Her face looked as if she knew everything. It was understandable. She must have sensed something from the atmosphere during dinner.

Damion waited for Ansi’s lips to open as if awaiting judgment.

At last, she spoke.

“I’m sleepy.”

“…”

“How about we talk tomorrow?”

The woman slowly blinked her eyes. Damion swallowed dryly and reached out to cup her cheek. He gently caressed her soft skin with his thumb.

“…Alright.”

Damion led Ansi to the bed.

He laid Ansi down on the bed first, then turned off the lights and returned. Now in the darkness, only their silhouettes were visible.

Damion quietly gazed at the woman lying next to him with her eyes closed. He was grateful for her dull and wooden side right now.

He’d have to organize his thoughts again to talk tomorrow, and he’d spend all day worrying about how to speak, but… At least for now, he didn’t have to face that situation.

However, Ansi frowned with her eyes closed, as if uncomfortable. Damion moved closer to check on her.

“Damion.”

At that moment, Ansi turned to lie on her side. Their eyes met closely.

“…Yes.”

“I misspoke.”

“About what?”

“We don’t have to talk tomorrow either. It’s fine.”

“…”

Ansi’s eyes were clear. In contrast, Damion’s eyes wavered like a candle in the wind.

He realized that the woman before him had deliberately said she was sleepy.

Saying they don’t have to talk tomorrow either means there’s no need to say things he doesn’t want to say.

“…Aren’t you curious?”

“I am.”

“And yet?”

“It’s a story you didn’t tell me willingly. Just because others say you should, doesn’t mean you have an obligation to tell.”

“…”

Moonlight streaming through the window illuminated Ansi’s face. Half of her face was clearly visible in the light.

Her blue eyes seemed deeper, absorbing the darkness. As if falling into those eyes, his breath caught in his throat.

Damion gently took Ansi’s hand.

The back of his neck that had tingled earlier now felt hot. Even in the north, even at night, perhaps it was because it was summer.

The sound of insects softly filled the room, announcing an early summer night. It was something not heard in the capital.

Damion suddenly thought about the fact that he was here in this house with her.

Not just being here with the Duke’s family and himself…

The Duke’s family and his own family existed together in this vast Sobelvio. Before coming here, on the way, and even at this moment.

“The Duchess… is not my birth mother.”

At the quiet confession, Ansi’s eyelids fluttered slightly. Whether she had expected it or not, she looked surprised.

But Damion knew. Just because she was surprised by the story didn’t mean she was rejecting him.

“I am the Duke’s illegitimate child. I was born in the south and lived with my mother, then came to the Orphe duchy with my father when I was 8 years old.”

His subdued voice continued. Ansi, who had been listening quietly, opened her mouth.

“Then your birth mother…”

“Passed away. When I was 8.”

“…What kind of person was she?”

“I don’t have many memories either. Still, the mother I remember… Someone who greatly regretted giving birth to me. But also, someone who loved me more than anyone.”

Damion smiled bitterly.

Ansi gazed at him quietly. It felt as if someone had grabbed and twisted her heart. It seemed similar to the sensation she felt when she saw Damion’s death and tried to save him.

It was strange. She hadn’t seen his death now, nor tried to save him.

Perhaps when they became companions through marriage, she had offered her heart to the god Amor according to the family contract. And so, this sensation visited intermittently.

The same goes for the words coming out of her mouth now.

“When my father and brother died, I was very sad… and had a hard time accepting it. Was it the same for you, Damion?”

“…Yes.”

“Then, your mother must have had more love than regret.”

Damion slowly nodded. And he smiled faintly, following Ansi.

“What about your current mother?”

Ansi asked. Damion hesitated for a moment. But soon he answered.

“…She raised me with love. Did Ansi also grow up receiving a lot of love?”

He changed the subject. It felt like he would be exposed if he said more. And… he wanted to hear her story too. He was curious about the time when Ansi de Orphe was Ansi de Rubellsa.

“You’ve seen my father and mother, so you know, but I’m a person with a somewhat different texture from my parents. Rather, my brother resembled our parents a lot. In terms of empathy, various expressions… and being able to express infinitely to the people they like in many ways.”

Ansi spoke words she had never said to anyone.

Except for when Sophia’s memory wavered and mentioned them, it was the first time… mentioning their lives.

For Ansi, mentioning them was considered a kind of taboo. That’s why she visited her father and brother’s graves only after a year had passed.

Even now, thinking about her father and Derul made her heart sink. But now, she felt like she could talk about them.

She didn’t even feel aware that the person she was telling this to was the brother of her enemy.

She just wanted to speak to someone who had experienced the same pain, and to the man who made her most comfortable in her current life.

“You must have received a lot of affection from your brother.”

“Yes. But we weren’t particularly close. Derul was emotional and stupid. We fought every day.”

Damion burst into laughter at the scathing criticism.

“From what I heard, Lieutenant Rubellsa was a capable soldier with cold judgment.”

“Are you taking my brother’s side?”

“As a fellow soldier. I can’t help but be biased.”

“I’m your wife, you know.”

Ansi played her trump card. Hearing her define their relationship like that from her own lips, Damion was somehow at a loss for words.

“…No matter how cold Lieutenant Rubellsa was, I don’t think he could match Ansi’s wisdom.”

“That’s accurate.”

Ansi chuckled. A small light twinkled in Ansi’s eyes. Though tears welled up, she smiled.

Damion stared at her, entranced.

Even as he revealed his flaws that others didn’t know, even as he was gently comforted by this stoic woman.

He couldn’t say that he had never been truly accepted as family by the people of Orphe. That when he was young, he was so miserable here that he even jumped into water wanting to die.

Would he ever be able to say it?

Damion reached out and wiped away the tears that had formed in her eyes.

He felt like he could tell her if she were by his side even at the moment of his death.

For that to happen…

Once again, complex thoughts began to creep up his body.

Damion decided to stop thinking and focus only on what was certain.

The only clear thing was that he wanted to kiss this woman now.

Their lips met.

The woman’s lips, bathed in moonlight, were sweet. As he wandered inside her delicate lips, his mind became a mess as if a storm had swept through.

Reason, reason, and yet another reason hastily bound and restrained his hands that tried to rush ahead on their own.

He admitted it. Though he had confidently told her he could wait as if he could do so for a lifetime, in reality, it was a great hardship.

“Sleep well.”

With wet lips, the woman fell asleep. Soon, steady breathing could be heard from the woman who had closed her eyes with the blanket pulled up just below her chin.

The room, mixed with the sound of soft breathing and insects, was peaceful. Only… it was so hot, his heart was pounding, and it was long, so very long.

“It’s going to be a busy day. From the main building to the annex, and the nearby lake, there’s so much to see.”

Bekishi smiled as they descended the stairs to the first floor together. She was a woman who looked even more charming when her eyes crinkled slightly as she smiled.

“Thank you for guiding me.”

“It’s nothing. Is there anywhere you’d like to see first?”

“Hmm…”

Although Ansi had read materials describing Sobelvio, she lacked spatial perception. It was difficult for her to imagine what a place described in writing would be like, and thus she felt no excitement.

Fortunately, Bekishi soon offered a suggestion.

“There’s the Emperor’s room on the first floor. Since the first Emperor of Belgader stayed at Sobelvio, all subsequent Emperors have used that room when they come here. It’s always kept empty otherwise. It’s magnificent yet intricate, would you like to start there?”

“Sounds good.”

Ansi answered immediately. If the Emperor comes to Sobelvio and uses that room, it would be good to check it out in advance for her plans.

Ansi toured Sobelvio for her own purposes, feeling sorry for Bekishi who was earnestly guiding her without knowing her true intentions.

After touring the main areas of the main building from the first to fourth floors, they walked through the well-tended garden. Behind the backyard, which was larger than the garden, was a huge lake. The sight of white sunlight scattering light as it hit the emerald water was truly spectacular.

“Beautiful, isn’t it? This lake, as it looks just after 2 PM, is my favorite view.”

Bekishi’s gaze sweeping over the lake seemed to dance. It was different from the impression Ansi had received during last night’s dinner.

Yesterday, she had seemed somewhat quiet and timid.

Now it seemed that she hadn’t smiled or talked much then, which was why Ansi had that impression.

“I understand you’ve been married for 3 years, Bekishi, is that right?”

She nodded.

A woman who has spent 3 years with Kardian. Does she know what kind of person her husband is?