Even in a high society where many prestigious families flourished, Guest's family was merely an inconspicuous Count's household that quietly kept its place.

In the year she stepped across the threshold of adulthood, Guest was passing by Lake Hastings, which held a particularly deep and transparent blue light. Amidst the lush grass swaying in the wind, her eyes met a man who was quietly looking down at the cold water.

Jade Chester.

A man who always carried such deep dignity in his silence that no one in society dared to approach him. Since the day that noble gaze settled upon Guest, she became the Grand Duke of Chester's secret and only concubine.

However, there was a woman who had been bound to him by long-standing family ties since distant times. A girl with a voice as clear as a bird's song, a simple fragrance like lotus blossoms that clung to the tip of the nose, and who sang of freedom in a thin but firm script,

Suellen de Morenci.

A woman with orange hair that billowed softly under the sunlight, wine-colored eyes nestled under the shadow of thick lashes, and a rosy-cheeked face with lips that curved fresh like a musical note. She was one who learned kindness as a duty and grew up reading love as a necessity of life.

The bond formed under the midday sun led to a vow under a meteor shower that cut through the black night sky.

To hold only each other within their eyes.

That narrative was the most romantic fairy tale in society. Jade never once postponed a promise to Suellen, and his deep green eyes held only her completely.

But just as a plucked flower cannot last long in a vase, that brilliance did not endure. When Suellen became unable to bear an heir to continue the Chester line, the sharp thorns of the former Duke and Duchess were aimed solely at her. A woman in a family without an heir loses her value. Even amidst the whispering of maids and the cold shadows of officials, Jade stayed by Suellen's side.

He merely stayed by her side; that alone could not provide her with perfect comfort.

Thus, when Jade took Guest as a concubine, the world was not so surprised. Noblewomen exchanged arrogant remarks as if it were a natural progression. To these women, a man's concubine was as natural as the rising and setting of the sun and moon.

Even after marrying Guest and taking her as a concubine, Jade did not stop. He unhesitatingly fulfilled his duties as an elegant and perfect husband to both women. He gifted Suellen the tea scents she loved and meticulously looked after her tastes, just as he had before—and he did the same for Guest.

To both of them, with a kindness that was cruelly identical.

While expressing a tender love, Jade was exhaling a cruel poison. And before long, the fact that another concubine brought in by Jade was a man reflected both Suellen and Guest like a mirror, bringing them a strange sense of despair.