Everything was so dark before my eyes. I had the option of going back to the valley and asking my uncle for help, but I just couldn’t do it. 

It was the capital city that I had travelled to after leaving my maternal uncle who was trying to stop me, so I definitely couldn’t ask for help.

As soon as I understood the situation, a fierce-looking man began to follow me. In the end, I had no choice but to avoid being seen right away. 

With the money I brought with me, I was able to hide in temporary lodging for a few days, but there was a limit to the amount of money I had.

It was a cold, rainy night when I was driven straight out into the street, avoiding the debt collectors who were trying to find me.

I wandered around with nowhere to go when a carriage stopped in front of me. As if by some twist of fate.

― Ms. Philone…?

―…Mr. Killian?

The man I met on the train.

As soon as I realized who he was, I felt a wave of shame wash over me.

When I faced him as a rain-soaked rat, I felt like dying. 

I could feel my face burning, so I quickly lowered my head and tried to walk away, but a large hand grabbed my arm.

― Let go of me, let go of me. I have to go.

― Do you have somewhere to go?

The cold question left me speechless. Instead of answering, my difficulty breathing just increased. Every time I tried to exhale into the cold air, I let out a faint gasp.

The man who stood there silently took off his coat and placed it over my shoulders. My whole body went numb from the heat I felt.

―Please follow me.

His tone was so sweet and gentle that it felt like a heavenly call. Almost like the time when I first met Uncle Jeremy.

I went after the man who turned his back, I had no regrets. At that time, I felt as if I was possessed. And so I followed that black back.

And the result was… the current situation now.

The noblest and most vulgar woman

I instinctively knew from our first meeting that I would be his woman. But it didn’t have to be this way.

If only I hadn’t believed my friend’s letter.

If I hadn’t followed him back then.

If only I had refused the temptation at the time and met him again in a more dignified position…

Perhaps I could have started a more decent relationship with Killian.

***

Rowena repeated the useless assumption like a daily ritual. This way she was able to keep working for her dreams.

One day, when she makes money as a novelist, she will pay off all the debts she owes him.

Only when their relationship becomes debt-free, only then will they be able to have a real, honest relationship.

He never said the words “I love you,” but she knew that Killian loved her. 

She could tell by the way he looked at her and the way he held her. It was just that he was slow to realize it.

Rowena felt like giving up sometimes and braced herself to do so. 

The only reason she had stayed by his side for three years, even in facing public contempt and disgrace, was partly because she could read the love in his eyes.

But most of all, it was because Killian was the first person in the whole wide world who had reached out to her when she desperately needed help the most. 

Every time she looked at him, her body and mind followed him blindly, like a little bird waking up from an egg and seeing its parent for the first time.

“…And that’s why I decided to submit this.”

After letting out her entire history—of course, except the part in the story where the Duke appeared—Melissa, who had been listening to Rowena’s words the entire time, broke down in tears.

“Oh my gosh. You have such a story My Lady”

Melissa’s reaction was pure and honest, while Rowena stared at her.

Melissa was a caring, compassionate girl. She was different from the other servants who couldn’t even look up at her because of the duke’s power. However, that was in front of him only, and in the background they secretly pointed their fingers at her.

Whenever she saw Melissa, she remembered herself before she came to the capital. If she hadn’t fallen for her friend’s trap, if she hadn’t met the duke, she might still have been like Melissa.

“But, why dress like a man….”

“Who knows, we never know who we might run into….”

Rowena, who had awkwardly answered Melissa’s cautious inquiry, repeated her request.

“It’s our little secret.”

Melissa nodded with a determined look on her face.

“I understand, miss.”