Chapter 56

Episode 56

Ilian kept opening and closing the small velvet box in his hand with a click.

He had been mulling over it all evening and still hadn’t reached a conclusion even late into the night.

Each time the lid reopened, the amethyst ring revealed inside was the decisive reason Lydia had no choice but to agree to this contract marriage—and the very object now plunging Ilian into agony.

‘If I return this…….’

It was now just a matter of when to return it.

Since the curse had been resolved, it was almost strange that Lydia hadn’t already brought up the timing of receiving the ring back.

Click—

As the lid closed, the ring disappeared from sight again.

To be honest, Ilian didn’t want to return the ring.

Even as he made pathetic excuses and racked his brain miserably, he had to admit it.

Saying he couldn’t return it yet because the curse wasn’t fully lifted was just an excuse.

However, even if it meant becoming the most despicable person in the world by making excuses, if it was a means to keep Lydia by his side, he was willing to use it.

No, that’s what he had thought.

Until what happened today.

<If it’s what you want, I can grant it, Ilian Esteban.>

Continuing to think of this ring as a way to hold on to Lydia now was no different from accepting that damned spirit’s offer.

He, who wished for Lydia to stay by his side of her own will, was perhaps someone overflowing with excessive greed.

Otherwise, if Lydia didn’t choose it herself, he believed it held no meaning.

Yet at the same time, the argument of “Why shouldn’t I be despicable?” kept clinging to him.

Their contract period was originally one year.

It could only end early if both sides agreed, so for now, he could keep her close for the remaining time.

He could say he’d let her go once the curse was completely lifted.

He could keep postponing contact with the Lescal Islands.

He could even lie and say they lost the dagger he sent as a gift……

Ilian’s train of thought abruptly cut off there.

He opened the box again and stared intently at the ring.

In the end, he would gain nothing by doing this.

The ring would only become a hindrance.

This contract marriage, which was meant to allow them to part ways cleanly, was functioning as one giant shackle.

Because their relationship had been misaligned from the start, they couldn’t move forward properly unless they cleared it away.

“……To rely pathetically on a ring, of all things.”

Though he had so badly wanted to be that pathetic, the conclusion he reached now pointed in the opposite direction.

Ilian finally made up his mind and rose to his feet.

He placed the now-empty box on the table and held the ring directly in his hand.

But despite his resolve, he wandered through the empty bedroom and down the hall, checking the grand library and courtyard where Lydia might be—yet found no trace of her.

“Where is the lady you serve?”

Then, noticing a servant hesitating in the hallway—one he was certain he’d seen next to Lydia—he asked, and the servant’s face clouded with discomfort.

“She said she wanted to be alone, so I’ve been waiting here just in case.”

Ilian turned his gaze to the narrow passage that led to the stairs ascending to the tower’s highest point.

“She’s up there alone?”

“Yes, she said she liked the view from up high.”

Knowing Lydia’s nature, she wouldn’t have kept the maid standing for long. She’d surely told her she could return for the day.

Still, it was clear the maid couldn’t rest easy and chose to remain here.

“You may go. I’ll bring Lydia back myself.”

Relief flickered across the maid’s face.

And the way she glanced at him—soon enough, there would probably be rumors that the marquis couple had become quite close.

‘If even a fraction of that rumor were true, I wouldn’t be like this.’

As Ilian climbed the stairs, he rolled the ring in his pocket between his fingers.

Even after finally resolving himself, he still couldn’t let go of his lingering attachment.

Delaying the return of the ring could simplify many things.

Yet at the very end, the reason he couldn’t bring himself to do so was simply because he wished Lydia would truly look at him.

When he climbed the final step and reached the open space at the top, he saw Lydia in the distance, leaning against the railing, gazing outward.

She was looking toward the forest they had visited earlier that day.

Perhaps because of the untimely cold rain, the trees occasionally swayed violently, and the breeze that reached them carried a chill unfit for the season.

Ilian couldn’t easily bring himself to speak.

Lydia, with her hair left free and fluttering in the wind, looked so peaceful.

So he simply stood there, silently watching her for a while.

“Lydia.”

When he thought of this place in Esteban Castle in the future, her current figure would likely be the first to come to mind for the rest of his life.

Only after fully capturing her image in his eyes did Ilian finally call her.

“Ilian.”

She turned, as if genuinely surprised, trying to brush away the hair obstructing her view but eventually giving up.

Ilian approached her and gathered her hair together.

He gently parted it into sections and began to loosely braid it along its natural grain.

“How did you know to come up here?”

“Sera said that since I was visiting Esteban Castle, I’d regret it if I didn’t see this. She said I could come up anytime since there was plenty of time—but that didn’t seem likely, so I wanted to see it once.”

He felt at a loss for words from the start.

If he could understand the emotion in those violet eyes, he felt he’d be willing to give up half of Esteban’s gold.

Lydia had always been an unpredictable person, from beginning to end.

That’s why she had completely captivated his attention.

She was also the one who sometimes made him anxious.

Lydia watched him curiously as he skillfully layered strands over one another, weaving her long hair with practiced ease.

“You’re really good at this.”

She hoped her words would come off as simple admiration—

Not as if she were imagining he had done this for other women or would do it for someone else in the future.

Ilian, whatever he thought of her words, casually brushed aside a strand that tickled her face and replied.

“I wanted to do my mother’s hair, so I pestered the maid who cared for her until she taught me.”

His bedridden mother would weakly smile and sit up with support when he offered to do her hair.

Even when he messed it up terribly, she would praise him.

He had wanted to see that lingering smile that stayed on her face longer than usual.

He only realized how bad his braiding was later, when he boldly tried to braid Katrina’s hair and got scolded for the mess.

Though his tone was flat, barely audible over the rustling of distant leaves, the anecdote held a faint longing.

“……You were a kind little brother.”

“To avoid ruining the mood with my future wife, my sister gave me several demonstrations. Let’s say I paid attention.”

Lydia, feeling the brush of Ilian’s hand repeatedly grazing her shoulder, adjusted her posture to calm her blushing face.

Ilian took the ribbon Lydia handed him and tied off the braid.

Then, at last, he let her hair fall from his hands and looked down at what he had done.

He realized that Lydia was the only person he could say these things to, and the only person he felt it was okay to tell.

He often found himself talking to her without even realizing he was opening up—only noticing afterward that he had shared stories from his childhood.

“Lydia.”

So perhaps giving her this, too, was born from a simple desire—

To see a genuine smile appear on the face of the one who could make him lay everything down.

Ilian gently slipped the ring onto Lydia’s fingers, which had naturally interlaced with his.

That ring, the one she desired most—and perhaps the only final means of holding onto her.

“……This is.”

Feeling the ring slide onto her finger in reverse, Lydia looked down at her hand in surprise.

Even without checking, she could tell.

The ring, as if greeting its rightful owner after a long absence, sparkled briefly in joy.