There should be no more things that would hurt Diez.

It’s clear that receiving her love, and marrying her to spend a lifetime together, are all too good for him.

Diez, who seemed momentarily confused by the sudden confession, soon patted his back lightly and said.

“Why are you saying such things, as if you’ve committed some great sin……”

Their eyes met again. The Duke Klaus that everyone knew was no longer present. Jürgen only showed such expressions in front of her. Though he had never said it, Diez thought it felt like seeing a clearly exposed vulnerability.

Perhaps his always being gruff and cold in front of Diez had been an attempt to desperately hide himself.

Diez was finally certain. That this face she was seeing now must be Jürgen’s true face.

“I won’t lie. There were times when my heart was hurt because of you, and sometimes I became unbearably sad. That’s true. There were times when I wondered if this is what it feels like to endure the cold winter wind with only a thin layer of clothing.”

“……Diez.”

“But you were also the one who brought me back to life.”

Jürgen’s lips moved several times before closing again. As if swallowing many words with effort, or as if unable to find words to respond.

But Diez wasn’t lying. The reason she could continue her life again was because of this very man who had once made her suffer.

“The reason I tried to die was because I thought there was no reason to live anymore. My parents abandoned me, and I thought no one needed me anymore. I was convinced that if I died right then, no one would cry for me. It was the first time I felt such helplessness. Even though I had endured five years under the previous Duke…… that was truly an unbearable despair.”

So she tore the curtain and tried to hang herself. The emptiness and sense of loss from having no one by her side anymore, and the fear of being left alone in the world, were simply unbearable.

She thought that was the end. Though it was painful and sad enough to die, she also felt a sense of liberation.

The liberation of finally being done with everything.

When she tried to end her own life, it was Jürgen who made Diez open her eyes again.

“You were crying then.”

She could remember it hazily yet clearly. The sight of the man who had seemed like a wall built of steel, allowing not even the slightest gap, collapsing and shedding tears before her.

“At first, I wondered if I was seeing a hallucination. They say people sometimes see things that don’t exist before they die. I really believed that. Because the Duke Klaus I knew…… was absolutely not someone who would cry in front of me, especially because I tried to die.”

It was natural to believe it wasn’t real.

It couldn’t be helped. What appeared before her eyes was truly a surreal sight.

“When I realized it wasn’t a passing vision but something really happening…… When I realized that the Duke, that you, desperately wanted me to live, I changed my mind. That I didn’t want to die yet. That I shouldn’t try to die again.”

“……”

“If you hadn’t held onto me, I might have really died. I would no longer be in this world. I would have disappeared without even leaving regrets.”

A world where Diez had died and vanished. That was a hypothesis Jürgen didn’t even want to imagine. Just as he unconsciously hardened his expression, she continued.

“But you know what? I think I’m really glad I didn’t die then. I never thought I would enjoy such a peaceful life.”

I think so too. Just as Jürgen was about to open his mouth to respond with that sudden thought, Diez spoke first.

“Thank you for saving me back then, Jürgen.”

Jürgen still couldn’t answer. It felt like his breath was caught in his throat. In the end, Jürgen could only become endlessly weak in front of Diez.

Why would you say such things to me?

I’m the one who should be expressing gratitude.

“Please don’t say that.”

He managed to force out his voice.

“I’m the one who should thank you for staying by my side.”

Without Diez, if he had been a moment too late and lost her forever, Jürgen’s life would have been destroyed. She said Jürgen had saved her life, but in fact, he was living normally thanks to Diez.

Because she had decided to continue living, he too could live.

“Thank you. Truly.”

Diez simply smiled at him. After exchanging silent gazes for a while, the two soon kissed. In the forest where no one’s eyes could reach them. A moment granted only to the two of them was passing by.

The social circles were buzzing with excitement after a long time. It was because of a topic that couldn’t help but capture their attention. While news had spread that Duke Klaus would soon hold a wedding ceremony, no one asked who the woman becoming his wife would be.

Unless one had cut ties with the secular world, there was no one who didn’t know whom Jürgen had proposed to.

Diez Schleicher. Once called a girl born with all the luck in the world, then thrown down to a place worse than the gutter, only to reclaim a position they all had to look up to again.

The shooting star they thought would fall and disappear had returned to the most brilliant place in the night sky and was shining brightly.

For those who had secretly envied the young lady of Lehart who had everything, she had been prey good for biting and tearing apart. Born as the daughter of a nouveau riche and daring to mingle with nobles, this is how she was bound to end up! Those who had slandered Diez like that not only fell silent but could barely breathe comfortably.

Everyone feared getting on the wrong side of the Klaus ducal family. If you become the Duke’s enemy, you become everyone’s enemy. No one was unaware of this fact. The Duke’s influence was comparable to that of the royal family.

Nobles with guilty consciences wanted to get on Diez’s good side as much as Jürgen’s. Though the marriage had not yet been officially announced, countless gifts poured in from those desperate to protect their comfortable lives.

Of course, Jürgen also clearly understood the inside story of this situation. Including the fact that those trying to win Diez’s favor had once trampled on her without hesitation.

To Diez, who was bewildered by constantly receiving gifts from people she could barely remember when she had last spoken with them, Jürgen calmly asked,

“It seems many people want to congratulate us on our marriage. Do you like the gifts they’re sending, Diez?”

“Well…… I’m dazzled by the precious jewels, but I’m not sure how to accept all this.”

It was naturally confusing for Diez. Was this a custom that came with marriages of high nobility? Contrary to their concerns, Diez, who had never even harbored resentment, could only stare at her jewelry box being rapidly filled with splendor, unable to simply rejoice.

“Jewels, is it.”

After thinking for a moment, Jürgen asked again.

“Are they mostly sending jewels?”

“Even as a child, I never had this many jeweled accessories. Rubies, diamonds, of course they’re beautiful to look at and make me feel good, but……”

“I’m glad you like them at least.”

“Who wouldn’t like them, but……”

It just felt strange, truly.

Jürgen glanced at Diez sitting beside him. Seeing no unfamiliar accessories, it seemed she had simply put away the gifts she had received.

“Come to think of it, it seems time to choose wedding gifts.”

“Wedding gifts?”

“I should have prepared earlier, but it seems I’m a bit late. When would be convenient for you to go choose something you like?”

Jürgen’s attitude, guiding the conversation as naturally as flowing water, was utterly ordinary.

I already have more than enough jewels.

Despite thinking this, Diez didn’t decline and answered.

“Whenever is convenient for you.”

When she answered like that, all Diez had imagined was perhaps a ring decorated with brilliant jewels.

Duke Klaus soon took his fiancée out to a street lined with high-end salons.

And within less than two days, another piece of news spread through society.

The news that Duke Klaus had practically bought an entire large salon.

It was a natural progression that the nobles’ expensive efforts instantly became trivial. But they all knew that wasn’t the important point.

Perceptive nobles read much from this incident.

The fact that there would be nothing Diez couldn’t enjoy as the lady of the Klaus ducal household.

And the fact that the esteemed Duke would not forget the names of those who had made her their target of ridicule.

<The Mistress of House Klaus> Side Story End