Bonisa pondered and replied.

“Maybe it was a marriage opposed by the family? Professors aren’t likely to marry maids or commoners.”

“That could be possible.”

Whether it was the case or not, Hertian declaring lifelong bachelorhood would have forced the spirits to grant it.

Or he could have married first and brought in a concubine later.

I had difficulties understanding.

“Or maybe that person was already married? Or had someone else they loved?”

This assumption sounded plausible.

“If that’s the reason…”

I was quite satisfied.

My questions were answered.

Without noticing, Bonisa had dressed me in a thick sleepwear dress.

“You seem serious, Madam. Is this person important to you?”

Startled by her words, I touched my face.

“Me?”

Apparently, I had been frowning. What was this about?

Whether or not Hertian had someone he loved, it had little to do with this contract marriage.

I forced a mechanical smile.

“It’s nothing.”

(This is a time divider.)

Entering the bedroom, I saw Hertian flipping through a book beside the bed.

Was he looking different today due to Liri’s words or Bonisa’s?

I approached him slowly. He was so engrossed in his book that he didn’t notice my entrance.

It wasn’t until I sat beside him that he finally looked up from his book. I took a moment to observe him.

His jetblack hair gave a neat, almost simple image. But in contrast, his handsome features, no less striking than Serdis, would be attractive to many women.

‘He’s not even as passive as Serdis.’

He wasn’t the type to shy away when faced with someone he liked.

I couldn’t understand women who would prefer someone else over such a perfect man.

“When did you come?”

Oops.

I had been lost in thought again.

Regaining my composure, I asked him.

“What are you reading that’s so interesting?”

“Ah.”
He quickly closed the book and placed it on the desk. I glanced at it discreetly. The cover was flipped over, hiding its title.

“What’s the book about? I’ve never seen it before.”

“It’s nothing special.”

“What do you mean, ‘nothing special?'”

He suddenly closed his mouth. I wasn’t really that curious, but a strange suspicion arose.

Was it related to a woman he liked?

I almost forgot that we were in a contractual marriage, sharing the same bed. Prying into subjects he didn’t want to discuss would be an invasion of his privacy.

I understood him well enough and turned my back, lying down.

“You don’t have to tell me. Continue reading and sleep. I’ll sleep first.”

And I wished that Hertian would quickly forget that woman.

Because then the wounds would be lesser.

But why was I feeling bitter since earlier? No matter how much I thought about it, it was incomprehensible.

Then, I felt a warm touch on my shoulder.

“May I take a look?”

Hertian gently wrapped his arm around my shoulder. Unlike usual, he was trying to slightly lift my robe.

To see the Belladonna pattern inked on my wing bone.

“Feel free.”

I gladly shifted my hair to the other side, tilting my neck. When his cautious touch met my skin, I flinched. Although I couldn’t see, it felt strange knowing his eyes were on the pattern.

“You said you’ve had this since birth, right?”

“Yes. My father, Lian, and I all had it the moment we were born into the Viscount family.”

Before we married, I had shown him the pattern and explained.

Everyone born in the Rangberia Viscount line has this pattern. While Belladonna’s buds never change, my elder brother Lian caused his to sprout and bloom. And at the end, there was death.

“It’s sprouted a few more leaves since then.”

He was right.

After Lian died, as if waiting for the right time, my pattern began to sprout.

My body quickly weakened, and I kept collapsing.

“The growth rate is not as fast as Lian’s.”

Lian lost his life two years after his pattern changed.

But not me. Five years have passed since Lian left this world, and I’m still very much alive.

That’s not to say it’s hopeful.

‘In the original story, Anette married the Duke and died soon after.’

I suddenly recalled my relationship with Hertian in the original story.

There was no point of contact at all.

In the original, Serdis started to plot, leading to Anette’s death, and only after sweeping away all his previous lovers did Hertian, who roamed the battlefields, appear before Serdis.

Thinking about it again, it’s a painful reality. Both Hertian and I were just sacrificial lambs to highlight the main characters.

Just when I felt a little stifled, he asked in a chokedup voice.

“Do you also believe that this pattern makes your body sick?”