"I don't know what happened. The Bree family's affairs have nothing to do with me, and I never said a single bad word about Cadence in front of Gordon and Linda. I told you I would help you. I never go back on my word," I said.

Russ frowned. His sharp gaze landed on the chest, recognizing several of the things he'd given me over the years. Even the portrait he'd drawn for me was half‑burned.

His face darkened even more. "What are you doing? Trying to play some push‑and‑pull trick on me? I'm telling you—no matter what you do, I will never like you. Your petty theatrics only make me sick. And if anything happens to Cadence, I swear I won't let you off!"

He swept past me, holding Cadence—her forehead bruised from hitting the wall—and dragged me along as he rushed to a side room. On the way, she fainted in his arms.

In my past life, Cadence had no one to rely on and threw herself into the river in despair. This time, with Russ giving her everything he had, she still didn't intend to let me go.

Watching him panic over her, circling helplessly, my heart filled with a thousand tiny needles. My gaze dimmed.

Fortunately, the doctor said she was fine—just overly anxious these past days, and now overwhelmed, which had caused her to faint.

Russ let out a sigh of relief, shot me a vicious look, and said with absolute certainty, "This all started because of you. You'll keep vigil for Cadence tonight. Think of it as your apology."

Without waiting for a response, he walked out without looking back.

I stayed beside Cadence through the entire night.

Not long after dawn, Russ came in carrying a bowl of soup. Seeing how exhausted I looked, his expression softened slightly, despite himself.

"Why didn't you rest?"

"I'm not tired."

"You've worked hard. Go lie down for a while."

I never imagined that in this lifetime, I would hear anything comforting come from his mouth again.

I got up obediently.

My compliance seemed to please him; he cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Tomorrow, I'll have someone from the tailor shop come again. The last design for the wedding gown was too plain. Try a few other styles.

"And… don't take what I said yesterday to heart. I spoke out of anger. I apologize.

"But Cadence is innocent. Don't make things difficult for her because of me, all right?"

I looked into his dark eyes. When it came to Cadence, anything I could've explained seemed unnecessary. As for my plan to head to Socalli City, he wouldn't care anyway.

I pressed my lips into a smile and said sincerely, "There's no need. As long as I can marry you, it doesn't matter what the wedding gown looks like.

"Russ… I wish you a happy wedding."

His expression tightened with suspicion, and he opened his mouth—but a movement from Cadence interrupted him.

She frowned and slowly opened her eyes. "What happened to me?"

At once, Russ forgot I existed. He helped her sit up, dutifully feeding her spoonfuls of the soup.

When he finally remembered me, I was nowhere to be found.

I had already returned to my own courtyard, quietly beginning to pack my belongings.

For reasons I couldn't understand, he actually had his personal servant invite me to Windmere Garden to watch a play.

It was "The Phoenix Seeks Its Mate". My favorite.

It told of a story of two people in love. Once, I'd shamelessly begged him several times to go with me, but he had always dismissed it with cold disdain.

I understood immediately—this was his attempt at an apology.

But I was leaving soon. It no longer mattered.

Besides, Russ had done so much for me. Taking care of the woman he liked was the least I could do.

I had the servant politely decline.

But unexpectedly, he returned, saying Russ would come later to fetch me.

With no choice, I had to agree.

I waited in the courtyard for a long time, but he never appeared. Rising, I went to the guest room in search of him, only to find him drinking under the moon with Cadence.

He watched her with gentle eyes, a depth of intoxicating affection hidden in his gaze.

I left silently, alone, and watched The Phoenix Seeks Its Mate by myself.

When I returned to my room, my maid told me Russ had been by, leaving a message. He asked me not to take offense and promised he would make up for missing tonight.

As I packed my things, I murmured softly, "It's alright. Please tell him I understand. He doesn't owe me anything. I owe him more than I could ever repay."

In my past life, even if he had hated me, he would still have protected me. No one could treat me with disrespect under his watch, and he had even died to save me.

His debt to me was too great; whatever he asked, I would never refuse.

Then, the servant burst in. "Miss! Something's wrong! The Young Master seems to have offended someone from the Bree family and is being pursued!"

I didn't hesitate. I grabbed my guards and rushed out.

My heart burned with panic. 'Russ, you absolutely cannot be hurt!'

When I arrived, I saw a man dressed in black, sword raised, aiming for him.

"Russ! Watch out!"

I instinctively pushed him aside to block the fatal blow, and my arm was slashed deeply in the process.

Russ stared at me, stunned.

After the attackers were all defeated, he hurried to my side, bandaging my wound. In his eyes, I saw a depth of meaning I could not immediately understand.

"Thank you for today. But never put yourself in danger to save me again. Your safety matters more. And… as long as you don't trouble Cadence, I'll continue to protect you, just like before."

I stared at him, astonished. The words I had longed to hear for years finally came to me today.

My eyes glistened, but I smiled.

"Thank you, Russ."

The doctor said we had only suffered superficial wounds; the wedding would go on as planned.

I breathed a sigh of relief and instructed my maid to take care of him.

But with my own injury, I couldn't travel immediately, so my plan was delayed a few days.

On the eve of the wedding, Russ did not come to see me. As the groom, he could not see his bride before the ceremony. Instead, Gordon and Linda had my maid deliver gifts—jewelry and pastries—all chosen by him.

I understood their subtle encouragement: that he still had a place in his heart for me.

But I knew even more clearly that these were leftovers from Cadence. The finest golden hairpins had long been pinned into her hair.

I smiled. On his wedding day, I formally bade farewell to Gordon and Linda and boarded my carriage southward to Socalli City early.

…

At the wedding hall, seeing that the bride was nowhere in sight, Russ felt an unexpected pang of panic.

"Kathy isn't ready yet? Everyone's waiting. She's usually the one most eager to marry me—why is she suddenly slow?"

Gordon and Linda were about to respond when a breathless guard burst in.

"Sir! Miss Olson's carriage heading northwest has been ambushed by highwaymen. Everyone on the road… has been slaughtered—"