It was a touch that might have seemed warm, which made it all the more chilling.

The hand that had once caressed her so gently, and the voice that had once soothed her so softly, were now calmly discussing the dismissal of Lady Meg. The familiarity had turned into something terrifyingly strange.

“There is no master in the Mateo Empire—certainly not among the nobility of the capital—who would knowingly keep a servant capable of concealing secrets from him.”

“…Lady Meg has served you faithfully for ten years.”

“And what of it?”

He asked as though he truly could not understand.

“Once trust is lost, there is no second chance, Ilenia. Sentiment has no place in it.”

Could it really be that serious? Even Ilenia, setting aside Delphius’s anger, couldn’t fathom it.

All her life, people had looked down on her for being unrefined. They said that she could never live up to the Lucarhardt name, and that she was unworthy of it.

She was an unrefined wife, unworthy of Delphius.

She was a lazy wife who hid behind her husband and made no effort of her own.

That was how the world judged Ilenia.

Words are impossible to control. Rumors are even more difficult to control, especially those intended to tear someone down. No matter how firmly Delphius ruled his household, whispers still found their way to her ears.

If she could have silenced them all with a simple ‘I don’t care’, she would have given up this painful struggle long ago.

If the slander had been directed at her alone, perhaps she could have endured it. Being looked down on was nothing new — she had grown used to it during her years at House Hildebalt.

But her name was never spoken alone.

It was always tied to his: Delphius.

He was her husband — her family. Because of that, she felt a heavy weight of guilt every time.

That was why she tried so hard. Why she fought time and again to ensure that he would never be brought down because of her.

And yet, she had never truly understood him.

Or perhaps she had never really known it at all.

“…So you truly mean to dismiss Lady Meg?”

“Why? Do you wish me not to?”

“If it were possible, yes.”

“She’s been in your sight less than half a year, Ilenia. Why defend her so fiercely?”

“Because half a year was more than enough to understand what kind of person she is.”

Ilenia recalled Lady Meg, whom she had come to know as a woman of rigid and meticulous character, who had sacrificed everything so that those she served might live in comfort.

She was the first person at Lukehardt Manor to reach out to Ilenia.

Personal fondness aside, Meg was indispensable to the household. With so few retainers left to keep the manor running, her presence was invaluable.

“Lady Meg has always placed you above all else. For the dignity of Lucarhardt, she would throw her very body into the fire. To question the loyalty of such a person—I believe that is far too cruel.”

“Loyalty, is it?”

Delphius murmured low.

“Ilenia. There are too many flaws in your reasoning.”

“…Flaws? What do you mean?”

“First—if she were truly loyal, she never would have deceived her master to begin with.”

Step.

He moved closer.

“Second—no matter how lofty her loyalty to House Lukehardt may seem, it doesn’t erase the betrayal she’s committed today.”

Another step. For every pace Delphius advanced, Ilenia retreated.

“Third—I do not keep the untrustworthy at my side. At any moment, they could turn their back and find a way to stab me.”

Her retreat came to an abrupt end when she felt the cold, grey wall pressing against her back. Trapped by his arm, she could not move forward or escape. She had no choice but to look up at the man who might discard her after ten years of faithful service without a second thought.

“…Even so, if you truly wish for Lady Meg to be spared, there is only one way.”

“What way?”

“You pay her worth.”

Ilenia’s eyes widened.

“If you can give me an amount—or something of equal value—to match Lady Meg’s worth, I won’t dismiss her. From that moment on, she will be yours.”

Delphius spoke with perfect composure, as though addressing a new client. The calm mask of a man laying out the terms of a transaction.

“Present me something of such value that I might reconsider a servant whose loyalty has already been broken.”

There was no need to think — she was unable to.

Not a single word escaped her lips; not even the faintest breath.

Because she had nothing.

From head to toe, there was nothing that Ilenia could truly call her own.

Delphius had merely articulated what she already knew: “You have nothing. Be grateful for what I give you.”

The realization pressed down on her, heavy with despair.

She had nothing, and therefore nothing to offer him.

It had always been that way.

And even now, nothing had changed.

A quiet sigh escaped Delphius’s lips.

“You see? My lady can offer me nothing at all.”

……He was right.

Without him, she could do nothing.

“If you truly wish to fulfill your duty as Lady Lukehardt, then devote yourself all the more to receiving me each night.”

A light kiss brushed her forehead.

Once again, Delphius showed her the path she was meant to follow. At every crossroads where she might hesitate, he erased the choices, leaving only a straight, simple road before her.

‘If you walk this way, it will be easy. Smooth. That was the certainty he offered.’

And yet, strangely, Ilenia could not stop her eyes from stinging.

“…Ilenia.”

His fingers traced the corner of her eyes.

“Do you truly dislike the idea of dismissing Lady Meg so much?”

Ilenia slowly shook her head.

“If that is your will, then what right do I have to say otherwise?”

“Then why are you crying?”

“I… I don’t know myself…”

She had no idea why she was crying.

Nothing had changed. From the first banquet at which they stood side by side, Delphius had been one of the Empire’s most exalted figures, a mighty noble.

How could she ever have believed that a man like that might love a girl who had once been a mere commoner?

“Ah…”

At last, Ilenia understood.

She could see with painful clarity where she had gone wrong, and what her true sin had been.

She had been misled by his kindness and the occasional gentleness he had shown her. She had crossed a line she was never meant to cross. In her foolishness and quiet arrogance, she had misjudged her position.

Theirs was nothing more than a contract marriage.

And yet she had been shameless enough to dream of something real and behave as though they truly were husband and wife.

The weight of this realization crushed her.

Even as the cold truth of her situation sank in, her hand still reached for him.

He did not pull away.

Instead, he pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her soft, yielding body as she clung to him.

Rising onto her toes, Ilenia pressed her lips against his slightly parted ones. His eyes widened in surprise, but she closed hers, refusing to see it.

It was only a contract.

The debt between them had long since been repaid.

Now, only one role remained for her to fulfil.

“…Hold me.”

“Here?”

Noticing his startled expression, Ilenia gave a small, determined nod.

It takes at least ten months to bear a child. Even if she conceived right now, it would be at least a year before she could produce the kind of result that would satisfy him.

“…Are you defying me? When I told you to devote yourself to bearing a child?”

“And what would that change? Whatever else it may be, my desire to be in your arms remains the same.”

“Why all of a sudden…”

His words faltered the moment Ilenia pressed her body against his.

She melded against him from her chest to her waist and below, leaving no space between them. It was as if they were already in a fevered embrace.

Lifting her damp, glistening eyes to his, she dissolved whatever curse had been forming on his lips without a sound.

“—hng.”

His lips met hers suddenly and urgently. Behind her, the door clicked shut with a sharp sound that echoed through the silence.

Ilenia parted her lips without resistance, allowing him to deepen the kiss, draw her in completely and take as much as he wished.

Yet the hands holding her steady and the arms wrapped gently around her waist remained warm. Even in the way he breathed against her and in the intensity of his kiss, there was quiet tenderness.

For a moment, the harsh truth she had realized earlier faded into the background.

In its place, she became unguarded — someone who could do nothing but feel how overwhelming and dangerously comforting it all was.

‘Yes. This is enough.’

‘Do only what you can do, Ilenia. Nothing useless. Nothing else.’

Delphius’s voice became her own, weighing heavily on her heart. It became chains, a self-inflicted shackle binding her more tightly than his embrace ever could.

As his tongue swept meticulously over every corner of her mouth, Ilenia slowly closed her eyes. The last tear clinging to her lashes slipped silently down her cheek.