A year ago, at Evergail Duke’s mansion.

From morning, all the servants in the mansion were bustling around. It was Helena’s birthday.

The birthday of the Duchess of Evergail was always celebrated grandly, regardless of whether the birthday lady herself wanted it or not.

“Yujin, can we just let this birthday pass quietly? I’m really not in the mood for a party.”

“Helena, what are you talking about since morning? It’s not just a simple party, you know that. Can we really miss such an important occasion just because you’re not in the mood?”

“I hate my birthday. I just can’t smile and clink glasses.”

Helena begged with a gloomy face. Yujin looked at her, then wrapped his arms around her thin waist and pulled her closer, cupping her pale cheek.

“Are you feeling unwell?”

“It’s not that, but… I really…”

Before Helena could finish her sentence, Yujin pushed her away with a sigh.

“Enough, Helena. This is not the time for such idle talk. Last year, I gave in because you stayed in Hyer for a week. We can’t do that this year too.”

“Yujin, please…!”

“Just be present there. I’ll handle the rest.”

Despite Helena’s protests, Yujin went ahead with the lavish party.

Given the geographical location of the northern Duchy of Evergail, minimal social interactions were necessary for smooth relations with the capital’s nobility.

While Evergail’s name was sufficient in itself, it was also a way to publicly demonstrate Helena’s status and the level of respect she received in Evergail.

A party like this was inevitable, and nobody disliked being the center of attention at a grand banquet held in their honor.

Helena might be saying this now, but Yujin believed that once she started eating and enjoying herself among the people, she would feel better.

However, Helena remained gloomily seated in a corner throughout the event and disappeared shortly after the party started.

Left with no choice, Yujin left the party hall to look for her.

The vast garden was filled with the cold air of early winter, a stark contrast to the lively atmosphere lit by the mansion’s splendid chandeliers.

‘What are you doing in such a place?’

He couldn’t easily understand why she would choose to wander the desolate outdoors when she could be showcasing her authority and wealth at the party.

After searching here and there, Yujin finally found Helena.

She was standing motionlessly in front of the beginning-to-freeze fountain, so still that she could have been mistaken for a statue.

‘Quite a mood she’s in.’

Although she must have heard his footsteps, she didn’t turn around. Yujin approached her, took off his jacket, and draped it over her slender shoulders.

“It’s cold tonight, Helena. It would be better to go inside.”

Yujin wrapped his arms around her from behind and bent down, attempting to kiss her pale cheek, but Helena slightly turned her head away.

“I’ll go in soon. The moon is beautiful tonight, so I was just watching it for a bit.”

Despite her words, she didn’t look at Yujin. She kept her gaze fixed solely on the full moon hanging cloudlessly in the middle of the night sky.

Resigned, Yujin released her from his embrace and stepped back.

“I understand you want to enjoy the scenery, but the moon will rise again tomorrow. Let’s go inside now. Everyone is looking for you. The star of the party can’t just disappear.”
Yujin tenderly comforted Helena, but she remained unresponsive.

Slowly turning around, she slipped off the jacket he had draped over her. The chilly moonlight seeped over her face.

“……Yujin.”

Her red lips moved slowly. Unintentionally, Yujin, who had just picked up the jacket, felt a lump in his throat.

Helena looked as if she was about to cry, though not a single tear fell, her expression as rigid as a statue.

Helena, turning her gaze away from the moon, quietly met Yujin’s eyes.

“What do you think it would be like if I died?”

Her question, unexpected as it was, was met with her tranquil, lake-like blue eyes, so serene.

It didn’t seem like she expected an answer, so Yujin frowned slightly and lightly scolded her.

“Why say something like that all of a sudden? On such a beautiful night. Did looking at the moon make you want to wax poetic? Let’s drop these half-baked sentiments and go inside. You’ll catch a cold.”

“…….”

Helena remained silent for a moment. Her face was inscrutable, impossible to tell what she was thinking.

Then, with a faint smile that was hard to interpret as either joyous or sorrowful, she said,

“If I die, don’t come looking for me, Yujin.”

“…That’s right. …That’s how it was.”

Yujin’s face turned pale as he recalled Helena’s birthday. It was unbelievable, incomprehensible.

He was only now realizing the depth of her feelings, the pain she must have carried, smiling through it all beside him.

Basil’s memorial day was also her birthday.

The morning at the eastern annex of Evergail was busy. The bustling footsteps of the servants moving along the second-floor corridor reached Natasha’s room.

Steward Gordon, hoping his premonition was wrong, ascended the stairs.