Duke Bold’s daughter Rebecca, who had always been obedient to him.

For her to not only repeatedly ignore his requests to meet, but even go so far as to tear up his letters.

He felt pathetic for his complacency in thinking she would soon be crying and begging for forgiveness before him.

He knew she had changed, but not to this extent.

Moreover, Duke Bold couldn’t help but feel more anxious after recently learning that Rebecca had disposed of artwork and jewels all at once.

‘Surely that fool isn’t thinking of getting a divorce?’

Duke Bold anxiously rubbed his face.

There was only one reason he, a fallen nobleman, had poured everything into making Rebecca the Grand Duchess of Twins.

“Lillian’s Heart”

To obtain it, Rebecca absolutely had to spend a night with Cedric.

She needed to gain his imprint to have the ability to control him.

Then all he would have to do was give a simple order to his daughter Rebecca, who acted like the tongue in his mouth, to bring him that item.

With that item, the Kingdom of Kachis would regain hegemony on this continent, and the King of Kachis would treat him as a meritorious subject.

‘Not just continuing an empty ducal title in a fallen country, nor surviving as a nobleman from a defeated nation in a strange empire… I would gain power second only to the emperor in the empire I’m familiar with.’

That’s why he had been constantly pressuring Rebecca…

But in 5 years of marriage, Rebecca had neither obtained Cedric’s imprint nor found out the location of Lillian’s Heart.

‘Useless girl. And now she even dares to rebel.’

Duke Bold, who had been gulping down alcohol, roughly wiped his chin.

He couldn’t just stand by and watch Rebecca’s insolent deviation.

“If you continue to be this useless… I’ll have no choice but to get rid of you and find a child who can be of use to me to take your place.”

Duke Bold, staggering drunk, chuckled with a sinister expression.

* * *

Several weeks had already passed since returning from the futures exchange.

During that time, the imperial family had started releasing special carriages to the market little by little.

Naturally, the market’s response was explosive.

At first, buyers were skeptical, but before long they fell in love with the convenience of the special carriages and began to spread the word.

Moreover, as articles about the safety and popularity of special carriages continued to appear, their value began to soar day by day.

“Your Highness, here is today’s newspaper.”

As soon as I finished washing up, Mina naturally handed me the newspaper.

I was about to open the financial section right away when I noticed a familiar name in the headline on the front page.

‘Rebecca Twins.’

It was my name.

As I blinked in surprise, Mina giggled as if she had expected this reaction.

“I was so surprised when I brought the newspaper early this morning. Your Highness, you’re really amazing!”

The article’s title read:

“Grand Duchess Rebecca Twins Recognizes the Value of Special Carriages! – Is She the New Investment Genius?”

It was an article about me, who had foreseen and invested in the value of special carriages.

However, much of the content was exaggerated, so I flipped through the newspaper with an indifferent expression.

“They’ve blown it out of proportion. They’ve written as if I’ve already become a billionaire.”

“You’ll soon be a billionaire anyway, so it’s not a lie. By the way, when are you thinking of putting the special carriages back on the market?”

“Well…”

I tapped my chin with the pen I had been using to underline the newspaper.

“For now, I plan to trade about twenty of them in a few days. Of course, at the highest possible price.”

“Eh, only twenty? Wouldn’t it be better to dispose of them quickly while the price is at its peak?”

Mina tilted her head, blinking her cute eyes.

“No, I’ll only release a few at a time until their value reaches its peak. The more scarce they are, the more desperate people will be to own a special carriage.”

According to my information, special carriages would be mass-produced in the world in 6 months at the earliest, or a year at the latest.

In other words, until then, the price of special carriages would continue to skyrocket.

It was actually more beneficial for me to wait quietly.

As I was humming and casually skimming through the article.

Suddenly, a face I had forgotten came to mind.

‘…Duke Bold.’

Since that day I had warned him, he hadn’t come to see me unexpectedly like before.

However, Duke Bold’s attempts to make appointments became even more persistent, and I had been ignoring all his contacts.

‘I wonder if Duke Bold has seen this article by now.’

He had been clinging to his petty pride as the head of the family regarding my divorce alimony disposal rights.

Now that the only means he had to threaten me was gone, Duke Bold must be beside himself with anger.

Moreover, he couldn’t even come to see me right away like before, so he must be even more frustrated.

‘Serves you right, old man.’

I got up from my chair, pursing my lips.

“Your Highness, where are you going?”

“Oh. The weather seems nice, so I thought I’d go for a morning walk.”

“Shall I come with you?”

At Mina’s question, I shook my head and walked straight towards the door.

“No. Today I want to go alone.”

* * *

Arriving at the lobby on the first floor, I habitually walked towards the reception room.

And I stared blankly at the frame hanging on the wall.

It was the very frame where Vincent had appeared the other day.

Perhaps because I now knew the secret behind the painting, it didn’t feel as unpleasant as before.

Rather, thinking that there was someone I knew on the other side made me feel even friendly.

‘Then… could I possibly enter this too?’

Just as I unconsciously reached out towards the painting.

“Do you want to visit the demon realm again?”

A gentle voice echoed through the spacious lobby.

As I turned around, a familiar face came into view.

“Oh? Adrian?”

When our eyes met, he approached me with a slight smile.

I gave Adrian a welcoming smile and tilted my head.

“But… what do you mean by ‘again’?”

At that moment, the smile on Adrian’s face slowly faded.

He even showed signs of bewilderment.

Eventually, an uneasy silence fell between Adrian and me, and after moving his lips a few times, Adrian slowly opened his mouth.

“Do you really… not remember anything from that day?”

Adrian silently looked at my face for a while.

“I thought you were pretending to have lost your memory because you couldn’t forgive me after that. But now I see…”

“…”

“You really did lose your memory.”

He bowed his head slightly with a bitter expression.

It was after some time had passed that his amethyst eyes turned to me again.

“Your Highness, would you like to go to the garden with me?”

.

.

.

The place Adrian led me to was by the pond in the backyard connected to the Light Mansion.

It was then, as we were slowly walking, looking at the morning sunlight breaking on the water.

“This is the place.”

Adrian’s steps stopped in front of a low rock near the pond.

He naturally sat me down on the rock and continued speaking.

“Your Highness was sitting here at that time.”

“So we didn’t first meet at the Dark Mansion?”

“No.”

As I looked up with curious eyes, he gave a faint smile.

“And on that day, Your Highness was crying sorrowfully.”

Rebecca was crying?

I blinked slowly towards Adrian.

“I found out later, but that day was the wedding day of the Grand Duke and Your Highness.”

“…”

“But the Grand Duke had to leave urgently for the demon realm, and Your Highness, left alone, seemed very heartbroken.”

Adrian, who had spoken up to this point, slightly bit his lower lip.

“Afterwards, Your Highness chased after the Grand Duke to the mountain in the demon realm where he had secretly gone. I don’t know what happened there, but…”

“…”

“When you returned in the Grand Duke’s arms, you were already unconscious.”

Adrian closed his eyes tightly as if recalling the memory of that time.

“And after that day, the Grand Duke began to treat Your Highness coldly throughout your married life, suspecting you.”

So it wasn’t simply because of Rebecca’s obsession, but something happened that night?

Surprised by Rebecca’s story that I hadn’t known before, I blinked.

Adrian’s expression became bitter as he looked at me.

“The events of that day ultimately brought you two to this point.”

After saying that, he slowly knelt down in front of me.

“Adrian, what are you doing?”

“It was I who helped Your Highness go to the demon realm that day.”

Adrian looked up at me with amethyst eyes deeply tinged with guilt.

“I couldn’t bear to see Your Highness crying so sadly. So that day, I made a choice I shouldn’t have dared to make.”

“…”

“…I ruined Your Highness’s happiness.”

I hurriedly shook my head towards him as he looked sad.

“Adrian, it’s not like that…”

“I know that you two have finally decided to divorce.”

My surprised eyes widened automatically.

How on earth did he…?

I tried to deny it hurriedly, but soon my mouth closed on its own.

I’m not sure how much he knows, but Adrian already had a face full of certainty.

‘…It seems there’s no use in lying.’

I stared at Adrian for a while and then slowly opened my mouth.

“I don’t know how you found out, but I’d like you to keep it a secret for now.”

“…If that’s what Your Highness wants, of course.”

Adrian nodded slowly with a bitter face.

“And there’s no need to feel too guilty. This divorce was my choice anyway.”

I lightly patted Adrian’s shoulder.

Then I got up from my seat, deliberately putting on a carefree expression.

“Even if the current situation came about because of what happened then…”

“…”

“It has no meaning to me now anyway.”

As I held out my hand with a slight smile, small waves appeared in Adrian’s eyes.

After hesitating for a moment, he soon grabbed my hand and slowly got up.

“In a few months, I’ll be leaving this place. Then I plan to forget all the memories from here and live freely.”

I raised the corners of my mouth refreshingly.

“So, I’m counting on you until then, Adrian.”

Adrian’s face was still dark, but he seemed more at ease than before.

A gentle curve appeared on his lips as well, following me as I smiled brightly at him.

“…Your Highness.”

He moved his lips a few times before opening his mouth again.

“I know even this suggestion is shameless. But on the day you leave this castle…”

Adrian’s amethyst eyes, which had paused for a moment, flickered towards me.

“Would you give me a chance to stand by Your Highness’s side?”