Delphius’s actions were perfectly reasonable.

Ilenia was his wife.

As the lady of the house, it was only right that he attend to her.

And yet—

Shouldn’t all of that have come after tending to Ariella first?

Unable to endure the humiliation before her, Ariella’s body trembled faintly.

“Will you be all right riding in the carriage for so long?”

“Yes… I’ll be fine.”

“You had a fever this morning. Don’t push yourself.”

“Yes.”

That fragile, almost breakable demeanor, it was the very image of a cunning vixen.

She had never once come close to death, and yet, with nothing more than a slight fever, she clung to Delphius like that.

The thought alone made Ariella’s anger flare uncontrollably.

And then—those dull, unremarkable clothes of hers.

No matter how unwell she might be, this was her husband’s succession ceremony. It was a moment of honor—yet Ilenia’s attire was painfully plain.

The dress fell straight from beneath her chest to her waist, without shape, and the large shawl draped over her covered most of her body.

Even the wife of some newly wealthy man would have dressed better than that.

No matter how one looked at it, in every way, Ariella Calante was clearly the better choice.

‘Poor Delphius.’

‘You should have chosen me instead.’

After Daniel’s grave mistake, her father—the Marquis of Calante—had been in an uproar, insisting the engagement be broken.

He had demanded that all ties with Lukehardt be severed at once.

Ariella had come here only after calming him down.

Yes—

Everything was for the sake of seeing Delphius.

‘You belong to me.’

Even if he showed such arrogance—failing to come to her first—she could still come to him willingly, with the generosity of one who believed herself to be his rightful owner.

But this—

This was not what she had wanted.

Before she realized it, Ariella clenched her fist tightly, then slowly released it.

It was fine.

It could still be fine.

She would come next.

Though it was deeply offensive to be placed behind someone like Ilenia, she could endure it—just this once.

But that moment never came.

“Keep the ceremony simple.”

“…What?”

“There will be no grand banquet.”

“Delphius.”

“So, Ariella, there’s no reason to take you along.”

A clear line had been drawn.

A boundary between Lukehardt and herself.

As long as she bore the name Calante, it was a line she could never cross.

But—

That incompetent woman was going as well.

And that, she could not tolerate.

“Ilenia is going too.”

“Ilenia is my family. Of course she’s going.”

“Just a year ago, she was still a Hildebalt.”

“She isn’t anymore.”

“That’s enough, Ariella.”

“…Your Grace.”

Delphius and Ariella—and the man who stepped between them wore a faint smile.

“That name will be gone by today. As Delphius said, the ceremony will be simple. There will be no grand banquet, no applause, no admiration. In that case, following along to the succession ceremony would be nothing but foolish. It will be over in less than half a day.”

The duke shot Delphius a glare, his expression filled with displeasure.

“…It’s not as though bringing you to such a disgraceful ceremony, one that will leave a blemish on Lukehardt’s history would serve any purpose.”

“Even so, I want to go.”

“Ariella.”

The duke lightly patted her shoulder.

“We’ll see each other later.”

It was a gentle refusal.

Only then did Ariella realize, no matter how much influence she held within Lukehardt, it meant nothing.

All because of her name.

That she had to yield to someone as lowly as Ilenia.

Ariella bit down hard on her lip.

For the first time in her life, humiliation flooded her entire being, surging beneath her feet.

Even as she watched the carriage leave without her, she couldn’t quite believe it.

All her life, there had been nothing she couldn’t have—except perhaps perfect health.

Whatever she desired, she had always taken into her hands.

That was how she was.

But now—

For the first time, Delphius had denied her.

Just because their names were different.
Because it was a matter of Lukehardt.

“You are not my family.”

“…I can’t believe this.”

A small voice slipped from her lips.

The orders to ensure that Lady Calante lacked nothing in her stay, she didn’t hear a single word.

The carriage grew smaller and smaller until it disappeared beyond the garden.

Yet Ariella remained where she stood, as if rooted to the spot.

“That place… it was meant to be mine—not hers. Someone so dull, so unremarkable. It should have belonged to me—Ariella of Calante. So why…?”

Slowly, she turned her head.

The estate where she had first met Delphius as a child, aside from a few expansions, it remained unchanged.

All that time, it had been proof of what once existed between them.

From the moment she had pulled him out of that prison, those days when he had known no one but her still lingered here.

“…No.”

Ariella slowly made her way deeper into the estate.

She had no need for the servants to guide her. If anything, there were more people here who knew less about the place than she did.

She knew everything, the hidden passageways within the estate, the staircases, even the secret exits meant for emergencies.

In her mind, she pictured Delphius showing her the way.

If she ever wished to come to his room without anyone knowing, she was to use this path.

“I can’t be unhappy while you’re allowed to be happy, Delphius.”

At the end of the long passage, what awaited her was no longer Delphius’s room.

Her gaze lowered as she took in the unfamiliar, brightly colored furniture.

And there—

A newborn lay asleep in the crib, alone.

The wet nurse was nowhere to be seen.

“…This is where you and I first met.”

A monster who had once lived in darkness, with every window covered by curtains—eyes gleaming in the shadows.

That beast—one she had tamed and reshaped with her own hands—had now lain with another woman and produced this.

A wave of disgust rose from deep within her. An overwhelming urge to tear everything apart surged through her.

At last, she felt as though she understood where everything had gone wrong.

“…It’s because of you.”

Because of this child.

“Is it because my body is too weak to bear a child right now… that you’re trying to abandon me?”

Ariella picked up the cushion lying beside her.

“If this child didn’t exist, you would try to build a proper family again. That’s the kind of person you are. This obsessive attachment to family—it’s a trait of a monster, isn’t it?”

A means to inherit the title. If she destroyed that foundation itself, it would be enough.

“You have to do everything I tell you, don’t you? After all, whose life was it that saved you?”

The sleeping child looked even more fragile than Ariella.

Soft. Delicate.

It would crumble with the slightest force.

“Don’t be happy, Delphi. If it’s not by my side, then be miserable—no matter where you are.”

Ariella brought the cushion down.

***

Ilenia couldn’t bring herself to look away from the window.

It wasn’t just now.

Even after arriving at the imperial palace and throughout the entire ceremony, she had been the same.

At times, as if struggling to breathe, she pressed a hand against her chest, yet her gaze remained fixed somewhere far away.

And now, even inside the carriage on the way back to the estate, she hadn’t changed.

Unable to ignore it any longer, Delphius finally spoke.

“Is something wrong?”

“Ah… pardon?”

“You’ve been staring outside the whole time.”

“Ah…”

Ilenia hesitated, her lips parting slightly.

“Are you still feeling unwell?”

“No… it’s not that. I’ve almost fully recovered…”

“Then why are you so lost in thought, staring out the window? It’s just the two of us for once.”

“Ah…”

Only then did Ilenia realize that they were alone in the carriage.

Following the quiet ceremony, which felt almost desolate, the former Duke of Lukehardt declined to share a carriage with them.

Claiming he didn’t wish to see Delphius’s face after such a dreadful event, he had taken another carriage and left without looking back.

Faintly, she remembered Delphius telling him to vacate the estate as soon as possible.

Everything both of them had once wished for had come true.

It should have been a moment for joy.

And yet the unease churning within her refused to settle.

At times, a dull, unsettling pain would flicker through her chest.

“…I think I’m just worried about our child.”

“He’ll be fine. There are plenty of servants watching over him.”

“I suppose… that’s true…”

“He’s a calm baby, isn’t he? He hardly cries. And even if he does, the nurse will pick him up right away. There’s nothing to worry about.”

Even at Delphius’s casual reassurance, Ilenia could not find peace of mind.

“So relax. You’re going to feed him the moment we arrive, aren’t you?”

He knew her thoughts all too well.

As he pointed out exactly what she had been planning, her cheeks flushed faintly.

“Rest, Ilenia. It’s all over now.”

“……”

It was the same gentle gesture as always.

As if things had returned to how they were before he became so busy, his hand brushed softly through her hair.

Slowly, Ilenia closed her eyes.

She leaned back against the cushion but even then, the unease lingering in her heart refused to fade.

For some reason…she felt unbearably anxious.