Ilenia had disappeared.

Just as she had once appeared at the banquet without warning, she had now vanished just as suddenly.

By the time Delphius heard the news and hurried to the small house, abandoning everything in his haste, all that greeted him was a chilling emptiness.

It was cold.

Not like before. There was no warmth, no sign that anyone had ever lived there.

The room that had once been filled with her scent had turned cold, leaving only the faintest trace behind.

And yet—

She was still everywhere in that house.

It was as if she might appear at any moment and speak.

“You’re back?”

“…Why?”

Delphius couldn’t understand.

Everything had been going so well!

Things had finally seemed to be getting better.

Just a few days ago, Ilenia had seemed to have overcome it all.

This time, it hadn’t been false hope.

It wasn’t an illusion born from her fragile mind.

“Delphius… I think I’ve finally managed to face reality.”

He remembered what she had said to him not long ago, when she had shown him the small garden that she had tended with her own hands.

Her cheeks flushed with the warmth of the sun, she looked him directly in the eye, her gaze clear and steady, without the slightest hint of doubt.

“And I’ve found the courage… not to run away anymore.”

“…And with that pathetic courage, this is what you chose to do?”

It was absurd.

At the same time, anger surged through him.

When he realized that those brief, happy days had only been intended to lower his guard, he lost all control.

His fist clenched with rising fury, but he forced himself to unclench it each time, unable to act in a house that still faintly carried her presence.

Even the maid he had assigned to stay by Ilenia’s side had disappeared without a trace.

Because of this, he didn’t realize she was gone until a whole day had passed.

“I-I truly had no idea, sir.”

The first to report it—the coachman, who usually handled errands outside the house—spoke desperately in his defense.

“Milady suddenly said she had a small favor to ask… She told me to send a parcel at the post office, and to buy a few fruits she wanted. That was all.”

He insisted there had been nothing unusual beyond that.

“She even said she couldn’t go herself because of your concerns, sir. So I told her not to worry—I’d be back quickly—and set out. I never imagined it would turn out like this…”

“Where is the maid who was assigned to her?”

“I didn’t see her when I returned. Perhaps… she left with milady…”

Had he made a mistake in dismissing them all so abruptly?

He despised the idea of spending money on people who couldn’t even properly care for one woman.

So he replaced them without hesitation. However, finding reliable staff was never easy in a small town.

At least he had managed to hire one person and planned to fill the remaining positions little by little.

And yet—

His own decisions had come back to trap him.

Delphius clicked his tongue, swallowing the hollow frustration rising in his chest.

“That’s also why my report was delayed. When I returned from the errand, the house was quiet… no one was inside. I thought perhaps she had packed a lunch and gone out for a stroll.”

She wasn’t someone who went out often.

And yet, when she still hadn’t returned by dusk, the coachman finally sensed that something was wrong and contacted Delphius.

“…So, what’s the situation now?”

He spoke coldly, directing the question at the person standing silently beside him.

“We’re searching based on nearby sightings, but… it’s already been several days since she left.”

This meant that she was no longer nearby.

Delphius dragged a hand roughly through his hair.

Ilenia couldn’t even manage the simplest things by herself.

She didn’t understand the value of jewelry, instead trying to trade cheap trinkets.

There was no way someone like her could simply vanish, especially alone.

Grinding his teeth, Delphius stood there for a moment, then turned and walked away.

***

“Where is Ilenia?”

Not many people were willing to help her — she needed someone without any ties.

In fact, there was only one person who could help her: It was the person who wanted Ilenia Hildebalt to leave the most.

Under Calante’s protection, they had managed to turn even the malice directed at Ilenia to her advantage.

“Where else would it be but you, Ariella?”

“…What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

Who else could it be but Ariella?

“It’s surprising enough that you came all the way here, considering you wouldn’t even glance at Calante Castle before. But now you’re suddenly looking for your wife here?”

“Enough nonsense. Answer me properly.”

Despite Ariella’s baffled reaction, Delphius’s interrogation did not stop.

“Where did you hide Ilenia?”

“I don’t know anything, Delphi.”

It seemed she knew there was no point in denying it for long.

After a brief attempt, Ariella quickly lost interest and answered flatly.

“The one who asked me for help was your wife. She pleaded quite desperately, so I simply provided funds and people.”

“I don’t have time for wordplay.”

“It’s the truth. If you can’t understand it even when I say it plainly—that’s your problem, Delphi.”

“You just said, with full confidence, that you provided people and money. And yet you claim to know nothing? Do you think that makes any sense?”

“I introduced her to an intermediary. I didn’t lend her my personal agents.”

Ariella’s lips curved into a sly smile.

“I can’t hand over someone valuable to me to a person whose destination or intentions I don’t even know. Don’t you agree?”

“…So you attached someone unverified to my wife.”

“Whether she chooses to use that person or not—that depends on her ability. Not my responsibility.”

A grinding sound slipped from Delphius’s clenched teeth.

It was nothing like his usual composure—the way he kept his emotions under strict control.

“I only did what your wife asked of me, Delphi. Unfortunately.”

He knew.

He knew the mocking tone was intended to provoke him.

He knew he should ignore it.

And yet—

When it came to Ilenia, however, Delphius found it impossible to remain rational.

Just as when he was with her, his emotions slipped through unfiltered. Not only had she already left his side, but Ariella had also put someone unreliable next to her.

Ilenia was fragile.

She was trusting, almost to a fault.

And still—

Someone unverified had been assigned to her without any thought or consideration.

“Ariella.”

“Hm?”

When she heard him speak her name again after such a long time, her eyes widened.

Hearing it again pulled her back to those childhood days when Delphius naturally stood by her side.

Ariella steadied her racing heart as she looked up at him. But what she saw was nothing like she had expected.

Delphius was no longer the man who used to smile at her. Not even the polite, forced smile he once gave her when she approached him remained.

His face was cold and utterly devoid of warmth.

It was the same expression he used to wear when looking at people he considered no better than insects.

“I ignored whatever you did because it was directed at me.”

His voice was sharp, cold enough to cut.

A warning.

The last trace of mercy.

No—perhaps it was a mistake he should have corrected the moment he first brought Ilenia into his life.

“But Ilenia is different.”

He shouldn’t have dismissed it so easily, thinking her innocence would simply endure it.

Blaming his own delayed response, he spoke through clenched teeth.

“If anything happens to my wife—”

“to Ilenia—”

“I won’t let it go.”

Naturally, Ariella erupted in fury.

Still seething with anger at his audacity in commanding her, she left him behind as she walked out of Calante Castle.

There was no point trying to coax help from someone who would be of no use.

It would be faster to find Ilenia himself.

And yet—

Contrary to his expectations, there was no sign of her anywhere.

There were barely any witnesses. She rarely went outside anyway, and only a handful of people could say they had seen her.

As time passed, the search expanded, spreading from one region to the next.

Although the Empire’s name carried a sense of grandeur, Mateo’s territory was not especially vast.

And yet—

— it stretched on endlessly before him.

It felt suffocating, as if she had disappeared entirely from the world.

With each passing day that brought no trace of her, his anxiety grew stronger.

‘Where could you even go?

You have nowhere.

No ties. No real acquaintances.

You barely interacted with anyone but me.

You don’t even know where your adoptive parents are.’

With no progress in sight, he reached out to Hildebalt, hoping to find even the smallest lead.

When he briefly informed them that Ilenia had disappeared, the Countess of Hildebalt let out a loud, exasperated sigh.

“So that girl has caused trouble again, has she? I knew it. I just knew it.”

Clutching her chest in frustration, she thr*st a crumpled envelope toward him.

A letter that had arrived a few days ago.

Inside, written in careful handwriting, were only a few words.

[I’m sorry, but I can no longer be of help.]

“Honestly… if all she can do is warm a man’s bed, she should at least stay put. But no—she had to follow her own stubbornness and stir up trouble, even dragging the family into it.”

Without the slightest regard that her daughter was now the Duchess of Lukehardt, her vulgar words continued unabated, even in front of Delphius.

“I should have known the moment she couldn’t even protect her own child. No—when she couldn’t even cover up her own flaws and floundered helplessly. I knew then she would bring disgrace to the proud name of Hildebalt. It’s truly shameful, humiliating—”

“That’s enough.”

He couldn’t listen any further.

As the Countess stared at him in shock, Delphius spoke again, his tone cold and cutting.

“She may be your daughter, but she is still the mistress of Lukehardt and a duchess.”

“I thought it best to remind you of that.”