Llewellyn had left.

The person Ines trusted and relied on the most had departed from her side. Ines looked at the wound she had received from Llewellyn.

The doctor had said that as long as she didn’t use her hand, the wound would heal soon. During the treatment, Ines’s face remained somber.

The wound that would have healed with just good medicine… It pained her that her mother hadn’t received proper treatment. That’s why she didn’t want to let Llewellyn go.

“Mother…”

But there was no excuse to persuade Llewellyn to stay, as she insisted she couldn’t remain here for Ines’s sake. Even though having Llewellyn by her side was truly for her own good, Ines couldn’t bring herself to say so.

‘I feel more alive than when I was at the Duke’s mansion.’

Seeing her mother’s relieved face, as if she had laid down all her burdens, Ines couldn’t bring herself to speak.

If she had asked her to stay, Llewellyn might have reluctantly agreed.

But it felt like a selfish desire, an egotistical act.

‘You never felt at ease even at the Duke’s mansion. Staying in the palace would feel stifling.’

Even within the Duke Claudia household, few knew about their relationship. Llewellyn had stayed in a separate building where only a select few could enter, and it was quite distant from the main house.

While staying there, she often didn’t step outside her room for fear of being seen by other servants.

Ines stared blankly at the spot where Llewellyn had sat. As she gazed into space, Llewellyn’s last words echoed in her mind.

‘I… I just want you to be happy.’

Happiness.

She quietly murmured the word Llewellyn had left her with.

Once, she had lived with the vain hope that she too could be happy. To become the wife of the man she loved, to have children who resembled him, and to build a simple family—such happiness.

But after becoming engaged to Joseph, she realized that even ordinary happiness was not meant for her.

‘It’s a difficult bond to maintain. So, now you must be happy.’

Her mother was right.

Carlos, whom she thought she’d never see again, had returned alive, and now she was his wife, just as she had once dreamed. It could be seen as her childhood wish finally coming true, albeit belatedly.

Even if it was just a marriage in name only.

Ines turned her head. She caught sight of her weary reflection in the window. Carlos also had wanted to marry her. Of course, his reasons for marriage had nothing to do with love.

He did not love her.

He despised her.

Carlos kept her by his side, not killing her, to exact revenge for the past betrayal. Perhaps he intended to watch her wither away slowly by his side.

A shadow fell over her once bright eyes.

Carlos outwardly showed respect, speaking to her formally, but there was a sharp edge beneath his words.

Sometimes, his unrefined words cut into her like a trap. Every time it happened, Ines thought:

Carlos was angry with her.

He was venting his resentment for her betrayal and her dalliance with his brother.

The fact that he hadn’t killed her despite the rebellion wasn’t due to some childish emotion like love. It was merely a lingering attachment or obsession over what he hadn’t achieved in the past.

As she organized her thoughts, a deep worry settled on Ines’s face.

Could anything change between us?

“If I try, can it change?”

If I get closer to Carlos.

‘Let go of your pride.’

If I become a queen recognized by others.

‘Bow your head and approach His Majesty first.’

Could our future be better than it is now?

The relationship was already broken beyond repair. She doubted whether they could forget the past and start anew.

It takes two hands to clap. Could this broken relationship really be restored if she struggled alone?

She didn’t need to think far. Just recalling what happened in this room yesterday provided the answer.

The memory of her first physical encounter with Carlos flashed through Ines’s mind.

It was the moment when a scene she had once dreamed of turned into a miserable reality.

She lacked confidence.

Confidence that she could return to how things were with Carlos.

“Sigh…”

Feeling lost, Ines let out a heavy sigh. Just then, someone knocked on the door. It was one of Carlos’s attendants, someone she had seen before.

Why had he come so suddenly? Ines greeted him with a puzzled expression.

“What brings you here?”

“I have something to deliver to Her Majesty the Queen.”

“To me?”

The attendant handed her a box he had prepared. It was the necklace Carlos had said could be disposed of at her discretion. It seemed too valuable to discard carelessly.

After some deliberation, the attendant decided to return the necklace to its original owner, Ines.

“This is…”

“His Majesty ordered this for Her Majesty the Queen.”

“…For me?”

“Yes.”

He bowed briefly and opened the box. Inside, wrapped in blue velvet, was a necklace.

“A necklace…”

Ines’s voice trailed off as she gazed at the necklace.

The pendant, about the size of her thumbnail, shone with a blue hue similar to her own eyes. It was a color that resembled her eyes.

Ines slowly took out the necklace. The aquamarine pendant sparkled as it caught the light.

‘This pendant… it really looks like your eyes.’

A faint smile appeared on her lips as memories resurfaced.

Yes, there was a time when we were like that.

‘I’ll give you something better next time.’

Carlos had said this when he felt bad about giving her a cheap necklace bought from a street stall.

“Well, I’ll take my leave now.”

While she was lost in memories, the attendant bowed and left the room.

Left alone, Ines put on the necklace and looked into the mirror. Was it because it was a gift she hadn’t received in a long time? Or was it because the giver was Carlos? She couldn’t tell.

Unconsciously, a smile kept spreading across her face.

Even after the attendant left, she continued to fiddle with the necklace for a while before turning her head toward the window.

The sky was filled with dark clouds from the early autumn monsoon rains, but occasionally, bright sunlight broke through, asserting its presence.

Watching this, a small hope sprouted in Ines’s heart.

“It’s better than doing nothing.”

Just as her mother had said.

Perhaps there was still a path to happiness for her.

Better to try something and regret it than to do nothing and be gloomy.

With that thought, Ines moved.

At the very least, she should thank him for the gift.

As she left the room, her steps felt lighter than usual.

* * *

When Ines reached his office, the meeting had fortunately just ended. She entered, lightly acknowledging the greetings of those leaving the office.

Apparently, Carlos had been receiving a report from someone, as there was another person in the office. Perhaps he didn’t notice her entrance. To announce her presence, Ines cleared her throat softly.

Carlos, who had been looking at documents, lifted his head. Only then did the person giving the report bow and leave the office. Ines seized the opportunity and quickly spoke.

“Are you busy?”

“As you can see.”

Carlos gave a brief reply to Ines’s question and then lowered his head again. His cold response made Ines fidget with her nails.

She wanted to thank him.

How long did she hesitate, unsure of how to start? Soon, Ines gathered her courage.

“The necklace…”

She wanted to say she received the necklace he sent and thank him for remembering the promise he made to her in the past. But…

“I heard the maid left.”

He interrupted Ines, bringing up a different topic. It seemed he hadn’t even noticed she was wearing the necklace. His gaze had already returned to the documents.

Losing the direction of the conversation, Ines parted her lips. Then, reluctantly, she nodded.

“…Yes. Just now.”

Carlos continued speaking without sparing her a glance.

“I hear she’s going to keep working at the farm after leaving here…”

It seemed he had already been briefed on Llewellyn’s whereabouts. Finally, Carlos looked at Ines.

“Why didn’t you take her in as a maid?”

His red eyes fixed on her face.

“…It seemed she felt uncomfortable working at the palace. There are a lot of restrictions when working here, so I decided to respect her wishes.”

“Even with restrictions, being the queen’s maid would have been better than fieldwork.”

Carlos’s voice took on a sarcastic tone.

“I thought you were close, considering how desperately you searched for her.”

Leaning back in his chair, he tilted his head.

“Was it just a misunderstanding on my part?”