This question openly revealed what I wanted, like a mirror. Even though I knew the answer would always be the same, I couldn’t help but ask Kyron the same question over and over.

“…No.”

His answer came only after a long pause. His voice wasn’t as loud or sharp as it had been when he cornered me earlier.

I turned my head away and pushed him away with all my strength. Thankfully, he was easily pushed back.

I slipped out of his grip and left the terrace. I didn’t want to stay in this space any longer. No matter how luxurious the suite was or how beautiful the fireworks were.

“You’re not feeling well. Where do you think you’re going?”

Kyron’s voice came from behind me.

“Don’t even think about going anywhere else.”

I ignored him. I didn’t want to stop walking.

If anything, Kyron’s voice made my legs move faster.

I could hear his footsteps following me, but before I left the room, they stopped. Without looking back, I left the suite.

Wherever I went, I didn’t want to be by Kyron’s side right now.

***

Kyron remained in the suite after Ekette had left.

Things never seemed to go as planned. Not when he took over the Duke’s household, not when he went to war to solidify his position. Nothing had ever gone smoothly according to plan.

This time was no different.

His plan to surprise Ekette by showing her the fireworks from the safety of the suite had completely fallen apart.

He was used to things not going his way, but today, it gave him an unusually bad headache.

***

The first time Kyron had thought about wanting Ekette was at a royal banquet. It was several months before their marriage.

That day, Ekette had attended a banquet at the imperial palace for the first time. Coincidentally, he had also attended that day, unable to refuse the Emperor’s insistence.

He had always hated banquets. They were nothing but excessive displays of extravagance. They felt like plays, pretending that all the nobles in the country lived happily. When in reality, they were involved in petty and vile schemes behind the scenes.

He had been waiting for the overly bright, gaudy, and noisy event to end as quickly as possible.

Even though he had found a spot where he could remain inconspicuous, people kept approaching him to exchange greetings.

Having ousted his half-brother and become a Duke through his own power, as well as earning recognition for his achievements in war, it was inevitable that he attracted attention. The problem was how tiresome it was.

While half-heartedly responding to the greetings of the nobles, he cast his gaze into the distance out of boredom. That’s when he noticed a woman standing in the corner of the banquet hall.

She was wearing an outdated, unfashionable dress that was eye-catching in its plainness. She stood awkwardly in the corner, looking out of place.

Where on earth had she grown up to be wearing such a dress?

Her face was visible, but it was unfamiliar. He couldn’t tell who she was.

Another person who seems uncomfortable here.

He thought to himself.

It was clear that this young lady from the countryside had been thrown into this dazzling banquet and didn’t know what to do.

The difference between her and him, though, was that while people kept bothering him with conversation even if he stayed still, no one approached her.

When will she leave that corner and start mingling with the crowd?

Using the chatter of a Count beside him as background noise, he kept watching her. It was a way to pass the boring time at the banquet.

Finally, someone approached her and spoke to her.

If it were her first time in society, she would probably be clumsy in conversation and panic. Just being spoken to first might overwhelm her.

It looked like it would be an amusing scene to watch.

The Count beside him continued droning on, oblivious to the fact that Kyron wasn’t paying attention. Realizing this, the Count tried to demand his response.

“Don’t you agree, Your Grace?”

“Yes, indeed.”

Kyron gave a perfunctory reply and turned his eyes back to the woman.

Let’s see how she handles this.

However… the moment he looked at the woman again, the Count’s words, which had been grating like noise, could no longer be heard. Neither could the loud music of the banquet.

He thought she would just stand there awkwardly, but unexpectedly, the woman smiled brightly at the person who had spoken to her.

…Kyron’s thoughts came to a halt.

He had assumed that she shared his discomfort with the banquet, but she possessed something he did not.

A beautiful smile that he lacked.

From that moment, Kyron wanted Ekette.

He couldn’t imagine her standing as another man’s wife. He couldn’t bear the thought of her showing that smile to someone else.

If she became his, she wouldn’t belong to anyone else. Thus, she had to become his wife.

That was how he began arranging his marriage with Ekette.

He sent a marriage proposal to Ekette’s family and, shortly after, visited Avriel to meet her in person.

The thought that he might not be able to have her had never crossed his mind. He held the highest status and wealth in the Empire, and he could offer all of it to Ekette.

The marriage proceeded relatively smoothly, and soon Ekette became his.

The satisfaction that came with that fact was considerable. He liked knowing that when he returned to the Duke’s estate, Ekette would be there waiting for him with a smile.

…Of course, he never thought that feeling was love.

He had brought her to him simply because he couldn’t endure the thought of her being with another man.

Unlike other men intoxicated by love, he didn’t gaze at Ekette with tender eyes, nor did he spend nights with her.

He wasn’t the kind of man to lose himself over a woman and act foolishly. He was not like his father.

He knew how much suffering his father had caused others by being deceived by love—Kyron included.

A first wife who fell ill and died because of her husband’s infidelity. A half-brother who vowed revenge, believing that their stepmother had stolen the place of their real mother. Kyron’s mother, who lost her life at the hands of her husband’s son. Kyron himself, who was tormented by his half-brothers and lost his mother.

Even after all of that, his father remained obsessed with women.

Kyron knew that his father occasionally embraced other women in secret.

Thinking about his father made Kyron feel nauseous.

Kyron resolved that he would neither love someone nor pretend to love someone.

He hoped never to be a man who was deceived by such emotions. If he ever found himself being manipulated by love, he would find it hard to forgive himself.

Fortunately, he had found Ekette, and the sense of ownership he felt over her was significant.

Knowing that Ekette was at the Duke’s estate was enough to prevent him from casting even a fleeting glance at other women. In that sense, this marriage was functioning quite well.

And yet… now, standing alone in the suite, Kyron didn’t feel good.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that the issue wasn’t just about tonight’s fireworks.

The belief that he possessed Ekette… perhaps that had been his delusion all along.

***

As soon as I left the suite and closed the door, dizziness overwhelmed me. I pressed my forehead and leaned against the wall.

“Are you all right, ma’am?”

A hotel staff member approached me with a worried expression.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry.”

I had pushed myself too far by wandering around for so long, and now my stamina was at its limit. It seemed I had overdone it far more than I had planned today.

At this rate, I felt like I might collapse at any moment. That couldn’t happen.

After leaning against the wall with my eyes closed for a moment, I forced myself to move. At the very least, I had to leave the hotel on my own. After that, I could use teleportation magic.

I clutched the railing and descended the stairs with difficulty.

“Haa…”

Why did this hotel have so many stairs?

When I finally reached the bottom, the staff looked at me with alarmed expressions. I ignored them and stepped outside the hotel.

By now, the fireworks had reached their climax, and the night sky was filled with a veritable waterfall of fire.

No matter how magnificent the scene was, I couldn’t take it in. I needed to return to the Duke’s estate, to the comfort of my bed, as quickly as possible.

I hurriedly took out a teleportation tool and flipped the mirror three times.

“Ugh…!”

The moment I felt myself being sucked somewhere, I staggered and lost my balance.

A few seconds later… I had collapsed.

“Ma’am!”

Ah, a familiar voice.

As soon as I heard Lia’s voice, I felt my tension ease. I slowly opened my eyes. Just as I had envisioned before teleporting, I was lying on the bed in my room.

“I made it…”

I murmured to myself in relief.

“Ma’am, are you all right? When the Master found out you were gone earlier, he caused quite an uproar…”

Lia spoke anxiously.

“Ma’am, you don’t look well at all. Are you sure you’re okay?”

But I didn’t even have the strength to reply to Lia’s question. Instead, I succumbed to the embrace of sleep.