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Chapter 54……
“……”
“How—how dare you say something like that? Not to anyone else, but to me. Sister, you….”
“……”
“I’ve never even once heard a proper apology from you.”
“……”
“I couldn’t even let myself think about wanting one until now.”
Etisha’s blue eyes blinked.
A single tear slid down her cheek.
To Larienne, even one drop of Etisha’s tears was too precious to waste, but because of the storm of emotions, Etisha couldn’t help but cry.
And strangely, those very tears became a turning point—an awakening—for Etisha.
Until now, she had only focused on leaving the Heinz family and surviving what was left of her life. Looking to the future was good, but she could not keep pretending as if the past had never happened.
To dream of the future while also confronting the past—and in doing so, finding her center in the present.
The balance on the scales inside Etisha’s heart finally began to level.
“Tisha.”
Larienne called to her urgently. Not knowing what else to say, she just repeated her little sister’s nickname over and over.
“Tisha. Tisha. Tisha….”
“……”
“I—I just….”
Larienne had never once humbled herself in her entire life. No matter the crime, instead of bowing her head in regret, she would grin shamelessly and wink it off.
So brazen, so reckless, so selfish—and yet, her life had always gone smoothly.
That was why Etisha’s very existence was Larienne’s greatest sin and her greatest obstacle.
“I’m sorry.”
And then, those words finally spilled out of Larienne’s mouth.
The very words Etisha thought she would never hear in her lifetime.
The very words Larienne thought she would never say in her lifetime.
Even Larienne herself was startled and covered her mouth with her hand after saying it.
“I—I didn’t… it wasn’t me… no, I’m not….”
Larienne stumbled backwards, but the knights behind her blocked her path.
“It wasn’t me. I didn’t do it. The dress—I didn’t tear your dress! I swear I didn’t!”
Shoving past the knights, Larienne bolted. Her figure, running frantically up the stairs, lingered like an afterimage.
“Damn it! We’ll bring her back at once!”
The knights were about to chase her, but Etisha stopped them first.
“No. Leave her.”
“…Pardon?”
“She doesn’t seem like the culprit.”
In truth, Larienne was the type who would openly admit to her misdeeds if she had done them. The fact that she kept desperately denying it—that wasn’t like her at all.
“…Hah.”
A faint sigh slipped from Etisha’s lips.
It seemed that dragging her surging emotions out into the open was far more exhausting than she had imagined.
“Dear child.”
Lady Cyrillez reached out and wiped away Etisha’s tears, then pulled her into a warm embrace.
It wasn’t as broad and solid as Cayenne’s arms, but it was all the more comforting—a mother’s embrace.
Leaning against Lady Cyrillez, Etisha murmured,
“Mother. I don’t think it was Sister Larienne. I think… it was someone else.”
“My dear, enough about the dress. What breaks my heart is… I never realized what you’ve been carrying….”
“……”
“It’s all right now. Everything will be all right….”
Lady Cyrillez clumsily tried to comfort her.
Cayenne and Kyles were both the type who never sought comfort, so she rarely had the chance to console anyone. It felt awkward, but she did her best to hold Etisha gently.
Under her steady touch, Etisha’s heart slowly calmed.
Her ragged breaths evened out, and her trembling ceased. With a quiet heart, she closed her eyes.
…What should I do now? If it wasn’t Sister Lari, then who in the world could have done such a thing?
Her head was still a mess, but even so, Etisha was determined to find out who had torn her wedding dress.
No witnesses, no evidence left behind… How can I possibly catch them?
At that moment, the sound of footsteps approached the storage room.
Wide, steady, heavy strides. Someone entered the room.
Ah, is it Valdefram?
Etisha lifted her head—
—and locked eyes with Cayenne.
The Duke?
Cayenne strode in without hesitation, his gaze sweeping across the storage room that looked as though a storm had ripped through it. Then his eyes fixed on Etisha’s face—her wet lashes, tear-streaked cheeks, and pale lips.
The abyss of his black eyes trembled. His thin lips twisted into something dangerous.
“It seems I was too late. Forgive me.”
“…What?”
Too late? What did he mean?
Etisha and Lady Cyrillez both looked at him in confusion. Then Cayenne swept his black cloak behind him and walked toward one wall of the storage room.
“The culprit has been caught.”
“…?”
“There’s no need to delay. I’ll show you the culprit right now.”
Cayenne stopped before a large statue fixed to the wall—
—the giant snow eagle that symbolized Wintel.
He raised his gloved hand to the eagle’s right eye. And then, shockingly, he pulled out the round gem embedded there.
Etisha gasped faintly when she recognized it.
“…A vision stone.”
The same kind of vision stone she had once given Cayenne as a birthday gift.
This one was far larger and clearer, but there was no mistaking it.
“Yes. A vision stone.”
“……”
“And within it is recorded the events of this past dawn.”
Cayenne’s gaze turned cold as he brushed the stone’s surface. A glow emerged, and an image began to play.
At the sight of the very first scene, both Etisha and Lady Cyrillez gasped in shock.
“!”
For the vision stone revealed something utterly startling.
The storage room, just before dawn. The wedding attire hung untouched and unharmed on the wall.
The culprit hadn’t yet struck. Everything was intact. But even that alone was shocking enough.
“The wedding dress… it’s different.”
A pure white gown. Beautiful, elegant, and refined—but not the wedding dress Etisha and Lady Cyrillez knew.
It was an entirely different design from the historic, legendary dress passed down through the Wintel family.
“Cayenne, what is that dress? I’ve never seen it before.”
Lady Cyrillez turned to him in alarm. Someone breaking into the sacred storage and tearing the gown was already outrageous—but now it seemed the dress had been switched out beforehand.
“Yes, Mother.”
Cayenne’s voice was low and cold.
“There’s no need for alarm. I switched the dress in advance. And I deliberately left the storage unlocked.”
“What? You switched the dress—and even left the room open?”
“Because it was necessary. And as today has proven, my judgment was correct.”
“……”
“Of course, the real wedding dress is safe. There is no need to worry.”
Finishing his explanation, Cayenne fixed his gaze firmly back on the vision stone. His eyes burned without wavering, as though he already knew exactly who the culprit was.
And in truth, he did. He had all the clues he needed.
That night when he and Etisha secretly wed—
Just before entering the chapel—
He had seen the injury on her swollen, reddened hand.
And she had told him who hurt her, and why.
“The reason my bouquet turned out like that… it was Sister Larienne. It’s a long story, but in short—Dite tried to destroy my wedding ring. Sister Larienne caught her and beat her….”
Dite.
She had tried to destroy Etisha’s ring.
At the time, Cayenne had been too focused on tending to her injury and hurrying along their secret ceremony. But he hadn’t forgotten her words.
Instead, he laid a trap in advance to prevent something like that from happening again.
He replaced the dress, left the room open—just to see if Dite would take the bait. If she had been willing to ruin the wedding ring, why would she spare the gown?
“…Look. There she is.”
Cayenne lifted the vision stone to eye level.
And inside, Dite was clearly captured, slipping into the unlocked storage.
[Oh?]
She looked surprised that the door opened so easily. But her eyes quickly lit up when she saw the pure white gown.
[The wedding dress… it’s beautiful.]
Dite stood in awe before it. She took it down, held it against herself, spun around, and even danced.
“Dite… No, that can’t be….”
Lady Cyrillez covered her mouth in horror.
It was agonizing to watch the girl she had raised like a daughter stray so far. Yet she was strong by nature—she didn’t ask for the recording to be stopped, only watched silently to the end.
[So pretty. So, so pretty.]
After playing with the dress for a while, Dite froze. She pressed her ear to the door, clearly hearing someone outside. Most likely Larienne passing by at that moment.
[…]
She waited until she was sure Larienne was gone. Then she grabbed the hem of the gown—and ripped it apart.
“Oh heavens…!!”
Lady Cyrillez staggered in shock.
But the Dite in the vision continued tearing without pause, shredding the gown into countless white fragments strewn across the floor.
“I believe that settles it.”
Cayenne cut off the recording. There was no need to torture Lady Cyrillez further; Dite’s guilt was beyond question.
He turned to the knights and ordered,
“Bring Judite here at once.”
“Yes, my lord!”
The knights immediately departed. Whatever punishment awaited Dite, it would not be light.
