Chapter 12

Odely realized something the moment the head butler addressed her, she was being treated as ‘a woman who had caught the Grand Duke’s eye’. After being cherished for a brief period, she was destined to be cast aside the moment his interest waned. A bitter taste crept up her throat, but she pushed that thought away, reminding herself,

‘I didn’t come here seeking special treatment.’

She firmly dismissed the emotions flooding her heart, as if shaking off dust.

‘All I need to be is a woman worthy of a five-year contract.’

That was enough.

A reason to stay. A right to remain by his side.

I don't need anything more than that.

All I wish for is to divert Ludeville's gaze elsewhere during those years.

The direction doesn't matter.

As long as it was toward the future, not the past.

Toward potential, not loss or lack.

So he could finally turn his eyes to a life that could truly belong to him.

‘I need to help him find true happiness.’

Odely was reaffirming her resolve when—

“Then, I shall take my leave.”

The butler bowed with practiced grace and turned away without hesitation.

He moved like a man performing a ritual he had carried out many times before.

And rightly so. In this castle, the room’s occupant changed frequently, sometimes lasting only a single night, rarely more than a fortnight.

“Wait.”

Odely called him back.

“Instead of this room, I’d prefer the detached annex on the outskirts of the castle.”

“...Pardon?”

His hand reaching for the door visibly paused.

“There’s only one annex that fits that description, but surely you don’t mean—”

“Yes, that one.”

It was an absurd request.

He wore the expression of someone trying to discern whether she was serious.

Typically, when nobles made such unreasonable requests, it was a subtle demand for a better room under the guise of humility. But Odely said nothing more, neither asking for more nor desiring anything further.

"That place is ancient, little more than a glorified storage shed. It needs repairs, and hasn't been properly cleaned… If this room doesn’t suit you, there are far better guest quarters in the main castle."

"I saw it on the way here, it looked quiet and peaceful. That's enough for me."

"…If you prefer a desolate atmosphere, I won't stop you."

Theodore seemed conflicted about whether to dissuade her or not.

"I want to choose where I stay."

"…."

"I believe I’m entitled to at least that right.”

‘Entitled…? Invoking her rights to stay in a shack?’

Hiding his confusion, Theodor responded with careful politeness.

"In that case, I will have the annex prepared. I’ll see to the heating, lighting, and bedding immediately."

"Thank you. I’d appreciate that."

As Theodore left the room, he squinted.

‘Strange… Isn’t she the youngest jewel of the Cardel family?’

He was well aware of the rumors surrounding the third Duke's daughter. Born frail and sickly, spoiled and protected by her entire family. Because of that, it was said her temperament was difficult, willful, entitled, unfit for a house of heroes… but the lady before him was nothing like those rumors.

She had calmly requested a dusty, forgotten annex as her quarters.

After it was cleaned and repaired, Theodor led Odely there. She entered with her belongings in hand, as if it had always been her room. Without a single moment of hesitation. Theodore quietly observed her, feeling confused.

Suspicious. Everything about her was suspicious. So much so that it was easier to look for what wasn’t suspicious.

‘Why has His Excellence decided to keep such a woman in the castle?’

The answer was obvious. It must be simply because he found her interesting…

Theodore suppressed a sigh that escaped him involuntarily.

"Of all times, why now…"

It was a thought he couldn't voice, but his lord was no longer the same person he used to be. It was as if he had crossed an irreversible river… he had completely changed.

Things that would have been unimaginable during the time he was called the Iron-Blooded Duke now happened every day. Impulses took precedence over reason, and madness replaced strategy. Luxury, women, alcohol, slaughter… A tyrant, in every sense of the word.

If that lady were to stoke the flames of his madness…

‘A catastrophe would surely strike the Grand duchy.’

Just imagining it made him dizzy.

However, Theodore buried all his doubts and anxieties deep within his heart and bowed his head expressionlessly.

"I will soon select and assign a maid."

There was nothing he could do.

‘Either way, she’ll be gone in two weeks.’

As always.

But… as he looked at this young lady, so different from the others who had come and gone in the last three months, another thought crept in.

‘What if this time would be different?’

‘What if she’s truly the one to bring peace to His Excellence?’

‘No… that can't be true.’

The 'blue-eyed woman' was merely a figment of imagination. She was just an illusion.

All Theodor could hope for now… was that things wouldn’t get worse than they already were.

After slowly bowing, he turned to leave in silence. Though his expression remained unchanged, a heavy resignation loomed behind him.

---

Odely's insistence on staying in the old, distant annex was not merely due to familiarity. There was something she needed to do first.

‘Ludeville probably doesn't remember what he did or what resolve he had…’

The day Odely returned was the same day Ludeville had proposed to her in their previous life.

Which meant, up until three months ago, when he returned and lost his memories, events had followed exactly as they had in the past.

That meant only one thing.

‘It’ should still be here.

He might have forgotten its existence, but Odely hadn’t. She had seen his memories.

It has to be somewhere here.

The moment the butler left, Odely went straight to the storage room.

She opened the door to find piles of junk tangled in thick layers of dust.

Scanning the room, she spotted an old wall clock hanging on one side.

‘Found it.’

Its colors had faded with age, the pendulum long since broken off.

A piece of worthless junk, easily overlooked.

But Odely walked up to it without hesitation and felt along the underside.

Her fingers found a faint groove.

Click

A soft mechanical sound echoed from within.

Odely rotated the clock hands, counterclockwise.

And then aligned them precisely to 6 and 12.

June 12th.

Their first wedding anniversary in their previous life.

The day Ludeville had given her the ring.

She paused, suddenly aware of the code’s significance.

‘...That’s not important right now.’

There was no time to dwell on feelings.

Creeeak—

A foreboding sound, and the clock tilted forward.

A secret crack in the wall opened, just wide enough for a person to squeeze through.

Odely lifted her skirt and slipped into the darkness.

At the end of the narrow passage was a small, domed room.

Not a single speck of light, like a tiny cave.

Etched into the floor were countless ritualistic symbols.

It was the final, desperate magic Ludeville had used to save Odely in their past life.