Chapter 1

Translator: Nox
Chapter 1

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"Odelia, as of today, your contract with me is terminated."

The cold voice pierced like a knife.

Ludeviel Excepcion.

A frigid declaration of parting, befitting the ruler of the North.

Odelia stared at the marriage contract lying on the desk.

It was as white as new, as if it had never been taken out before.

"This is the promised compensation. Please accept it."

He handed over the documents.

It was proof that Odelia Cardel and the Cardel family would lose all familial and legal ties.

Along with it were land deeds, mansion specifications, and alimony.

Odelia paused for a moment at the amount.

"There's no need to give me this much. As you know, I..."

She trailed off, took a breath, and continued.

"...I don't think I'll live that long."

But Ludville cut her off firmly.

"You'll need it."

"..."

Odelia looked up at him.

An expressionless face, a sharp suit, a posture without a single flaw.

As always, he was impeccably perfect.

Even if she were to collapse in front of him right now, he would calmly call a doctor and then go out to handle his scheduled appointments without a hitch.

Her husband on paper, bound by a contract marriage, was that kind of man.

He never wasted time or emotion.

So Odelia didn't ask.

Why lavish so much on someone who was about to die.

'Everything, even that, must be the result of your meticulous calculations.'

Ludville briefly scanned the contract with his characteristic emotionless gaze.

Maintain the marital relationship for five years.

No private conversations, no physical contact, live separately in the Separate Palace...

All were thoroughly observed.

Having confirmed that the compensation had been paid without a hitch, he burned the pile of papers in the candlelight without hesitation.

As if it were now just a meaningless scrap of paper.

The contract burned in an instant, leaving not even ashes behind.

Despite the five years that had passed.

"..."

The end.

So, this was the end.

"Thank you for your hard work."

At the Grand Duke's words, Odelia looked blank for a moment.

Of course, considering the contract where the roles of employer and employee were clear, there could be no more concise farewell than this.

He was the employer, she was the employee.

They had been tied together by the bond of husband and wife for a long time, but couldn't there have been a more plausible farewell?

The thought suddenly occurred to her... but she knew this was also greed.

"Is there anything else you need?"

So when Ludville asked as if he would grant her anything she asked for.

"...I've already received enough."

Odelia replied, suppressing her emotions as much as possible.

She wanted to leave a good impression on the man who wanted a clean break until the very end.

But.

'The end...'

Because she really thought the 'end' of her life wasn't far off.

She wanted to leave a will, at least.

How pathetic...

In the end, Odelia couldn't swallow the surging emotions that had risen to her throat.

"I liked you."

She blurted out.

"The reason I took your hand that day wasn't to live, but because it was you."

"..."

"Looking back... that's how it was."

It wasn't a confession made with any expectations, since she was going to die anyway.

However, for just a moment.

She wanted to remain an unpredictable variable in your perfectly calculated mind.

She wanted to throw out the emotion that she had been harboring, an emotion that wasn't in your plans...

Hoping that, perhaps, just for a moment, you might be surprised.

Even though she knew that would never happen.

"I didn't care who it was."

"..."

"You were, at least, the most qualified."

But she didn't expect him to take it so calmly, as if he had heard that kind of confession a hundred times before.

Yes. That must be it.

'You knew.'

Even her feelings, which she believed she had never shown, were within his calculations.

"Is that all you have to say?"

Odelia lowered her head and let out a small laugh.

For some reason, everything became ridiculous.

Indeed, this man was perfect from beginning to end.

Cold-hearted, without a single gap.

"Yes, that's all. Now."

The emotion that had been hammered into her heart stung.

But Odelia soon concluded that it was nothing.

First love, puppy love, something like that.

It was just that something like that, which everyone experiences at least once in their lives, had come to her belatedly.

It wasn't a big deal.

"Thank you for everything."

"..."

At Odelia's words, the man who had been looking at her with an expressionless face replied slowly.

"We will not meet again."

It was a businesslike response, with no room for misunderstanding.

So Odelia thought it was fortunate that she had gotten rid of her useless lingering feelings before she died.

That was the end of it.

The end of her contract with him, which had lasted five years.

* * *

Odelia set out on a journey to find a burial plot.

It was because she had a premonition that her lifespan was running out.

She settled in a rural village she found and began a new life as a healer.

Quietly waiting for the approaching day of her death.

But...

'…Why am I still alive?'

The days when she coughed up dark red blood in heart-bursting pain were still vivid.

Her body, which had been losing its vitality, slowly began to recover.

Not only that.

'I feel healthier than before...'

It wasn't just a feeling.

It was as if her body was being reconstructed into its most ideal state of health.

'How can this be?'

It was a miraculous event.

She didn't know why, but since she was alive, she lived as the water flowed.

Ordinary days followed.

She saw patients, prepared herbs, took walks around the village, and occasionally looked around the market, living a quiet life.

Peace, happiness, stability.

She felt those emotions.

Perhaps for the first time since leaving her family.

'It might not be bad to live like this.'

There were times when a piercing loneliness would suddenly rear its head.

At times like that, the heart that had quietly burned like firewood for five years and then gone out would smolder again.

Useless emotions, called regrets.

But now that she had a 'tomorrow', she was able to avoid being consumed by such emotions.

In the blink of an eye, a year passed.

It was around the time Odelia was getting used to each day she was alive.

Without any warning, the Grand Duke's aide, dressed in black formal attire, came to visit.

"The Grand Duke has passed away."

Informing her of the death of her ex-husband.

"…Yes?"

"…"

"That can't be…"

The Grand Duke had suddenly died.

"Even a year ago…"

He was alive and well.

He wasn't a terminally ill patient like her, nor did he have any underlying illnesses.

There was no way she could believe such a sudden statement…

She wanted him to say something more, but the aide stood silently with a face that struggled to suppress his emotions.

He handed her a scroll.

With a slightly trembling hand, Odelia barely broke the seal and unfurled the scroll.

It was a notice of inheritance.

And…

It was the Grand Duke's will, containing his last words.

[After my death, I bequeath all the territories, titles, authority, and assets of the Excepcion Family to Odelia Cardel.]

"Why…"

Thoughts, emotions, everything was mixed up without order.

Odelia only had the question 'why'.