“Mother!”

Breti rushed to Meliover’s side, her movements frantic with worry.

“Laterna? W-what is this, what are they saying?”

Meliover could barely get the words out, struggling for breath.

Seeing how distraught she was, Breti clasped her mother’s hand tightly.

“It’s just a rumor, Mother. That’s all it is.”

“But my Karsten, how… how could something like this happen?”

So shocked that she could barely breathe, Meliover began to hyperventilate. Seeing her like this, Breti quickly placed her hand over Meliover’s heart, trying to help steady her breathing.

But once it started, the hyperventilation just wouldn’t stop. Breti immediately gave instructions to Rosand.

“Rosand, please help Mother back to her room.”

“Yes, miss.”

“Bagi, bring a cup of warm water to Mother’s room, quickly.”

With Breti’s quick action, Meliover was soon moved to her room. Thanks to her care, Meliover was able to calm down not long after.

Breti gently stroked the sweat-damp hair from Meliover’s forehead and spoke softly.

“Mother, it’s just a rumor. You know better than anyone—my brother is not someone who would leave us so easily.”

“Yes, I know… I know that.”

Even as she spoke, Meliover’s hands trembled uncontrollably.

Breti kept repeating words of reassurance, gently patting her mother’s hand.

💙💙💙 💙💙💙

After finally soothing Meliover to sleep, Breti returned to her own room. She lay down on her bed, but sleep would not come.

Tap, tap, tap—the sound of rain tapping at the window pricked her ears.

Unable to rest, Breti got up and wandered the halls of the estate. Every step she took felt heavy.

“They said His Grace was attacked and killed…!”

The maid’s words kept echoing through her mind. The truth was, of everyone who heard the news, Breti felt the most anxious of all.

Having seen him once teetering on the brink of death from Haeriji poison, Breti’s anxiety only deepened. Remembering how she’d worried over him, she let out a long sigh.

“Hoo…”

Breti’s footsteps stopped in front of Karsten’s study. She’d wandered aimlessly, only to end up here without realizing it.

Tears began to well in her eyes.

‘No, it can’t be… It can’t…’

There was no way that rumor could be true. But if it was—what was she supposed to do? And why did she feel this way, as if his death would somehow change everything for her?

Unable to fight the wave of emotion she didn’t even understand, Breti sank to the floor outside his study and wept for a long time.

When her tears finally stopped, she wiped her eyes and quietly stepped inside. She moved to his desk, running her palm across the surface as if searching for any lingering warmth.

He’d only been gone a few days, but it already felt as if all traces of him had vanished.

Breti wandered to the bookshelf, pulling out a book. Suddenly—
Something dropped to the floor with a soft thud.

‘What’s this…?’

It was a bracelet, its knots woven from several colored threads. The design was all too familiar, and Breti examined it closely.

‘This is…’

It was one of a pair of bracelets her mother had given her long ago.

Suddenly, an old memory flashed through Breti’s mind.

“I have to pull you myself!”

It was in the past, on a day when rain drizzled down just like today. Back then, Breti had tended to a young boy who’d been badly injured after an attack by Haeriji.

“Don’t bother trying to save me! I’d rather just die like this.”

“And who was it just now, calling for his mother and begging to be saved?”

“…Why are you trying to save me?”

“Do I need a reason to save someone?”

Clinging to life, the boy kept calling for his mother, tears streaming down his face. Watching him, Breti thought of her own mother and held his trembling hand.

“You have to survive. Promise me.”

She hadn’t been able to save her own mother in the past, but at the very least, she wanted to save this boy and return him safely to his family.

Breti spent the whole night by his side, not sleeping a wink until sunrise.

And before she left for home, hoping desperately for his recovery, she pressed one of a pair of matching bracelets into the boy’s hand.

“It should still be somewhere in my things…”

Breti set the bracelet she’d just found back in its place, intending to compare it to her own. She hurried to her room to fetch the one she still had.

Just then—

“Breti.”

A low voice, calling her name, pierced her ears.

In that instant, Breti felt a chill run down her spine.

‘It can’t be…’

She forced herself to turn toward the sound, her neck stiff with fear.

The man who came into view was Karsten. Startled, Breti dropped the bracelet to the floor.

“Y-Your Highness…”

“Breti.”

“Is it really… is it really you, Your Highness?”

With trembling hands, Breti reached out to touch him, tears spilling down her cheeks.

Before her tears could roll down her cheeks, Karsten gently wiped them away.

“You’ve been crying. Were you worried about me?”

“Of course I was. I was so—”

Breti trailed off, quickly pulling her hand away from his body. She composed herself, smoothing her expression and straightening her posture before speaking more formally.

“The butler, Madam, everyone here at the estate—they were all so worried about you, Your Highness.”

“The worries of others…”

Karsten took her hand and added.

“They don’t matter to me.”

He pressed a brief kiss to the back of her hand.

“As long as I have your concern, that’s enough.”

Startled by his sudden kiss, Breti pulled her hand back.

“Y-you should rest now. It’s late.”

But Karsten grabbed her wrist, then cupped her face in his hands.

“Really?”

“…Your Highness.”

“Is it really me you’re worried about?”

“…”

“Hmm? Breti.”

As he spoke, Karsten pressed his need against her thigh.

“Just seeing you, and I end up like this.”

Her face flushed bright red. Breti knew exactly what he wanted. She understood too well what Karsten was hoping for.

But this couldn’t happen again. Once could be forgiven as a mistake, but not twice.

Breti struggled to pull herself out of Karsten’s embrace.

“I should go now, Your Highness.”

But she hadn’t made it far before she had to stop again—Karsten’s arms slipped around her from behind, holding her in place.

“Jenna.”

In that moment, all the strength drained from Breti’s body. Why was it that every time he said her middle name, her body and heart turned utterly defenseless?

Karsten—no, Adrian—knew exactly what he was doing. He never let her go when she was in this state. Before Breti could gather her thoughts, Adrian lifted her up and sat her on his desk.

“Ah!”

She barely had time to react before his lips claimed hers. With every touch of his mouth, she felt the strength leaving her body, her mind drifting.

As Breti lost herself, Karsten’s lips trailed from her cheeks, to her jaw, down her neck, and finally to the hollow between her br*asts.

After a long, lingering kiss, he lifted his head and met her gaze.

“Jenna.”

Adrian was cunning. He knew calling her middle name would make Breti melt completely, and he took full advantage of that, repeating it softly.

Just as he expected, as soon as he said her middle name, Breti’s eyes turned hazy, lost in a daze.

Finding her utterly adorable, Adrian pressed a kiss to both her eyes.

He slipped off her robe, and it didn’t take long before Breti was bare in his arms. Adrian pressed his lips over and over her exposed skin.

“My little bird.”

“Ah… ah…”

“I missed you.”

Outside, the raindrops tapped gently against the window of the study.