One year and ten months later. Snow flurries danced across his blue eyes like a strange, beautiful phenomenon. Snow fell for the first time in a long while. The duchy maintained low temperatures year-round, yet strangely, a perfect winter never arrived. The weather always lingered on that ambiguous border between autumn and winter, soaking the ancient castle in a persistent chill. But this time, snow fell heavily enough to declare winter's official arrival. Frost etched its p

Declan listened to her calm confession, then dropped his head. Resting his forehead against her lap, he released a heavy sigh masquerading as a murmur. [Declan] "But, Vanessa. You know how anxious I get. It's selfish, I know, but a single day without seeing you......" He had driven her into an abyss deeper than any chasm and a hell worse than the underworld itself, ultimately pushing her toward death. Yet, paradoxically, that very past now formed a suffocating snare around hi

To him, this punishment offered a sweeter fate than living safely without ever seeing her again. Even if she stabbed him and inflicted a fatal wound, he would offer his body countless times if it rescued her from her drowning sorrow. [Declan] "I wish I could bleed exactly as much as you cried. If that alone could buy my atonement." As she stood frozen, he personally unsheathed the dagger for her. Then, like a sinner awaiting execution, he knelt his other leg and settled into

Even today, he looked striking enough to turn the atmospheric beach into a masterpiece. The bandages wrapped around his neck and left hand failed to mar the picture. Instead, his presence transformed those crude injuries into another aesthetic element. However, the beautiful scenery evoked zero inspiration within her. Rather than inspiration, his appearance only dredged up memories of the atrocities he committed against her. Then, the unexpected stories her father shared rush

Her hand clenched tightly over the folds of her dress. She stared at her father blankly, unaware of the ugly wrinkles forming on the fabric. Following his apology, the unexpected revelation had momentarily bleached her mind white. [Count] "Not long after the problem arose, a massive investment came in under the guise of sponsorship. Several times, in fact. And the blocked supply lines were reconnected through routes in another empire, resolving the issue." [Vanessa] "......"

[Count] "I heard from the Former Count. He said the Grand Duke exterminated the bandits encamped here." [Vanessa] "..." [Count] "He seems to believe he came because he had business here, but I don't think so. What business could possibly bring him all the way down to this distant estate?" [Vanessa] "...Yes. He is here." [Count] "Since when?" [Vanessa] "..." [Count] "No, that's not important. Did you decide to return to the capital because of that? Did he... again..." [Vanessa

[Vanessa] "Do as you please." At some point, facing his love became unbearable. Every moment she confronted his affection, she felt burdened more than anything else. No, was "burdened" even the right word? She just wanted to avoid it, to run away. She wanted to pretend she hadn't seen it. This time was no different, so she quickly turned away. As she began to walk again, his shadow appeared beside her. The sun was setting, lengthening the shadows until they stretched far into

[Declan] "Did she accept the flowers?" [Carter] "Yes." He suppressed a sigh that threatened to rise from his throat as he watched the Grand Duke's unrestrained satisfaction. He quickly added what he hadn't finished saying. [Carter] "However, there was a condition." [Declan] "A condition?" [Carter] "Since she accepted the flowers, she requested that you send nothing more." [Declan] "......" [Carter] "She said if you send even one more thing, she will withdraw her decision." As

[Dina] "My Lady." Thanks to the relentless barrage of gifts over the past few days, Vanessa had reached a point where even the sound of Dina calling her name sent a chill down her spine. Lowering the book she was reading, she looked up. Dina stood at the door, wearing an expression of pure bewilderment—a look so familiar it stirred a sense of déjà vu. Feigning ignorance of the vivid premonition, she asked casually. [Vanessa] "What is it?" [Dina] "A visitor has come to see you

Three days later. She stood at the entrance of the drawing room with Dina, her face a mask of bewilderment. [Vanessa] "What on earth is all this......?" Around noon, the butler had announced a visitor. She had been puzzled. In a place where she had few connections, she couldn't imagine who would come to see her. Thus, she had descended with Dina’s support, only to find the drawing room overflowing with more dresses than she dared to count. [Tailor] "Ah, are you Lady Rohawk? I

Vanessa had no concept of how much time had passed. Upon opening her eyes, the world spun in a dizzying blur. The ceiling, familiar after three years, confirmed she was in her bedchamber at the Evarn estate. [Vanessa] "Ugh......" As she attempted to rise, agony radiated through every inch of her body, from her torso to her legs. It felt as though a massive boulder were crushing her. [Dina] "Good heavens, My Lady!" A startled voice rang out from the distance. Gentle hands guid

Vanessa had no concept of how much time had passed. Upon opening her eyes, the world spun in a dizzying blur. The ceiling, familiar after three years, confirmed she was in her bedchamber at the Evarn estate. [Vanessa] "Ugh......" As she attempted to rise, agony radiated through every inch of her body, from her torso to her legs. It felt as though a massive boulder were crushing her. [Dina] "Good heavens, My Lady!" A startled voice rang out from the distance. Gentle hands guid

Declan experienced the anxiety radiating from Carter and his subordinates firsthand. He felt the precarious atmosphere hanging over him more acutely than anyone else. Whenever he woke in the morning to the throbbing pain spreading across his neck, he often thought: I might actually die like this. If watching her from the shadows reduced him to this state, what would happen if he couldn't see her at all? Were it not for the obligation born of love—the need to ensure her safety

Her encounter at the Brahms Flower Festival suddenly flashed through her mind. Had he let her go so easily back then only because he planned to annihilate those who threatened her afterward? Looking at his demeanor now, it was obvious he had intended to keep her in the dark. The realization that he had been courting trouble for her sake stirred a foreign emotion deep within her. As that feeling threatened to evaporate her logic, he muttered like a weary sigh. [Declan] "I thou

Vanessa unfastened the top button of her collar. The tiny click echoed sharply between them, a minuscule sound that felt inexplicably intense. The second and third buttons followed, her movements growing quicker and more decisive. As her fingers reached for the fourth, they suddenly froze. [Vanessa] "......" Her gaze locked onto his exposed abdomen. A colossal scar, one she had never seen before, marred his flesh. The jagged, stitched line stretched roughly two hand-spans, ru