Watching her brother and husband carefully, Roina chewed her lip.

She knew well that the relationship between these two former friends could never return to what it once was.

When the late Duke Asheter passed away, the unfair contract with Würetti had also lost its effect.

But to make matters worse, Conrad had to lose all his remaining family members.

‘So he couldn’t possibly feel good about anyone with Würetti blood.’

Since nothing good would come from staying together like this, Roina quietly approached her husband.

Though she didn’t know why he had come to the upper floor balcony, she judged that leaving this place was the priority.

“Conrad, we should return to the ducal residence now.”

Glancing at her, Conrad nodded slightly as if agreeing with her words.

“Let’s do that, my lady.”

As he lightly wrapped his arm around her shoulder, Roina’s violet eyes trembled uncontrollably with emotion.

“I’ll be going first, Young Marquis Würetti.”

Bleon made a subtle expression as he looked at the strong hand touching his sister’s shoulder.

But as if nothing had happened, he drew an elegant curve on his lips and left puzzling words.

“I’m sure we’ll see each other again when the opportunity arises.”

After briefly bowing her head to Bleon, Roina left the banquet hall with her husband.

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗

Late at night, the imperial palace garden was quiet and deserted.

Roina was waiting for the Asheter family carriage with Conrad.

As the cool night air and biting wind blew in, she shivered.

Conrad indifferently took off his wool coat and draped it over his wife’s shoulders.

“……!”

At his unexpected consideration, Roina’s violet eyes grew as large as saucers.

Conrad tilted his head slightly and spoke.

“You seem quite sensitive to the cold.”

Roina knew well that her husband had spoken without any particular meaning.

Nevertheless, it felt as if he remembered her from long ago, making her heart swell.

“…Thank you.”

When Roina answered softly, Conrad simply stared at her without saying anything.

A heavy silence flowed between them. Like the winter chill being fully transmitted.

After some time passed, a quiet voice came from him.

“It seems you’ve misunderstood.”

Not understanding his meaning, Roina asked with a puzzled face.

“Misunderstood what?”

Conrad exhaled a long sigh and murmured softly.

“I have no relationship whatsoever with Lady Clovis.”

“……”

At the man’s unexpected words, Roina’s eyes trembled slightly.

He seemed displeased even at the mere association with Daphne.

‘Why is he suddenly saying this?’

Conrad typically never initiated conversation.

When he denied any relationship with Daphne, Roina found the current situation confusing.

It was a completely different story from what she remembered.

The voice of the man saying he regretted their marriage was still deeply embedded in her mind.

Because of this, hadn’t she been consumed by guilt for stealing another woman’s lover, on top of a marriage filled only with wounds?

When Roina gave no answer, Conrad tilted his head obliquely and stared at her.

Trying to appear calm, she slowly opened her mouth.

“Honestly, I don’t understand.”

Even she couldn’t readily accept Conrad’s words.

The thoughts she had believed for years and fragments of memories were tangled, making her mind go blank.

This was especially true regarding matters related to Daphne. It wasn’t easy to maintain composure.

That’s why she wanted to confirm directly from him.

“Aren’t you… still harboring feelings for the lady?”

As if disturbed by those words, Conrad’s golden pupils momentarily expanded and then contracted.

Not missing his subtle change in expression, Roina felt her heart sink.

‘I shouldn’t have asked.’

While she suppressed her feelings, Conrad asked in a low, sinking voice.

“Why on earth would you think that?”

Lowering her gaze, Roina answered while tightly clenching her trembling hands.

“You don’t need to hide it. I’ve had my suspicions for a while.”

She didn’t want even her lingering attachment to be exposed. Their end was already determined anyway.

Only after a heavy silence continued did Conrad’s short sigh, almost a groan, reach her.

“Have you thought that all this time?”

“Well….”

Trailing off, Roina raised her head to confirm the intention behind the man’s question.

But for some reason, Conrad’s face seemed to show a hint of dejection.

Soon, slightly twisting his lips, the man murmured in a quiet voice.

“Even back then, did you not care about me at all?”

As Roina swallowed dryly, unsure how to react to his barely audible words.

Conrad’s Adam’s apple moved fiercely as if swallowing his emotions.

His golden eyes, which met hers for a moment, had sunk desolately low.

“Let me say it once more. I have no relationship whatsoever with the lady.”

“What do you….”

With a small sneer, Conrad’s jaw tensed.

“I have never harbored feelings for the ducal lady.”

“……!”

At his sudden assertion, Roina’s violet eyes filled with turmoil.

‘He never harbored feelings for Daphne?’

The man’s straightforward golden eyes seemed to speak only the truth.

Soon, various emotions tangled like threads, disturbing her heart.

As her heart beat rapidly and her eyelashes trembled, Roina closed her eyes tightly before opening them again.

With her lips firmly closed, she finally raised the question she had been hesitating to ask.

“Then why… did you associate with the lady back then?”

After revealing his identity, Conrad had ostentatiously attended various banquets with Daphne.

Therefore, Roina naturally assumed that he also harbored the same feelings as the lady.

When the silence lasted longer than expected, she glanced at her husband, wondering if she had asked an unnecessary question.

At that moment, their gazes became entangled, and his hesitation completely ended.

Conrad’s eyes trembled slightly as if confronting an old emotion.

After clenching his hands several times, the man looked at Roina and showed a bitingly bitter smile.

“Don’t you already know the answer?”

“……”

“Though it’s all futile now.”

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗

As the biting winter wind came through the window gap, Roina pulled the shawl on her shoulders closer.

Carefully examining the letters received from the servant, she picked up one and wore a gentle smile.

The sender written on the envelope was her one and only sister, Aila Würetti.

Contrary to her concerns, Aila in the letter was very spirited and cheerful.

Her joy at receiving mountains of tea party invitations was vivid before Roina’s eyes.

“I was worried she might be down, but I’m so relieved.”

Though public opinion about the Second Prince was still mostly negative, Aila seemed to have safely entered society.

After writing an affectionate reply to her sister, Roina soon looked with cold eyes at a letter placed on one side of the desk.

Roina, visit the trading company at your earliest convenience.

The letter contained a brief notification from Marquis Würetti.

Having many guesses about why her father was seeking her, Roina exhaled a long sigh.

Then she wrote a reply saying she would visit soon.

Rising from her seat, she headed to the living room terrace with a book to clear her cluttered mind.

“Don’t you already know the answer?”

Roina had been constantly thinking about the conversation she had with her husband at the banquet.

‘Why did Conrad say that?’

She had many questions, but his momentary expression was so unfamiliar that she couldn’t ask anything.

Conrad remained a difficult figure for her.

Perhaps the forbidden fruit she shouldn’t covet referred to him.

At the recent imperial banquet, Roina had been able to clear up her misunderstanding about Conrad and Daphne.

However, there was no narrowing of distance with her husband or development in their relationship.

“If anything, we seem more awkward since that day.”

Above all, Roina was good at self-objectification.

She had resolved not to identify the stirring emotions she had felt a few days ago.