A warm sunlight came through the curtains. As soon as she woke up rubbing her eyes, Selene exclaimed.

‘So it wasn’t a dream after all.’

She had reached the point where she didn’t even sigh anymore. They say humans are creatures of adaptation. Whoever said that, it’s a wise saying with very accurate insight into human nature.

As Selene was lightly waving her hand and moving to the bathroom, she happened to spot an envelope placed on top of the side table.

At that moment, she suddenly remembered something she had forgotten.

‘That’s right!’

Approaching the table and opening the envelope, sure enough, the name she had expected was written in the ‘sender’ field.

Leon Athensia.

As Selene read through the letter from her younger brother, she held her head.

There was something she had forgotten in the chaos right after her regression. It was about her father’s death.

Selene sat at the desk and lifted her pen over the paper.

‘Let’s organize the situation.’

Philip Athensia, the former head of the prestigious Count Athensia family, was her and Leon’s biological father.

He met his death while chatting with his younger brother who visited after a long time.

Since he was too healthy to die suddenly, the news of his death was somewhat absurd.

The discovery of a will stating that he would pass on his position as head of the family to his younger brother was also baffling.

It was truly a bolt from the blue.

That’s how Uncle Radex Athensia took over everything of the Athensia family.

Despite having two perfectly fine heirs. However, as if by agreement, there wasn’t a single voice of objection.

At the time, Leon was too young to realize this, and Selene, who was older and smarter, asked her nanny who raised her just once.

Why is uncle sitting in the seat where father used to sit, she asked.

The expression the nanny wore then gave a great shock to Selene, who was still at an age of rapid growth.

‘Don’t doubt anything. That’s how you survive.’

The face that said those words had an unfamiliar and desperate look unlike the usual nanny.

After being relegated to the back room, Selene Athensia became Selene Adrian after marriage and left the house, and Leon Athensia followed his sister out and started a business.

And they secretly began investigating the matter that reeked of foulness.

But 2 years ago, as Selene began to become mentally ill, naturally the meetings between the two became less frequent.

From the time when it became difficult to go outside, they communicated more often by exchanging letters.

Even that, she could only reply occasionally when her mind returned to normal, so it would be fair to say that there was almost no communication since last year.

The letter was filled with words of concern.

Asking if she was alright, why there was no reply, saying that if it’s hard he could do it alone but please send a reply. As Selene read through the letter full of such worries, she stopped her eye movement at the last sentence.

She stared at it for a moment, then brushed her fingertip over the letters.

’23 Ginua Street. Come anytime if it’s hard.’

It was the address of where Leon worked and lived.

I should go meet him soon. It’s been a while since I’ve seen this child.

After carefully putting the letter in the drawer, Selene finished a quick shower and headed to the bedroom.

An unexpected situation occurred just as Selene, who had become frustrated wondering what to do first in this unforeseen circumstance, sighed at her predicament.

“I, I was wrong. Please forgive me!”

After carefully drying the Grand Duchess’s hair, the girl who took the towel suddenly knelt down.

“I won’t do it again. Please show mercy.”

The girl trembled her small frame and begged for her life, rubbing her hands together. Seeing this scene, even the surrounding maids bowed their heads deeply and shivered.

Selene, who had been trapped in her own anguish and suddenly dropped into this scene of apology, was bewildered.

What’s going on?

But the child’s circumstances, which she didn’t know, were quite different.

“I was wrong. I’ll do anything if you just forgive me.”

Oh no, what should I do? Her Highness the Duchess sighed!

Stupid Bellid. I’m really stupid.

‘Bellid. Remember this. There’s something Her Highness the Duchess always does before she waves her hand. If she sighs, kneel down and beg no matter what, got it?’

Remy, who was older and much more senior than her, had grabbed her before leaving and earnestly implored.

And she had confidently replied that she would keep it in mind. Looking back now, she really knew nothing.

What on earth did I do to make Her Highness uncomfortable?

Oh no, I was shaking so much in fear that she must have seen it all!

You stupid hand, stop shaking already!

Realizing her own weakness, Bellid tightly squeezed her eyes and desperately swallowed back the tears that were welling up to her throat from sorrow.

If I cry here too, I might be chased out barefoot just like Remy said.

No matter how much she liked people, even she couldn’t remain calm in front of the ‘mad Grand Duchess’.

It wasn’t just because of the rumors.

There was a sharp air flowing around Her Highness the Duchess, who was too beautiful, that made people unable to approach easily despite her beauty.

Was it because of her slightly upturned eyes, or perhaps that emotionless expression that looked like not a drop of blood would come out even if stabbed?

The exact reason was unknown, but what was clear was that she had trembled due to an instinct that willpower couldn’t overcome. And Her Highness had felt that!

“You said you’d do anything.”

“O-Of course.”

The cane will fly in soon.

Bellid pressed her reddened eyes tightly and shrank her shoulders. The maids watching the child begging with her head pressed to the floor also closed their eyes simultaneously.

“…?”

But why don’t I feel any pain…?

Something was strange.

“Here. You can have all of this.”

“…Pardon?”

Have?

Sensing something odd, the child slowly opened her eyes. Then she saw colorful wrappers placed on a pale palm.

The child asked with a dumbfounded expression.

“W-What is this?”

“Chocolate.”

Although that wasn’t the point of the question, she added a casual comment like ‘Are you a bit slow?’ and placed chocolates covered in red and yellow wrappers on her palm. Then she extended her hand towards the child again.

“How old are you?”

“…15 years old.”

“Oh my. Have some more.”

Surprised to hear the age, Selene picked up a few more chocolates from the shell-shaped crystal dish and handed them to the child.

What is this?

However, as the strange behavior continued, Bellid didn’t have time to deeply consider to find an answer.

Hmm.

Selene, who seemed to be pondering something, took out a small pouch from the drawer, put some snacks in it, and handed it to Bellid.

Not just the child, but even the servants were unable to move due to the successive shocks. It was truly a bewildering situation.

In that space, only the one who had caused the shock remained calm.

“You’re too thin. These are sweet and delicious. Come get more when you finish them all.”

“N-No… These expensive things…”

“Eat well and grow to have a body appropriate for your age. Now, you’re all cleaned up, so you can go now.”

The child and servants left the room with awkward movements like robots with loose screws.

What happened that day spread through the mouths of the shocked maids and formed a rumor.

‘Her Highness the Duchess has become strange.’

* * *

Boreas, who had returned to his office, was unable to concentrate on his work at all.

Peeking through the door crack was purely close to coincidence.

Seeing the red seal stamped on the white envelope, he recalled the swaying red hair moving away.

After that, while loitering around Selene’s room, he saw a young maid and a woman through the slightly open gap.

He had hoped, but as expected.

Selene hadn’t changed at all.

The young maid, and the woman making a maid not even half her size kneel. The moment he saw that, strangely, he felt dejected yet relieved.

Thanks to witnessing that scene, his mind, which had been confused all along due to receiving an apology for the ‘first’ time since they started fighting, and seeing such a serious look for the ‘first’ time, became neatly settled.

The fingers tapping on the clean desk suddenly went down and opened the drawer.

A hand tinged with irritation put the overturned wooden frame into the drawer. And closed it.

‘When was it.’

On the day he witnessed his beloved lover screaming and committing violence, Boreas sensed for the first time that something was going awry in their smooth relationship.

Without knowing what that ‘something’ was or why it was happening, he had to receive the indescribable shock in its entirety.

He had loved ardently, and the betrayal he received in return was just as great.

He understood the difficulty of losing a child. So he encouraged her to overcome it together. And he believed, that someday she would stand up from her wounds on her own.

However, what came back was only hurtful words.

‘I don’t need you anymore either.’

Rather than ten words mixed with profanity, just that one sentence pierced his heart faster and crumbled the firm belief.

Realizing that he could no longer be a comfort to this woman, Boreas felt an immense sense of helplessness that he had never felt even when standing in the middle of a battlefield.

He fought fiercely and finally became exhausted.

Just when he thought about giving up, the human heart is fickle, and sometimes when she returns to her senses like yesterday, he finds himself expecting despite pretending not to.

Thinking that they could return to their good past.

And soon after, he gets disappointed.

Boreas put down the documents and pressed his eyes tightly while closing them.

When his emotions wouldn’t calm down easily, he decided to get up from his seat for now. Thinking that eating something might help, he went down to the dining room.

But soon after, he regretted doing something unnecessary.

When he opened the door, an unwelcome woman was sitting at the table, which he had assumed would obviously be empty.

She must have arrived first, as she was looking at him with rounded eyes while holding a fork in one hand.

What’s this, trying to have a meal in the dining room?

The questioning blue eyes soon disappeared.

The hand that reflexively gripped the doorknob tightly dropped lifelessly like an exhausted soldier when she turned her head and continued her meal.

Boreas sat across from the woman who was cutting meat as if nothing had happened and put his hand into the inner pocket of his vest.

A familiar, soft touch met his fingertips.

The moment he felt the touch of the finely embroidered handkerchief, he immediately withdrew his hand, recognizing the presence in front of him.

Instead, he pulled out one of the napkins neatly placed on the table and wiped his hands.

There was no bustle in any of his actions.

In the quiet and calm atmosphere, freshly grilled smoked dishes were placed on the table, and Boreas also picked up a silver knife.

For a while, only the clattering sounds echoed.

Boreas thought that the food was particularly hard to swallow today as he lifted the water glass that had already been refilled for the fifth time.

After gulping down the water, he was about to finish his meal when Selene moved her lips.

“I’m going out sometime next week.”

For her, it was a statement made after observing the timing several times in the silence.

At the voice that broke the silence, he stopped the action of stabbing the meat with his fork and coldly stared at her. However, his gaze soon fell.

Selene, who read the intent contained in the gaze that lingered briefly, responded as if answering.

“I’m just letting you know.”

“Since when were we on terms to talk about such things.”

He muttered with a sneer at the corner of his mouth. It was close to a monologue, but because the surroundings were so quiet, Selene could hear the sound sufficiently.

“I can speak too.”

Feeling unnecessarily embarrassed, Selene mumbled quietly enough so that he couldn’t hear and glanced at the man in front of her.

The act of extending long fingers to lift the water glass was full of dignity.

The action of drinking water at a constant speed made her feel anew how elegant a man he was.

Separately from that, he was particularly different today. Of course, not in a good way.

More pointed, more fierce.

Wondering if she had made a slip of the tongue, his brows furrowed deeper. Then, a sharp voice flew and struck.

“I’ve lost my appetite.”

He got up from his chair and strode out of the dining room. Selene, who had been continuing her meal, only lifted her head to look at the door when she heard it close.

* * *

After breakfast, two or three days passed and time flowed. During that time, Selene encountered a great dilemma.

‘The goal is divorce, but…’

To divorce peacefully, there needed to be at least enough trust for him to sincerely accept when she said let’s divorce.

For that, they needed to keep meeting and conversing, but the problem was that he was holed up in his office with no intention of coming out.

It was quite remarkable to not be able to see each other while living under the same roof.

It wasn’t that there was no way at all.

Going to him directly, like when she first met him after the regression.

However, for Selene, who felt a sense of debt or guilt when she saw him, and had memories of seeing everything good and bad in her past life, even that required great courage.

Because facing someone you feel sorry for demands more emotional expenditure than you might think.

How can I bring up the divorce talk like this?

Let’s just go for now. Selene sighed and came out into the corridor.

The corridor of the grand ducal castle bathed in sunlight was bright, but the expression of the maid standing in front of the office was not so cheerful.

‘What’s the matter?’

As Selene approached with curiosity, the maid who spotted her hurriedly bowed and greeted her.

“I-I greet Your Highness the Grand Duchess.”

“Yes. But what are you doing here?”

“W-Well, His Highness said he wouldn’t have his meal.”

“Then can’t you just clear it away?”

“He has already skipped five meals. The chef told me not to return until the plates are empty, but His Highness absolutely forbade anyone from entering.”

The maid’s eyes were moist.

Oh dear, she’s become caught between a rock and a hard place.

Selene felt sorry for the maid standing before her, and worried about the man beyond the door who knew nothing but work.

Remembering that skipping meals was a bad habit he had when feeling troubled, Selene spoke in a quiet voice.

“…Try opening the door.”