Prologue

Thud, thud, thud. The sound of horse hooves shaking the ground echoed close by.

As people began to murmur, Flora slightly pulled the hem of her robe to cover her face.

Have I been discovered already?

Moving nimbly through the bustling crowd, she took advantage of the moment when the gate guards were peering towards the entrance and hid herself on the stairs leading up to the top of the wall.

Step, step.

The sound of hurriedly climbing the stone steps echoed faintly in the narrow passage.

As she stepped on the last stair, sunlight poured down. Above her eyes, squinted against the strong light, a black cloak fluttering in the cold winter wind came into focus.

It can’t be.

Flora’s eyes widened as she discovered a man who absolutely should not be here.

“You never deviate an inch from my expectations.”

The man who had been gazing beyond the wall slowly turned around.

Following the swaying cloak upwards, at the end of her gaze, silver hair shimmering in the dazzling sunlight swayed gently in the light breeze.

“They’re making such a fuss just to catch you.”

The man, Duke Claude Heinst, sneered and taunted her as he saw her frozen in speechlessness. His demeanor was quite relaxed, as if he had already anticipated where her footsteps would lead.

“…How… here…”

Her astonished lips opened first.

She couldn’t understand what was happening. Once she passed through the city gate, it was supposed to be the end of not only the capital, Fashant, but also of seeing that man’s face.

“You look quite surprised.”

The duke’s sword, drawn without warning, came down sharply over her neck in a threatening manner.

“I thought I ordered that you’re not permitted to leave me.”

As the cold blade tip flipped back her hood, the hidden platinum blonde hair flowed down smoothly. His eyes, filled with intense heat, traveled up her exposed white nape to rest on the face of the woman wary of him.

A face as pale as snow. Eyes as clear and blue as a lake, and platinum hair that crumbled under his grasp.

He gently grasped the ends of her hair that he had explored to his heart’s content at night, twirling it around his finger joints. The feeling of it crumpling weakly in his hand was pleasing.

Clang!

At that moment, a chilling sound of friction split the air. It was the sound of Flora drawing her sword at an incredibly fast speed and deflecting the duke’s sword diagonally.

Thanks to that, Flora, who had completely distanced herself from the duke, put strength into her stiffened fingertips as she backed against the railing.

“I have no intention of going back.”

The beautiful duke’s brow furrowed slightly. Intuitively sensing her next move, the duke twisted up one corner of his mouth.

“I admit you’re strong, but not in front of me.”

The man’s lips curved up smoothly as he looked at Flora holding her small sword with indifferent eyes.

The man who had been watching her, looking quite adorable like a small cat raising its fur against a wary opponent, let out a sigh.

“Your claws are merely ticklish to me.”

Flora bit her lip. Indeed, just from crossing swords once, the back of her hand holding the sword handle trembled finely.

“Let’s stop here. I know why you’re doing this.”

The man’s tone, falling arrogantly, was heavy. As if to completely extinguish all her escape attempts, not just one or two, a dazzling smile was drawn over the duke’s face.

“I’ve long since abandoned any thought of sending you to the emperor.”

The man’s large hand reached out to her. Despite the seemingly affectionate gesture, Flora didn’t let go of her tension.

“So give up now and behave.”

“……”

Instead of answering, Flora nimbly turned around and leaped onto the wall’s parapet. One of the duke’s eyebrows raised in displeasure.

“What are you doing? Are you thinking of jumping from here?”

“Do you think I can’t?”

The man’s smoothly curved eyes narrowed in an instant. He soon became uncomfortable with the woman’s determination to jump rather than return to him.

“You’re expecting too much of my tolerance. Have you forgotten who you are?”

Claude Heinst, the head of the only ducal family in the Lezentra Empire and the commander-in-chief of the southern front, was a man who had reached the pinnacle of power that could only be arrogant.

Therefore, he had no reason to tolerate this woman’s escape act that was grating on his nerves any further.

If she refused, he would just drag her along. It was a very clear logic.

“If you’ve forgotten, I’ll remind you. You are my possession.”

The arrogant and heartless man put on a brilliant smile.

“Shall I put it more simply? It means you’re a woman I picked up. In other words, just obey my orders.”

The cold rebuke pierced her heart.

Flora, swallowing her bitter feelings, shifted her gaze from him to the sky. A white hawk with dark blue tail feathers was leisurely circling in the clear sky without a single cloud.

Her tightly closed lips parted weakly.

“Master, my name is not Flora.”

The man’s ash-gray eyes, slowly raising his lowered eyelashes, rippled with a small wave.

Realization slowly spread across his neat face, which had momentarily distorted. Even with this subtle change in expression, she could tell that her suspicions were true.

“…You knew… who I was… all along.”

Her voice trembled faintly as she endured the throbbing in her chest. The man who had shared warmth with her through countless nights no longer existed.

How foolish I was.

She had helplessly fallen for a kindness she had never received from anyone before. Without even suspecting the cruel plan hidden beneath that gentleness.

In the end, the final destination for a dog that had served its purpose was the boiling pot.

“…Blame me as you please.”

The man, who didn’t even bother to explain, clenched his firm jawline and took a step towards her.

However, Flora also took a step back just as much.

“Is even an excuse too much for you?”

Sand fell softly behind her feet as she stood precariously on the edge of the wall’s parapet. Sensing the danger, the duke frowned deeply and called out urgently.

“Damn it. Come down and let’s talk.”

“I have no reason to stay by your side anymore, Master.”

Flora dropped her sword weakly to the ground and spread her arms wide.

The man’s feet, which had been carefully approaching, were suddenly nailed to the spot. A desperate impatience flashed across the man’s face, which had been composed all along.

“Damn it! Stop this nonsense and come down right now!”

The man’s composure, which had been feigning calmness, vanished without a trace in an instant.

Flora gave a lonely smile to the man she had once believed to be her savior and loved with all her being.

“Because you are no longer my master.”

The next moment, Flora’s small body, standing freely without support, began to tilt backward. It was simultaneous with the man throwing away his sword carelessly and rushing forward desperately.

“Flora!”

Claude, who ran desperately to catch her as she jumped off the high wall, stretched out his long arm.

But his hand, missing by a hair’s breadth, only grasped at empty air. As he faced his empty hand, feeling only the touch of the soft robe slipping through his palm, Claude felt his heart sink.

Nothing to grasp.

The man, trying hard to erase the scene he didn’t want to imagine from his mind, cast his gaze down the wall. Even as he bent over and frantically scanned the surroundings, he couldn’t see her.

Instead, beyond his vision obscured by the thick dust, the sound of a horse neighing and hooves splitting the ground rang out from somewhere.

His sharp gaze quickly lifted towards the direction of the sound. The momentary relief that settled on his face was instantly twisted into devastation.

Claude, realizing that despite dramatically finding her, she had ultimately escaped from him, fiercely grasped the cold stone wall.

In contrast, Flora, who had safely landed on a horse that had passed through the city gate just in time, calmly grabbed the reins. The white horse that welcomed its master snorted, scattering its mane.

“Hurry, Flora. The knights are spread out everywhere.”

Hearing the urging voice from behind, Flora was about to turn the horse’s head but changed her mind and stopped the horse. Then she turned her head and looked up expressionlessly at the man on the wall who was staring at her with disbelieving eyes.

Their intense gazes intertwined through the air.

But only for a moment. Flora, without hesitation, tore her gaze away from the man’s face filled with complex emotions and pulled hard on the horse’s reins.

Immediately, the snow-white horse kicked off the ground and galloped away. Her platinum blonde hair flowed freely in the winter wind that was cold enough to sting the nose.

The speed of the horse was fierce as they moved away from the man who was once her master. Without ever looking back, even as the man called out her name.

To my arrogant master.

From today, I will abandon you.