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Chapter 01
“Sir Calyx, a young lady is here to see you.”
When a fellow knight delivered the message, Calyx didn’t even lift his head.
It wasn’t something rare, after all.
Though it felt awkward to say so himself, this sort of thing happened quite often. Most of the young ladies who came looking for him dreamed of some romantic rendezvous and ended up interrupting his work.
Naturally, Calyx usually found them bothersome and foolish.
Today was no different.
“I’m busy and cannot leave my post.”
At his indifferent reply, the other knight’s face twisted.
Some people could wait forever and never have a single soul come looking for them, while others had beautiful young ladies seeking them out and didn’t so much as bat an eye!
‘Damn lucky bastard.’
Annoying as he was, picking a fight would only end in a broken nose.
With no choice, the knight shot a sideways glare at Calyx’s infuriatingly handsome face and turned away, scratching his head.
“Fine. I’ll tell her that. Hm… I think it was Lady Armierosha.”
“…Pardon? Lady Armierosha?”
“The maid who came to deliver the message was wearing a button engraved with the ducal crest. Huh? Sir Calyx, where are you going?”
Lady Armierosha.
The eldest of the family was addressed as Lord Armierosha, the third as Young Master Armierosha—so there was only one person who would be called that.
The second child of the Armierosha ducal house: Lisbeth Armierosha.
Only then did Calyx realize who had come to see him.
He sprang to his feet.
As he strode past, the other knight could only gape. But Calyx didn’t spare him a glance.
‘Why would Lisbeth…?’
Even as questions flooded his mind, his steps grew urgent.
He suddenly remembered—she hated waiting.
Though it had been a long time since he’d thought of such things, the memory surfaced as naturally as an old habit.
Perhaps that was only natural.
They had known each other since they were six years old.
‘But for nearly a year… she hasn’t sought me out at all.’
Calyx stopped before a mirror on the wall.
Reflected there was the war hero of the Regentia Empire—the knight grandly titled “Guardian of the Empire.”
And yet, compared to his reputation, he looked rather pitiful.
Sweat-soaked black hair. Blue eyes. A faint flush on his face. A less-than-pristine knight’s uniform.
Most of all, he smelled strongly of sweat.
‘She hated this.’
But there was no helping it. Training had only just ended.
He had washed, of course, but dust clung easily in this place, and he carried no perfume…
In haste, he smoothed his messy hair and resumed walking.
It was an afternoon at the start of summer.
After crossing the sun-drenched garden, he spotted the entrance to the building.
Someone stood beneath a large tree.
Though he had hurried moments ago, Calyx slowed his steps.
‘…Lisbeth.’
Lisbeth Armierosha.
He mouthed her name soundlessly.
Her lovely chestnut hair caught the light. The distinctive blossom-pink eyes of the Armierosha family turned slowly toward him.
“Calyx Payon.”
Holding a parasol, she called his name in a sweet, gentle voice.
For a moment, his vision swam. Calyx squeezed his eyes shut.
Even so, wherever her gaze touched, his skin burned.
“…Lady Armierosha.”
Thankfully, he managed to maintain composure. At least his voice did not tremble foolishly as he spoke her name.
After taking a deep breath, he forced tension from his stiff body.
He didn’t want to look ridiculous before her any more than he already did.
Gathering the last scraps of his pride, he spoke bluntly.
“State your business as briefly and concisely as possible.”
“I regressed. So let’s get married.”
“…Please explain that again. Slowly. In detail.”
As always, his attempt at dignity ended in complete futility.
My life is completely ruined.
Lisbeth Armierosha realized it only when she stood before the gallows.
“Lady Lisbeth Armierosha, step forward!”
A royal official holding a parchment scroll called out.
Lisbeth glanced at his face and let out a short laugh.
‘They don’t even call me Crown Princess anymore.’
When was the last time she had heard the word “lady”?
Counting back in her head, she trudged up the steps of the scaffold.
The shackles around her slender ankles clanked unpleasantly with each step.
“It pains me as well to send you off like this.”
The voice fell from above as soon as she reached the platform.
The voice of the man she had once believed she loved most.
Lisbeth lifted her gaze from the floor.
Under the dazzling sunlight, he sat upon a golden chair.
‘If you’re going to pretend, at least cover your mouth when you speak.’
She could see the faint smile playing at his lips.
“…Your Highness.”
Yes. The man feigning sorrow before her was the Crown Prince of this nation.
Once, he had also been her husband.
Through marriage to Lisbeth, he had risen from first prince to Crown Prince.
He had merely used her to secure his position. When she had served her purpose, he discarded her as naturally as one would breathe.
And her family followed.
The Armierosha ducal house—the shield of Regentia.
That great name had already fallen. Her family members had died one after another, and she stood here as the last.
‘Who can I blame?’
Half of it was her own fault, for being such a fool.
Lisbeth looked at the rope swaying before her.
Strangely, now that the moment had come, her heart felt calm.
Only—
“My beloved queen. I shall engrave your final words upon my heart and remember them forever.”
It was unbearably unfair that the one who had thrown her into the abyss would remain safely in his place.
“So, what are your last words?”
Standing where her corpse would be most visible, he spoke as though granting grand mercy.
Lisbeth smiled sweetly.
If she had anything left to say to him, it was only one thing.
“I’ll kill you with my own hands, you crazy bastard.”
The Crown Prince laughed, as though indulging a bird with broken wings.
Well, of course.
She was standing on the gallows.
In mere seconds, she would be dead. How could she possibly kill him?
“You are lovable to the very end.”
Those were the last words Lisbeth Armierosha heard.
That was the end of her first life.
‘Why is it bright?’
She had always thought death would be dark.
That was why, whenever sunlight streamed into the chapel, she felt inexplicably happy—because it assured her she was alive.
‘It feels like I’m in that chapel now.’
Lost in vague recollection, Lisbeth opened her eyes.
Everything beneath the bright light came sharply into focus.
‘This isn’t heaven.’
Even if she rolled in hell for a hundred years, it wouldn’t be enough to atone for her ruined life.
With a puzzled expression, Lisbeth sat up.
Instinctively, she raised a hand to her neck.
The body that had met a miserable end on the gallows was whole. There were no marks.
“……”
She left the bed and sat before the vanity, staring blankly at her reflection.
In the mirror was chestnut hair carefully groomed and sparkling pink eyes.
No mottled bruises. No heavy exhaustion.
It was a face far cleaner, far younger than Lisbeth Regentia—the twenty-eight-year-old Crown Princess.
‘Lisbeth Armierosha.’
Her eyes widened as she scanned the room.
The structure was oddly familiar.
It was her bedroom in the ducal estate.
Understanding slowly dawned, and her face lit with joy.
“I’ve come back…!”
Back to before that damned man ruined her life!
Her laughter rang brightly through the spacious room.
