Ashley seemed to read something in her husband’s face, even if he didn’t say a word. She lifted the corners of her mouth in a tender smile as she glanced at Rosie.

” I really like you, sister.”

” I like you too, Miss.”

“So please don’t smile like someone who’s going somewhere far away. I mean it.”

Rosie only gave a silent, bitter smile.

‘It’s you who will go far away, Miss. And sooner than me.’

Ashley’s future—one that might be crushed beneath a carriage at any moment—kept weighing heavily on her mind. Rosie wanted to stop that death right now, but acting too rashly might ruin everything.

‘First, do what you need to do. There’s still time before anything happens to her.’

For now, she had managed to avoid getting pregnant tonight. She had truly changed the past.

Back in her room, as the tension finally left her shoulders, Rosie lifted her head at a sound outside the door. Carefully, she pressed her ear against it.

‘Who is that?’

She thought she heard heavy footsteps for a moment, but when she strained to listen, they retreated immediately, almost as if the person had known she was standing right there.

Callios, perhaps? She imagined it for a moment, then shook her head.

Surely he wouldn’t come to check on her just because she said she wasn’t feeling well. He was a man with not the slightest interest in her.

With her mind in turmoil, planning what she needed to do next, she eventually drifted off.

‘I don’t want to fall asleep…’

She always fought against sleep and constantly suffered from exhaustion. It was no surprise—every time she dreamed, the memories of what had happened with Callios appeared one after another.

And as soon as she slipped into sleep, it struck again without mercy, everything with him surfacing in vivid detail. A nightmare forced upon her, even when she wanted nothing more than to look away.

It was the memory of their first meeting, back when they had just become engaged and she had approached him with a fluttering heart.

Although the young Callios looked like a noble prince, his voice was as cold as a blade when he spoke.

“Wasn’t it my older brother you wanted to marry? How unfortunate for you.”

And on the night she conceived, the words he had spat with cruelty. The rough, merciless acts.

“Since you care so much about what others think, shouldn’t I treat you accordingly?”

After five years of marriage without a child, she had become known as a ‘barren woman’. Rumor had it that the reason Callios remained in bed with her for days on end was because of some strange proclivity of his.

People whispered that, rather than engaging in the ‘proper’ marital act intended to produce an heir, he was interested in all kinds of bizarre and indecent things — so much so that she had failed to conceive as a result.

When he returned from the battlefield covered in blood, he embraced Rosie more fiercely than ever before. The rumors weren’t entirely false, and this only served to make Rosie burn with shame whenever she heard them.

Despite everything, the fact that she hadn’t conceived made her blame herself even more, perhaps she truly was barren.

But that night resulted in a pregnancy, harsher than usual.

Rosie could never forget the day she trembled as she told him the news.

In truth, all her nightmares began at that very moment.

When she confessed, Callios hesitated, and then his handsome face contorted sharply.

“Pregnant? After all this time, when nothing happened no matter what I did?”

Rosie felt the last shred of hope break inside her when she saw that cold, disapproving expression.

Usually, a woman would be congratulated for bearing an heir.

So why…?

The question lasted only a moment. Resignation swiftly followed. He had always been this kind of man. Once again, she was consumed by despair.

From then on, she would be a ghost in this huge house, raising a child who would never know love.

If that were the case, she wished he would let her go. But Callios would not even grant her that.

It was as if he wanted to watch her wither away in this silent, airless place.

‘In that case, my baby… It would have been better if you had never been born.’

Perhaps it was that fleeting thought that caused her to fall ill and die while pregnant. Perhaps she had been punished.

At that moment, Rosie’s dream snapped and she woke up.

Bright light was already streaming in through the window.

“Gasp…”

Her whole body was drenched in cold sweat.

Reaching out for water with trembling hands, she must have knocked something wrong, the glass on the table toppled and shattered.

Clatter!

The sharp crash jolted her awake.

She would never return to that dreadful life. That was enough.

Rosie held her shaking fingertips until they stopped trembling, then rose to her feet, determined.

She pulled the small bell cord and her attendant, Jenny, hurried inside at the sound.

“Today will be a rather busy day, so prepare well.”

As Jenny fixed her hair and adjusted her clothes, she asked.

“Where will you be going?”

“To the bank first.”

“The bank? So suddenly…?”

Rosie didn’t quite know what she needed to do, but she could at least start with what she could manage.

After a brief thought, she parted her soft lips.

“Let’s go. The weather is wonderful today.”

***

She should have left the suffocating ducal residence more often. She rarely went out, preferring to stay in the estate gardens, as she disliked the murmuring gazes of others.

The warm sunlight touched her cheeks before slipping away. Rosie looked around with a wistful expression.

‘It’s so beautiful out here.’

She passed those who recognized her with an expressionless face, ignoring their curious stares.

She no longer cared about anyone’s gossip or opinions.

She was going to die anyway; this time, she wanted to do everything she had ever wanted to do.

That was all.

Soon, the bank director himself came out to greet her, and she sat on the soft sofa in the reception area reserved for their most important clients.

“I would like to check my personal funds.”

“Please wait here.”

She was led to an extravagant room intended for the bank’s most esteemed patrons, but Rosie’s account balance was far smaller than expected.

The bank director glanced at her, rubbing his hands awkwardly.

“Mm… did you perhaps come to request a loan?”

“No. I only came to confirm my remaining balance today.”

Rosie had used the substantial dowry she had received from the ducal household to pay off her family’s debts to the Count. This meant that there was little left in her personal account.

Callios had sent money in the early years, but at some point it had stopped completely.

As she left the bank, Rosie became lost in thought.

‘I need money. But how do I gather it?’

It would have been better if she had the ability to earn for herself. She regretted many things.

Still, the remaining amount wasn’t small, and her attendant Jenny seemed astonished by it. Her eyes sparkled as she waved both arms wildly.

“Madam! That’s the largest sum I’ve ever heard in my life!”

Rosie let out a small laugh.

“You silly thing. Haven’t you seen amounts like that often enough even in the Count’s family?”

Jenny lowered her gaze gloomily.

“To be honest, I don’t know much about the part of the estate where Glory lived.”

“Right, I suppose so. You came after things had already begun to fall apart.”

Nevertheless, Jenny never left Rosie’s side, not even on the day she passed away.

She was a grateful person.

When Rosie needed a new dress, Jenny offered to collect it from the shop where they had taken her measurements.

It was the cheapest option available, so Rosie didn’t expect much. She always chose plain black or grey dresses — colors that wouldn’t show stains easily and would last a long time.

Letting out a sigh, Rosie wandered towards the shop where Jenny had gone.

‘Is it crowded? She’s taking a while.’

She was waiting in the shade when she heard it, the loud cry of a horse and the heavy rumble of carriage wheels.

‘Huh?’

A massive carriage approached, and Rosie stiffened.

It bore the golden lion crest of House Benedict.

The carriage was stately and dignified, exuding the authority of the dukedom. People on the street paused and glanced at it.

Rosie frowned faintly.

‘I heard Callios entered the palace early this morning. Is he already out?’

Rosie tried to slip into a corner, hoping not to run into him.

But as if someone had pointed her out, the carriage stopped precisely where she stood. Its owner must have ordered it.

From the halted carriage stepped a man whose large frame matched its imposing size.

Her husband—Callios Benedict.

He wore no armor nor the red cloak he usually favored. Instead, he was dressed in a fitted black uniform embroidered with elegant gold thread. The V-shaped collar revealed his strong neck and the pronounced line of his Adam’s apple. Sunlight glimmered on the golden epaulets resting on his broad, solid shoulders.

Callios rubbed the back of his neck as if the collar bothered him, then strode directly toward Rosie, who stood there wearing a stiff, reluctant expression.

“What are you doing outside at this hour?”

His gaze fell to the small item in her hand, a souvenir notebook the bank director had pressed into her palm as she left.

Forcing away her surprise, Rosie answered steadily.

“And what brings you out so early, Your Grace?”

Callios swept his eyes over her from head to toe, his displeasure evident.

“The one who claimed to be unwell seems to be walking around just fine. Yesterday, you acted as if you were about to die.”
“…Why did you go to the palace today? His Majesty didn’t summon you.”

The moment she diverted the subject, he exhaled sharply. She faintly caught him muttering, “She truly knows nothing.”

That alone made Rosie even less inclined to speak to him. She could already guess what he would say next.

“Do you have any idea who I’m working with politically these days?”

“I’m always at the ducal residence. How would I know?”

“Then you should stop being cooped up and meet people.”

He clearly had a natural talent for sarcasm and provoking others. It was no wonder he had so many hidden enemies. Callios Benedict was the man who crushed all opposition with sheer force.

Rosie cast a cold glance past his shoulder. At that moment, she spotted Jenny in the distance, looking around anxiously.

“There were reasons I couldn’t go out.”

“What reasons?”

“I don’t want to say. And honestly, I don’t really care.”

The moment she came face to face with Callios, she felt a burning sensation rise from her stomach and burn her throat. A slow, simmering hostility began to stir inside her.

Then he let out a cold, derisive laugh.

“Of course. You were never interested in anything I did in the first place.”