A foul, damp breeze blew past, bringing with it the unpleasant odors of the district. Her vision dimmed slightly beneath the hood and the cloth that Callios had pulled over her head felt stifling.

Rosie tugged the hood down just enough to see properly and replied evenly.

“Who’s even going to be looking at my face here?”

“…Stop talking nonsense.”

He stopped walking.

“Now tell me. Why did you come all the way out here?”

He stepped in front of her and yanked the hood back over her head again. His pitch-black eyes seized hers as if swallowing her glare whole.

“You’ve been quiet all this time, and suddenly you’re doing things like this.”

His voice—one she’d nearly managed to bury—swept in like a storm from the past.

“Wasn’t staying quiet the easiest way?”
“Easy for who?”
“For everyone in the ducal house.”

Rosie gripped the edge of her hood tight and said coolly.

“You seem uncomfortable because I’m not staying quiet now.”

“…What’s that supposed to mean.”

“You told me everyone in the ducal house stayed comfortable as long as I stayed quiet.”

Callios frowned in confusion, then let out a quiet murmur of dawning realization.

He dragged a large hand down his face as though trying to steady the flood of emotion rising within him.

“It’s the opposite.”

“…What?”

“Stirring things up and making noise will only stress you out. I meant that if the ducal house stayed calm, you would be at ease.”

It… was for her?

Rosie’s pale brown eyes narrowed in disbelief.

But then he said something that stunned her even more.

“And I’ve known for a long time that there were financial problems inside the ducal estate.”

“…You… knew?”

“Every bank director nearby was groaning about it.”

Then why had he pretended not to know?

‘He never once mentioned the issue… I really thought he was unaware.’

Sensing the question in her eyes, Callios replied in the same unbothered tone.

“I left it alone because it’s your responsibility to handle.”

His words hit her sharply, like a quiet reprimand.

Her throat tightened with a familiar sting.

But this sort of thing was nothing new.

She was done pouring her feelings into places where they would only be wasted.

So Rosie simply pressed her lips together and remained silent.

As they walked, their surroundings changed. They were approaching the outer edge of the red-light district. Compared to the deeper alleys, the houses here looked almost respectable — an attempt to mask the corruption beneath, as though even this place wanted to draw its own boundaries.

It had been the same in the ducal estate.

All Rosie Benedict had ever been allowed to do was to crouch quietly behind the polished façade that the ducal family presented to the world. She had believed she was incapable of anything.

No — she had believed that she must be incapable of anything.

If she had spoken to Callios earlier, perhaps things might have turned out differently.

But…

Rosie tightened her grip on the hem of her modest grey dress.

‘I couldn’t. I simply couldn’t.’

She had tried to protect the perfect image of the family, even though he denied it; the truth had always been painfully clear.

The moment Rosie Benedict opened her mouth, it would all come crashing down.

The false family.

The false happiness.

All the fragile pieces she had stacked with trembling hands would crumble at once.

There was a boundary between her and Callios that she could never cross.

What he had consistently shown her was duty — unyielding, rigid and cold.

Anything beyond that was scarce, almost imaginary. Even the passion he shared with her in bed had one obvious purpose: to produce an heir.

It was a connection that existed only because it had to. If anything meaningful were ever going to bridge the distance between them, she believed it would have to come from her.

The only thread she managed to grasp was Callios’s earnest longing.

She had clung to the foolish idea that protecting that wish was the only way she could bring light to their relationship. But now that she finally understood how wrong she had been, that belief felt like nothing but shame.

“I asked why you came here.”

Rosie lifted her head and met his eyes sharply.

“I wanted to tell these people what I know.”

“……”

“You always stress responsibility, don’t you? All the time.”

Callios grasped her, utterly lost.

“What are you talking about? Why would these people be your responsibility?”

“How are they not? Even if this isn’t part of the ducal territory—”

Callios cut her off, cold as steel.

“Then stop caring. Whether people here die or their houses collapse, it’s none of your business.”

“What?”

Rosie’s gaze flashed with anger as she looked at him.

“How can you say that as a citizen of the same empire? How can you say something like that?”

Especially coming from the man who held more power than anyone except the Emperor.

“I’m disappointed. Truly.”

She spun around and started walking towards the carriage. But Callios grabbed her arm. When she turned back to glare at him, he lifted one corner of his mouth in a smile.

“Disappointed? Go ahead. Be disappointed a hundred, a thousand times.”

His relentless gaze burned hot as it fixed on her.

“But I only care about one thing.”

Rosie was speechless. Was the ducal family’s honor really the only thing that mattered to him?

“And you’re not ashamed to speak that way as a Benedict?”

Callios replied with maddening composure.

“The family became glorious because of me. I owe it nothing.”

He was extremely arrogant, but he was not wrong.

After all, he was the man who had brought a forgotten prince back into the limelight, elevated him to crown prince, and ultimately placed him on the throne.

From the moment Callios Benedict took charge, Benedict House gained the greatest prestige in its history, despite its financial troubles.

Once merely an old noble family, they had risen to become kingmakers.

The imperial succession had always been fiercely protected, yet Callios hadn’t merely influenced it — he had reshaped its entire course.

Thus, the Golden Lion became the banner of valour, and Callios Benedict — the Duke of Benedict — became a name destined to be etched into history.

Rosie found it utterly baffling that a man like that could lose his temper over something so trivial.

“Promise you’ll never come here again.”

“……”

“No answer?”

Her lips stayed stubbornly sealed. Callios exhaled a shallow sigh, then stepped closer, his expression solemn.

“Just because things are going well lately, did you think everything would keep going well? Hardly.”

He placed his hands on her shoulders—firm, but careful.

“The field always throws variables at you. Even with guards, anything can happen.”

The anger he had barely suppressed seemed to surge again. Callios shot a harsh glare at the idle guards stationed nearby.

“And this isn’t even Benedict territory. Why should I have to see your face in a place like this? Explain it. Because I genuinely don’t understand.”

“…I just thought… I should.”

The evasive reply only ignited him further. His eyes sharpened, turning fierce.

“So you came here on some pathetic instinct? You’ve been acting this way for days, what is wrong with you?”

‘Pathetic instinct?’

Rosie’s brows twitched. He was getting more and more outrageous.

She drew a slow breath, forcing her voice to stay calm.

“You lived here when you were young. And so did your sister. So why can’t a fully grown adult like me share a meal with someone I wanted to repay—”

“……”

“That’s all there was to it. Honestly.”

Suddenly, Callios’s expression shifted—subtly, strangely. As if her answer had hit him somewhere he hadn’t expected.

“And whether it’s this place or somewhere else. I wanted to help the children living here.”

“……”

“Is that enough of an explanation for you?”

It was probably something she didn’t need to confess. She almost regretted saying it.

Just then, the man who had been silent for far too long let out a completely unexpected murmur.

“So… you came here to save kids ‘like me’?”

‘How did he twist it that way?’

Rosie blinked, then answered with a frosty look.

“Don’t flatter yourself. Children like you? Hardly. At least those kids are adorable.”

Fair comparisons should be made between comparable things.

From what she had heard, Callios was tall for his age and possessed a sharp intellect, quick reflexes and great strength. He had carved out a place for himself in this slum with terrifying ease.

‘But the way this sounds…’

The more she spoke, the more it sounded like she had come with his childhood in mind.

Rosie knit her brows, ready to correct the misunderstanding.

When suddenly, his low voice descended above her head.

“You don’t have to explain anymore.”

“…What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

Rosie looked at him with clear suspicion. Callios’s thick throat moved as though he were swallowing a sigh. Emotions swayed densely in his darkened eyes, like reeds trembling in the wind.

“You don’t need to fix the finances anymore.”

Her eyes widened in shock. Her heart plummeted as if dropped straight down.

That promise was the one thing she had relied on, what had kept her moving.

Rosie clenched her teeth, anger rising fast.

“What… Are you saying you’re breaking your promise now?”

She was about to tell him that promises are meant to be kept when Callios, looking pained, suddenly said.

“Was it because of the people in the main house?”

Rosie froze.

She couldn’t even breathe.

‘No way…’

Did he know why she destroyed Isabella’s hidden room?

Did he know what had happened all along?

It was the most frightening moment since she had returned.

The look in Callios’s eyes—like he already knew everything—terrified her.

Without realizing it, Rosie stepped back.

“W-what are you talking about?”

Callios studied her tense face with unsettling precision. He rubbed his chin with the back of his hand, as though frustrated.

“I’m getting tired of saying this.”

“……”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

He stepped closer, seized her chin, and pressed his thumb to her lips. The firm pad of his thumb parted them slightly.

“This time, I won’t just let it go. Say it. Now.”

Rosie stubbornly bit her lip.

Callios, who had been giving her time, finally twisted his mouth in a sharp, cold line.

“So that’s how you want to do this.”

“……”

“Fine. Then I’ll ask the attendants who follow you.”