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Chapter 8
“My suicide note?”
Selakia echoed blankly. Tenus pulled something out from inside his coat. It was a sheet of paper, its edges frayed from being handled repeatedly.
Written in handwriting she’d never seen before, the note lamented a life of solitude and begged not to be searched for, saying the writer was leaving for the embrace of the gods.
Its content suggested a tragic end—certainly enough to be considered a suicide note.
“I wrote this?”
“It was found on the table in your room, alongside your wedding ring, after you vanished without a word. A maid testified to it.”
Selakia lowered her head and looked down at her hands. Come to think of it, the ring she’d worn on her right ring finger since the wedding was gone.
Ha. A scoff escaped her lips. Even though she’d lost a week of memory, she was certain.
This suicide note wasn’t written by her.
The most obvious clue was the handwriting, but what bothered her even more was the sentimental tone of the letter.
Selakia had spent unending, grueling years in the House of Zajak. Loneliness had become so familiar to her that it was almost comforting. Though at times she had been sick of it, she had never despaired enough to take her own life.
And what was with that pitiful request to not be searched for? Selakia would never write such a thing in a note. She knew full well that no one in this duchy truly wished to find her.
“No one doubted it since the handwriting matched the registry. More importantly, it matched your signature on the marriage oath.”
Registry? She was about to ask in confusion when Tenus pointed to a section of the letter.
There, at the bottom, was her signature—something she hadn’t noticed before.
“This is…”
Strangely enough, the signature matched hers exactly, even though the handwriting was completely different.
Staring at the signature in fascination for a moment, Selakia declared firmly,
“It’s forged.”
“Are you sure?”
“Can’t you tell just from the handwriting?”
“It sounds like something you might write.”
“I’m not that sentimental.”
Tenus retrieved the note from her hand and commented as if in passing.
“Good. That could’ve been troublesome.”
Just troublesome? Selakia shot him a look full of sarcasm.
“A duchess who committed suicide and left behind a note? That sounds very troublesome for the Duke.”
“If you know that, then don’t let something like this happen again.”
As if I can control that? She nearly snapped aloud. Instead, she soothed her anger by downing the now-cold tea Tenus had poured long ago.
Tenus calmly tucked the fake suicide note back into his coat. His expression showed no concern—as if the suspicious letter didn’t interest him at all.
“Here.”
This time, he took something out of his pants pocket. A blue sapphire and diamond ring shimmered brilliantly in his palm under the sunlight.
“Don’t lose it again. It’s your wedding ring.”
“This is also a wedding ring?”
The way it was casually handed to her—so obviously picked without much thought—made her grumble inwardly. She wasn’t materialistic, but even she had some romantic expectations for her one and only wedding ring.
“No doubt about it.”
Ignoring her cold response, Tenus gently took her right hand.
“It belonged to the former Duke of Seydon.”
Just like at their wedding, he slipped the ring onto her finger himself. As Selakia silently watched the ring fit perfectly on her finger, she processed the sudden information. So… it was his parents’ wedding ring?
Even before she could finish the thought, her mouth blurted out instinctively,
“S-So, this is also a wedding ring. A very precious one-of-a-kind wedding ring. I meant it’s… very beautiful!”
Flustered by the idea that it was special, she rambled, unable to even look directly at the ring.
Selakia fanned herself with her hand, trying to cool her flushed face. As her hand moved, the jewels sparkled at various angles, catching Tenus’s gaze.
“By the way… who forged the suicide note?”
Selakia mumbled, turning her eyes toward the garden she couldn’t even see properly. She wasn’t really asking—she had her suspicions. This was just a desperate attempt to change the subject.
As if responding to her effort—or reading her mind—Tenus opened his mouth.
“Aldritch Logue, I suppose.”
He calmly took a sip of tea. The sudden name drop made Selakia flinch.
“Why… do you suspect him?”
“Who else in the duchy would plot something like this?”
“So you knew he was a schemer, and you still left me alone in this mansion?”
She hadn’t expected Tenus to suspect Aldritch. She didn’t know what kind of expression to make. Beneath the table, she clenched her skirt tightly.
“Don’t get the wrong idea. I didn’t think he would harm you.”
“Liar. How am I supposed to believe that?”
“Aldritch is a man who’s been dependent on medicine for years because of rumors that he poisoned my mother. Even the retainers who once served here have all left. Except on official meeting days, no one comes to this estate anymore.”
“…”
“He’s a ruthless opportunist, yes, but in the end, he’s just a weak-hearted scholar. I didn’t expect him to actually plot against you.”
For a fleeting moment, Selakia’s fiery anger lost its edge at his unexpectedly sincere explanation.
She didn’t know much about the internal affairs of the Seydon family. All she’d heard were scattered rumors told by her governess—likely popular gossip in high society.
That the previous Duke of Seydon died, leaving behind a twelve-year-old son and a nine-year-old daughter. That the Duchess acted as regent. That six years later, after falling ill, she named her younger brother Aldritch Logue as guardian and passed away.
But… Aldritch poisoned the Duchess, his own sister? She’d never heard that rumor before.
Selakia was lightly shocked.
“Whatever the case, it was my oversight. I won’t deny it.”
She came back to herself when Tenus admitted fault.
“Tell me. What do you want me to do?”
The unexpected question left Selakia speechless. Tenus asked again, more impatiently.
“Do you want me to bring you Aldritch’s head?”
“What? No!”
Just like Chester—why were all the men around her so violent and impulsive?
Selakia shook with exasperation and declared firmly.
“Let’s forget it ever happened. That’s what I want.”
It wasn’t that she didn’t want revenge. But if taking revenge meant jeopardizing her future escape from this place, she couldn’t go through with it. What mattered to her more than retribution was freedom.
Tenus raised an eyebrow, as if asking for an explanation. Instead of giving her true feelings, she fiddled with the teacup handle and replied dryly,
“As a virtuous duchess, how could I possibly cause strife within the family?”
“…”
“Why that face? Isn’t this what you wanted?”
“Don’t twist it. I’ve never forced such duties on you.”
“Don’t pretend now. Don’t talk about duties or rights, as if you suddenly care about me.”
Selakia glared at him sharply. Tenus, knowing he was in the wrong, quietly accepted her resentment.
“Or… should I tell you another way you could atone?”
Suddenly, Selakia’s gaze softened. Tenus flinched slightly but responded right away.
“Tell me.”
“Let me go. Then I’ll forgive you.”
“…What?”
“Let me leave the duchy. That’s what I want most.”
Tenus, who had kept a composed expression throughout, finally faltered. He asked sharply,
“Why are you so desperate to leave this place?”
“You just said it yourself. Aldritch forged my suicide note. That means he tried to kill me. Who in their right mind would want to live under the same roof as someone who tried to murder them?”
“If I bring you Aldritch’s head, will you stop saying that?”
He stood as if ready to storm off and kill Aldritch that instant. Selakia grabbed his arm with an annoyed voice.
“That’s not the only reason. I don’t want to stay in a place that isn’t my home. That’s something even you can’t change.”
“That’s all?”
That’s all?
Selakia didn’t even have the strength to fake a smile anymore.
Tenus had dominated the ducal household without ever officially inheriting the title. As a cold-hearted man of power, there was no way he could understand the loneliness or alienation felt by a stranger in a foreign home.
Tenus ran a hand through his silver hair and whispered cruelly,
“Even in death, you’ll be buried here. So give up.”
His silver hair shimmered like water under the sunlight. Coincidentally, the hand he raised bore the same wedding ring she now wore.
Marriage.
Her wrong decision.
The reason she resolved to bury her past and leave.
Looking back, the root of everything was the man standing in front of her.
“Aldritch Logue came after me—all because of you. I’ll resent you forever.”
“Then do it. By my side.”
“I won’t help you even a little as your duchess.”
“Then I’ll have to watch closely. From up close.”
“I’ll squander the duchy’s wealth with a depraved lifestyle and ruin your good reputation.”
“I’ll cheer you on.”
His infuriatingly relaxed replies only fueled her anger. She couldn’t figure him out. Was Tenus just toying with her like a doll?
