Chapter 33: Deep, Unspoken Emotions I Ended Up Living Next Door to My Ex-Husband
After the transaction was successfully concluded, I made my way to the operations office at the center of the exchange building to file the paperwork required to formally confirm the deal. By the time I finished and stepped outside, the front of the central building had transformed entirely. The halls had emptied as trading wound down, and now the plaza teemed with people spilling out in clusters, all of them talking at once. Their expressions varied — elation, disappointment, nervous anticipation — but the conversations all circled the same subject: the futures trading that had just taken place. "Apparently a major deal was struck over in Athens Hall." Adrian scanned the crowd as he spoke, then flipped open the pamphlet he'd been carrying and ran a finger down the page. "It looks like Ludwien's stoves are being traded there." He glanced up at me. "Though their value has already climbed considerably, so the margins won't be particularly attractive. Still... it might be a stable enough investment destination." "Mm," I replied, unconcerned. Adrian couldn't quite hide his worry. He'd been wearing that expression since we left Hestia Hall. "Adrian," I said, tilting my head toward him, "do you really have so little faith in my special carriage investment?" He was quiet for a moment, pressing two fingers against his brow as though choosing his next words carefully. Then he exhaled slowly. "To be honest... yes. Somewhat." "Even at one and a half million ruts per unit, special carriages would be considered a high-risk investment given their current market value. You paid two million." His blue-violet eyes met mine, candid with concern. "I'm worried the losses could be significant." I patted him lightly on the back and smiled. "Don't worry." "But, Your Highness—" "Just wait and see. I believe these carriages will deliver returns that will surprise the entire empire." A faint laugh escaped him — the sound of someone who knew better than to argue further. "I suppose there's nothing to be done. I'll simply have to trust you." I was still smiling at him when a shadow fell across the ground at my feet. I turned instinctively. The first thing I saw was Henry, smiling pleasantly. "Congratulations, Your Highness." Camilla stood beside him, her expression arranged into something that resembled warmth. "...Congratulations, Your Highness." The words were perfectly civil. The smile was technically convincing. But the frost that flickered across her face every few seconds told a different story entirely. I let the corner of my mouth lift, unhurried. "Thank you, Camilla. This outcome suits me very well — though I imagine it's a little harder to swallow for someone who had her heart so set on those carriages." The smile at the edge of her lips gave the faintest, almost imperceptible twitch. You must be miserable, having something you wanted so badly taken right out of your hands. And it wasn't just the loss of the carriages, I knew. Camilla had resorted to private loans to outbid me — loans she'd taken out in secret, without her husband Count Dmitry's knowledge. She'd already quietly liquidated her personal slush funds to fund her affair with Henry. Reaching out to moneylenders was her only remaining option. The information she'd received about my investment budget had been entirely fabricated, of course. A deliberate leak. And she had walked straight into it. Even if she repays the principal today, the interest alone will be considerable. Camilla smoothed her expression and spoke with practiced ease. "It's disappointing, naturally, but these things happen. In any case — I noticed some interesting items listed for the next trading session. I think we'll go have a look." "Oh? What sort of items?" "Colored sugarcane seeds." "Ah..." I kept my expression neutral, though it took some effort. Colored sugar from the Demon World was experiencing a surge in popularity across the empire — the finished product, imported at great expense, had become something of a luxury craze. To bring costs down, nobles had begun purchasing the seeds directly from the Demon World to cultivate their own supply. It seemed logical enough on the surface. Except I know exactly how that story ends. As would eventually come to light, the seeds produce nothing but ordinary white sugarcane once planted in human soil. The climates are simply too different. The Demon World's coloring is a product of its unique environment — one that cannot be replicated here. I remembered reading about a nobleman in the original story who had invested heavily in those seeds and lost nearly everything. I glanced between Camilla and Henry. I wonder whether their grand passion will survive a catastrophic joint investment. It wasn't my concern, in any case. I gave a small shrug and offered them a pleasant smile. "I wish you both the best of luck. We'll be on our way."
Camilla watched the Grand Duchess's retreating back until she could no longer see her. Henry touched her shoulder lightly. "Camilla. Stop staring. We need to get to the next trading floor." "...Henry." Her voice was low and strained. "I've had enough." He followed her gaze and exhaled slowly. "I'm disappointed about the carriages too. But it's not worth torturing yourself over. The Grand Duchess overpaid — two million ruts per unit. She'll regret it." "That's not what this is about!" The sharpness in her voice drew a few glances from passersby. She lowered it, but the heat remained. "That's not what this is about at all." "Then what?" Camilla didn't answer right away. She stood very still, replaying the same image behind her eyes — the Grand Duchess looking at her. The day Henry's affair had been discovered, and again today. That same expression each time. Measured. Unimpressed. The way one might look at something regrettable and move on. "...Pride," she said at last, her voice barely above a murmur. "That woman keeps wounding my pride. She looks at me like I'm something beneath her notice, and I—" She stopped. Swallowed. "I can't stand it." Is that all it is? Because if Rebecca ever said a word to Count Dmitry about her relationship with Henry, everything Camilla had worked toward would collapse. Her plan to remarry Henry, her standing as a Countess, her carefully cultivated reputation as a social figure — all of it, gone at once. "Henry." A low, brittle sound. Her teeth against her thumbnail, worrying at it absently. Her eyes, when they finally settled, had gone cold and still. "I really... I could kill that woman."
The carriage rolled along the final stretch of forest road leading back to the Grand Duke's castle. I leaned toward the open window and let the cool, tree-scented air wash over my face. I hadn't realized I was humming until Adrian laughed softly across from me. "You're in remarkably good spirits." "Of course I am. You have no idea how much went into making this deal happen." I leaned back against the cushion, watching the light filter through the trees. This transaction was the first real step toward financial independence — the foundation I would need once the divorce was finalized. I had more to build before I could truly stand on my own, but completing this first move without incident felt like breaking the surface after a long time underwater. Now what's left is winning over the mixed-blood demons. Relations had improved, but slowly. The rumor that I had changed still circulated mostly within the castle walls, and even there, skeptics remained. I needed something more — a visible, undeniable gesture. Once the investment returns begin to materialize, I can use them to fund a proper initiative for the mixed-blood community. Something real. I was still turning the idea over in my mind, nodding to myself, when— Crack—! The carriage lurched violently, as though something had struck it from outside. The horses screamed, and the whole frame shuddered to an abrupt halt. My body pitched forward before I could brace myself. "Your Highness!" Adrian moved without hesitation, catching me with both arms. For a moment I simply stayed there, trying to catch my breath, held steady by the solid warmth of his grip. I could feel the soft, controlled rhythm of his breathing, very close. "Are you all right?" I looked up automatically — and found him already looking down at me. The distance between us was shorter than I'd realized. We both went still at the same instant, startled by it. Then his gaze moved — barely, slowly — tracing downward. My eyes. My cheeks. My nose. And then, for just a moment, lower still. I pulled my gaze away first. "Outside — I think something's happened." Adrian blinked. His hands loosened their hold carefully, deliberately. "...I'll go check." The door clicked shut behind him. Left alone, I finally let out the breath I'd been holding. Something has changed between us. I can't keep pretending otherwise. It had started after Count Dmitry's family banquet. Adrian had always been easy and warm — that gentle, sunlit presence I had come to rely on. But since that evening, something else had begun surfacing in the way he looked at me. A heaviness. An emotion not quite named, not quite spoken. And I... I pressed my fingers against my collarbone, steadying myself. For the first time, I've started wanting something too. I was still sitting with that thought when the door opened again. Adrian stepped back inside, and his expression had changed entirely. "Your Highness, the situation outside is serious. Please stay in the carriage. Do not come out." He was already reaching for the long sword propped in the corner of the carriage as he spoke. I grabbed his sleeve before he could turn away. "Adrian. What's happening?" "The knight who stopped the carriage for inspection — he's dead. So is the attendant who was riding up front." A pause. "And the strangest part is that there's no trace of anyone. No footprints. No disturbance in the undergrowth. Nothing." His brow drew together. "I believe we've walked into a trap." "A trap? In the few seconds the carriage stopped?" I stared at him. "I didn't hear a thing." "...That may be precisely the point." His voice was quiet but deliberate. "This may not be the work of an ordinary human." "A mixed-blood demon?" I couldn't quite hide the chill that passed through me. Have they already made their move? But they still think of me as the Grand Duchess — an enemy. Why would they act now, and so openly? Something didn't fit. I must have let my unease show, because Adrian's expression softened despite himself. He reached across and wrapped his hand around mine where it still held his sleeve. "We don't know for certain it was a mixed-blood demon. Those skilled in black magic — humans among them — could have managed this too." He held my gaze steadily. "Whatever the case — I will protect you, Your Highness. Whatever it takes." I forced myself to breathe evenly and nodded. Adrian released my hand, stepped back through the door, and turned to address me one final time before closing it. "I'm going to take the reins myself. If you hear anything — anything at all — you are not to come out. Do you understand?" "...Yes." A brief, quiet smile. Then the door shut. The moment it did, my expression shifted. I moved to the window, watching through the glass as Adrian made his way toward the coachman's seat, scanning the treeline with each step. The carriage lurched forward again and began to move. What is this? I turned the pieces over, searching for a shape that made sense. It made no sense that the mixed-blood demons would target me like this. Not now. Not yet. Then who— A piercing cry split the air outside — sharp and sudden, swallowed almost immediately by the forest. The carriage began to sway.