Perhaps it was due to accumulated resentment, but raw emotion flowed from Roina’s lips.

“Have you ever… believed in my sincerity even once?”

“……”

“You’re the one who can’t trust me.”

Roina regretted her words as soon as they left her mouth. Her dismayed gaze turned to the man before her.

After briefly meeting her eyes, Conrad exhaled a deep sigh as if he had nothing to say.

Soon, an intensely cold and calm voice reached her ears.

“You’re right.”

“……!”

“And I will never trust you in the future either.”

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗

Several days after visiting the marquis’s residence, Roina received a message from Marquis Würetti.

A spy he had secretly planted delivered a letter to her study and left.

The letter contained a simple request to meet soon.

“I need to discuss Aila too……”

Roina wasn’t confident the marquis would grant her request.

Unless he proposed another deal, perhaps.

Thinking of her father, she exhaled a deep sigh with a gloomy expression.

‘I should find out as much as I can within my limits.’

Roina intended to search for books related to the prophecy in the duke’s archives.

Carrying a lamp, she walked through the long corridor toward a place where bright streams of light were leaking out.

The old books of the mansion were supposedly stored here.

The archives, located in the annex, boasted a scale that could rightfully be called a library.

The deeper she went into the archives, the more the distinctive musty smell of books filled the air.

“Most of these seem to be books difficult to find in bookstores.”

Perhaps because it was late at night, there was no one in the archives.

After looking around, she took out several books related to prophecies and was about to return to her room.

“……!”

She spotted a man sitting in a place dimly lit by moonlight, his eyes closed.

‘Why is Conrad here….’

After briefly hesitating whether to return to her room, Roina carefully approached him.

Judging by the documents and books piled where Conrad sat, he seemed to have been referencing something.

Of course, he was sound asleep now.

The faint sound of his breathing seemed to confirm this.

Conrad’s black hair naturally fluttered in the gentle breeze coming through the window.

It was unusual for him, who normally didn’t show the slightest vulnerability, to lower his guard and fall asleep.

Seeing the shadows under his eyes and his gaunt face, she could only guess how exhausting his work must have been.

‘He must have been very tired lately.’

Among his troubles, her father surely played a part.

With a solemn heart, Roina bit her lower lip firmly.

Unable to wake Conrad, she lifted the shawl she was wearing.

Just as she was about to gently cover him with it, Conrad grabbed her wrist in his sleep.

The man slowly opened and closed his eyes before speaking in a half-asleep voice.

“Renée…?”

“……!”

Roina’s violet pupils dilated at the name that escaped his lips.

Conrad soon seemed to come to his senses and released her slender arm.

Then, slightly narrowing his brow, he asked in a chilly voice.

“What are you doing here now?”

Flustered by the sudden situation, Roina answered as if making an excuse.

“I stopped by the archives briefly to find a book.”

Then she looked at him with a somewhat aggrieved expression.

Conrad raised an eyebrow as if he didn’t quite believe her answer.

But then again, she had no reason to approach him.

Roina alternately looked at the shawl in her hand and the man sitting, then took a short breath.

“I thought you needed it more than I did.”

Conrad’s brow subtly narrowed as he looked at the shawl. He didn’t seem pleased with the current situation.

As always, an emotionless voice flowed from the man.

“I don’t need it.”

Having somewhat anticipated Conrad’s rejection, Roina persisted.

“It’s getting cold in autumn. If you sleep in the archives—”

“I’ll take care of myself.”

She wanted to tell him he might catch a cold, but in the end, she couldn’t finish her sentence.

At the man’s attitude suggesting she shouldn’t concern herself with him, she lowered her arm that had been hovering in the air.

As her heart felt numb and heavy, Roina chewed her lip.

Even she didn’t know where this repeatedly occurring emotion would lead.

She bowed her head to Conrad and was about to leave the archives.

“I have something to tell you.”

Hearing the soft, deep voice, Roina paused her steps and turned around.

“To me…?”

Instead of answering, Conrad nodded once. Then he gestured toward the seat across from him.

After swallowing dryly and sitting down, he cut straight to the point.

“I received a message from Marquis Würetti.”

“Father… contacted you?”

Roina’s violet pupils, noticeably enlarged, trembled back and forth.

She had some idea why Marquis Würetti would contact Conrad.

After ignoring the marquis’s letter while being mindful of her husband, it seemed he had finally reached out to him.

Just as Roina tried to hide her flustered appearance and clenched her hands under the table, the man staring at her continued in a dry voice.

“He said he wants to meet you.”

“Ah, yes….”

Conrad tapped the table with his finger, as if he had something to say or perhaps wanted to question her.

Then, once again shifting his emotionless gaze to her, he opened his mouth.

“There’s something I want to ask.”

“Go ahead.”

“What does the marquis mean to you?”

At this completely unexpected question, Roina blinked slowly.

She wondered if he might be interrogating her, but she hadn’t had any friction with Conrad recently.

So she gave the answer that had always been predetermined. Just as she always did publicly.

“I respect him as my parent.”

Was it because of past trauma? Roina couldn’t readily reveal matters related to her father to anyone.

From the nanny who had cared for her since childhood to the tutor who had taught her for many years.

Marquis Würetti had eliminated anyone she might rely on, one by one, using various methods.

As these incidents repeated, they remained as wounds she couldn’t speak about.

‘Moreover….’

It was also true that she felt burdened to confide personal matters to a man who didn’t trust her.

Conrad might think his wife was up to something.

The man’s golden eyes, hearing her answer, showed the same indifferent light as usual.

Unable to read Conrad’s thoughts at all, Roina looked up at him with a calm gaze.

“Why do you ask that?”

To her question, Conrad replied in a voice devoid of interest.

“No particular reason. I’ll convey the visitation date to the marquis.”

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗

A bleak and unsettled atmosphere pervaded the Asheter ducal residence.

This was because a Würetti family carriage had been parked in front of the yard.

Despite Conrad having already conveyed the visitation date, the marquis had come to the mansion without notice.

‘Why has Father come so early?’

The fact that his daughter might be embarrassed didn’t seem to matter much to the marquis.

Meeting her father, dismay showed on Roina’s face.

The marquis had undoubtedly timed his visit to match when Conrad would be away.

Although today, unexpectedly, his departure for work had been delayed.

Conrad displayed an even fiercer gaze upon seeing the Würetti family carriage that had arrived without warning.

Such behavior from the marquis was clearly disrespectful to him.

“The marquis must have missed you very much. Judging by this rudeness.”

Conrad raised one eyebrow and spoke as if incredulous.

To this, Roina swallowed dryly and tried to answer calmly.

“I didn’t expect him to visit so suddenly either.”

But he didn’t seem to believe her words, merely showing a sneer at the corner of his mouth.

Eventually, Marquis Würetti, who had stepped out of the carriage, offered a formal greeting to Conrad.

“It’s been a while, Duke Asheter.”