After Kyle left, Sylvia stayed in her room for a long time.
She couldn’t figure out where things had gone wrong.
Why did he have to leave? Why did he act so cold toward her?
If it had been just a matter of breaking their contractual relationship, she might have understood.
If that were the case, she would not have been so devastated—she would have simply resolved to win him over again.
But why did he have to leave like this, cutting off all the bonds and relationships they had built up until now?
No matter how much Sylvia tried to think about it, she couldn’t come up with a reasonable answer.
“Kyle…”
Creak.
Sitting on her bed with her arms wrapped around her legs, she softly called his name.
Just then, the door opened cautiously without even a knock, and someone appeared.
It was Marianne, who had personally brought food to check on her daughter, who had not eaten all day.
“Sylvia, why are you sitting here all alone in the dark?”
“I’m sorry, Mother. I’ll eat later, so please just leave it and go…”
“What do you mean? Do you expect me to stand by and watch my daughter wither away after I barely survived myself?”
Sylvia, caught off guard by Marianne’s uncharacteristically sharp reproach, hesitated before reluctantly getting out of bed and moving toward the nearby table.
As if expecting this, Marianne set the tray down on the table and looked at her daughter with a complicated expression.
“…I’ve heard the news. The Duke of Lyard has made it clear that he won’t see you anymore.”
Sylvia’s eyes widened.
It was no surprise—she hadn’t told her mother anything about what had happened with Kyle yet.
“Wh-where did you hear that?”
“I noticed you haven’t been yourself lately, so I asked around. It turns out that a servant happened to pass by while you two were talking and overheard.”
“Ah…”
There must be a reason why people say that servants always know everything that happens inside the estate.
Sylvia let out a quiet sigh and reached for her spoon, trying to at least pretend she was eating.
But hearing Marianne’s words only made Kyle’s departure feel even more real, tightening the ache in her chest.
“…What should I do now, Mother?”
It was an impulsive question, blurted out without thinking.
Perhaps she was desperately clinging to any form of support, trying to steady herself before she completely collapsed.
“I should be asking you that. What do you want to do, Sylvia?”
“…I don’t know.”
“Then, are you saying you’re going to just let the Duke of Lyard go?”
“Of course not! But…”
For the first time, Sylvia raised her voice in front of her mother, hastily denying it.
But she couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence.
Seeing her daughter’s troubled expression, Marianne spoke on her behalf.
“But you don’t know what circumstances he might be dealing with, so you’re hesitant to approach him, right?”
“…Yes, that’s right.”
“My daughter is such a kindhearted girl.”
Most people, when faced with losing the one they love, would at least try to cling to them desperately.
But Sylvia wasn’t holding back because she loved him any less.
In fact, it was because she loved him too much—so much that she put his feelings before her own.
Marianne thought it was a pure love, fitting for her daughter’s age, but at the same time, it felt almost unbearably heartbreaking.
“But Sylvia, you can’t win love by being kind alone.”
“What do you mean, Mother?”
“I mean exactly what I said. Let’s say that while you’re hesitating, another woman appears by the Duke of Lyard’s side. Would you be able to congratulate them?”
“…No, I could never do that.”
Sylvia shook her head with a solemn expression.
Of course, if that truly happened, she would eventually have to give him her blessing.
But that would only be a meaningless formality—inside, she would be completely shattered.
She might stop eating and drinking for three days and nights, losing the will to live.
Because, to Sylvia, Kyle Lyard was that important.
“That’s exactly it. If you truly love someone, you can’t just wish for their happiness from afar. That happiness has to include you. Do you understand?”
“Yes, I think I do… a little.”
The explanation was a bit vague, but Sylvia more or less understood what her mother was trying to say.
Marianne’s point was that simply waiting and understanding weren’t enough to express love fully.
Sometimes, love meant forcing your feelings onto someone.
Sometimes, it meant clinging to them desperately, sulking, or even feeling jealous.
Love was a chaotic mix of positive and negative emotions—something impossible to define.
“And Sylvia, when you really think about it, doesn’t this make you a little angry?”
“Angry? What do you mean?”
“That the Duke of Lyard could just leave behind a brilliant, beautiful, and considerate daughter like mine without a second thought.”
Back when they had last spoken, he had said she was his everything—so how could he leave her in tears and walk away?
Of course, Marianne knew Kyle wasn’t the type of man to toy with women.
She was half-joking, but regardless of his reasons, what he did was unforgivable.
If not for the fact that he had once saved her life, she would have stormed over to the Lyard estate to demand answers herself.
But since she couldn’t, she hoped Sylvia would give him a piece of her mind on her behalf.
“Now that I think about it, you’re right. I am a little angry. I’m not that lacking, after all…!”
“Of course. There’s no one else like my Sylvia.”
And it seemed that Marianne’s words had done the trick.
Just moments ago, Sylvia had been gloomy, but now she shot up from her seat, fuming.
How dare he leave her so coldly?
So what if he was tall, handsome, skilled in magic, decent with a sword, considerate, and from a good family?
…Well, she supposed those were all qualities that would attract women.
But still, that was no excuse!
At the very least, he should have explained himself properly instead of making her into some tragic heroine.
Not even a single letter of apology?
No—this time, she would go to him.
As she bit into a piece of bread with the determination of someone tearing into a slab of meat, Sylvia made up her mind.
‘If you won’t come to me, then this time, I’ll come to you, Kyle.’
Her crimson magic eye gleamed fiercely.
Over a week had passed since Kyle had returned to his family home.
“Haa…”
He still found himself lost in thought when he was alone in his room.
Was it really the right thing to leave Sylvia behind so coldly?
Even though their time together was short, she was kind-hearted, and it must have been deeply hurtful for her.
No, the truth was, it wasn’t because he was worried about her.
It was nothing more than the filthy desire of a man who had held a woman in his heart.
He simply wanted to see her again, no matter the excuse, and never let her go from his side.
It was just regret, stemming from his honest feelings.
However, despite these emotions, he had no choice but to make that decision because Kyle was getting closer to the Dawn’s Eye.
‘They may not know that I was the mastermind behind the Creed Eleonore case, but they must have figured out that I was heavily involved.’
From the moment he came into contact with Vermillion, it was inevitable that he would get closer to the Dawn’s Eye, but dealing with the Eleonore family’s entanglement was never part of the original plan.
Of course, thanks to this, Sylvia was freed entirely, and Marianne’s body was also restored, so in the end, it was a good thing.
But when you gain something, you must also lose something.
As a result, Kyle had to give up two advantages.
The first was his original plan—to approach the Dawn’s Eye favorably and destroy them from within.
Whether they liked it or not, Kyle Lyard was now recognized as an enemy they had to be wary of, meaning this strategy was no longer viable.
The second was his bond with Sylvia.
By untangling the ties between Creed and Sylvia, he had ultimately set her free and partially removed her from the grasp of the Dawn’s Eye.
Of course, if they were still planning to obtain the Demon’s Eye, there was always the possibility that Sylvia would be in danger again.
But unless she had a close aide like Creed Eleonore willing to offer her up, the Eleonore family’s strength should be enough to keep her safe.
However, now that Kyle had become an enemy of the Dawn’s Eye, keeping Sylvia close to protect her had lost its meaning.
No, rather than just losing its meaning, it had actually worsened the situation.
If anything, the Dawn’s Eye might use their power to eliminate him quickly, making it best to keep Sylvia as far away as possible.
That was why Kyle had to cut her off so ruthlessly, leaving her behind and returning home without looking back.
If he hadn’t done so, she would have inevitably drawn closer to him due to their deep bond, and that was something that would never be good for Sylvia.
“Hah….”
Even though he had no choice but to abandon her and return, he still sighed whenever he recalled the look in her eyes at the end.
Yet, at the same time, he thought he had done well to resolve the matter sooner rather than later.
After all, having once abandoned her, it would never be acceptable for him to remain by her side.
In the end, Sylvia had regained her mother’s health and could now live a happy life as the head of her family.
Everything had turned out well, hadn’t it?
Flap, flap.
“Master, master! What are you doing? Sulking again today?”
“…Go play somewhere else. I’m not in the mood to talk.”
As he lay on his bed, lost in thought, a small sparrow flew to his bedside.
It was none other than Primo.
After transforming into this form during their infiltration of the Eleonore family, Primo had taken a liking to it and had spent most of his time in the garden, playing with other sparrows.
Kyle, on the other hand, was in no mood to entertain his mischievous familiar, so he waved his hand dismissively, as if shooing away a peddler.
But Primo was not one to back down so easily.
There was a reason he had come to Kyle’s room so suddenly.
“Really? Even if I tell you I saw something incredible, you still don’t want to hear it? Guess you’re not interested, huh?”
“It’s probably just another story about a sparrow bringing back a huge bug.”
Kyle turned away, having heard that story countless times already.
“So that’s how you’re gonna act? And here I was about to tell you some big news about the young lady! Maybe I should keep it to myself?”
“…The young lady?”
At that word, Kyle’s eyes widened, and he sprang up.
There was only one person Primo ever called “young lady”—Sylvia.
Could something have happened to her?
As an ominous feeling filled his eyes, Primo flapped his wings and swayed from side to side as if relishing his victory.
“Hehehe, curious? Aren’t you? You must be curious!”
“Stop spouting nonsense and tell me already. Nothing happened to her, right?”
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
“What?”
Find out soon? What did that mean?
Kyle was momentarily dumbfounded by the unexpected response.
Knock, knock.
At that moment, a knock came from the door, followed by the voice of his attendant, Alf.
“Young master, you have a visitor.”
“A visitor? I wasn’t expecting anyone.”
There was no way he had a guest when he had been holed up in his room all day.
He hadn’t made any appointments either.
And no noble, no matter how reckless, would dare visit him unannounced.
“It’s… actually the young lady of the Eleonore family. No, the head of the Eleonore family.”
Well, there was one person who could have come.
Kyle immediately turned to Primo with a look that said, “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
But Primo simply turned away as if he knew nothing and flew out the window.