She turned around. To him, her every movement, even the sway of a single strand of hair, seemed to slow down. The purple wisteria blooming at the entrance was scattered through the faint lamplight, carried by the wind. From the sky, flowers and light fell together.

“Why?”

When her sulky voice rang out, his throat bobbed after a brief pause.

“I think you left your shawl in the dining hall because of me earlier.”

He walked over and took off his black suit jacket, draping it over her shoulders. The maid beside them silently widened her eyes, and the still wind gently blew once more. Drawn in by the breeze, Haiden leaned close to her ear and whispered something. 

Startled, Kyla looked at him with wide eyes, and he burst into hearty laughter for the first time. Somehow, the night air felt refreshingly cool. The path back seemed brighter under the moonlight.

***

‘What was that smile just now?’

It felt as though the pollen of flowers was tickling her heart. Back in her room, Kyla placed her hand lightly on her chest with a puzzled expression. The ones most excited by what had happened were her maids. They flocked around her, giggling as they encircled her.

“You really looked like lovers earlier. What did he whisper to you?”

“Don’t tell me he whispered sweet nothings?”

Even while bathing, brushing her hair, and right before bed, they teased each other like bashful girls, pushing shoulders and blushing cheeks.

“Why are you all more worked up than me?”

She didn’t feel anything special. If it were her first time experiencing something like that, she might have misunderstood. But putting together what the duke had said earlier, it sounded like he already had someone he loved.

Now that she thought about it, he was someone thoroughly calculating and rational. She must not forget—this was a contract relationship, nothing more. She had experienced something similar while expanding her business. A handsome conman once seduced both her and Everett, then swindled them, slashing the goods’ price in half. It was only after getting scammed that she realized how dangerous a handsome face could be. Even earlier, it was only the alcohol that made her momentarily falter at his face.

‘That’s not the real me.’

Regaining her composure, Kyla hardened her expression and called out for Mary.

“What about the thing I asked you to check on? Did you find anything?”

“Ah…”

Mary, who had been happily caressing the bedsheets in the corner, straightened her back with an awkward look.

“I’m sorry. I should have told you first. Here it is.”

In her hand was a note outlining Gellensid’s next plan. The clear hostility, once sealed in a glass bottle, was confirmed. Afterward, Kyla approached one of Gellensid’s subordinates and extracted information.

“We should examine the item they sent with the note to confirm whether the intel is real or not.”

As she rose, the sheer lace nightgown that reached her ankles fluttered.

***

Gellensid, his face gaunt, sat up in bed. The whip wounds on his back had mostly healed. Even his split lips were now sealed. When a maid opened the curtains, he swept back his long blond hair and slowly walked to the window.

“Finally, today has come.”

Gellensid grabbed the maid’s long hair and inhaled its scent.

“Haah…”

Silver hair, like Kyla Bailey’s. All the maids working in his palace had silver or light gray hair.

“Hoo…”

Taking a deep breath, Gellensid gently stroked the maid’s hair, now trembling in fear. She bit her red lips hard.

“I’ll have you soon. My father will make sure of it.”

He hugged the maid, whispering with an expression full of emotion. He had waited for this day. The day he could see her again.

***

“Brother.”

Later in the afternoon, Gellensid went straight to the crown prince.

“Oh! My little brother is finally free!”

The crown prince smiled brightly and held out his hand in congratulations. Gellensid stared at that hand, then let out a dry laugh and gripped it firmly.

“I see the Duke is here too.”

He greeted Haiden, who was standing nearby, but didn’t seem particularly welcome.

“We were in the middle of discussing state affairs.”

The implication was that he should leave now that he had greeted them. Of course, Gellensid had no intention of doing so.

“Then all the more reason for me to help. After being confined for a while, my whole body feels stiff—I need to move around a bit.”

When told to leave, he stayed. When told to come, he wanted to leave. That was Gellensid Groan Blanverque. With a crooked smile, he deliberately pulled out a chair and sat directly in front of Haiden. The only one who seemed uneasy about this strange combination was the crown prince himself.

“Well, Gellensid is my man. It wouldn’t hurt for him to learn about state affairs.”

To the crown prince, both the prince and the duke were too valuable to lose just yet. So he especially didn’t want the tension between them to grow because of Kyla Bailey.

“Good. Take this opportunity to let go of what happened before as well.”

“Ah… right. I forgot to apologize. I’ve been deeply reflecting for the past two weeks, locked in my room.”

Gellensid stood up with a courteous gesture and offered a bow.

“I’m sorry. If I’d known you were the duke, I would never have been so rude.”

“So if it weren’t me, you would have had no problem being rude to just anyone?”

The duke’s brow twitched slightly. It was the first time the usually composed man, who focused solely on state matters, responded directly to the prince’s words.

“Come now, I’m apologizing. Why so harsh?”

Gellensid slowly walked over and began massaging Haiden’s shoulder. Haiden immediately slapped his hand away, and just as things threatened to escalate, the crown prince jumped in.

“Enough. Gellensid, the duke doesn’t like being touched.”

“Oh… is that so?”

Gellensid’s eyes narrowed further.

So the man who supposedly hated being touched was walking around arm in arm with his fiancée? That rumor had already spread throughout the capital.

Gellensid, unfazed, sat back down and stared coldly at the duke across the table.

“Then I’ll be more careful from now on.”

There was a sharp edge to his voice.

“Get up. Let’s take a walk outside.”

The crown prince, now with a headache, called on Haiden to walk through the royal garden instead of the injured Gellensid.

After walking silently for a while, the crown prince finally opened up with a frustrated look.

“Why are you two acting like this?”

To the crown prince, Haiden had been a close ally who had helped manage state affairs by his side. Haiden’s rise to dukedom owed much to the crown prince, and likewise, Haiden’s support was key in securing the prince’s position.

It was extremely rare for either of them to show personal emotions over such a trivial matter. Duke Blake was known to be cold and unshakable—some even called him stone-faced. Before receiving his title, he had never been caught up in scandalous rumors.

Which made this even more puzzling.

“Gellensid is always like that, fine. But what about you? Why are you acting this way?”

The garden, where roses had begun to bloom, was beautiful, but Haiden didn’t even notice the scenery. With a frown, irritated by the bright sunlight, he finally spoke.

“That was no apology. It was a provocation.”

You could tell just from his gestures—whether someone was hostile or sincere.

“If I had just stood there and let it happen, I would’ve looked like a fool. I didn’t want to be insulted over something I didn’t even do.”

“That’s…”

To be honest, Gellensid had behaved childishly earlier. There was no denying it, so the crown prince didn’t try to argue further.

“You’re right. It was my fault for not properly keeping him in check. If you felt that strongly, then I apologize.”

After all, it was thanks to the duke that the Kingdom of Blanverque had remained as stable as it was after the long civil war. When war threatened, he personally went to the border to resolve matters, and when rebellion loomed, he balanced the noble factions to prevent disaster.

Not only that, he analyzed the ancient texts from the fallen Revalon Empire to improve the kingdom’s politics, culture, economy, and military. His competence had long been proven beyond doubt.

Once, the crown prince had asked him:

“What is it that you truly want? There must be a reason you work so hard.”

“For my family’s honor.”

Haiden’s father, Count Blake, had lost a power struggle with the noble faction and died. He had devoted his life to restoring their family name and rebuilding their domain, but ultimately failed.

“I will revive our family. I want to fulfill my father’s wishes. And for that, I need your help, Your Highness.”

At the time, the crown prince had been in a precarious position as the second queen’s son. Haiden was the man who had supported him from the beginning and helped him rise to where he was now.

He knew better than anyone that Haiden valued honor above all else. Which is why he also knew: a man like that would never fall for a vulgar woman like Kyla Bailey.

‘I can’t let someone like him have his honor trampled.’

If this situation discouraged Haiden, it would be a serious problem.

“I understand now why you dislike my brother so much. He doesn’t really understand things like honor.”

“…”

“Even if you want to use Bailey to teach my brother a lesson… I won’t stop you anymore.”

Haiden stopped walking and spoke with gravity.

“That woman is following me around of her own accord.”

“I know. But weren’t you planning to use her? Whatever your reason, you didn’t stop her.”

If he really wanted to, he could have stopped it. Haiden fell silent, as if the prince had hit a nerve.