The lake at the Grand Duke’s castle was a place Cesar had discovered by chance when he was 6 years old. He had stumbled upon it while running away in fear after first learning about the curse. Though it belonged to the Grand Duke’s castle, almost no one knew of its existence.

It remained completely unmanaged, without even a path leading to it. It would be fair to say that currently, only Cesar knew how to get there. After much difficulty, they arrived at the lake, which appeared far more beautiful than he remembered.

Glancing at the girl, he saw that she too was completely entranced by the lake’s beauty, just as he had been when he first discovered it. But something strange was happening. Why…

“…”

Cesar could confidently say that the lakeside before him was the most beautiful sight he had seen in his 10 years of life. He had been certain that would never change until the day he died. And yet…

“Wow… it’s so pretty…”

“…”

At her murmur, Cesar almost responded without thinking.

‘You’re prettier.’

Cesar felt a sense of crisis at this strange emotion that rushed over him like a tidal wave. Without even properly recognizing what this feeling was or what made it dangerous, he only thought that he needed to get away from her immediately. So while Lesia was entranced by the lake, Cesar tried to turn and flee.

He couldn’t even consider how wrong it would be to leave someone unfamiliar with this place behind. But…

“Wait!!”

Hearing her urgent voice and hurried footsteps, Cesar almost broke into a run.

However, Lesia caught him, and when he came to his senses, Cesar found himself pinned beneath her. Eyes as transparent and blue as the lake were right in front of him. Momentarily enchanted by those eyes, he didn’t even notice that his mask had fallen off.

He only realized this when he heard Lesia murmuring with a dazed expression.

“Wow… truly beautiful…”

Before he could object, pain suddenly began to surge through him. He belatedly realized that his necklace had flown off, but the storming agony made it difficult to move even a finger. Seeing Cesar in such a state, Lesia blamed herself and didn’t know what to do.

Cesar used his last bit of strength to speak. As a result, Lesia had propped Cesar against a large tree and was now searching for the necklace by herself. As the night deepened, the pain gripping Cesar grew increasingly severe.

Through his increasingly blurry vision, Cesar persistently watched Lesia. 

‘I don’t understand.’ 

Though perhaps not as much as Cesar who was suffering from the curse, it was clear that Lesia was also struggling greatly as she searched for the necklace through the undergrowth in the middle of the night.

Despite the cold winter, the neckline and back of her dress were soaked with sweat, and her face, nose tip, neck, and hands were flushed red. It would be much better for her to ask Cesar for directions back and return to the banquet hall by herself. Whether Cesar survived or not, he was nothing to her anyway.

There were no witnesses, so there would be no problems later. 

‘Does she know my identity and expect compensation?’ 

Cesar thought leisurely. But soon, from Lesia’s shout, he knew that wasn’t the case.

“Just wait a little longer! I’ll definitely find it for you!”

No commoner would speak so informally to him if they knew he was the Grand Duke’s son. Moreover, her tone was friendly, as though they had known each other for a long time. 

‘How annoying…’

Cesar, whose vision had become so blurry he could barely distinguish colors, leaned his head back and closed his eyes. The level of pain was different from anything he had experienced before. Perhaps tonight, he might die.

The shadow of death approached boldly, not even leaving a single step between them. Normally, he should be afraid, but…

‘This might be fortunate.’

He could find peace without suffering anymore. Plus, dying beside the lake he loved. What a luxurious death indeed.

‘And…’

Cesar listened to the sound of Lesia frantically searching through the undergrowth. Winter plants were quite tough, so her hands must be covered in wounds by now. Yet she showed no hesitation in pushing through the vegetation.

Thump… thump…

The curse truly seemed determined to kill him. His heart was racing wildly. At the same time, a pleasant smile spread across Cesar’s face. He thought perhaps it was fortunate that he met her before dying.

If there was just one regret before dying…

‘What’s her name?’

It was that he didn’t know her name. She had given him a special experience before his death, so he wished he at least knew her name. That regret stuck in his mind like a tiny thorn in his finger.

Just as Cesar’s consciousness was about to fade with that regret…

Suddenly his neck felt itchy, and then, the excruciating pain vanished. Cesar slowly opened his eyes at the sudden disappearance of pain.

Immediately.

“Hehe, I told you I’d find it!”

A brightly smiling innocent face filled his vision. In that moment, Cesar found himself melting into Lesia’s warmth, like parched land soaking up rain.

An emotion he couldn’t even name washed over him. The warmth he felt for the first time in his life was so comforting that Cesar unknowingly shed tears.

Meanwhile, Lesia, unaware of what was happening, widened her eyes at the sight of Cesar suddenly crying.

“Hey, why, why are you crying? Is it because the string broke? I’m sorry.”

Although the situation was unavoidable, it was her fault that the string broke, so Lesia tried awkwardly to comfort Cesar.

At that moment.

“So this is where you were. I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

At the sudden voice, Lesia’s head whipped around.

She sensed someone walking through the dark undergrowth. A moment later, the owner of the voice revealed herself in the moonlight. When Lesia saw the person, her eyes widened in recognition.

And for good reason.

‘The Grand Duchess?’

A captivating woman with long black hair and red eyes. Lesia remembered seeing her giving a speech on stage. Why was the Grand Duchess here?

Before that thought could finish, someone else emerged from behind the Grand Duchess. This person ran straight to Lesia and embraced her immediately.

“Lesia! You!”

“Mom?”

Juliana’s arms trembled slightly as she held Lesia. Her rough breathing tickled Lesia’s ear.

“How did Mom get here…”

The Grand Duchess answered Lesia’s question.

“She was looking for her daughter, so I came here just in case, but to think…”

The Grand Duchess’s gaze fell on Cesar behind Lesia.

As their eyes met, Cesar struggled to his feet. His wariness was evident.

A smile spread across Teresa’s lips.

“I didn’t expect to find you with my son.”

“Your son?”

Lesia’s eyes widened at Teresa’s unexpected words.

Looking back and forth between the two, she wondered why she hadn’t noticed earlier how similar they looked.

Juliana also seemed quite surprised to learn that the person with Lesia was the Grand Duke’s son.

Soon, Juliana stood up holding Lesia’s hand and bowed her head toward Teresa.

“My daughter has been very disrespectful to the young master.”

Though she wasn’t sure exactly what was happening, seeing Juliana bow and apologize, Lesia quickly bowed her head too.

“I’m sorry.”

Cesar bit his lower lip at the sight of Lesia apologizing with her head bowed despite having done nothing wrong.

Seeing this, Teresa’s smile deepened. She then shook her head.

“Children will be children. It’s fine.”

She approached Lesia, bent down to her eye level. Lesia blinked her large eyes as she looked into Teresa’s.

Juliana was horrified at Lesia’s manner of addressing nobility and tried to make her bow her head, but Teresa raised her hand to stop her.

“Your name is Lesia, correct?”

Despite her cold appearance, her voice was soft.

Lesia nodded.

“Yes, Grand Duchess.”

“Good, Lesia. I look forward to our future together.”

What could she mean by that?

Without understanding, Lesia simply nodded. Soon, Juliana took Lesia and left the lakeside. Teresa watched Lesia’s retreating figure for a while before murmuring.

“What a pretty child. White hair and blue eyes too. She hardly looks like a commoner’s child.”

A growl like that of a young beast followed.

“It’s not her.”

Teresa turned to Cesar with an interested expression.

“I don’t know what you mean. Just remember one thing.”

Teresa approached Cesar, caressed his cheek, and whispered.

“If you wish, you can keep that child by your side until she dies.”

“…”

When Cesar’s red eyes wavered, the corners of Teresa’s eyes curved upward.

“Let’s go back. The banquet isn’t over yet. You need to find your companion, don’t you?”

Leaving only those words, Teresa turned away coldly.

Thus, Cesar didn’t know. That Teresa was smiling broadly as she turned away.

‘I won’t keep her by my side.’

He simply stared at Teresa’s retreating figure and made a vow.

‘I… that girl…’

Cesar failed to realize. That he was secretly happy to have learned Lesia’s name.