He pulled Ansi towards him with great force.

Ansi’s body staggered and lost balance. Naturally, Ansi fell forward, and reflexively, her stomach trembled greatly.

She closed her eyes tightly.

However, nothing happened. The warmth from the man’s solid yet warm embrace enveloped her. All she could hear was the pounding of her heart.

Damion hugged Ansi tightly. His body was trembling slightly. A pain spread throughout her body as if someone was twisting near her heart.

He looked so pitiful and sad that Ansi gripped the hem of Damion’s clothing tightly.

Somehow, the area around her waist ached.

Even after receiving the divorce papers, the birthmark on her back remained unchanged. Perhaps, the fact that they were once married would forever be engraved on this back.

However, they could no longer be together here.

Ansi believed that the greatest emotion Damion felt towards her was a sense of betrayal. Damion believed that Ansi was dying by his side, covered in resentment and resignation.

To avoid further clawing at each other, to avoid further hurting each other, the only path left was separation.

“I’ll…go now.”

Ansi, who had finished her call with Kardian, closed her eyes. Her closed eyes trembled. She slowly moved her steps and leaned her body against the wall.

Sliding down the wall, she caught her breath.

This morning, the divorce papers went through. Ansi and Damion confirmed together the documents directly delivered from the city hall.

Ansi and Damion’s divorce was officially recorded.

Now, Ansi was no longer Ansi de Orphe. She had returned to being a Rubella. Ansi de Rubella, she had regained that name and became a stranger to Damion de Orphe.

Ansi, who had buried her face in both hands, slowly raised her head. She brushed her hair behind her ears. Then, she quickly made up her mind and stood up. She left the study and moved her steps to the second floor.

“Madam, are you perhaps going on a trip? I saw that you had packed your luggage.”

Simon, who was waiting for Ansi on the second floor, asked brightly.

The surveillance order the master of the mansion had given was withdrawn after a few days.

However, regardless of the duration, that incident was a shock, so Simon was worried about Ansi every day. Especially since he knew how exhausted she had become these days.

Amidst this, the news of Madam’s trip could not be anything but welcome. Refreshing like this will surely ease the emotions between you two!

“Simon.”

Ansi opened her mouth. She considered telling him she was going on a trip to match his expectations, but she didn’t want to lie to Simon.

“Damion and I have decided to divorce.”

Simon opened his mouth blankly. He couldn’t ask why or express his regret; he just opened and closed his mouth.

Ansi put on her coat and hat. Meanwhile, tears welled up in Simon’s eyes. Ansi gently hugged Simon.

“Thank you for everything until now.”

“M-Madam, why? Although the Master has treated you badly recently, he really likes you….”

“I know.”

Ansi gave a bitter smile. Looking at her face filled with complex emotions, Simon couldn’t persuade her any further. It seemed Madam’s choice was not something that could be resolved through persuasion.

Carrying her travel bag, Ansi quietly left the mansion. Damion did not see her off. He had already said he would do so in the morning.

Because if he saw her off here, he felt like he would end up holding onto her.

And out of fear that he might lock her up in this house again, he had said he would do so.

But this was not the last time.

When she retrieves Del with the help of the people Damion sent and escapes from Kardian, that’s when she will see Damion for the last time.

They had agreed to say their farewells then.

Ansi left the mansion.

Kardian tapped the armrest of his chair.

In the end, they couldn’t find Del de Rubella.

Thinking he might be in contact with Ansi or the Viscountess of Rubella, they had kept an eye on their surroundings for a few days, but he did not appear by their side either.

Since they couldn’t find Del even today when the divorce papers went through, there was a high possibility that Ansi, who came to find Kardian, would think the fact that he had Del with him was a lie in itself.

“That won’t do.”

Then there was only one method left.

Confining Ansi, who came to find Kardian using Del as an excuse.

She would resist at first, but if he kept her by his side, she would eventually realize. How happy it is to be by his side.

“See you soon, Ansi.”

Kardian muttered softly.

The woman who had become Ansi de Rubella would soon be able to regain the name Ansi de Orphe.

He was looking forward to that time.

The door to the store opened. At the sound of the bell attached to the door, Del rose from his seat. It was a movement that showed the edge of a soldier.

The arriving customer was Roma, the store owner. She approached the counter where Del was standing straight away.

“How’s the store? Have you adapted?”

“It’s in progress.”

“You don’t have to adapt. More importantly, here, can you run an errand? I’ll pay you extra.”

“Is it alright to leave the store unattended?”

“I can watch it. Here.”

Roma handed Del a note. It was a note with the address of a certain place written on it. It was not a close place, but it wouldn’t be bad if she paid extra.

Roma brought out a small gun from the display case inside. It seemed to be the item that needed to be delivered.

It was an old-style pistol, but it still looked usable. However, if it had been stored without continuous use, there was a high possibility it was already broken.

“Well, have a safe trip. Be careful.”

It was a perfunctory greeting, but somehow it felt strange. Del, who received the item, left the store. The weather was unusually nice.

Ansi got out of the carriage.

There wasn’t much left until the place Kardian mentioned, but from here, she had to walk in. A somewhat dark forest path, Ansi hastened her steps.

Would Del be there?

The anticipation of being able to meet him soon urged Ansi’s feet. The tension of having to ditch Kardian and run away as soon as she met him followed.

At that moment, there was a rustling sound nearby.

‘Are they the people Damion sent?’

At first, she ignored it without much thought.

However, when the sound was heard once more, Ansi realized something was strange.

Surely, the ones Damion sent would thoroughly hide their presence and follow her at a certain distance to avoid being detected. But the fact that Ansi had noticed their presence like this meant one of two things.

Either they were being careless.

Or this sound did not belong to them.

Whichever it was, it was dangerous to carry out the task right now.

Ansi stopped in her tracks. And she slowly began to retrace her steps back the way she came.

The sound of brushing against the grass and unfamiliar footsteps drew closer. An instinctive sense of unease engulfed Ansi. Ansi’s steps quickened. For now, she had to return to the carriage….

“…!”

Someone grabbed Ansi’s arm. Her wide-open eyes looked back.

It was not the people Damion had sent. In preparation for any eventuality, she had already familiarized herself with their faces through photographs. However, the rough-looking man who grabbed Ansi now was a completely unfamiliar face.

As were the several men standing behind him.

It felt like all the blood in her body was drying up.

“Who are you? Let go of this.”

“If you come with us obediently, there will be no need for you to get hurt, Madam.”

Ansi twisted her body to shake off the man’s hand. But the man’s grip was strong.

She thought they might be robbers, but came to the conclusion that this was not the case. There was no way robbers would be on this remote forest path. Rather, it was more correct to say they had been waiting for her.

For example, they could be people sent by Kardian.

Why would he go to such lengths? If he had intended to let her meet Del without issue, there would be no need to mobilize such manpower.

An ominous premonition struck her mind.

It was clear Kardian had some other ulterior motive. From the beginning, she even had doubts about whether Del was really at the destination.

Ansi hurriedly blew the horn she had tied to her left wrist. Then, from somewhere, three mercenaries appeared. They pulled the men off Ansi.

The mercenaries and the men fought, tangled up here and there. In the meantime, Ansi ran away with faltering steps.

But they outnumbered her side.

One of the men reached out to Ansi. Ansi, whose hair was grabbed, let out a scream of pain.

Bang!

Then suddenly, a gunshot was heard, and the hand grabbing Ansi’s hair fell away.

“Argh!”

The man stepped back, clutching the hand that had grabbed her hair. Red blood was flowing from his hand.

Someone had shot him. Who on earth…?

Before she could even figure that out, someone grabbed Ansi’s wrist and started running.

“Who…?”

Ansi’s words did not continue to the end.

She couldn’t believe the sight before her eyes.

So she just stared blankly, simply blankly, at the man leading her and just kept running.

“You need to run faster, Ansi.”

Even in this situation, the man playfully urging her on was indeed her annoying elder brother.

Del was alive, right before her eyes.