Roina stared blankly at the man’s disheveled black hair and loosened cravat.

The situation unfolding before her felt like a dream. An impossible wish come true.

‘How did this happen?’

While she wore a bewildered expression, a low, deep voice came from Conrad.

“You’re awake.”

“Why are you…… here?”

At that question, Conrad twisted one eye in irritation.

“Well, since I’m your husband, isn’t it natural?”

At the words that the man who could never be hers had become her husband, Roina’s violet eyes trembled finely.

“Really…… we got married?”

“I don’t know how many times I have to tell you.”

‘This is impossible. This man is really my husband?’

Who could have imagined that overnight, Roina Würetti would become Roina Asheter?

She couldn’t understand at all why the man who had hated her had become her husband.

‘Could it be…… my unrequited love came true?’

Her heart pounding noisily, Roina tried to act nonchalant as she looked up at Conrad.

“That you’re my husband, it’s really hard to believe……!”

But before she could harbor even a glimmer of hope, she trailed off.

A cold voice flowed from him as his face subtly hardened.

“It seems you want to play word games with me.”

“……”

Meeting the man’s cold gaze, it felt as if the small hope that remained was shattering to pieces.

“I like you. From the very first day I saw you.”

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”

The memory rising as vividly as if it were yesterday made Roina swallow a shallow sigh.

It was quite bewildering to face him again less than a day after deciding to give up.

“I heard you lost your memory.”

“It seems so, Du…… Your Grace.”

Conrad’s brow furrowed slightly, as if her form of address bothered him.

“You can call me by my name.”

“Yes, I’ll do that.”

“If you need anything, let me know. I’ll call your personal maid.”

His voice was indifferent, showing not a trace of concern.

Under his gaze that seemed to probe whether her answer was truthful, Roina tried to hide her discomfort.

Even though three years had supposedly passed, it seemed they hadn’t even achieved an ordinary married relationship. If anything, they were worse than strangers.

Reading the atmosphere, she steeled herself and slowly opened her mouth.

“That’s not necessary. But there’s something I want to ask.”

Conrad raised an eyebrow obliquely, as if trying to grasp her intention.

“How did we…… come to be married?”

At her cautious question, the man’s face subtly hardened.

Though it was brief, when hostility flashed through his golden eyes, the flustered Roina unconsciously trailed off.

“I thought you would know best……”

Even if it wasn’t bound by love, she thought there must have been some reason that led to the decision to marry.

But a thin sneer flowed from Conrad’s lips.

“That I know well…… I think your father would know better than I do.”

“……!”

Soon he let out a deep sigh and added in a low, sunken voice.

“His Majesty desired balance between two opposing political parties.”

For this purpose, he wanted the union of House Asheter, loyal retainers, and House Würetti, the real power of the progressive faction.

The marriage proposal between two houses that seemed incompatible caused great commotion in the Noxtan Empire, and the marriage was soon concluded.

“That’s all I can tell you.”

At Conrad’s concise explanation, Roina nodded slightly.

She finally seemed to understand his unchanged attitude from three years ago.

Yet her face showed signs of dismay.

If it was ultimately a marriage by imperial decree, it meant Conrad’s will wasn’t involved at all.

“There’s one more thing I’d like to ask.”

“Please speak.”

“How did I come to suffer from fever?”

At that moment, an indescribable light flashed in Conrad’s golden eyes before disappearing.

“Well, didn’t you leave the estate without a word to anyone?”

“What? What do you mean……”

At his unexpected answer, Roina’s face filled with agitation.

“Are you saying I ran away from home? Why on earth?”

“How would I know that? You’re the one who did it.”

Mockery spread across his lips. The gaze that met hers again held deep-seated hostility.

Conrad Asheter still hated her. That was an unchanging fact even after three years.

※※※

Following the attending physician’s diagnosis to rest for a few more days, Roina had been staying only in her bedroom.

She thought that after sleeping a few more nights, she might wake up from this dream-like reality, but nothing changed.

“I have partial amnesia……”

No matter how hard she tried to remember something, nothing came to mind, as if a white fog had settled in her head.

The fact that she had to live in a new environment in this state felt overwhelming.

From what she could guess, her relationship with Conrad during their married life hadn’t changed much.

Whatever had happened during that time, he seemed to hate Roina even more.

The man’s attitude, colder than before, made Roina’s heart ache.

‘First, I need to find out what happened.’

For this purpose, she gathered information related to herself. Things like examining past newsletters or checking her diary.

She tried to learn as much as she could within her means, but for some reason, it wasn’t easy to find information from that period.

If there was one impressive article headline……

The Unfortunate Duchess in Seclusion.

It seemed that during their married life, society had created a nickname referring to Roina.

“Why was I secluded in the estate?”

According to Conrad, she had attempted to run away last summer. She had spent an entire season somewhere no one knew about.

Why she had left the ducal residence, and how she had returned.

Roina couldn’t shake the feeling that she was missing something.

“I need to recover my memories soon.”

In this bewildering situation, the only thing she could do was to regain her lost memories as quickly as possible.

If that happened, her questions might be resolved, and her relationship with Conrad might change too.

A wistful smile spread across Roina’s lips as she thought of her husband.

But seeing Conrad’s heartless attitude, it didn’t seem like he would tell her the details of what had happened.

‘Or maybe he really doesn’t know because he has no interest in me.’

That’s why the solution she came up with was to meet with her older brother and younger sister soon.

After Conrad, they would be the people who knew best about what had happened in the past three years.

“And most importantly……”

Roina’s gaze, pressing her throbbing temples, fell on the desk drawer.

With slightly trembling hands, she took out a letter that had been placed deep inside the drawer.

It was time to face the reality she had been avoiding.

Come to the trading company as soon as possible.

You know well the reason without me having to say it.

The sender of the letter, which contained only two lines, was Roina’s father, Marquis Würetti.

From when she regained consciousness until now, letters from the marquis had been secretly delivered to her repeatedly.

Thinking of her situation where she still couldn’t escape her father’s shadow despite being married, a bitter smile spread across Roina’s lips.

“News of my running away must have reached Father too.”

Even if that wasn’t the reason, she could be certain he wasn’t looking for her with good intentions.

Contrary to what was publicly known, the relationship between the Würetti father and daughter wasn’t particularly good.

After the marchioness passed away, the marquis’s *buse under the guise of discipline escalated to excessive violence.

“Remember this. Aila’s safety depends on your actions.”

Roina chewed over her father’s words that she had to hear countless times before losing her memory, biting her lips anxiously.

It felt as if sharp pain was felt on one cheek, as if it were yesterday.

Soon thinking of her younger sister left at the marquisate residence, she closed her eyes tightly and opened them.

Just thinking about it made her feel suffocated, so it seemed she should resolve her father’s urgency first.