Chapter 6

Demius stayed silent for a long while before answering in a reluctant tone.

“…That’s right.”

His voice was slightly hoarse as he added quietly,

“We are married for only one year.”

* * *

A contract relationship.

Yes. Their relationship was nothing more than that, a one-year marriage contract.

Demius bit the inside of his cheek as the fact settled in once more.

‘I have something I must return to do. But… I cannot bring myself to face it alone.’

A year had passed since the day he fell from the cliff and was rescued by Melissa.

That short, dreamlike time together had felt like a miracle. After that, Demius had finally opened his lips to confess his situation to her.

Melissa had thought for a moment, then nodded.

‘I’ll go with you.’

How had he felt when he heard that?

He could not even remember. Before he could grasp the feeling, his lips had already moved on their own.

‘The truth is, I was born a noble. And the matter I must resolve will take quite some time.’

Stop it.

He had heard his conscience whispering inside him.

But his lips had ignored it and spoken without hesitation.

‘To take you with me, I’ll need a proper reason.’

His trembling voice barely carried the final words.

‘Will you marry me?’

When he finally raised his head, Melissa’s eyes were wide with shock.

Demius hurriedly added,

‘Of course, it would just be a contract. Only for a short while. Just one year. One year at most.’

At that, Melissa’s lips parted slowly.

That fleeting moment when her soft pink lips opened and closed again had felt like an eternity.

‘All right.’

That was her answer.

It took him a long time to regain his senses before he stammered,

‘R-really?’

‘Yes!’

In that instant, it felt as though bells were ringing in his ears and his entire body was lifted into the heavens.

But when he realized what her answer truly meant, the wings that had carried him skyward broke and he came crashing down into cold reality.

A contract marriage.

He resented that the word “contract” had to come before “marriage,” and yet if not for that word, the marriage itself would not have been possible at all.

‘No.’

What relief was there in that?

Demius shook his head, disgusted by his own selfishness and desire.

Keeping Melissa tied to this ruined household even for a year was already a sin.

To go as far as to file an official marriage certificate, that alone was enough to make him atone for life.

After the contract marriage ended and Melissa left, he planned never to remarry.

He could already picture his mother urging him to marry and have children, but that was no concern.

He still had a younger brother, foolish yet clever in his own way. And if that brother refused the inheritance, they could always adopt a suitable heir from a branch family.

‘The only advantage this Grand Ducal House has left is its hollow reputation.’

Demius wore a faint, bitter smile. But his thoughts were interrupted by Melissa’s gentle voice.

“May I ask you something?”

“Anything.”

He quickly adjusted his expression and replied. Melissa blinked her wide eyes and asked curiously,

“Who was that boy?”

That boy.

She must have meant the black-haired, blue-eyed boy she had seen earlier that day.

A shadow passed over Demius’s eyes.

“…A distant relative from a branch family.”

He hesitated, then added quietly,

“At least, that’s the official story.”

“Official story?”

Melissa tilted her head, her eyes round with confusion.

Seeing her expression, Demius sighed softly and began to explain.

“I suppose I can tell you.”

He bit his lower lip, then finally said,

“I don’t actually know.”

“What?”

Melissa blinked in surprise.

You don’t know?

She could not understand what he meant.

“You and that boy look so much alike. I thought he might be your younger brother.”

She blinked again, then added hesitantly,

“Or maybe… your son?”

“Absolutely not!”

Demius flailed his hands in panic.

“Not at all. There isn’t the slightest connection between us. Please believe me.”

“Oh, I see.”

Startled by his overreaction, Melissa nodded awkwardly and mumbled,

“I wouldn’t mind if he were your son, though.”

“He’s not!”

Demius pressed both hands over his heart and swore with fierce conviction.

“I swear before the Great Spirit, I am not that child’s father.”

Goodness.

Melissa blinked, startled by how serious he sounded.

To make such a dangerous vow, his eyes shone as if he would rip open his chest to prove his innocence.

Melissa nodded awkwardly.

“All right.”

Still, she felt a little disappointed.

It would have been nice if that adorable child had been related to him somehow.

Unaware of her thoughts, Demius spoke again, desperate for her to understand.

“I truly don’t know where he came from. One day, he just appeared at the front gates of the Grand Duke’s castle.”

“Appeared… suddenly?”

“…Yes.”

A faint smile of sorrow crossed Demius’s face as he looked at her.

It had happened years ago, yet the memory still weighed heavily on him.

Even so, he had to tell her.

At least to her.

His voice came out strained and heavy.

“…I once told you I had an older brother.”

“Yes, I remember.”

“My brother…”

Demius paused to take a breath, pain flickering in his eyes.

“He was an exceptional man. The perfect heir to the Grand Duke. No one could compare.”

He closed his eyes tightly.

House Eisenhart, the northern wall of the empire.

Back when that name still filled him with pride, his brother had been everything he admired.

Asellion von Eisenhart.

His brother, seven years older than him, had been kind not only to his family and the castle staff but also to every villager in their territory.

Yet when he needed to be firm, he was resolute, a man of leadership and responsibility befitting a future Grand Duke.

Even their strict mother had shown him trust and affection, patting his shoulder with a rare smile.

But one day, when the entire household’s expectations for him were at their peak, Asellion disappeared.

“At first, everyone searched for him desperately.”

The family had used every connection, every bit of money and manpower to find Asellion.

But after years with no trace, their mother finally said,

‘From now on, you are the heir, Demius.’

Her voice had been cold and unfeeling.

‘Forget Asellion.’

“…I couldn’t forgive her.”

His trembling lips whispered with quiet fury.

“I could never forgive her.”

Seres von Eisenhart.

The northern wall of the Rakion Empire.

The first and last line of defense.

Had the ruler of this icy land allowed even her heart to freeze solid?

When his mother told him to forget his brother, her blue eyes had been utterly void of warmth.

After that, he had grown sick of everything.

He had come to hate the family he once took pride in, and even his mother whom he had once admired.

He had begun to doubt whether it was right to use the family’s power to search for his brother at all.

And around that time, the boy appeared.

“Shilen looked just like my brother when he was young. I thought, if my brother ever had a child, that child would look exactly like him.”

“Shilen?”

Melissa’s eyes widened at the name.

“That name… could it be…?”