Chapter 6 — Eight Years
Eight years.
For a full eight years, Senelia stayed by Benelucia’s side, endlessly discovering traces of Lucalina.
That’s why she gave up on his love.
She knew she could never be as special to Benelucia as Lucalina had been.
Survival didn’t mean turning the impossible into possible.
Even a plant, left untouched in a room for long enough, would become part of the scenery of life.
Eventually, one might even wonder whether it’s still alive.
All the more so for Senelia, who was human—never whining like a plant, nor begging prettily like a pet.
That’s what she had to be.
Someone naturally taken for granted.
“I’m sorry to keep you waiting, Your Highness.”
Senelia apologized as she entered the drawing room.
Just like she always did.
Submissive and polite, so as not to offend Benelucia.
So familiar to him that he’d leave her alone without concern.
Senelia Daphnen—naturally belonging to Benelucia Afron.
Of course, if asked whether the real Senelia existed in that role, she couldn’t say.
“…Why did you come here?”
The moment Senelia sat down, Benelucia asked.
As if the question were odd, she responded calmly.
“Because this is my residence.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
For a brief moment, Senelia wondered—
Then what should she have done?
When her lover brought another woman to an official event, was she supposed to ignore it and return quietly to the Grand Duke’s mansion?
Still, she didn’t let those thoughts show.
There weren’t many things Senelia could say to Benelucia.
Among the few options she had, she chose one that wouldn’t sound confrontational or disappointed.
“I’m not sure what you’re referring to, Your Highness.”
“…Are you angry because I brought someone else to the tea party?”
Benelucia, uncharacteristically hesitant, probed further.
His gaze swept over her thoroughly.
“Of course not. You simply brought the lady you wished to accompany. Why would I be upset about that?”
Senelia’s posture straightened, and her gaze sharpened.
Without a hint of hesitation, she denied his suggestion.
“Then why—why are you here instead of at my residence?!”
Benelucia cried out in frustration.
Senelia gently poured tea into the cup in front of him, speaking as if to soothe him.
“I just thought it was time.”
“What?”
“It’s time I returned to where I belong.”
Senelia smiled.
“Seeing the lady Your Highness brought today… the two of you looked wonderful together.”
Her voice didn’t waver even once, her tone calm and serene.
As if she had reached some meaningful epiphany.
“So I returned to my residence. This was always my place, after all.”
“…Why do you say this is your place?”
Benelucia’s expression hardened.
In the place Senelia claimed as her own, there was no room for him.
She was saying the place without Benelucia was originally hers.
As though she had never even once believed the seat beside him belonged to her.
And indeed, she never had.
That was Lucalina’s place.
Still, she had needed that spot shadowed by Lucalina’s presence for survival.
“This was always my place.”
So Senelia could say it calmly, as if it were only natural.
Benelucia Afron had always been a tree too tall for her to climb.
“You…”
Benelucia trailed off, lost for words.
Senelia had truly kept her promise.
All those days she hovered near him, warmed his bed, and lived in his mansion—never once had she expected anything in return.
She had faithfully maintained the role of an ordinary baron’s daughter. There could be no clearer proof.
“I think this is an appropriate parting gift.”
Senelia spoke as she removed the ring from her finger.
It was an artifact that, in times of crisis, could teleport its wearer far from danger.
Useless now, perhaps—but the one thing Senelia had always wanted to keep among Benelucia’s many gifts.
Including Benelucia himself.
“What…”
Only then did Benelucia realize—that ring was the only item she had kept from all the gifts he’d given her.
Today, though she was elegantly dressed, everything she wore had been sent by the Baron and Baroness for her birthday.
The magical carriage Benelucia had sent had already been returned to the Grand Duchy.
Had that carriage not come back alone, he wouldn’t have been late chasing after her.
Yes. That was the problem for Benelucia.
The carriage returning on its own.
“Thank you for everything, Your Highness.”
But for Senelia, it seemed like no problem at all.
She was now calmly accepting that ring as fair compensation and ending things with Benelucia.
“You’re leaving my mansion with just that one thing?”
Benelucia asked in disbelief.
He wasn’t a stingy man with his lovers.
He always considered his gifts theirs to keep, and when breaking up, he would provide additional compensation based on the time spent together.
Yet Senelia, after seven years of gifts, was taking only one artifact ring.
“Because it’s appropriate compensation for six years.”
Senelia answered. And Benelucia was rendered speechless.
She had been by his side for eight years.
Seven of those, they had shared a bed.
But she said six years.
The six years since he had officially made her his lover.
Teleportation was high-level magic, and artifacts like that ring were expensive.
Not only that—it wasn’t a one-time-use item. Made with a top-grade mana stone, it could be used indefinitely.
Benelucia had never thought of his gifts in terms of value. But if it was about value, then yes—Senelia’s ring was fair compensation for six years.
It was a perfectly accurate calculation.
Yes. Senelia had taken exactly what was appropriate.
She hadn’t left empty-handed to make a show of having no regrets, nor had she taken everything out of lingering attachment.
There had never been a cleaner break.
“…I never look back at those I’ve parted with.”
Was that why? Benelucia found himself blurting out those words.
It felt like a surgeon had excised her from his life—with surgical precision, no trace left behind.
He couldn’t hold it in.
“Yes. I know.”
Senelia nodded and replied calmly.
“You won’t need to worry that I’ll ever bother you. I promised you from the beginning, didn’t I?”
Benelucia let out a hollow laugh.
Worried she’d bother him?
For a moment, he wanted to yell at her—When did you ever bother me?
In eight years, Senelia had never once been a burden to him.
Even when she stayed by his side, she only shared his bed when he allowed it.
That was all.
And now, she had no intention of taking this breakup back.
“…You never once brought anything I gave you to your townhouse. Was that all for this moment?”
Senelia looked genuinely surprised.
Even though she had loved him and tried so hard to become familiar to him, she had always forcibly buried any expectations.
So it shocked her—that Benelucia had noticed.
Her always-smiling, obedient face shifted for the first time, and his lips twisted bitterly.
To think she was surprised he knew even that much.
Realizing just how little she had expected from him left a foul taste in his mouth.
“I’m sorry if I upset you.”
And when Senelia offered that apology—as always, offering no explanation for herself, only saying what he would want to hear—Benelucia’s expression contorted even more.
Seeing his face fall apart, she added as though trying to soothe him.
“The gifts were all too beautiful for someone like me. I thought they wouldn’t suit this townhouse, so I didn’t bring them.”
But in Benelucia’s ears, that sounded like: There was nothing I wanted enough to bring.
And he didn’t think his interpretation was wrong.
If those things were that beautiful, why didn’t she desire them?
Benelucia stood.
Talking any longer wouldn’t fix this rotten feeling.
He strode out of the drawing room. Just before stepping out the door, he looked back at Senelia.
“Farewell, Your Highness.”
Senelia, who had followed him to the entrance, gave a formal curtsy befitting royalty.
That was it.
It was over.
A farewell.
