Chapter 32
Even during dinner, the awkward air remained.
Unlike me, who ate calmly because I was used to this kind of atmosphere with Kallion, he barely touched his food and kept coughing uncomfortably.
Then, he finally broke the heavy silence.
“That day…”
That day?
I looked at him, confused, and he avoided my eyes as he continued.
“About the banquet day… I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were in such bad condition.”
Was Kallion… apologizing to me?
I stared at him in disbelief, then lowered my gaze and replied dryly.
“Don’t worry about it. You never cared about those things anyway.”
His strange behavior made me feel uneasy. It only made him seem more suspicious.
Seeing my cold reaction, Kallion frowned and spoke again.
“If you had told me in advance, I wouldn’t have forced you to attend the banquet.”
I furrowed my brow at his words.
If I had said I was sick, would he really not have taken me?
No—he would’ve just left me behind and used it as an excuse to criticize me. That was the kind of person he was.
Why was he suddenly saying this to me, who had to endure and hold on just to avoid being blamed in this house?
“What exactly are you trying to say?”
“What do you mean… I just…”
My sharp response made him sigh in frustration. He rubbed his forehead and then changed the subject.
“…Since you’re not feeling well, maybe we should delay the night we agreed to spend together.”
Hearing that, I put down my fork and knife.
“No. That won’t be necessary.”
Then I looked at him calmly.
“I’d like to keep the date as planned.”
I had endured all of this just for that day. I couldn’t give up now.
He looked confused by my firm answer, then sighed and replied.
“Alright. We’ll keep it that way.”
What he thought didn’t matter to me.
I needed to meet Denian. I wanted to escape this place with him.
And I would protect him from anyone who tried to harm him.
Even if that person was Kallion.
“I’ll excuse myself now.”
I stood up coldly. I could feel his gaze following me all the way out of the dining room, but I didn’t care.
***
Only about three days remained until the promised night.
It was earlier than when I had conceived Denian in the past, but I hoped maybe it could happen sooner this time.
Since Kallion had already agreed during the meal, unless something unexpected happened, that night would proceed as planned.
My heart felt heavy like a lump of iron, but it was fine.
This was why I had come to this mansion willingly in the first place.
“Ma’am, a letter has arrived. What should I do with it?”
As I was drinking tea, I looked up at Kate curiously.
“It seems to be one of those letters that used to come with no sender’s name.”
That’s when I remembered my last moment with Lloyd.
He had every reason to worry after seeing me like that.
I sighed and received the letter from Kate.
Using the paper knife she brought, I carefully opened the envelope and read the contents.
[To Yuliana,
You told me never to write again, but I couldn’t help it. Please forgive me.
If I didn’t write this, I might have gone to the Valdormer mansion myself, and I know you wouldn’t want that.]
He was worried, wondering if my condition had improved or worsened. If Kallion was still neglecting me. If I were getting proper treatment.
The letter was full of concern.
Since I had fainted in front of him, it must’ve shocked him a lot.
And because he didn’t know about my health back then, he had used his freezing ability—he must’ve felt guilty.
Technically, it was my choice to go with him, so he wasn’t at fault.
At the end of the letter, he thanked me, saying the advice I had given him helped a lot.
I was relieved to know his power had calmed down safely.
After thinking for a while, I asked Kate to bring me paper and an envelope. I wrote a short reply.
Just a few lines saying my health had improved and not to worry.
I sealed the letter and handed it to Kate.
As always, I burned Lloyd’s letter in the fireplace.
“Oh! By the way, the gardener just finished preparing the garden for winter. Would you like to go outside? The special winter flowers of Valdormer should be blooming now.”
I looked at the fireplace blankly, then turned to Kate with a soft smile.
“Sure. Let’s do that.”
Kate happily went to get ready.
But at that time, I had no idea.
That after we left, someone came into the room.
And that someone took Lloyd’s half-burnt letter from the fireplace.
***
Lloyd carefully read Yuliana’s letter and then folded it gently, placing it in his pocket like a precious treasure.
The letter was short.
Just a few words saying she was doing better and not to worry.
It was a cold and simple message—very much like her.
She spoke as if she had no lingering feelings for him. No expectations.
That attitude—cutting him off cleanly—was what made him angry.
It infuriated him that the man she chose was Kallion.
He, who didn’t even cherish her touches or glances.
That man sat in the special seat next to her but failed to take care of her properly.
Lloyd found him pathetic and contemptible.
He had tried to understand her choice.
He believed she must’ve had a reason.
But no matter how hard he tried…
He just couldn’t accept it.
That the man she chose was from Valdormer—he just couldn’t forgive that, Yuliana.
***
That day was very close to the night they had promised to spend together.
But then something unexpected happened.
A diamond mine project Valdormer had been working on was leaked to Silvester.
The mine was supposed to go up for auction soon, and the leaked information allowed Silvester to join the bidding.
Originally, Valdormer planned to quietly buy the mine from one of their vassal families who were struggling financially.
But with Silvester involved, everything turned into chaos.
It was a huge project that could affect Valdormer’s finances—its leak was a major disaster.
“Damn it!”
Kallion cursed and clenched his fist.
Suddenly, he remembered Lloyd’s face.
That smug smile and calmness he had shown—did he have something planned?
And then, Yuliana’s face came to mind.
No—no matter how close she was to Lloyd, she wouldn’t do such a thing.
She knew how to separate personal feelings from business.
At that moment, Layla approached him carefully.
“Kallion, I have something to tell you.”
Her serious tone made him look at her curiously.
She held a thin envelope in her hands.
Looking at it suspiciously, he asked, “What’s that?”
Layla answered right away, as if she had been waiting.
“I found this in Lady Yuliana’s study.”
With a frown, Kallion took the envelope from her and checked inside.
Inside was a partially burnt piece of paper.
It was too damaged to figure out the full content.
Layla continued in a grave tone.
“She burned a letter from Silvester.”
Kallion’s expression darkened.
“What?”
“There was no sender name, so it didn’t seem suspicious. But the last line of the letter had a name.”
Though most of the letter was ash, a piece remained.
It said “Lloyd de Silvester.”
Above that name, a few words from the letter were still visible:
“…Thank you. It helped a lot…”
