Chapter 76
Kaiden leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, deep in thought.
There was still a mountain of work to finish before returning to his territory tomorrow, but he couldn’t concentrate.
‘Why did I choose Ella as my partner?’
Lately, he kept questioning this. Ella’s looks were unmatched, but apart from that, was she really that much better than other noble ladies?
Before she became his fiancée and was adopted into the Garcia family, Ella had come from a poor, insignificant family. Her father kept failing at business, and if not for Diana, Ella wouldn’t have even debuted in high society.
She had built a decent network of connections, but that wasn’t something special—anyone with a pleasant personality could do that.
So why did she seem like the best choice back then? What made her shine the brightest?
No matter how many days Kaiden thought about it, he couldn’t understand his past self. His mind felt foggy, like waking up from a vivid dream.
He remembered how he had carefully compared Ella to Diana before choosing.
“…Diana?”
His throat moved as he swallowed hard, veins popping up on the back of his hand.
“…Right, Diana.”
Ella had always had Diana by her side—like a shadow following her around.
Emotional Diana versus calm Ella. Diana who struggled to fit into noble society versus Ella who got along with everyone. Diana who lashed out when Kaiden grew close to Ella, and Ella who forgave her without complaint.
Diana had been the darkness that made Ella shine brighter.
In the end, it had always been about Diana.
“…Why did I only compare Ella to Diana?”
Kaiden scowled as his heart thumped uncomfortably. The same suffocating feeling he had when he first realized Diana didn’t like him surrounded him again.
He slammed his forehead onto the desk. Bang! Papers flew everywhere.
Kaiden stood at the edge of his own emotions, staring into the deep pit he hadn’t wanted to face. He was scared to dig into it. It felt easier to deal with a dead animal’s corpse than to face this truth.
“Damn it.”
He hit his head on the desk again.
And again. Every time he did, the desk shook, documents scattered, and a drawer cracked slightly open.
Through the small gap, Kaiden saw a navy blue handkerchief—one Harold had given him. It was the one tied to the reason Diana had fallen in love with Harold.
Kaiden’s red eyes burned with heat, like they could burn it on the spot.
‘If I had saved her that day instead of Harold, would she still have loved me?’
Would those blue eyes, sparkling with affection, still be directed at me?
“…Ha.”
The thought that popped into his mind was painfully sweet—and bitter twice as much.
Kaiden hit his head on the desk again. Just then, his aide burst into the room without knocking.
Unusual for someone who’d been careful around Kaiden lately due to his bad mood. Kaiden frowned.
“What is it?”
“Sir! The Duchess has been kidnapped!”
Kaiden jumped up from his seat.
“…Diana? She’s been kidnapped? Is this true?”
“Yes, sir. It was the coachman who kidnapped her. We’ve already sent out servants and knights to search for her, and we’re asking other noble houses for help too.”
“Gather every single knight and servant—now.”
“All of them, sir?”
The aide blinked in surprise. Even if Kaiden and Harold hated each other like cats and dogs, this seemed like too much.
“Do you want me to say it twice?”
Realizing Kaiden meant it, the aide quickly bowed.
“As you command, sir.”
“And prepare my horse immediately.”
He had to find Diana before Harold did.
Kaiden clenched his fist and stormed out of the office.
Meanwhile…
Just after I woke up, before I could do anything, the carriage stopped.
I heard footsteps coming toward the door. I nervously fiddled with my bracelet, eyes fixed on the door.
When the coachman appeared, I gripped the bracelet tightly.
He had a handkerchief covering his nose and mouth and frowned when he saw me awake.
“This is a scentless sleeping fragrance strong enough to knock out an elephant in ten minutes. How are you even awake?”
“I should be the one asking why you’re doing this. Were you the reason my guard was missing too?”
My voice came out sharp. The realization that someone I trusted had kidnapped me hit like a stab to the chest.
“…Well, would you like to step outside? You should at least enjoy the beautiful scenery one last time.”
I nodded.
I had been thinking about escaping anyway. I was worried he might try something as I stepped out, but he just stood aside and let me exit.
‘My only chance to escape…’
The only clear escape route was the forest path ahead. Everything else was steep cliffs.
I looked across to the opposite mountain, painted golden by the setting sun.
“As far as last views go, it’s not a bad one, right?”
The coachman raised his right hand. Assassins hiding in the woods suddenly revealed themselves.
I counted how many of them there were and stepped back, gripping my bracelet tightly.
When the coachman curled his fingers inward, the assassins started moving toward me. I shouted quickly,
“You hired twenty people just to kill me? Why do you even want me dead?”
“…”
“Don’t I at least deserve to know why I’m dying? Right?”
The coachman raised his hand, signaling the assassins to stop.
“You’re already a rat trapped in a jar. There’s no need to rush. Fine, I’ll tell you.”
“Wow, how generous.”
I responded sarcastically, like I was reading from a textbook, and continued stepping backward. The coachman’s face twisted angrily as he shouted,
“It’s horrifying that someone unworthy like you is the Duchess of House Baisen. A person like you doesn’t deserve that title.”
“…”
“You pretend to be innocent now, but who doesn’t know how nasty you really are?”
I kept stepping back toward the cliff’s edge, silently listening.
A small rock under my foot rolled off the cliff. The wind from below whipped my cape and dress around.
I stopped just one step away from falling off the edge.
“I will punish you and save House Baisen and His Grace.”
“…”
“But don’t think you’ll die alone. I’ll go to the afterlife with you.”
The coachman pulled a dagger from inside his coat. He pointed the sharp end at himself. I tilted my head.
“Coachman, I can’t hear you over the wind.”
I had heard every word, but I lied shamelessly and waved him closer.
“Can you come here and say it again? You can at least grant me one last request before killing me.”
“…”
“Just a little closer.”
“…”
“Closer.”
I coaxed him to come near.
With the setting sun behind me, his shadow stretched out, blending with mine.
Finally, he stood right in front of me.
“If you don’t mind, could you stand on this side?”
The coachman frowned but seemed to think it was a dying wish, so he obeyed.
I took a deep breath once I confirmed he was next to me. Okay, I can do this.
“Coachman, who could possibly call someone an evil woman in such a sad voice?”
“…!”
“Close your eyes.”
Unless you want your heart to drop.
I took a deep breath, grabbed him tightly—and threw myself off the cliff with him.
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• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •By Freya• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •
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Advance chapters of this novel are available of my kofi channel
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