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Chapter 4
A month ago, from a few days before our wedding anniversary until the morning Killian departed on his campaign, I had been pestering him relentlessly.
It took a full day just to get from the Grand Duke’s castle to the Blacklands, and after spending several days dealing with the monsters there, it would surely be another three or four days before he returned.
“Can’t you postpone it just a little? You don’t understand, but today—”
“It’s our wedding anniversary.”
“…You knew? No, you knew and you still decided to go?”
I was shocked and angry. Why had I been clinging to Killian every day, begging him?
Whether I liked it or not, we were a married couple destined to live together for life and colleagues who had to lead our families together.
But because I had been stood up on our wedding night, even after a full year had passed, the people of the Grand Duke’s household had never fully recognized me as the lady of the house. Some of the servants and attendants even treated me with hostility and disrespect.
But I couldn’t stay in that awkward position with them forever. I had to resolve it as soon as possible.
Suppressing my wounded pride, I asked him again.
“Just one more day.”
“No.”
“It’s our wedding anniversary.”
Even holding a small party and showing that we had reconciled would have made things easier.
But Killian was cold.
“There are no exceptions for any day.”
“If not a full day, then at least half a day.”
“I won’t risk countless lives of the people in my territories just to help you.”
I understood what that meant. Killian didn’t go on campaigns to the Blacklands on a whim. There were times when monster populations grew rapidly, and if he missed the right moment, nearby villages could suffer serious damage.
I wasn’t going to selfishly ask him to stay behind, risking lives.
But part of me still couldn’t understand.
“When you proposed to me, you were gone from the North for over a month. Can’t you spare even half a day for me?”
I asked, but Killian turned away coldly and departed for the Blacklands.
It was as if he had some sort of foresight: he suddenly returned on his way and defeated the monsters that had attacked the Grand Duke’s castle. But the fact remained—he had left me behind. And everyone in the Grand Duke’s castle knew it.
‘And yet that night, he went to see the Baroness. How far is the Grand Duke’s castle from the Baron’s estate? Was he even worried that monsters might appear there?’
A wave of sorrow welled up in my eyes.
“Don’t cry. Don’t cry, Eleanor! What kind of man is Killian that you’d cry over some insignificant fool?”
He was someone I had rarely dined with unless it was a special occasion.
Of course, lately we had been eating together more often, taking walks together, and he had been affectionate in many ways…
‘But it was obviously just to cover up an affair!’
What a shameless man.
“Don’t cry. Killian isn’t worth showing tears to.”
I rubbed my eyes and searched inside my pillowcase. Inside was something I had hidden there immediately after learning about the rumors of his affair.
In the neat, orderly room, there was no evidence to suggest a relationship between Killian and the Baroness. But I had found something more important.
Between the logs in the fireplace.
“Even in the North, it’s suspicious to light a fire in the middle of summer…”
Apparently, the cleaning maids hadn’t fully tidied the fireplace. A few logs were slightly charred at the ends.
Instinctively, I reached under the logs. The blackened papers crumbled at the touch, leaving nothing recognizable… except one.
The piece I had carefully hidden in my pillowcase remained intact.
It was as if fate itself wanted me to notice.
“Eleanor, poisoned.”
“Damn it…”
A year ago, only Baron Campbell and Killian had made marriage proposals to me.
Killian would assume I chose him because his conditions were far better than Baron Campbell’s.
But I had the option of choosing no one.
From the start, the Marquis of Ramirez didn’t want me out of his sphere of influence. I could have quietly waited, then looked for another chance to escape the marquisate.
Yet I had impulsively accepted Killian’s proposal.
‘Because I trusted him…’
It had been some time ago. After being mocked by peers at a party for being a commoner, I had gone to the garden to quietly hold back my tears.
At that moment, Killian had handed me a handkerchief.
“I don’t need it.”
“Don’t refuse. Take it.”
“I said I don’t need it. I’m not crying.”
“…Who said you were crying? I’m just giving it to you.”
Then he placed the handkerchief in my hand and stayed beside me until my tears stopped.
There were no tender words, but his large frame blocked the cold wind and shielded me while I cried, and that alone comforted me.
I trusted his indifferent yet caring nature that day.
I believed that being with him wouldn’t make me happy, but at least it wouldn’t hurt. My lifelong wish had been to have a family that would embrace each other warmly.
Now, if I didn’t divorce him, all that remained for me was death.
“Bastard…”
Tears finally fell.
Meanwhile, Killian, sitting alone at the table after Eleanor left, suddenly chuckled.
He knew it wasn’t a laughing matter, but the image of Eleanor declaring she wouldn’t divorce him, hands on her waist, wouldn’t leave his mind.
The sharp tilt of her eyes, the deliberately tense eyebrows, her pursed lips, slightly flushed cheeks.
Nothing had changed from before.
‘Even making that face is cute. This is bad.’
Then, a man suddenly flew in beside him, smiling broadly, and not through the door, but through the window.
The man approached Killian directly.
“What are you laughing at?”
Unfazed by the unexpected entrance, Killian answered casually.
“How’s the search going, Max?”
“I’ve found everything. That mercenary Randel, and this too.”
Max held out a small glass vial filled with a clear liquid and plopped down across from Killian.
“Just to ask… Your Grace, were you poisoned?”
He spoke as if he didn’t truly believe it.
As expected, Killian shrugged nonchalantly.
“No such thing.”
“Then why do you need an antidote? What are you scheming these days?”
“Classified.”
“Yes, I’m a fool for asking. I’ve been hearing the same answer for a month now.”
Max’s tone was mocking, but between him and Killian, who had shared life and death in the Blacklands, it was fine.
Max sighed dramatically and picked up a fork.
“Why didn’t Your Grace let the Grand Duchess eat this feast?”
As he went to dip a piece of meat into his mouth,
“Don’t eat.”
A low voice cut through, and the neck of the silver fork was cleanly sliced off.
Thunk!
A knife thrown by Killian landed beside the fork head on the floor. Max, holding only the handle, jumped up.
“Are you insane? That almost hit my mouth!”
If the aim had been off, his lips would have been cut. But with Killian, there was no missing.
Max complained, “If you didn’t want me to eat, just say so!”
“It’s Eleanor’s portion.”
“You left all the food anyway! I’ve been running here all night because Your Grace was in such a hurry I didn’t even eat.”
Max threw down the fork handle and picked up a spoon. Killian silently grabbed a salad knife.
“…I’m not eating, I’m not!”
Eventually, Max put the spoon down as well and stared at the knife Killian had thrown.
It wasn’t even sharp—it was meant for soft meat.
‘He didn’t even look and yet neatly cut the fork neck. I called him a monster… but…’
Before reaching adulthood, Killian had defeated all the Empire’s knights and blossomed into a Sword Master. I had thought he couldn’t get any stronger, but now I was shivering in awe.
“Is he actually a ghost?”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
“Not a compliment.”
Max gritted his teeth as he glanced at Killian, bewildered by his actions. Strange missions, pretending to be married to the Grand Duchess, rumors of infidelity…
“Things have been really strange lately, you know?”
Killian simply smirked.
“Prepare Randel. I’ll send him to Eleanor tomorrow.”
“The contract isn’t even finalized, and you’re acting so fast?”
“It’s already too late.”
Killian’s expression hardened ominously. Max wisely lowered his head.
“Yes, understood.”
Sometimes, it’s best to quietly obey.
All night, I had been thinking so hard my head felt like it would split, yet one fundamental question remained:
‘Why does Killian want to kill me?’
Even if I died, it would be nearly impossible for the Baroness Flame to remarry him.
Although illegitimate, I was formally recognized as the daughter of the Marquis of Ramirez. My marriage had been possible mainly because of my family’s reputation, despite my poor standing.
Baroness Flame, on the other hand, came from a very minor noble family, and forming a connection with Killian would have been difficult. His followers would fiercely oppose it.
Adding a prior broken engagement would make their marriage nearly impossible.
“Huh. That’s odd.”
Would it be better for him if I died and he became a widower rather than dealing with a divorce or a broken engagement?
I had always been frail, frequently sick as a child. Exposure to the cold winds of the North worsened my condition, and I often had to stay in bed.
If I suddenly died, it would seem natural—no one would suspect foul play.
“Did he marry me at first sight and now wants sympathy as a husband who lost his wife after a year?”
If so, why poison me? Wouldn’t it be easier to say I was killed by monsters?
If I, staying quietly inside the castle, were killed by monsters, it would mean the Grand Duke’s castle was breached twice, which would wound his pride.
Above all,
“Did Killian even write this?”
It seemed like every accident somehow exonerated Killian, but this was important.
“I can’t be sure without knowing the handwriting. We haven’t exchanged love letters, after all.”
All I knew was the signature he used on official documents.
After leaving Killian’s room, I naturally assumed he had written it. No one in the Grand Duke’s bedroom would dare scheme to poison me.
“Eleanor, poisoned.”
Still, to be safe…
I examined the horrific writing closely and headed to the bedroom’s dress room.
The enormous room was filled with gorgeous dresses and luxury items, but none belonged to me. They had been hastily furnished by the Marquis before the wedding to maintain appearances.
Back at the Ramirez residence, I had nothing of my own. I barely had enough to eat, so how could I have possessions?
The only things that could be considered mine were an old bag, patched together from dropped handkerchiefs and clothes the maids were about to discard.
“Ugh…ugh! Haaah!”
I grimaced and used all my strength to push a storage cabinet.
Because the old bag wasn’t suitable for a noblewoman, I had hidden it out of sight, but I had chosen the wrong location.
When I was first shown the bedroom, the cabinet was empty. Now it was filled with accessories and couldn’t be moved easily.
“Argh! So heavy!”
Gasping, I finally reached into the bag.
Inside were a ring I had worn since first meeting the Marquis as a child, emergency funds I had painstakingly hidden after selling birthday gifts, and Killian’s marriage proposal, which I had hidden to prevent the Marquis from taking it.
“Found it!”
