On his way to see Ariadne, Kieron repeatedly questioned whether he should really go. He knew the truth, though: his earlier words had been too harsh, and Derrick’s argument had hit home.

He was the one who had created this mess. So it was his responsibility to set things right. Besides, she would prefer him to come in person rather than send someone in his place.

Realizing this made him let out a long, heavy sigh.

Ariadne was strange.

Different.

She wasn’t interested in luxury or expensive things.

She took no pleasure in shopping.

She never invited guests simply to flaunt her status.

Unlike the young ladies who had once flocked around him, she didn’t view marriage to Kieron Ambrose as a glittering prize.

She never begged him for favors or lectured him on his duties as a husband. She never blamed him for being distant.

She never sought comfort elsewhere or pressured him to pretend that they were an idyllic couple.

She simply existed beside him. Quietly. Without demands. Without schemes.

This unsettled him more than he cared to admit.

All she ever wanted was to spend time with him.

To sit together over a cup of tea.

To share a meal.

To celebrate anniversaries.

To know where he was headed, and to support each other in our work.

Simple, ordinary things. Yet even those seemed to have faded from her expectations.

Like when he suggested they have tea together earlier, for example.

She hadn’t looked pleased, only awkward. She nodded slowly, wearing that strangely uncomfortable expression. Then again, perhaps it hadn’t been discomfort.

He no longer knew.

To him, it had seemed as though she had lost all interest in him; as though she truly wanted nothing from him.

The memory of that expression made something hot and sharp rise inside him.

A tight pressure surged up from his chest to his throat.

This is bad.

He was on his way to stop her from returning to the Marquisate.

If he went to her like this, in this state, it would solve nothing.

Kieron stopped and pressed a hand to his forehead.

He needed to calm down.

Acting while he was so emotional would not help either of them.

‘First, stop her from leaving.’
‘The rest can be dealt with after.’

He forced himself to breathe slowly and deeply until the heat coiled inside him had dulled to a manageable level.

Only then did he resume walking, heading straight for her room.

When he finally reached her door.

“My lady.”

Knock, knock.

His voice was low and controlled.

The sound of hurried movement came from inside.

If she said she was going back to her family home, she clearly meant it — she was packing earnestly.

Why was she like this?

He felt that familiar surge rising again, and he forced it back down slowly.

‘First talk. Just talk.’
‘One thing at a time.’

A moment later, the door opened slightly and Ariadne appeared.

“…What is it?”

“I have something to discuss. May I come in? It’s a bit inconvenient to speak out here.”

At his steady tone, she hesitated for only a moment before opening the door wider.

“Come in.”

When he entered the room, he saw that she had gathered her belongings in several piles — she really was leaving.

Realizing that she was serious about leaving, he took a deep breath.

“I’ll bring tea, my lady.”

Thankfully, the perceptive maid knew to excuse herself and leave the two of them alone.

“What did you want to say?”

As soon as the maid had left, Ariadne got straight to the point. Yet her hands never stopped tidying up the items she had gathered.

Kieron felt a spike of frustration rise again, but managed to swallow it down.

“…What if you went to your family home another time? Together, I mean.”

“You’d come with me? To my family’s estate?”

‘Family home.’

Kieron closed his eyes and clenched his fist tightly.

“Ariadne Ambrose. Your home is here.”

“That’s not the issue, Your Grace. I asked if you meant what you said. Whether it’s now or later, did you really mean we should go ‘together’?”

Her insistence made it clear that resolving that question was more important to her than anything else. Her wide eyes fixed on him, demanding an answer, and he nodded slowly.

‘Focus on what matters first,’ he repeated silently to himself.

“Yes. I said we should go together. So for now, unpack your—”

“Why?”

And just like that, the fragile control he’d been clinging to snapped—cleanly, sharply.

***

“Together”?

Ariadne thought it was the most absurd and laughable thing she had heard in a long time.

After all, he was the man who had never once offered to let her go home to see her parents on their birthdays.

He didn’t even bother on her birthday. He never cared where she went or what she did. He was a man who told her not to bother him. And now he suddenly wanted to go with her?

Oh.

Would it cause him trouble if she left alone?

A humorless scoff escaped her.

“Your Grace, why are you suddenly doing things you’ve never done before? You never used to care where I went or what I did. What happened to the man who told me not to bother him?”

She remembered it with painful clarity.

When she had dragged her frail body through the manor, desperately trying to serve the ducal house, he had looked at her with nothing but cold disdain.

When she collapsed and later opened her eyes, he had taken away the one task she had been clinging to. “Don’t bother me. Don’t seek my attention.” That was what his expression had said.

She remembered that icy face.

She remembered the man who never once took her hand yet reprimanded her for not acting like a proper duchess.

She remembered the look in his eyes when he took out all his frustration on her, as if she were somehow responsible for the Council’s refusal to acknowledge him, even though she had played no part in it.

Ariadne looked at Kieron now, her expression frozen solid.

“Just keep doing what you always did. We were little better than strangers anyway.”

They were little more than strangers. That was the only way to describe their relationship. They were husband and wife only in name. Their marriage could fall apart the moment she turned her back.

As she turned away, he suddenly turned to look at her.

Her voice grew even colder.

“If you’ve said everything, please leave. I need to finish packing.”

It was an unmistakable refusal. It was a declaration that she would not obey him. Beneath it all, she felt the sting of resentment — resentment intended for him, but which also cut her; it was a double-edged sword that she could barely endure.

Not wanting him to see her consumed by these feelings, she turned away and busied herself with her things.

Then he snapped.

“So. You plan to run to your family and confess everything?”

“…What?”

“You’re going to tell the people who drop everything and come running for you exactly how I’ve ‘ignored’ you all this time like a child tattling?”

His voice dripped with ridicule, the kind meant to wound.

Ariadne stared at him, speechless.

Was he… trying to start a fight?

“And what if I do?”

“What do you think? I’ll tell the marquis you weren’t ready to leave your parents and start a household. That he should have raised you better before sending you here.”

“What did you just say?”

“Go ahead and tell them. Tell them how unhappy you are here. It’s not as if it would be a lie.”

The scorn in his tone left her speechless. She failed to notice that his expression hadn’t changed at all, only grown colder.

“Really, why did you even bother getting married? If you hadn’t, you could be at home right now, being pampered and coddled by people who love you.”

“Are you finished?”

“No. Not yet.”

Ariadne began to bristle, breath coming out sharp and angry, but Kieron pressed on relentlessly.

“I should also add this: once you walk out, don’t ever think of setting foot in the ducal estate again. This isn’t a playground you can come and go from as you please.”

“I have never treated it like a playground!”

“Well. Whether that’s true or not will show in your behavior.”

Ariadne could no longer think.

Her mind went blank, seared by an uncontrollable roar.

This brazen, spiteful man—

He acted as though he wanted to push her away, yet expected everything to unfold exactly as he wished. But what infuriated her most was the way he treated her.

As if she were a helpless child, incapable of functioning without her parents. As if she were incapable of running a household of her own.

Pathetic. Clinging. Incompetent.

From the very beginning, she had tried to get along with him. She had tried to support him and help him secure his place within the ducal family.

Everyone in the house had seen this, so why was he the only one pretending not to?

Ariadne glared at him, her whole body trembling with indignation.

“Fine. My father’s birthday is coming up. The whole family will be gathering. Since you said it yourself, promise me you’ll go with me no matter what.”

If he dared to refuse, if he even tried to twist things again, she would leave this place without looking back. She absolutely refused to let things go his way.

Her eyes sharpened with fierce resolve as she issued her ultimatum.

“That’s how adults handle things, isn’t it? Or am I wrong?”

This time, she lifted her chin in a challenge, probably believing that it looked intimidating or provocative.

But Kieron, a man who had survived real battlefields, found the attempt laughably naïve, like a gentle lamb trying to bare its teeth.

“Fine. I’ll make time for that day. I needed to see the marquis eventually.”

“And you’ll have to treat me well that day. As you said, my family drops everything if it concerns me.”

In other words: Behave, unless you want trouble.

Kieron let out a low, humorless laugh and nodded.

“I’ll do my best to act politely.”

“Why would you need to ‘act’ politely? Just behave like the gentleman you claim to be.”

When Ariadne muttered in disbelief, as if to say that she hadn’t expected much, his eyebrow twitched upwards. He said nothing, however.

He simply nodded in silence.