Tragedy always came without warning.

After her older brother, Shion, died, followed by her father, Marquis Ceres, Evelyn endured years of one funeral after another. She had been living a miserable, grief-stricken life when she finally ventured outside at the urging of her cousin, the daughter of Viscount Schneider.

“You should go out once in a while. Staying cooped up all the time can’t be good for your mental health.”

And that was the day Evelyn lost her sight in an accident.

Pitter-patter.

Heavy rain fell that day, just as it did today. It hadn’t been raining all day. The downpour had begun suddenly, not long after Evelyn had gone out.

Pitter-patter.

Listening to the fierce rain beating against the windows, Evelyn spent some time talking with the daughter of Viscount Schneider at a coffeehouse in the bustling part of town before the two eventually parted ways.

Evelyn was making her way toward her carriage when….

Splash!

Someone threw a clear liquid over her.

It was hot. It stung. It hurt.

Tears streamed endlessly from her eyes.

Even though she was examined immediately, Evelyn was given the devastating diagnosis that she had gone permanently blind.

Her nightmare began then.

No, perhaps the signs of her misfortune had always been there. Perhaps she simply hadn’t noticed them.

For several months after she lost her sight, her husband, Alexis, never abandoned her.

Then, one day……

Her vision began to return.

Everything was still blurry, but she could see.

When a faint light finally pierced the world that had been swallowed by pitch-black darkness, Evelyn felt a small spark of hope.

‘I have to tell Alexis right away!’

As luck would have it, her husband, Alexis, was home at the mansion that day instead of going out.

With her heart swelling with barely contained excitement, Evelyn left her bedroom alone.

By then, she was capable of moving around the mansion without anyone’s help, so she headed straight for Alexis’s bedroom.

“What are you being so careful about? Even if that woman somehow crawled all the way out here, she wouldn’t be able to see us together anyway.”

Evelyn stopped dead when she heard a voice coming from farther down the hall.

‘Who is the woman talking to Alexis…?’

She hadn’t been told that any guests were visiting. Of course, ever since she had gone blind, no one had bothered to inform her when guests came to the mansion.

Still puzzled, Evelyn remained where she was and listened carefully to the conversation.

“Even so, I think it’s a little… premature right now, Your Highness.”

“There you go again. How many times do I have to tell you? You can just call me by my name…”

Click.

The door closed.

That was the end of Evelyn’s eavesdropping.

In the sudden silence, Evelyn stood with one hand against the wall, replaying the conversation in her mind as her brows drew together.

‘Her Highness the Princess… Why is she here?’

The strangely familiar way they spoke to each other was unsettling enough, but what puzzled Evelyn most was where the two of them had gone….

Alexis’s bedroom.

If they needed to discuss something related to business or official matters, they would have chosen Alexis’s study or the drawing room. The most natural option of all would have been for Alexis to visit the Imperial Palace himself.

‘Surely not…’

A wave of unease rose within her, but Evelyn quickly pushed the suspicion aside.

‘…It can’t be. There must have been another reason. Rather than jumping to conclusions on my own, I should wait for the right opportunity and ask Alexis directly.’

Choosing to trust her husband, Evelyn returned to her bedroom.

But she couldn’t stop thinking about it.

In the end, less than thirty minutes later, Evelyn found herself standing outside her husband’s bedroom again.

She was just raising her hand to knock when…..

“…?”

A strange sound seeped through the bedroom door.

‘Did Her Highness hurt herself somewhere?’

It didn’t take long for Evelyn to realize how wrong that thought was.

“…!”

Breathy gasps.

A sharp yet strangely sensual whimper.

Evelyn knew exactly what kind of act could produce sounds like those.

‘What on earth… is happening in there…?’

Evelyn stood frozen in shock.

Then, a familiar voice came from behind her.

“…My lady?”

It was the butler.

“What are you doing standing there in a daze?”

When Evelyn remained silent, the butler asked again.

“I felt stifled being cooped up in my bedroom, so I thought I’d take a little walk. But it seems I’ve lost my way.”

“Ah… Is that so?”

The butler swallowed an incredulous laugh and hurried toward Evelyn.

“If you were trying to go outside, I’ll show you the way. Come along.”

“I’m fine. You may leave now. I can go by myself.”

Evelyn spoke with dignity as the butler took her firmly by the arm and began leading her away.

The master of this mansion was Count Osment, and Evelyn was his wife. For a servant to lay hands on her without permission was an unacceptable breach of propriety.

Yet despite her clear refusal, the butler did not release her arm.

“There’s no need to refuse. I happen to have business in the garden myself, so I’ll escort you.”

Suppressing a quiet sigh, Evelyn decided not to argue and instead asked the question that had been bothering her.

“It seems we have a guest at the mansion?”

“A guest? …I’m not aware of anyone who came to see you, my lady.”

“I wasn’t talking about a guest who came to see me. I meant the Count’s guest…”

“Ah…”

The butler let out a low groan before quickly continuing.

“I haven’t heard anything about that, but once I’ve escorted you to the garden, I’ll make some inquiries myself.”

Pitter-patter.

As they approached the mansion’s entrance, the sound of rain reached Evelyn’s ears once again.

It had rained that day too.

The day Evelyn lost her sight.

And ever since that day, whenever Evelyn tried to leave the mansion, it had rained just like this.

“…Oh? What shall we do?”

The butler looked toward the garden before turning back to Evelyn with a sly smile.

“My lady, it’s raining outside. I’m afraid going out won’t be possible after all.”

“…I-Is that so?”

Evelyn tried to sound composed, but her voice trembled slightly.

“Indeed. I’ll escort you back to your bedroom. Why don’t you return for now?”

“Please…”

After returning to her bedroom, Evelyn locked the door tightly.

Then she leaned her back against it and struggled to catch her breath.

She couldn’t quite believe what she had just discovered.

After blinking several times, Evelyn walked toward the window.

The sky was still perfectly clear, without a single cloud in sight.

It wasn’t the kind of weather that would produce rain.

Pitter-patter.

And yet the sound of rainfall continued.

Because several gardeners and labourers were using watering cans to create the sound of rain.

‘Have they been doing this every time I’ve tried to leave the mansion…?’

A nameless terror began to course through Evelyn’s body, making her tremble violently.

She couldn’t even begin to guess how much of this had been planned, or how far the deception extended.

It took quite some time before Evelyn, consumed by fear, was finally able to think clearly.

‘Could the butler have arranged all of this on his own?’

Evelyn slowly shook her head.

There was no way the butler could have orchestrated something like this without the permission of the master of the mansion…

Count Alexis Osment.

***

The moment Evelyn was forced to drink the poisoned cup came sooner than she had expected.

At first glance, that day seemed no different from any other.

She ate the meals prepared by her maid and spent meaningless hours wasting away in her bedroom.

And just as always, the moment Evelyn mentioned that she wanted to go outside, the servants gathered in the garden and endlessly poured water from their watering cans to imitate the sound of rain.

Even after discovering her husband’s affair with the Princess, Evelyn continued to hide the fact that her eyesight had returned from everyone in the mansion.

There was only one thing that was different that day.

The Princess herself had come to see Evelyn.

“Her Highness the Princess asked to see me? Whatever could she want…?”

Click. Click.

Before Evelyn could finish speaking, the sharp sound of high heels striking the marble floor echoed through the room.

At the edge of Evelyn’s lowered field of vision, she caught sight of a dress shaped like an upside-down tulip.

Spring had not yet arrived, but the luxurious, brilliant pink gown seemed to herald its coming. It swayed gracefully with every step the Princess took before coming to a sudden stop in front of Evelyn.

“You’ll have to die now.”

Those were the first words Princess Camilla spoke the moment they came face-to-face.

“I’ve gotten pregnant, you see. Aren’t you curious who the father of the child in my womb is?”

Princess Camilla smiled sweetly as she gently stroked her still-flat stomach.

The corners of her red lips curled into an elegant, knowing smile.

“My husband’s… Count Osment’s child?”

“I thought you were completely oblivious, but I suppose you’re not as clueless as I thought.”

“When did it start?”

“When did it start?”

The Princess slowly blinked as she repeated Evelyn’s question before speaking again.

“Are you asking when Alexis and I started sleeping together? Or are you asking when the purge of your maiden family, House Ceres, began?”

“…!”

Seeing the shock on Evelyn’s face, Princess Camilla delivered another cruel blow.

“Or perhaps you’re asking when Alex suggested that we make you go blind?”