CHAPTER 58…………….
“If you’re done, then go.”
“…Tisha.”
“If you won’t go, then I will.”
“Tisha, wait! Tisha!”
“I really don’t know why you’re doing this to me. Why you act like this in front of me either….”
Lariènne quickly ran after Etisha. Beneath the mud-stained expression, a glimpse of desperation could be seen.
As much as Lariènne loved Etisha, she could not bear the empty space that would remain if Etisha disappeared.
She had always clung to Etisha desperately, like a clueless child grasping too tightly, so the emptiness of her absence was unbearably vast. Just the thought of Etisha leaving terrified her to the core.
“B-but… you’ll die.”
Lariènne chased after Etisha like a madwoman and clung to her.
“That’s right. I’ll die soon.”
“No, Tisha, I hate it. I hate it so much, I’m scared. The thought of you not being here… I hate it.”
“Really? But that’s your problem.”
“…What?”
“I’m the one who’s dying. Why are you the one afraid?”
Etisha returned Lariènne’s own words right back to her.
“Shouldn’t I be the one afraid of dying?”
“……”
“What little life I have left, I’ll choose how to spend it. Leave me alone.”
“Why….”
“And I didn’t cry because of you.”
Etisha shook Lariènne off and entered Wintel Castle. Left behind alone, tears finally began to well up in Lariènne’s sapphire eyes.
It was strange—no matter how much she had screamed by herself, no tears would come. Yet just a few words from Etisha, and they fell in streams.
“…Tisha.”
Lariènne clawed at her own chest with her nails, choking with sobs.
Even then, she couldn’t stop wondering—who had made Etisha cry? Who dared to bring tears to her?
The fury boiled up so hot she could barely contain it. She wanted to tear them apart, shred them alive.
Footsteps echoed as the office door opened.
Cayenne sat at his desk with a cold expression, his demeanor as grim as a general marching into war.
“Your Grace, you’ve returned. Did Lady Etisha come back safely?”
His aide, Valdefram, inquired about Etisha’s well-being. Cayenne gave no reply, only staring down at the documents before him.
“I was surprised. The moment I heard Lady Etisha had gone missing, I never imagined Your Grace would rush out like that….”
“……”
“Ahem… I’ve spoken out of turn. My apologies.”
Valdefram coughed awkwardly and busied himself with papers. Judging from Cayenne’s expression, it seemed dangerous to talk carelessly.
The Duke seems strange today. He rarely shows emotion… yet he rushed out on horseback to search for her, and returned in such a foul mood. Highly unusual.
Suspicion crept into Valdefram’s thoughts.
Could it be… His Grace truly has feelings for Lady Etisha…?
At that moment, Cayenne’s voice cut through the air, low and menacing.
“Valdefram.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Valdefram flinched, bowing his head anxiously. Could Cayenne read his mind? Impossible, of course—but if anyone could, it would be his master.
“There is something that must be urgently investigated in the capital.”
Cayenne signed a document with icy precision as he gave the order.
“I’ll contact them at once. What should be investigated?”
Of course. His Grace Cayenne would never fall in love. He knew nothing but work, swordsmanship, and vengeance. To suspect otherwise was absurd.
Ha. Even if the world split in two, it could never be.
Valdefram smirked inwardly.
If the Duke ever felt that way, I’d be a dog. A dog.
Then Cayenne spoke.
“Find out if Lady Etisha has a lover in the capital.”
“…What?”
Valdefram doubted his ears.
“Lady Etisha had a lover. Investigate who it is and report back in detail.”
Etisha’s lover? Why on earth…?
Valdefram glanced up at Cayenne in disbelief. His lord was working with a gaze so fierce it seemed ready to burn the papers.
Struggling to suppress his confusion, Valdefram carefully replied.
“My lord, forgive me, but the last report I delivered from the capital contained all there was to know about Lady Etisha. We even investigated her acquaintances thoroughly, and there was no mention of a lover….”
“No. She has one.”
“She had no friends, let alone—”
“She has one. Find out who.”
Cayenne signed another paper violently, the pen tearing straight through the sheet.
Riiip.
The sound of the paper splitting in two was like Valdefram’s world itself being ripped apart.
Impossible. Even if the world were torn in two, such a thing could never…
And yet, it was happening.
Valdefram, stunned, finally bowed and left.
“Yes, my lord. I’ll make contact at once. The results should arrive in about a week.”
“Three days.”
“…Pardon?”
“Three days. Report before the wedding.”
“……”
Valdefram began to wonder if he was hallucinating, drunk or delusional.
What is this… Have I really become a dog?
Unable to hide his dismay, he departed the office.
“…I’ll report within three days.”
Click.
The door shut, leaving Cayenne alone.
He fought to ignore the face flickering across his mind.
<Why won’t you kiss me?>
Etisha had gazed up at him groggily upon waking, reaching out with both arms, unbearably endearing.
<Why won’t you hold me?>
Her slender arms. Her gentle eyes. That smiling face and whispered voice…
Cayenne frowned.
That she intruded into his paperwork was troubling enough, but the real problem was something else.
<You always kissed me and held me, but why… why not this time?>
The veins on Cayenne’s hand bulged, and with too much force the thick pen shaft snapped in two.
“Tch.”
He threw the broken pen aside, clicking his tongue.
The mysterious lover who had “always kissed and held” Etisha—who was he? Why did Cayenne care so much it suffocated him?
Not only that.
Why had Etisha, who supposedly loved her lover deeply, come all the way to the North? The thought made his insides churn.
Because of her illness, of course.
That had to be it.
Because she had been diagnosed with a terminal condition, she had parted ways with her lover.
Etisha had wanted to leave the capital from the very beginning. Perhaps more than escaping Baron Heinz’s family, she had wanted to leave her lover behind.
Because she loved him that much…
Bang!
Cayenne’s fist slammed the desk.
A surge of magic infused the blow, splitting the massive teak desk in half with a deafening crack.
Furniture hewn from millennia-old timber had been destroyed with a single strike.
“My lord!”
The office door burst open again and Valdefram rushed in, pale as death.
His eyes darted between the broken pen on the floor and the desk split down the middle. His jaw dropped open, as if split in two as well.
“Wh-what happened here?”
“……”
“My lord…?”
Cayenne rose to his feet.
Three years had passed since the war, yet his aura had not dulled. The sheer force of his presence made Valdefram stumble back in fright.
“…It’s nothing. Leave.”
“……”
“Ah, and get a new desk. Have it ready by tomorrow.”
Cayenne brushed past the frozen aide and walked into the hall. His footsteps echoed with a chilling weight. Valdefram remained rooted to the spot until Cayenne disappeared completely, then finally exhaled in relief.
“…What on earth is happening here?”
He raised his hands in disbelief, grateful that all his limbs were still attached. For a moment he had truly thought Cayenne’s killing aura would slice him apart.
“What exactly happened between him and Lady Etisha…?”
Valdefram glanced around the wrecked office with dazed eyes.
A moment ago he had thought perhaps Cayenne was harboring feelings for Etisha. But after seeing this, he wasn’t sure.
Was it love? Or not?
Affection? Or not?
Am I… a man? Or a dog?
Valdefram almost barked aloud.
Time passed regardless.
Three days later, it was the eve of Cayenne and Etisha’s wedding. By imperial tradition, a ceremonial rite was held on this day.
The ritual was simple.
The bride and groom shared three cups of wine—morning, noon, and evening. That was all.
The meaning was clear: to live together always, through youth, middle age, and old age.
Commoners often skipped the ritual or replaced it with plain water, but the Duke of Wintel could not.
And so, from early morning, Cayenne and Etisha were made to share a cup.
Inside the chapel.
Etisha stared at the goblet before her.
A golden chalice engraved with the eagle crest, filled with golden wine. It looked as though it might spill if not held carefully.
“……”
Etisha lifted it cautiously. As she brought it to her lips, she felt Cayenne’s gaze on her.
It seemed as though he were staring directly at her lips.
Etisha was briefly puzzled, but dismissed the thought and drank.
Don’t think about anything. You already decided to distance yourself from him. Keep your distance.
