IRBSGHC 02

Episode 02

“I heard the Grand Duke prefers blue. Serena, you wouldn’t mind lending it to me, would you?”

In Elia’s hands was a blue dress lavishly adorned with glittering beads.

It was Serena’s most treasured gown—the one she had worn for her debutante ball.

“B-But, sister… your dress is right here?”

Serena held up the black dress, forcing an awkward smile as confusion flickered across her face.

“Well, it doesn’t really suit me. I find this one much more to my liking.”

“Huh? Th-That’s…”

Serena stammered, clearly flustered.

“You think so too? You really are such a good sister. Thank you.”

Elia cut her off neatly, not allowing her to finish another word.

With a faint smile at her lips, Elia tugged lightly at the laces.

“Anna!”

Though Elia had no personal maid of her own, Anna—thinking Serena had called—hurried over.

“Y-Yes, miss, you called…?”

Anna slowed to a halt, sensing the strange tension between the sisters, each holding a dress, as if locked in a silent standoff.

“Anna, could you help me put this dress on?”

“Pardon?”

Anna shrank back slightly, glancing nervously at Serena.

“Don’t worry. My angelic little sister gave her permission.”

As she spoke, Elia stared directly into Serena’s eyes, not Anna’s.

“Isn’t that right, dear sister?”

“What? …Ah, yes.”

Serena looked as though she wanted nothing more than to snatch the dress from Elia’s hands, but her shock kept her frozen in place.

“O-Of course!”

At Serena’s reluctant reply, Anna finally stepped forward and helped Elia into the dress.

Watching this, Serena’s expression twisted further. At last, she flung the black dress onto the floor and stormed out of the room.

“…Hah.”

When the sound of her footsteps faded, a self-mocking smile curved Elia’s lips.

Back then, when Serena had smiled and offered her this very dress for the debutante ball, Elia had believed it to be pure kindness.

Yet simply for borrowing it, she had later been brutally beaten by the Marchioness.

‘I won’t be fooled by false kindness ever again.’

Once Anna finished arranging the hem, Elia left Serena’s room with confident steps.

At the end of the first-floor corridor lay the reception room.

As Elia arrived before its doors, her heart began to pound violently.

Beyond those doors stood him—the one and only Grand Duke of the Northern lands of Artizen.

Felix Lloyd.

The moment Elia opened the door, countless gazes poured down upon her.

“Your Grace, I greet you. I am Elia Arnes.”

She hid her surging emotions behind a composed bow.

Then she lifted her eyes—and looked upon the man she had loved.

Jet-black hair like a starless night.
Ash-gray eyes, sharp as a wolf stalking its prey.
And the long scar trailing from cheek to neck.

Felix Lloyd—undeniably him.

“So you are Elia Arnes.”

Once, his broad frame and commanding presence had terrified her. Standing before him, she had trembled like prey before a predator.

But not now.

‘In truth, he is gentler than anyone… warmer than anyone.’

The emotions flooding her chest threatened to spill over as tears, but she held them back.

Instead, she smiled brightly at him.

“Ahem.”

Caught off guard by her open warmth, Felix cleared his throat.

“Elia, you should sit.”

The Marquis, seated across from Felix, spoke with forced gentleness.

Beside him, the Marchioness’s face twisted the moment she noticed Elia’s dress.

‘That look… it no longer frightens me.’

The glare that once made her feel devoured—Elia ignored it completely.

She looked only at the man she had met again.

He was still as magnificent as ever.

Unmindful of her surroundings, Elia gazed at Felix as if engraving him into her soul.

“Ahem.”

Felix showed a flicker of confusion, yet despite the awkward atmosphere, the discussion of marriage proceeded swiftly.

The wedding date, dowry, and arrangements were decided without delay.

The Marquis and Marchioness bent over backward to comply with Felix’s words.

Midway through the discussion, Felix turned his gaze toward Elia.

“Do you find this marriage… agreeable?”

His eyes swept over her from head to toe.

“…Who would refuse the position of Grand Duchess?”

To others, it sounded like a barbed remark—after all, most noblewomen would hesitate to marry a man disliked by the Emperor.

“Ahem! Enough. Elia, how rude.”

The Marquis coughed pointedly before bowing apologetically.

“Your Grace, forgive her. The child only meant—”

“That will be all. You said you approve of the marriage, did you not? We must prepare the wedding promptly. I shall take my leave.”

The meeting ended far sooner than expected.

Elia stared at the massive doors long after he had disappeared.

Then, suddenly, someone grabbed her arm.

“You thieving bitch—how dare you wear Serena’s dress!”

The Marchioness hissed, her light-brown eyes blazing.

“She lent it to me.”

“Hah! Lent it? You think I don’t know you took advantage of my sweet daughter?”

Elia calmly met her fury—and then forcefully pulled her arm free.

“W-What? How dare you lay hands on me!”

The Marchioness trembled, furious at the thought of being overpowered by someone she deemed lower than dirt.

The Marquis clicked his tongue and turned away, heading to his study.

“Mother, please calm down. Do you really think sister did it on purpose?”

Serena spoke gently, her face angelic.

“You spoil her too much. That’s why she forgets her place.”

“But today is still a special day, isn’t it?”

“Tsk. You’re too kind for your own good. Still, insolence must be punished. Elia, follow me.”

Serena did not stop her this time.

“Don’t worry too much, sister. She won’t punish you harshly.”

Serena whispered with a smile meant to console.

Elia passed by her without a glance.

She followed the Marchioness to a storage closet at the end of the third-floor corridor.

The punishment room.

A place of abuse that had followed Elia even into adulthood.

Not a room, but a cramped, decaying closet that allowed only a sliver of light.

Inside, there was no food. No water.

One could only wait—until the Marchioness allowed release.

“Do not come out until I permit it.”

The Marchioness glared, but Elia now met her gaze calmly.

‘Because now I know what you and Serena did to me.’

Startled by that unfamiliar look, the Marchioness faltered briefly—then scowled and turned away.

Click.

The sound of the lock echoed.

“If it weren’t for the wedding, I’d beat that insolent girl properly.”

Her footsteps faded in anger.

Darkness swallowed the space.

A thin beam of light seeped through the crack in the door—but it no longer frightened her.

“Did you hear? Miss Elia’s marrying the Grand Duke.”

“Really? How lucky. After being treated so terribly as a bastard.”

“She’s being sold off, more like it. You know how barren the North is. People go mad living there.”

The maids’ snickering voices drifted in.

Leaning her head against the door, Elia smiled faintly.

It was absurd… and a little sad.

“Oh right, isn’t this the Grand Duke’s third marriage?”

“Third. One died young, and the other fled to the Empire and divorced him. What do you think will happen to our miss?”

‘Because of those rumors, I struggled so desperately to avoid this fate back then…’

Felix had once been a war hero—and the Emperor’s most promising successor.

Until the prophet Cassandra of the Vishnu Temple delivered her oracle.

She proclaimed that the Emperor’s first-blooded child would bring ruin to the Empire.

After that, Felix Lloyd was exiled to the distant North.

The prophecy spread like a curse. Those who once praised him fell silent, one by one.

“They say the Grand Duke’s cold-hearted. That scar on his face is creepy, too.”

“Hey! If someone hears you—”

“Oh, relax. No one’s here. It’s not like anyone could—”

The maid’s words cut off abruptly.

They all knew Elia was often locked in this closet.

But today, with the Grand Duke’s visit, they hadn’t expected it.

“…Don’t tell me.”

Footsteps drew closer.

Click.

The lock turned.

And the closet door slowly opened.