IWRY 02

Chapter 02

“From the first glance, I want to love only one person all my life until I die.”

At one tea gathering, a young noble lady had said those words with a shy expression.

At the time, Ariel had let out a faint, indifferent smile and thought to herself that the girl was truly innocent.

A fated love where two people look only at each other until death—it was the kind of story that only existed in fairy tales.

But contrary to that dismissive smile, Ariel herself met someone like fate.

It was at a hunting competition two years ago.

Kailens Seyard. The man who carried more rumors than anyone in the Empire. He was the Emperor’s only nephew, the one who had risen to power through a bloody purge, and was famously known as the youngest Grand Duke burdened with tragedy.

After the unfortunate carriage accident that killed his predecessor Grand Duke and his wife, the title was passed down to a boy who had not even reached adulthood—only fifteen years old at the time.

People believed then that, although his distant aunt, Duchess Viastes, would act as his guardian, Kailens was too young to properly govern the vast northern territory.

Some even hid their intentions poorly and openly coveted the lands of the North.

However, none of those who tried to take the North survived.

He was strong and cold in a way that defied his age.

He reminded many of the Emperor in his prime during the bloody purge.

Under Kailens’ rule, the borders of the Monster Mountains grew even more secure. The moment he came of age, he crushed the traitorous army of Grint that had invaded the imperial frontier, making his name known throughout the Empire through sheer brutality.

The new master of the North. A sword genius. The War Ghost. A merciless cold-blooded man.

Some praised his achievements at such a young age, while others feared him. His abilities were too overwhelming. Humans instinctively fear those far stronger than themselves.

Moreover, because Kailens rarely appeared in the capital and was seen only in the North or on battlefields, rumors about him grew increasingly exaggerated. He was spoken of like a figure from legend.

Ariel, too, had grown up hearing countless stories about him. At times, she had been curious—what kind of person lay beneath all those titles?

And when she finally met him by chance, she realized that all those labels were meaningless.

“At a hunting ground, releasing prey is an insult to the Emperor who hosted the event. However… something this small… I suppose it can be spared.”

“I saw nothing, my lady.”

He was strong enough to cut down a giant beast in a single strike, yet not cruel enough to take the life of something small and helpless.

“If you continue walking on that ankle, you will be crippled. So take my hand.”

Despite his rough and rigid tone, the hand he extended to her—injured and vulnerable—was warm.

He was simply clumsy in expression, not the terrifying Grand Duke of the North. Rather, he seemed like someone carrying deep wounds of his own.

Ariel found herself drawn to him as if by fate, and eventually, they fell in love.

For a little over a year after that, they were—no, Ariel was—truly happy. As if the cold, distant man she first met had never existed, he showed her a different side of himself the closer they became.

He approached her without hesitation and whispered love. Always gentle, always warm.

“Ariel, I love you.”

“My life changed after I met you. You are my salvation.”

“Time in the North has never felt this long before. Not a day passed that I didn’t think of you. I wondered what you were doing, whether you were well, whether some troublesome noble lady was bothering you again. Every trivial thing about you consumed my thoughts.”

“Even when I see you, I miss you. I think I’ve gone mad for you.”

His tenderness made Ariel fall helplessly in love. She believed it would last forever.

“Ariel. Until my last breath, I will look only at you. Will you promise to stay with me for life?”

She believed those words.

And so they promised to marry.

People said their love was a fairy-tale destined romance. Ariel herself never doubted it.

Not even now, at this moment, as everything was falling apart.

“Fate…”

But now she didn’t know anymore. Was it truly fate? If they had been fated, was it not destiny—but misfortune?

Had she only realized it too late… that it had all led to this?

Wiping away her falling tears, Ariel let out a trembling breath. Crying like a child wouldn’t change anything.

And she still had something to face besides Kailens—the death of her father.

As she struggled to accept the unbearable reality, the carriage stopped.

“We have arrived, my lady.”

The door opened, and Ariel slowly stepped down.

Black banners fluttered atop the large mansion. The symbol of the head of the household’s death. Servants of the marquisate dressed in mourning clothes bowed to her.

Ariel forced strength into her trembling body and walked toward the back of the estate, where the ancestral tombs were kept. The voice of a priest reciting prayers for peace echoed in the distance.

Step by step, the closer she got to her father, the harder it became to breathe. She wanted to deny the reality she was about to face. She wished it were all a dream.

Barely holding herself upright, she finally stopped before her father’s coffin.

The priest faltered upon seeing her. She could feel all eyes turning toward her.

But Ariel saw only her father. He lay peacefully inside the large coffin, eyes closed.

“…Father…”

Her voice broke as she called him.

I’m here, the daughter you loved most has come. So why… why won’t you look at me? Why won’t you hold me in your arms? Why are you lying there?

She poured out all her words of grief in her heart.

“…Father…”

She called him again with all her strength—but there was no response. Only his pale, motionless face remained.

She would never hear his affectionate voice again. Never again see his warm gaze.

He was truly gone.

Ariel could no longer deny it. The suffocating stillness of death pierced her heart like a blade.

She collapsed beside the coffin.

“Ah… Father… I’m sorry… I came too late… I couldn’t protect you… sob… I’m sorry…”

Her heartbreaking cries filled the funeral grounds. A relative embraced her as she wept uncontrollably.

And so, in Ariel’s agony, Yulis Blante, the Marquis, was laid to rest.

It was a remarkably modest funeral.

For the head of the prestigious Blante Marquisate, there were barely any mourners—only a few distant relatives.

“I can’t believe it… but the evidence of treason was too clear, they said. After meeting His Majesty, he took his own life the next day… everyone says he couldn’t bear to hide his crimes any longer… sob…”

Her aunt broke into tears mid-sentence.

“By the way, Ariel, isn’t the Grand Duke coming?”

Her cousin, trying to comfort the aunt, asked about Kailens.

Ariel, drained of all strength, could only shake her head. It was obvious he would not come.

He had originally tried to prevent her from attending the funeral at all. He likely abandoned her father in his mind the moment the accusation of treason surfaced. He was always someone who cut things off like a blade—merciless and absolute.

“If you see it yourself, you will understand…”

Even now, Ariel could not believe her father had committed treason, yet all circumstances pointed to it.

Even her aunt and cousin did not claim he had been framed. They said the evidence was too solid.

Then… had her father really committed treason?

“No… that can’t be…”

But Ariel could not hide her confusion.

If it wasn’t her father, then where did all that evidence come from? Who would have framed him?

Her father was not a man with enemies. He had always been generous. The more she thought, the deeper the mystery became.

“Father… what happened to you…”

She murmured, staring at the grave. Anyone who saw her would think she had lost her mind, but there was no one here to care.

She touched the gravestone bearing her father’s name. The coldness of the stone seeped into her palm.

Slowly, her chaotic thoughts began to settle.

Only one thing mattered.

“…My father would never commit treason.”

Yes. That was the only truth that mattered.

So she would uncover why he was branded a traitor, and what truly happened. With her own hands.

Just as Ariel rose from the grave with determination—

Suddenly, her aunt rushed into the family burial grounds.