Roan, having listened to my entire story, closed his lips tightly with an inscrutable expression and finally spoke.

“……I see.”

Unexpectedly, there wasn’t a trace of surprise on Roan’s face after hearing the full story. He even seemed calm. Could it be that he already knew about the mastermind behind all this?

“Roan, did you already know?”

“I suspected it. There’s only one force capable of orchestrating something like this.”

His eyes were so cold that they seemed unsettling. Feeling that something was off about him, I called his name as if trying to grasp a shape.

“Roan.”

“Yes?”

Roan responded as if nothing were wrong. As I pondered the discomfort I had just felt, I sighed inwardly. I must be seeing things because I’ve been confined for so long.

“Oh, nothing. What about Grace, then?”

“She was suspicious too, but it was because of her actions before you were taken to prison.”

It seemed he was referring to the time when Grace tried to frame me as the culprit. Indeed, it did seem suspicious in retrospect. Actually, I had felt something was off about her long before that, but why hadn’t I realized it sooner? Regret flooded in belatedly.

“Sigh, then is there a way to get out of here? We need to find evidence. No one will believe me, a suspect, just because I say so.”

“The evidence might not be found.”

Roan spoke in a calm tone, delivering a very despairing message. Not finding the evidence? If we really can’t find it, then the only thing left for me is the guillotine.

“Not find it?”

“They wouldn’t have left any evidence. Even if they did, they would have already destroyed it. This is a life-or-death matter for them too.”

I felt my mind reel from the shock. Of course, Roan probably didn’t say this calmly knowing my future was doomed, but still, the situation had indeed turned dire.

Why is it that doing a good deed led to such a result? I shouldn’t have meddled. But how could I ignore someone who couldn’t even walk properly right in front of me? Sure, most other nobles with high pride wouldn’t have acted as I did. Sigh, it’s just because I’m me.

If the worst-case scenario happens, I won’t even get to enjoy a blooming life with Roan, see Jude grow up, or meet the other members of the ducal household outside of the guillotine. I haven’t even reconciled with Cain, and my father, the marquis, would be heartbroken. I haven’t even said goodbye to Alicia or Sophia.

As if I were someone on the brink of death, regrets about the world flooded in. I was surprised by how much attachment I still had. In my previous life, when I was about to die, I only felt regret but no lingering attachment. Now, however, there was a more urgent, lingering feeling. Perhaps it was because I knew that death meant the end of any connection with those left behind.

No matter how much I thought about it, one clear emotion stood out.

‘I don’t want to die.’

I didn’t want to die. I couldn’t die here, especially not when Grace and the mustached gang were trying to frame an innocent person.

“So, what can I do to survive?”

“Of course, I won’t let you die. ……Since they’re playing dirty, there’s no need for us to stick to fair methods.”

Roan’s face looked as sharp as a honed blade. What kind of unfair methods was he talking about in a situation with no evidence?

“Does that mean……?”

In the darkness, his blue eyes shone like a predator’s, reflecting the moonlight.

“The noble faction will soon disappear from this land.”

I was speechless at the scale of it.

“We plan to attack them. I’ll inform the emperor. He’s probably suspicious of the noble faction too. But without evidence, the emperor can’t do anything, so while he might save the royal family, he can’t save you.”

“You mean to eliminate all the noble houses?”

“Yes.”

So countless people would have to die just because they were related to or part of the same noble faction as the culprits? My current situation was similar. Collective punishment was considered normal in this world. But being born in the 21st century, it made my blood boil.

But why couldn’t I speak out like I did when I worried about innocent people in the Nocturne family’s fall? To be precise, the words didn’t come out. It wasn’t because my life was at stake.

“…….”

It felt both sad and numbing. Roan’s gaze was sinking deep into the dark, heavy with emotion.

“I know what you’re worried about.”

“……Roan.”

Roan averted his gaze from mine and continued coldly.

“But I won’t listen this time. To me, your life is worth more than the lives of hundreds or thousands. Those lives mean nothing to me.”

He murmured softly.

“I don’t feel any guilt. And I never will.”

His tone was as cold as if his heart had been stripped of emotion.

“Are you disappointed? But this is who I am.”

“……I’ve never been disappointed in you.”

Roan’s somber gaze flickered slightly.

‘Don’t drift away. Don’t close the door on me.’ Within that flicker, I could clearly read the emotions he was trying to conceal.

After a moment, his eyes settled and he gave a bittersweet smile.

“……Did you know?”

He reached out to touch my hand, which was gripping the bars.

“You always make me want to be a better person.”

Even though I’ve never been that kind of person.

Roan’s slow-moving gaze fixed on the back of my hand. There was a wound on my right hand, likely from scratching against the rough floor or wall, causing the dry skin to tear. Blood was beading, but given the situation, I hadn’t even felt the pain. I pulled my hand away from the bars and tried to brush it off.

“It’s nothing.”

“……You always say everything is nothing. Only when it comes to yourself. Why is that?”

Why? He kept asking questions he didn’t want answers to.

“Because I really think it’s nothing. This kind of wound is nothing. Right now, I’m just worried about you. I just don’t want you to get hurt, Roan.”

Roan’s eyes slowly swept over my face after hearing my answer.

“……Is that so? Then should we just leave?”

“……What?”

“You said you don’t want me to get hurt.”

When I first heard Roan’s words, I thought he was making a joke in this dire situation. But as soon as I realized he wasn’t, I locked eyes with him and saw that he was deadly serious.

“……”

It was unmistakably genuine.

“What? No, Roan, what are you talking about?”

It wasn’t because I thought he lacked the ability to escape with me from here. Quite the opposite. The problem was that he was too capable. If we broke out of prison and fled, it would be good for us, but…

If it became known that Duke Bannister had escaped with the duchess, a suspect of treason, it would confirm suspicions of my guilt. Sure, it wouldn’t matter to us once we were gone, but what about the Bannister family left behind? Alexandra, Jude, the servants, the knights, and those devoted to the duke’s household… And the Caesar family, Delis’s family, would be affected too.

I knew Roan understood all this. That he still voiced such a suggestion made it even harder to believe.

I knew I had to say something, but the sincerity in his eyes left me speechless.

“……I misspoke.”

Seeing my confused expression, he gave a bitter smile.

“I’ll be back in a few days. Please, stay safe.”

Though his final words were spoken in a whisper, in the stillness of the night, they echoed like thunder.

It was a vow, not a mere wish.

***

The Astrid Imperial Palace was gripped in an extreme state of turmoil, with a silence like the calm before a storm. The Crown Prince’s condition was critical, and rumors were rife that the families who were once the pillars of the nation were now in dire straits.

“Delis?”

Alicia was so shocked by the news of her friend’s imprisonment that she didn’t even think to fix her disheveled hair. Count Berkeley nodded gravely. Despite the family’s tradition of maintaining political neutrality, his heart always leaned toward one side.

“……That can’t be true. She’s not that kind of person. She must have been framed.”

Alicia shook her head vigorously, vehemently denying the accusations against the duchess. Count Berkeley muttered bitterly.

“Many people think as you do. I believe so too, but all evidence points unmistakably to the Duchess of Bannister.”

“How is that possible? Then what about the Crown Prince? How is he?”

“They say it’s a closely guarded secret. That can’t be a good sign.”

“Oh…”

Realizing the gravity of the situation from the count’s words, Alicia’s body stiffened.

She had never imagined such a fate for him. She had resigned herself to watching him from afar, believing that was enough. She had slowly let go of her feelings, using her stay at the Berkeley estate as an excuse to avoid seeing him.

She had always known their love was impossible, but she couldn’t say she never harbored any resentment for his obliviousness to her feelings. Yet, she wished for his happiness more than anything. She never wanted his story to end like this.

TL NOTE: More advanced chapter of this story is already up on the site. Visit dusk blossoms for more advanced chapters and stories