When she answered readily, Callios’s black eyes widened in surprise. He had not expected her to accept.

With a dubious expression, he asked again.

“…Is that true?”

With a firmly held heart, Rosie whispered cruelly to him.

“Yes. Then wait for me. Until my heart can accept someone again.”

Upon receiving her permission, joy spread across Callios’s face.

At that moment, their gazes met. An intense impulse and an unspoken desire were exchanged between them.

Now, Rosie understood a little more.

She realized that giving herself to him might ultimately cause him agony.

As she watched Callios struggle, as though holding something back, Rosie gripped the hem of his clothes tightly.

He paused, then slowly lowered his head as though waiting for her permission.

Feeling the faintest hint of hesitation when his nose brushed hers, Rosie closed her eyes and felt his lips gently and unhurriedly press against hers.

It was a soft, careful kiss.

As their tongues touched and intertwined, Rosie wrapped her arms firmly around his neck.

Each time her hands brushed against him, Callios’s body tensed, and his kiss became deeper and more insistent.

A thick vein stood out beneath his jaw and he muttered a curse.

The tree behind them trembled, and his heated breath trailed down from beneath her chin to her neck.

Holding him close, Rosie thought.

Maybe she really was a witch.

After all, she was knowingly instilling him with false hope.

She knew better than anyone how it would all end.

As his lips returned to hers urgently, Rosie tipped her head back.

His mouth followed, closing over the vulnerable line of her throat in a passionate kiss.

Her breath grew warm and unsteady, sweetened by the heat of his body pressing against her from every direction.

When the back of her head hit the hardwood floor, he gently cradled it with his hand, as if to say that he wouldn’t let her get hurt.

This unexpected warmth overwhelmed her completely, but her heart tightened again.

Tear after tender tear — so unlike the harsh resolve she had displayed — slipped down her cheeks, gathered at her chin, and finally fell.

***

She returned to her seat, but her mind was completely blank.

The kissing and the way he had touched her had been so overwhelming that she had had to go to the toilet to calm down before coming back.

Had that really been Callios?

Even the slightest hint of tension when she removed the leaf from his hair felt unfamiliar, as did the way he kissed her again, ignited by that tiny gesture.

But that was as far as she would allow it to go.

Rosie did not permit anything beyond that.

‘Just for today.’

The kiss.

His touch.

Nothing more.

Since he said he would wait, she stood her ground and told him he would have to.

Callios said he would endure anything.

She wasn’t sure if he was serious.

The play was reaching its climax. Natalie delivered a blazing performance, worthy of all her former acclaim. Even the Emperor was impressed, murmuring, “What a magnificent performance.”

But Rosie could hardly focus on any of it.

Her cheek burned sharply.

Lifting her head, she traced the source of the sensation — and there, across the distance, Marquis Lockbell Midas was staring straight at her.

Come to think of it, she had business with the Marquis earlier.

‘I need to ask him again to keep it a secret.’

The Midas family owns the largest hospital in the region. If she continued to visit, it would eventually become impossible to hide things from him.

In a way, it was perhaps fortunate that he had found out so soon.

Callios’s description of him as a fox might have been accurate. Marquis Midas was exceptionally quick to catch on.

When the next intermission began, he seized the opportunity. He approached and settled heavily into the empty seat beside Rosie, offering her a smile as he did so.

“It seems you’ve had a good time with your ex-husband.”

‘Look at this. He knew everything, even this.’

It felt as though Callios’s sharp gaze was flying towards her from afar. Perhaps because he had promised to wait, however, he didn’t interfere immediately as he had before.

In the scorching gaze of her ex-husband, Rosie calmly shook her head.

“We are not involved like that.”

“But you came back too late for that.”

“The conversation just ran a little long…”

Then, the Marquis reached out and lightly touched somewhere above her shoulder on her back.

“Excuse me.”

While she flinched in surprise, the Marquis spun the thing he held in his hand, rubbing it between his fingers.

“It must have been such a deep conversation that you came back with something like this attached to your back.”

‘She thought she had tidied her appearance completely, but when did that get there…’

Rosie blushed in embarrassment.

Marquis Midas tossed the small leaf he had held in his hand and placed the edge of his hand on his chest.

“By the way, you must have been startled earlier. I apologize. I was so surprised, I just reacted.”

“Seeing blood, you must have been surprised, of course. I understand.”

Even so, the Marquis’s actions were a bit excessive.

It was the same now.

Marquis Midas’s gaze did not leave her face.

“Seeing you up close…”

“Yes?”

“I hadn’t realized it before.”

The Marquis wiped off his smug smile and fell silent for a moment. Then, looking awkward, he simply clenched and unclenched his hand. After hesitating, as though he wanted to say something difficult, he gave a boyish smile.

“Madam Moavis is a very beautiful woman, you see. I was honestly surprised.”

“…Didn’t you see me at the wedding?”

“I don’t examine a woman who will soon have a family that closely. I don’t pay attention to them in the first place.”

Marquis Midas cleared his throat, erased the awkwardness again, and asked seriously.

“At any rate, what exactly was that blood? I came here because I wanted to hear about that.”

“I was actually going to tell you separately anyway, so this works out well.”

Rosie lowered her voice as much as possible amid the noisy crowd. Naturally, the Marquis also bent his head, and she whispered from a close distance.

“I want to treat my illness through Viscount Elaine. However, I must ask you to keep this strictly confidential so that this fact doesn’t leak outside.”

At those words, Marquis Midas’s splendid face suddenly twisted.

“…An illness? Have you been suffering from an illness? Since when?”

“It’s actually been a while.”

Rosie calmly revealed everything she knew about her illness. Then he raised his head, his expression serious, and glanced at Callios. The Marquis dismissed Callios’ frightening gaze, which was fixed on him as if Callios were about to twist his neck, as nothing.

“Duke Benedict knows about this… no, he doesn’t, does he? Since you signaled for secrecy earlier.”

“That is correct. The Duke does not know.”

“May I ask why you are keeping it a secret?”

She couldn’t bring herself to lie to someone who sincerely wanted to help. Rosie sighed and fiddled with her fingers.

“It’s just…. I thought there was no need to tell him in advance since we will soon separate. And now, there’s no particular reason to tell him either.”

However, Marquis Midas looked even more confused.

“Hmm. It doesn’t seem like Duke Benedict has given up on you, Lady.”

“……”

“And it doesn’t seem like you are completely without feelings either, Lady.”

When Rosie, who had nothing to say, quietly bit her lip, the Marquis concluded briskly.

“Well, anyway, I will just do my part. Is it a very serious illness?”

Rosie quietly just nodded her head.

Then, Marquis Midas’s face grew even more solemn.

“A hereditary disease…. I will do my best to investigate it once. I’ll involve all outside hospitals to find a treatment, so please take care of yourself.”

“Thank you very much. For the compensation…”

Marquis Midas quickly waved his hand at Rosie’s words.

“This is purely out of my own good will, so no compensation is necessary, Lady.”

“Even so…”

“It would be an ungentlemanly act to ask for compensation for helping a lady who is ill.”

Marquis Midas finally rose from his seat, having stubbornly refused Rosie’s offer until the very end.

The next act was about to begin and people were filing back into the Citra Theatre one by one.

As he was about to return to his seat, the Marquis turned back, smiling as his green eyes softened and lingered on her.

“I hope that not only your physical health but also your heart may swiftly recover, Lady.”

Rosie also bowed slightly in gratitude.

He must have heard the reason for the divorce, too. She was startled at first when he suddenly touched her, but the more she got to know him, the more he seemed like a genuinely kind person.

As she reflected quietly on the Marquis of Midas’s unexpected goodwill, the lights dimmed and a brilliant beam illuminated the stage. The next act had begun.

Natalie played the role of a heroine caught in forbidden love that defied all social boundaries. She loved a nobleman far above her station, and he loved her just as deeply. Together, they planned to abandon everything for the sake of their love and flee far away.

But fate was merciless.

Rosie, who had previously been unable to focus, was instantly captivated by Natalie’s performance. Truly, Natalie was in a league of her own.

‘I should find her afterwards and shower her with praise, tell her just how much I enjoyed it,’ thought Rosie, just as their eyes met briefly.

In that fleeting moment, Natalie winked at her secretly before seamlessly slipping back into character.

On stage, she was cradling her lover, who had died in her place. Her sobs tore through the theatre and her long red curls were disheveled as she cried out.

“Ah! If only I could turn back time and have him back…!”

“Kind God, please hear my plea. I humbly ask you to grant my heartfelt wish.”

Natalie’s mournful voice, ringing with sorrow, pierced Rosie as well.

“Return my beloved to me!”

“I will offer my life as compensation.”

“If you could turn back time, please ensure that he never falls in love with someone like me again.”

Natalie’s tear-soaked eyes turned toward her dead lover.

“Please let this kind person not remember me.”

Rosie chest tightened, beating anxiously—thump, thump.
‘Why am I feeling like this?’

Then, Natalie raised the dagger she was holding high.

“I offer my humble life as a sacrifice to God!”

A moment later, the scene in which Natalie drove the dagger into her own heart, crying out in anguish, began, and the lights cut out instantly.

Rosie stared at the sudden darkness on stage, feeling a strange, unsettling sensation.

Perhaps Natalie’s performance had been too powerful.

Tears streamed down Rosie’s cheeks, falling one after another without stopping, as though something inside her had broken.

‘Why is this happening? Since earlier…’

Her chest throbbed with sharp, unbearable pain.