Episode 6
For a long while, Demius remained silent, then finally answered in a somewhat reluctant tone.
“……Yes.”
His voice, slightly husky, followed slowly.
“After all, we are… a married couple for one year.”
* * *
A contractual relationship.
Right. Our relationship was nothing more than a one-year marriage contract.
Demius bit the inside of his mouth, newly reminded of that fact.
‘I need to go back and take care of something. But… I can’t manage it alone.’
For the past year, after being saved by Melissa when he fell off the cliff, he had spent that short, sweet, dreamlike time.
Finally, he parted his sealed lips and confessed his situation to Melissa.
Melissa paused for a moment, then nodded.
‘I will go with you.’
What had he felt when he heard that?
Truthfully, he didn’t even have time to realize it before his lips moved on their own.
‘Actually, I am of noble birth. And resolving this matter may take considerable time.’
Stop it.
Demius heard the voice of his conscience whispering inside his heart.
Yet his lips moved against his will, speaking what was inside.
‘To bring you along, I need a proper reason.’
The words tumbled out, shaking at the edges.
‘Will you… marry me?’
When he lifted his bowed head, Melissa’s eyes were wide with surprise.
Demius hurriedly added,
‘Of course, it’s only a contract. Not for too long—just one year… only one year.’
Only then did Melissa’s lips slowly part.
In that fleeting instant when her soft pink lips separated and rejoined, it felt like an eternity.
‘Alright.’
Her answer came.
After a long moment, Demius regained his senses and moved his lips haltingly.
‘Really…?’
‘Yes!’
For a moment, it felt as if bells rang in his ears and he was lifted to the heavens.
But as he realized the meaning behind Melissa’s words, the wings that had carried him skyward instantly broke, plunging him into the cold abyss of reality.
A contract marriage.
The word “marriage” paired with “contract” was frustrating, yet at least it made “marriage” possible in the first place.
‘No.’
There was no sense of relief.
Demius shook his head, feeling disgusted with his own selfishness and desires.
Just keeping Melissa—amid such a chaotic family—for a single year was already a grave sin.
And on top of that, officially registering the marriage meant he would have to live a lifetime in penance.
Of course, after the one-year contract marriage ended and Melissa left, he planned to remain faithful for the rest of his life.
He could already picture his mother fussing, “Hurry up and marry, then have children!” but that posed no real problem.
He had a slightly foolish but clever younger sibling, and if that sibling refused succession and ran away, the family could select a suitable candidate from the cadet branch as heir.
‘The few advantages of the Grand Duchy are only superficial anyway.’
Wearing a faintly cynical smile, Demius was brought back to reality by Melissa’s voice.
“May I ask you something?”
“Anything.”
He quickly adjusted the corners of his mouth as he replied, and Melissa asked with innocent eyes:
“Who is that child?”
That child.
If Melissa was referring to the boy she had seen earlier that day, he must have been the one with black hair and blue eyes.
A cold light flickered in Demius’ eyes.
“……A distant relative from a cadet branch of the family.”
Demius parted his lips briefly before adding,
“That’s what is presented publicly.”
“‘Publicly’?”
Melissa’s eyes widened.
Seeing her expecting explanation, Demius exhaled a small sigh and spoke slowly.
“I suppose I can tell you.”
He bit his lips bitterly, then spoke.
“I… don’t know.”
“……What?”
Melissa’s eyes went wide.
She blinked at his incomprehensible answer.
“I thought, since he looks so much like you, that he must be your younger brother.”
Blinking once, Melissa added,
“Or maybe even your son.”
“Absolutely not!”
Demius jumped in shock, waving his hands frantically.
“Not at all! That boy has not the slightest connection to me. Please believe me.”
“Oh… okay.”
Melissa was a bit surprised by his overreaction but continued,
“It would have been fine if he were your son, though.”
“No!”
Demius pressed his hands to his chest, pleading his innocence.
“I swear by the Great Archangel—I am absolutely not that child’s father.”
Goodness.
Melissa blinked in surprise.
To think he would make such a dangerous vow.
Seeing the intensity in his eyes, as if he were willing to show his own heart to prove it, Melissa awkwardly nodded.
“Yes.”
She felt a slight pang of disappointment.
It would have been nice if that cute child were a closer relative.
Unaware of Melissa’s thoughts, Demius continued to plead with all his might.
“That boy… I truly do not know him. He suddenly appeared one day in front of the Grand Duchy’s estate.”
“Suddenly appeared?”
“…Yes.”
Looking at Melissa’s wide-open eyes, a bitter smile crossed Demius’ lips.
Though many years had passed, even speaking of it was painful.
But he had to tell her.
At least to her.
A strained sound escaped from the corner of his mouth.
“……A long time ago, I told you I had an older brother.”
“Yes, I remember.”
“My older brother…”
Demius drew a deep breath, pain gathering in his eyes.
“He was an extraordinary person. As heir to the Grand Duchy, beyond anything one could imagine.”
Demius closed his eyes tightly.
The northern wall of the Empire, the Eisenhart Grand Duchy.
Once, he had been proud of that name. His older brother was the idol embodying all his dreams.
Ascelion von Eisenhart.
His older brother, seven years his senior, was kind and gentle to the family, the castle servants, and even the vassals.
Yet when firmness was needed, he displayed a decisive side, earning praise for his execution and sense of responsibility as a future Grand Duke.
Even their strict mother trusted him, offering smiles and pats on the shoulder.
But one day, the heir-to-be disappeared.
“At first, everyone tried desperately to find him.”
The Grand Duchy deployed every possible connection and resource—money, people, anything—to search for Ascelion.
But years passed with no sign of him. Then their mother said:
‘From now on, you are the heir. Demius.’
Her cold tone left no room for appeal.
‘Forget about Ascelion.’
“……I could not forgive it.”
His trembling lips muttered with anger.
“I could not forgive it at all.”
Seres von Eisenhart.
The northern wall of the Rakion Empire.
The frontier and last bastion of the country.
Had even his heart frozen?
When his mother told him to forget his older brother, his blue eyes turned ruthlessly cold.
After that, he grew weary of everything.
His pride in the family, his respect for his mother, all gave way to disgust.
He even questioned whether it was right to use the family’s power to search for his brother.
Around that time, that child appeared.
“Silene resembles my older brother very much. I thought, if my brother had a child, he would surely look like that.”
“‘Silene’?”
Melissa’s eyes widened at the name.
“Could that name possibly be…?”
