Chapter 1
My husband still hasn’t returned.
However, just the day before yesterday, as he left the castle, he promised to be back within two days. Since then, there had been no particular indication otherwise, so it was certain he would return even by midnight tonight.
He was a man of strict adherence to his duties and promises.
We’ve been married for half a year, and although it’s difficult to claim that I know my husband well, one thing I can assert confidently is that aspect of him.
Amidst the daily hustle and bustle, he was always determined to keep even the slightest promise he made to me, even if it meant postponing meals due to busy schedules.
“I have something to say, Keigan,” I said to him. Tonight, I had something I absolutely wanted to say.
“It’s better if we divorce.”
For several weeks now, all I could think about was how to express myself in a way that would lead to a smooth conversation with my husband.
Of course, there’s no such thing as a smooth separation.
In the world of the nobility, divorce is not a common occurrence.
Moreover, if it’s my husband we’re talking about, it’s almost a shocking tale.
Keigen Steinway, the Duke of Wayriver, controls the third largest territory in the Viachele Empire and supports conservative religious practices in Ingestan.
It was quite unexpected for a man in such a position to oppose divorce.
Even when the recent scandal arose with the Fourth Prince filing for divorce due to personality differences, Keigen didn’t hesitate to openly disdain, saying, “Is this what nobility should do?”
“It is not an easy decision to make lightly,” I thought.
When I recalled the vows we exchanged at our wedding, I, too, felt the weight of guilt as if being chastised for being a faithful follower of our conservative faith.
The phrases of the vows we promised to uphold for a lifetime glittered in my mind like ink that hadn’t dried yet. Keigen’s voice, reciting the vows with a knightly oath, echoed vividly in my ears.
“I will cherish and love only you as I do my own body.”
I admit that he was generally a faithful husband. He was so devoted and sincere that one might even call him obsessive.
In my opinion, Keigen was a man who would maintain his marriage even if, metaphorically speaking, my face transformed into a toad demon lurking in the foggy marshes. He was that committed inwardly.
Whether I like it or not, I clearly vowed to live with my frog-faced wife, bear children, and live as promised.
Oh my, our baby really resembles you. No, it’s nothing. Let’s hurry up and make a second one, Lewan.
He was a reliable and diligent husband. I don’t want to complain about his stoic and taciturn nature as a flaw.
If a man who skillfully cooks and takes care of women with tenderness and wrinkles is considered a turtle to me.
A stubborn man in the face of worldly temptations, despite possessing wealth, power, a strong physique, and beauty.
He always respected and politely treated his wife, who was lacking in status and background for a long time.
… That’s what he was like in front of me, but what was he like behind my back?
Not long ago, by chance, I caught a glimpse of him, and he seemed nothing like the husband I knew. Was I foolish to think I knew him from the start?
As it turns out, I didn’t know my husband at all.
“I just… no longer, no longer to you, hmm.”
I practiced clearing my throat and adjusting my voice as I looked at my reflection in the glass. Even though I knew I was consciously doing it.
Even when his watery eyes emitted a chilling light like sharp ice shards, could I really speak or smile?
“I…”.
Perhaps I’ll quietly be ignored or even mocked.
That would be fortunate.
Or maybe, with each uncomfortable opinion I express, he’ll abandon even the pretense of kindness, suppressing his negative emotions and eventually revealing his cruel nature.
Yes, if the violence he once boasted about slaughtering “inferior monsters” lurks within Keigan.
Will I finally witness it firsthand?
“He handed the ledger to that woman?”
“What a pointless gesture.”
“He’s taking that girl all the way to DuPont?” “I wish he’d stay home and admire the flowers.”
I’ve already heard through the grapevine.
I’ve discovered a husband who, in my absence, uses rather coarse language.
Several times, chance revealed his duplicitous nature to me.
At those moments, I wondered if there was some reason for his behavior, if perhaps I had made a mistake, but it was pointless. I can’t understand others through my own fantasies alone.
After much deliberation, I even attempted to talk to him directly. But that didn’t go well either. From the start, there was neither the time nor the structure for open, honest conversation between Keigan and me.
He was always busy and even went so far as to keep his distance from me with exaggerated courtesy. Many noble couples might behave that way, but it seemed especially pronounced between us.
“That woman.”
Why has Keigan been so silent and indifferent in front of me, restraining the urge to spit out contemptuous words?
“I don’t seem to fit the role of a duchess,” she says.
That’s not what I think. It’s just that now I know you think so. “So, about the divorce…” “Madam.” Suddenly, as a knock sounded, the door opened.
Milah bowed deeply, as if apologizing for her rudeness.
“You should go down to the lobby on the first floor. Right now.”
“What’s the matter?”
I put down the horn comb I was fiddling with and turned around.
My ears burned with shameful whispers, as if I had been caught muttering like a petty thief.
“Ben’s aide is waiting for you.”
Milah seemed urgent, her expression tense, her voice strained. I had a bad feeling about this. If Keigan’s aide called me at this late hour, it couldn’t be a trivial matter.
What could it be? Ben stood at the entrance of the lobby like a stranger.
A knight from a noble family, his posture was as straight as ever, but the muscles around his mouth were subtly twisted.
There was something. And the moment the young knight accompanying him caught my eye, an inexplicable unease crawled up my spine.
It was Ben, the knight who had gone with Keigan to the Mistwood.
Why is he kneeling there like a sinner? “Lady Dowager.”
Ben spoke with a hurried tone tinged with anxiety. “I believe I must return to the Mistwood immediately. I will report back with details upon my return tomorrow.”
“What’s the matter, Ben?”
The Mistwood was the destination Keigan had led the knights to two days ago.
“The Duke will be back soon anyway.”
It was also known as the Forest of Shadows. Throughout the Erethia continent, there were forests shrouded in mysterious mist imbued with magic.
Like living creatures, the drifting mist concealed the lairs of monsters deep within the woods. And such misty forests existed even in our Wayriver, in a mountain called Reglota.
Although perceived as a perilous unknown space, Mistwoods had entered a period of relative stability across the continent.
Ever since the Great Demon War ended 120 years ago, Mistwoods had found a level of peace that local lords could control.
Unless deliberately crossing into deep control zones, encounters with monsters had become rare. Thanks to that, most modern civilians could live without ever realizing the existence of monsters.
“It was said that as a lord, managing the Mistwood was a relatively routine task for Keigan.’’
The creatures dwelling in the Mistwood of Wayriver were said to be less ferocious than wild boars.
It was said that by periodically patrolling the forest and conducting a ‘hunt’ once a year during the breeding season of the creatures, the year would pass safely.
“Please kill me, milord.”
But what kind of nonsense is this now?
I looked down at the pale, distraught face of the knight.
“It is my incompetence that has led to your absence, milord.”
“I don’t understand what you’re saying…”
“It is said that the Duchess has gone missing in the Mistwood.”
Ben cut to the chase without hesitation. The situation was too absurd, and my lips stuck together.
The young knight, with a voice trembling as if trying to hold back tears, spoke again.
“This morning, we were just taking our usual route around the Mistwood. But suddenly, milord, who was at the forefront, crossed the boundary into the nesting area. I, who was nearby, desperately followed, but milord was riding at a speed I couldn’t possibly match…”
“Enough! I didn’t ask for excuses.”
The voice of the knight, filled with fear from witnessing the incident. Ben’s rebuke to his feeble subordinate.
Was this a dream? Did I doze off waiting for Keigan?
I looked at the two men, doubting my eyes and ears.
“Anyway, I must go to the Mistwood, milady. And I ask the steward to ensure that this matter does not leak out.”
Ben turned his body as if he would jump into the night air right away. As if I might lose him, I hurriedly moved my feet too.
“Fetch my cloak, Milah.”
“But, milady…”
“Hurry.”
“No, I cannot allow it. Please wait here, milady. I will go and check first.”
Ben and Milah tried to dissuade me.
However, despite everything, a fragment of rationality remained in me, and I could soon understand that it wasn’t wise to follow them into the demon’s forest in the middle of the night. I stood alone, leaning against the entrance.
With distant eyes, I watched the backs of the two knights disappear into the thick darkness.
“…Lies.”
Unbelievable nonsense. Keigan missing?
“That can’t be true.”
Where would such absurdity come from?
The entire land of Weyriver was under his authority.
The demon’s forest, which frightened even the unwary travelers, and the lives of the creatures within it were all under his power.
He was a stronger knight than anyone else. He didn’t just have the hollow title of a knight given as a reward to lords. He was a true knight, who hunted down superior demons in the North Scar, where the demon king was buried.
“So, whether human or beast, anyone who breathes the air of Wayriver dares not even touch a hair on Keigan’s head.’’
If such a man goes missing, whatever dangerous words you attach to him will only evoke uncomfortable feelings.
‘Madam, Madam.’
Milah tugged at my sleeve, urging me, ‘Please go rest in your room. There’s no need to worry too much. The Duke will surely return as if nothing happened by morning.’
Of course, I shared her thoughts.
‘Of course, Milah. He’ll come back.’
Yet, I stood at the entrance for a long time, lost in thought as I stared into the darkness. My feet didn’t move easily, perhaps due to lack of exercise lately, making my legs feel heavy.
Even on a night when everyone was asleep, the atmosphere seemed restless within the castle walls.
It was buzzing with noise, and it felt like a tumult was filling the air.
The pounding noise, perhaps, sounded like it was coming from my own heart.
The night Keigan didn’t return.
The night when the young knights exchanged looks of worry, hinting he might never return.
‘Keigan…’
Tonight, I had something to say to him.
”I wanted to talk to him.”
Even though the sun had already sunk deep into the ocean and the stars were twinkling brightly, the sky continued to darken gradually. It felt like a deep and long night was about to arrive.
