Odely realized from the head butler’s attitude that she was being treated as “a woman who had caught the Grand Duke’s eye.”
She would be cherished for a short while…
Then, the moment he lost interest, she would be cast aside.
For an instant, a bitter feeling rose within her.
‘But I didn’t come here to be treated as someone special.’
Silently reminding herself, Odely pushed those feelings aside.
Firmly.
As though brushing dust from her clothes.
‘A woman worth entering a contract marriage with for five years.’
…That was enough.
A reason to remain by his side.
The right to stay with him.
She needed nothing more.
All she wanted was to turn Ludville’s attention away from herself before those five years came to an end.
Anything would do.
The future instead of the past.
Possibility instead of loss.
A life that truly belonged to him.
She wanted him to look toward that instead.
‘I have to help him find genuine happiness.’
Just as Odely renewed her resolve—
“Then, if you’ll excuse me.”
The head butler gave a proper bow before turning away without hesitation.
His movements were practiced.
Like someone carrying out a task he had performed many times before.
It was only natural.
Sometimes the owner of this room changed after fifteen days.
Sometimes after only one.
“One moment.”
Odely stopped him.
“I’d rather stay in the detached house on the outskirts of the castle instead of this room.”
“Pardon?”
Theodore’s hand paused ever so slightly as it rested on the door.
“If you mean the detached residence beyond the outer grounds… there is only one.”
“That’s the one.”
It was an absurd request.
The head butler narrowed his eyes.
As though trying to determine whether she was serious.
Ordinarily, when nobles made unreasonable demands like that, it was merely a polite way of asking for an even better room.
But after saying those words, Odely fell silent.
She asked for nothing else.
“I should inform you that the building is quite old. It’s practically being used as storage now. Much of it requires repairs, and it hasn’t been properly organized. If this room doesn’t suit your taste, the main residence has many finer guest chambers.”
“I saw it on my way here.”
“It looked peaceful and secluded.”
“That will be more than enough.”
“…If you truly prefer such a lonely atmosphere, I won’t stop you.”
Theodore looked genuinely conflicted.
Should he refuse?
Or simply accept it?
“I’d like to choose where I stay.”
“…”
“I believe I should at least have that much freedom.”
Freedom…
She was invoking her rights…
Just to stay in what was practically an abandoned storehouse?
Suppressing his bewilderment, Theodore bowed politely.
“In that case, I’ll have the detached residence prepared immediately.”
“I’ll make sure the heating, lighting, and bedding are all inspected.”
“Thank you.”
After leaving the room, Theodore narrowed his eyes.
‘…How strange.’
‘Isn’t she supposed to be the precious youngest daughter of House Cardel?’
He knew the rumors surrounding the third young lady well.
She had supposedly been born with a frail constitution.
Raised surrounded by the love and affection of her family.
People even claimed that, unlike the heroes her family had produced, she was spoiled, demanding, and difficult.
Yet…
The young lady before him was nothing like those rumors.
She had personally requested the old, gloomy detached residence as her quarters.
Once preparations were complete, Theodore guided Odely there with her belongings.
She entered without the slightest hesitation.
As though it had always been her room.
Watching her quietly, Theodore found himself growing more and more confused.
“…”
Something was suspicious.
Everything about her was suspicious.
In fact, it would have been easier to find something that wasn’t.
‘Why would His Grace allow a woman like this to remain in the castle?’
The answer seemed obvious.
Simply because she interested him.
…Nothing more.
Theodore swallowed the sigh threatening to escape.
‘Of all times… she had to appear now.’
It was something he could never say aloud.
His master was no longer the man he had once been.
It was as though he had crossed a river from which there was no return.
The man called the Iron-Blooded Grand Duke would never have behaved this way.
Yet now…
Such things happened every single day.
Impulse had replaced reason.
Madness had replaced strategy.
Luxury.
Women.
Wine.
Slaughter.
He had become the very image of a tyrant.
If…
If that young lady poured fuel onto his madness in an attempt to gain his interest…
‘It would bring disaster upon the Grand Duke’s household.’
The thought alone made him feel faint.
Yet Theodore quietly buried every doubt and fear deep inside himself.
Maintaining his expressionless face, he bowed.
“I’ll begin selecting maids to attend to you shortly.”
Besides…
There was nothing he could do.
‘In any case… she’ll be thrown out in fifteen days.’
Just like everyone else.
Still…
Watching this young lady, who was somehow different from all the women who had come over the past three months…
A thought unexpectedly crossed his mind.
Could this time be different?
Could someone who might finally bring His Grace peace have truly appeared…?
‘…Impossible.’
Even the so-called “blue-eyed woman” was nothing more than an illusion.
A phantom that didn’t exist.
All Theodore could hope for…
Was that things wouldn’t become even worse.
After giving one final bow, he quietly turned and walked away.
His expression remained perfectly blank.
Yet the weight of quiet resignation hung heavily over his retreating back.
****
There was a reason Odely had insisted on staying in the old detached residence outside the castle.
It wasn’t simply because the place felt familiar.
There was something she needed to do first.
‘Ludville has no memory of what he did… or the resolve he made.’
The day Odely returned to the past…
Was the very day Ludville had proposed to her in her previous life.
Which meant that everything had unfolded exactly the same until three months ago, when Ludville returned to the past and lost his memories.
Then…
It had to still be here.
Even if Ludville himself had forgotten.
Having seen his memories, Odely knew.
‘It should be somewhere around here.’
The moment the head butler left, Odely headed straight for the storage room.
When she opened the door, countless old odds and ends lay buried beneath layers of dust.
Looking around, she spotted an old grandfather clock hanging against one wall.
‘Found it.’
Time had stripped away its color.
Even its pendulum was gone.
It was nothing more than abandoned junk no one ever looked at.
Without hesitation, Odely walked over and felt beneath the clock.
Her fingertips found a tiny recessed groove.
Click.
The moment she pressed it, hidden gears somewhere inside began turning.
Then Odely slowly rotated the clock hands backward.
She positioned them precisely at 6 and 12.
June 12th.
The first wedding anniversary of Ludville and Odely.
The day he had given her a ring.
“…”
Only then did Odely realize what the password meant.
She froze for a brief moment.
‘…But that isn’t what’s important right now.’
This wasn’t the time to lose herself in old memories.
Creeeak—
With an ominous groan, the entire clock slowly tilted forward.
A perfectly concealed section of the wall slid open, revealing a narrow passage barely wide enough for a single person to squeeze through.
Lifting the hem of her dress, Odely stepped into the darkness.
At the end of the narrow passage, a small domed chamber appeared.
A room without a single ray of light.
Almost like a hidden cave.
The floor was engraved with countless magical runes.
It was the final method Ludville had used in his previous life…
To save Odely.
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