"A contract marriage?"
The woman’s voice before her rose in shock.
Startled, Sylvia imdiately lunged forward and clamped her hand over redith’s mouth, her eyes darting wildly around the garden to make sure no one had overheard the outburst.
Still dissatisfied and clearly unconvinced, redith pushed Sylvia’s hand away from her lips.
"Have you lost your mind?" she demanded. "Why would you do sothing like that?"
Several weeks had passed since the entourage departed.
Since then, Sylvia had beco a shadow of herself—her once lively eyes dulled, her appetite diminished, and a quiet gloom lingered around her wherever she went.
The change had not gone unnoticed.
redith, who had regained much of her strength after the difficult months of her pregnancy, had gradually resud her duties among the ladies of the castle.
Now that Rachel had officially taken her place as the first Chief Lady-in-Waiting, redith no longer wished to appear overly dependent on her.
Besides, the castle had beco busier than ever.
The new maids and midwives brought by Beatrice’s company were still undergoing training. They required constant guidance to beco familiar with the household’s customs and rules.
Though Rachel was more than capable of managing them, she still relied on redith and Sylvia’s assistance from ti to ti.
All the ladies-in-waiting, together with the existing female attendants, worked tirelessly to manage the sudden influx of staff, supervising their duties, overseeing their training, and ensuring that everything within the castle continued to run smoothly.
Beatrice herself was no less occupied, constantly ensuring the labourers she had supplied fulfilled their tasks properly and served according to the standards expected of them.
Amid all this busyness, however, Sylvia had grown quieter with each passing day.
Though she carried out her duties diligently, she rarely joined the others in conversation anymore.
Instead, she buried herself in paperwork—updating ledgers, organising records, and managing docuntation that kept her isolated from the rest of the household.
redith, being her closest friend, noticed the change imdiately.
At first, she had assud Sylvia was simply missing Drystan. But the more she observed her, the more certain she beca that it was sothing else entirely.
Sothing heavier.
In recent days, redith had even caught glimpses of Sylvia silently wiping away tears while working, always trying to hide them before anyone noticed.
That was why she had decided to confront her today.
After much persistence, Sylvia had finally confessed. But the answer she gave was the last thing redith had ever expected.
"Keep your voice down!" Sylvia whispered urgently, panic flashing across her face. "What if soone heard you?"
redith exhaled hard, still struggling to process what she had just been told.
"You would rather think of that than this... this..." redith faltered, unable to find the right word for her friend’s situation.
Sylvia looked at her helplessly, her expression almost pitiful.
redith let out another sigh and shook her head.
"This isn’t even a political marriage! I would have understood if Sir Mills were from a noble family or if your household had so significance in having him as part of your family. But he doesn’t! And... and... the two of you look like a loving couple!"
Sylvia’s shoulders sagged. Her gaze dropped to the floor.
"Only in front of others," she said after a mont of silence. "Drystan is very good at acting. Sotis he is so convincing that even I can’t tell whether he truly ans the things he says."
redith stared at her in disbelief.
"The other day..." she insisted, leaning forward slightly. "The way he kissed you before he left—that couldn’t have been an act... could it?"
Sylvia turned her face away, embarrassed and uncertain.
"I don’t know, r," she murmured. "It’s possible."
"No! I don’t believe any of this!" redith shook her head vehently.
"It’s true! You know I would never lie to you!" Sylvia insisted, lifting her head.
redith’s expression shifted again—this ti from disbelief to irritation.
"If that’s really the truth, then why didn’t you tell from the beginning?" she demanded. "Did you agree to this because of pressure from your grandfather, the Marquess?"
Guilt filled Sylvia’s eyes.
That had been one of the reasons she kept the matter to herself.
redith’s temper could flare easily, and now that she was heavily pregnant, Sylvia feared her reaction might be too overwhelming.
But now that the secret had been exposed, there was no hiding it again.
"I couldn’t, r," Sylvia said quietly. "And... you were right about my grandfather. He has this strange fondness for Drystan. He refuses to listen to any objection to his idea of pairing us together."
She paused before continuing.
"And after the incident during the Mid-Autumn Festival, his condition worsened. I couldn’t bear to disappoint him and cause him more suffering."
"Even so, you could have co to ," redith replied, her voice softening.
The desperation in Sylvia’s expression was obvious now. The burden she had been carrying under the Marquess’s pressure, and the expectations of her family, had clearly worn her down.
redith knew well how Liam, the Marquess of Sylvere, had been behaving lately. The madness brought about by the dark magic that had once affected him was no secret to her. Sylvia’s explanation, painful as it was, sounded entirely plausible.
"I couldn’t," Sylvia repeated. "You were happily married to Sir Jarr. I didn’t want to place you in the middle of my troubles."
She lowered her voice slightly.
"Besides... Drystan agreed to it after we failed to persuade His Highness Prince Kiev to treat my grandfather."
redith frowned.
"So the idea ca from you... And he simply agreed to it?" she asked. "A contract marriage for one year?"
Sylvia nodded, while redith released a long sigh.
"Fine. I won’t ask about the details of whatever arrangent the two of you made. It’s not as though I can change anything now that it’s already done."
She folded her arms and looked at Sylvia more closely.
"But tell this," she continued. "If the two of you truly agreed to it together... then why is it troubling you now?"
The question had been expected.
redith had always been sharp and observant when it ca to matters of the heart. Sylvia had known she would notice eventually.
The noble lady turned slightly away, her hands fidgeting nervously with the folds of her skirt.
This ti, redith did not press her further. She waited patiently, watching her uneasy friend take her ti.
At last, Sylvia spoke.
"I know you said you didn’t want to know the details... but this is related," she began hesitantly. "We promised to treat each other with respect, and since our marriage, we had never crossed the line. But... that changed recently. It happened after my grandfather broke his leg the other day."
"Wait—what?" redith’s eyes widened. She imdiately grabbed Sylvia’s arm. "Did he do sothing to you?"
"No! No, it’s not what you’re thinking!" Sylvia hurried to explain.
redith tilted her head, still trying to understand. "If it’s not that... then what?"
Sylvia hesitated, her fingers twisting nervously.
"Well... we... we both did," she confessed, her voice barely audible.
"Did what?" redith pressed, unwilling to assu again.
Sylvia lowered her head, her voice dropping even softer.
"You know... that... being intimate."
"Do you an casually affectionate," redith asked carefully, "or truly intimate?"
Sylvia squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her lips together.
"The real one," she admitted quietly. "Everything."
redith fell silent for a mont before speaking slowly; understanding dawned upon her.
"You slept with him."
Sylvia said nothing. Her silence answered enough.
redith exhaled, still struggling to piece it together.
"I don’t understand, Sylvia. If this marriage is only a contract, why would you allow that to happen?"
"It just... happened. And we both wanted it at the ti."
redith paused, studying her friend thoughtfully.
"So he didn’t force you," she said at last. "You both chose it. And from the way things progressed... it sounds like the two of you are becoming a real couple rather than just partners in a contract."
She gave Sylvia a searching look. "Isn’t that a good thing?"
Sylvia shook her head.
"It’s not that simple, r. Drystan doesn’t love . He treasures his freedom, and he has his own plans."
redith frowned slightly.
"And what about you?" she asked back. "You gave yourself to him. Surely it wasn’t just a fleeting mont. You’ve fallen for him, haven’t you?"
Her voice softened. "And now you’re afraid of losing him."
Sylvia’s expression darkened.
Everything redith said struck its mark with painful accuracy. There was no denying it—that was exactly what she felt.
"Even if I have," Sylvia said, "and even if we’ve shared the sa bed... it won’t change the fact that he’ll leave once the contract ends."
redith let out another heavy sigh. What Sylvia had revealed was difficult enough to comprehend, let alone resolve.
If things truly ended the way Sylvia feared, she would be the one left bearing the consequences—a divorced woman in a society that rarely showed rcy for such a fate.
"You two made a ridiculous contract and then crossed the line," redith said sharply. "If that intimacy ant nothing to him, then I swear he won’t get away with it. I’ll have Alex knock so sense into his head!"
"Please don’t say that!" Sylvia protested imdiately. "Drystan isn’t that kind of person. He may be mischievous with his jokes, but he’s honest. And... before anything happened between us, he did say he would take responsibility."
redith placed her hands on her hips, her rounded belly pressing against her gown.
"You also said he’s a good actor," she pointed out bluntly.
Sylvia lowered her gaze, her voice trembling.
"I don’t know, r... I truly don’t. The more I think about it, the more suffocating it feels. His touch, his words—everything felt real. But he never actually said that he loves ."
Her eyes shimred with unshed tears.
"I just wish this marriage could beco real... but I’m afraid that what I want is sothing only I feel, not him."
"Have you tried talking to him about it after everything happened?" redith asked.
"I did," Sylvia replied quickly. "But every ti I tried, sohow the conversation slipped away. And then we would get carried away again and... the sa thing happened."
redith scoffed in disbelief.
"So he avoids the conversation but still gets close to you?" she said. "Sylvia, that sounds like he’s distracting you from the real issue. You may not see it, but it looks like he’s taking advantage of your feelings."
"That can’t be true," Sylvia insisted, shaking her head. "Drystan isn’t like that."
"Oh, yes, he could be," redith countered firmly. "If he truly cared and ant to take responsibility, he would have sat down with you and spoken honestly about your future. You wouldn’t be standing here wondering what he truly feels."
She pressed her fingers to her temple, clearly frustrated.
"This is giving a headache," redith muttered. "Just pray you don’t end up pregnant. That would complicate matters even further if he really isn’t serious about you."
Sylvia froze.
The possibility had never crossed her mind.
"Pregnant?" she repeated faintly. "That’s impossible... we were only together a few tis..."
"The chance is still there," redith said seriously. "Even once can be enough if the timing happens to be right."
Sylvia stared at her, stunned.
Sylvia’s breath caught.
The intimate monts she had spent with Drystan had happened only a few days after her monthly cycle ended.
Her fingers slowly tightened as she clasped her hands.
That was the most fertile ti.
A new wave of anxiety swept over her.
Could it truly happen?
Would Drystan stay if she were carrying his child?
During those few days, they had been reckless, caught in the heat of emotions neither of them had tried to restrain. No precautions had been taken, and at the ti, she had never considered the consequences.
But now—
Her fingers trembled.
If she truly beca pregnant...
The thought made her chest tighten.
A divorced woman was already looked upon with quiet judgnt in noble society.
But a divorced woman with a child? That would be far worse.
It would be seen as proof that she had failed her marriage and had disappointed her husband, disgracing both families.
And the child—
The child would bear the burden of it as well.
Worse still, what if Drystan misunderstood her? What if he believed she had done it intentionally? That she had used the child as a ans to force him to stay?
The very thought made Sylvia’s stomach twist.
He would hate her.
Her vision blurred as tears finally spilt from her eyes.
"r... What should I do?" Sylvia’s voice was shaken.
redith reached out and gently held her friend’s shoulders.
I’m sorry. I might have been saying things out of turn. Listen... This is only a possibility. Nothing has happened yet," redith said.
Sylvia wiped her eyes weakly.
"Drystan told he would talk about our relationship only after he returns from the voyage." Her fingers tightened anxiously. "What if... what if after everything that happened between us... he cos back and says he wants to be free from ?"
Her voice broke.
"What if he no longer desires ?"
redith shook her head, trying to steady both herself and her friend.
"Let’s pause for a mont and collect ourselves," she said softly, worried that her earlier words had only frightened Sylvia further. "My emotions got the better of just now. I may have spoken too harshly."
"No, you didn’t," Sylvia replied quickly. "What you said makes sense. Won in my family tend to conceive easily. My mother had soon after her wedding night, and my uncles’ wives all bore children shortly after their marriages, too. I’m certain I would inherit the sa trait."
"Ouff!" redith groaned, pressing a hand against her chest. "You don’t even know if you’re with child yet. Don’t tornt yourself with fears before there’s reason for them."
But Sylvia could not calm herself. Her thoughts were already in chaos, and the anxiety refused to loosen its grip.
Just then—
A sudden cry echoed through the cloister.
Both won froze.
A woman’s distressed voice rang across the garden, followed by a man’s voice trying to soothe her.
The two ladies exchanged startled glances before turning towards the far end of the garden where the commotion had begun.
"Let go of , Sir Garin Skyler!" Beatrice shouted, her face flushed with anger. "And don’t you dare call ’Bea’ again! That woman no longer exists!"
A storm of fury radiated from her.
Garin stood before her, silent for a mont, looking down at the woman he had not truly faced in years.
Ever since the day Beatrice had thrown a bucket of vomit at him, he had kept his distance. Whenever others questioned what had happened between them, he had said nothing—choosing silence over explanation.
But today was different. Perhaps the years of guilt had finally beco too heavy to carry, especially when she was right before him.
Drawing a slow breath, he forced himself to et her eyes.
"I know it was my fault," Garin said quietly. "No apology could ever make up for the mistake I made. But I never wanted you to suffer, Bea."
Beatrice’s jaw tightened.
Even now, after all these years, he still dared to call her that.
Before he could say another word—
’Pang!’
The sharp sound of a slap cracked through the air.
Beatrice’s hand had struck the third-in-command knight square across the face.
"I will never forgive you!" she shouted, trembling with rage. "You pathetic liar! You let stand at the altar, waiting for you, yet you never showed up for our wedding! Now you are offering apologies after all these years?"
Her voice broke into a furious cry.
"You should have the decency to disappear! To , you’re already dead!"
Not far away, redith and Sylvia stood in place with dropped jaws.
Both stared wide-eyed at the scene.
Had they truly heard that correctly?
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