The Marquis and Marchioness of Peyton only left once dinner had been served and enjoyed.

Perhaps they truly enjoyed their time with their daughter and son-in-law, as the Marchioness wore a radiant smile throughout the evening. Even the Marquis left with a noticeably lighter expression.

Meanwhile, Ariadne was completely bewildered. Not once, not even during the bleakest periods of her marriage, had she imagined that such a day could ever exist.

“Today was truly wonderful, Rene.”

Estelle Peyton gathered her beloved daughter into her arms, holding her with a smile filled with genuine joy.

She had felt such quiet sadness at rarely seeing Rene since the wedding, but tonight seemed to wash all of it away. Rene still looked a little dazed, but the Marchioness believed that Kieron would explain everything once they had left. Any remaining confusion on her daughter’s face would surely be resolved in time.

Gently stroking her daughter’s hair and noting how much she had grown, she whispered reassuringly.

“Don’t worry too much. And don’t try to look only at the bad things.”

“…I’ll try, Mother.”

“And come visit the manor soon—with His Grace. You can come around the time of Heidel’s wedding.”

Perhaps the tension between the couple would have eased by then. Eager to see the two of them happy together, the Marchioness offered her suggestion gently. Ariadne nodded.

“Yes, Mother. Thank you for coming today.”

“Thank me? Not at all. Let’s see each other again soon.”

As the two women exchanged their farewells, Kieron and the marquis also finished their polite goodbyes.

Ariadne saw her mother off, still wearing that bright, pleased smile.

“Shall we talk for a moment?”

Once the carriage carrying her parents disappeared from sight, Kieron spoke in a quiet voice. Ariadne nodded, she had things she wanted to say as well.

“All right. I also wanted to talk.”

“Then let’s go to my study.”

The two of them headed there together.

Inside, tea and a selection of refreshments had been neatly laid out on the table, as if prepared in advance. When he took his seat, Ariadne sat down opposite him.

“You wanted to speak first?”

“Yes. I can.”

Kieron showed no signs of annoyance or discomfort. He simply waited, ready to listen.

This surprised her, but even more surprising was how sincere he seemed, as if he was truly intent on hearing whatever she had to say.

What on earth had changed him so much?

“First of all… thank you for inviting my parents today.”

“I only did something I should have done long ago.”

He dismissed it lightly, as though it were nothing.

‘Something he should have done long ago.’

Ariadne wanted to ask why he had waited so long to do something so simple, but she held back.

Now wasn’t the time. So she kept quiet for the time being. It was better to address the issue at hand before bringing up anything else.

After steadying her breath, Ariadne slowly began.

“And… I’ve thought a little about what comes next.”

There were matters that needed to be resolved before anything else.

Choosing her words one by one, she continued—carefully, very carefully.

“Why did you treat me that way? If that isn’t resolved, then I don’t think I’ll understand anything.”

She looked straight at him. There had been things over the past three years that only he could explain.

Why had he pushed her away when she had been trying so hard to get along with him? Why he kept rejecting, ignoring and dismissing her as though she were something that had to be kept at arm’s length.

‘Why.’

She needed that answer, otherwise her heart would never find even a sliver of peace. But the moment she asked, Kieron’s expression changed instantly.

He looked startled—no, uncomfortable. His gaze shifted to the side.

“…Are you saying I should apologize for the mistakes I made back then?”

“So you do recognize them as mistakes.”

At this, Kieron looked awkward, as if he wanted to say something but didn’t know how.

Ariadne watched him, waiting.

What excuse would he give? What explanation would he offer? What would it be? But instead of anything she had prepared herself for — or even feared — Kieron only quietly lowered his head.

“I’m sorry.”

Simple.
Light.
Nowhere close to anything she had imagined or expected.

“You’re… apologizing?”

“What else could I possibly say?”

“…And you’re not going to tell me why you did it?”

Because what she wanted wasn’t merely those two syllables.

Yes, the apology was appreciated, but it wasn’t what she needed.

At this point, shouldn’t he explain things to her? Shouldn’t he say something to help her understand? Something to help her make sense of the last three years, and justify — or at least contextualize — the hurt?

But nothing.

No reason.

No alternative.

Just an apology, as though that were the end of it.

She blinked, at a loss for words, when he spoke again.

“You apologize for what you did wrong. And for the rest… you move forward.”

As if admitting fault was enough, and the only thing left was to continue on.

‘Does he truly believe that?’

Ariadne let out a faint, incredulous laugh and tilted her head.

“So you have no intention of explaining the reason.”

“It’s not that I don’t. It’s more that… there was no real reason. Would that not suffice?”

‘What is he even saying right now?’

No reason? Was he admitting that he disliked her without reason? That wasn’t an explanation; it was nonsense. Was he just stringing together whatever words came to mind?

Ariadne could feel the anger she had tried to hold back gradually rising, clouding the clarity she had struggled to maintain.

‘And this is what he calls a conversation?’

Not only did he fail to address a single issue that had been troubling her for three years, he also glossed over everything as though it were unimportant.

Was she really supposed to sit there and listen to him speak so thoughtlessly?

As her irritation grew, her expression hardened.

He must have noticed, because he suddenly froze, let out an “ah” sound, sat up straight and cleared his throat.

“What I mean is… not that there was no reason, but that I’m not sure how to explain it.”

Yes. At least that made more sense.

Kieron watched her cautiously, sweating profusely inside.

There was no way he could tell her the truth about his agreement with the Marquis. There was no need to relive the humiliation he had endured or the fury he had suppressed, details that would only cause further damage to their relationship.

All he needed to do was explain how their relationship worked.

No unnecessary embellishments. Besides, he and the Marquis had agreed to keep that matter between themselves.

As he saw Ariadne’s fearsome expression ease little by little, he realized he had chosen the right approach.

“So you’re saying you don’t know how to explain it.”

“Yes. That’s the most accurate way to put it. I never hurt you for no reason.”

There was a reason, just not one he could ever tell her.

Caught between truths he could not reveal and explanations he needed to provide, Kieron briefly hesitated, wondering how he could speak in a way she would accept.

“Is it… that you didn’t understand what you were feeling?”

“Rather than emotions…I’d say I was simply clumsy. From your perspective, this marriage was a losing bargain. I was aware of that.”

After much deliberation, he decided that being selectively honest was the safest option.

His pride had been wounded by the fact that the daughter of a marquess had married him on condition, as if the fleeting affection of a noblewoman had sealed the deal.

Not only had the marquess’s terms wounded his pride, but the humiliation of losing a battle of pride had too.

This was one of the reasons why he had treated her so coldly.

Judging by the softening of her expression, his explanation had been convincing enough.

“I understand. I also thought that might be part of it at first.”

That was why she had tried so hard—harder than she should have—wanting to make things work. But before her mood could sink completely, Kieron spoke again, this time sticking to the plain truth.

“If you fell ill, it wouldn’t just be this household—the entire marquisate would be thrown into chaos. I thought it would be better to have you rest. If you kept working without pause and your health worsened, it would have been disastrous—and you really did fall ill for quite some time.”

“So you were worried about me, in your own way.”

“…It seems the conversation leads to that.”

As they continued talking, her expression gradually softened and she became visibly more relaxed.

Kieron still didn’t allow himself to relax completely, but he felt a deep sense of relief. If she softened towards him even a little, the prospect of divorce would surely diminish. In fact, she might even change her mind entirely.

This hopeful thought slipped past his guard, loosening his tension without him realizing.

But then—

“I think Your Grace doesn’t really know what you’re thinking or what you’re feeling.”

“…I don’t?”

“From everything you’ve said so far, that’s how it sounds.”

Ariadne widened her eyes slightly and tilted her head.

In other words, she had just accused him of not knowing what he wanted.

A fool, essentially.

Judging by her tone, that was exactly what she meant.

Kieron paused, wondering where this increasingly tangled conversation was heading, and how far it would go.