Contrary to everyone’s concerns, no major fight broke out between Grand Duke Farel and the Crown Prince. As the two men stopped their horses and dismounted in the ducal house’s courtyard, only an awkward atmosphere lingered heavily.

“Grand Duke, I only permitted a farewell.”

After muttering in a low voice, Lucas took steps towards Cedric who was waiting for him.

“Your Highness.”

Cedric approached the Crown Prince who had returned to the ducal residence. He had a very curious expression, wondering what the situation was.

“There’s no need to make a fuss. Return to the annex.”

“… Yes.”

The Crown Prince moved with an indifferent expression, but Grand Duke Farel, left alone, could not hide his bitter expression as he looked at the setting sun.

“Tell Lady Astel that I request a meeting with her.”

At Grand Duke Farel’s words, the head attendant showed a perplexed expression. Originally, wasn’t it Serena herself who banned him from entering the estate?

“If you say it’s a farewell, she’ll agree to meet.”

The head attendant could only bow his head at Hyde’s dark and bitter words.

“First, I will convey it to the young lady.”

“I’ll wait here.”

Hyde looked at the reddening sunset under a large tree. The memories of occasionally talking with Serena here would remain as sweet and bitter memories of his youth.

Fortunately, before he could sink deeper into his thoughts, Serena was seen walking over. Serena stopped in front of him and lightly bowed.

“Grand Duke.”

Just as he thought he had given up everything, seeing Serena’s refined face made his lingering attachments weigh more heavily on his lips.

“A farewell, you say?”

Although she had banned him from entering the estate, they had developed a friendship of sorts while bickering. They say you can’t ignore even dislike – it felt just like that.

“Is it true? I thought you would torment me for a lifetime.”

Hyde smiled at Serena’s truly characteristic words. However, that smile was completely different from his usual mischievous one.

“I lost.”

“To His Highness the Crown Prince?”

Hyde shook his head.

“Even if he hadn’t come, perhaps… the result would have been the same.”

Contrary to Serena’s imagination, he didn’t even cross swords with him. That fact was very frustrating, but he silently accepted the cause of his defeat.

“Serena.”

Serena stared at Hyde, his attitude different from usual.

“My feelings in proposing to you were always sincere. I always acted on my own accord, my heart racing ahead, so I couldn’t even explain properly.”

Perhaps he knew it unconsciously. That Hyde could not make her completely free.

“It’s like I dreamed a long dream. I wanted to welcome you, free and beautiful, as the Grand Duchess and rule this region together.”

That was Hyde’s dream alone.

“But unfortunately, I lacked the qualification and strength to do so.”

Hyde was a man of high self-esteem and pride. For him to so readily admit his shortcomings like this, even Serena was at a loss for words.

“It’s not because I fear His Highness’s status.”

“I know you’re not that kind of person.”

Hyde nodded his head and gave a bitter smile at Serena’s answer.

“I thought I could do anything if I could only have you. I wasn’t afraid of any duel. No… I wanted to believe so.”

His words of farewell kept getting longer due to his regretful feelings and lingering attachments.

“In the end, I couldn’t abandon the Grand Duchy of Farel and my mother.”

He had heavy duties. Even if he desperately wanted her as a man, even if those feelings were genuine, duty would always come first.

“I myself didn’t have complete freedom, so thinking I could give it to you… was overambitious.”

Serena had known for a long time that Hyde was sincere. But whenever he tirelessly courted her, he never failed to mention it was for the ducal house.

“So forget the proposals I made to you…”

Those words barely came out, tearing at his heart.

“You can say I was just a man full of bluster.”

“No.”

For the first time, Serena wanted to comfort his slumped shoulders, but she knew well that she couldn’t do that anymore.

“I think the honesty you’ve shown now is proof of strength.”

He now saw Serena’s sincerity that he couldn’t obtain when he courted her so much.

“Fulfilling one’s duty also requires strength to accomplish.”

What else could he do? Lucas was of a nobler status than him, yet he said he could readily give up everything for Serena.

“May I make one last selfish request?”

“When did you ever ask for my permission?”

Until the end, Serena remained the confident figure he had fallen deeply for.

“This farewell… is not forever.”

Serena’s blue eyes widened slightly at Hyde’s earnest voice.

“Someday, I will surpass my duties. And whenever you wish… I will become a man who can come for you.”

Lucas had only permitted a farewell, but he couldn’t turn back without making this promise.

“Always remember… that I am on your side, Serena.”

Serena silently wore a faint smile.

“I won’t be able to forget Grand Duke’s persistence.”

This was the most she could say to him. Hyde recalled their memories that weren’t quite memories for a moment and nodded. Now it was really time to turn back.

“Then, this is farewell. … At least for now.”

Hyde looked straight into Serena’s eyes. The blue eyes of the woman a man would never leave if he wasn’t the Grand Duke of Farel.

“I…”

“No answer is needed. Right?”

Sometimes he was more troublesome than an enemy, but hearing such a sorrowful farewell, she felt the regret of a long-time friend leaving.

“I will definitely come to see you again someday.”

Hyde spoke as if making a promise to himself and barely turned his back. If it went on a word longer, forget keeping his promise with Lucas, he would want to abandon even his own duties.

“Farewell.”

And so, Hyde’s farewell, dripping with lingering attachments, barely ended. Serena felt a season pass as she watched his back grow smaller and smaller.

“He’s so self-centered from beginning to end.”

Looking back, Hyde was the first friend-like figure she had since coming to the Astel estate.

He constantly courted her, provoking Serena’s temper, but at the same time, he was the first man to recognize and believe in her abilities.

“Miss, has Grand Duke left? The wind is cold.”

Anna covered Serena’s shoulders, who had been lost in thought under the tree, with a warm blanket.

“I wonder what happened between him and His Highness the Crown Prince. It’s strange that neither of them is saying anything.”

“I don’t know.”

Hyde said he had been defeated before crossing swords. It was hard to believe that after spending less than an hour with Lucas, he immediately gave up when he had ignored Serena’s words that disgusted him for several years.

“Anyway, it’s fortunate that Grand Duke’s courtship is gone. It’s better to have one less.”

“What? He withdrew his courtship?”

“Yes. It’s a farewell.”

Anna’s eyes also widened, knowing how persistent Hyde was.

“What in the world happened between him and His Highness the Crown Prince?”

That’s what Serena wanted to know too. Although Hyde said the reason for his defeat was his own duties, it was Lucas who made him readily accept it.

“I don’t know what happened between the men, but one thing seems certain.”

“What is it?”

“I think… I underestimated His Highness the Crown Prince.”

First impressions of people are very important. They can’t be changed or taken back later, and especially if the first impression is bad, that impression remains even stronger.

“At least, he’s not the person I remember.”

The little fiancé who furiously burst out with fierce eyes at the terrible engagement ceremony was gone now.

And it was clear that it wasn’t just his physique that had grown. The fact that Hyde readily admitted defeat and stepped back was proof of that.

“Six years is a long time.”

“It seems so.”

The fact that Lucas, who was much smaller than his peers and only knew his own temper, had now grown to the point where he could face Grand Duke Farel as a man shook Serena’s heart in many ways.

And it wasn’t the first time her heart was shaken because of Lucas. The young, stubborn little fiancé Serena had abandoned had become a handsome and strong man, talking about marriage.

“Miss, the wind is cold. Let’s go inside. Okay?”

“Yes…”

Serena broke off her thoughts and turned her feet towards the mansion. The light from the annex, which she had never been conscious of before, caught her attention again for no reason.

“Did His Highness the Crown Prince say anything?”

“No. I think he wants to rest today.”

She couldn’t tell yet whether it was consideration for Grand Duke Farel’s sincerity or simply a need for rest.

“By the way, Peter said he talked a lot with Sir Cedric today.”

Belatedly, Serena recalled the task she had ordered. A story from Cedric, who had been the Crown Prince’s close aide since childhood, might reveal a little of Lucas’s inner thoughts.

“First, let’s return to the residence. Tell Peter to come to the drawing room.”

“Yes.”

Anna quickly nodded and followed beside Serena as she returned to the mansion. Anna was also curious about the Crown Prince’s story.

And the reason why a woman’s charm was beginning to show little by little on Serena’s face, which had only been valiant since his sudden visit.

“There is a saying that you must know your enemy to fight properly.”

But Serena herself still seemed unaware of her own heart.

“Let’s hear the story first.”

Anna soothed Serena’s fighting spirit with a gentle voice. All the trials and hardships that had befallen Serena so far had been overcome with an upright personality and strong fighting spirit, but this time would be different.