The next morning. Even though she had skipped dinner, Adeline felt nauseous as soon as she woke up.

Not only was the duke’s townhouse unfamiliar as it was her first time there, but Adeline couldn’t sleep well not knowing when and where she might encounter the crown prince.

In the end, she opened her eyes to the sunlight shining through the window. Becky, who had been guarding outside the door, seemed to sense Adeline’s movement and entered the bedroom.

“Your Grace, it’s Becky. May I come in?”

“Yes. Where is the duke?”

Adeline unconsciously looked at the empty space on one side of the bed, searching for Casius first.

“He’s getting ready. You should prepare as well, Your Grace.”

“What preparations…?”

“…I only know that the duke and duchess have an outing scheduled.”

Becky smiled softly, pausing before answering, and began to help with Adeline’s grooming.

“You must be tired from the long carriage ride. I’ll call the maids to give you a massage.”

Adeline immediately entered the bathroom and began to bathe.

Having stayed up all night, she fell asleep as soon as she immersed herself in the warm bathtub.

Unaware of the approaching future.

After finishing her basic morning grooming and entering the toilette room, Adeline couldn’t hide her surprised expression.

Despite it being her first time at the townhouse, dresses and accessories were splendidly displayed as if anticipating her arrival.

“Since you’ve come to the capital after a long time. I’ll make you look beautiful, Your Grace.”

Whether by coincidence or not, the majority of the dress styles here were ones Adeline frequently wore during her stay at the marquis’s residence.

Adeline gladly accepted the grooming in this toilette room that seemed to reflect her tastes.

It was just as they were finishing the preparations.

“Your Grace, your hair color is so beautiful. It looks like it has become one with the cream-colored dress!”

“Is that so.”

Adeline seemed to listen with an indifferent face before straightening her head.

“What did you just say?”

“Pardon? I said your wheat-colored hair is so beautiful. I didn’t know you had such a hair color.”

Adeline approached the mirror in surprise.

In the mirror was Adeline’s natural hair color, not the dyed brown hair.

“How did this happen?”

As she turned her head, the maids averted their eyes. As if they had removed Adeline’s hair dye.

It was then. With a knock, Casius strode into the toilette room.

“Now you truly look like yourself, wife.”

At the sweet scene of the duke and duchess, the maids who had been helping with Adeline’s grooming left the toilette room.

“Did you order this?”

“Yes. I missed this wheat-colored hair of yours.”

Adeline was dumbfounded.

“What have you done! If the dye is removed, people will recognize me as a daughter of the Credion family. It’s only a matter of time before my identity is revealed!”

Adeline raised her voice and confronted Casius.

Arbitrarily turning the carriage to the townhouse, and now restoring her hair color like this.

It all made her anxious.

But Casius, with an indifferent face, took Adeline’s hand and left the toilette room.

“There’s somewhere we need to go. Let’s head out first.”

“Your Grace!”

With Casius escorting her smoothly, Adeline found herself boarding the carriage at the entrance of the townhouse without knowing what was happening.

“Let’s depart.”

Casius, who had boarded the carriage with Adeline, hurriedly ordered the carriage to depart.

“You really… Where are we going right now?”

Adeline scanned her surroundings with wary eyes before asking him.

“You’ll know soon. We’re going to do something good for both you and me.”

He closed his mouth without any further explanation.

The carriage gradually slowed down as it reached its destination, then came to a stop.

“We’ve arrived.”

Casius gestured for Adeline, who was sitting dazedly in the carriage, to come out.

Adeline gasped, her mouth agape at the familiar scene unfolding outside the carriage window.

‘The Imperial Palace.’

It was the very palace where the mad crown prince resided.

Adeline quickly turned towards Casius. He was already gesturing to her with a calm face, as if he had planned this all along. As if telling her to get out quickly.

“What, what is this situation?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why are we at the palace right now!”

Adeline whispered to Casius so the coachman wouldn’t hear, but ended up shouting without realizing it.

The coachman’s puzzled gaze fell upon the two.

“I’m going back like this!”

Adeline turned her head abruptly.

Casius, who had been watching Adeline refusing to come out, briefly closed the carriage door held by the coachman.

“Adeline.”

Adeline’s head turned at the low voice calling her name.

She saw Casius meeting her eyes.

“What’s the problem?”

Adeline bit her lip as she looked at him.

“…You know. Why I can’t come here.”

The woman who would normally glare and say whatever she wanted was now on the verge of tears.

Casius sighed as he looked at Adeline like that and answered.

“It seems I’ve only given you that much trust. Do you think I, Casius, would let my person die?”

‘That’s…’

Adeline’s lips moved, unable to find words to add.

Certainly, that man had saved her life. Both at the Purification Spring and when she was sick in bed.

She had received a lot of help from Casius.

‘But… If something goes wrong, the crown prince might really…’

Adeline shuddered at the thought that she could be killed like the other fiancées.

The crown prince was none other than the sole heir to this Soltarius Empire.

Thanks to such a status, even though countless maids in the crown prince’s palace died, he received no punishment.

How else would everyone be so busy hushing up even the killing of his fiancée?

Adeline Credion, the owner of this body, was destined to be killed by Crown Prince Trashi.

That was the content of the novel she had seen.

‘…Even if you say you’ll protect me, will fate change?’

Despite trying so hard to run away and making a fuss to avoid the crown prince, we’ve come back to the Imperial Palace like this.

Thinking of death, the chilling feeling of closing her eyes vividly came to mind.

As she flinched as if all the hair on her body was standing on end, Casius cupped her face.

“Trust me.”

Memories of when she first visited the duke’s castle slowly overlapped on Casius’s face.

“I said I would save you as you wished, didn’t I? Try to trust your husband a little more.”

With those words, Casius opened the carriage door.

The coachman waiting outside gestured with his eyes for Adeline to get out, visible behind the duke’s back as he alighted.

Adeline let out a short sigh. All she could do now was cover her face with the thin veil she was wearing.

Finally, Adeline and Casius, having gotten out of the carriage, walked into the Imperial Palace.

As they walked, an attendant from the palace who had come to greet them stood before them.

“You must have had a difficult long journey. Duke, and Duchess. His Highness the Crown Prince is waiting.”

The two were guided to the audience chamber where Crown Prince Trashi would be waiting, following the attendant’s lead.

As she walked down the long corridor, Adeline grasped the hem of her skirt, feeling the tension seeping in.

‘…To think I’d walk into the palace of my own accord.’

And then the sound of the audience chamber door opening resonated.

“You’ve come. Duke Torpeo, I’ve been waiting for you all this time. I was so surprised to hear you were injured during the expedition. I’m glad to see you safe like this.”

A sinister voice, like a snake crawling, seeped into her ears.

“And the duchess as well.”

Adeline flinched as she was lowering her head. The translucent lace veil slipped down with her movement.

As Adeline slightly raised her gaze, she met an unfamiliar gaze staring at her through the veil.

They were red eyes, close to orange, as if the pigment had faded.

Although it wasn’t her first encounter, Adeline felt her heart constrict upon seeing the crown prince’s eyes.

Adeline felt cold sweat running down her spine.

It felt like he might draw a sword from the attendant standing behind him and point it at her at any moment.

Trashi rose from his seat and slowly approached the two.

He stopped right in front of Adeline when he came within arm’s reach.

“Why the sudden veil?”

“Due to becoming the talk of the town, there are many who focus on my wife.”

Despite Casius’s answer, Trashi took one step closer to her.

The crown prince’s face, which had now come right up to the veil, was overflowing with a mischievous smile.

It was etiquette that greatly deviated from how one should treat a noble lady.

“How beautiful must she be for you to have hidden away a commoner woman like this in your domain?”

The edge of the veil slipped down between Trashi’s outstretched index finger.

As if he didn’t care at all about making the empire’s only duchess a laughingstock.

“Remove the veil.”

Trashi curled up the corners of his mouth.