“About what happened earlier—”

“…We don’t need to talk about that anymore.”

Rosie was already seated in the carriage when she leaned her cheek against the window frame and cut him off coolly.

Callios looked as though he still had more to say, but she had made her refusal clear. This left him visibly unsettled as he climbed in after her.

The coachman watched the two of them curiously and flinched when Callios shot him a cold glance.

“Stop staring and get moving.”

“Y-yes, sir!”

The carriage door closed and the grand ducal carriage drove through the front gates towards the theatre where Sabrina was performing.

***

Lost in thought, Rosie tapped the window lightly with her bandaged fingertips inside the carriage. Her brown brows were deeply furrowed.

‘So in the end, all that matters is that I stay quiet.’

She stole a quick glance at her husband, who was also lost in thought, and suppressed the growing sense of resentment in her chest. Callios’s words had lit the fuse.

“Wasn’t staying quiet the easier path for you?”

Her heart thudded with an unpleasant heaviness, and forgotten sensations came rushing back. How many of his words had ever truly been kind?

She had promised herself not to rush things. She had begun to confront Isabella and unravel the past, not for theatrics, but to finally release years of buried resentment.

But she couldn’t stay like this any longer.

Being in the same room as Callios made it difficult to breathe. He had seemed different — just slightly. Ultimately, though, he reverted to type.

All the concern he’d shown, all the ways he’d upheld her dignity in front of others — each and every one of those gestures had been solely for the honor of the Benedict ducal house. Nothing more.

The image of her husband holding her at dawn, comforting her as she writhed beneath the weight of another nightmare felt more and more distant now.

Even the moment he kissed her and gave her breath when she could hardly breathe; even his intense gaze. It all felt like nothing but pretense.

‘Whatever Jenny’s relatives write back, I need to find a way out of here.’

Rosie lightly brushed the freshly trimmed ends of her hair, which Jenny had hurriedly smoothed out. Meanwhile, her other hand tapped the carriage window faster and faster.

Tok, tok, tok, tok.

‘In the end… the problem is money.’

She had almost no personal funds.

Callios had reduced the allowance he gave her a long time ago, for reasons he never explained. As a result, she was known as the ‘modest and frugal duchess’, living on the bare minimum required to maintain appearances.

She had never even asked why he had lowered the amount. In the past, she had devoted all her energy to maintaining peace within the ducal household.

Foolishly.

Callios shifted beside her, his discomfort clear.

“You acted like you wouldn’t come with me no matter what. Do you want to see it after all?”

In truth, Rosie had planned to visit the theatre to see Sabrina perform. Given who Sabrina was, Rosie also wanted to confirm a few things.

Drawing on memories of Ashley’s previous life, which she had confided in Rosie, she replied casually, feigning interest.

“It’s famous even without His Majesty’s recommendation. I’ve heard that it comes up at every social gathering.”

“Is that so.”

Callios spoke with disinterest, as though none of it mattered.

‘You should have attended social gatherings to know that.’

Callios didn’t go either, so the two of them were seen as a mysterious couple.

Rosie murmured, her expression detached.

“I know that play, even though I’m always stuck in the Duchy.”

‘But you, always outside, wouldn’t know, would you?’

Callios caught her gaze, and a faint twitch appeared in his brow.

“That’s why I said I won’t be joining this expedition.”

‘And now he says that—this late?’

Rosie looked out the window again, emotionless.

“You can go.”

“…What?”

“Just do as you always do.”

The faces of passing citizens blurred by the window. The Empire’s greatest festival season was approaching, and everyone looked cheerful. Shouts of excitement rose in the distance.

Callios’s low voice could be heard amongst the sounds.

“What do you mean, ‘do as I always do’?”

“You’re good at that thing. Ignoring everything.”

He never knows anything.

Callios answered sharply, as if he could hear her heart speak.

“So there is something I should know.”

‘There were things you should have known a long time ago.’

Rosie didn’t respond. She just stared out of the window.

Callios’s lips curled faintly, but his eyes remained cold.

“There is one thing I certainly should have known. About that room.”

Rosie froze and turned towards him. She had thought he would quietly let the matter of Isabella’s room pass.

“What…?”

“You should’ve told me long ago.”

Her heart lurched painfully, but she forced herself to stay calm. Callios’s expression was grim, his eyes dark and sharp, his brows drawn tightly together in anger.

‘So it’s finally here.’

At that moment, the carriage lurched violently, probably due to hitting a stone. Although the vehicle was sturdy and built to absorb impact, even this slight tremor caused Rosie to sway.

“A—ah…!”

Rosie lurched forward and Callios caught her just in time. His large hand supported her perfectly, but she had already collided with his solid chest.

Thud!

The small bag she had been holding fell to the floor.

He was so muscular that the moment she touched him, she was pushed back with such force that her nose almost bent.

Startled, Rosie tried to pull away at once, but her arms trembled, still weak from her earlier attempts to regain her balance.

Callios realized this and steadied her by the arm, easing her back into her seat.

Even from that distance, she could smell the oil the bath attendants had applied to him earlier, a cool, sharp scent that suited him perfectly.

Rosie frowned.

‘Too close.’

The coachman’s frantic apology could be heard echoing from outside, but Rosie didn’t hear a word.

Callios’s arm naturally encircled her waist, holding her firmly in place as though he were anchoring her there.

“Stay like this for a moment. Before you fall again.”

Her heart beat against her ribs as if about to leap out. Suddenly, she vividly remembered what he had done to help her breathe during her nightmare.

She had forgotten amid the chaos, but…

Fearing he might notice her reaction, Rosie pushed his hand away and said coldly.

“That’s enough. So what exactly did you hear about that room?”

Her heartbeat thudded painfully.

Thump… thump… thump.

Callios looked down at his bandaged hand. His expression darkened, as if he was deeply troubled by something.

“While you were getting ready, I called in the servants who were there with you.”

“…So they told you everything, I assume?”

“Mother—”

Rosie swallowed hard, waiting for the next words.

“—was abusing the servants. In that room. And often.”

“…What?”

“You couldn’t stand it anymore and destroyed the room. My sister must’ve been with you to help.”

Rosie blinked slowly, her pale brown eyes widening just a fraction.

…What?

“And you injured your hand doing that, it seems.”

‘This is… what it turned into?’

Rosie almost admired it.

‘That servant was better at lying than I thought.’

In the circumstances, it was almost the perfect invention.

However, she noticed something else: the look in Callios’s dark eyes revealed his simmering displeasure.

“Why would you get involved in something like that yourself? Don’t tell me… you did it for that servant.”

“…What kind of nonsense is that?”

Rosie clicked her tongue in disbelief. Callios closed his mouth and looked fierce.

There was another reason why she had never told him about that room.

There was one thing she never wanted to hear from him, not even on her deathbed.

That she had failed to manage the ducal household properly.

He had said as much more than once in her past life.

“As your husband, I’m fulfilling my duties. You should fulfill yours as a member of the ducal house.”
“Rosie, are you planning to abandon your responsibilities?”

Responsibilities: Responsibilities. Those suffocating responsibilities!

If Callios started preaching about her duties again, implying that she had failed as the duchess and had not controlled the household properly, she felt she might lose control. She would tear open the carriage door and run barefoot into the street.

Her heart, which had been pounding wildly, slowly slowed down. Rosie came back to her senses at the sound of Callios’s voice.

“You should change the bandage again.”

Blood had begun to seep through; the earlier jolt must have reopened the wound.

Rosie picked up her fallen bag, brushed it off and took out a fresh roll of bandages. She began wrapping her hand with practiced ease when Callios spoke.

“About that room—”

“Yes, I understand. You want to pretend it never happened, don’t you? Since you like everything quiet.”

Rosie responded in a cold tone and took the loose end of the bandage between her lips to tie it. However, before she could tighten the knot, the strip slipped out of her mouth.

Callios had taken it from her.

His fingers brushed her lips, just faintly. This unexpected touch made Rosie’s shoulders twitch.

“No. I’m going to fix it immediately.”

The resolve in his voice made Rosie lift her gaze. He met her eyes and muttered, almost like a vow.

“You’re right. I’ve been running around outside so much I didn’t even know what was happening in my own home.”

“……”

“I’ll report everything properly to His Majesty. And you should know—I really don’t plan on leaving for a while.”

His face, sharply sculpted, was set in a rigid line. Rosie stared at him, baffled, and snatched the bandage back from his hand.

Everything he said now contradicted what he had said before.

“You said you wanted things quiet. The duchy’s going to get noisy.”

“Sometimes you have to stir things up for greater peace.”

He averted his gaze as he spoke; it sounded suspiciously like an excuse.

His expression softened slightly as he continued.

“In any case, I know now how seriously you take the matters of the ducal house.”

Rosie flinched at his quiet words.

If only he had said something like that to her in her previous life! She would have cherished it.

A bitter smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.

“I didn’t do any of it to be acknowledged.”

When she returned, she would have to reward the servant who had lied so convincingly on her behalf. There was also something she needed to say, something she had delayed for too long.

It didn’t seem likely that Callios would say it first.

Once this play was over, she would tell him.

‘Before the duchy gets any louder. Our play will end soon, too.’