And yet, she also had to protect Hangderhood.

The only option was to fight — fight against this maddening man.

“You said you knew that Lady Janice Bryan pushed me to the lake, didn’t you?”

Robert’s brows furrowed slightly as he tried to figure out why she had suddenly changed the subject.

‘”So, what punishment did she receive?”

“…”

“What kind of consequence did Lady Bryan face for attempting to kill me? House arrest, perhaps?”

Her tone was unmistakably mocking, and Robert’s face contorted with fury.

“I told you I would make sure something like that never happened again.”

“Yes, I’m sure you did. But what if that wasn’t the first time something like that had happened?”

“What?”

“Can you really say with certainty, Your Grace, that nothing like that will ever happen to me again?”

Henrietta tightened her grip on the purple tie in her hand.

“What if I hadn’t managed to get out of the water that day?”

The tie, clenched so tightly that it looked pitiful, was now crumpled beyond recognition in her grasp.

She placed the ruined tie back on the table and continued slowly.

“If that had happened, your promise would’ve been nothing more than a hollow regret whispered at my grave.”

‘I could have died.’

That was what Henrietta had wanted to say.

“No – there’s no need to go that far. Are you going to tell me that you don’t know why Lady Bryan, who had no connection to me, hated me enough to try to kill me?”

She had always wanted to tell him that she resented and hated him for throwing her to the wolves and doing nothing.

“And even after all that, can you really stand there and say that staying in this house isn’t a problem?”

Robert said nothing at first—but only for a moment.

Then, slowly but decisively, he stepped forward, closing the distance between them.

They were so close that their bodies nearly touched, their breaths mingling, and they could feel the slightest tremor between them.

Looking down at her as if to pin her in place, Robert slowly closed his eyes.

“No matter what you say, nothing changes.”

His voice was stubborn, without a trace of remorse.

“There’s no place in this world where you’ll be safer than by my side.”

“No. That’s not true.”

Henrietta shook her head fiercely and backed away from him.

“You just said yourself that I ran off trusting a man I barely know.”

“Don’t bring up that bastard in front of me.”

“Yes, you’re right. I don’t know the prince well. But I still trusted him and ran away. Why? Because he saved my life.”

“Rietta—!”

“That’s the truth. The only person who jumped into the water to save me that day was the prince — someone who didn’t even know me.

“…”

“And what will happen when you get married, Your Grace? I can’t even begin to imagine what more I’ll have to endure in this house. This mansion is suffocating me. I want to leave. Right now. So please, just let me go.”

“This place suffocates you?”

Robert took a large step forward and seized Henrietta’s arm as if he were about to drag her away.

“Since when? When did my house start choking the life out of you?”

“…”

“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten the situation you were in before you came to this house?”

Robert’s voice was low, laced with bitterness. Henrietta’s pupils dilated.

There was no way she could have forgotten.

But how could she admit that staying in this house had suffocated her?

“If you think back even just a little, you’ll realise that what you’ve experienced here can’t really be described as suffering, can it?”

Henrietta was young and fragile, yet she was treated like a criminal despite having done nothing wrong.

Memories of her childhood flashed before her eyes: she had constantly been trampled on and left bleeding due to baseless malice and cruelty.

Back then, Robert’s friendship had truly been a lifeline.

He had been a brilliant ray of light that pierced the grey world she lived in.

How could she not have fallen in love with a man like that?

While Henrietta wandered, dazed, through the past, a pair of warm, large hands gripped her arms.

“Look at me, Rietta.”

His deep hazel eyes filled her vision.

“I know what you’re afraid of. But you don’t have to be. You never did. Nothing has changed — not then and not now. Nothing between us has changed.”

She had once believed that the multicoloured glints in his eyes were like a lighthouse, shining into the darkest depths of her soul.

“Just hang on a little longer. That’s all. If staying here is too difficult, you can spend some time at the villa in Loren instead. Yes, that would be best.”

Back then, simply standing in Robert’s shadow had made her feel safe.

“Then everything you want will come true.”

‘Everything I want?’

“There will never be another woman I love, whether it’s Edna Maybell Osborne or anyone else in this world. She exists only to help me become emperor. Once I have ascended the throne, you and the child you bear will take the name Schutzman.”

‘My child… and I, bearing his name?’

The hands that had gripped her so firmly were now moving gently, stroking her skin as if to soothe her.

Those large, warm hands evoked a sense of familiarity and security; she almost believed him again for a moment.

“Hm? Rietta.”

Looking into his face, where all his dark, tangled emotions seemed to be morphing into something she couldn’t quite name, Henrietta asked herself:

‘Becoming Henrietta Ian Schutzman…Is that truly what I wanted?’

“You want to save Hangderhood too, don’t you?”

“…”

“Then all you have to do is trust me and follow.”

It was as if there was no need to look at or think about anything else. As if all she had to do was stand in the shade he provided and everything would be safe.

There was a deep satisfaction in the soft-spoken man’s eyes.

The moment she saw it, goosebumps broke out on Henrietta’s skin.

Her vision cleared and her gaze became sharp and steady.

“No. No, I don’t want that.”

Seeing the determination in Robert’s eyes, Henrietta recoiled, her whole body shivering.

“I don’t want it. I hate it.”

Shade? No, what he offered was a shadow.

Henrietta recalled the cold, piercing sensation of falling into the lake.

She tried to remember how those who had turned into monsters had thrown her to the lake.

“Rietta!”

“Please don’t call me that anymore. The only reason I ever allowed you to call me that way was because, until now, you were my man.”

Robert let out a small sigh and gave a short, bitter laugh.

“Your man?”

“I don’t care if you mock me. I believed it—and I’m not ashamed of that belief.”

“……”

“Even when Lady Janice Bryan tormented me without reason, I endured it for that same belief. But I won’t endure it any more. Please revoke your decision regarding Hangderhood. It’s unfair.”

“What is it that you really want?”

When he reached for her again, Henrietta slapped his hand away with a sharp smack. But even then, he grabbed her once more.

“Did you not understand a single word I’ve said?”

“Do you want to marry me right now? Huh? To give everything up so I can just live as your man—is that truly what you want?”

To say she had never hoped for such a future with him would have been a lie. But it had only ever been a fleeting wish, a dream she never dared to pursue, never believed she could bear to make real.

And so, Henrietta was able to shake her head without hesitation.

“No. There’s only one thing I want right now.”

“…”

“I want to end this. If there ever was anything between us in the first place.”

Despite the resignation and desperation in her voice, Robert didn’t release his tight grip on her arm.

Just then, a loud commotion broke out, an uproar that should never have been heard from the main house of the duke’s estate.

Thuds and crashes, accompanied by the sounds of people shoving and slamming into one another, rang through the halls.

“Let me go—now!”

“You mustn’t!”

As Pierre’s panicked voice shouted, the door burst open.

A man stormed into the dressing room where the two were standing.

Robert, reacting instinctively, pulled Henrietta behind him.

“Let go of me! Let go, I have something to say to the Duke!”

The intruder was none other than Benjamin Arthur Jordy—the third son of House Jordy and a notorious libertine in Haytesfield.

It wasn’t until after he’d forced his way into the room that the guards managed to subdue him. They forced him to his knees and pinned both arms behind his back so he couldn’t move.

“What’s going on?”

Robert asked, his expression darkening, while Pierre bowed repeatedly, clearly flustered and unsure of what to say.

“My apologies, Your Grace. He refused to listen no matter how many times we tried to stop him.”

Clearly, Benjamin had put up a violent struggle and they hadn’t managed to stop him in time. After all, how many sons of noble families would dare to storm the duke’s residence, let alone this particular mansion? The guards had probably hesitated, not wanting to use force against the son of a count so quickly.

Robert said nothing. He simply stared silently at Benjamin as he struggled wildly against the guards.

“Please, just give me a moment of your time.”
Even with Benjamin’s earnest plea, the Duke gave no response.
Seeing this, Pierre gestured to the other guards waiting outside the door.

“Escort him out.”

As they began to lift him to his feet, he resisted fiercely, refusing to be dragged away.

“Do you dare to lay a hand on my body? Get that hand away immediately! Duke, really, just for a moment—a very brief moment!”

“What are you all doing? Hurry up!”

“Miss Henrietta, then please, go ahead and speak.”

When Benjamin suddenly called out Henrietta’s name, Robert raised a hand to stop the guards. Sensing his chance, Benjamin raised his voice even more.

“What did I do that was so terrible that even His Grace had to get involved like this, huh? Did I even lay a hand on your body?”

For a moment, the room was filled with nothing but the sound of Benjamin’s ragged breathing.

“…What are you talking about?”

Robert asked, his voice sharp and cold. But Benjamin, oblivious to the tension, rose slightly on his toes, trying to look past Robert and meet Henrietta’s eyes.

“Answer me! Weren’t you the one who dragged me by the arm and threw me into the fountain that night, Miss Henrietta? Why is His Grace treating our family like this based solely on your word? When my family’s flagship vessel is tied up in the harbour, everything inside rots!”

The Jordy family had long sustained their household’s expenses through the fishing industry. So the cargo he spoke of rotting away was likely fish.