Not long ago, she had sensed someone’s presence.

This must have happened after she had stood there for a long time in silence, drifting through those old memories and staring up at the deity.

She heard the door open gently behind her.

At first, she thought it was a temple attendant, unaware that someone was already inside tending to the chapel.

This was a space reserved for those within the temple.

Outsiders could only enter with permission, so who would come at such an early hour?

Yet the visitor did not leave.

Usually, if someone found the chapel occupied, they would quietly return later.

But this person stepped further inside.

One careful step at a time.

Slowly.

And then—

“Ha…”

A low sigh.

The moment she heard it, Martiana knew who it was.

It was a sound she knew all too well.

On nights when everyone else had fallen asleep—

—or when she herself could not sleep,

Her husband would come to her quietly.

He would even soften his breathing, afraid of waking her.

Whenever he drew near, it followed the same pattern.

Then, as always, he would say her name.

“Martiana.”

It was a voice she had heard countless times before.

As soon as she heard it, Martiana swallowed and stood before the statue.

A faint tremor ran through her. Of all the people in the world, only he could affect her so deeply.

The man she once loved.

The man she had now let go.

At the sound of her name, she slowly turned to face him.

“Siliar.”

Her clear, bell-like voice echoed along the chapel walls and up to the high ceiling.

Her eyes found him effortlessly.

How long had it been since she had properly looked at his face?

It felt as though an immeasurable amount of time had passed. He seemed almost unfamiliar. His tall frame almost filled the small chapel.

Years of training had shaped and hardened his body.

His posture was straight and disciplined.

None of that had changed.

His hair caught the morning light.

The clean line of his nose.

His lips.

Even his vivid red eyes, fixed only on her, were unchanged.

Everything was the same.

It felt as though she alone had changed.

‘To think we would meet again so soon.’

She had heard that he had left for the provinces. She thought it would be a long time before she saw him again.

Had she known, she would have made herself more presentable that morning.

Martiana lowered her gaze.

Unlike Siliar, she felt that her thin, frail appearance was inadequate. In fact, she almost wished he would finish whatever he had come for and leave quickly.

“……”

“……”

However, Siliar did not react as she had hoped.

In fact, he showed no reaction at all.

Martiana was no different.

After saying each other’s names, they both fell silent.

Without a word, time quietly slipped between them. Perhaps it was because it had been so long since they had stood face to face like this.

When had they last truly seen each other?

Licorice’s birthday last year? Or the year before that?

She could no longer remember.

That was how far apart they had grown.

“The…”

Unable to bear the heavy silence any longer, Martiana broke it. If she had let it continue, she felt as though they would remain frozen like this forever.

When he came looking for her, it usually meant he had something to say. But Siliar showed no sign of speaking.

Martiana rolled her violet eyes slightly, searching for words.

Siliar’s gaze followed the sound of her voice and settled on her.

“This place…”

“You.”

Their voices overlapped.

Startled, they exchanged awkward glances.

Uncomfortable.

Strained.

Martiana could not bear it for long and lowered her gaze.

But Siliar did not look away.

“You…”

If he continued speaking like this—

“Since when?”

His voice trembled faintly.

“Since when did you… start speaking again?”

His words broke apart into uneven fragments as he struggled to control his emotions. He seemed far more shaken than she had anticipated.

Even to Martiana, the fact that she could speak at all was still strange. How much more so to someone else?

Especially someone who had once shouted at her.

“Say something! Please—anything, just say one word!”

That had been long after she had already fallen silent.

‘And after that… he never spoke to me first again.’

As though he believed attempting conversation was pointless.

Whenever he noticed Martiana, he would leave.

Or he would simply turn his back.

‘The only time we “met” was at night.’

No, that could hardly be called a meeting.

He only came to her room when she was asleep.

Every time, Martiana pretended to be asleep, even though she was awake.

If looking at each other’s faces only caused pain, perhaps it was better not to look at all.

“Since I left the estate.”

Perhaps that was why her voice sounded so dry when she replied. She lowered her gaze and took a small step back.

The moment she spoke, an unbidden memory surfaced.

‘I almost died.’

Explaining how her voice had returned would inevitably mean recalling that scene. She had deliberately avoided that memory for days.

Now, as it resurfaced, her shoulders trembled.

For a moment, she could almost feel the blade piercing her again.

The pain.

The fear.

How much of that was she supposed to tell him?

‘The one who tried to k*ll me was someone from the estate.’

‘It could have been you, Siliar.’

Martiana stood before him and swallowed.

There was no proof.

Even entertaining the idea was nothing more than suspicion, which was something she did not want to believe.

And yet, as she looked at him, the image of her attacker rose unbidden in her mind.

More precisely—

those vivid red eyes.

They reminded her of the ruby earring the man had worn.

It was an heirloom of the House of Vandyk.

Only the head of the family had the authority to dispose of it at will.

It was therefore only natural that Martiana found herself on guard in front of Siliar.

“Since you left the estate…”

Siliar ran a hand through his ash-brown hair and muttered under his breath.

The fatigue was clearly etched across his face. He hadn’t slept properly for days. His low, worn voice echoed his exhaustion.

It was no surprise.

For days, he had been searching for Martiana.

This began ever since he retrieved the divorce papers from the king and destroyed them.

According to the butler, she was supposed to be at the villa. But she was not there.

The knights he had sent out returned with grim expressions.

“The young madam is not at the villa. The steward says she never arrived.”

“Then where did she go? The carriage she left in—?”

“It wasn’t a carriage prepared by the house. The duchess ordered one separately…”

The destination of the carriage remained unknown.

When the surrounding area was searched, only broken fragments of the carriage and a few scattered jewels were found in the nearby forest.

Upon hearing this report, he felt as though the blood had drained from his body.

He had no idea where she had gone.

He could not find her.

What if something had happened to her?

Or worse — had she really run away, unable to bear seeing him anymore?

“Find her!”

Find her! No matter what it takes!

Driven by anger and fear, he mobilized the family’s knights. They combed through the forest where she had last been seen.

And then—

He received news of her whereabouts.

She had been found at a temple hidden deep within the woods.

She had been seriously injured.

Her brother had taken her there.

He came at once.

Pushing past the temple attendants who tried to stop him, he entered the temple without hesitation.

That was how he saw her again.

After so long.

She was smiling.

She looked radiant.

She looked well.

Was it the clear sunlight?

Or was it the sacred stillness of the temple behind her?

Or the white garments she wore?

Whatever the reason, she looked better than she ever had within the Duke’s estate walls.

Even Siliar could not deny it.

And then there was her voice.

It echoed through the small chapel like a hymn.

For a moment, he almost lost his composure.

‘Ah, divine one… thank you.’

He had lifted his gaze to the statue behind you without realizing it.

‘You were alive.’

He had never imagined he would hear your voice again.

He had almost given up hope.

He had shown you to countless doctors. He had even summoned his priest brother-in-law. And yet, nothing had worked.

“It’s an illness of the heart. Losing Licorice must have wounded her deeply.”

As they walked back after the examination, Lawrence said this with quiet regret.

He even suggested sending her away to the provinces to rest.

This might be better than remaining on the estate, where every corner held traces of their child.

But—

“No.”

Siliar had never been able to send his wife away before.

She didn’t want to leave.

Moreover, he could not bear to be separated from her.

If Licorice were ever found, he wanted to be the first person to find her.

Instead, he removed all traces of their daughter from the house.

He believed this would ease the pain.

But it hadn’t.

It was only after leaving the estate that she found her voice again.

‘Was it truly that unbearable?’

If she found peace only after escaping that place—

‘Then I understand why you felt freed.’

‘You had always been staring out the window.’

But Martiana—

‘How can you let go so easily?’

He found himself resenting her.

‘I felt like I was dying on my way here.’

Seeing her smile made him happy.

Yet he hated it.

He knew it was an ugly thought.

But he could not help it.

After all, he was only human.

He could not let her go.

“Pack your things. We’re going back home.”

And so, once again—

He chose to be the one who would hurt her.