Boom!

There was an explosion at Gluck Castle.

Startled by this sudden disaster, the birds took flight and the rats scurried away.

The riot had begun.

“K*ll the witch pretending to be the Grand Duchess!”

“Find her and cut off her head!”

The angry cries of the townspeople outside the Grand Duchess’s bedroom grew louder and louder.

Adriana stood by the window, clutching the curtain, and watched.

Even wild beasts would flee to survive.

But she had nowhere to run.

“You southern b*tch!”

“A spy planted by Trakia!”

“A barren woman who can’t even bear a child and spends her time clinging to her lovers!”

The insults were nothing new.

She had heard them countless times since arriving in Hielo.

She thought she had grown used to them, but perhaps there was still a part of her that could be hurt.

A dull ache spread through her chest.

‘So this is how a political marriage ends.’

Their marriage began at the Emperor’s behest.

The purpose was simple: to end the long-standing feud between the territories of Trakia and Hielo, which had been enemies for generations.

However, from the moment she arrived, the people of Hielo despised Adriana simply because she was from Trakia.

No matter how hard she tried, they never opened their hearts to her.

Now, they had stormed the castle and threatened to burn the grain she had secured from the south for their benefit.

This was because of the ridiculous rumor that the Grand Duchess had poisoned the food supply and spread disease throughout the territory.

And behind it all was Teresa.

That woman.

“There is no place for you here. Stop coveting Hielo and leave of your own accord.”

Maybe she should have listened to Teresa and agreed to the divorce.

After everything that had happened today, it might have been the right decision.

But Adriana could never bring herself to leave Dietrich.

Because…

Adriana slowly shook her head.

What was the point in entertaining such thoughts now?

Once the castle was reduced to ashes, the townspeople’s hatred and Teresa’s relentless torment would end with it.

Hielo had never offered her warmth.

It had always been cold, unforgiving and hostile.

Still, at least the heat of the flames would accompany her on her final journey.

Biting down on her lip, Adriana twisted the hilt of the dagger in her hand.

A small piece of red coral rolled out from within.

“Adriana. This is a medicine that will grant you a very happy dream.”

Her mother’s voice echoed vividly in her mind.

“Just once. If a moment ever comes when life becomes so difficult that you wish you could turn everything back, swallow it then.”

“Is it a medicine that lets you die without pain?”

“Perhaps it’s something like that.”

If she swallowed it, at the very least she would not have to suffer the agony of burning alive.

She would be able to go to her parents and fallen comrades in peace.

‘Let death be less painful than life.’

“Ugh.”

After swallowing the coral, Adriana collapsed to the floor.

As her strength gradually drained away, the aquamarine-set dagger appeared to turn white and harden.

Soon afterwards, she began to lose sensation in her fingertips, one by one.

Then—

“Adriana!”

The bedroom door burst open with a deafening crash.

And then she saw him: Her husband, who had always seemed too cold and indifferent to look for her even if she were dying: Dietrich.

It had been months since she last saw him.

He looked as though he had charged through the flames without a second thought. His body was covered in black ash, and his usually immaculate appearance was completely disheveled.

It was a sight she had never imagined.

The man who was always so composed and unshakable now looked utterly undone.

‘So this is what I get to see when I’m about to die.’

And that expression!

Desperate longing filled his eyes.

Perhaps, in the end, God had taken pity on her and shown her the face she wanted to see more than anything else, as a final kindness.

A bitter smile touched Adriana’s lips as she gazed at the illusion of her husband, Dietrich.

Whenever she thought of him, only a few words came to mind.

Tears.

Pain.

Heartache.

Nothing else.

As a child, she had fallen for his smile when they first met in the Imperial Palace.

That single smile was enough to make her carry him in her heart for years.

It was enough to accept a political marriage.

It was enough to keep her by his side even as everything slowly unraveled, leading to a day as tragic as this one.

“Adriana! Open your eyes!”

“This is nice.”

A faint smile curved her lips.

“Seeing you worry about me… it’s the perfect gift to end my life with.”

“D*mn it! Stop talking like you’re dying!”

Dietrich cursed viciously, as though the thought of her death was unbearable.

The arm gripping her was covered in burns, the flesh blistered and twisted by the flames.

“Diet… rich…”

You need treatment.

You must be in pain.

“Don’t talk! You’ve been breathing in smoke!”

Biting his lip, Dietrich gathered Adriana into his arms and rose to his feet.

But it had long since become impossible to escape.

The fire had spread in every direction, cutting off every route out.

“Just a little longer… hold on a little longer.”

“So I only get to be held by you when I’m dying.”

His tenderness was proof that this was an illusion.

Even knowing it was false, she wanted to confess to him before the end.

“I hate you…”

But you must have hated me too.

She was sorry she had never become the Grand Duchess he wanted.

“Hate me all you want. Just survive and hate me for the rest of your life. I don’t care if you hate me, so please… stop talking!”

“You said…”

Her voice grew weaker.

“You said you had no intention of protecting me.”

“Dietrich Brecht. As a husband, do you swear to protect your wife with your life and remain by her side for the rest of your days?”

“…”

On their wedding day, he had never completed the vow.

Not even as a lie had he acknowledged Adriana as his partner.

“No.”

Dietrich’s voice cracked.

“I didn’t refuse because I didn’t want to protect you. It was…”

He tried to explain himself.

But Adriana could no longer hear him.

The world had already fallen silent.

There was only one more thing she wanted to say.

Just one final sentence.

But a mouthful of blood suddenly rose in her throat, cutting off her breath before she could speak.

Instead, she lifted a trembling hand and reached for his face.

But her strength failed her before her fingertips could touch him.

Her arm fell limply back to her side.

In the end, Adriana closed her eyes without ever saying the things she truly wanted to say.

She left behind the feelings she had never found the courage or the opportunity to confess to her husband.

***

Just when she thought everything had come to an end, an icy wind swept over her, cold enough to freeze the entire world.

‘What is this?’

When Adriana opened her eyes, she had a sharp headache throbbing behind her temples.

She wasn’t lying on the ground.

Nor was she being held up by anyone.

She was standing upright on her own two feet.

As her blurred vision slowly came into focus, she found herself surrounded by familiar faces, their voices rising in hushed murmurs.

Was the dream her mother had spoken of still happening?

The sudden shift left her feeling unsteady for a moment, but her instincts kicked in and she quickly regained her balance.

“So you barged in here demanding to participate in the competition, and now you’re saying you can’t do it?”

Adriana flinched and turned around at the mocking voice.

The man who had been holding her moments earlier was standing there, too.

It was her husband, who had thrown himself into the flames to save her.

“Didi?”

The affectionate nickname escaped her lips before she could stop herself.

She hadn’t called him that once since they got married.

Dietrich visibly flinched.

Yet, as though nothing had happened, his expression quickly reverted to its usual cold indifference.

He always directed a faintly disapproving gaze at her.

The sharp, striking lines of his face.

His blue eyes mirrored the frozen north.

His hair was as jet-black as the loneliness she carried in her heart.

Every part of him was unmistakably Dietrich.

Had she woken up from the dream?

But she hadn’t been dreaming.

She had died.

‘Ah.’

‘So this is what it feels like to cross over into the afterlife.’

Adriana believed that she was crossing the River Styx and reliving scenes from her past.

If so, then perhaps this moment was a final gift from a merciful God — an opportunity to say what she had failed to say earlier.

“You are the last participant in today’s competition. How much longer do you intend to delay?”

“A competition?”

In response to Dietrich’s sharp remark, Adriana suddenly became aware of the large bow she was holding.

She was reliving a memory from a year ago: the day of the archery competition.

The event had been organized to boost the morale of the Gluck Knights.

As it was an internal competition, outsiders were not permitted to attend, let alone participate.

There had only ever been one exception: Adriana.

Nobody welcomed her presence, but she pretended not to notice and entered the competition anyway.

She had her reasons for doing so.

The reward granted to the winner.

“The northern winds aren’t as gentle as those in the south. If you’re not confident, withdraw now.”

When Dietrich reached for her bow as though intending to take it away, Adriana instinctively pulled it against her chest and protected it.

“No. I’ll do it.”

Without hesitating, she took up her position.

She wasn’t sure whether she was trapped in a dream, had somehow returned from the dead or had fallen into the river of oblivion on her journey to the afterlife.

But one thing was certain.

A bow rested in her hands.

If she was on a battlefield, there was only one thing an archer needed to do.

Aim at the enemy.

And shoot.

As if on cue, a fierce wind carrying snowflakes swept through the crowd towards Adriana.

She drew the bowstring.

Whoosh!

An arrow, fiercer than the snowstorm itself, tore across the rugged northern mountains.

“A—a direct hit. From this distance… and on a target that small.”

“How does someone who looked ready to collapse manage to draw a bow without even taking time to prepare?”

The wind was so strong that it stung the eyes of the spectators.

Yet the archer did not waver at all.

Only one person in history had ever been capable of hitting a target no larger than a handspan, which was carelessly mounted between the rocks: Adriana.

Despite witnessing the skill of a master archer, however, the crowd did not even offer a token round of applause.

Not a single person in the north supported Adriana.

“The winner…”

A brief silence fell.

“Her Grace Adriana Verano Brecht, Grand Duchess of Brecht.”

The victory was declared in Grand Knight Commander Oscar’s uncertain voice.

Adriana stepped forward and stopped directly in front of Dietrich.

“Your Grace. I understand that today’s winner may request anything they desire.”

“Let’s hear it, then.”

Dietrich’s tone was indifferent.

“Though I can’t say whether Hielo possesses whatever it is you want.”

Behind him stood the knights of Gluck, their faces filled with dissatisfaction.

It was only natural.

The reward granted once a year had been snatched away by a woman they regarded as little better than an enemy.

“My wish is one that everyone here shares.”

Dietrich furrowed his brow, as if challenging her to continue.

“Then speak.”

Adriana lifted her chin.

“I, Adriana Verano Brecht, Grand Duchess of Hielo, ask for one thing and one thing only.”

Her gaze remained fixed on Dietrich.

“I demand a divorce from Grand Duke Dietrich Brecht.”

The moment those words left the Grand Duchess’s lips, chaos erupted throughout the arena.