Her proposal was so unexpected that Cadel’s expression hardened again.

“What…?”

“You heard me.”

She looked at him as though questioning why he pretended otherwise.

Cadel took a step closer.

“That’s not possible.”

“Why not?”

“You’re going to be the Grand Duchess. If rumors spread that my wife does not share my chamber—”

“You’re more than capable of preventing rumors, aren’t you?”

Jaina cut him off, her voice steady.

“After all, it never became a scandal that you abandon your wife on rainy nights to sleep in your nurse’s daughter’s room.”

His dark eyes flickered.

For a brief moment, surprise crossed his face.

Then he exhaled sharply, as though weary.

“That and this are different, Jaina.”

“How are they different?”

“A newly married couple sleeping in separate rooms from the outset? Does that even make sense? Rumors would spread everywhere. They would twist and grow until they became something far uglier, suggesting that our marriage was already in shambles. And—”

“At least it would not be uglier than a husband spending his nights in another woman’s room.”

She lifted one shoulder slightly.

“And I doubt a single citizen of the Empire truly cares whether our relationship is harmonious or not. So there’s no need to worry.”

“Jaina.”

“When I openly spoke of your affair with Violet, no one in the Empire seemed particularly concerned about your so-called reputation either—”

“It was not an affair.”

Cadel cut her off abruptly. His voice lowered, becoming edged with an unmistakable anger. His black eyes darkened, becoming cold and severe.

She could see that he was furious.

But it changed nothing.

He was still the man who would leave his wife’s bed whenever it rained.

She had no intention of lying beside such a man as though nothing were wrong.

Not in this life, at least — she would not pretend.

“To me, it was an affair.”

“Jaina.”

“Choose. From the beginning, we use separate rooms—or you stop going to that room on rainy nights.”

She already knew the answer.

When it rained, Cadel would go to Violet.

She knew that. It was precisely because she knew that she had given him the choice, to ensure that they would never share a room.

“Are those truly the only two options?”

For a moment, she wished he would choose the latter.

She knew it was unreasonable.

Still, she wished.

“Yes.”

But—

“Then… we will use separate rooms.”

As expected, Cadel chose to continue spending his nights with Violet. As he turned and left the room, Jaina’s vision instantly blurred.

It was for the best.

She had wanted this.

And yet, resenting him for choosing another woman over her — even in this situation — made her feel pathetic.

‘Fool.’

Closing her eyes tightly, she reaffirmed her resolve.

She would not love him again.

***

“You’ve decided to use separate rooms?”

Adil’s eyes widened dramatically. Cadel, reclining against the back of his chair in the study and staring out the window, gave a small nod.

“She told me to choose.”

On rainy days, a curse tore through his mind and body. Whenever it rained, memories of the past consumed him. Without Violet by his side, he was dragged back into the nightmares of his childhood, seized by a searing agony that felt as though his entire body were being devoured from within.

There had never truly been another choice.

Once, he had tried to endure it for Jaina’s sake. But it had never been a matter of willpower.

The pain was beyond imagination.

On more than one occasion, he had lost consciousness, only to wake up in Violet’s room.

“What choice are you referring to?”

Adil set down the document he had been reviewing and looked at Cadel with clear confusion.

Cadel remained leaning back in his chair as he turned his head to look at Adil.

“From the beginning—either we use separate chambers, or I stop going to Violet’s room on rainy nights.”

At that, Adil shot to his feet.

“You told her that already?!”

“Calm down, Adil.”

“No, Your Grace—how could you—? You haven’t even signed the marriage contract yet—!”

“I’ll sign it at first light. And the matter of Violet is something that should be discussed before the marriage, in any case.”

As they had both returned with their memories intact, there was no need to dwell on the matter. It was an unpleasant issue that they were already both aware of. He decided it would be best to address it briefly and directly as soon as they entered the chamber.

He simply had not expected things to end this way.

“Even so, you were far too hasty. Did you explain it properly? The reason you must stay in a servant’s room whenever it rains?”

Adil had gently explained it to Jaina all those years ago.

Cadel himself had never actually told her. He had endured the curse without ever knowing when or how it had been placed upon him, or who had inflicted it.

Initially, he was simply unwilling to reveal such an unsightly truth to his wife. He did not want her to see that side of him, so he remained silent.

When he later discovered that Adil had taken it upon himself to explain the situation to Jaina, fearing that misunderstandings would only worsen matters, Cadel reprimanded him.

It was a secret he desperately wanted to keep buried.

“Are you listening to me, Your Grace?”

“I’m listening.”

Adil let out a frustrated breath.

“In any case, this is a delicate matter. You must ensure that the Saintess—no, the woman who will soon become Grand Duchess—does not misunderstand.”

Cadel let out a hollow laugh and turned back to look out of the window.

He thought he had been careful enough to avoid any misunderstandings. And yet, in their previous life together, Jaina had become jealous of Violet. She had suspected him.

An affair.

He had never behaved in a way that warranted such an accusation.

Yes, he had spent nights in Violet’s room, but their hands had never touched. The bed in her room was large enough for four people, and he had insisted on it for that very reason — to avoid unnecessary contact.

Of course, he knew how it must have looked. It was difficult to imagine how a man and a woman could share a room night after night without crossing a line.

He understood the suspicion.

However, as time passed, Jaina’s resentment towards Violet only grew more severe. On rainy nights, she would visibly wither as despair consumed her.

That was when he realized that something had to change. After long and careful deliberation, he resolved to confess the truth and reveal his feelings to her. But before he could utter a single word, Jaina disappeared.

Unable to take her own life, the saintess had chosen the only path left to her.

She expended all her divine energy and died beneath the Elim Tree.

The shock and despair of that day left Cadel with a fear he still refused to confront.

Ultimately, thanks to Adil’s explanation about their previous life, Jaina already knew the truth without him having to speak it again.

For that much, at least, he was grateful. But the moment he resolved to confess everything to her, she died.

That memory was too painful for him to face.

For now, therefore, he felt faint, shameful relief at the thought that he would not have to speak the words that might have driven her to her death once again.

He was also quietly comforted by the thought that Violet, an unwilling victim of the curse, would no longer suffer at the hands of Jaina’s jealousy.

Staring out of the window, Cadel contemplated how he might endure the coming rainy season differently this time — more wisely, and without losing everything again.

***

“I would prefer not to hold a wedding ceremony.”

Jaina spoke as Cadel handed her the marriage contract.

His eyes widened in surprise.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s small. We’ve already had one wedding before, and it’s not as though a ceremony is absolutely required. Let’s skip it.”

“That wedding happened only to you and me. No one in the Empire even knows we were married.”

“I know. I simply mean that, given the current circumstances, holding a ceremony would be excessive. The Empire is in turmoil, and the Grand Sanctuary as well—”

“Even when the Empire is unsettled, people still marry.”

“Well, that’s because—”

‘Because a wedding is a place where those in love vow never to break their promises.’

She didn’t finish her thought. After all, marriage is meant to be a vow between two people. But their situation was different. They didn’t need such formalities.

“And what makes you think a Grand Ducal wedding can be ‘small’?”

Cadel frowned.

When they first got married, the ceremony had been lavish — far more extravagant than one might have expected of a purely contractual union.

Perhaps that was inevitable, given that he was the Grand Duke of the North.

The people of the Empire had gossiped endlessly about how a saintess born to commoners had caught the Grand Duke’s eye and risen to become Grand Duchess.

They envied her fortunate life.

“In any case, I don’t wish to celebrate a wedding while monsters are attacking villages and black mages are running rampant.”

“….”

“As long as we have the signed contract, the marriage is legally recognized. Let’s file the contract for now. If a ceremony becomes necessary later, we can hold one then.”

Instead of answering, Cadel just stared at her.

There was something indecipherable about his expression.

Jaina tilted her head slightly.

“Why?”

“…It’s just that you seem different.”

“Different?”

“I don’t know. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say—you’re not the woman I knew.”

A faint, humorless smile touched her lips. She picked up the pen and signed her name neatly in the designated space on the marriage contract. Then, without looking up, she spoke.

“I’m not sure what kind of woman you think you knew.”

She put down her pen and looked him directly in the eye.

Her eyes were calm.

Cold.

Utterly composed.

“Did you ever truly try to get to know me?”

Silence.

“You don’t know me at all.”

“….”

“Please sign. And send me a secretary starting today—someone who will manage my duties.”

“I can handle that myself—”

“How?”

She cut him off without hesitation.

“You’re busy.”

“I need someone who will oversee my schedule and assist me in everything going forward.”

Her original mission was to save the withering Elim Tree and discover why the saintesses had lost their divine power.

Villages were under attack from monsters.

Black mages were tormenting innocent people.

Unlike in her previous life, she now had far greater responsibilities.

She needed someone to manage her daily affairs and support her. If she had had such help in her previous life, she would not have had to depend on Cadel for everything.

Back then, however, she had done nothing except shut herself away in the Grand Ducal Castle library and immerse herself in books while the outside world quietly unraveled.

“I’ll find someone suitable. It may take a few days.”

“Yes.”

Cadel picked up the pen and signed his name.

Then he gathered the document and rose.

“Even without a ceremony, you must remain in the Grand Ducal Castle until the marriage contract has been formally approved. That should take about three days. Don’t plan on going anywhere.”

“I know. I cannot leave the North until the Symbol of Binding manifests.”

She answered evenly.

After telling her to rest, Cadel turned to leave. He paused at the door with his hand on the doorknob. Glancing back at her, it was as if he had remembered something.

“My room is next door. You’re aware of that, aren’t you?”