“Will you keep it a secret from him indefinitely?”

“Telling him now would change nothing. He’s just a common physician at this point, and the court has already handed down a ruling holding him liable for damages. To overturn that ruling, he would need power. But finding his family would serve him better than gaining that power, going through a trial, and trying to restore his honor.”

“So he already knows that a retrial would be pointless?”

She tilted her head at Mary’s question.

She didn’t know that much herself. Everything she was saying now came from scraps of conversation she had overheard from her mother’s maids in the past. Information she didn’t consciously know, yet remembered. It was imperfect, and variables always existed.

“I’m not sure. Either way, what we need to do is find his family and protect them. If you go to this address, you’ll find a ten-year-old child and a woman in poor health. Don’t mention the name Illeman County. Just tell them that their father has come for them. They’ll follow.”

The incident had happened eight years ago.

For as long as the child could remember, he had never once met his father. And Rezef’s wife had spent eight years raising the child alone, tormented by anxiety. The moment the incident broke out, Rezef had signed everything he owned over to his wife. He told her she could no longer live in this country and that she should leave for another. But his wife had not done so.

Because she feared that if she left, they might never meet again. Rezef, with no way of knowing this, had spent all his time searching for his family outside the country, and so the three of them had missed each other without ever reuniting. Because of that, Rezef’s wife was now exhausted.

‘That’s why she’ll come here more easily than one might expect.’

Just as she had in the past. At the very least, she had to protect Rezef’s family. Only then would he have no choice but to help her until the very end.

“Understood. I’ll see to it.”

She handed Mary a few of her mother’s jewels.

“Use these to protect them.”

“Understood. But may I ask you one thing?”

“What is it?”

“How do you know all of this? From what I’ve heard, it was said that you have no memories, my lady.”

She responded to Mary’s words with a slow smile.

“Everything will ultimately move toward a single destination. And that destination is something I absolutely need, both for the man who will come through that window and for my revenge.”

Just then.

The thin curtain hanging over the window rippled with the wind.

With a sharp gust of wind, a man climbed through the window and into the room, as though the night’s rhapsody had begun. She had anticipated it, and turned her body slightly to the side. It was Isen.

“It seems you knew I was coming.”

“A true protagonist has to make his entrance right about now.”

“Protagonist. I’ve never once thought of myself as one.”

“From now on, you will be the protagonist. The protagonist of this godforsaken story.”

He walked toward her slowly. Then he settled himself on the edge of the desk.

“Then I wish you a good night.”

Mary, who had stepped out in the meantime, made a show of bidding her good night as though Isen were invisible, then closed the door behind her.

“Mary really does have excellent instincts.”

“That’s why she won Rechel’s favor. Rechel is strict about the people she keeps by her side. She scrutinizes everything, from a person’s background to whether they pose any threat to her.”

“More thorough than I expected.”

“Her father raised her that way from childhood. He said in words that I was the heir, but in practice, he raised Rechel to be one. And he taught her not to trust people. He even deliberately placed loose-lipped people around her to train her eye for reading others.”

She stroked her chin, watching him speak with quiet composure.

“I see.”

“I ended up saying more than I needed to. You’re a strange woman.”

He smiled warmly and slowly rose to his feet.

“You’re not going to ask why I came tonight.”

“I was thinking you came at just the right time.”

“Always so composed.”

“I feel impatient too. But I know that showing it won’t make anything happen, so I simply don’t.”

Isen approached her slowly, looking amused.

“You know, sometimes I want to make you lose that composure. I want to see a different look from you, not those eyes that seem to know everything. Like, say, finding yourself in a difficult situation and looking at me with helpless eyes… something like that.”

“When that day comes, I’ll try acting like I’m in love with you.”

She had meant it as a light joke to ease the mood, but his eyes flickered faster than she expected.

“Evian. What do you think of me?”

“I wonder. Is there any need for me to know that?”

She had said she would faithfully keep her promise to act like she loved him, and that feeling showed clearly in his eyes. Something longing, aching to grasp what it couldn’t reach… but even noticing it, she ignored it.

“How cold. You’re not even curious about me. I’ve thought about you quite a bit, you know. Every time Mary came back, I wondered what interesting thing she’d bring with her.”

“A toy you can’t have is always more interesting. And that interest will fade soon enough. More importantly, did you do what I asked?”

They had even agreed not to fall in love with each other, so Isen would carry out his part perfectly. There was no need to worry. She knew she shouldn’t, and yet, seeing him look at her with that curious wonder every time, a quiet unease rose in her chest.

That was why she kept steering the conversation elsewhere.

‘The one person I can never fully control… and yet the only keyholder of my life, who could open everything or shut it all away.’

“Right. You told me to let the other party know they were being investigated.”

“Yes.”

“That was done properly.”

“Then it’s time to move.”

She rose slowly and stood before him. Whether it was his tall frame or his broad shoulders, she looked remarkably small standing in front of Isen.

“But I have a question. Why haven’t you told me to rescue my mother?”

“Because it’s too dangerous right now. So instead, what matters is making it seem like someone keeps trying to come for your mother. That way, your father will start to feel uneasy.”

“Uneasy.”

“Even someone who does everything perfectly will start making mistakes once doubt creeps into what they’re doing. That’s why I told you to leave your mother alone for now.”

“I see.”

She continued her explanation at a measured pace, matching his responses.

“Now, your mother, who has been held in one place for so long, will be moved. If they suddenly buy a large number of mercenaries…”

“That will be the moment.”

“Exactly. Until that day, your mother needs to remain held within the Ilterich duchy. That’s the only way to draw your father out, when he never leaves the duchy otherwise.”

“You’re saying that’s when I should go for her?”

“That would be difficult.”

She raised a finger and shook it side to side.

Going the simple route would be what Isen had in mind, but for the sake of their revenge, this was not a matter that could end so simply.

“Instead, we’ll strike at your father.”

“My father.”

“Simply getting your mother out won’t resolve this. We need to pull it out by the roots. The duke would never want your mother exposed to the world, for fear that his own disgrace would come to light. If the pressure around him keeps tightening in that state, he’ll move your mother to safety while also trying to eliminate everyone who dares to come at him, so they can never threaten him again.”

“And that’s when the opportunity will come.”

“That’s right. We have to time it perfectly. That chance won’t come twice.”

A smile spread across Isen’s face as he listened to her in silence. He gave a nod, roughly undoing the buttons of his collar as though he had been feeling stifled.

“Interesting. Not once, from the very beginning until now, have you bored me. You really are…”

Isen’s hand touched her hair. Brilliant moonlight seeped into the room through the window behind him, and Isen steadied his breath.

“Captivating.”

The atmosphere was truly strange. His voice, each word spoken with deliberate weight, filled the room completely. In that moment, she almost felt those four syllables had taken up every corner of the space.

And so even her perfectly composed cheeks flushed red, swept up in the mood.

“You say things like that so casually.”

“There’s nothing casual about it. But I don’t think now is the time to discuss what I feel.”

As he drew his hand back from her hair, his fingers grazed her cheek lightly. For a moment, her cheek felt like it had caught fire.

‘It’s all an act. This man is ultimately trying to use me too.’

Thinking that, the heat blazing in her cheeks soon settled.

“You’re right. What do our feelings matter at this point? What matters is using each other to carry out our own revenge.”

“Right. Then I should start getting ready. I now know clearly what you intend.”

“I’ll prepare on my end as well. Make sure you’re ready by that day.”

“Ten days from now would be best. I’ll make proper use of the opportunity you’ve given me. And if I don’t come again after that…”

“If I hear nothing, I’ll take it to mean you’ve failed.”

Isen nodded without a word, then settled onto the windowsill.

“At the very least, I won’t disappoint my lady, so don’t worry.”

“I trust you. You’re the man I chose.”