Chapter 29
“Lady Lena of the Lucianos is coming here?”
The hand holding the quill froze mid-signature.
Russell lifted his head, frowning. Standing before him, Frater looked as calm and composed as ever—his usual, impenetrable demeanor.
“Yes. Word just came from the southern outpost. Lady Lena of House Lucianos is on her way to Glacies Castle.”
“For what reason, all of a sudden?”
Russell’s expression clearly darkened in annoyance.
“Who knows. Perhaps she’s worried about her only sister?”
“As if.”
Russell let out a dry, mocking laugh and set down the quill.
According to Frater’s investigation, Piana had been neglected all her life in the Duke of Lucianos’ household.
Not being chained doesn’t mean one grows up free. People are bound from birth by the leash of their environment.
But Piana was not only chained by her environment—she was also bound by her physical limitations, treated as invisible, as if she didn’t exist.
What must that have been like for her?
Did she resent her own eyes that couldn’t see as she slowly changed from a child into a woman? Or had she long since surrendered all hope, living each day in quiet resignation, barely managing to breathe?
What kind of state were you in before you met me, Piana?
He wanted to know.
Had she come to him with some faint, unseen hope still in her heart?
“Your Grace?”
“Ah—sorry. My mind wandered.”
When Frater’s grave tone pulled him back to the present, Russell pinched the bridge of his nose.
It wasn’t the time to indulge in sentimentality. Leaning back in his chair, he fell into thought.
There was no reason for Duke Callidus—who had handed Piana over—to send Lady Lena here. Especially given how Lena had treated Piana in the past, this could only be her own doing.
What is she after?
Russell couldn’t fathom her purpose. Duke Callidus might appear a thoughtless hedonist, but he was, in truth, a meticulous man. He would never recklessly send his beloved eldest daughter to the harsh North.
“What shall we do?”
Frater’s question pulled Russell’s gaze upward. The shadows cast across his face by the dim light made him look even darker, as if the moon had slipped behind clouds.
“If you wish, we can stop her before she reaches Glacies Castle. It may be best to avoid any unpleasant encounter with Lady Piana.”
“They’re certainly not a harmonious family.”
The servants who’d left House Lucianos all said the same thing: Lady Lena had often tormented her younger sister.
Still, there were curious inconsistencies.
‘Come to think of it, Lady Piana’s been strange since she hit her head. She barely leaves her room and hardly speaks. Even though she couldn’t see, she used to be rather cheerful as a child…’
‘Lady Piana used to visit the forest often. Don’t know why, but she always came back looking calmer.’
Odd details—her change in personality, her fondness for the forest. Russell interlaced his fingers beneath his chin.
Was her last visit to the forest simply because she liked it?
It felt as though he was missing something, but he couldn’t tell what.
Then, a sudden thought flashed through his mind—a possibility that made him rise from his seat.
“No. I’ve changed my mind,” he said abruptly. “Let her in.”
“…Sir?”
Frater blinked, unsure he’d heard correctly.
“She’ll have to pay dearly for touching a member of the North.”
Russell’s smile was sharp, almost cruel.
Too greedy.
That was the first thought that came to him when he looked at Lena.
The woman was nothing like Piana.
From the moment they met, her attire was too extravagant for the North, and the way she covertly pressured Piana spoke of vanity and viciousness.
Worse still, she tried to manipulate public opinion to pin false blame on her sister. A transparent ploy to capture his attention.
When Lena approached him with seductive intent, Russell’s heart didn’t so much as stir. In fact, he found it amusing.
Russell.
There was already another woman who had once ensnared his heart—a woman with golden hair she always dyed black, who insisted on wearing nothing but black.
Even after decades, she had never released him from her grasp.
Looks like dinner’s a lost cause.
Russell drained his wine in one gulp and began to rise from his seat.
Just then, he felt a faint tug at his collar.
There stood a small, gentle-looking woman, her brows knit in determination.
“Lord Russell. My sister is after the position of Grand Duchess.”
He blinked. Of course he already knew that—it had been clear moments ago. Yet Piana, her small hand trembling as she gripped his collar, continued to speak.
Instinctively, Russell reached out, intending to take her hand.
“So please… don’t be deceived by her. She’ll cause trouble, I’m sure of it.”
His hand froze midair.
He’d never once considered making anyone else his duchess. Not because Piana fit the role like some puppet, but because there was a deeper reason—something fundamental.
Then why?
Russell’s thoughts stalled. The self-questioning that should have followed simply didn’t come.
Piana mistook his silence for hesitation and spoke again.
“My sister’s nature is far more vicious than she appears. Please, don’t let her fool you.”
“I know.”
“What?”
Startled by his sudden response, Piana blurted out without thinking. Russell found her reaction unexpectedly endearing.
“Did you think I wouldn’t investigate the woman I intend to marry?”
“Then earlier, you—”
“There were too many eyes watching, that’s all.”
Russell gently took her trembling hand in his. Even through her glove, her fingers felt so small, so fragile.
“Piana,” he said softly. “What do you think of Lena?”
She didn’t answer right away. Her expression grew complicated. The rumors of their strained relationship, it seemed, were true. Russell waited patiently.
He’d thought it best to keep them apart, but could blood ties really mean nothing?
Then again, I’m hardly one to talk about family bonds.
Russell gave a wry smile. Finally, Piana slipped her hand free from his grasp and spoke.
“I’ve never once thought of her as family.”
Never once—not even as a sister. Not because Lena bullied her, but because Piana Lucianos remembered her previous life.
They were never truly related by blood, and even before her memories returned, that sense of alienation had always been there.
“I see… I understand.”
Russell’s voice carried a subtle, unsettling emotion that made Piana shrink back.
What must he think of me now?
Does he see me as a heartless woman who rejects her only kin?
But instead of reproach, his next words came as a quiet reassurance.
“I feel the same.”
Piana lifted her head instinctively, though she knew she couldn’t see his face. Still, she turned toward the sound of his voice.
Russell raised his hand and gently patted her head.
“I’ve never felt any attachment to blood either. The only thing I trust and follow is…”
He stopped himself before finishing the thought.
Instead, he turned and called out, “Asha.”
“Yes, my lord!”
“Take Lady Piana to her room. Have the rest divided and brought to her later.”
“Yes, sir! Lady Piana, this way, please.”
As Piana and Asha departed, Russell felt a deep, inexplicable satisfaction swell in his chest.
But the reason he’d allowed Lena into the castle had been anything but pure.
Once the women were gone, Frater approached and nudged his side.
“You really are a piece of work, you know that?”
Russell smiled pleasantly.
“You’re only figuring that out now?”
