121.

Dante was running as if his life depended on it.

His lungs were filled to bursting with air, and his legs felt as though they were about to give out. But he couldn’t stop.

Someone was ahead, someone he had to save.

The person who first taught him the joy of loving and being loved.

The person who gave his life meaning, who showed him what happiness was.

A person worth more than the whole world.

That person was…

Up ahead, he saw a woman kneeling on the ground.

Her tangled rose-colored hair, her pale face, her body covered in wounds, with blood dripping down.

Dante felt his mind unravel as he recognized her.

‘Elze!’

“Ah!”

Suddenly, Dante’s eyes flew open.

“Huff, huff… huff…”

He gasped for breath, the remnants of the nightmare still clinging to his mind. The dream had been so vivid that he could almost still see the hot drops of blood falling from Elze’s body.

His bloodshot eyes sharpened.

“…What the hell was that nightmare?”

It was unlike any of his usual dreams.

Typically, his nightmares revolved around his mother’s death or Elze being replaced by his mother.

But this… this was different.

A deep, unsettling feeling crept into his chest.

Dante bit his lip hard, tasting blood.

* * *

A few days later.

Lucian and I had moved to Kalleid’s townhouse in the capital.

We parted ways with Marguerite and Benedict, who decided to stay in Luneberg’s townhouse until the imperial ball.

[See you again soon, Elze.]

Marguerite bid me a friendly farewell.

 

[…Until next time.]

 

Benedict also left me with a brief, somewhat regretful goodbye.

To be honest, I would have preferred never seeing either of them again.

As soon as we arrived in the capital, Lucian’s first order of business was to summon all the tailors and jewelers in the city.

I thought I’d run into Madame Tilda after all this time, but it wasn’t her.

Lucian had chosen another famous tailor, a rival to Madame Tilda.

The jewelers he called were also different.

“I hate the brands that Marquis Offenheir chose.”

Lucian said coldly.

Though to be fair, Dante was never the type to carefully pick brands for me.

In fact, Madame Tilda had been someone I chose on my own, according to my own tastes…

‘But why does that even matter?’

I kept my mouth shut.

Besides, I was already overwhelmed by the endless dresses and jewels Lucian kept showering on me.

“This is too much,” I cautiously tried to refuse the gifts he kept offering.

“I want to give them to you,” Lucian replied with a pleasant smile.

And every time I saw that smile…

I felt like I was suffocating, as though someone had wrapped their hands around my throat.

Someone else taking control of my life, turning it upside down.

Being dragged along, powerless, without a shred of my own will in the matter.

…The sense of helplessness.

It was a familiar feeling.

But it was also something I never wanted to get used to.

After we finally sent off all the tailors and jewelers…

Lucian suddenly turned to me.

“Come to think of it, Lady, I have a favor to ask.”

“A favor?”

I repeated.

“Yes.”

Lucian nodded, his tone awkward.

“It’s been a long time since I last danced.”

Ah.

I blinked in surprise.

“But I’m the Duke of Kalleid… I can’t afford to appear clumsy, can I?”

“You’re asking me to help you practice dancing?”

“Exactly.”

Well, that much wasn’t difficult.

I nodded my head.

“Alright.”

Lucian and I made our way to the small ballroom. He placed a record on the phonograph, and a lively tune filled the room.

Lucian placed a hand on his chest and bowed elegantly.

“May I have this dance, Lady?”

“Gladly.”

I took his extended hand, and we began to move in time to the music.

As I followed Lucian’s lead, I found myself recalling a distant memory.

There was a time when Lucian and I had danced alone like this.

It was the night of my debutante ball.

We danced in the isolation of his solitary cell, with no music, no bright lights—just the moonlight as our companion.

‘That was so much better.’

It was back when Lucian wasn’t the twisted male lead of this world, when he was still innocent.

At that time, although I felt guilty about using him for my own benefit, I never thought Lucian would one day become someone who controlled my every move…

‘Wait.’

Suddenly, I was struck by a realization.

“Duke.”

I called out.

“Yes?”

He replied.

“You’re… incredibly good at this, aren’t you?”

Far from being clumsy, Lucian’s movements were fluid and graceful. Even when I let myself be fully guided by him, the dance flowed seamlessly.

Come to think of it, even when Lucian was locked away in that cell, he had never been awkward at dancing…

When I looked up at him suspiciously, Lucian smiled, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

“I know.”

he said, squeezing my hand gently.

“I just wanted to dance with you.”

“……”

I stared at him in silence.

Lucian, as beautiful as a prince from a fairy tale, wore a picture-perfect smile. He leaned in, his lips brushing close to my ear.

“Every dance I’ll ever have… is yours,” he whispered softly, as if sharing the world’s most precious secret.

“……”

I bit my lip.

That’s not what I ever wanted. I had always wished for nothing more than a life of freedom, one where I wasn’t bound to anyone.

“Duke, are you really planning to take me as your partner to the ball?”

I asked abruptly, unable to hold back any longer.

Lucian’s bright smile faltered, just slightly.

“I thought that was settled already.”

“I know. But…”

“Lady.”

Lucian cut me off, his voice calm. “I know what you’re worried about. But trust me, will you?”

Trust you?

I stifled the bitter laugh that almost escaped my lips.

Could you trust someone if you were in my position?

…Someone who was starting to show the same controlling tendencies as Dante?

“In that case.”

I began slowly.

“After the imperial ball… I want to leave the Duke’s townhouse.”

Lucian hesitated for a moment, his steps faltering.

‘What was that reaction?’

I wondered, a sense of unease creeping up on me. Still, I continued in a composed tone.

“Please make the necessary arrangements for that.”

Lucian’s eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at me, but then he smiled again.

“Of course.”

At that moment, the music came to an end, and an eerie silence filled the small ballroom.

I tried to step away from Lucian, but his hand quickly caught mine.

“You’re going back to your room now, right? Let me escort you.”

His voice was soft, like a whisper, but I could sense it.

Lucian wasn’t even considering the possibility that I might refuse.

And that terrified me—the way his possessiveness bled through even the smallest gestures.

* * *

Lucian and I left the ballroom together and began walking toward my room.

As we made our way down the hall, I overheard voices coming from the opposite direction.

A group of Kalleid’s retainers were talking amongst themselves as they walked.

“I really don’t understand what the Duke is thinking!”

“Elze Lepherian? Isn’t she that infamous villainess?”

They were talking about me.

I tensed up instinctively, and Lucian’s expression turned cold, his features hard as ice.

The voices grew louder and more heated.

“Can you believe the Duke actually broke into Offenheir’s safehouse to rescue her?”

“Exactly! What if we end up at odds with the Marquis of Offenheir because of this woman?”

“Not to mention the Duke was seriously injured because of her!”

“And now he’s showering her with ridiculous amounts of dresses and jewels?”

Suddenly, Lucian’s voice rang out like a clap of thunder.

“Shut your mouths!”