The Grand Duke had gone insane. Completely insane.
The moment she returned to her room, Milena collapsed onto the sofa and buried her face in her hands, as if trying to force her thoughts into order.
Even her usually immaculate golden hair had fallen into disarray, but she didn't have the energy to care.
Under normal circumstances, she would have maintained the dignity expected of a future Grand Duchess.
But now?
None of that mattered.
Her priorities had changed.
Everything she had believed until now had been overturned.
At this moment, there was only one thing that mattered.
Escaping.
Nothing else.
This was an emergency.
From the moment she left the Grand Duke's office until she returned to her room, a vicious headache had pounded relentlessly behind her eyes.
She had thought leaving would be easy.
Instead, as if mocking her, Callion's attitude had changed.
The man who had barely spoken to her all these years suddenly acted like someone possessed, warning her not to run away.
His madness had always been directed solely at Lariat.
Milena shivered.
No matter how desperately she had clung to him, he had never once looked back.
So why now?
Callion Luxen.
To her, he had always been a cruel and cynical man.
Someone who had controlled half her life.
And now, someone who refused to let her go.
But why?
The question spiraled endlessly through her mind until frustration finally boiled over.
"A woman you hated is willingly leaving, and not only won't you pay travel expenses, you're saying I can't leave at all?"
Milena slammed a sofa cushion repeatedly as though it were Callion himself.
"You're even going to report my sister as dead? Now that the woman who spent years chasing after you is leaving, are you finally regretting it?!"
Her fists trembled with years of accumulated humiliation and resentment.
"Why did I sign that marriage contract beforehand?!"
The mistakes of her past had returned like a boomerang.
Now that her name was already on the contract, marriage was unavoidable.
If she refused, she would be cursed.
Some people suffered only mild illnesses.
Others met fatal ends.
Either way, it was a disaster.
If she ignored the contract and fled, she'd be cursed.
If she stayed, she'd be dragged into her sister's plans.
"Haa..."
Her head throbbed.
The more she thought about it, the more foolish her past self seemed.
I should've thought more carefully before signing!
Lost in regret, she suddenly froze.
A firm hand had wrapped around her wrist.
The hand she had been using to attack the cushion stopped mid-swing.
Her breath caught.
Slowly, she followed the rough fingers gripping her wrist with her gaze.
A crimson earring swayed beneath unkempt ash-gray hair.
The brief glimpse of a face immediately drew attention.
"Who...?"
It felt as though this man was deliberately suppressing his own presence.
"Your hand appeared to be hurting."
That wasn't the answer she wanted.
Who is he?
And when did he get into my room without making a sound?
"Did you knock? Why are you entering without permission?"
As if sensing her displeasure, the man released her wrist.
"I was ordered to prevent you from hitting things."
"..."
Come to think of it, someone had mentioned assigning her a personal guard.
The man wore the formal uniform of a knight, though half his face was hidden beneath disheveled gray hair.
Milena clicked her tongue.
"Even so, barging in like this isn't exactly polite, Sir Knight."
The feeling of being disregarded not only by the Grand Duke but now by his knights as well made her blood boil.
Yet the knight simply stared at her without speaking.
Ah.
Right.
A watchdog.
Callion had openly assigned someone to monitor her.
She wanted to crack open his skull and see what was going on inside.
"Are you going to keep staring at me like that? What, is this the first time you've seen a beautiful woman?"
Trying to break the awkward silence, she casually brushed back her hair and threw out a joke.
"Yes."
"...What?"
"It is my first time seeing a woman like you."
Ha.
This knight had a talent for making people freeze solid.
Her headache immediately grew worse.
First things first.
She needed to get rid of this intruder.
She started to rise from the sofa, only to pause.
Wait.
When exactly had he entered?
"Sir Knight."
"..."
"Did you hear me shouting earlier?"
"..."
"You did, didn't you?"
The knight merely turned his head slightly, offering no answer.
Don't tell me he's going to report everything I said to Callion?
Just imagining it made her head hurt more.
Knock. Knock.
As she struggled to figure out what to do, a knock sounded at the door.
Someone knocking?
Nobody ever came to her room.
The servants were so afraid of her temper that they avoided even passing nearby.
"Yes, come in."
As soon as she answered, a small face peeked through the doorway.
"Ash?"
"Auntie."
It was Ashdel.
And surprisingly, he'd actually knocked.
Remembering that she hadn't properly checked on him earlier because of his fever, she hurried over.
"How are you feeling? You should still be in bed. Why are you up?"
She immediately placed a hand on his forehead to check his temperature.
"Mm. I'm okay now."
That was a relief, but—
"Ashdel."
Something felt strange.
She frowned.
"Where are you going?"
Why was he dressed like that?
And what was he hiding behind his back?
After a moment of hesitation, Ashdel finally revealed the small bag concealed behind him.
"I want to come too!"
"...What?"
"Where exactly are you planning to go?"
The knight suddenly interrupted.
Milena ignored him entirely and focused on Ashdel.
The boy stood proudly, carrying a travel bag almost as large as himself.
How am I supposed to talk him out of this?
She pressed her fingers against her temples.
Ashdel glanced up at the knight standing behind her.
"Who's that?"
Before Milena could answer, the knight spoke first.
"Hubert, at your service. By order of His Grace, I have been assigned to Lady Milena's protection."
Instantly, Ashdel's pink eyes turned cold.
His small lips parted sharply.
"Sir Knight. I wasn't asking you."
"Ash...?"
The tone was startlingly mature.
Milena stared at him in surprise.
Meanwhile, Ashdel and Hubert simply held each other's gaze in silence.
As expected of the heir to the Grand Ducal House.
When necessary, he could be surprisingly intimidating.
"Oh?"
A meaningful smile appeared beneath the curtain of gray hair.
"My apologies, Young Master. That was presumptuous of me."
What is this strange tension?
Straightening up, Milena pointed at Hubert.
"Ash, he's not here to protect me. He's here to watch me."
"...Watch you?"
Ashdel's expression sharpened again.
It wasn't the face of a child.
Then he seemed to realize she was looking and immediately replaced it with an innocent smile.
"What do you mean, Auntie? Did you do something wrong? Or—wait! Are bad people bothering you? Did Dad assign him to help solve some false accusation?"
"No one's bothering me."
Sighing, she looked down at the travel bag.
"...I don't know what I supposedly did wrong, and I have no idea why your father is acting like this. But Ash, what's with the bag?"
"When Auntie leaves, I'm coming too!"
"I told you, I'm not leaving."
Ashdel's small fingers fidgeted nervously.
Then suddenly, tears spilled from his eyes.
"That's a lie! You're going to leave! Why do you keep saying you're not?!"
She needed to explain carefully.
That she couldn't leave because of that cursed contract.
But before she could open her mouth, dizziness washed over her.
The room spun.
Darkness crept into her vision.
And then she collapsed.
Strangely enough—
No one in the room seemed surprised.
Before she could hit the floor, strong arms caught her.
At some point, a faint scent of sleeping herbs had begun spreading through the air.