Delphius arrived that evening.

This was just as the commotion caused by Ilenia had finally died down after she returned and nearly collapsed into Raymond’s arms. The maid was still shaken by her disheveled appearance, but had almost finished tending to her.

The noise from the first floor lasted only a moment.

Then, the bedroom door burst open and Delphius appeared.

He looked… different.

The man who always carried himself with flawless composure was now standing before her in complete disarray.

Without realizing it, Ilenia’s lips parted slightly in surprise.

The buttons at his collar were undone — a behavior utterly unlike him.

And that wasn’t all.

Water dripped steadily from his rumpled clothes, trailing down from his disheveled, soaked hair. The strands that were always combed neatly back were now hanging loose, falling over his forehead.

Drip. Drip.

With every sharp rise and fall of his chest, droplets fell from his hair.

It seemed that the clear sky of that morning had once again become wild and unforgiving.

But the most unsettled part of him —were his eyes.

Standing in the small room where the dressing table was the first thing you saw on entering, he looked around frantically —until, at last, his gaze found Ilenia.

“I’m sorry.”

A rush of cold air followed him in.

The scent of rain-soaked grass clung to his coat as it brushed against her.

“I’m sorry, Ilenia.”

“……”

“There was something I couldn’t postpone.”

The answer she had expected slipped from his lips.

Strangely, she didn’t feel angry.

‘I see. That’s why you couldn’t come.’

There was only a quiet acceptance of the fact.

“I know how much you were looking forward to it. That’s why I won’t expect to be forgiven with just words.”

“……”

“That’s why I wanted to apologize to you in person. As much as you were disappointed… as angry as you must have been—I wanted, even just a little, to ease your heart.”

He pulled her into an embrace so tight it almost stole her breath.

His hands adjusted on her shoulders again and again, as if afraid he might accidentally crush her small frame.

“…It’s okay.”

Ilenia murmured, slowly reciting the words she had prepared.

‘I’m really fine now.’

It was also the one thing she most wanted to say to him—who looked so strangely urgent.

Instead of meeting his eyes, she let her gaze fall into his chest.

The darkness that filled her vision calmed her.

“I’m really okay.”

“It’s late, but we can still go. There are always first-class seats available—we can leave right now if you want.”

Delphius sounded as if he was ready to depart immediately, as though the storm he had just fought through meant nothing.

Even though that very storm had delayed him by three whole days.

“…Can we not go?”

At her quiet refusal, his body stilled.

“Why?”

When she stepped out of his arms, she saw the stunned expression on his face.

“You wanted to go, didn’t you? To Ouk.”

“My feelings have changed.”

She had once cried with joy just from looking at the train ticket.

And yet now, she calmly said she no longer wanted to go.

Delphius’s brows slowly furrowed.

“Is it because I came too late?”

“It’s just… I don’t want to see it anymore.”

She shook her head again.

Day by day, as she waited for him, she let go of her desire to see the sea.

She let go of her wish to be happy with him.

She let go of the hope that she might stop hating herself.

And now—

The sea?

It frightened her.

She was afraid her feelings might return, carried back by the tide.

Standing before the vast ocean and its endless waves, she was afraid that she might start to believe again.

She was afraid that she might forgive herself.

That was why she didn’t want to see it.

“Alright. Then we’ll go another time.”

Delphius didn’t press her again.

It was only then that he seemed to realize that his clothes were still wet, and he quickly pulled away from her.

When he asked if she had been cold, she simply shook her head again.

He brushed his fingers lightly over her cheek several times before stepping back.

For a brief moment, the way he lingered felt almost childlike.

But the instant he straightened up, he was the same as always. Even the simple motion of pushing his disheveled hair back looked perfectly composed.

Delphius did not belong in this small house. His tall frame and immaculate suit seemed out of place in the softly furnished room.

This is probably how others see us, too.

A woman who doesn’t know her place clinging to his arm and daring to stand beside him.

In this world, everything had its proper match.

If that were true, then Delphius should be with someone who truly belonged by his side.

Then Delphius should be with someone who truly belongs by his side.

Yes.

That was how it should be.

By the time he returned to the bedroom after washing up, it was completely dark.

In the dim candlelight left by the maid, the pale skin of his exposed chest caught the glow.

“Let’s leave as soon as the weather clears tomorrow.”

He sat on the edge of the bed where Ilenia leaned. The mattress dipped under his weight, bringing his face closer to hers.

“Let’s go to a hotel in the capital. It’ll be a better change of pace than here.”

“Are we going back home?”

The hand that had been brushing through her hair came to a stop.

For a fleeting moment, she wondered if he had been about to touch the strap of her negligee hidden beneath her hair.

“…No. We’ll return home a little later. It’s not ready yet.”

“Not ready?”

“Yes. It needs to be prepared… to receive its mistress.”

That was why, he insisted, they should go to a hotel instead.

But once again, Ilenia shook her head at his composed, elegant face.

“Then I don’t want to go.”

“Didn’t you say before that you wanted to go to a hotel?”

“I don’t want to go anywhere. Don’t go…”

Ilenia reached out. As their skin touched, a familiar scent rose between them, a cool fragrance that suited him.

Like the scent of an old tree deep within a dense forest.

“Just stay here… and hold me.”

No matter where they went, it always ended the same way.

Clothes would be cast aside and their bodies drawn together.

Ultimately, she would accept him.

If it was inevitable, there was no need to change anything.

Ilenia wrapped her arms around his neck and felt the warmth of his recent bath lingering on his skin.

She could feel the tension in his body and the solid strength beneath his robe brushing against her.

Without hesitation, she pulled herself closer.

The thin fabric of her negligée barely concealed anything.

At most, it offered the faintest illusion of covering her up.

The softness of her body pressed freely against his chest.

If it was bound to happen anyway, then it was better to face it now.

She wanted it to overwhelm her completely and silence every thought.

A slow breath brushed against her ear.

It was warm and almost burning against her skin.

“It’s late, Ilenia.”

“Isn’t this the best time for it?”

Her tone was calm, as if she didn’t understand what the issue was.

“Besides… since when have you ever cared about the time?”

“You’re tired.”

Ilenia shook her head firmly.

That wasn’t the answer she wanted.

‘Just hold me, even if it’s rough…Make it so I can’t think about anything at all—until my mind goes completely blank.’

So that she could escape all of these thoughts, so that she could break free from them, that desperate desire surged within her.

“Just… hold me like you usually do.”

This time as well, Delphius did not argue.

Instead, his long fingers slid downward.

The loose negligee offered no resistance to his sudden intrusion. Through fabric as thin as a dragonfly’s wings, his hand closed around her chest.

“Ah…”

A soft sound escaped her lips. Her body responded instinctively to his touch, clinging to something familiar.

Each time his hand moved over her, she urged him on.

Faster.

Closer.

More.

And Delphius obliged.

At her urging, his grip tightened and his touch grew more intense.

Ilenia tugged at his robe, exposing his chest. Her hands moved over his body aimlessly, as if searching for something — anything — that might elicit a response.

Their breaths grew heavier, mingling in the dim room.

And yet, even in that closeness, in that heat. Something inside her felt empty. As though everything within her had already been drained away.

A quiet, creeping cold spread through her, chilling her to the bone.

Without realizing it, her shoulders began to tremble.

“Are you tired?”

His gentle voice brushed against her ear.

Only then did Ilenia lift her head to look at him.

It was the face she had once traced over and over in her mind: The man she had called her husband was right in front of her.

‘No.’

She shook her head.

Then, she slowly lowered herself again.