When I entered my room, I took out the note I had hidden and unfolded it.
The handwriting was familiar — the same neat script I'd seen countless times when exchanging letters with Jared through the Bass Trading Company.
The message was brief, in case anyone else discovered it.
It said that the security at Vent Castle was too tight, and preparing an escape route would be harder than expected.
That made sense. Vent Castle was imperial property, and all its soldiers and servants followed the emperor's orders.
Because of that, the entry and exit of outsiders were strictly controlled, and surveillance was constant.
'Maybe… it would be easier to escape somewhere other than Vent Castle.'
If we moved to Silverstel, perhaps Lloyd would relax his guard — that might be the best chance to flee. Or, we could fake an accident during the carriage ride there.
Once we escaped the fortress known as Vent Castle, Jared would have a much easier time helping us.
I quickly pulled out a piece of paper and began to write my thoughts down.
I also asked Jared to find a place where Denian and I could stay after our escape — somewhere Lloyd and Kallian would never find us.
After finishing the note, I waited for the soldiers to look away, then hid it again under a plate in the cupboard.
Just as I felt relieved, I suddenly sensed someone's gaze and turned around.
Denian was standing there, staring at me quietly.
Worried that my clever little boy might have noticed my actions, I quickly spoke first.
"Denian, are you hungry?"
He shook his head.
He seemed to have something to say but hesitated, his small lips pressed together.
I crouched to meet his eyes.
"Denian, do you have something you want to tell Mommy?"
Glancing toward the window where the guards stood outside, he whispered softly,
"Did the soldier uncles scare Uncle Kal away…?"
Then I remembered — Denian didn't know that Kallian had already left.
He hadn't seen him go, so of course he thought Kallian was still here at the cottage.
That's why he'd looked around curiously when we first arrived, searching for him.
He must've thought the soldiers had scared Kallian off.
Even though he was young, Denian seemed to know that he shouldn't talk about Kallian in front of the guards.
I lost my words for a moment, staring at my son with a heavy heart.
I hadn't considered what he might be feeling.
I should have explained Kallian's departure properly. Instead, I'd been too caught up in my own emotions to notice my child's sadness.
After a long pause, I finally found my voice.
"Denian… Uncle Kal went back home."
Denian's eyes widened in shock.
"He went home… without saying goodbye to Denian?"
He had grown attached to Kallian — more than I'd realized. His eyes filled with tears.
Seeing my normally composed child on the verge of crying made my chest tighten.
"Uncle Kal has to go home too. There might be people waiting for him, right?"
'Yes… his place is in Valdormer.'
At my gentle tone, Denian tried to be brave, puffing up his cheeks and holding back tears.
I stroked his hair, touched by his effort, but then he hesitated and asked softly,
"Then… when will Uncle Kal come to see Denian again?"
"..."
I couldn't answer right away.
If I told him the truth — that Kallian might never come — he would cry.
So, like any mother trying to comfort her child, I told a small, harmless lie.
"After a hundred nights."
"A hundred… nights?"
He didn't really understand how long that was. He spread his tiny fingers, counting to ten again and again, trying to imagine it.
For him, that number must have felt like forever.
Watching his little fingers curl and unfold, I couldn't stop the ache in my heart.
Kallian gazed steadily at Layla, who was looking him straight in the eyes.
Her unwavering gaze, filled with sincerity, would have convinced almost anyone that she was telling the truth.
'If not for that woman, maybe even I would've believed her.'
The woman he had secretly protected for years — assigning Jared to watch over her during those lost ten years.
'…No. You're right. We don't know each other.'
That woman had denied knowing him.
She hadn't even told him her name.
Almost as if she feared what might happen if he remembered who she was.
And then there was Denian — that boy with a power that could only come from Valdormer blood.
"Hah…"
A bitter smile slipped through his lips as the pieces connected.
Layla looked at him, puzzled by his expression.
Kallian ignored her and began flipping through the ledgers spread on his desk.
They were records of Valdormer's finances — mostly managed by the butler Cliff and Layla.
But then his eyes stopped on a signature he didn't recognize.
It wasn't Cliff's or Layla's handwriting. The strokes were elegant and flowing — unmistakably feminine.
The name signed beneath it was Yuliana.
Noticing his focus, Layla quickly spoke up.
"The daughter of Heister handled the ledgers briefly while she… played the role of Valdormer's mistress."
The daughter of Heister — the enemy family he despised most.
The woman who had been his wife for six months during those ten lost years.
'Yuliana…'
He stared at the graceful signature, lost in thought.
If the woman who had borne Denian truly had a close relationship with him…
Then did that mean he'd had an affair while married to Yuliana of Heister?
Had he been so disgusted by the political marriage that he'd turned to another woman?
Part of him thought it understandable — to seek escape from the daughter of the family that had killed his mother.
Yet another part of him doubted it completely.
'Could I really have been such a disgraceful man?'
And another thought surfaced.
'Why did Yuliana — a daughter of my enemy's house — step into Valdormer in the first place?'
Kallian's gaze lingered long on her name, the inked signature seeming almost alive beneath his fingers.
At dinner with Lloyd that evening, Denian had already finished eating and was half-asleep, yawning with droopy eyes.
I noticed and called one of the maids.
"He looks sleepy. Please take him to bed."
The maid gently lifted Denian, who obediently leaned against her shoulder, already dozing off.
Once he was gone, I set my fork down.
It was time to bring up the move to Silverstel — but Lloyd spoke first.
"I plan to move to Silverstel next week. You and Denian will come with me, of course."
His firm tone left no room for argument.
I nodded calmly, as if I'd been waiting for that.
"All right. I'll start preparing."
Lloyd blinked in surprise at my easy agreement.
"I'm just more comfortable at the Silverstel estate than here," I said lightly.
His face lit up with relief.
"Thank you, Yuliana."
Of course, my agreement wasn't real. It was part of the plan — to make our escape easier.
But he didn't know that. His eyes were shining with pure happiness.
For a moment, guilt pricked my heart — but only for a moment.
Before I could speak again, he reached into his coat and took out a small, elegant box.
I didn't need to open it to know what was inside.
As he placed it on the table, my body froze.
Lloyd's voice trembled slightly as he spoke.
"It may be a little early, but… I want your answer now."
I could see his hand shaking as he held the box.
"Will you grant me the honor of being your partner once again?"
His voice was filled with hope, but inside me, everything went cold.