Reus immediately bristled and expressed his refusal.

“If it’s something I, as her husband, cannot hear, then I will just leave.”

“Oh my… Why are you getting so angry? I just want to have a deep conversation with the Duchess.”

“As I said, if it’s something I cannot hear-”

“You may think that way as her husband, but this is an extremely personal matter. The Duchess might want to keep it hidden. Well, of course, I don’t mind if both of you listen together.”

The moment the Emperor said that, the winner of this small battle of nerves was all but decided.

“…Roel.”

Roel gently placed her hand on the back of Reus’s hand. This was a sincere request, and also an apology for breaking their promise.

The Emperor, watching Reus’s face full of dismay, said as if bestowing a favor:

“It won’t take long. Just a moment.”

“Roel, let’s go back to the castle…”

“Reus, His Majesty said it would just be a moment… Please wait outside.”

“Roel.”

Even though he sent her a reproachful look as if to say this was different from their promise, Roel didn’t seem to have any intention of changing her mind.

This is why he didn’t want to come.

Because in a situation that benefited neither of them, he had no choice but to obey the woman’s words.

He hated himself for always ending up losing no matter what he did.

“It seems the Duchess shares my sentiments. You may leave now.”

“Roel.”

He called out to the woman one last time, but Roel turned her head away without even giving him a glance and looked back at the Emperor. In the end, Reus had no choice but to leave the room.

As only Roel and himself remained, the Emperor’s smile deepened.

Unable to perfectly hide his mood, Den finally stood up and headed towards the window. Even then, he had to bite his lower lip for quite some time. Otherwise, he felt like he might burst into laughter at any moment.

He didn’t particularly mind if the Duchess heard, but it would be a big problem if Reus heard. He couldn’t let things go awry before even getting to interfere.

Having barely suppressed his excitement, the Emperor began to speak.

“You know… I thought… that in this empire, there was no couple… as well-matched as you two. You probably don’t know how happy I was when I heard you were getting married.”

But every time he spoke, laughter kept escaping, and the Emperor had to pause and resume his words repeatedly. His voice was strangely elated. It was only natural for Roel to quickly notice the expectation dripping from it.

The Emperor was that excited right now.

“But then I heard some strange words. I was deeply troubled whether I should tell you this or not. But no matter how much I thought about it, I felt you should know, so I urgently called you to the imperial palace.”

Even though the Emperor seemed a bit odd, Roel maintained a calm state. However, she soon had to stiffen her body unnaturally at the words flowing from the Emperor’s mouth.

“It’s about Reus’s parents.”

“…”

“Do you know that they… passed away in a carriage accident?”

Roel’s mind was so blank that she didn’t even hear the Emperor barely suppressing his laughter as he mentioned the carriage accident.

“I’ve heard about it, but…”

“Reus didn’t say anything separately? As far as I know, I heard that child knows who the culprit is.”

Roel couldn’t bring herself to speak.

If by any chance the topic of Reus’s parents came up, she was the one who had diverted the conversation.

She knew her father had been involved in Reus’s misfortune, but she thought there was no need to bring it up.

Moreover, she firmly believed they would break up anyway.

But the situation had changed, and she could no longer postpone facing the truth.

Soon, the ugly truth she never wanted to know flowed from the Emperor’s mouth.

“So, Count Ivelr, kuh… is said to be the main culprit of the carriage accident.”

Along with the joy that finally burst out, unable to be contained any longer.

Reus was ready to break down the door at the slightest sound. But contrary to such worries, Roel’s private audience with the Emperor ended rather quickly.

The Emperor visible behind Roel seemed to be in a very good mood, just like before. And Roel… she didn’t look either happy or upset.

“Reus?”

The voice calling him was still affectionate, and the gentle curve of her lips was natural. Yet strangely, Reus couldn’t shake off his uneasiness and tightly grasped Roel’s hand.

“What’s wrong again?”

Even though her smiling face, as if she couldn’t help it, was clearly the same. Even though she held his hand together without letting go, unchanged… why…

There were times when he thought she was so easy to read that her feelings were transparent. But now, he couldn’t read at all what Roel was thinking.

The carriage ride back was extremely quiet. It was because neither Roel, who was deeply lost in thought, nor Reus, who anxiously watched her, spoke first.

They remained silent, trapped in their own thoughts, until they arrived at the Grand Duke’s mansion late at night.

As they headed to the bedroom together in such a quiet atmosphere, Roel suddenly stopped as if something had occurred to her.

“Reus. Would it be alright if I briefly go to the study?”

Even asking such a simple question as to why she was going felt cautious.

In the end, Reus could only nod without saying anything. But then Roel let out a small laugh and raised their still intertwined hands, swinging them gently.

“Are you telling me to go, or not to go?”

Only then did Reus realize he had been holding the woman’s hand too tightly. He quickly loosened his grip and awkwardly let go of Roel’s hand.

“I was just thinking about something else…”

Roel simply smiled lightly without saying anything and turned around, retracing the path they had walked. Reus, hesitating for a while as he watched her, called out to the woman before he knew it.

“Roel.”

“Yes?”

“…It’s nothing.”

He wanted to say that everything was fine, just don’t run away, but those words only lingered in his mouth, unable to be spoken once again. Reus just watched Roel’s retreating back getting further away and then helplessly lowered his head.

Roel, heading towards her study, went down the stairs pretending to be nonchalant. Then, from the moment she thought she was far enough from Reus, she moved her feet almost running through the corridor.

Roel, who had run as if being chased by someone, soon entered the study and collapsed on the spot. And as the tension released, the tears she had been suppressing burst out all at once.

She tried to somehow stifle her sobs, but her breathing became increasingly rough.

‘Father…’

Father had killed Reus’s parents.

She couldn’t dare think that the Emperor had lied. It was already after she had come to know many things about Reus, and there were more than a few things she had deliberately turned a blind eye to.

She was in despair. Although she had always suspected that there was a deep connection between Reus’s misfortune and her father, she had consciously comforted herself that there was no direct connection.

So it would be okay to nurture her feelings alone.

That at least that much couldn’t be true. That although her father wasn’t a righteous person, he couldn’t be that cruel… That he couldn’t be that harsh to her.

And beneath such avoidance lay a pathetic rationalization.

If her father had directly killed the Rocheter Grand Duke couple, Reus’s change couldn’t be explained – a plausible shield solely for her own sake.

But as if it had been wrong to nurture her feelings from the beginning, the truth tightly gripped Roel’s throat.

Reus had been loving the daughter of Count Ivelr, who had killed his parents.

She couldn’t stop crying because she was so horrified at herself for trying to ignore the truth until the end.

In the end, Roel didn’t return to the bedroom last night.

Because she said she would come back. Believing in that one statement, he spent the dawn with eyes wide open, but Reus didn’t mention yesterday’s events.

Perhaps he had realized she wouldn’t return from the moment Roel stopped her steps on the way to the bedroom.

Reus thought it was rather fortunate.

He was rather grateful to Roel, who said nothing, because he felt like he would cross an irreversible path the moment he started questioning one by one.

But the distance that had suddenly emerged over just one night kept widening.

Although the time they spent together was more than before heading to the imperial palace due to his own selfish desire, the distance that had once formed could not be narrowed no matter what.

In the end, Reus decided to act a little shameless, as he had done so far.

After meals, and sometimes while working. Before and after sleep. He followed Roel around almost obsessively. Even if she might get a little tired of it, he stubbornly called her name and forced eye contact.

Then Roel would consistently respond and turn her head towards him, but she wasn’t really looking at him properly.

Still, Reus didn’t give up. He believed without a doubt that she would surely return if he waited.

But such hope was frustrated sooner than expected.

“Reus. When I’m reading, I want to be alone. Can you let me do that?”

“…I’ll be quiet and not do anything.”

“It’s not about talking. It’s just… I can’t concentrate when you’re here.”

Reus silently sat and stared at his own hands. It wasn’t like a good solution would come out of it, but at least he could hear Roel’s voice one more time.

Even if it wasn’t favorable to him.

“Won’t you grant my request?”

“…”

“I see.”

At the sound of the book closing with a thud, Reus quickly raised his head.

“If you don’t want to leave, I’ll go.”

“No, I’ll…”

“No, I’ll just go. You stay here.”

Although her tone was gentle, it was clearly a rejection. The more this happened, the more he should listen well, but his body moved quickly, beyond his control.

Before he knew it, he rushed to grab her, but his hand stopped, and soon Roel also came to an abrupt halt.

“Why are you following me?”

“That… I’ll leave, so-”

“No. There’s no need for that.”

Reus tried to somehow lighten the mood, but with Roel’s following words, he had no choice but to close his mouth.