Meanwhile, Ines, left alone in the room, let out a soft sigh. Thanks to Margaret’s comfort, her heart had calmed a little.

She stared blankly at her reflection in the mirror. Suddenly, her eyes caught sight of her bare neck.

Ines, gently touching the clean area around her neck, opened the drawer of her dressing table.

With a sliding sound, a blue-tinged necklace greeted her.

Ever since she saw Uriel coming out of Carlos’s room, it had pained her to look at this necklace, so she had tucked it away in the drawer.

Ines slowly held it in her hand and fiddled with the pendant that resembled her eyes for a long time.

Then she unhooked it and put the necklace back around her neck.

The blue gemstone settled on her plain neck, filling the emptiness. Perhaps it was due to a change in her mood. The necklace, which she had thought didn’t suit her, somehow fit quite well.

Ines, who was endlessly fiddling with the pendant, murmured to herself.

“Yes, right now, it’s Carlos who’s having the hardest time.”

She felt petty for being upset just because he hadn’t held her hand once. What did it matter what people whispered? Her reputation had been in the gutter for a long time, and a few more words wouldn’t change anything.

What mattered at that moment was Carlos.

Suddenly, she imagined Llewellyn dying. Her heart felt like it was being torn to shreds already.

That was what it meant to grieve for the loss of family. With that thought, Ines’s resolve hardened.

“Let’s just get some sleep now.”

Tomorrow was the day to move the Countess’s coffin to the royal mausoleum. There was a lot to do in the morning. Surely, moving around wouldn’t be easy due to the wet, muddy roads. It was better to rest as much as possible.

With that in mind, Ines began extinguishing the candles in the room one by one. Just as she was about to blow out the last candle, a knock sounded.

‘Who could it be at this hour?’

Margaret had been gone for a while already. Wondering if she had left something behind, Ines opened the door. What she saw was…

“…Carlos?”

It was none other than Carlos.

The surprise of his unexpected visit was brief as curiosity began to arise. He had never come to her room without a special reason.

Especially at such a late hour. Worried that something serious might have happened, Ines carefully asked him.

“How are you here… Did something happen?”

Her voice, laced with concern, made Carlos twist his lips into a smile.

“Do I need a problem to come?”

Carlos, who said this, reeked of strong alcohol. Upon closer inspection, his appearance seemed unfamiliar. He had always appeared impeccably composed. The shirt that was usually buttoned up to his neck was half undone, and he held a bottle of alcohol in one hand. It was truly the first time she had seen him like this.

‘He must have been really struggling.’

How hard must it have been for him to come to her room, drunk like this? While she felt sorry for Carlos’s situation, she was also secretly grateful that he had come to her in his time of need. Ines opened the door wide with a welcoming heart.

“Please, come in.”

As Ines stepped slightly aside, he entered the room as if he had been waiting. His staggering steps made it clear he was already drunk. Ines closed the door and lit a few more candles in the room. The once dim room became a bit brighter.

Ines approached Carlos, who was leaning against the sofa.

Perhaps wanting to drink with her, Carlos placed the alcohol and glasses he had brought on the table.

“Come to think of it, I’ve never had a drink with you until now.”

Saying this, Carlos began pouring alcohol into the empty glasses. The sweet scent of wine spread throughout the room.

“I’d like to have a drink with you.”

“I…”

Ines hesitated as she looked at the glass he offered.

Not having touched alcohol at all, she couldn’t even think of drinking. But considering how difficult it must have been for him to do this, she eventually accepted the glass.

Ines, fiddling with the glass and hesitating, took a sip. The strong alcohol scent that went down her throat made her frown. Carlos watched her expression as he tilted his glass.

How many glasses did the two of them exchange like that? Contrary to her expectation that he had come for a specific reason, Carlos quietly continued drinking.

‘What should I do? At this rate, I’m going to get drunk.’

Since she wasn’t used to drinking, just a couple of glasses were enough to make her tipsy. As she started feeling unusually warm, she began to fan herself with her hand.

“I noticed earlier that you seem to have gotten quite close with the guard knight.”

“Excuse me?”

Ines looked up at Carlos’s unexpected comment, realizing only then that he was referring to what had happened at the chapel that day.

“Are you talking about Sir Dairen? He’s a good person. He seems more responsible and upright than the previous guards. I was actually planning to thank you for assigning such a good person as my guard.”

She spoke sincerely. Although his status was much lower compared to the previous guards, that didn’t matter to her. What she truly needed was someone who could assist her in times of danger.

Carlos listened quietly to her words, then lifted the corners of his mouth in a faint smile.

“A good person… That’s a relief.”

After saying this, Carlos took another sip of his drink. For some reason, his expression seemed oddly angry. Ines couldn’t understand his sudden change in demeanor.

“With him around, you won’t have to worry about getting hit by a stone thrown by a child.”

Without warning, he struck her heart with those words. That incident was one of the many things Ines wished to erase from her memory. It had crushed her pride, much like the necklace incident from her past. If Carlos had any understanding of the humiliation she had felt that day, he wouldn’t have made such a comment.

But Ines concealed her emotions and replied calmly.

“…I suppose so.”

Her grip on the glass tightened. Feeling irrationally angry, she downed the entire glass of wine in one go.

Perhaps she drank too quickly, as the wine spilled over her lips, leaving a red trail down her pale skin.

Carlos, watching intently, reached out and gently wiped her lips with his thumb.

Startled by his touch, Ines stiffened. Did she stare at Carlos with a blank expression? He licked the wine off his thumb, and Ines, captivated by the sight, widened her eyes. Maybe it was the alcohol, but she could feel her face flush.

However, Ines quickly regained her composure and shook her head. Her heart pounded so fiercely that she almost forgot how upset she had been by Carlos’s earlier words.

It might have been a misunderstanding, but she felt as though the atmosphere had softened a bit. So, Ines gathered her courage. Struggling to find her voice, she finally spoke after fidgeting with her glass.

“The Countess… I feel sorry too.”

His hand, which had been pouring more wine, paused at her words.

“She only had happiness ahead of her… I feel sorry as well. I should have taken better care of her. I’m sorry.”

Carlos, who had been listening quietly, let out a small laugh.

“If you felt sorry, you should have taken care of the Countess earlier. If you had shown even a little interest in my mother…”

“Pardon?”

But Carlos closed his mouth again and set the bottle down with a loud thud. Startled, Ines flinched, fearing the glass bottle might shatter.

Carlos suddenly stood up, leaving Ines behind, and staggered toward the door. It seemed he intended to return to his room.

“Wait, please!”

Ines hurriedly followed Carlos with unsteady steps and managed to stop him as he opened the door.

“It’s dangerous to go all the way to the Sun Palace like this.”

Carlos turned around at her words.

“So you’re saying I should sleep here?”

“Well…”

Ines hesitated, unable to respond. She had stopped him out of concern for his safety while drunk, but the idea of him staying here made her anxious. Nevertheless, she concluded that it was too dangerous for him to return alone without an attendant, so she nodded.

“Yes, please stay here and rest. We are a married couple, after all. There’s no reason not to, right?”

Carlos gazed at Ines quietly, tilting his head slightly.

“If you don’t let me go now…”

He looked at her with eyes that were difficult to read.

“I won’t just sleep quietly.”