“I think I should be going now. I’m sorry for coming at such a late hour.”

Edward bowed politely to Kaius once more as he gathered the letters from the table and tucked them inside his coat. Then he took out a box from his pocket.

“Ariel, this is a wedding gift.”

“Oh… Thank you, Edward.”

Ariel smiled again as she accepted it and immediately set it down on the table.

“Kaius, I’ll see him out and be right back.”

Her brightened voice, her face tinged with a smile – all of it was because of that man. Kaius’s lips curled into a crooked smile as he watched Ariel trot after Edward.

Once she was out of sight, Kaius slowly closed and opened his eyes. His gaze, showing no emotion, turned to the box on the table. As he looked at it, Kaius examined the box in his own hand once more.

The boxes were quite similar. Almost indistinguishable without close inspection.

[This is the timeline separator]

On the day of the ‘Le Cordon Bleu’ competition, Ariel headed to the bathroom as soon as she opened her eyes and checked her body.

One, two, three, four…

Suddenly feeling deep self-loathing at her appearance, Ariel let out a resigned sigh. Though slightly faded, the marks were still there.

The dress prepared for today revealed the neckline. She had heard that everyone wore dresses with that level of mild exposure for the last autumn banquet before winter. If she went alone in a dress covering up to her neck?

There would likely be quite a bit of gossip.

Saying she’s acting all high and mighty by herself.

Lost in thought for a moment, Ariel shook her head and washed her face with cold water. Such worries were just a waste of time now.

Time to be brazen.

As she steeled herself, even her resentment towards Kaius faded away. It’s not like he did it on purpose. With a lighter heart, Ariel left the bathroom.

“Lady Ariel. It’s good to see you again.”

“Huh? Madam Bella, how did you…”

While Ariel was bewildered by the unexpected visit, Madam Bella approached abruptly and began examining her. After closely inspecting the neck area, she nodded.

“You can’t wear the dress in this state, can you?”

“What? Yes. But how did you know to come?”

“The Duke called for me. Since we don’t have much time, try on the dress first. We’ll figure out how to fix it afterwards.”

“…”

Though it was nice of Kaius to be considerate in his own way, Ariel wondered if he shouldn’t have mentioned this yesterday.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Wow. Lady Ariel, it’s perfect.”

Anna was right. Madam Bella’s skills were astonishingly impressive. Over the parts of bare skin revealed by the light pink dress, she added see-through lace with flowers of the same color as the dress blooming here and there. The placement of the flowers subtly concealed the marks on her body, and it looked so natural as if flowers had actually bloomed.

“It’s amazing, Madam Bella.”

Ariel gave the highest praise for this masterpiece. The necklace Edward had gifted her rested on top of the dress.

“Thank you. The necklace matches your eyes so well, Lady Ariel.”

Looking at her reflection in the mirror, it really did seem that way. It was a beautifully crafted necklace with gems the same color as her eyes, densely surrounded by what appeared to be diamonds.

“Thank you.”

Her heart fluttered. Now that the dress issue was resolved, she felt like everything would go well today.

[This is the timeline separator]

It was almost time to depart for the imperial palace, but Kaius had not returned. Though she wondered if something had happened, he was Kaius von Elbartan.

He was the person who needed the least worrying about in this world. Of course, only if she, who could bring him to his death, disappeared.

“Let’s go down, Anna.”

As she came down to the hall carrying the spice box and the Empress Dowager’s gift, she saw Lemon dressed up nicely.

“Where is the Duke?”

She had thought Kaius would surely be here if his aide was present.

“His Grace said he had some business to attend to and would come directly to the palace. We should depart now. Are you ready?”

“Yes, I’m ready. Let’s go.”

As they set off for the palace, her heart fluttered again. She decided to believe it was because of today’s banquet and competition.

[This is the timeline separator]

It was when the carriage stopped at the grand palace gates for identity verification.

Ariel’s face turned pale as she looked out the window. The memories of the past she had overlooked even while coming to the palace suddenly invaded her mind, and she lost consciousness. For the palace of the Klardeus Empire was the most painful place for her past self.

[Kaius von Elbartan is dead.] [Who killed the continent’s strongest powerhouse?] [The ill-fated princess who became a widow 6 months after marriage. Ariel von Elbartan.]

Before Kaius’s funeral could even be held, the ceasefire agreement between the Mazeras Continent and the Demon Realm broke down, and war erupted again after two years. Ludvian took Ariel from the duke’s residence and returned to the Beloas Marquis’s estate in the Kingdom of Letiana. In the midst of war, no one was in a position to blame her.

[Ariel, you don’t need to bloom flowers anymore.]

When Ariel said they should rebuild the greenhouse, Ludvian told her flowers were no longer necessary. And not long after, the Klardeus Empire, once the continent’s number one power, began to crumble.

[Kaius von Elbartan. Will the Klardeus Empire fall like this without him?]

Ludvian would often be away, and whenever he left, he never failed to remind her not to go outside the marquis’s estate as it was dangerous. He told her not to worry, saying he had sent his people to the royal palace to protect her parents.

Even the newsletters that were diligently published in the early stages of the war stopped, and she could only hear news from the outside through Ludvian or the estate’s butler. After the fall of the Klardeus Empire, everything became easy. The Kingdom of Letiana surrendered soon after being engulfed in the war. It wasn’t strange, given that it was a small kingdom without any power.

About a year passed like that.

[Ariel, the demons have won the war.]

The continent without Kaius fell under the Demon Realm’s control in just a year, and humans became slaves to the demons. Ludvian’s tone was strange, but there was no time to question it. She could only tremble in anxiety.

[Ariel, let’s go to the imperial palace of the Klardeus Empire.]

When Ariel asked if it wasn’t dangerous to go to a place full of demons, he insisted they had to go. When they arrived at the Klardeus palace, numerous demons were lined up at the main gate. As she was shrinking in fear, holding her breath, countless demons knelt before Ludvian and Ariel.

[We greet the Demon King.]

Ariel’s gaze, wandering in fear, landed on Ludvian’s face. Him, looking at the demons with the expression of a ruler. Only then did Ariel realize.

That the Demon King they were referring to was Ludvian.

This shocking truth that came without warning was not something Ariel could handle. She lay in bed for days, losing her senses.

But even at this point, it was just self-loathing for loving a demon. She was a traitor to humans, but it wasn’t something she couldn’t endure. At least until she overheard a conversation between demon maids.

[I thought we wouldn’t win this war either. The human world has Duke Kaius von Elbartan, you know.] [Didn’t you know? The Demon King successfully used Lilas and Jafaros to kill the Duke. That’s how we won the war.] [How? Lilas and Jafaros, raised in the Demon Realm, have no effect in the human world.] [They bloomed flowers in the human world. That human woman the Demon King brought, I mean. They say she bloomed the flowers. She was even the Duke’s wife.]

Kaius, Lilas and Jafaros, the Duke’s wife.

The common denominator of these three words was her. As countless memories flooded back, Ariel’s face twisted with self-loathing, anger, and hatred, all merging into one, leaving only a deep disgust for herself.

How could she be so foolish?

She had been thoroughly deceived.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Lemon, over here.”

While Anna was in a panic, almost fainting in shock, Lemon calmly handled the situation step by step.

He called for a servant, got directions to a room in the palace, and safely moved the unconscious Ariel to the bed without drawing attention.

“Sir Ostian, please wait at the main gate and escort His Grace when he arrives. Anna, please loosen Lady Ariel’s dress a bit. Ah, after we leave, of course. And there’s a knight from the ducal family guarding outside the door, so call if you need anything. I’ll be waiting in the next room. I’ve requested the palace physician, so they should arrive soon.”

After everyone left, the room fell into silence. Anna loosened the dress’s laces and covered Ariel’s body with a blanket. Not long after, the physician came and went, diagnosing no major issues.

“Lady Ariel…”

Anna began wiping the cold sweat that had formed on Ariel’s forehead.

[This is the timeline separator]

Damian didn’t show up at the meeting place.

Kaius was late because of that issue, and unable to delay any longer, he sent someone to the Metron Hotel and was on his way back to the palace first. There was still time until the competition.

“Guide me.”

It wasn’t long after Ariel had collapsed that Kaius heard the news about her. Ostian walked a little faster than usual.

“Quickly.”

Kaius, who had started walking with wider strides, urged Ostian. At those words, Ostian doubted his ears for a moment. But seeing Kaius already ahead of him, he hurried even more, dumbfounded. “Quickly” was a word he had never heard in his three years on the battlefield and one year in the Elbartan Knights.