Shed gripped the oar so tightly his knuckles whitened. A strange, uncontrollable urge flared up inside him like a blaze.

“Your Grace…?”

“Enough.”

He forced the word out through ragged breaths, clinging desperately to reason as the flames inside him sputtered and threatened to overtake him.

Turning his gaze away, he muttered.

“Let’s head back…”

Driven by an inexplicable urge, he hastily steered the boat towards the shore. Disembarking quickly, he reached out to help Liana out of the boat out of old habit.

The moment her hand touched his, he felt a shudder ripple through his entire body, starting from his fingertips.

Startled by this unfamiliar sensation, he let go of her hand before he could stop himself.

Liana lost her balance in the process of stepping out and almost fell. Realising his mistake too late, he caught her by the arm and pulled her close.

Suddenly, her scent washed over him in waves, so strong that it brought back buried memories.

‘D*mn it.’

The sweet, fresh fragrance of lemon blossom threatened to overwhelm him.

At that moment, her pale eyelids fluttered open, revealing her gentle, spring-green eyes.

Her face was so beautiful that it was almost destructive — a beauty that made him want to possess it and ruin it. He saw their shared memories in that face.

His blood roared, and the surge of longing drove him to pull her tightly against him. Her slender waist slotted easily into his embrace and her scent filled his senses.

His heart pounded fiercely in his ears. His gaze travelled over her slowly and lingeringly, almost devouringly.

The heat trapped between them grew with every breath, intensifying.

At last, his gaze settled on her soft, rose-coloured lips, gently parted.

Liana’s wide eyes were fixed on his, as if mesmerised by his crimson mouth. Her small, trembling fingers clung to his collar.

Even that faint touch seemed to pull him closer, as if a powerful force were drawing him towards her.

Their breaths drew nearer and nearer, each seeing the other’s face growing sharper and clearer breaths tangling, drawing them together.

Then—

“Your Grace.”

Liana abruptly turned her head and squeezed her eyes shut.

Her grip on his collar slowly loosened.

“I… I should go.”

She pushed his arms away and stepped back. Shed’s embrace fell limply to his sides, and Liana fled, almost as if running for her life.

🌺⟡───⟡🌺 🌺⟡───⟡🌺

Liana buried her face in her knees. Her heart felt as though it might explode. Whenever she closed her eyes, she could see his face.

The way his eyes looked at her from beneath his bushy eyebrows took her breath away. The strength of his arms around her waist and his warmth seemed to lure her in.

The moment he drew near, she found herself leaning into him without thinking. She was blinded by him, drawn in as if bewitched by his very breath.

For just that moment, she allowed herself to dream — a pure, innocent dream, the kind only the sinless could dare to have.

‘Why…?’

Liana couldn’t understand the man who had affected her so profoundly. He was the last person she had expected to reach out to her. No — he couldn’t.

So many had suffered because of her, including many of the Lupus and Shed’s own companions. Ultimately, she had betrayed his trust by selling him to the merchant house. She was a traitor, and a wall of guilt and sin now stood between them.

‘It shouldn’t be like this.’

Feelings like these had no place in such a dirty, wretched relationship.

With trembling fingers, Liana brushed her burning lips.

Had he wanted this? Did he want to see her shaken, to watch her suffer like a blade of grass tossed in a storm?

Maybe he did.

She knew how clever and cold he could be. Perhaps this was his way of taking revenge. Just as she had once loved him and left him behind, perhaps now he intended to feign love and then crush her feelings without mercy.

It was just like him.

After all, love was perhaps the deepest wound Shed Lester could ever inflict on her.

“Duke Shed Lester is a good man, but he’s someone you’d only ever be unhappy with.”

Liana remembered Eclace Vitel’s words. He was right. Shed was a good man—so good that he could tear down even the strongest resolve.

Which was exactly why, with him, she could only ever be unhappy.

“Think carefully about which choice is wiser.”

She recalled Eclace’s proposal. She still didn’t fully understand his true intentions, but maybe going along with his plan really would be best for everyone.

🌺⟡───⟡🌺 🌺⟡───⟡🌺

With a soft thud, the shirt Liana had touched fell to the floor. It landed on the cold marble in a tangled, dishevelled heap, mirroring his muddled thoughts.

Looking in the bathroom mirror, he caught a glimpse of his bare body. His taut, sharply defined muscles were tense with uncontrollable emotion.

He pulled the bath’s cord.

From the marble sculpture above, a curtain of water poured down. Cold droplets slid across his solid frame, cooling the fever that had overtaken him and washing away the storm of desire that had consumed him.

But the tangled thoughts coiled tightly in his mind refused to be washed away.

He pictured Liana running away from him.

That moment had been unpredictable — completely outside of his expectations.

Why did the lake have to be so still? With nothing else to focus on, his full attention was drawn to her: the slightest movement of her hand, the softness of her gaze and the way her hair danced in the breeze. All of it seized his focus.

Perhaps it was the rare flush of colour on her usually pale cheeks that set him off — peach-pink, almost indecent in its delicate brightness.

Or maybe it was the way the boat rocked. On that calm lake, he felt uneasy, as if he might get seasick.

A stormy gust of wind blew in, rattling him, and the spring sunshine felt unbearably hot on his skin.

Still, he tried to hold back. No matter how much the world tempted him, he tried to endure.

But when her eyes lit up with that familiar light from the past, his resolve crumbled. A tidal wave of desire crashed over him, engulfing him completely.

The nearness of her breath, the heat of her skin, the soft curve of her body—

And then:

“I… I should go.”

The emotions that had built so fiercely within him burst and dissolved, pierced by cold thorns of emptiness.

What had once overtaken even his rationality now left him hollow and desolate.

The thirst left on his body felt raw, and the hunger that went unfulfilled gnawed at his soul.

“D*mn it.”

He ran a wet hand through his tousled dark hair, muttering under his breath.

He lifted his heavy eyelids. In the fogged, murky mirror, his broad body stared back at him.

Even through the haze, the scars that remained stood out clearly—sharp, rough marks that reminded him of reality.

Scars no noble, accustomed to the healing of priests, should ever bear.

Those scars were the mark of slavery, something he would never be able to erase for the rest of his life.

Back then, even when he was gravely wounded on the battlefield, he hadn’t been able to receive the priests’ help. The wounds had closed over, leaving behind rough, permanent scars—now, not even holy power could erase them.

Yes. He had borne every one of those wounds for Ideana, and Luise Ideana had betrayed him, selling him off like a piece of merchandise, as if it meant nothing.

He traced those clear, hateful marks burned into his skin. With his eyes closed, he let himself recall the old resentments inscribed into each scar—first those etched into his flesh, then those carved into his soul.

He dredged up every last bitter memory, even the fragments of misfortune left buried deepest within.

Only then did everything fall back into place.

Anger, betrayal, hatred, revenge.

He repeated his purpose to himself, staring with cold, lifeless eyes at his own reflection.

What he didn’t realize was this: The mirror he faced was clouded and murky, but the surface of Lake Anteros had reflected him back with perfect, crystal clarity.

🌺⟡───⟡🌺 🌺⟡───⟡🌺

“Do you think it’s time to start working again, Liana?”

It was Werner, seeking her out after a long while, with a request for her to return to her duties.

Liana hesitated, looking up at him in silence.

“Was this His Grace’s order?”

It wasn’t that she wanted to oppose Werner. She just thought the timing was terrible. After everything that had happened yesterday, she felt awkward about seeing Shed again.

A part of her even wondered—pettily—if Shed was making her return to work because of that incident.

But Werner shook his head.

“No, it was something the head maid and I discussed. His Grace hasn’t said anything about you.”

As the butler who managed the affairs of the Lester household, Werner had the authority to make such decisions.

“…Of course, I know you’re not fully recovered yet, but there’s just so much work to be done.”

With everyone assigned their roles to match the situation here, they’d been repairing the crumbling estate, cleaning, discarding old things, bringing in new supplies, setting up needed facilities, tending the garden…

They had brought fewer staff than they had at the main estate in Munich, yet there was even more work to be done. It was no easy feat.

Shed had said to take things slow, one step at a time, but how could anyone rest with so many tasks piling up?

Quite some time had passed since they’d arrived in Faradel, yet the work seemed endless.

“I’m not asking you to do anything strenuous. Even just fetching water or towels for the master would help. What I mean is… I think you know what I’m trying to say.”

Werner trailed off with an awkward smile.

Liana understood what he meant. No doubt, murmurs of discontent about her had begun to spread among the servants.

“I understand perfectly, Master Werner. I’ll return to work.”

Liana nodded without protest.

She didn’t bother blaming the servants who disliked her.

‘Of course people are talking…’

Liana thought bitterly. No matter her circumstances, she knew there was no way others could see her in a favorable light.

“Then, starting this evening, please handle the towels and water bottles.”

“Yes, Master Werner.”

Liana bowed her head, and Werner hurried off to his next task.