“Quickly, we must flee, we must escape.”

The Duke of Hersher moved his steps rapidly.

He wanted to meet Odin, but ultimately failed to encounter him.

He wished to protect the family name somehow.

But his struggles were nothing more than continuing to swim in a quagmire.

The Duke realized it. That all the numerous things they had done until now were wrong choices.

The moment he realized it was already too late to turn back, the Duke chose to flee.

“Dear, what about Aria?”

The Duchess following behind asked the Duke.

Aria had not yet managed to escape.

She asked if they should bring Aria along as she was worried about her, but hearing this, the Duke became irritated.

“Who do you think is responsible for us ending up like this! And you’re saying we should look after Aria now?”

Who was to blame for them having to flee like this?

Even the great family that had been maintained since the founding of the country was about to be ruined.

For a while, the Duke thought it may have happened because he harbored vain desires and failed to face reality.

So although a bit late, he tried to change course.

Erasing his past arrogant demeanor, he intended to swear loyalty to Clea as if he had never disregarded her.

That was the only way for the defeated to survive.

However, there was someone who completely blocked that path, and that person was their precious daughter Aria.

“And it’s already too late to go back. How did we manage to escape?”

Befitting a ducal family that had produced several empresses over generations, they knew of a few secret passages for the imperial family.

Having barely escaped through that route, going back would be no different from getting caught.

Knowing this, the Duke spoke more firmly.

“Though she’s a child we had with difficulty, we should think of ourselves first now.”

He knew well how much the Duchess loved Aria.

How precious must she have been, suddenly having a child when she thought she couldn’t bear any.

That’s why she cherished her dearly. But thinking about it now, that became more of a poison.

The Duchess could not deny that it was ultimately their daughter who brought about this catastrophe, so she wavered at the Duke’s words.

“My dear, let’s start anew.”

The Duke intended to abandon everything and flee to start over like this.

Just selling the accessories and jewels they currently had would be enough for the two of them to live on without returning to the family.

Just as the Duchess was about to give up on Aria due to the Duke’s persuasion.

“I wondered where you had gone, but you were in a place like this. I’ve been searching for quite a while.”

“You.”

A man on horseback and knights appeared there.

The Duke recognized who it was just by hearing the voice.

It was a figure who often met with Aria and even set foot in his mansion.

“I, Bawin Rockin, greet the Duke of Hersher.”

The head of the Rockin family, and once the actual owner of the guild the Duke of Hersher most wanted to possess.

When the Duke was Odin’s closest aide, he wanted to become not just the head of a family with an empty title of duke, but a truly capable figure.

It was then that Bawin’s information guild caught his eye.

The Duke very much wanted to have the information guild run by Bawin.

When he learned that the actual owner was merely from a viscount family, he thought he could easily take over the family.

In fact, his family, guild, and everything he had nearly fell into the hands of the Duke of Hersher.

But someone must have helped him, as he completely uprooted those the Duke had planted in an instant, while simultaneously causing the complete downfall of the count family that had been backing him.

From then on, the Duke looked at him with disdain.

“Dear, this person was close to Aria. He will surely help us.”

Meanwhile, the Duchess was delighted to see Bawin.

Seeing the man who had been friendly with Aria appear before her eyes, she tried to approach him to ask for help.

Moreover, she intended to ask him to rescue Aria who was alone inside.

But the Duke stopped her as she tried to approach.

Then, as their conversation continued, she gradually noticed the atmosphere becoming strange.

“It’s a pity I couldn’t kill you completely.”

“Haha, it seems you don’t even think to hide it anymore.”

“Dear?”

Only then did confusion show plainly on the Duchess’s face as she confirmed what expressions the two men were making.

“You two will have to come with me now.”

“…And if we refuse?”

The Duke intended to resist to the end.

The Duke caressed his waistband.

He wanted to check if the dagger he had hidden was still there.

It was a secret weapon he had barely managed to hide by bribing the imperial guard just before fleeing, just in case.

He knew it was impossible alone, but he at least wanted to buy time for his wife to escape.

But unfortunately, his thoughts did not last long.

Bawin smiled and unfolded the paper in his hand.

The emperor’s seal was stamped on the paper.

Even in the dark night, the seal shone brightly, bathed in moonlight.

“My, do you intend to disobey the imperial command?”

Imperial command.

At that one word, the Duke fell to his knees.

Odin had anticipated even his attempt to flee.

This way, it was only a matter of time before he would be caught even if he ran.

As he fell to his knees, the Duchess beside him showed signs of panic.

But that was only for a moment; soon after, seeing the imperial guards that appeared, she too was dumbfounded.

Bawin, who had been smiling brightly at the sight of the two, approached the Duke and said,

“The time for revenge is just beginning, so don’t be disheartened yet.”

It didn’t take long to understand the meaning that even worse times were still to come, so don’t give up so soon.

* * *

“I’m annoyed. I’m annoyed. I said I’m annoyed!”

Aria knew that everything was going entirely according to Clea’s wishes.

Still not attending the banquet and alone in the lounge, she bit her nails.

It was clear that she would be helplessly defeated if things continued like this.

Of course, Aria had no intention of just sitting back and watching.

“Ah.”

She had bitten so hard that bright red blood began to flow from her nails.

Seeing her hand stained with the flowing drops of blood, she furrowed her brow.

“Cough! Ah, my lady, is this really alright? Cough cough!”

“…It suits you well.”

“Thank you for the compliment, but still, if someone were to see…”

However, Aria’s expression softened at the voice that reached her ears.

The pure white dress before her eyes.

Seeing the dress that looked exactly like what someone had worn at the wedding venue today, Aria smiled.

‘Not everything can go the way you want. I absolutely won’t let that happen.’

The reason Aria had prepared Lloyd’s wedding attire was to reveal to others that he had now completely gone mad.

Her father, who kept emphasizing the family’s benefit whenever she argued for breaking off the engagement.

He tried to somehow restore relations with the imperial family by sacrificing his daughter, herself, to form a connection with the grand ducal family of the emperor’s faction.

But Aria had no intention of sacrificing herself for the family.

So she decided to make it so her father could no longer force marriage for the same reason.

To make Lloyd’s marriage not beneficial to the family, but rather harmful.

Of course, Lloyd’s position had become very unfavorable due to the false accusations, but Aria didn’t care.

Since Clea no longer liked him anyway, he was now a card that could be discarded.

It’s just that the process of discarding him had become a bit more troublesome.

She quietly looked ahead.

Aria’s maid was wearing the pure white wedding dress.

“Cough cough!”

The maid who kept coughing as if in pain somewhere.

Originally she was always energetic with no ailments at all, but now she looked not only pale but also in so much pain that she seemed about to die at any moment.

“Ah, my lady.”

Aria grasped the maid’s wrist.

“You seem to be in pain, why don’t you take some medicine and rest?”

Aria pointed to the bed placed to one side of the lounge.

“How could I dare!”

“Listen. Resting is more important right now.”

The maid wanted to shake her head in bewilderment, but her body wouldn’t listen.

The maid, who was led all too easily by Aria’s hand, actually wanted very much to rest, just as Aria said.

Her eyelids were heavy, and her face felt burning hot.

Even to her, her condition felt very poor.

“Take the medicine.”

“Cough, my lady.”

“Hurry.”

The maid felt grateful for Aria’s kind demeanor.

Though she still didn’t understand why she had been made to wear the wedding dress, this current appearance of caring for those beneath her was a sight she had often seen in the past.

With a smile as if pleased, the maid swallowed the medicine Aria gave her and lay down on the bed.

“My lady, thank… you.”

The maid, who had suddenly become too weak even to speak, uttered the words she had wanted to say to Aria all this time.

“Yes, you should be grateful.”

The maid was one of the Hersher family’s servants whose illusions about Aria had not yet been shattered.

“Because it’s a moment when you can sacrifice yourself for me.”

The maid, who had fallen asleep after taking the sleeping pills, did not hear Aria’s final words.

The maid would not know that Aria had made her drink a poisoned beverage, causing her to be so ill.

Aria quietly examined the ancient book she had brought.

There were truly many things written in it, but they were all written in old words no longer used today, so it took some time to decipher.

Still, there was one thing she had come to understand recently.

That was ‘a method for those with a terminal illness to continue prolonging their life.’

‘Exchanging one’s lifespan with that of a healthy person by killing them.’

Information left behind by a very distant ancestor for a descendant who would bear the name Aria.

Having grasped that information, Aria thought.

‘Then what if I exchange lifespans with someone who is not healthy?’

Though she couldn’t be certain the desired result would occur, it seemed good to try once.

After all, she had nothing to lose.

Aria stood before the maid holding a knife with a sinister look in her eyes.

Then she made a shallow cut on her palm and let the blood that flowed out drip near the maid’s heart.

“I hope you die from this.”

The hand she showed at the wedding venue was merely a disguise.

She said with a raised corner of her mouth,

“I hope you like my gift, Clea.”