”

“No. I don’t want to kill animals. I just…”

She let her words trail off, absently turning the slender handle of her teacup between her fingers.

“Is there something you want?”

“Could you take Dongle with you to the hunting festival as well?”

“It’s not as though it can even ride a horse.”

“Even so…”

She could not finish her sentence while he drank his wine. Aiden set the glass down without a sound.

“It would be nice to take it walking there as well. Very well.”

“Thank you, Duke.”

Just as he was about to let a faint smile form, a brief knock echoed through the room. Recognizing the sound, Aiden gave a curt order.

“…Enter.”

Dennis stepped in, carrying a silver tray with a letter placed upon it.

“Your Grace, a letter has arrived for the young lady.”

“Burn it. There is no need to reply.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Dennis quickly withdrew with the letter in hand.

“It was an invitation from Lady Matwood.”

Aiden met Sveta’s gaze as she tilted her head slightly.

A flicker of curiosity passed through her sky-blue eyes, but she pressed her lips together and asked nothing.

Recently, Alyona Matwood had been sending Sveta letters without pause.

The excuses varied—flower viewing, tea parties, reading gatherings…

It was undoubtedly some pathetic scheme.

“Aren’t you curious what the letter said?”

“You must have a reason for not showing it to me, Duke.”

As though it did not concern her at all, she took a sip of tea. Then her gaze drifted back toward the map.

Once more, an unnameable unease rose to Aiden’s throat.

To shake off the sensation, he lifted his teacup instead of the wineglass. The bitter liquid slid down his throat.

As Sveta watched his Adam’s apple move slowly, a trace of quiet satisfaction flickered in her eyes.