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Chapter 07
Hello, Madam
“Is anyone there?!”
Daphne knocked on the door in desperation and shouted.
“There’s someone here! Open it right now!”
Bang!
Another loud crash echoed.
“Open it immediately!”
This time, another unfamiliar voice joined in.
With a heavy sound, the massive door was forced open and light poured in.
“The window on that side is open too!”
“We’ll begin fire suppression immediately!”
Confused voices filled the space.
And then she saw him.
“Robert?”
It was her fiancé, the man who had abandoned her just moments ago. He looked like a walking corpse as he stared at her.
Thud!
In an instant, he staggered like a fallen leaf and rolled forward.
“Ahh!”
With a short scream, Robert disappeared down the stairs.
Daphne slowly turned her head to look at him, then shut her eyes tightly.
Purple bruises bloomed across his face, and his clothes were covered in boot marks. He looked like he had been badly beaten in a very short time.
Just as she closed her eyes in disgust, a voice she didn’t know—but strangely found pleasant—spoke right beside her.
“Hello, madam.”
As she kept her eyes tightly shut, a familiar scent of a deep winter forest reached her nose first.
“Looks like hide-and-seek is over.”
At that voice, she slowly opened her eyes.
The sunset that had not yet fully fallen reflected in her vision.
“Ah.”
Startled, her body tilted backward.
A large hand supported her back just in time—otherwise she might have fallen down the stairs like Robert.
‘That’s not the sunset…’
She quickly realized it.
The sharp bridge of his nose, the clean jawline, and lips that looked like they had been brushed with color—what she had seen was not the sun.
It was a man’s eyes.
Why was this man here?
The same man who, just yesterday and today, had shaken the entire empire with scandal involving her.
He was now kneeling in front of her, meeting her gaze.
“Grand Duke, what should we do with him?”
As she stared into those eyes that seemed to hold the sunset itself, people approached and awaited his orders.
“Lock him up.”
“Shall we send him to the Imperial Palace? Or transfer him to Helio?”
“Send him to the palace first, and take him with us when we return to Helio.”
“Understood!”
The men immediately dragged Robert away.
Daphne watched his unconscious figure being carried off.
Then a hand grabbed her chin and turned her face forward.
A tense voice followed.
“Look at me.”
She swallowed hard.
‘Am I going to be arrested too?’
She had lived believing she was a decent person, but rumors were already spreading about her and this man…
Even if it wasn’t intentional, she might still be held accountable for damaging honor.
The man’s cold dignity didn’t look like it would forgive her easily.
“Are you going to take her with you?”
Claude, the aide she had seen before in the imperial garden, asked respectfully.
“Yes.”
At that answer, Claude bowed and left.
Daphne’s eyes darted quickly even though she couldn’t move her head.
A low voice sounded again.
“Hmm.”
Her gaze returned to Julian.
His black hair swayed in the winter wind behind him.
Something incomprehensible seemed to shine from him—something she couldn’t understand at all.
“From now on,”
His lazy voice made her look down slowly.
His red lips curled as if growling at her.
“You’ll be taught not to look at any other man ever again.”
* * *
Room of Daphne of House Hanover.
‘I can’t get used to this.’
She had never had so many people in her room before.
Bonte, Matilda, and even all the people from the Hyperion household filled the room and hallway.
“Are you treating her properly?”
“Y-yes! We have served Lady Daphne for years!”
The most uncomfortable presence was Julian, standing right beside her.
He stayed by her side throughout treatment, glaring at the doctor whenever she so much as frowned.
[The fact that he’s a man already bothers me.]
[My apologies, Your Highness.]
[And his voice is too loud.]
[I deserve death, Your Highness.]
Daphne felt oddly satisfied.
The doctor had always been her long-time misfortune.
From minor colds to serious illness, he had often dismissed her pain as “attention-seeking.”
He had even compared her to Tiana.
“Ugh.”
When her knee wound was being treated, she let out a small groan.
“Are you alright, Lady Daphne?”
The doctor asked gently.
“Yeah. At least this time it’s not an act.”
The doctor laughed awkwardly.
Julian, however, only stared at her leg in silence.
“You still remember a joke I made when you were young,” he said.
“I remember it because you said it a month ago.”
“That’s impossible! You must be mistaken because the lady gets sick often.”
“You said the same thing two weeks ago.”
“…”
“I have a good memory.”
Two weeks ago, when she had been near death with a fever, he had said:
“It’s nothing serious. She’s just pretending again.”
Even when she was clearly suffering.
That memory alone made her feel relieved.
The doctor glanced at Julian nervously.
Then Claude approached.
“Your Highness, preparations are proceeding quickly as requested.”
Julian’s gaze briefly shifted to Daphne.
The ruby-colored eyes flickered, and she instinctively flinched.
* * *
Night had fallen, and the golden sky had turned dark, filled with stars.
After treatment, Daphne walked alone in the garden.
Julian had left the room earlier.
No one knew where he had gone.
‘I really might die if I get locked up again.’
Once was enough. Wouldn’t he kill her twice?
She had once believed they wouldn’t take her life after all their shared years.
That belief had been shattered by her family and Robert.
She couldn’t stay here under constant fear.
“Ah.”
Thunk.
She bumped into something and stopped.
When she looked up—
“You’re hiding again. That’s becoming a problem.”
A gaunt figure stood before her.
His red eyes looked down at her coldly.
* * *
A place where everything once alive had withered.
A greenhouse said to be visited at night by the ghost of a dead countess.
Others avoided it, but Daphne liked it.
It was hers.
And now she sat there across from a stranger.
Between them was a quiet table.
“This is long enough for waiting. Let’s conclude this.”
Daphne finally looked up.
‘What is he talking about?’
She had just met Julian on the way, thanked him properly, and even apologized for the scandal.
But he had only nodded expressionlessly.
So she had come here, unable to finish what she wanted to say.
‘Is he still waiting for an apology?’
One apology wasn’t enough for him.
That made sense—he was royalty.
Compared to him, she was nothing more than a noble daughter.
Maybe her humiliation would never be forgotten.
‘I shouldn’t provoke him.’
She needed him to go north to treat her illness.
Even if he didn’t take her, she needed to stay in his good graces.
She spoke carefully.
“Your Highness, I sincerely regret what happened at the banquet.”
At the mention of “banquet,” Julian’s expression shifted.
His previously still brows furrowed.
“Is that something that can be settled with just an apology?”
