The wind blowing through the slightly open window gently shook the silk curtains.

Sitting neatly on the bed, facing the cool breeze, Ludmila’s red eyes were dry and sunken as she gazed out the darkened window.

‘A docile dog…’

The last of the conversation between her husband and his sister earlier echoed in Ludmila’s ears.

What was a comfortable talk for the two of them to cook her was tantamount to a death sentence for Ludmila.

He was a man who habitually used violence even in the capital’s mansion. In a closed domain no different from a kingdom, what terrible things would he do?

Although she had lived a lowly life where contempt and insults were taken for granted, it didn’t mean she was unaware of the preciousness of her life.

Even in the midst of contempt, she tried to maintain her self-esteem, and even while being despised, she strived to maintain her dignity. Because she had endured so tenaciously, her life was so precious.

But it was absolutely not to die at the hands of a vain man who was nothing more than an empty shell.

Having heard Celia and Kedilen’s conversation, Ludmila continued her examination quietly without showing any signs.

The examination, which continued until evening, went on even after the sun had completely set.

Kedilen, who had been by Ludmila’s side wearing the mask of a caring husband, disappeared around dinnertime, saying he couldn’t cancel a pre-arranged appointment.

Of course, it wasn’t because of the appointment, but rather an act he thought befitting a proper husband in the eyes of the world, but it wasn’t bad from Ludmila’s perspective.

At least she could avoid having to face him alone in the sick room.

“You called for me.”

Ludmila silently looked at the young doctor who entered with a knock. A man with an ordinary appearance that could be seen anywhere.

Ludmila briefly looked him up and down, noting his faint presence.

“Are you the storyteller?”

To her dry question, the man responded with a smile instead of an answer. Storyteller was another alias for an information broker.

Ludmila didn’t like that alias, given for their willingness to talk about anything for money.

She too had been on the storyteller’s lips hundreds of times. For better or worse. But now she needed such a storyteller.

“I’m sorry for calling you so suddenly. I couldn’t move, so I sent my nanny. If she was rude, I apologize. She’s quite old-fashioned.”

“It’s alright. Don’t worry about it. But, what kind of story did you want to hear that you called me here, Marchioness? And in person, at that.”

The light glinting between his narrowed eyes was that of a hunter seeing a very sweet fruit.

Ludmila Perez. A notable figure in high society who shook the world. There were many interested in the numerous anecdotes related to the beautiful marchioness couple.

Just by calling him here today, the storyteller could probably earn new money. Knowing this well, Ludmila opened her mouth without hesitation.

“I need the story of Duke Habertz and his family. Everything, from beginning to end.”

“May I ask why you’re suddenly looking for this?”

“That’s not something a storyteller needs to know.”

The storyteller bowed politely to Ludmila, who was uncharacteristically hardening her expression.

“I apologize.”

Ludmila’s posture was extremely upright as she watched the storyteller’s head bow deeply.

Faced with her calm, almost haughty demeanor, the storyteller acknowledged that the Ludmila before him was indeed different from the one he knew.

Even if a gentle and soft image was ideal for a noblewoman, a high noble was still a high noble. The innate arrogance they exuded couldn’t be hidden.

Having found an appropriate line, the storyteller smiled and raised his waist.

“Shall I start the story right away?”

“Go ahead.”

The storyteller’s brow furrowed at the sight of her neatly folding her hands on her lap without any writing tools.

Is she planning to just listen? Not bad. Occasionally, there were those who forgot the information after receiving it without taking notes and had to pay the fee again.

Thinking he might earn more money, the storyteller pulled up the corners of his mouth in a slight smile and began his story.

As the silence deepened in the room, the clock’s chime announced the hour. The storyteller calmly caught his breath, finishing in time with that sound.

There was no immediate response from Ludmila. Whether his information was lacking or she had heard too much to remember.

Whatever the case, the possibility of earning more money was still an appealing factor.

The storyteller waited for a moment. It wasn’t particularly difficult to wait until some reaction came from Ludmila.

As if rewarding his patience, not long after, Ludmila’s voice flowed, preceded by a short breath.

“Good job.”

“Not at all. How was it, were you satisfied with the story?”

“Yes, it’s sufficient.”

“I’m glad to hear that. If there are any parts you found difficult to understand, please let me know. I’ll explain them again.”

It was content that spanned a full hour. It would be difficult to remember everything.

Ludmila, who had been deep in thought with her chin resting on her hand, glanced at the storyteller and shook her head briefly. The storyteller’s eyes trembled slightly at the sideways movement of her head.

“Are you alright?”

Again, instead of answering, she just moved her head slightly. As the confused storyteller bit his lip and hesitated, Ludmila took out a prepared pouch and threw it to him.

The storyteller, reacting half a beat late to the brisk action unbecoming of a noblewoman’s mistress, missed catching the pouch in mid-air.

As a result, the pouch fell to the floor with a thud, and gold coins spilled out, rolling on the ground.

The storyteller, hastily picking up the gold coins, glanced at Ludmila. Her profile, still lost in thought, made him realize that today’s meeting had come to an end.

Thinking it would be meaningless to continue speaking, he tidied up the pouch and bowed deeply. As the noisy man retreated, silence deepened in the darkened room.

Ludmila, continuing her thoughts alone, bit her lip thinly.

“Support…”

A low voice leaked through her lips, neatly pressed by her teeth.

Turning her head, Ludmila calmly closed her eyes as she gazed at the deepening winter landscape. The wind blowing from the west is getting colder.

If she stayed here, death would be all that remained in the end.

Ludmila opened her eyes calmly after organizing her thoughts. In the silence, her red eyes were full of confident vitality.

Knock knock−.

The sound of knocking on the door was soft and cheerful. The first visitor to arrive with the morning sunlight was Marquis Erdi.

People who saw Kedilen visiting as soon as visiting hours opened clicked their tongues, saying “as expected.”

They added that his concern and affection for his wife were more touching than anyone else’s, just as the rumors said.

Although, this was an assessment they could make only because they didn’t know that instead of Kedilen’s special feelings for his wife, he was thinking about the image he would gain by visiting here, along with his immediate intention to proceed with discharge procedures.

Silence still flowed despite the knocking sound. It was time for Ludmila, who wasn’t a heavy sleeper, to be awake.

Erdi, tilting his head in wonder, carefully opened his mouth with a fake cough.

“Ludmila. I’ve come, my wife.”

His voice, the kindest in the world, was as soft as the chirping of mountain birds, but that didn’t mean a response would suddenly come.

When silence greeted him twice, Kedilen’s patience, which was particularly harsh only to Ludmila, hit rock bottom.

Kedilen knocked on the door again, suppressing his temper. He vowed that if there was no answer this time, he would educate her first before sending her to the Erdi Marquis’s domain.

“Wife? What’s wro……”

“Oh my, Marquis?”

It was then. A young nurse who spotted Kedilen approached hurriedly with surprised eyes.

He, who had been glancing at the door, smiled at the nurse.

“It seems my wife hasn’t woken up yet, could I trouble you to check?”

He wanted to open the door and enter himself, but there were many watching eyes. He had to show the image of a gentlemanly nobleman as much as possible.

“Check? The Marchioness completed discharge procedures this morning.”

“…Pardon?”

“The proxy you sent assisted with the Marchioness’s discharge. She left the hospital with her nanny even before the doors opened… Didn’t you know?”

At the nurse’s words, who asked back with a puzzled face, Kedilen instantly sensed that something was going wrong.

Naturally unfamiliar with the nurse’s words, Kedilen momentarily showed a confused expression, but soon, as if he had come to his senses, he lightly pulled up the corners of his mouth.

“Ah, I gave such instructions without realizing it, thinking I wanted to see my wife… Haha!”

Seeing him laugh politely with an embarrassed face, the nurse nodded without any particular suspicion.

The smile that had been on his lips until Kedilen, who left the hospital, boarded the carriage again was wiped away without hesitation as soon as the door closed.

“Find Ludmila immediately. Find her and bring her before me.”

There was no trace of the affectionate husband in his appearance as he urged to find his disappeared wife, his eyes flashing coldly.

It was the look of a trainer using a beast for his purpose. Naturally, there was no guess or information about where she had gone, even though his wife had disappeared.

Because he couldn’t know who Ludmila was meeting right now, where she was, or what she was doing.

“What brings you here, Marchioness Erdi.”

The man who received the contempt of the empire and the disgust of her husband all at once.

“Do you have something to ask of me?”

The thought that she might be meeting Aden couldn’t exist in his mind.