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Prologue
My stepmother disappeared.
It happened the day after the grand birthday banquet celebrating the coming of age of Nick, the youngest of the Duke’s family.
Because everyone had stayed up late finishing the splendid festivities, the household rose later than usual that morning.
Bathed in the pouring sunlight, Nick awoke and—for the first time in a long while—looked for his mother.
“Where’s Stepmother?”
“I’m not sure, young master. She hasn’t been seen since early morning.”
No matter where he searched, there was no trace of her. Feeling uneasy, Nick began to roam through the mansion.
He questioned every servant he met, but none knew where she had gone.
Descending the stairs with growing anxiety, he spotted his father through the open door of the duke’s office and approached.
“Father, where did Stepmother go?”
“……”
The duke did not answer. He was staring blankly at something in his hands, an unreadable expression on his face.
“Where is she—”
Nick stepped closer, peering over his father’s shoulder at the paper he held—and stopped mid-sentence.
The neat, elegant handwriting on the page was unmistakably hers.
**“It’s been a long time since I’ve written as Cassia, Diana’s friend, rather than as your new wife or Nick’s stepmother.
As of yesterday, Nick has reached adulthood, and so I have fulfilled every part of the agreement I made with Your Grace seven years ago.
I’m truly relieved that, in my own way, I was able to protect this family safely in Diana’s stead.
Now that I’ve decided to leave, I feel an odd mixture of regret and relief…
Having done all that was asked of me, I will now leave the Ducal household and live my own life.
Diana was a beautiful friend to me, and she was your one and only family.
Thank you for accepting someone as unworthy as me in her place.
Now, I’ll be going. Thank you for these seven years. May the blessing of God rest upon the House of Hydrian.”**
“What… what does this mean, Father? Did Mother truly leave the mansion?”
Staring at the letter in shock, Nick muttered blankly, unable to say another word.
After a long silence, the duke finally spoke.
“……Send word to your brother. Tell him—your mother has vanished.”
Biting his lip, Nick looked once more at the letter, nodded faintly, and rushed out of the study.
The duke remained, gazing down at the letter and the neatly placed divorce papers beside it—like a period at the end of a sentence.
A heavy silence settled over the room.
1. Seven Years Ago
Through the gates of the grand ducal mansion, people steeped in grief filed in.
A young noblewoman who looked barely old enough for her debutante ball, an elderly gentleman in a black tuxedo, and countless others dressed in mourning attire filled the halls.
Every one of them carried a letter bearing the ducal family’s crest.
I, Cassia, was no different.
In our hands, we held the same tragic notice—
a letter proving how fleeting happiness can be.
It was that letter which had gathered so many here since morning.
Their reactions varied: some were frozen in shock at the sudden news; others covered their faces with their sleeves, unable to hold back tears. A few forced calm expressions as they hurried through the hallways, trying to hide their sorrow.
And me?
I probably had the blankest face of them all.
“Who are you?”
The voice from the day I first met Diana echoed faintly in my ears.
It was the first day of the academy for nobles. I had stepped out onto the terrace alone, away from the crowd, when someone came to stand beside me.
It was Diana Allison, the daughter of the Count of Allison—the girl who had drawn the most attention during the entrance ceremony.
“Why are you out here? You’re a new student too, aren’t you?”
“I don’t like crowded places.”
She had looked at me with curiosity, intrigued by how different I was from the others our age.
We talked for a long time that day, all through the entrance banquet that evening.
From then on, Diana kept me close, and we spent all our time together.
It didn’t take long for two little girls to bridge the gap of status and grow a friendship.
People often said I was no different from Diana’s lady-in-waiting, but I never minded.
After all, they were right—Diana was a count’s daughter, and I was from a family of little consequence.
But being her friend was far better than being her servant.
And truthfully, I liked Diana very much.
As we entered our teenage years, Diana began to fall in love and later married, and naturally, we could no longer spend our days clinging to each other like foolish children.
Yet our bond endured.
When she gave birth to her child, when that child grew older and started school, she always called for me.
I visited her at the ducal estate for every celebration.
We were friends—more than that, family.
Sisters in all but blood.
Perhaps that’s why…
“To our esteemed nobles, we regret to inform you of the passing of Her Grace, the Duchess Diana Hydrian.”
Reading the line in the letter, I felt my whole body turn cold.
I couldn’t believe it.
Diana, who had always been so healthy, so bright—gone, just like that?
I had always assumed her happiness would last forever.
Perhaps everyone did.
“How could this happen…? Wasn’t the Duchess perfectly well?”
“They say… it was a carriage accident.”
I overheard the nobles whisper beside me.
A carriage accident…
I froze.
A few days ago, Diana had said something strange.
“Cassia, just in case—if something ever happens to me, please take care of my family.”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“You never know what might happen. Even someone living happily might be taken by accident.”
I’d brushed it off as a morbid joke, but she had insisted.
“Promise me. If I disappear, you’ll protect my family.”
“…Of course. Do you even have to ask?”
Her unusually serious tone had puzzled me then.
Now, it sent a chill down my spine.
Lost in thought, I stepped forward again.
Inside the mansion, the chief maid greeted guests with a sorrowful expression.
The air was heavy, somber.
Crowds filled the drawing room, whispering through their grief.
When the clock struck the hour, the doors to the room where Diana rested opened, and the butler stepped out solemnly.
One by one, we followed him inside.
At the center of the dimly lit room stood a large coffin, surrounded by candles flickering in the gloom.
“They say the body isn’t being shown… The accident was apparently too severe…”
I heard murmurs nearby as the funeral began.
“The late Duchess Diana Hydrian was a kind and gracious woman, beloved by all…”
The butler’s voice echoed softly as he recited words of remembrance.
The ceremony ended quickly, almost too simply.
I stood there, expressionless, while nobles around me wept quietly.
Then came the final farewell.
Each person took a flower and approached the coffin to offer their last goodbye—starting with Diana’s husband and sons, then her family, then the servants and guests.
Before long, flowers piled high around the casket.
When the person before me stepped aside, the butler gestured for me to come forward.
Inside this coffin… lay Diana.
My dearest friend, the one who had shared my world since we were girls.
“I wish to see her face… one last time.”
I turned to the butler.
“Please, let me see her.”
“Milady, I’m afraid that’s…”
He hesitated at my request to open the lid.
Then a man’s voice broke the silence.
“Open it.”
“…Your Grace.”
It was the Duke, Diana’s husband.
When I turned, I saw his face, shadowed with sorrow.
“Lady Bennet was very close to my wife. Do as she asks.”
“…Yes, Your Grace.”
At his command, the knights nearby stepped forward and lifted the lid.
And there she was.
Diana.
Her skin was pale as ivory, her long brown hair cascading beautifully even in death.
She wore a white burial gown that made her look eerily like me.
For someone who had died in an accident, her body wasn’t as damaged as I’d feared—though one side of her skull seemed crushed from a severe blow.
Still… to me, she looked beautiful. Peaceful.
Slowly, I reached into the coffin and took her hands in mine.
“Goodbye, Diana.”
Her hands were cold, drained of all warmth, but I smiled faintly as I stroked them.
“Thank you… for everything.”
Soft sobs broke out around me.
And that was the last time I ever saw her—
my beloved friend of more than twenty years, gone so quietly it felt like a dream fading at dawn.S
