Warning

A sharp voice rang out through the frozen air.

"I'm asking who you are."

At his thunderous question, Roze's hand began to tremble slightly.

"I, I am…"

Even in the darkness, one could sense her frail body trembling.

If it had been someone other than Clayton present, they might have felt pity.

Unfortunately, it was Clayton who was here.

Clayton, frowning deeply, shook off Roze's hand and stood up.

Then, he threw open the curtains.

An unpleasant light poured in, casting itself over the woman who had been hidden in darkness.

"You are…"

As Clayton examined the woman's face under the light, his expression gradually hardened.

The face and red hair identical to the Roze Hertz he knew. To anyone, it was unmistakably Hertz.

However, the more closely he observed, the more differences he began to notice from the Roze Hertz he knew.

Slightly drooped eyes and a generally slimmer frame.

She was completely different from the Roze Hertz he knew. And the woman before him now was likely…

"Roze Hertz."

This was likely the real Roze Hertz. And the identity of the one he had believed to be Roze Hertz until now…

There was only one person in the world who could look so identical to the real Roze Hertz.

The twin brother of Roze Hertz, said to be absent from the empire.

It could only be him.

Clayton's gaze moved past Roze and settled on the broken frame on the table.

In the family photo filled with happiness, the faces of the close-knit twin siblings caught his eye.

It was known that Lloyd Hertz had entered an academy in the eastern continent following the death of the count and countess.

This was a long-standing tradition of the Hertz family, ensuring that the sibling would not witness the treatment his sister endured at the hands of the Duke of Sayre's household.

This was to prevent him from being driven by familial bonds to rebel against the Duke's family.

But to think that Lloyd had ignored this tradition, living in the capital under the Duke's radar while pretending to be Roze.

"Damn it."

Even after seeing it with his own eyes, he bit his lip at the absurdity of the situation.

"You've completely played me."

Flames flickered in his eyes. He couldn't shake the feeling of being deceived.

"…Lloyd Hertz."

As Lloyd Hertz's name fell from Clayton's lips, Roze's barely-held composure completely crumbled.

She clung to the hem of Clayton's sleeve as he moved away.

"Y-Your Grace, m-my brother had no choice but to pretend to be me because I was ill! He wasn't trying to deceive you; he was just trying to save me…!"

But before Roze could finish her plea, Clayton's face twisted harshly.

"…Save you? Why? Do you think coming to me would kill you or something? Because I'm a monster?"

"N-no, that's not it…!"

The more Roze spoke, the more the tangled web seemed not to unravel but to snap under the weight of the extreme situation.

Under the merciless gaze of the man, tears began to well up in Roze's eyes.

"So."

With a chilling tone, he questioned her, leaving the tearful Roze behind him.

"Where is Lloyd right now?"

"L-Lloyd is not at the estate right now."

"Then send someone out to find him right now, or go find him yourself and bring that bastard before me immedia—"

Just as he was about to unleash his pent-up fury at the tearful Roze.

Something flashed through Clayton's mind.

"I wonder if Dalia knows."

That the Roze he thought he knew was actually a man. But soon, Clayton let out a dry laugh.

There was no way Dalia could know something he hadn't figured out for years.

Yes, that was undoubtedly impossible, and yet…

What if.

"What if Dalia already knows?"

What if Dalia knew that Lloyd was a man and was staying close to him?

What if that was why they were meeting secretly, away from others' eyes?

Amid the anger consuming his mind, confusing thoughts began to creep in one by one.

When an indescribable wave of emotions surged over him.

Clayton muttered with a calmer expression than before.

"No."

His face was calm, but the veins on the back of his clenched fist bulged as if they would burst.

"Don't tell Lloyd. Don't tell him I've uncovered your secret."

"…What?"

Roze lifted her head at his suddenly changed demeanor.

"Not to tell Lloyd? What do you mean by that…"

Clayton, who had been staring into space, lowered his head and met Roze's gaze.

"If you want to save your brother, keep your mouth shut."

Roze Hertz.

He murmured the low warning.

* * *

Beneath the shimmering sunset sky, the carriage carrying Dalia entered the estate. Inside, Dalia cautiously apologized to Samantha.

"I'm really sorry about today. I promise it won't happen again!"

It was an apology for slipping out of the clinic silently and in secret again. But Samantha looked at Dalia with a doubtful expression.

"I must have heard those exact words at least three times. Honestly, if you hadn't shown up any sooner, I would have informed the estate."

Though Dalia felt it was a little unfair to be reproached by Samantha, she couldn't argue. It was her fault for not refusing. As long as Clayton didn't find out, that was all that mattered.

"You'll keep this a secret from His Grace, right?"

"Of course. If His Grace were to find out about today, losing my wages would probably be the least of my worries."

Samantha shuddered at the thought, even as she spoke.

"Don't worry. As long as the three of us keep quiet, His Grace will never find out."

As Dalia replied with a triumphant tone, the carriage came to a stop, signaling they had arrived at their destination.

Perhaps because the troubling matter had been resolved, Dalia's face was full of a bright, blooming smile as she stepped out of the carriage.

And watching Dalia was none other than Clayton.

He was quietly staring at Dalia's face through the window.

The face of a woman laughing so purely, unaware of anything, was etched into his gaze.

The bright smile that she rarely showed him was freely given even to a maid.

"Dalia."

She was his wife, and no matter what happened, she was his.

Yet, why did it feel like he was the person furthest from her in this estate?

That same question had lingered in his mind for days.

At the same time, an unresolved thirst began to agitate his nerves.

He had gathered all the self-restraint he could muster to keep himself in check, but his current state was no different from a ticking time bomb.

He had gone to defuse the time bomb, only to set it ablaze instead.

His rising irritation churned inside him.

"Lloyd Hertz."

As he recalled the face of the one who had deceived him, he remembered the scene from a few days ago in the carriage.

Lloyd following after Dalia into a certain place.

The moment he recalled that scene, the whiskey glass in his hand shattered with a loud crack.

Red drops of blood dripped from his palm, cut by the shards of broken glass.

Jason, watching the Duke from behind, flinched but couldn't bring himself to approach.

His instincts warned him that the Duke was not to be disturbed at this moment.

And so, Jason stared at the floor, swallowing nervously.

A low voice from above pierced his ears.

"Jason."

"…Yes!"

"Deliver a message to the Hertz family."

"W-what should I…?"

Jason looked at the Duke's back with a puzzled expression, wondering what else there was to convey when a message from the Hertz family had just arrived.

"Tell them we'll be keeping Roze Hertz with us for the time being."

But Jason's gaze soon turned to one of shock.

To bring Roze Hertz into the estate?

"Y-Your Grace, what do you mean…!"

"The Hertz women have always lived in the annex for generations anyway. What's the issue?"

He wasn't wrong.

The Sayre family had long taken the bloodlines of the Hertz daughters, arranging for them to stay in the annex to avoid public scrutiny.

But no secret in the world lasts forever.

That secret had spread as rumors beyond the estate's walls, leaving a trail of scandal that still clung to both the Hertz and Sayre families.

"But, Your Grace, what will you tell Madam about this decision?"

This decision would practically confirm the rumors circulating about the Hertz family and Clayton.

And the one who would suffer the most from it was none other than Dalia.

Jason cautiously asked Clayton again because of this, but no answer came.

To the current Clayton, the opinions of others didn't matter.

What he sought was only answers.

"Could Dalia really…"

…know the truth about Lloyd's identity?

And so, he decided to cast the bait and wait silently.

Like a predator waiting for the perfect moment to strike its prey.