After that, the diary was full of daily life boasting about how much Attorney Rolling’s office had grown with the Grand Duke’s help, and entries written just before death.

[December 9, 1931

I don’t think I have much time left to live. The doctor says I have less than a year…

I’ve accomplished most of the goals I wanted to achieve in life, so I have no regrets.

But one lingering attachment remains. Grand Duke Hebrandt—I’d hoped Rolling would handle his remarriage documents…

Contrary to expectations, he didn’t remarry. Since his first wife died, I thought he’d remarry right away…

Is it because he has to participate in the war? Well, it could be because of His Majesty the Emperor too.

Whatever the reason, it seems I’ll have to discard the remarriage documents I worked so hard to prepare.

I can only hope he’ll come back to Rolling when he remarries.

I just hope he returns safely. I’ll need to be alive until then…

By the way, the will the Grand Duke wrote this past spring has already become useless, so it needs to be revised…

I’d like to contact him first, but I shouldn’t disturb someone busy with battles day after day, right?]

After that, his condition seemed to have worsened, making it difficult to write in his diary—after the December 9th entry, only a few short lines remained. Dennis Rolling Senior died the following spring.

After reading the entire diary, Claven asked Dennis Junior.

“Do you keep a ledger for discarded documents too?”

“No. When creating documents, we record them in the ledger to calculate fees, but since we don’t charge fees for disposal, we don’t record it.”

“…”

“Is my will stored here?”

Dennis jumped in surprise and waved both hands.

“No, it’s not. How would we know about a will Your Grace doesn’t know about? I swear Rolling Law Office is not storing Your Grace’s will. Since there’s nothing recorded in the ledger, it must not be our office.”

“Then why was it mentioned in the diary?”

“Presumptuously speaking, my father showed signs of dementia from before the winter he wrote this diary. He probably wasn’t in his right mind.”

Dennis used his father as a shield once more while wiping the sweat from his forehead. The dead can’t speak, after all.

With Dennis’s words, Claven left Attorney Rolling’s office without lingering.

Even after returning to the carriage, as Claven maintained silence throughout, Fino carefully asked.

“Do you really not remember anything?”

“…Right.”

“Could the will story be true?”

“…”

“Should I quietly send people to search the safe?”

Nothing was impossible for Hebrandt. Searching the safe without anyone at Rolling’s knowing was always possible.

But Claven shook his head. Dennis Rolling Junior hadn’t lied. And neither had his father, Dennis Rolling Senior.

Though he had no memory of it, it was all true.

He must have revised his will that spring. And judging by how he didn’t tell even Fino, he must have taken special measures to maintain strict secrecy.

But he couldn’t recall at all why he’d revised the will.

Yet through his diary, he’d realized an even more important fact.

[Since his first wife died, I thought he’d remarry right away…]

Claven quietly called Fino.

“Fino.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“From now on, answer my questions without a single lie.”

“…Yes, I will.”

Even after hearing Fino’s vow, Claven hesitated for a long while. Confirming the truth was always frightening. But he couldn’t keep turning away forever.

Though he had many things to ask, he first threw out the question he was most curious about.

“Eisha and I divorced—no, I understand we almost divorced on paper. But what does it mean that Eisha died?”

Fino took a deep breath and began slowly reporting what had happened to Eisha in the past.

These were facts he couldn’t dare reveal right after the accident when his psychological state was too unstable.

“My lady was supposed to leave Pave Castle a few days before the divorce date and go to the Swani region where her friend lived. But…”

He began reporting in detail what happened after Eisha left Pave Castle. And finally, after finishing his report about the year Eisha spent in the Swani region, he bowed deeply.

“It was my oversight. I will accept punishment without objection.”

“No, it’s not your fault. Didn’t you say I was the one who told you not to look for Eisha?”

“However…”

“Then you couldn’t find out where she was or what she did during the year she was missing?”

“No, I’m sorry.”

Claven closed his eyes and leaned his head against the carriage wall.

‘What on earth was she doing during that time?’

Though it was fortunate that Eisha’s death had been just a false rumor, he felt very uneasy that his wife had a one-year gap he didn’t know about.

He tried to stay calm, telling himself it was fine since Eisha had ultimately returned to him, but his heart soon filled with jealousy.

‘If that rumor is true…’

The rumor that she’d met another man and gone traveling.

But even so, could he question her about it? When he’d done every trashy thing possible to her throughout their married life?

Even if Eisha had done that, the final destination of Claven’s heart was still Eisha.

‘I need to forget. Forget it. She ultimately chose me.’

To Claven, who was troubled over what expression to face Eisha with, Fino confessed one more fact.

“Your Grace, but there’s one more thing I need to tell you.”

“…Go ahead.”

Once Claven’s permission fell, Fino’s confession continued.

* * *

Doresol Garden Café was slightly removed from the city center and wasn’t a place with many customers. Instead, the outdoor tables arranged throughout allowed one to fully enjoy the beauty of the well-maintained garden.

And dazzling enough to overshadow the garden’s beauty, a man was waiting for a woman.

Soon the man greeted the woman with a bright smile.

“Welcome, Eisha.”

Blond Obrien stood to escort Eisha but stopped short.

Eisha slightly lifted her dress hem and knelt on one knee. Then she bowed her head respectfully in greeting.

“I greet the Empire’s small sun.”

It was courtesy toward royalty.

“…Oh my, you found out.”

Even at Obrien’s words, Eisha remained in that position. A self-deprecating smile hung on Obrien’s lips.

‘It’s exposed this easily…’

What he did was always like this. The solid castle he’d built up was just a sandcastle that would crumble with one wave.

But so what?

Even if it was a crumbling sandcastle, he had to hold onto it.

“…Rise.”

Only after Obrien’s permission did Eisha stand up.

“This way.”

Eisha immediately followed Obrien’s instructions.

Once the two were seated, simple refreshments were arranged on the table. And finally, between the steaming teacups, one exotic food item was placed.

As Eisha’s gaze landed on the unfamiliar food, Obrien began explaining with a gentle smile.

“I mentioned it at our last meeting, didn’t I? That if the opportunity arose, I’d let you taste it.”

“Ah, so this is what you called ’tteok.’”

“Correct. Would you like to try it?”

Eisha briefly met Obrien’s green eyes, then reached out and speared a piece of tteok with her fork. Then she popped the bite-sized food into her mouth and began chewing.

How could she refuse any safety? Even if what the Crown Prince who held her weakness offered was poison, she’d have to swallow it.

The first sensation was chewy. It felt like it stuck to her teeth, but not unpleasantly so. No, it was quite delicious enough to want another piece.

Thinking Eisha’s reaction wasn’t bad, Obrien now offered tea.

“The taste is good, isn’t it? They say green tea pairs well with this tteok. This tea also came from the East.”

“Thank you.”

Eisha took a sip of the green tea. The taste was distinctly different from the black tea or coffee she’d been drinking.

Though it was quite to her liking, these things made her acutely aware of her circumstances once again.

When would she ever get to drink such precious tea? 

She’d only been able to enjoy black tea after coming to Hebrandt, and items like this with unopened trade routes meant they were tribute goods that came to the imperial family.

Setting down her teacup, Eisha lowered both hands below the table and opened her mouth while looking directly at Obrien.

“So there must be a reason you called me here?”

Obrien also set down his teacup following Eisha’s atmosphere. There was no point putting on airs to Eisha, who already knew he was the Crown Prince—it would only make her dislike him more.

“As I told you before. I want to save you.”

“…I don’t quite understand—save me from whom exactly?”

“I know everything. That Grand Duke Hebrandt threatened you and dragged you to Pave Castle.”

Obrien learned for the first time today that brown could feel this cold.

Hostility.

That the gaze from the person most precious in the world could be so cold.

A sad fact, but she was angry.

“I went there on my own two feet. There was no coercion whatsoever.”

“Eisha, making you unable to move and taking you away—we call that coercion and threats.”

“Whatever the process, it was my choice.”

“That’s why we need to correct it now. I’ll save you from him.”

“Your Highness.”

“Eisha, come out of that hell now. I’ll help you. You don’t need to stay beside a Grand Duke you don’t even love.”

“Don’t even love…”

The moment Eisha heard those words, she clenched her fist in its lace glove.

Her heart flinched.

Was it because she’d vowed to love him, even falsely? Why did hearing from the Crown Prince’s mouth that she didn’t love him make her feel rejection first?

Even while Eisha experienced confusion in her heart, the Crown Prince’s persuasion continued.

“He can never abandon Iris. Because he swore on something called Taman’s jewel. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but Iris will return to the Empire soon too. So you can never be happy by his side.”

“Taman’s jewel… it doesn’t matter. I’m not by his side because I lo… ve him.”

At Eisha’s continued refusals, Obrien’s voice rose somewhat with excitement.

“Then why are you there? If it’s because of your grandfather or money, I can solve that right away. You just need to decide. Just say you’ll come to me. I’ll definitely make you happy.”

“Why should I?”

“I love you.”

“Me?”

Eisha narrowed her brow and looked at Obrien. When had he even seen her to so easily bring up the word ‘love’?

“Eisha, you don’t know, but I do. My destiny is you. I definitely saw it.”

“Where?”

“…In a dream.”

“A dream?”

At Eisha’s expression of disbelief, Obrien quickly moved to the seat beside Eisha.

“Yes, I know it sounds crazy. It would be unreasonable to make you understand with just having seen you in a dream. But it’s true. I love you.”

Obrien felt so frustrated that he couldn’t properly convey his feelings to Eisha. If hearts were carved into hearts, he’d even take out his own heart to show her…

“I love you. Only you are my destiny.”

Obrien gently pulled Eisha’s hand and tried to kiss the back of it. He hoped she’d feel the joy he felt when touching her hand.

But the Crown Prince’s lips couldn’t reach Eisha. She’d cleanly pulled her hand from Obrien’s grasp.

“That’s not love.”

Eisha glared at Obrien.

It was rude speech and behavior unthinkable toward royalty. She could feel the guard knights watching from the garden’s perimeter immediately turn menacing.

‘Someone with caramel-colored hair and deep ocean-blue eyes.’

The person Silly’s description pointed to was there too.

Even at Eisha’s harsh denial, Obrien didn’t stop persuading.

“No. This feeling is the same whether five years ago or now.”

“If you love me, what could I be beside you?”

“That’s…”

“Though it was brief, as someone who was the Grand Duke’s wife, the only thing I could be beside Your Highness is a mistress. Is that what you want?”

“No…”

Obrien wanted to deny it. But right now, he had nothing he could say to her. Not before executing his plan.

“Eisha, trust me and follow my lead. Even if not right now, I will make you my official wife. We’ll build a happy family and raise our child together. Like everyone else.”

“Like everyone else… Your Highness, I can’t do that.”

“Eisha, I’m royalty. I can make anything happen.”

“Your Highness, that’s impossible unless I’m reborn.”

“What!”

“Because I can no longer bear children.”

Doubt clouded Obrien’s green eyes.

Eisha’s voice was calm, and her eyes weren’t wet with tears. Yet why did she seem like she was crying out in anguish?

What other story did she carry?