HDFL 00

Prologue

It was a dazzling night.

Hundreds of gondolas drifted leisurely across the water, their movements as smooth as silk, while the songs of gondoliers floated between elegantly dressed ladies and gentlemen. The glow of torches and lamps embroidered the canal with brilliant light, swallowing the stars overhead until they seemed to retreat shyly into the vast darkness of the night sky.

“It’s as if someone set the sea on fire.”

The woman in the dress murmured the simple observation as she gazed at the crimson light filling the canals. The breathtaking beauty of the city felt almost unreal, yet instead of lifting her spirits, it only deepened the melancholy in her heart.

With a quiet sigh, Lucrezia turned toward the brilliantly lit chandelier. Among the guests attending tonight’s masquerade ball—a gathering said to include every influential noble in the Empire—was someone she absolutely had to meet.

Someone who had once been her fiancé long ago.

A man who now belonged to an entirely different world.

“Welcome. May I see your invitation?”

“Of course.”

As Lucrezia handed over the invitation stamped with a crimson seal, the attendant inspected it and nodded.

“Everything is in order. I hope you enjoy your evening.”

There was no need to verify her name or family.

Naturally.

The nightly masquerade held on this famous imperial resort island was notorious as a haven of adultery and decadence.

Throughout the Carnival season, countless nobles came seeking discreet companions with whom to indulge themselves, while courtesans who catered to the upper class spent fortunes just to obtain invitations.

Without revealing their identities, they shared beds day and night, only to part cleanly once Carnival came to an end. In an atmosphere where even orgies were tacitly accepted, asking someone who they really were was considered a breach of the unspoken rules.

I never imagined he’d enjoy coming to a place like this. In the end, I suppose he’s just another ordinary nobleman.

Beneath the enormous chandelier, couples shamelessly caressed one another. Others, unable to restrain themselves, had already slipped into secluded corners, their clothes half undone.

Even the refined, elegant melody echoing through the ballroom was powerless to conceal the obscene spectacle.

I almost wish we’d never met again.

The little boy who had once followed her around everywhere with a radiant smile had grown into an adult somewhere beyond her reach. It felt as though she had permanently lost one of the brightest jewels of her brief, beautiful childhood.

“…Then again, I’m no different.”

If her former fiancé—now a marquis—were to see what she had become, he would undoubtedly despise her. The woman once destined to become the Empire’s finest lady had fallen into nothing more than a criminal. If he knew the truth, he’d probably be ashamed that he’d ever known her.

This isn’t the time to dwell on the past. I’ll just deliver the letter and leave.

Her current employer was not known for his patience.

If he discovered she’d attended the masquerade alone, he certainly wouldn’t let it slide. After all, it had been Lucrezia herself who agreed to remain by his side throughout the Carnival season as part of their contract.

She had hoped that, having glimpsed him not long ago, she would recognize him quickly.

But finding one masked man among a sea of masked guests proved far more difficult than she’d expected.

After nearly fifteen minutes of searching every corner of the ballroom while brushing off persistent advances from several men, her eyes finally landed on a handsome man with platinum-blond hair.

Found him.

Marquis Dylan Ostia.

Her childhood friend.

Her former fiancé.

He was engaged in conversation with a beautiful noblewoman. Freshly discharged after serving as a naval officer, his disciplined posture and well-built physique were more than enough to captivate the hearts of countless women.

I need to approach him carefully so he doesn’t recognize me.

As far as Dylan knew, Lucrezia had died in the incident that occurred on the island over ten years ago. That had also been the last time they’d seen each other, so surely he wouldn’t recognize her by her voice alone.

Steeling herself, Lucrezia stepped toward him—

Only for someone to gently seize her wrist.

The moment she turned around and recognized the culprit, her entire body stiffened.

“How are you… here?”

“What? Is this somewhere I’m not allowed to be?”

A smile spread beneath the mask that concealed only his eyes.

Even amid the crowded ballroom, her employer’s striking appearance drew every gaze with ease.

Unlike the graceful curve of his lips, however, his eyes held no trace of amusement.

Meeting that chilling gaze, Lucrezia swallowed nervously.

“I have something important to do. Let go.”

“If that important business is going to see the marquis, then I fully intend to stop you.”

How did he know I came here to meet Dylan?

Confusion spread across Lucrezia’s face.

The man’s smile only deepened.

As the silence lingered, he lowered his head and whispered in a dangerously soft voice.

“The way you look at him changes. Did you really think I wouldn’t notice?”

It was an absurdly casual tone for someone of his rank.

She tried to wrench her wrist free, but the duke had no intention of letting her go. Instead, he wrapped his free arm around her waist, pulling her firmly against his chest so she couldn’t escape.

“I can’t breathe. Let me go.”

“And risk losing you again? Out of everyone here, I know better than anyone how quick you are.”

His voice was so gentle it sent chills down her spine.

She felt her former fiancé’s gaze settle upon her from across the room.

Unable to bear it, Lucrezia instinctively turned her face away.

There was no chance Dylan would recognize her.

Even so, her pale cheeks flushed crimson.

“Well, would you look at that. A lovers’ quarrel? You don’t see that very often here.”

“He actually chased his lover all the way here? They must still be in the honeymoon phase.”

The mocking remarks of the men who had been circling around Lucrezia shifted toward the duke.

As sneers and contemptuous stares rained down on them, the duke stepped in front of her, shielding her from the crowd.

“I’m not leaving you in a filthy place like this any longer. We’re going back.”

“No. I still have something I need to do.”

“This is about that damned letter, isn’t it? I’ll deliver it myself. Better the Duke than some mysterious woman who appeared out of nowhere, don’t you think?”

He already knew why I came…

Feeling as though he had seen straight through her, Lucrezia’s slender shoulders trembled.

If I question him here, things might only get worse.

With the duke present, approaching Dylan was impossible.

Nor was this the right place to explain everything.

After weighing her options, Lucrezia quietly nodded.

She still couldn’t understand what the duke was really thinking.

But if he cooperated, it would make her task much easier.

And perhaps most importantly…

She wouldn’t have to let her old friend see what a miserable person she had become.

“Let’s go home.”

It hadn’t been long since their pretend relationship—nothing more than a contractual arrangement—had begun to transform into something unexpected.

Home.

Could someone who was neither genuine nor entirely false ever claim such a word?

This was merely a fleeting affair between a nobleman visiting from the mainland and a woman from the back alleys.

Nothing more.

Nothing less.

“Take my hand. The boat’s rocking.”

Already aboard the gondola, the duke extended his hand toward her.

Lucrezia stared at it for a long moment before letting out a quiet laugh.

She had been born and raised by the sea.

There wasn’t a single boat on which she could lose her footing.

In a city where horses and carriages never traveled, boats were as familiar to her as solid ground.

He only acts like an outsider at times like this.

Now he escorted her with effortless courtesy.

Yet when they’d first met, he hadn’t cared in the slightest whether she boarded a boat or drowned in the water.

It had only been recently that she and the duke had become so intimately involved.

Though she never imagined he’d care enough to chase after her to a masquerade.

I always thought… he hated me rather than liked me.

The face of the man reaching toward her was breathtakingly beautiful.

His sharply defined nose.

His delicate features.

His perfectly shaped lips.

His cool, piercing eyes.

Standing beneath the moonlight, looking directly at her…

For some reason, her heart fluttered like that of a young girl.

“At this rate, my arm’s going to fall off.”

Only after the duke teased her did Lucrezia realize she’d been staring at his face for far too long.

She cautiously took his hand.

But instead of stepping gracefully into the gondola as she’d intended…

She found herself laid back against the soft sofa inside.

“When someone looks at me with eyes that passionate, it’s only proper that I meet their expectations.”

Just as Lucrezia struggled within the prison of his strong arms, his warm lips descended upon her skin.

He persistently nipped at her neck and the sensitive edge of her ear before capturing her parted lips in a deep kiss.

Their warm breaths intertwined.

Heat spread between their bodies.

Intoxicated by the sweet sensation that sent tingles through her fingertips, Lucrezia unconsciously wrapped her arms around him.

As the kiss deepened, the memory of the night they had recently spent together resurfaced.

The duke had held her captive in his embrace, possessing her with relentless determination.

The emotion in his eyes had been impossible to understand.

Obsession.

Possessiveness.

The sort of feelings that should only exist between lovers.

This is strange… It’s almost as if we’re actually in love.

Dating the duke?

Ridiculous.

Kallian Rochester.

The Emperor’s closest confidant.

A war hero who had distinguished himself in countless battles.

The head of the Empire’s only remaining ducal house.

How could a man like him ever belong with someone who possessed nothing more than a tiny house in the slums?

“You weren’t planning to do this with that bastard too, were you? Because if you were, I’d rather kill the marquis than help you.”

“…You’d suspect me no matter what answer I gave.”

“You’re right. You’re as sharp as ever.”

Readily admitting it, Kallian brushed his thumb across her swollen lips before continuing.

“Don’t you dare betray me, Lucrezia. I’ll chase you to the ends of the earth and make sure you pay for it.”

“You.”

“And any man who stands beside you.”

The eyes of the man speaking those words were terrifyingly gentle.

Why does he look at me like that?

As though he hated her enough to want to wrap his hands around her throat…

Or as though he loved her.