His hand moved next toward her wrist. The clasp of the bracelet Hayden had given her as a substitute for the roses loosened, and the jewelry slid down her skin. Before she could catch it, the bracelet tumbled to the floor and was immediately hidden beneath his boot, crushed into the ground. It was an act saturated with obsession and a desire for restraint, a clear statement that no trace of the Crown Prince should ever touch her. She stared down at his boot with a hollow gaze

Declan wore a mask of charcoal gray, a shade far deeper than her own. Yet, the color was the only thing she could perceive. She was too occupied meeting the gaze of the sapphire eyes peering through the slits of the mask to notice anything else. Every time those blue eyes—resembling the depths of the ocean—brushed against her face, she felt a stinging heat, followed by a faint itch. Her fingers and toes curled with tension, and a cold sweat dampened her back. It was a suffoca

He often had the word "sorry" on his lips, but this time, it felt different. Previously, he had apologized out of a constant, anxious fear of upsetting her; now, it felt as though he were asking for her understanding for the uncontrollable affection he was beginning to display. Hayden was changing, bit by bit. Even without searching deeply for the reason, she could see it. He was now filled with a fierce determination to sway her heart toward him, leading him to act with newf

The number of servants working in the Imperial Palace was vast. If a story passed through their lips only once or twice, the rumor would already be widespread enough to sweep through the entire capital. [Servant] "Yes, Lady Rohawk." The servant took on a determined expression, as if he had been handed an order upon which his very life depended. He was about to leave the bedroom but hesitated for a moment. [Servant] "Um... but what should I do if the Grand Duke refuses to take

Vanessa found herself unable to tear her eyes away from him. Usually, she would have looked away long ago, but a palpable change seemed to have taken hold of him, causing her fingertips to curl instinctively. She wondered if this change would favor her or work against her. Given a man like him—unpredictable and prone to sudden, explosive actions—the latter was far more likely. The tension coiled within her, growing tighter with every passing second as she wondered what absurd

He shifted his gaze from his dark contemplations to Julian. A question Julian had asked him in a long-forgotten memory suddenly resurfaced in his mind. [Julian] “Do you love Vanessa Rohawk?” When the news of the marriage first broke, he had asked that question with a look of sheer disbelief. Declan remembered his answer perfectly. [Declan] "No." [Julian] "..." [Declan] "I do not love her." He had been able to answer without a moment’s hesitation because, at the time, he had b

A sharp, piercing migraine throbbed behind his eyes. Declan felt the relentless pulsing of the pain even before he fully regained consciousness. He sat up abruptly, his hands clutching the bedsheets as he fought to steady his breathing. He struggled to piece together his fragmented memories. What had happened? How did he end up here? As the moments before he lost consciousness flickered back to him, his face hardened into a mask of frozen tension. He whipped his head around.

He fought to deny the reality before him, but then Vanessa reached out and feebly gripped his collar. Though her trembling touch was weak, it held him fast, leaving him momentarily paralyzed as if he were bound by iron chains. Then, words sharper than any blade spilled from her lips, piercing his chest like a dagger. [Vanessa] "I understand, so..." She seemed to agree that he had been the one to bring her to this state. She pleaded with him to stop talking, if only for a mome

The Emperor’s fury erupted exactly as expected. However, the bond of trust built over years with the Count’s family did not shatter in a single instant. The Emperor was not a man to act on impulse; instead, the Imperial family launched a clandestine, internal investigation to verify the truth of Declan’s tip. Declan had already anticipated this reaction. If he had merely forged documents, the deception would have eventually crumbled under the weight of a persistent investigat

As he watched the woman whose every feature seemed carved in perfect harmony, a figure from his past—both close and distant—flickered in his mind. It was his own mother, the late Grand Duchess, who had met such a tragic end. She had been beautiful and noble, yet she had wasted her life loving the wrong man, only to end it by her own hand. Though Declan had claimed his revenge by staging his father’s death as an accident, the guilt he felt for his mother remained like a jagged

Since the day he overheard that conversation, Declan had ceased to view Hayden as a friend. If he still agreed to meet him, it was only because he was no longer a child who let private grudges dictate his alliances. Exposing one's raw emotions was a fool’s errand; it was nothing more than handing an enemy a map to one’s weaknesses. His mother was the perfect example. She had laid bare every ounce of her desperate love, effectively surrendering her freedom into the hands of ot

[Declan] "I remember." Hayden’s eyes widened. Declan’s lack of courtesy was so blatant that the Prince had likely assumed he wasn't recognized. He found the situation almost amusing, though a small part of him wondered how a member of the Imperial family would react to such disrespect. Would he be offended? The response, however, was entirely unexpected. [Hayden] "You’re even pricklier than I heard." [Declan] "...Than you heard?" [Hayden] "I came here because I wanted to be f

The Grand Duke wore a wide smile as he reached out to stroke Hayden’s hair. He looked like a father beaming with pride for his beloved son. He had never touched his own son that way. Declan had long known that his father favored the Empress’s child. Once, while visiting the study, he had seen a list of gifts on the desk. At the time, he had entertained a foolish hope that they might be for him. He had been so desperate for affection that he let himself dream. But he had later

Declan had grown numb to the constant, one-sided storms of his childhood. Experience had taught him that staying perfectly still was the fastest way to make the pain end. His head throbbed where his mother had struck him, but his mind remained strangely blank. While held in his mother’s embrace, he looked down at his own palms. He felt no physical pain now, but the scars remained—reminders of a time long ago. When he was still a small child, the Duchess had used him as a weap

Her legs gave way. She sank to the floor like someone facing a truth too heavy to carry. Her voluminous skirts flared around her, making it look as though she were kneeling before Hayden. In truth, she felt like throwing herself at his feet. The more her anger toward Declan burned, the more her guilt toward this man grew. [Hayden] "Actually, I should be the one to apologize." Vanessa, who had been struggling to swallow her tears, froze at his words. [Hayden] "I know how much