Dearlin and Rian had never officially announced their engagement.

Yet the truth was widely understood within high society.

The two families had always been close, and the couple had been in love for years.

Setting their feelings aside, a marriage between them would have benefited both families so perfectly that it would have been surprising if they had not ended up together.

“Head Maid, does that mean she was in that kind of relationship with His Grace, then suddenly disappeared without a word and married another man?”

“Well… I suppose you could say that.”

Covering her mouth tightly with one hand to suppress even the sound of her breathing, Dearlin slowly turned toward the crack in the door.

‘Ah… it was Sophie.’

It was Sophie who was speaking.

She had once served the former Duchess as her personal maid and now appeared to have taken on the role of head maid.

The Sophie Dearlin who was remembered had been more loyal to the House of Sinaster than anyone else.

So it was only natural that she would despise the person standing there now.

Dearlin still remembered the day she was first allowed to leave the Count’s estate — after years under her father’s protection — to visit the Sinaster estate.

Sophie had been there to welcome her warmly, alongside the Duchess.

Whenever Dearlin subsequently visited the estate to see the Duchess or Rian, Sophie was always the first to greet her.

She would also stay by her side whenever she had to wait alone for the Duchess or Rian, chatting to keep her company.

Of course, there was no reason to expect that same kindness now.

Standing silently behind the door, Dearlin listened to their conversation.

“How can she be so shameless?”

“I honestly don’t understand why His Grace brought a woman like that into the estate. He even gave her the former Duchess’s bedroom.”

“If the late Duchess knew about this, she would’ve been furious and called it a disgrace to the family!”

Dearlin bit down hard on the tender flesh inside her mouth.

‘This is exactly why… I didn’t want to stay in the Duchess’s bedroom.’

She still found herself thinking that prison might have been easier.

As Rian understood her better than anyone, she was sure that this situation was intentional, too.

“There’s no way His Grace plans to keep that woman by his side permanently, right?”

“Oh, come on… surely not. She’s already a married woman. And officially, she’s a criminal too. There’s no way His Grace would keep her here forever.”

Without saying much herself, Sophie calmly soothed the anxious maids.

“How long are we supposed to keep serving that woman?”

“I’ll speak to His Grace once he returns, so endure it for now.”

The conversation continued much as before.

The maids carried on talking endlessly about Dearlin.

Naturally, Sophie mostly listened in silence.

The longer the conversation went on, the harder it became to distinguish truth from exaggeration.

Eventually, Dearlin gave up on going to the dining room and quietly returned to her bedroom.

Her hunger had disappeared long ago.

Sitting on the bed, she stared blankly at the black night sky outside the window.

“Father… what should I do now…?”

Dearlin pulled her knees tightly to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

It was an old habit, the posture she always unconsciously adopted whenever she felt lonely or lost.

Lowering her head, she murmured softly to herself.

She had left the Kingdom of Orva, just as her father had wished — even though she had been forced to do so.

Now that she had truly left, though, what was she supposed to do next?

She felt like a lonely island, abandoned in the middle of a vast, endless ocean.

There was no one left in the world on her side.

Rian, the only person she had once believed she could rely on, now hated her.

“If only Father were here at a time like this…”

Dearlin’s eyes slowly closed.

In the darkness, she thought she could hear her father’s warm laughter, followed by his familiar voice gently calling her name.

***

Dearlin’s life remained unchanged.

She spent most of her time in her bedroom and rarely met anyone.

Other than at mealtimes, she hardly saw the maids at all.

On the surface, everything appeared peaceful.

However, it was far too peaceful for someone who was both the queen of a defeated nation and a criminal.

“When is His Grace finally coming back?”

“I wish he’d return soon and throw that woman out already…”

“I heard the deposed king of Orva is imprisoned in the underground dungeon of the Imperial Palace. Is she planning to abandon another husband this time?”

She could cope as long as she ignored the whispers behind her back and outside her bedroom door.

Dearlin flinched slightly when she heard the cruel words directed at her as she returned from a short stroll in the garden.

She wanted to pretend she was unaffected.

But it was not easy.

“Haah…”

Dearlin kept a close eye on her, letting out only the faintest sigh and being careful not to give her critics any more ammunition.

To her, the Sinaster estate felt no different from the royal palace of Orva.

The ridicule and malicious whispers were as bad as ever.

Once again, there was no one willing to stand by her side.

“Lady Dearlin.”

Just as Dearlin reached for the bedroom doorknob, Simon’s voice stopped her.

She released the handle and turned around.

“What is it?”

Apart from the day she first arrived at the estate, Simon had never come looking for her.

He paid her no attention, as though she were invisible within the mansion. Wherever she went, he completely ignored her.

At first, his indifference wounded her deeply, as she was an unwelcome outsider.

Over time, however, she found it was almost a relief.

No matter what rumors spread throughout the estate, Simon never contributed a careless word to them.

For that alone, she was almost grateful.

“His Grace is expected to return shortly.”

It was the first news she had heard about Rian in a long time.

The words were brief and revealed almost nothing — where he had gone or when he would return.

And yet, simply hearing news of him filled her with a strange, quiet happiness.

“R-Really?”

“Yes. His Grace sent word personally.”

Dearlin nodded quietly.

Had he gone somewhere dangerous?

She had been worrying about that constantly, so hearing that he had personally sent word of his return eased some of her anxiety.

Having finished what he had come to say, Simon turned away once again, offering only a brief farewell.

“W-Wait, Simon!”

Dearlin called out to stop him before he could walk away.

“Thank you for telling me.”

“…I merely carried out my duty.”

A brief silence lingered between Dearlin’s courageously spoken gratitude and Simon’s response.

But the words that followed were still cold.

“Even so… thank you very much.”

Dearlin spoke softly as she watched Simon disappear down the corridor.

By the time she had finished dinner, it was late at night.

As usual, she changed into a more comfortable dress, leant against the headboard, and opened today’s newspaper.

Since arriving at the ducal estate, she had read it every day without fail.

For the past five years in Orva, she had been cut off from information and trapped in a tightly controlled life.

Now, she wanted to close that gap as much as possible.

“So no one knows where Rian went either…”

For four consecutive days, the front pages of the newspapers had been filled with speculation about Rian’s whereabouts.

Neither House Sinaster nor the imperial family had commented, only fueling the public’s curiosity further.

Five years ago, and still now, Rian was one of the Empire’s most famous figures.

Through these articles, Dearlin was able to piece together fragments of Rian’s life during her absence.

Through those articles, she also came to realize just how rarely Rian had actually stayed in the Empire while she remained trapped within the Kingdom of Orva.

‘Could he have been searching for me all this time…?’

For a moment, Dearlin allowed herself to hope.

However, she soon discovered that his frequent absences from the Empire were due to wars fought under the Emperor’s command, as well as matters relating to the ducal family’s business.

She felt ashamed of herself.

After all, how could someone who never replied to any of her letters possibly have abandoned everything just to search for her?

“I can’t let myself hope…”

Dearlin pressed her face lightly against the portrait of Rian printed in one of the articles and murmured quietly to herself.

Suddenly, voices and commotion echoed from outside the bedroom.

The ducal estate was usually very quiet, especially at this time of night.

Startled by the noise, she climbed out of bed and approached the door.

“Welcome back safely, Your Grace—”

Pressing her ear closer, she could hear Simon’s voice faintly but clearly.

There was only one reason the estate would become this lively at such an hour.

“Rian is back.”

Dearlin hurriedly grabbed the shawl hanging over the chair and draped it around her shoulders before opening the bedroom door.

The moment she stepped outside, she immediately spotted Rian standing on the first floor below.

“Rian…”

Around him stood the ducal knights, Simon, and the maids of the estate.

The moment all their gazes turned toward her at once, Dearlin instinctively shrank back.

“What are you doing there?”

Maybe she should just go back to the bedroom.

After all, Rian wouldn’t be happy to see her.

As these thoughts consumed her, she heard Rian’s voice.

It was as though a thick fog had suddenly cleared from her mind.

Shaking her head lightly, she hurried down the stairs.

“…I was just relieved that you returned safely.”

Standing before him, she spoke honestly.

She kept her head lowered, too afraid to face his expression directly, but she did not regret saying it.

“And here I was thinking you might’ve been hoping I’d never return at all.”