Chapter 04
Ariel carefully folded the agreement and placed it into an envelope before handing it to Deril.
“This is really the end, then.”
“…It is not my place to say this, but I sincerely regret how things have turned out, my lady.”
Deril lowered his head slightly and handed her the imperial decree. Even in such an awful situation, it was handled like a clean transaction.
“Then I’ll take my leave….”
“Sir Lows. May I ask you one favor?”
“…Yes.”
“Please tell Kaillens this. Tell him… that I believed his promise until the very end. Please make sure he hears it.”
“…I will, my lady.”
“I promise you. Even if our feelings fade over a long span of time, I will remain by your side until the moment my life ends. So please, stay with me forever. Ariel.”
“I will only look at you forever.”
The words of his promise still remained vivid whenever she closed her eyes, but now they were nothing more than a hollow memory of the past.
Ariel left the reception room with Deril.
After Deril left the Blante estate with the knights, Ariel approached Storpel.
“Sir. This is His Majesty’s decree canceling the sealing of the Marquis’s house and my detention. You may accept it.”
Perhaps not expecting such a situation, cracks formed in Storpel’s once arrogant expression. After confirming the decree with a doubtful look, he stepped back.
“…It is indeed the Emperor’s decree. In accordance with His Majesty’s will, the sealing of the Marquis estate and the lady’s detention are canceled. Then we shall withdraw.”
With a stiff face, Storpel led the imperial knights out of the mansion.
Only then did Ariel release a small breath of tension.
“Ariel, if that is the Emperor’s decree… does that mean His Highness the Grand Duke intervened for you? I was worried since he didn’t attend the funeral, thinking perhaps something had happened between you two—but it seems the Grand Duke still cares deeply for you. I worried for nothing.”
“Exactly. At this rate, it seems His Highness will also help with the re-investigation of the Marquis’s case. There must have been a reason he couldn’t attend the funeral. I misunderstood, Ariel.”
Her aunt and cousin, who had approached her, spoke with noticeably brighter expressions.
They assumed Kaillens had stepped in to protect her. Ariel slowly opened her lips.
“Aunt, brother. There is something I need to tell you.”
“Yes, go ahead.”
“I broke off my engagement with His Highness the Grand Duke today. So… he will no longer support the Blante House.”
“What…?”
“Suddenly, a breakup?”
Her aunt and cousin looked shocked.
“From now on, I will take responsibility for the Marquis house. I will do everything I can to protect it, so please help me as well.”
“Ariel, are you… really alright?”
Her aunt looked at her with concern, finding her calm demeanor even more heartbreaking.
Ariel gave a faint smile.
“I’m fine. No— I will be fine. So please don’t worry.”
Because from now on, she was the one who had to protect the Blante House. Ariel resolved herself to endure no matter what.
She clenched the engagement ring still in her hand tightly.
As if trying to crush her collapsing heart with pain alone.
Meanwhile, Kaillens returned to the Grand Duke’s estate after meeting the Emperor and immediately ordered Ariel’s room to be cleared.
Ordering everything in the room of one’s former fiancée to be thrown out overnight caused the servants of the ducal household to hesitate in confusion.
“Lady Blante is no longer my fiancée. She will not return here again. Remove every trace of her.”
Kaillens gave the cold order and headed straight to his office.
He handed his jacket to the butler and took his seat at the desk, reaching naturally for the stacked documents.
The butler, sensing the mood, quietly left the office, and Kaillens’s aide, Lowell, entered.
Lowell Bistrow had served as Kaillens’s aide since the moment he inherited the ducal title. He had followed him for over ten years.
He had always respected his lord, but recent events involving Lady Blante were impossible to understand. Yet he could not dare question him directly, so he simply observed in silence with a heavy expression.
Sensing his gaze, Kaillens spoke irritably.
“Lowell, if you have something to say, say it. Don’t just stare.”
Lowell hesitated.
He wasn’t sure how to begin, or whether it was even appropriate to question his lord’s private matters.
“Lowell, speak.”
At Kaillens’s sharper tone, Lowell finally made up his mind and spoke cautiously.
“No… it is nothing. I was merely thinking something unnecessary. I apologize for disturbing you.”
After a brief hesitation, he chose not to ask.
The engagement agreement had already been sent to Lady Blante. There was no point in questioning why things had become so cruel now.
If the Duke had made the decision to break off the engagement, there must be a reason. Even if the method was merciless.
Kaillens looked up from the documents.
“You were thinking about the breakup, weren’t you?”
“…I believe there must be a reason behind Your Highness’s decision.”
Lowell lowered his gaze slightly, avoiding eye contact. Despite his words, he still did not understand.
It had all started when strange evidence surfaced suggesting the Blante Marquis had participated in treason.
Kaillens had immediately reported it to the Emperor.
At the time, it made sense. Treason was a grave crime, and interfering could have brought imperial wrath upon the Blante House instead of the Marquis alone. As the Emperor’s most favored nephew and the Grand Duke, it was appropriate to step back.
But when Kaillens later refused outright to assist the Blante Marquis, Lowell had felt something was off.
And then… the private meeting between the Grand Duke and the Blante Marquis.
It was unknown to the Emperor and Lady Blante, but Kaillens had secretly met the Marquis two days before his death.
Lowell clearly remembered the terrifying atmosphere around Kaillens that day—and the Marquis’s face, as if he had suffered a great shock.
He did not know what they discussed, but two days later, the Blante Marquis died by suicide.
That was when Lowell first began to suspect his lord. That Kaillens might have driven the Marquis to death.
Even though the Marquis had been under investigation and under pressure, he did not seem the type to take his own life.
The expression of panic and desperation on his face that day…
Lowell could not shake the feeling that the meeting had pushed him to the edge of a cliff.
But he never told anyone.
The secret meeting between the Marquis and Kaillens would remain buried in Lowell’s mind forever—even if Kaillens truly had driven the Marquis to suicide.
Because he believed it was for the future of the Grand Duke and Lady Blante.
Yes. Lowell had believed they would never break off their engagement. If Kaillens had intended to abandon the Blante House, he would have acted immediately when the investigation began.
Moreover, Kaillens and Lady Blante were different from other nobles. They had met like fate, fallen in love, and promised marriage.
No one understood better than Lowell how deeply Kaillens had loved her.
Even during his busiest northern campaigns, he had cut into his sleep just to see her.
And yet, now—at this point—he had broken off the engagement.
Lady Blante was now in a state no different from having her limbs severed. The fate of her house was uncertain, and she might even face execution under imperial decree, yet he had let go of her hand.
If the breakup became known, the nobles would completely turn their backs on the Blante House. Without the Grand Duke’s support, nothing remained.
She would be utterly isolated. She might even lose her noble status and be forced into a miserable life.
And the one responsible for that… was the Grand Duke.
Lowell could not understand how he could be so cruel to a woman he once loved so deeply.
Lost in thought, Lowell suddenly realized several minutes had passed in silence.
When he finally looked up, Kaillens had not spoken at all.
“…Your Highness. If I have displeased you….”
“No. That is not it.”
“Then….”
Just as Lowell was puzzled, Kaillens, who had kept his lips tightly shut, finally spoke.
“I was hesitating. Whether I should tell you… or not.”
