Episode 3
3. Escape Plans Go Up in Smoke
She could have found out, if she’d really tried.
But to learn anything about her husband’s political dealings, she would’ve had to mingle at all those high‑society gatherings.
And for Rossi, those gatherings were hell.
For a woman unloved by her own husband, those places were torture.
Rossi lowered her eyes and said quietly but pointedly,
“I couldn’t even afford to care. You’re the one who made it that way.”
“…What?”
“Whatever you were about to say, don’t bother. I have nothing to discuss with you, my lord.”
Calios just stared at her.
She could tell he didn’t like this side of her—this calm defiance.
“Why is it that every time we talk—”
He cut himself off, frowning, running a hand through his dark bangs like something was bothering him.
He even looked… troubled? That was strange enough to make Rossi blink.
“I heard you’ve just been hiding away in your room,” he said. “You should’ve gone out. Seen things. No wonder your health suffers.”
Unbelievable.
The man who’d made her a prisoner was now acting concerned.
Rossi gave a humorless laugh and squeezed the little souvenir in her hand.
“Easy for you to say. Do you even know what people say about me? I stayed home because I couldn’t stand hearing it anymore. Even some random beggar on the street knows the rumors….”
She kept her voice calm, but Calios’s expression darkened.
“You’re still letting that crap get to you?”
She didn’t bother answering.
That made him step closer, towering over her, his broad shoulders blocking out the stares and whispers from passersby.
“I told you a hundred times to ignore that nonsense—”
His angry black eyes flicked toward the people whispering behind her… and the way Rossi’s shoulders flinched.
And then, suddenly, he went silent.
That heavy, dark silence of his.
Rossi knew it well—knew it meant he was truly furious.
“It’s always like this,” she said quietly. “You never listen. You never believe me.”
Look who’s talking, she thought, turning her face away.
That’s when his voice came, low and rough in her ear.
“Are you just ignoring me on purpose now?”
His eyes were sharp, unreadable, as he leaned in slowly, lowering his head to her ear.
“You look better today,” he whispered.
His lips moved lazily along his sharp jawline.
“Be ready tonight.”
Rossi flinched at the feel of his breath brushing her ear.
In public? Seriously?
He met her glare, then casually took hold of her neatly arranged brown hair—like he might snap a fragile flower stem.
“As your husband, I have my duties. And as someone of the ducal house, so do you.”
Looking into her wide brown eyes, he tightened his grip, his hand hot against her hair.
His low voice slid into her ear again, slow and deliberate.
“Were you lying last night?”
“…No.”
“Then don’t lie tonight.”
When he finally let go of her hair, she stepped back, heart pounding.
What excuse can I use to avoid him tonight? Or should I just… run?
But there was still time. She’d think of something.
Trying to sound casual, she asked,
“So? Why did you go to the palace without telling me?”
“You should figure that out yourself. Going to social gatherings, picking up what’s useful for the ducal house—that’s your duty, isn’t it?”
He said it like he was scolding her for failing as a wife.
As if he had any idea what should come first.
Suddenly, she thought of last night and asked carefully,
“Wait… last night, did you actually come to check if I was sick?”
Calios froze, biting his lip like he was caught off guard.
That reaction surprised her.
He really did?
Or… had he come because he wanted something else, because he was all fired up?
But I told him no…
Her shock turned to anger, but before she could say anything, Calios spun on his heel.
“Anyway, go back. This isn’t a place for someone as fragile as you.”
“It’s just a street.”
“And you’re wandering around looking pale as a ghost. Doesn’t seem like you can handle even that.”
I was fine until I ran into you.
Social gatherings, huh.
He didn’t care about the humiliation and cruelty she endured at those.
But now… it all felt lighter.
Thinking about leaving made all those old wounds feel almost funny.
Just then, Jenny came hurrying up and froze when she saw him.
“I’m back— Oh! My lord!”
Startled, she dropped into a flustered curtsey.
Calios didn’t even look at her. He just fixed his dark eyes on Rossi.
“Be ready. I’ll make up for what we missed.”
“……”
“I’ve got other stops to make. Go on ahead.”
He gave Rossi’s shoulder a brief squeeze and turned back to his carriage.
Jenny watched the ducal carriage roll away, then glanced nervously at Rossi.
“What… what did he mean by that?”
“Nothing you need to worry about,” Rossi said firmly, cutting off further questions.
Jenny hesitated, then blurted,
“By the way, my lady… about my cousin up north, why—?”
Right now, that cousin—Jenny’s distant relative, a merchant—was the most trustworthy person Rossi could think of.
In her previous life, he’d been a kind visitor who often came to cheer her up when she was bedridden.
I know what kind of man he is. I can trust him, whatever happens later.
“Transfer the rest of my money into his hands,” Rossi said. “Offer him a fee, ask him to help. If he refuses, we’ll find someone else—don’t push him.”
“That’s not hard, but… my lady, why are you doing this?”
Rossi’s brown eyes hardened with determination.
“I’m leaving the ducal house.”
“…What?! Really? How—”
Jenny’s eyes went wide as she imagined the possibilities.
“Wait… are you planning to divorce him?”
Back at the mansion, Rossi headed straight for the only place that ever felt like hers—the garden.
The flowerbeds were still blooming beautifully.
She wandered through the colors until her gaze landed on a patch of freshly turned soil.
I moved it here for now…
When she’d first woken in this life, there’d been two flowers in her hand:
One fresh, white blossom… and another withered, gone to seed.
Mysterious white flowers.
She’d put the bloom in a vase and planted the seeds here, but…
It feels so strange. Like it was telling me to plant it.
She murmured to herself, slipping under the shade of a tree to escape the hot sun.
Jenny, who would normally hold a parasol over her, was off running errands.
Alone, the quiet brought back those old nightmares.
Her mother‑in‑law Isabella’s harsh voice clawed through her mind:
[This is all your fault! If it weren’t for you…]
[You want to know what I want? Just die. Disappear.]
[You think this hurts? My heart was ripped apart. You should hurt more. You hear me?]
The memory of all that violence was still so vivid it made her chest ache.
She gripped her ribs, trembling, sweat dripping down her face.
I have to get out of here. If only someone would help me…
She thought of her sister—now married to a prince of the Yones Kingdom—but shook her head.
Every time she’d tried to leave for her sister’s, Calios had caught her.
If only my family hadn’t collapsed… things might have been different.
Her family, the once‑wealthy Moavis count’s house, had crumbled overnight.
War after war made the empire ban trade with Yones and other friendly nations—their main partners.
Money dried up. Her father, desperate, fell for a huge scam.
Her parents died, brokenhearted.
Alone, she had assumed her engagement would be canceled.
The rumors said the ducal family was considering it.
After all, everyone knew the emperor’s sister wanted Calios for herself.
Old promises and loyalty meant nothing compared to gain.
Back then, her sister Serena came home for their parents’ memorial and pleaded with her:
[Come with me to my husband’s country. Calios doesn’t even treat you well. And if they’re going to break the engagement anyway, leave first.]
So Rossi agreed.
That very night, she’d tried to cross the border, slipping away in secret to follow her sister.
But she hadn’t gotten far.
In a brutal snowstorm, she collapsed to her knees on the frozen ground—
Because Calios was standing there in the blizzard, face dark and terrifying, as if he’d been waiting all along.
[Where do you think you’re going?]
