Ray walked to the window and drew the curtains as if unwilling to tolerate any breeze seeping in.

Hesion, who had been quietly observing his actions, spoke up.

“Don’t close the curtains.”

“I must refuse your order. You can’t risk catching a cold.”

“Ray. Today I want to look outside.”

“The snowfall is so heavy you can barely see anything out there.”

“That’s exactly why I want to see it.”

Hesion rose, grabbed Ray’s hand, and made him release the curtains.

Ray let go as if admitting defeat and began tidying up various parts of the messy room.

Hesion stared blankly outside the window.

The mercilessly fierce, swirling snowflakes resembled Vieta.

‘If this is the past, then that woman must be just a child now too, right?’

A villain unworthy of rehabilitation from the start. That was his assessment of Vieta, his prison mate.

He recalled the first time he met her.

He had been considerably shocked watching her climb a tall tree and unhesitatingly knock down a bird’s nest containing eggs.

A girl who didn’t treasure even the smallest forms of life.

That was Hesion’s first impression of Vieta.

He had known she was rotten since childhood.

If he were to falter again in the face of Vieta’s evil deeds this time, he might lose his precious people once more.

“How long do you plan to keep staring outside, young duke? You said an important person is coming today.”

At Ray’s words, Hesion, lost in thought, turned his head to look at him.

Ray placed a tall stack of books reaching up to his chest on the table.

“Have you reviewed?”

“What?”

Ray showed bewilderment at Hesion’s clueless face.

“You personally invited Esta to the residence today. You even practiced reading books to her.”

‘Esta?’

He recalled their last meeting.

※※※

It was in the imperial garden, and Esta had invited him.

In the space filled with flower fragrance, Esta delivered shocking news to Hesion.

“I’m pregnant with His Majesty’s child. You’ll congratulate me, won’t you?”

Those were words that should never have been spoken to someone with whom she had been in a serious relationship with.

Hesion felt disgust in the heavily permeating flower scent.

His brow furrowed.

“What are you saying.”

“……What’s wrong? We were never anything to each other. Just friends, weren’t we?”

“Friends don’t kiss each other, Miss Esta Ariogen.”

He looked at Esta while suppressing his erupting anger.

“That was only because you wanted it. In truth, His Majesty Leytan was in my heart. Now it’s just become clear. Who I am meant to be with.”

Hesion didn’t change his expression even as he watched Esta’s cheeks flush with shyness.

“Then I should go see His Majesty the Emperor. I need to make it clear that Miss Esta Ariogen was originally my woman.”

“Hesion!”

A sharp voice echoed throughout the garden.

Hesion stood up and silently looked down at Esta.

Just five minutes earlier, he had been a man who could have given his heart for her. But after hearing her confession, he was overwhelmed with the urge to cut out the part of himself that had ever thought that way.

“Are you really going to do this? Can’t you just wish me happiness?”

“Stop pretending to be innocent, Esta. You’re the one who ruined our relationship.”

Esta’s expression, which had been glaring at Hesion as if she couldn’t understand, suddenly contorted.

She burst into tears and ran toward someone behind Hesion.

When he turned around, he saw Esta crying in Leytan’s arms.

“What is the meaning of this, Duke Rekton?”

Leytan glared at Hesion as if he would kill him on the spot.

Hesion tried to answer honestly, but Esta beat him to it.

“Your Majesty. You know that Hesion and I were special childhood friends? When I told him the news that I’m carrying your child, he threatened to spread malicious rumors. I knew he had feelings for me, but I rejected him because I have you, Your Majesty. sob.”

Esta couldn’t finish her sentence.

Seeing the sobbing Esta, Leytan shot an angry glare at Hesion.

“What rumors are you threatening to spread? Explain yourself, Duke Hesion Rekton.”

At Leytan’s question, Hesion looked straight at him.

“It’s not a rumor. Esta and I were so close that we even kissed.”

After finishing his words, Hesion’s gaze turned to Esta, who was looking at him with resentment.

“Miss Esta. In the future, I hope you’ll be more clear in your actions when forming relationships with people.”

At Hesion’s unusually cold attitude, Esta shrank her shoulders even more.

Hesion had no reason to be kind to her anymore.

“I didn’t know you went around kissing just anyone. Still, it’s fortunate that it was only kisses. Had we shared a more intimate friendship, we wouldn’t be able to confirm who the real father of that child in your womb is.”

“Hesion!”

Despite Leytan’s shout, Hesion wore a sardonic smile.

“I won’t come looking for you again. I wish both of you happiness.”

Hesion ignored Esta’s glaring eyes and left the garden.

And then he had been imprisoned, suffering all kinds of t＊rture after being framed for treason.

Vieta had called Hesion’s ending a love so pitiful it made one’s eyes ache, seemingly thinking it was merely Leytan removing a love rival. But her assumption was mistaken.

The decisive reason Leytan eliminated him was clearly not as a love rival, but as a political opponent.

In other words, being a political opponent came first, and becoming a love rival later was an outcome even Hesion hadn’t anticipated.

Hesion had simply ignored the misconception of Vieta, his prison mate.

Hesion’s feelings for Esta had ended without leaving even a trace.

Even if he had returned to the past, was there any need to continue a relationship when he already knew its end?

Hesion called to Ray, who was organizing the books in order.

“Tell her to go back.”

Ray’s eyebrows shot up as he listened to Hesion’s words.

“Pardon?”

“Tell Miss Esta Ariogen that she doesn’t need to come here.”

“But she would have already departed by now.”

“Just send her back.”

“In this heavy snowfall? She must be shivering in the carriage on her way here.”

“What does that have to do with me? Oh, and also tell her that I don’t want to see her again.”

Ray scratched the back of his neck and left the room.

Soon after, the sound of someone arriving mixed with the wind.

Hesion approached the window and looked down.

He saw Esta Ariogen, all dressed up.

And also Ray sending her back.

Esta seemed to raise her head and look up at the window where he was.

Hesion didn’t hide.

Rather, he hoped she would clearly see his cold face and never meet him again.

He had no intention of wasting the new life God had given him on Esta Ariogen.

‘It might be more rewarding to rehabilitate the villain Vieta instead.’

He drew the curtains after watching Esta’s carriage crawling away from the grand ducal residence.

※※※

Vieta stood n*ked in a corner of the kitchen, waiting for clothes to change into.

The cold wind coming through the door cracks stabbed and cut her body.

The maids moved busily among themselves as if she wasn’t even there.

The scrubbing pad used to wash dishes left red scratches on Vieta’s delicate skin.

Marks that looked as if ten cats had roughly climbed over her body sat atop goosebumps.

But that was all.

The bruises that should have been on Vieta’s body were all on her mother Susan’s body instead.

Unlike Susan’s body, which was never free from all kinds of punishments, Vieta’s unblemished body without a single major scar instilled a deep sense of guilt in her.

Truly, she couldn’t love her life in this h＊ll.

The thin kitchen door opened frivolously, and Winter appeared with a yellow dress in her hand.

She surveyed the kitchen and smiled upon seeing Vieta standing quietly in the corner.

“Rana. Put something on her. She looks unsightly.”

An elegant yet frivolous voice filled the kitchen.

The head maid bent her back as she walked to receive the dress from Winter’s hand.

“I’ll dress her right away.”

Rana approached Vieta with large strides, holding the dress in her thick, rough hands.

Vieta knew the dress in the head maid’s hands all too well.

It was Amy’s most treasured dress.

It was always her first choice when going out or attending social gatherings with Madam Winter.

Above all, the reason Amy came to love this dress the most was thanks to the Prince Leytan’s compliment.

During a visit to the imperial palace with the Duke, Amy had met Leytan before Vieta did.

Amy had cherished this yellow dress ever since Leytan said it suited her well.

Vieta couldn’t help but know Amy’s story, which she had boasted about until her mouth wore out.