Kallion, who had been blankly staring up at me, suddenly moved as if in a trance and walked toward me.
But Lloyd stepped in front of him, blocking his way.
As their eyes met in the air, an intense and terrifying energy surged through the mansion.
A freezing cold that felt like it could cut skin, and a heavy, suffocating darkness filled the space.
The frightened servants trembled, barely able to breathe.
I slowly walked forward into the swirling storm of energy.
Standing in front of Lloyd, I faced Kallion directly.
"You came here for me, didn't you?"
At my calm question, I felt Kallion's menacing energy begin to fade.
"I didn't expect you to come in person," I added.
Then, with a determined expression, I continued.
"Go back to Valdormer."
Kallion frowned at the sentence missing a subject.
As he opened his mouth to protest, I quickly added,
"With me."
Kallion froze at those words.
The angry dark energy that had raged around him disappeared, as if it had never been there.
While he stood there in disbelief, I turned toward Lloyd.
"Thank you for everything, Lloyd."
"Yuliana…"
Lloyd frowned, his gaze full of regret, as if wanting to say more.
But I cut him off with a firm glance and turned away.
Click, clack—
Only the sound of my heels echoed through the hall as I walked away as if nothing had happened.
I could feel everyone's eyes on me, watching my calm, confident steps.
With a firm and proud stride that made it impossible for Lloyd to stop me, I left the mansion.
Behind me, I heard Kallion's footsteps following closely.
He didn't say anything, just quietly walked behind me.
In front of the mansion was a familiar Valdormer carriage, with Jared standing nearby.
Since I didn't want Kallion to know about my connection with Jared, I ignored him and got into the carriage.
Jared also acted as if nothing was strange, and after confirming we were both inside, he returned to the coachman's seat.
With Kallion's signal, the carriage quickly left Saint Paul.
The snowstorm had cleared up as if it had never happened.
Sunlight poured down through the windows, and I looked out at the Saint Paul mansion getting smaller in the distance.
Then I erased the shadows of the past that I never wanted to face again.
After a long silence, Kallion finally spoke.
"So, you said you wanted to be recognized as Valdormer's lady… was that a lie?"
He was blaming me for leaving the mansion.
Still looking out the window, I replied dryly,
"What kind of wife could endure what I went through?"
He had trusted Layla, his secretary, more than me—his wife.
And Layla used that trust to falsely accuse me.
There was no point in deciding who was more disgusting between the two.
Back then, I had felt humiliated and wronged.
But now, it all felt like someone else's story.
I was only disappointed in myself for becoming weak, even though I had made that choice knowingly.
Kallion stayed silent for a while after my cold response, then quietly asked,
"So you ran away?"
Finally, I looked at him.
Just moments ago, I felt numb to everything.
But now my emotions were racing, as if he had uncovered something hidden.
Yes, I had wanted to run away.
From the hell that was Valdormer.
From the terrifying man that was Kallion.
From this exhausting life.
Maybe that's why I visited all those places from the past—as if saying goodbye.
If I hadn't met Lloyd in that moment…
Maybe I really would have given up on this twelfth life.
Not because I was disappointed in Kallion.
I had never expected anything from him in the first place.
But because I was so worn out from struggling to survive.
Because I was afraid I would never meet Denian again.
Because I wanted to give up.
But now—
"I won't run away anymore."
I looked straight into Kallion's eyes.
Like I was promising myself.
"If I have to face it, I will."
Almost like a warning, I stared at him boldly.
He only looked at me in surprise, saying nothing.
It was like a tiny spark flared between our locked eyes.
Yes, this was just hatred between the two of us.
I ignored the tension and turned back to the window.
The carriage continued in silence for a long while.
Finally, we arrived at the Valdormer estate.
Only then did I feel like I could breathe again.
"Madam!"
As soon as I stepped down from the carriage, Kate ran to me with teary eyes.
"Do you know how worried I was? Oh my, your face has gotten so thin!"
Her eyes were red and puffy, as if she'd been holding back tears for a long time.
Strangely, I found myself laughing.
Even in this hellish place, someone was happy to see me return.
That lifted my spirits a little.
"Where have you been? You look like you haven't eaten in days!"
Hmm… that wasn't true…
Honestly, I had lived quite comfortably at Saint Paul.
It was peaceful and cozy, almost like I'd gone back to the past.
Of course, deep inside, I'd still felt anxious and uneasy.
As I walked into the mansion with Kate, I glanced back at the carriage.
Jared tipped his hat to me, pretending to be a coachman.
As if to say, "I'm glad you're back safely."
I smiled slightly in return and entered the mansion.
***
The next day.
It was like nothing had happened, and I returned to my daily routine as Valdormer's lady.
The head butler updated me on the tasks I'd missed, and I checked all the letters and messages from the Bas Merchant Group.
There was good news—pine bark prices were starting to rise.
And several letters from Jared had arrived too.
At first, he asked about my well-being.
Later, he started mentioning Kallion.
He said Kallion had ordered him to search for me and that he seemed anxious and unstable.
Jared had followed my instructions well and described all of Kallion's actions and moods in detail.
But… anxious and unstable?
Was he worried I might've stolen Valdormer's secrets?
While I wondered about that, I suddenly realized something.
I hadn't seen Layla all day.
With so much work backed up, I expected her to be hurrying me.
I asked Kate, who was knitting nearby.
"Where's Miss Layla?"
Kate flinched and looked around nervously before whispering,
"Many things happened while you were gone."
"What kind of things?"
"Well, she hurt herself—cut her arm—and then spread rumors that you hit her! Ugh! Can you believe the nerve?"
"How did they find out the truth?"
"A maid saw everything. Once it was revealed, Lord Kallion sent Layla to Sorento to reflect for a while."
So Kallion had found out the truth.
No wonder his attitude changed completely before I left the mansion.
Just then, as if summoned by our gossip, a familiar voice spoke.
"Yuliana."
It was Kallion.
Startled, Kate quickly made an excuse and left the room.
Kallion quietly watched where Kate had gone, then asked softly,
"Can we talk?"
I didn't look at him and kept my eyes on the book I was holding.
"You can sit over there."
Meaning—I wasn't going to move.
He quietly sat across from me and hesitated for a long moment before speaking.
"I wanted to say I'm sorry… for doubting you."
I finally lifted my eyes from the book and looked at him in surprise.
"Layla lied to me."
It must've been a shock to him, since he had trusted her.
He sighed heavily, covering his face with his hand.
"I've sent her to her main estate to reflect for now."
I stared at him coldly and returned to reading.
"I see."
Kallion frowned at my uncaring response and cautiously added,
"I hope you'll try to understand."
My hand paused mid-page.
"Understand what, exactly?"
"This happened because she was too loyal to Valdormer. It couldn't have been easy for her to serve a woman from the Heister family, our old enemy."
I was so stunned, a breath of disbelief escaped me.