Milena met the child’s gaze. Her nephew, who bore a striking resemblance to Calion, was peeking through the slightly opened door, watching her.
‘Ah, right. You were here.’
It had been five years. Milena had acted as a nanny in this castle for five years without any compensation, all to take care of her late sister’s child.
“Aunt.”
Ashdel Luxen. The son of her brother-in-law and sister, now seven years old. When her sister passed away—no, disappeared—he had been left neglected.
“Aunt Milena? What happened to your hair?”
Her roughly torn-out hairpins and disheveled hair were reflected in the child’s large eyes. When he reached out his hand, Milena instinctively bent down.
“It’s nothing. Why are you here?”
“Did someone bully you?”
Soft little hands patted her tangled hair as if to smooth it.
Milena let out a small, ironic laugh at his words. She was infamous enough to be called ‘the Northern Witch.’
That title wasn’t given to her for no reason. Just as her appearance suggested, Milena had a nasty temper.
She was the younger sister of the deceased Grand Duchess, an insignificant woman who dared to seduce the Grand Duke. The castle’s servants, who once tried to torment her, had learned their lesson the hard way and fled in fear.
Who would dare bully her?
“Are you joking?”
“I’m serious.”
Oh, how cheeky. Talking back so quickly—he wasn’t a baby anymore, was he?
Perhaps it was the Grand Duke’s blood that made him so bold. Despite being only seven years old, the child had grown enough to carry himself like a young boy.
But still, he was just a child.
The first time Milena saw Ashdel was when he had just learned to toddle.
For some reason, when she finally saw Larriete after a long time, her sister had looked frail. She had asked Milena to look after the child.
Back then, Milena had no idea that Larriete was going to die. She never imagined it would be her sister’s last request.
Larriete’s sudden death hadn’t struck anyone as strange. But now, looking back, everything had been a lie, a performance.
How had Larriete’s funeral been?
Calion had clutched her coffin for hours in the pouring rain, and in the end, her body hadn’t even been buried. Instead, the coffin had been enshrined in a memorial hall.
The child, who needed a parent’s embrace, had only clung to Milena’s dress.
Ashdel had grown quite attached to her, and Calion had simply left him in her care.
At the time, Milena had thought it was her chance.
With Larriete gone, Calion’s side was empty. If they lived together, surely he would start to notice her.
But Calion had completely ignored her. Her hope turned into despair.
How foolish. Even though she knew she would never be rewarded, she had stayed here for five years simply because she loved him.
She had always been lonely, always yearning for love.
From her parents to a man she could never have—begging for love from those who were indifferent to her was always humiliating.
Consumed by an unhealthy obsession, she had lived without caring that the world ridiculed her.
‘Good grief.’
Realization came with shame and embarrassment.
The truth reflected her own ugliness like a mirror.
Between the lies Larriete had spun and the actual truth, she could now see her actions clearly.
Even everything up until yesterday felt like a humiliating stain on her past.
“Aunt?”
As she was about to sink into her thoughts again, she felt a small warmth on her fingertips.
Looking at her worried nephew, Milena steadied herself.
‘At least I know now.’
Twenty-eight years old. She had long passed the prime age for marriage because of a man devoted only to her sister. She had neither money nor power.
What had she gained after all these years? If she had at least earned money, she wouldn’t feel so resentful.
“Aunt, are you feeling bad?”
Looking at the child who carefully held her hand, Milena ruffled his black hair.
It was fine. There was no point in expecting anything in return now.
“Ash.”
Though he inherited Calion’s overall appearance with his black hair, his pink eyes—his only feature from Larriete—were endearing.
“You too…”
“Hm?”
You prefer Larriete too, don’t you? Of course, no matter how long we’ve been together, you’d never love me more than your mother.
Milena didn’t understand why her sister had faked her death. But she did remember one thing—Larriete had promised she would return.
Her sister always got what she wanted.
Just knowing Larriete was alive made Milena feel uneasy about her place in the castle.
If Larriete returned, who knew how Calion would deal with her? He might erase her like an unwanted stain in their perfect family reunion.
Blinded by love, she had forgotten what kind of man he really was.
To Calion, people were merely tools—everyone except Larriete. He never hesitated to dispose of even his most loyal subjects.
When Larriete had ‘died,’ her personal physician and even the knights who had protected her were all executed. He had claimed it was because they had failed to protect her, but it had likely just been an outlet for his anger.
No one had dared to question his decision. Whatever the Grand Duke did was law.
For her own safety, she had to leave. Staying near a man obsessed with just one woman was too dangerous.
Yes, she had to leave first.
“Why are you here? Don’t make me repeat myself.”
Despite her blunt tone, the child merely smiled.
“Because today is the day you feel sad, Aunt.”
It was his mother’s death anniversary, yet he was worrying about Milena first.
‘You’re so…’
Even though she hadn’t given him much affection, he had always followed her.
He must have wanted love from his only remaining parent, Calion. And yet, he stuck to Milena instead.
Maybe it was because they shared the same fate of being unloved.
For some reason, even the servants seemed as uneasy around Ashdel as they were around Milena. And Calion? He didn’t even look at his son.
Well, once Larriete returned, Ashdel’s place as the Grand Duke’s heir would be secured.
“There’s nothing to worry about. This isn’t something a child should be concerned with. It’s late. Go back to bed.”
I have to pack my things now.
The memorial service for the Grand Duchess had started in the morning and would continue past midnight. Calion never missed a single detail of this ritual every year.
‘How romantic. Well, I’ll be leaving now, so enjoy your eternal love with Larriete.’
With a sarcastic thought toward Calion, Milena turned to find her luggage. But before she could move, a small hand grabbed her.
Frowning, she let out a sigh.
“Ash, I told you to go back.”
She was about to scold the child for clinging to her dress when—
“Aunt, I’m sorry.”
But before she could finish, Ashdel’s body collapsed.
“What?”
With a gasp, Milena caught him.
“Ash!”
His body burned like fire.
Holding the child in her arms, she used all her strength to rush toward his bedroom.
Not a single servant was in sight.
How could they send everyone to the memorial service without leaving anyone behind? There was a child here!
Furious, Milena ran to the physician’s chambers—only to find it empty.
She hastily grabbed fever reducers and painkillers from the medicine cabinet.
“His own father doesn’t even assign him a maid? Ashdel is the heir to the Grand Duchy! Shouldn’t he have a personal physician? Calion, you heartless bastard.”
As she walked down the dimly lit hall, she kept muttering curses at Calion.
And she didn’t know.
That in the empty castle, someone was watching her.
“Milena Lastia… I thought she abused her nephew and desperately longed for Calion. They said she wanted to take her sister’s place.”
But the man smirked as he observed a very different reality.
“This is interesting.”
His sharp eyes glowed faintly in the darkness.
A strikingly beautiful man with a chillingly seductive smile—he silently disappeared into the night, carrying an amusing new secret.
