Chapter 57
Briseis’s mind was in turmoil.
She considered going after Damian immediately and confronting him—but what if it turned out to be true?
What if it was all real… if Damian and Delilah truly had a relationship?
She was afraid of realizing that he had truly betrayed her.
Briseis had genuinely intended to divorce him. And yet, she couldn’t help feeling disappointed that he hadn’t kept a single promise to her.
Perhaps, deep down, she had still hoped that even now, Damian would come to his senses and send Delilah away.
If he had only woken up, regretted his actions—
If he had tried to make things right with her again…
She knew she might have wavered.
Even now, the questions rising in her mind and the suffocating pain in her chest—like molten metal being poured into it—made it hard for her to think.
That was precisely why she had included a clause forbidding concubines in the first place. She never wanted to endure this kind of sorrow.
“…Ugh…”
Even after returning to her room, she found it impossible to study, so she deliberately went to the library instead.
She had left all her other notes behind, bringing only two with her.
But now, she couldn’t even focus on those.
There were only five days left until the exam.
Yet nothing would enter her mind.
All because of Damian and Delilah.
Her vision blurred with pain. She squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them again.
“This isn’t the time for this.”
She muttered to herself.
Briseis believed that studying was the only thing she had left now. Even if she divorced, strong academy results would allow her to secure a position in the imperial palace.
That would make it easier to escape the Marquis Philia family, who wanted to marry her off for profit. And if she could even get engaged with Cassias’s help—
Then she could abandon Damian and start a completely new life.
But the years she had given her heart to him were not short.
“Are you Briseis?”
“Who are you?”
“I’m Damian. My mother said we’re going to be engaged.”
From the time he hovered around her as a child, showing interest—
“I don’t plan on getting engaged to you.”
“We’ll still get married anyway. I really like you, Bri. You’re pretty—like a fairy.”
To the warmth he showed her throughout their growing years—
Now, it was as if that person no longer existed.
The memories of the feelings they once shared, and how she had slowly come to love him, felt like shards of glass stabbing into her chest.
—Creak.
“I told you no one would be here!”
“I thought Bri would be studying. Unexpected.”
Briseis had stepped away to find a book, so she wasn’t at her seat.
As she saw the two people entering from beyond the tightly packed bookshelves, she instinctively held her breath.
“Why did you run away earlier?”
It was Damian and Delilah.
“What were you thinking, suddenly taking your clothes off like that?”
“I’m serious. I want to carry your child as soon as possible, Demi.”
Delilah whined as she wrapped her arms around Damian’s neck. Though they appeared to be searching for books, their conversation openly displayed their intimacy.
“Didn’t I say Bri should get pregnant first?”
“Then use contraception. That solves it.”
“Why should I? You should be the one to do that. What if something happens to my body? I have to produce an heir for the Grand Duke’s family.”
“That’s true… then I’ll get contraceptive tea. Will that work?”
“Work? What are you talking about?”
Damian ruffled her hair as if he found her adorable.
“Then can’t you just take care of it quickly and come back? I feel like I’m going to die like this.”
“You won’t die from holding back.”
“But how can I hold back when someone this handsome and wonderful treats me so well? I’m human too.”
Delilah spoke boldly, clinging to him.
“Women are human too. It’s natural to want to carry the child of the person you love.”
“Even if you say it nicely, that’s not happening. I love Bri too.”
“I like Bri as well. That’s why I’m saying you should hurry. Otherwise… no one will find out anyway… wouldn’t it be nice if we shared a secret?”
Delilah took his hand and placed it on her chest, pressing it there.
“My body heats up every time you touch me.”
“Don’t say dangerous things.”
“I want to be in danger. I want to feel you. If we truly become one, I’ll be happier.”
“I told you before…”
Delilah pulled him in and kissed him. At first, Damian seemed to resist, but soon he responded.
Briseis’s legs trembled as she struggled to comprehend what she was seeing.
“You don’t even want to kiss me now?”
“No, it’s not that…”
“Then what should I do to win your heart…?”
Delilah pulled away, looking slightly sad—as if she alone desired the kiss.
Then she reached for her clothes.
“Then… would you like to see more? Maybe that will change your mind.”
Damian frowned, unsure how to respond.
In the meantime, Delilah removed her negligee and placed it on a nearby desk. Then she took off the rest of her undergarments and approached him.
“Well? Don’t you want to touch me?”
That was the moment Briseis couldn’t take it anymore.
She quietly opened the back door and left.
Delilah noticed and smirked.
Damian, however, clenched his fist tightly.
“…I’m sorry.”
Delilah ran her hand along his lower body, but when he failed to respond, she spoke with a faint smile.
“Then at least touch me.”
Damian looked at her strangely, as if she suddenly felt unfamiliar.
“Don’t touch me!”
He shoved her hand away and stepped back.
“Demi?”
She reached for the ring on her necklace again.
“I told you not to.”
He turned to leave the library.
“Th-then just one minute!”
As she turned to get dressed—
“Ah!”
She twisted her ankle.
Damian looked back, frowning at her exposed body. He covered her with the negligee and helped her up.
“Ah… it hurts…!”
“Stay quiet.”
“But when you touch me, Demi… it feels so good.”
Her exaggerated voice only made him feel uncomfortable.
Once her ankle improved slightly, they finally left the library.
❖ ❖ ❖
Meanwhile, the sounds followed Briseis even after she left.
—Thud! Creak! Creak!
“Ah… it hurts…!”
Hearing Delilah’s voice—
She tried to force her legs to move, fleeing back to her room.
“It hurts…”
“Stay quiet.”
“But when you touch me, Demi… it feels so good.”
Those words echoed in her ears.
Briseis ran.
❖ ❖ ❖
Back in her room, she let out a hollow laugh.
Her notes.
Out of the ten notebooks Calisten had given her, the eight she left behind in her room were soaked with water—as if someone had deliberately submerged them.
As if it were obvious who did it.
“Ha…”
It was clear that Delilah was the culprit.
❖ ❖ ❖
The next morning, Briseis didn’t go to the academy.
She hated everything. Everything felt hopeless.
She didn’t want to face anyone—especially after what had happened to the notes Calisten gave her.
And the realization that Damian and Delilah were far more deeply involved than she had thought…
Even the thought that perhaps Damian had never intended to keep his promises to her in the first place.
She had planned for divorce, but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt.
She had believed she would be fine.
But now that she realized she wasn’t, all her strength seemed to drain away.
As she stared at the morning sunlight, she saw Damian and Delilah outside the window, walking hand in hand.
She quickly drew the curtains.
Then she returned to bed and closed her eyes.
How much time had passed?
It was still not even noon when—
“Bri.”
She opened her eyes at the familiar voice.
“Why are you here?”
“If I knew you’d be crying, I would have come sooner.”
Of all people, it was Calisten.
“G-go. Please.”
“I’m not going anywhere—unless you truly want me to.”
That made her both resentful… and relieved.
“Please go.”
“Mm. I love you too.”
As he pulled her up and embraced her—
Without realizing it, she clung to him in return
