Carlos could tell that the gaze fixed on him was anything but pleased.

“You—.”

“I haven’t broken the contract, and I haven’t ignored a single word you said.”

Carlos responded calmly as he sat down opposite Annely. After all, he had not actually broken the terms of their agreement or ignored her wishes. He had simply exploited the areas she had left unguarded.

Annely opened her mouth instinctively, ready to argue, but realized there was nothing she could accuse him of. She pressed her lips together and fell silent.

“You must have received the letters. His Grace the Grand Duke will be arriving soon.”

Annely nodded.

“The newly assigned maid will explain the details.”

Only then did Annely realize why he had come. Her lips parted slightly.

Over the past few days, Berry had been unusually subdued and cautious. Annely was almost exclusively attended to by Amber and Emily, and she had scarcely seen Berry at all. Aside from the first day, when she came to greet her, she had never entered her room. Even as a personal maid, her position did not grant her access to many matters.

This had also been a deliberate arrangement on Annely’s part.

As far as Annely could remember, Berry had not been her personal maid, but merely a servant assigned to clean the third floor, where her chambers were located. As Annely wondered why such a maid had become her personal attendant in this life, she realized the truth.

In her previous life, Carlos had prevented it from ever happening.

She found it odd that he had not intervened this time, but this realization brought her no relief.

Annely did not want the Grand Duke to find out about her relationship with Carlos. She had insisted on the marriage herself and, until the divorce was finalized, she wanted her father to see only her best side.

This was why, even though Berry was a maid sent by the Grand Duke himself, Annely had deliberately arranged matters so that she would not attend to her too closely.

“I’ve already handled that girl myself, so there’s no need to worry.”

Carlos tilted his head.

“Why?”

The reason he hadn’t stopped Berry was because of a lingering possibility. More precisely, he had wanted to test Annely.

If she truly wanted a divorce, she would use Berry to inform the Grand Duke. If that happened, the Grand Duke would undoubtedly dissolve the marriage.

However, Annely’s words were enough to make him forget her recent behavior entirely and fill him with hope.

Contrary to his hopes, however, Annely lowered her gaze, her expression calm.

“This was a marriage I insisted on… more than anyone. I want to show my father only the best side of things, right up to the end.”

The corner of Carlos’s mouth curved upward.

“Is that really necessary? If you were to tell His Grace, you might be able to divorce immediately.”

No — there was no doubt about it.

The Grand Duke knew that Annely did not truly love him. He would welcome the divorce and take her back in an instant.

This was why Carlos felt uneasy when he heard that the Grand Duke and Fedric were arriving in the capital soon.

Just a few days ago, Annely had been desperate for a divorce, determined to end their marriage. Carlos knew this better than anyone — after all, he was the one clinging to her and binding her to him by almost coercive means.

He had not planned to visit her today. Yet the moment he heard the news, anxiety surged through him. Unable to suppress it, he found himself seeking her out.

“A promise is a promise. As long as you don’t wrong me, I’ll act exactly as the contract states.”

At that, Carlos let out an involuntary, hollow laugh.

“Then why did someone like you tell me a few days ago that we should end things?”

He should have felt relieved, knowing that she had no intention of telling the Grand Duke the truth. Yet the sharp edge in his voice would not fade.

The scene inside the carriage played back in Carlos’s mind as vividly as if it had happened only moments ago.

At the time, she had wanted it desperately and Annely had been left with nothing more to say.

Fidgeting with the cold teacup in her hands, Annely finally raised her head.

“Is that what you came here to ask?”

Her thoughts were plainly written across her face. Carlos raised an eyebrow as he studied her. Perhaps because she had eaten a dessert she did not like, a faint sweetness clung to her, unlike her usual scent, which was sweet and rich like chocolate.

“No, I came to ask something else. Why is one painting missing?”

Annely clearly wanted to change the subject, so Carlos obliged by asking the question that had been troubling him all along.

Annely’s fingers tightened around the teacup. Though her knuckles paled, her expression showed no sign of agitation.

Nevertheless, Carlos noticed the subtle reaction. He missed nothing.

Annely knew that well — he was not a man to overlook details. What she had never expected, however, was for him to take an interest in her paintings.

“From the looks of it, the painting you personally brought isn’t there.”

“…Is that why you looked through the paintings yesterday?”

That hadn’t been his intention.

He’d simply been curious—but Annely’s response clearly suggested she was hiding something.

“I was just curious.”

Carlos did not press the matter, instead backing off quietly and leaving Annely puzzled. However, she chose not to pursue it either.

Unlike the day before, Carlos had brought work with him. He soon became absorbed in reviewing documents, while Annely opened the book she had taken from the study earlier that day.

Her eyes followed the lines on the page, but she did not register a single word.

After a moment, Annely lifted her gaze and looked across at Carlos.

The sun was setting and the room was bathed in crimson light streaming through the large window.

In that glow, his black hair seemed almost translucent, and his face was defined by elegant, refined lines.

Annely found herself watching him for a long while without realizing it.

When she had first met Carlos, he had been only twenty-four. Yet years on the battlefield had given him a sharpness that belied his age.

Four years had passed since then. Now aged twenty-eight, much of that jagged edge had softened — but not dulled. Instead, it had been honed and refined into something quieter yet far more dangerous.

Compared to the Carlos she remembered at thirty, there was still a trace of human warmth about him.

As Annely’s gaze slowly traced his features, she realized something she had never noticed before: the thirty-year-old Carlos had been leaner and more severe.

She had assumed there would be little difference, but compared to the man before her, the image in her memory seemed far more distant and harder to approach.

Just like…

Just like her at twenty-seven.

Dry. Withered. Worn down to the bone.

Annely’s brows knitted together.

Carlos, aged thirty, had had it all.

He had inherited the ducal title at a young age, commanding power that the Emperor could not afford to take lightly. He was backed by numerous influential factions. Having long since abandoned pretense, Carlos no longer bothered to read the moods of the Grand Duke or the Emperor.

So why did he look as exhausted as she did?

He had carried on a secret affair with his first love. He even had a child — so why did he look so exhausted?

Lost in a confusion she had never allowed herself to acknowledge, Annely failed to notice that Carlos had turned his head to look at her.

Carlos, who had sensed her gaze lingering on him for some time, felt an unbearable itch spread across his face. It wasn’t wind or dust, yet every time her eyes passed over his forehead, eyes, nose, lips, and fingertips, they twitched. The words on the documents blurred and refused to stay in focus.

Unable to endure the strange, tickling sensation any longer, he finally turned towards her.

Annely was staring blankly.

Carlos’s gaze dropped to her slightly parted lips as she remained lost in thought. She wasn’t wearing any makeup, yet her full lips had a soft pink hue and were gently parted, revealing a glimpse of neat white teeth.

An inexplicable thirst rose in his throat and he swallowed.

At that moment, Annely’s brow twitched.

Startled out of his daze, Carlos spoke as casually as he could.

“Have you had your fill of staring?”

Annely snapped back to herself and realized that Carlos was facing her directly. For a split second, cold sweat nearly broke out at having been caught, but instead she rubbed at her neck and asked.

“Did you leave it?”

Carlos noticed the mark, now faint, and smiled.

“Who knows. I don’t remember. Maybe a bug bit you?”

She had asked even though she already knew the answer, and his shameless pretense of ignorance left Annely speechless.

“You really are—”

“Make sure you close the door properly when you sleep. You might get bitten again tonight.”

“Ha.”

Letting out a light, hollow laugh, Annely nodded.

“You’re right. I should ask Amber to burn some incense tonight. Make sure no bugs can get in at all.”

Every word she spoke was laced with irritation.

Annely turned away and immersed herself in her book once more, so completely that she failed to notice the faint smile that curved Carlos’s lips.

Carlos had always thought of himself as a dog, but perhaps he was more like an insect.

The fact that he was not particularly offended by such treatment, even after offering himself up for it, spoke volumes.