〈Notice〉
* This work contains coercive scenes that may cause discomfort. Please keep this in mind when purchasing and reading.

Chapter 1

“Extra, extra!”

War broke out just before the wedding.

Several winters passed as she prayed for the fiancé she had fallen in love with at first sight to return alive.

Then, on another bitterly cold, blizzard-swept winter day, the four-year war ended in an overwhelming victory for the empire.

After learning through the newspaper extra that the war had ended, Julietta joyfully ran to the study of her father, Brahms.

“Father! They say the war has finally ended in victory!” Julietta knocked on the study door without hesitation. But when no answer came from behind it even after some time, she found it strange and cautiously opened the door.

The study came into view through the gap. In the room lined with shelves full of books, two gentlemen were sitting on the sofa along with her father. They were Mr. Balmer and Mr. Stephen, friends her father had been meeting frequently lately.

“Mr. Balmer, Mr. Stephen. Hello. I didn’t know you were here.” Balmer gave a warm smile at Julietta’s cheerful greeting.

But Stephen seemed to avoid her gaze.

“Father, have you heard? Our war……” Julietta was about to take a step into the study, but Brahms gestured, silently signaling her to stop where she was.

“……”

Unable to go against her father’s wishes, Julietta stood rooted to the spot.

“The guests are about to leave, so wait a moment.” As if to confirm her father’s stiff words, they picked up their hats and coats and rose without hesitation. They exchanged brief farewells with her father and left the study. Julietta bowed her head slightly as she saw them off.

Once she was alone with her father in the study, she spoke without hesitation.

“The war with Cardin has ended in victory. The war is over!” Julietta spoke, overcome with emotion. Yet her father’s expression did not change. It seemed he had already anticipated this. His attitude left Julietta slightly intimidated, but she cautiously continued.

“Um… Father, may I go to Braxiter tomorrow?” Braxiter.

It was half a day away by train, followed by about another three hours by car. The journey to Braxiter was arduous, but all her fatigue disappeared at the sight of the mansion.

For it was a dreamlike mansion built in the middle of a beautiful forest.

Julietta smiled unconsciously as she thought of Braxiter.

At Braxiter, there was not only her fiancé, who would soon return, but also his fairy-like younger sister, the kind and affectionate marchioness, and the stern yet family-minded marquess. They all cherished Julietta dearly, and she, too, loved them deeply. She wanted to rush to Braxiter tomorrow and share this happy news with them.

Her father’s expression grew troubled at Julietta’s words, but he soon spoke.

“Yes, go.”

A chill hung between Julietta and Brahms. Brahms had grown cold toward Julietta after his wife died ten years ago. And their relationship remained distant even now. She wanted to share her joy with him on such a happy day, but once again, that was not permitted.

“What are you doing standing there? I told you to go.” When Julietta did not leave the study, her father gestured for her to hurry out. With no other choice, she left the study with her eyes on the floor.

Even then, she lingered outside the door for a long time. But her father seemed to have immediately immersed himself in his work, as there was no particular sound from within, nor did he call for her. She let out a deep sigh and was about to return to her room. Just then, the telephone rang in the mansion’s sitting room.

Julietta ran to the sitting room and barely managed to pick up the receiver before the ringing stopped.

– Julietta!

A voice brimming with emotion burst through the receiver. It was Lydia.

She was the second daughter of the marquess’s family and her fiancé’s only younger sister. Close in age, Lydia and Julietta were the best of friends.

– I just heard from my brother. He says he’ll return home in ten days! Julietta, hurry to Braxiter! We have to celebrate together!

“Ah……”

Julietta touched her lips with a trembling hand. In an instant, her eyes reddened. She spoke, trying hard to hide the tears in her voice.

“Congratulations, Lydia! I’ll come to Braxiter right away.” With those words, Julietta set down the receiver. She worried that Lydia would find it strange, but that was not what mattered now.

‘Ivan is coming back.’

Overcome with emotion at that fact, Julietta began to cry. She stood motionless before the telephone, placed a hand on her chest, and let out a deep breath. Her heart raced at the mere thought. Tears streamed from her eyes, but a bright smile formed on her lips.

“At last. I can see him……”

As Julietta walked slowly toward her room, she imagined her reunion with Ivan. The image of him walking toward her from afar, his voice, and the look in his eyes came to mind, making her heart pound.

In a childhood she could barely remember, Julietta had run about and played with Lydia in the woods of Braxiter, the residence of the Marquess of Hartfield.

Julietta, who had abruptly become a count’s daughter much as one might suddenly become rich, had been able to associate with the powerful Hartfield family because she was engaged to the marquess’s eldest son.

Julietta still could not forget the moment Ivan first spoke to her.

‘So you are the one who will become my wife.’

She had first met Ivan in the woods of Braxiter. It was when she had gotten lost while playing with the unruly Lydia.

Ivan le Hartfield.

At their first meeting, he had been a noble-looking, perfectly handsome man. He was so tall that the top of her head reached his broad shoulders, and his dark brown hair and green eyes, which seemed capable of drawing her in, had left a deep impression.

Julietta pictured his striking appearance in her mind, then smiled.

‘Let’s leave for Braxiter right away.’

As though merely going to Braxiter would make him return sooner, Julietta began choosing her clothes in excited haste, wondering what she should wear when she met Ivan. As she did so, she looked at herself in the mirror.

A beautiful woman with long, wavy blonde hair wore a shy expression in the mirror. Julietta’s cheeks flushed deeply as she looked at her reflection.

Anyone could see that it was the face of a woman in love. Julietta gazed at her familiar appearance as though it were unfamiliar and dreamed of her approaching reunion with Ivan.

***

The train that had departed from the military base at Seawood soon pulled into Schurenze Station.

Ivan picked up his luggage and stepped off the train. He saw the servants from Braxiter waiting for him.

Among them, the particularly elderly-looking head butler, Dibillo, greeted him.

“Welcome, young master. You have endured so much.” As Dibillo greeted Ivan respectfully, the servants around him also bowed their heads. They then reached out to take Ivan’s luggage.

Ivan gave a brief, slight bow of his head as he entrusted his luggage to them. His expressionless face and firmly set lips gave off a cold air.

“Then, I shall escort you to the car. Please follow me.” Ivan followed Dibillo in silence. A black car waited for him with its engine running.

With a smooth, agile movement, Ivan bent down and got into the car, then reached inside his military uniform for a cigarette.

As he placed the cigarette between his lips, Dibillo quickly climbed into the front passenger seat.

The passenger door closed with a click, followed by the scrape of a lighter as a flame sprang up.

“Has Lady Julietta arrived?”

Glancing in the rearview mirror at the white smoke rising from the back seat, Dibillo spoke.

“Yes, my lady has already been staying at Braxiter for ten days.” Ivan nodded slightly without replying. It was a satisfactory answer.

Julietta Lumiere.

Silently moving his lips, Ivan recalled the girl with long blonde hair that reached her waist. He wondered what she would look like now, after the four years he had not seen her.

Julietta’s father, Brahms Lumiere, was a renowned and highly respected physicist and a professor at a prestigious university. He had invented a lethal bomb for warfare—in other words, a missile capable of causing damage over a vast area.

Although this had led to the tragedy of Julietta’s mother being shot dead by demonstrators protesting for peace, Brahms’s invention had elevated the Conaut Empire to the ranks of the great empires, and Brahms had been granted the title of count.

As soon as Brahms set foot in high society, he caught the attention of Orlando, the Marquess of Hartfield. Orlando stood at the very pinnacle of high society. Having amassed enormous wealth through his family’s generations of involvement in banking and railways, Orlando held enough power to bring down even a bird in flight.

Not content with that, he was seeking to accelerate his ongoing arms business, so he wanted to cultivate a close relationship with Brahms and invest heavily in his research into lethal bombs.

But he lacked a justification.

He did not hesitate even to arrange an engagement between his eldest son and Brahms’s daughter to create a justification for the investment.

Whether it was because of that ambition or because he had foreseen the future, the Conaut Empire went to war with Cardin, with which it shared a border.

The war broke out when Julietta turned twenty. Although Julietta’s wedding was approaching, Ivan, who had graduated from the military academy, was naturally called up to fight.

From that moment, Ivan had known who would emerge victorious in this war. And just as he had expected, Conaut secured victory thanks to Brahms’s research.

As a result, the Hartfield family’s standing rose even higher.

Indeed, there were so many advantages to having Julietta in Ivan’s life.

An indispensable presence in the arms business his father had built with all his might, and his fiancée. And family he had to protect. Yes, family.

Ivan looked at the scenery passing outside the car window. A faint smile appeared on his previously expressionless face.