Chapter 57
False Romance
Damion stood by the open door, simply staring at Ansi. Eventually, Ansi rose from her seat and walked toward him.
She had spent her time in the empty room, worrying. How exactly did Damion de Orphey know about the power of Rubelsa? And now… what kind of position should she take?
“Ansi.”
He called her name. His voice was dry—but compared to the tone she had heard from him in the car that morning, it sounded almost sweet.
“Do you remember the clause in our marriage vows? The one about not keeping secrets from each other?”
Ansi’s eyes wavered at the unexpected question.
Of course she remembered. Their marriage had started off with a massive lie. They had pledged to love and cherish one another, to trust without keeping secrets. But as she recited those hollow vows, Ansi had felt nothing but disgust at herself.
Why was he bringing this up now? Did he somehow find out her true motives? Or was this about not telling him about Geris?
“What if I do remember?”
But contrary to her expectations, Damion wasn’t bringing it up to demand her secrets.
“I’ve decided to end the performance.”
“…Performance?”
“There’s something I need to confess to you.”
His voice was calm.
Just looking at her seemed to quiet the thoughts that had plagued him all day—no, ever since they got married. The emotions that had once churned inside him like a violent storm were now eerily calm.
Like the eye of a hurricane.
His answer had already been decided.
He couldn’t keep using her life like this. Couldn’t keep deceiving her and sacrificing her vitality.
Even if it meant he would never accomplish the goal he had devoted his life to.
“I’ve known all along. That you can see my death.”
Ansi, who had been frozen in shock when he’d asked earlier if she had seen the future, now looked remarkably composed. It seemed she had spent the time preparing herself for this moment.
“Since when?”
“Since the beginning.”
“How?”
“I heard it from Count Rubelsa. That your kind can see when their partner is in mortal danger. I figured you, his daughter, would likely have that same ability.”
“…”
Ansi’s gaze shook.
If he had heard it from her father, then that meant he had known for over a year—maybe even longer. It wasn’t some accidental discovery. He had known long before they ever met again at the Ziedenka ball.
And yet, he had never once mentioned it.
Even though she had mentally prepared for this moment, her heart pounded violently. She drew a quiet breath, trying to steady her unsteady breathing.
“…Did you really marry me because you loved me?”
She had always wondered, deep down. Love at first sight? Ridiculous. But over time, she had come to believe it. Gradually, unknowingly, she began to accept at least one truth: that Damion liked her.
But if he had known about her ability all along, the story changed.
“No.”
He gave a cruel answer—but his eyes were warm. Still, the meaning of that answer was clear. Ansi’s expression crumbled.
From the start, it had all been a lie dressed as romance.
That was how he had manipulated her.
“Did you also know there’s a penalty when I save someone’s life?”
Damion nodded. Ansi bit her lower lip, her pale face becoming even whiter.
For some reason, tears welled up.
She didn’t want to cry. She felt like a fool. She didn’t even understand why she was crying.
Ansi was astonished at her own duality. Shameless to the core. She wanted to shove a bullet into her tear ducts.
She had deceived Damion and entered this marriage with false pretenses. So why was it so tragic, so heartbreaking, that he had deceived her in return?
She didn’t even love him.
But now, she held a powerful card against him.
She was the only one who could stop his death.
If she offered to save him again, maybe she could finally take control of this marriage. That would be more effective than any love—an emotion that now seemed laughably useless.
That was the resolve she had made while waiting in this room. If he had married her for her power, then she would offer him the use of that power—on her terms.
But the moment she saw his face walk through that door, everything fell apart. Her carefully ordered thoughts blew away like dust, and all that remained were miserable, tangled feelings.
“You should’ve just kept hiding it. Then I could’ve thrown myself in front of death for you like a fool.”
Her bitter words were laced with a twisted kind of defiance. As if she had saved him not for her goal, but out of some misplaced love.
Even with those words, Ansi knew she could never leave this man—or rather, Orphey. Not because of her feelings, but because of her purpose.
“Why confess now? Did you feel pity for the woman who came running to save you today?”
“That’s not it.”
“Then explain. Who knows? If you explain why you used me clearly enough, maybe I’ll help you again.”
“I’m confessing… so that won’t happen.”
“…”
So that won’t happen?
Ansi stared at Damion, trying to understand what he meant.
He reached out and gently wiped away the tears at the corners of her reddened eyes. The tender gesture made her heart ache as if being wrung out. Amore, that cruel god, still tormented her even now.
“Don’t ever come running to me like this again, Ansi.”
“What do you mean…”
“Whatever you see in your dreams, ignore it. Pretend you didn’t. Pretend you don’t know.”
“You’re asking me to just watch you die?”
“I’m saying don’t risk your life for me anymore.”
His voice was firm. He lowered his gaze.
“Until now, I’ve been consuming you for the sake of my own goal.”
“What goal?”
“…To claim Orphey. That was it. I needed to survive in order to have it.”
“…”
“But I don’t want to live like that anymore. So I’m changing my goal.”
His tone was calm, like the still surface of a lake untouched by wind. Since he wouldn’t meet her eyes directly, she couldn’t tell what emotion lay beneath his words.
“Ansi, I’m truly sorry. I know it won’t make up for the time you lost, but I’ll compensate you financially. Whether we divorce or not. Whatever you decide, I’ll accept it.”
Ansi chewed her lip and spat her words like venom.
“You selfish bastard.”
“You can call me a disgusting piece of trash. I think the same.”
“Emotionless, hypocritical scum.”
Damion didn’t react. He just listened, as if everything she said was true. She could scream worse things, tear into him with crueler words, and he still wouldn’t flinch.
But Ansi couldn’t speak anymore.
Because all those insults felt like they were meant for herself.
She finally stepped past him and walked away.
Bang! The door slammed shut.
She couldn’t talk to him anymore. No—she couldn’t even stay in this mansion.
Ansi rushed out of the estate.
“Madam, where are you going?”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Wait, at least your coat…!”
Simon, her maid, followed her in a panic, but Ansi shook her off. She stepped outside in her indoor clothes. The sky was overcast. She kept walking until she saw a shared carriage, and boarded it without hesitation.
Drip. Drip.
The falling rain grew heavier.
Damion, still slumped on the sofa where he had collapsed after Ansi left, slowly lifted his head.
He had to go talk to her again. He hadn’t realized until now just how impatient he could be. But this was what his heart was telling him.
He opened the door and stepped into the hall. One of the servants was pacing nervously. It was Simon, Ansi’s personal maid.
“Is Ansi in her room?”
“S-Sir, actually…!”
Simon ran over as if she had been waiting. Her face full of anxiety made Damion’s expression tighten.
“Madam said not to follow her and went out… but she hasn’t returned yet. And she didn’t even take an umbrella…”
“Did she say where she was going?”
“No…”
“Search the house in case she’s still here. I’ll check outside.”
He slung a coat over his arm and stepped into the downpour.
The rain fell in thick sheets. Damion forced himself to think rationally: there weren’t that many places she could go in weather like this.
But he would soon realize how wrong he was—only after checking Sophia’s house, her friend’s estate at Marquis Baylis, and even Count Rubelsa’s grave.
