After returning to the castle, Lloyd began keeping a strict watch on me and Denian.
We weren't allowed to take even a single step outside.
It was just like when we had first arrived at Vent Castle — a life cut off from the outside world, confined to the boundaries he set.
Even my permitted walks to the cottage had been banned. The newspapers, my only window to outside information, were also stopped.
The more hysterically he behaved, the clearer my decision became.
'I can't stay beside him anymore — not out of guilt, not out of pity.'
I could see how his obsession with me was destroying him.
And I no longer had the luxury to pity a man who was breaking himself apart.
I had Denian to protect.
Before he took us to Silverstel, I planned to escape. Once we entered his northern territory, leaving would become nearly impossible.
And today — after waiting a week — was the day.
A carriage carrying supplies from outside was scheduled to arrive at Vent Castle.
I planned to hide with Denian inside one of the empty food barrels and escape.
But first, I needed to create a distraction.
"Fire! The storage building is on fire!!"
A maid's scream echoed through the halls.
The servants and soldiers panicked, rushing toward the warehouse engulfed in flames.
Since the castle was built halfway up a mountain, the supply storage was one of its most important facilities.
I had used the power of the Fire Spirit to start the blaze — carefully, so no one would be seriously harmed.
The outer wall was burning, but I had made sure the flames wouldn't spread to the inner stores.
It would be difficult to extinguish, but not disastrous.
Once I confirmed everyone was running toward the fire, I lifted Denian into my arms and hurried down the corridor.
At the back gate, I spotted a supply wagon being prepared for departure.
Pressing myself against the wall, I watched for an opportunity.
Two merchants were standing by the wagon, chatting idly.
"The castle seems noisy."
"They said a fire broke out in the storehouse."
"Well, as long as we deliver our goods, that's not our problem. Let's just leave."
"Go on ahead — I'll take care of something real quick."
"Always the worst timing…"
As one man walked away to relieve himself, I seized the moment.
While the other was checking the horses, I crept behind the wagon and climbed inside one of the large, empty barrels with Denian in my arms.
"Mommy, are we playing hide-and-seek?"
He blinked innocently up at me. I pressed a finger to my lips.
"Yes. We'll be the hiders, so we have to stay very quiet, okay?"
"Okay!"
Denian clasped his tiny hands over his mouth.
I held him close, waiting for the wagon to move.
A short while later, I heard the merchant's footsteps return and then the creak of the wagon wheels as it began to roll forward.
Finally, I let out a small sigh of relief.
'Please… let us get out safely.'
Meanwhile
"Fire in the storehouse?"
Lloyd frowned and immediately headed there.
By the time he arrived, the flames had already been put out. Only black smoke rose into the sky.
"What's the damage?"
"Luckily, the fire broke out on the outer side — little was lost."
As he listened to the report, a sudden, chilling thought struck him.
"Where's Yuliana?" he demanded sharply.
The butler, startled by his tone, stammered, "I believe she's in young master Denian's room, sir…"
Without another word, Lloyd turned and rushed back into the castle.
He burst into Denian's room — only to find the maid he had assigned to watch Yuliana standing there alone, startled and trembling.
"Where is she?"
His low, dangerous voice made the maid's face go pale.
"S-she asked me to run a quick errand, and when I came back—"
Rage flickered across Lloyd's cold face.
"I didn't assign you to her side for that," he said icily.
The maid knew better than anyone what kind of man he really was behind that gentle mask he showed only to Yuliana and Denian.
Falling to her knees, she cried out, "I-I'm sorry, my lord! Please forgive me just this once!"
Lloyd looked down at her as if she were an insect.
"We'll discuss that after I find Yuliana and Denian."
Hearing the unspoken threat behind those words, the maid's face turned ashen.
Leaving her behind, Lloyd strode out and mounted his horse.
Sensing the storm in his demeanor, the butler hurried over.
"M-my lord, what has happened—?"
Lloyd gave him a contemptuous glance.
"Search the entire castle. Deploy every available soldier to sweep the surrounding area."
With that order, he spurred his horse and galloped out of the gates.
'Did she leave me again?'
Just like that time — when she'd taken her own life right before his eyes?
The reins creaked under his tightening grip, his knuckles white.
'No… not this time.'
Even if he had to use force, he would never let her go again.
Even if she hated him — at least she would stay where he could see her.
The sky above began to darken, black clouds gathering.
A bitter winter storm was approaching.
At Valdormer
A low rumble of thunder echoed in the distance as Kallian stared out the window.
Rain had begun to fall over the Valdormer estate, the cold droplets slicing through the chill air.
"Should I light the fireplace?" Layla asked softly.
Kallian didn't answer.
After a moment, she quietly went to start the fire herself.
As she worked, his voice came, calm but distant.
"Why is there not a single picture of that woman in this mansion?"
Even though she had been the lady of the house for a time, there wasn't a single portrait of her anywhere.
Layla's shoulders stiffened before she answered evenly,
"There's no reason to display the image of a woman who abandoned Valdormer."
Ignoring her cold words, Kallian continued staring out the rain-streaked window.
"Did I… ever send someone to look after her?"
He was thinking of the nameless woman who had saved his life — the one who had tended to his wounds.
He vaguely remembered assigning a man named Jared to her, though he couldn't recall when or why.
Layla hesitated before replying,
"You have been sponsoring the Helroika Orphanage for years, my lord."
So even Layla, who had served him for ten years, knew nothing about that woman.
That meant he had arranged it all in secret.
Still, he never once imagined that the woman who had cared for him — the woman in that small cottage — could be the same person as the Heister daughter he had once married.
That cottage wasn't in Heister territory, and the daughter of Heister would never live in such poverty.
Then, a flash of memory — the silver-haired man who had been beside her.
At the time, he hadn't paid much attention.
But now that he recalled, that man looked remarkably like Lloyd, the younger son of the Silverstel family.
If she was his wife, why had they been living in that shabby cottage?
And if she truly belonged to Lloyd — why had he sent someone to watch over her?
Then he remembered that moment — the burst of power from Denian during the attack.
That energy… it was familiar.
Kallian's dark eyes narrowed.
'Could Denian… not be Lloyd's son after all?'
Riding fast down the mountain, Lloyd finally spotted the wagon carrying food barrels in the distance.
He urged his horse forward and blocked its path.
The startled horses neighed wildly.
"Wh-what's going on?" cried the merchant.
Ignoring him, Lloyd dismounted and strode to the back of the wagon.
One by one, he ripped open the lids of the barrels.
The merchants shrank back under his murderous glare, not daring to interfere.
Each lid clattered to the ground, rolling away — and with every empty barrel he uncovered, Lloyd's expression grew colder.
Finally, he reached the last one — large enough to fit a woman and a small child.
He stared at it for a long moment before lifting the lid.
Empty.
Lloyd exhaled, his breath trembling with fury and disbelief.
Every single barrel was empty.