“Ah—no, well…”

Startled, the Countess of Hildebalt stammered.

“I only spoke out of concern for you, Your Grace. It pains me to see you suffer because of my inadequate daughter. Isn’t that how any parent would feel, having failed to properly guide their child?”

“I see.”

His tone remained even.

“For a moment, I thought you were attempting to challenge the authority of Lukehardt.”

“Th-that would never happen!”

Her denial came out almost like a scream.

“As loyal people of Mateo, why would Hildebalt ever challenge Lukehardt’s authority? Besides, we are family, are we not? We only wish to be of help as allies to Lukehardt.”

Desperate, Delphius watched her restless hands before putting down his teacup.

The tea had gone cold and remained untouched.

Regardless of his reaction, she was almost devoted in her efforts to avoid offending him.

She told him that she would inform him immediately if she heard anything about Ilenia.

She would do anything to protect herself and her family.

“It’s true. The moment I hear anything about Ilenia, I will let you know first. So please, do not be angry—”

He knew.

Ilenia would never return to a place like this.

No one would go back to parents who, even after discovering that their child had gone missing, were only interested in finding fault.

This was a waste of time.

As Delphius stood, the Countess hurried to her feet as well.

“By the way, Your Grace, my husband has recently begun a business venture, and—”

“If it concerns business, please arrange an appointment through my secretary.”

He cut her off without hesitation.

There was no need to hear any more.

He knew only too well how greedy the Count and Countess of Hildebalt were.

After just one meeting, he could see that clearly.

The Count had effortlessly calculated his own gain and advantage, and Delphius had allowed it.

But in that cold calculation, he had never once considered Ilenia’s feelings.

He wondered what she must have thought and felt, standing there while her marriage was arranged.

He had never wondered before.

It hadn’t been necessary.

The marriage had been arranged precisely to avoid emotional entanglement.

There had been no reason for him to truly look at her face.

And so—

The words and behavior of the Count and Countess, which he had once dismissed without a second thought, now felt deeply unsettling.

Back then, he had had little interest in Ilenia.

As long as there was a woman who stood out enough for him to notice her, that had been enough.

He had known.

And yet, he had chosen to ignore it.

Even though he knew that after she lost her adoptive parents, he was the only person she had left.

Ignoring the Countess, who was trying desperately to hold him back, Delphius left the estate.

Only then did the full weight of it all finally settle over him.

‘Now… you truly have nowhere to go.’

And still, he had not found even the slightest lead.

Even sightings of Ilenia were rare.

“The Duchess of Lukehardt? What does she even look like?”

Despite the endless rumors, very few people could describe her appearance accurately.

She rarely left the estate, so she was rarely featured in the newsletters.

Most people only knew of her from a few lines of text. Even if she walked right past them, most would never recognize her.

He was no different.

Delphius twisted his lips into a bitter smile.

What did it matter if he was desperately searching for Ilenia when he wouldn’t recognize her even if she stood before him?

He lifted his gaze.

Inside the familiar house where he had lived for years, he looked at the unfamiliar faces passing by.

He could not recognize even the people he saw every single day.

That was Delphius’s reality.

Everyone looked at him with faces that felt foreign

The loyal butler who anticipated his needs without being told.

The vassals who had sworn their loyalty.

They all stared back at him with faces he could not recognize.

“Defective goods.”

Out of habit, he quietly repeated the words his mother used to say.

It was a feeling he had never understood, nor wanted to.

But now, he thought he might finally begin to.

He wondered what state of mind she must have been in to scream at her own child.

How must she have felt looking at the beast who could not recognize his own mother?

Now, he thought he could begin to understand.

With no real clues to follow, he had no choice but to return to the small house where Delphius had been living lately.

Small. Narrow.

It was inconvenient for the attendants who served him to move in and out of.

For a man who regularly needed to meet people for work, it was the worst possible place.

And yet, there was only one reason he remained there so stubbornly.

It was the only place he had left to return to.

For that fragile reason alone, Delphius clung to the little house as if it were everything.

When he returned after some time away, he drifted into the bedroom.

The sheets were slightly askew. The papers on the desk were in a loose, untidy pile, as though someone had started to sort them and then stopped.

This carelessness could not have been the work of a professional.

With careful fingers, he smoothed out the remaining wrinkles.

Since Ilenia left, time in that bedroom had remained frozen on that day.

This was because of something she had once said: that she would take care of the bedroom herself.

Even after hiring new servants, he had not allowed anyone to touch the room.

He did not want even the faintest trace of her to disappear.

Everything inside it reminded him of her.

Looking at the neatly folded clothes, he could picture Ilenia carefully folding each piece with her own hands.

The bookshelf reminded him of her back as she arranged the books one by one.

And the blankets made him think of her small frame gently shaking them out before folding them with quiet care.

“Delphius.”

But her face, he couldn’t remember it.

That was terrifying beyond words.

“…?”

At that moment, he stopped sweeping his hand across the desk.

Unlike the smooth surface he had been passing over, he felt a narrow gap.

It was just wide enough for a finger to slip through.

When he pushed his index finger into it, the wooden panel lifted easily.

Inside, alongside a familiar jewelry box, was a single letter.

As if it had been left there for him to find, the envelope bore the words

[To Delphius.]

He moved his hand towards the letter, then stopped.

Instead, he reached for the jewelry box.

He knew whose it was.

He thought it would be empty.

Ilenia had taken nothing with her.

Only the few items of clothing she had brought from Hildebalt were missing.

All the clothes and jewelry he had given her were still there.

That was why this jewelry box had been left behind.

Just as no jewel had ever truly filled it, it had also become unnecessary.

Contrary to his expectations, however, the box was not empty.

Inside, lying side by side, were two small items, insignificant against the size of the box.

Delphius picked one up.

A ring.

Their wedding ring — the one that had always rested on Ilenia’s finger, no matter what.

“…Ha.”

A dry laugh escaped him.

It was as if her intent to abandon him completely had been laid bare.

The emptiness that must now linger on her bare finger was nothing compared to the hollow swelling in his chest.

‘You think you can leave me?’

Impossible!

They were still husband and wife until they both signed the divorce papers.

Leaving the ring behind didn’t change anything.

Delphius slipped the ring into his pocket.

The first thing he would do when he found her was to put the ring back on her finger.

He would put it on so firmly that she would never be able to take it off again.

Then he picked up the other item beside it.

It was a small brooch engraved with white waves crashing over the sea.

Come to think of it, he had given her something similar before.

She had wanted to see the sea so badly that he had given it to her as a small consolation prize.

The memory surfaced, faint but unmistakable.

At that moment, Delphius turned his head.

His body moved faster than his thoughts.

In an instant, he rushed downstairs and ran out of the house.

There was somewhere he needed to go — right now.

A place where—perhaps—Ilenia might be.

***

“…Wow.”

Ilenia stood there with her lips slightly parted, as if the scene before her had left her speechless.

The sea stretched on endlessly.

No matter how far she looked, she could not see where it ended.

The salty air filled her mouth.

It felt unfamiliar and strange, yet she liked it.

A soft flush rose to her cheeks, bringing them to life with color.

Ouk was not a quiet seaside retreat.

It was a bustling port city, with ships constantly arriving and departing, and cargo being unloaded without pause — a place where trade never slept.

Lifting her parasol, Ilenia tried to shield herself from the scorching sun.

Even so, the heat pressed down on her, leaving her short of breath.

How long had she dreamed of this view?

Even now, several days after her arrival, she could still not tire of it.

“Leni! Over here!”

At that moment, she heard a familiar voice call out to her.

Seeing the person waving at her, she smiled softly and walked towards them.