It was an evening with the sunset fading.
After dinner, Callian, who was walking near the garden, saw a carriage entering the mansion.
The family carriage, while his mother was bedridden with illness – as Callian wondered who had used it, a servant explained first.
That it was the Duchess who attended the tea party instead of the Madam.
Esika.
The moment her name came to mind, unpleasant memories from their last meeting surfaced.
From that seemingly cold demeanor and gaze, a chilly wind blew.
Unlike Esika Klaus.
That discordant behavior amplified the sense of discomfort.
The remaining impression is expressed in two words.
‘How dare’.
He had tried not to give attention to correct her behavior.
Because he knew that his indifference was what Esika found most painful.
However, she acted as if Callian didn’t exist.
It feels strangely empty, as if the shadow that always followed him has disappeared.
“…”
He saw Esika getting off the carriage with her back to the sunset.
Unlike her usual shabby attire after being scolded by her mother for extravagance, she was wearing a pink dress that matched the sunset.
The sight of the dress fluttering in the wind strangely caught his eye.
And blue eyes contrasting with the warm-feeling dress.
“…”
She, having descended from the carriage, was gazing at the distant sky.
Was this Esika’s original face?
Callian slightly furrowed his brow.
The silver hair reaching the middle of her back flutters in the wind, and the round forehead and straight nose create a dreamy profile.
Her skin texture is as fine as a wine glass coated with glaze.
He suddenly became curious about what was contained in her eyes.
For the first time… Callian wondered what Esika was thinking.
And why she was looking at the sky with such a wistful expression.
Perhaps it’s related to her recent arrogant behavior?
Could it also be related to her not following him around?
Surely, there is no effect without a cause.
“…My lady!”
Then he saw a maid running towards her.
What was that maid’s name again… There’s no way he would remember.
The maid seemed to be saying something to Esika in front of her.
“You know…”
Hearing those words, the corners of Esika’s lips rose slightly.
It’s a subtle feeling, as if lifting the corners of a girl’s portrait with no emotion.
Esika was looking at the maid with a hint of a smile.
Though her eyes were clearly cold before, now they don’t seem so.
The beautiful sunset is reflected in her eyes.
That brilliant and wistful thing that seems about to disappear soon…
“…”
Callian deeply furrowed his brow.
And slowly raised his hand to touch near his chest.
As if deliberately ignoring his curiosity about her, his feet don’t move a single step.
That was Callian’s pride and long-standing principle.
But what could be the reason for this uneasy feeling surging near his heart?
“Let’s go, Sela.”
Esika smiled at the maid.
Yes, that’s how Esika’s smile originally was.
But… when was the last time she smiled like that?
He remembers.
It seems to have been on their wedding day.
**
“Why have you been staring at me so unpleasantly lately?”
Sela was startled by Esika’s muttering.
“…My lady?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
Sela thought as she followed behind Esika.
Certainly, the Duchess seems to have changed too much, becoming a different person.
Her image of chasing after Duke Klaus, who had not a shred of interest in her, was so pitiful and wretched that all the employees of the mansion would shake their heads behind her back.
But now Esika doesn’t seem to have the slightest interest in the Duke’s whereabouts.
“Um… perhaps you’d like to see His Grace the Duke for a moment? Earlier, I heard that His Grace was looking for you. It wasn’t directly conveyed to me, but among the servants…”
To Sela’s words, Esika replied as if annoyed.
“Sela, do you wish for me to receive the Duke’s favor?”
To those words, Sela nodded without hesitation.
It’s natural. Duke Klaus is the master of the ducal residence.
Now, the Madam’s maids openly disrespect the Duchess, but if the Duchess becomes a loving couple with the Duke, no one would dare do so.
Esika’s lips twisted.
“You know. I can forgive someone who has betrayed my expectations once.”
She recalled a subordinate who, when she was a spirit, had to commit evil acts against her due to orders from above.
“Twice… yes, if it’s someone I quite like, I might forgive them. Though I haven’t done so yet.”
“My lady…”
“But from the third time, it’s over.”
Sela blinked her eyes.
Esika looked at Sela with cold eyes and said.
It was a chilling gaze.
“It means they can’t be fixed. And the Duke has betrayed my expectations ten, twenty times.”
Before regaining her memories as a spirit, Esika’s wishes were not great.
That he, who had made a lifelong vow to be together, would give her proper attention and love.
“You understand what I mean by now, right?”
Sela, who had been staring blankly at Esika, nodded.
His Grace the Duke will never be forgiven by the Duchess.
Yuri Anesis. That woman too.
And Sela thought.
She had already been caught once trying to put poison in her food.
If she disappoints her twice, the consequences could be horrific.
For the first time in a long while, she felt her discipline tightening internally.
**
“Do you regret the marriage?”
When she followed Callian to the ring shop, Yuri had asked so.
At those words, Callian flinched and then turned to look at Yuri with a lonely expression.
Yuri could feel Callian’s heart.
Soon after, Callian lifted the alet ring and reached out to take Yuri’s hand.
And he gently slipped the ring onto her ring finger.
His unspoken attention was conveyed.
“Very much.”
The voice from that day still remained in Yuri’s mind.
The sunset sky, the small sprout of hope blooming in her chest…
And the greed that was swallowing her.
‘Esika, if only you’d leave, the position of Duchess… I will surely claim it.’
Yuri did not give up hope.
She had never, not even once, thought of Esika as a friend.
To her, the daughter of House Anesis which was noble in name only but poorer than most commoners, Esika was just someone who made her keenly feel the unfairness of life.
That stupid and naive girl was born into the wealthy Brigitte family and grew up preciously, then married into House Klaus of the capital Torres, a prestigious family that even the Brigittes who ruled Prihatz considered insignificant.
It was not once or twice that she had thought, if only she herself had been born a Brigitte instead of an Anesis…
She thought that if she were Esika, she would surely have satisfied Duke Klaus.
‘Stupid Esika. You’re finished… There’s no way you could turn things around…’
Knock knock knock-
While she was grinding her teeth, a knocking sound was heard from outside.
When she opened the door, the maid Emilia was seen.
“What is it?”
Yuri asked with an unpleasant expression, crossing her arms.
She had just taken time off, using the excuse that she hadn’t slept for days while nursing the Madam.
In truth, it was so she could follow Callian whenever information about his movements came in, with the intention of running into him.
“The Madam has called for you.”
It was an order that could not be refused with the excuse of being tired.
“…The Madam?”
“Yes. It seems she has something to ask… related to the upset stomach she suffered recently.”
At Emilia’s words, Yuri inwardly flinched.
The reason the Madam had been groaning in pain for days was because of that medicine stolen from the kitchen.
“Didn’t they say they talked to the doctor about that?”
“They did, but it seems there are still some doubtful points. She’s never been so severely ill before…”
“Well, that may be so, but…”
“Moreover, the Duchess who went to Marshal’s party… They say that far from being cowed, she returned having thrown her weight around quite a bit. The Madam is in a very bad mood because of that incident.”
Yuri’s hand twitched.
When she heard that Esika had gone in place of the sick Madam, she had inwardly sneered.
After all, Bolan and Marshal, those spiteful ladies, were like natural enemies who tormented Esika.
Wasn’t it obvious what would happen there without even seeing it?
But Esika threw her weight around there?
Could it be that she brought down the noses of those nasty ladies?
“…Is that so?”
Yuri left the room with a composed expression.
Emilia followed behind her.
Yuri’s mind was in turmoil.
If that’s the case, the reason Riona is calling for her now is…
‘Rather than suspecting me…’
“…”
Yuri’s tightly clenched fist trembled.
‘She’ll demand that I take the blame. That I fed her some stomach medicine at Esika’s instigation…’
To Riona, Yuri was just a pawn in chess.
Something worthless to be used for a purpose and discarded when no longer needed.
These days, she couldn’t even offer jewels, so she would be regarded even more so.
‘It’s true that I fed her the medicine… but I absolutely won’t do that.’
Stairs appeared before Yuri.
Her anger towards Esika, who seemed to have pushed her into this situation, rose even more.
Yuri squeezed her eyes shut to escape this situation.
‘Damn it…!’
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
