“It might not be a bad idea to explain in detail when and how your vest, which was in Her Highness’s chambers until last night, found its way back to its owner.”

“……”

Ian remained silent for a long moment. He knew well that Jerome wasn’t actually curious about the vest’s whereabouts.

Jerome already knew everything—this was a warning.

“……I’ll excuse myself first.”

Ian rose from his seat.

An inexplicable surge of anger welled up inside him. Why was he so furious?

Was it because he had been careless and let his guard down? Or was it disappointment in himself for acting so impulsively lately?

Or was it something else entirely…

This frustration and anger carried him to the dock deck connected to the restaurant terrace. He hadn’t intended to go there, but the cool river breeze seemed to calm his temper slightly.

Before he knew it, the moon had risen in the sky. Then, suddenly, bursts of light shot up into the night sky, followed by a chain of fireworks.

“They’re setting off expensive fireworks just because the princess is here, huh.”

The deck was in a festive mood. More and more people gathered to watch the fireworks painting the night sky.

And Ian, among the crowd, spotted Diana instantly.

Whether she knew of his turbulent state of mind or not, she was smiling radiantly as she watched the fireworks.

“……”

It would be a lie to say he didn’t want to keep looking at that face. But right now, he didn’t want to face her.

He was about to turn away when her expression suddenly changed, halting his steps.

Diana, having noticed something, slowly let her smile fade.

Following her gaze, he saw the father and daughter of the Rovice family.

Anyone could see, even without knowing them, how much they cherished each other.

What was she thinking as she looked at them? What thoughts could bring such loneliness to her face?

‘Why must it always be like this…’

Under the dazzling fireworks, everyone else seemed happy. This was supposed to be a celebration for her—so why was she the only one who had to look so sad?

—Most people completely misunderstand her.

Ian recalled Jerome’s words.

‘Yeah. You’re right. But… you’re wrong.’

The one who was shaken wasn’t her.

Yes. Maybe it was time to admit it.

Those days when he hadn’t been himself. Those moments when he always found himself watching her.

“……”

More fireworks exploded, and a warm breeze, heralding the start of summer, swept past.

“……This is driving me insane.”

Ian slowly closed his eyes.

He vividly remembered the first day he saw Diana.

It hadn’t been at the ball.

To recall the day he first came to know her, he had to go much further back—

Back to the day when he was wandering the snowy mountains of Kargen.

* * *

“Sweetheart, are you awake?”

When Ian, who had fainted for a moment, opened his eyes, his mother, Lea, was anxiously checking his condition.

As Ian regained some awareness, he noticed bright red drops of blood marking the snow-covered path they had taken.

The blood was flowing from Lea’s arm and leg where a bullet had grazed her.

“Mother, you’re bleeding too much…”

“I’m fine, sweetheart. We have to hurry down the mountain.”

Lea, her whole body frozen from frostbite, struggled to lift Ian in her arms and plunged once more into the snowstorm.

Bang! Bang!

Then, gunshots rang out not far away.

“Ha ha ha! Nothing’s more fun than hunting snow hares in winter, eh?”

“Heh-heh-heh. Where are you, miss? Hiding as well as a rabbit, aren’t you?”

The cruel laughter of men cut through the biting blizzard, sharp as if the wind itself was tearing their skin.

While rushing down the mountain, Lea’s foot sank deep into the snow, and she stumbled. The impact sent Ian rolling down the steep slope.

Ian, shivering all over, managed to crawl toward her. Thankfully, she didn’t seem badly hurt.

“Ugh!”

Then, Ian suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest and clutched at it.

As his vision blurred, he saw a man creeping up behind Lea, bayonet in hand.

Everything happened in an instant.

Ian shoved Lea aside and threw a large rock at the man.

The man, struck by the surprise attack, collapsed unconscious. Ian and Lea fled in a frenzy.

After running for a long while, they found an abandoned cabin on the mountainside and huddled by the faint fire in the hearth to warm themselves.

Lea kept pulling aside the thin curtain, watching for danger outside.

“Mother.”

Ian, warming his small hands before the dim firelight, called out to her.

“Let’s go to Father.”

“…I told you, your father is dead.”

“He’s not dead.”

At those words, Lea turned to look at Ian.

“Duke Promes.”

“……”

“I know that man is my father.”

When Lea asked in surprise how he knew, Ian couldn’t explain. He had no idea how he knew—it had simply surfaced in his mind, the certainty that the man was his father.

Though Lea had long kept silent about the existence of his father, she eventually admitted there was no other option. And so, they made their way to the Promes estate.

Not knowing it would be the beginning of misfortune.

“So, you’ve been begging on the streets to survive? You look awful, Lea.”

Duke Promes scoffed, mocking the look of pride on Lea’s face.

“He certainly looks like me.”

The duke, staring silently at his son who resembled him exactly, accepted them into the estate despite his wife’s opposition.

That day happened to be Ian’s eighth birthday.

However, Ian was never officially acknowledged with the duke’s name. The duchess was vehemently opposed, and the duke himself had little affection for Ian.

The only reason he took them in was likely because he thought Ian might be useful someday.

And that prediction turned out to be right.

Nearly five years had passed, years in which Ian had endured life in the estate being treated like air, even by the servants.

Then came a visit that changed everything—the crown prince of Kargen stayed at the Promes estate for a short time.

“Hey, you.”

The crown prince called out to Ian as he passed by.

At the time, the prince was the same age as Ian—twelve. Rumors already circulated in Kargen’s noble circles that he had a nasty habit of bullying boys his age and was rotten to the core.

“Come over here and rub my feet.”

The prince, seeing Ian in his ragged clothes, must have assumed he was one of the estate’s servants. And even if he had known Ian was the duke’s illegitimate son, it probably wouldn’t have made any difference.

Ian didn’t respond immediately or rush to obey. He simply looked at him, uninterested.

The prince’s brow twitched.

“A filthy little bug dares to ignore me?”

A slap turned Ian’s head, but even then, his eyes remained fixed directly on the prince.

“What?”

The prince frowned at the rebellious glare.

“Your Highness, are you alright?”

Just then, one of the prince’s attendants came running over. The estate’s servants, alarmed, quickly pulled Ian away.

Seeing Ian, whose eyes still burned coldly even as he was dragged away without resistance, the prince looked dumbfounded.

“Your Highness, are you hurt?”

“I’m fine. Go find out who that lunatic is.”

“Pardon?”

“A brat who can’t even break his own leash…”

At the time, Ian still believed he could swallow down any bitter resentment. As long as he had a place to sleep and something to eat, he thought he could endure it.

Until he found out that his mother was being abused by the duchess.

“If a mother fails to raise her child properly, she must pay the price!”

Whenever Lea or Ian slightly offended the duchess’s mood, she would call Lea in and beat her mercilessly.

She didn’t lay a hand on Ian—not because she pitied him, but because the duke had told her that “he might be useful someday.” That was the only thing that protected him.

So Lea became the constant outlet for the duchess’s rage.

Ian ran to the duke and begged him to stop the duchess. But the duke merely looked at the son who burst into his room with disinterest.

That was when Ian realized—the duke had known all along and had allowed it to happen.

“If I stop my wife, what will you give me in return?”

Even drowning in despair, Ian’s eyes burned with a cold fire. The duke smirked at that expression.

“Anything. I’ll do anything. I’ll be your loyal hound.”

At that, the duke curved his lips in cruel satisfaction.

“Then go with the crown prince to Erden. You’ll need to be properly trained first. Don’t you dare cross him—he has a terrible temper.”

From that day on, Ian’s life turned upside down.

With just one word from the duke, he was given fine clothes and good food. Even the servants, who had once treated him as invisible, suddenly became courteous.

Although sharing breakfast with the duke, who had once ignored his existence, always made his stomach turn, Ian gradually got used to it.

Then, one day—

“Ha!”

The duke let out a mocking snort as he read the newspaper during breakfast.

“Those backward Erden fools still believe in gods? Listen closely. There are no gods in this world. Instead of believing in invisible gods, believe in visible money. Unless you want to end up like those idiots, drained by their faith and convictions. Well, their foolish war did bring me some profit, I’ll admit.”

He crumpled the newspaper and flung it onto the table. But he threw it too hard—it slid across the table and landed by Ian’s feet.

Before a servant could pick it up, Ian saw the front page: a photo of Diana Ahiel Erden on her birthday.

“…Is this really someone having a birthday?”

Back in his room after breakfast, Ian muttered to himself.

All through the meal, his thoughts had been fixed on the girl in the photo.

‘Why does she look so sad? If she’s a princess, life must be full of fun. She looks more like she’s at a funeral than a birthday party.’

What puzzled him even more was that she didn’t feel unfamiliar to him.

He was certain he’d never seen her before—yet she felt strangely familiar.

Her face lingered in his mind all day, and in the end, Ian decided to steal the newspaper in secret before a servant could take it away.