Kaien pulled Philome’s hand towards him.
As they took a step closer to each other, Kaien lightly pressed his lips against the back of Philome’s hand.
“Becoming Philome Wintbell, from now on.”
Each time he spoke, his lips brushed against her hand, tickling it. Philome instinctively recoiled her hand, but Kaien didn’t let go.
He only held on tighter.
Philome quietly gazed at Kaien.
In her gaze, Kaien felt as if the moisture in his mouth had completely dried up. He usually prided himself on being perceptive, but he couldn’t grasp the meaning behind Philome’s look at all.
He had never waited for a choice like this before.
Tense, he swallowed hard, waiting for Philome’s response.
“…Can you tell me everything that’s going on?”
Though it wasn’t a direct answer to Kaien’s words, he realized immediately.
“…Yeah, I can tell you everything.”
Philome must have known.
If she heard the secrets Kaien held, there would be no turning back. To say she wanted to hear them was essentially to say she would stay by his side.
Realizing the meaning, he felt a tightness in his chest. Kaien slowly parted his lips to speak.
“But before that…”
Kaien suddenly sank down.
As he suddenly sank down, Philome’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Duke? Are you okay?”
“I guess the tension has eased. My legs aren’t holding up.”
Kaien smiled awkwardly as he looked up at Philome.
His hand was still holding Philome’s hand. Kaien glanced at it and then looked up at Philome.
While rubbing the stiff muscles in his neck from the tension, he slightly tilted his head.
“Can you hug me just once?”
“What?”
“Like how I comforted you last time.”
Philome recalled the time she had asked Kaien for a hug. It hadn’t felt like anything then, but remembering it now made her face flush.
“Oh, no. That’s…”
Kaien’s eyes sparkled.
“Is that a no?”
Kaien’s thumb slowly brushed against the back of Philome’s hand.
Perhaps because of his high body temperature, it felt like he left a distinct trace wherever he touched.
His hair was tousled, and through the loose shirt, his solid chest was clearly visible. The look in his eyes was almost desperate, making it hard to resist. Philome hesitated and then quickly pulled her hand away.
“No.”
Kaien clicked his tongue softly in disappointment and stood up.
“Come here. I’ll tell you in the main room.”
“Is it okay for me to go in?”
“Aren’t you going to marry me?”
Kaien squinted his eyes playfully.
When Philome raised her eyebrows, Kaien subtly diverted his gaze and led her toward the main room.
“You have the right to know as the future duchess, so don’t feel burdened. Normally, the spouse is informed on the day of the wedding, but you can know a bit earlier.”
The ordinary wooden door creaked heavily as it opened.
And the moment the door swung open, Philome sensed that something was different.
“Is it really magic?”
“Yes. It can only be opened by infusing it with magic. Once you go inside, there’s a mechanism that will allow it to operate with your magic as well, so let’s do that now.”
Kaien smoothly led Philome inside.
As the large, luxurious room was revealed, in contrast to the rough door, Philome forgot her earlier hesitation and marveled as she looked around.
The room, which was a combination of a study and a library, had warm orange lighting. A large sofa was prepared for comfortable conversation, and there was also a big bookshelf and a desk on one side.
“I’ll prepare some tea, so feel free to look around.”
While Kaien prepared the tea, Philome explored every corner.
On the wide desk, there was a small frame containing a childhood photo of Kaien. Philome picked up the frame to examine it closely.
There was something about his indifferent gaze and features that seemed to perfectly match his current appearance.
His cheeks were rosy and plump, typical of a child.
“There are a lot of photos here.”
Philome remarked as she looked at the frames scattered around.
“It’s because of my grandfather’s saying that only records remain.”
Indeed, the number of photo frames increased as the generations got closer to Kaien’s parents.
When Kaien sat on the sofa with two teacups, Philome took a seat opposite him.
As Philome lifted her teacup, Kaien slowly began to speak.
“First of all, my brother was killed by the Imperial Consort.”
The reason the Imperial Consort killed the Wintbell heir was quite simple: Wintbell was part of the Crown Prince faction. Not only did they possess wealth and power, but they also wielded considerable influence among the nobles, so the number of nobles supporting the Crown Prince increased significantly.
When the Imperial Consort gave birth to Winston, the Crown Prince was already 15 years old.
The Imperial Consort wanted to make Winston the Crown Prince, but the Emperor did not grant her wish. This was because he had made a promise to the Empress, who had been married off for political reasons. He had promised that the child born between them would be made the Crown Prince.
At that time, the Imperial Consort was young, beautiful, and full of ambition. Having given birth to Winston while enjoying the Emperor’s favor, it was only natural for her greed to reach sky-high.
“My brother was a close aide to the Crown Prince, providing him with significant support.”
The Crown Prince was close to Kaizen, Kaien’s brother, who was the clever heir of Wintbell. In fact, until that point, no one thought the Imperial Consort would do anything with the newborn Winston.
No matter how noble the Imperial Consort was in the palace, Winston was still a full 15 years younger than the Crown Prince.
The Empress had tried for over ten years to bring down the Crown Prince but had failed repeatedly. It was then that Kaizen appeared.
“It was the price of underestimating her.”
It was a naive thought to believe that she would only target the Crown Prince.
The carriage accident.
The carriage carrying Kaizen and his heavily pregnant wife was overturned. Fortunately, they managed to escape unharmed, but the Empress sent assassins without giving them a moment’s respite.
Although he was injured, Kaizen was also a transcendent being, and he could have recovered and fought back against the assassins if he had made contact with his wife. However…
“But at that time, my sister-in-law was heavily pregnant, and if there was significant contact, there was a chance she could lose her life along with the child.”
In the end, Kaizen decided to save his wife and child.
While facing the assassins with injuries, Kaizen fought until just before the Duke’s knights arrived, ultimately losing his life.
His wife, who witnessed her husband’s death, managed to endure and gave birth on the expected date. However, she could not recover afterward and followed Kaizen.
This was what happened when Kaien was 17 years old.
“His Majesty owes a great debt to the Wintbell Ducal family. That’s why he can’t do anything to us. We have steadfastly remained by the Crown Prince’s side since that incident.”
Still, the Imperial Consort did not come out unscathed.
Although no one knew, the Imperial Consort’s palace was closed afterward, and she was stripped of all her powers within the palace.
“Originally, the Imperial Consort should have been confined to the Cold Palace, but Winston offered to go to another country for ten years in her place, so it ended there.”
As Kaien finished speaking, he rubbed his damp palms, slick with cold sweat.
It was the first time he had ever shared such a story with someone. He hadn’t thought it would even be possible to speak about it.
Philome listened intently to Kaien’s words without saying anything. Even after Kaien finished speaking, Philome maintained her silence, as if lost in thought.
After a long while, she finally spoke.
“…What if His Majesty says that the Imperial Consort and Winston have already been punished and that our revenge is unjustified?”
Kaien blinked blankly.
It wasn’t a half-hearted comfort or anger.
He let out a hollow laugh at Philome’s unexpected reaction.
Philome, who had been seriously contemplating, looked up when Kaien laughed.
“Why are you laughing…?”
She was genuinely worried about that, so his reaction felt absurd to her.
“No, it’s not that.”
With a lingering smile on his face, Kaien waved his hand dismissively.
“It’s just that I think I like you much more than I thought.”
