Chapter 54

What Robert truly wanted was for Asla to stop Enoch from continuing his self-destructive behavior.  

However, since Asla’s decision to quietly retreat to a faraway place like the Kingdom of Astra. It was the best way to bury this absurd scandal and Robert couldn’t bring himself to stop her.

Asla turned her gaze to Talet.

“I’m sorry, Madam,” he said, bowing deeply.

“I’ll come for you soon. I’ll make sure you’re settled comfortably and quickly.”

“It’s alright, Talet. First, let’s get out of here.”

Cutting him off, Asla told him to take care of May. Then she gave the weeping May a tight embrace.

She slipped out through the back door of the Ventus Hotel, swallowed by darkness, and boarded the shabby carriage she had intentionally arranged.

Just in case, she glanced back toward the hotel’s rear entrance—but her husband wasn’t there.  

Realizing she had been expecting him to see her off, Asla gave a self-deprecating laugh.

“Madam!”

The hotel manager, Turner Lauren, came running toward the carriage in a panic.  

He handed her a thick envelope, panting.

“This just arrived. It’s a letter from Madam Gloria Sherita. She insisted I deliver it to you.”

“Thank you, Mr. Lauren.”

Asla smiled brightly and took the letter.  

She had secretly sent a message to Gloria earlier that day, but as no reply had come by her departure time, she’d been anxious.  

Receiving the letter just in time brought a smile to her lips.

“Take care. Tell Lady Isabel Lauren I’d like to meet her again someday.”

“Be well, Madam. We’ll be waiting.”

The manager’s forlorn expression made Asla realize how attached she had become to the Ventus Hotel.  

She had to leave before the emotion became too heavy.

“Let’s go.”

At her command, the carriage glided into the night.  

Thus began the separation of Duke and Duchess Ventus.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆

Enoch was overwhelmed with frustration, unable to describe his feelings.  

Asla had left, in the end, entirely on her own terms.

Her stubbornness infuriated him—but more than that, he felt crushing sadness and loneliness.  

All that remained in the expansive suite was the lingering scent of the deep rose perfume that reminded him of her.

Asla had left.  

She truly was cold to the core.

Everything she had said—he could understand it, and yet couldn’t understand it at all.  

He hadn’t stopped her. No, he couldn’t stop her.

He was too confused by the final question she had asked him.

‘Did I only want to make her happy out of my own greed? What’s wrong with me protecting my family?’

He felt like a volcano about to erupt.  

His emotions boiled like molten lava.

But as soon as he remembered her face as she confessed she had planned to die in the fallen Holy Kingdom after their divorce, his heart turned to ice.

A groan slipped from his lips.

His heart hurt.

Why? Why on earth?

Why did he care this much about a princess from a ruined kingdom, so selfish and impossible?

He couldn’t make sense of his scattered thoughts.  

As he brooded, he sensed someone nearby and turned around.  

It was Talet.

“Master…”

“…Asla?”

“She’s departed.”

“…She left? Really? At this hour? It’s dangerous! Send someone after her—no, I’ll go myself—”

“Please don’t, Master.”

“What do you mean don’t? It’s Asla who shouldn’t be acting this way! Why should she be the one slinking off to some faraway place like she’s lost?! Asla Ventus doesn’t get to just disappear!”

Furious, Enoch shoved Talet aside and stormed out.  

He didn’t even take the elevator—he rushed down the stairs.

But midway, a stabbing pain hit his chest and he dropped to his knees.

“Master!”

“Sir!”

Robert, who had been coming up the stairs, ran over to support the collapsing Enoch.

With the familiar agony flaring in his chest and the fatigue of three sleepless nights crashing down, Enoch’s vision dimmed.

Asla was really gone.

She had walked away on her own.  

He recalled the way she would wistfully gaze at train tracks, how she had always spoken of leaving.

‘Was the happiness he wished for her… only possible if she left him?’

She had left.

He hadn’t trusted her—that much was true.  

But the shock that hit him came from realizing Asla hadn’t trusted him either.

When she told him she hated him, it felt like the world split in two—despite already knowing it was true.

It had been a long journey.  

From the moment he first met her… the years spent watching her from afar… the marriage.  

Two years lost in misunderstanding and neglect.  

And ten short days when he foolishly thought they were finally growing closer.

He had never felt something so sweet before.

‘Ah…’

Enoch finally understood why he didn’t want to let her go.

‘I love her.’

Because I love you… that’s why.

The instant the realization hit, fear followed—his hands began to tremble uncontrollably.

Asla didn’t love him.  

She said she hated and resented him.

His love would never be returned.  

That was a fear worse than losing his family.

Why was this fear so terrifying?

Suddenly, the image of the fifteen-year-old Princess Asla Sherita from the rose garden of the royal palace seven years ago came to mind—her jewel-like eyes meeting his.

‘Asla…’

The trauma, terror, and shock that had plagued him for so long surged all at once, taking his breath away.

And in that moment, he lost his grip on consciousness.

“Master!”

As darkness consumed his vision and he collapsed, Enoch still pleaded to Asla in his heart.

‘Don’t hate me. Don’t leave me, Asla…’

Now that he had finally found the answer.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆

Worried that Enoch might come after her, Asla looked over her shoulder multiple times.  

But in the dense darkness outside the capital, there was no sign of him.

Relieved yet hollow, she gazed out at the forested path beyond the carriage window, then looked down at her wrist.

Enoch had grabbed her so hard that red marks still lingered.

She gently rubbed it with her other hand.  

She regretted hurting him.

‘What if he’s hurting again like he did in the past…’

She felt a wave of remorse.  

She hadn’t yet learned about his past trauma, nor had she addressed his pain—and that left a heavy weight on her chest.

What secret lay behind the carriage accident that took the lives of Enoch’s parents, the former Duke and Duchess?

‘Ah…’

Gloria’s letter caught her eye.

Setting her worries about Enoch aside, Asla opened the letter.

Earlier that day, she had sent Gloria a brief message asking her to meet secretly with Ian Hertha, the priest, and uncover the truth.

“I’m sorry… Asla.”

Reading just the first line, her nose tingled.

Though Gloria had been a victim too, she devoted an entire paragraph to sincerely apologize to Asla.

Asla didn’t even realize her eyes had welled up.  

Her mother’s apology melted the knot in her chest.

‘She doesn’t know I was brainwashed by Lisette… perhaps she only knows there was division between us.’

What exactly did Ian Hertha know?

Asla quickly read the rest of Gloria’s letter:

“At first, I couldn’t believe Priest Hertha’s words. They said they came to him with a plan to build a new Holy Kingdom, trying to recruit him. He initially pretended to cooperate to gather information, but as he distanced himself, he couldn’t learn more. Lisette Grosset claimed she could control you. My God… I can’t even imagine what hardships you’ve endured. I deeply regret the days I resented and hated you, my daughter. Of course, we oppose the Pope’s new Holy Kingdom. While you’re in hiding to avoid that vicious scandal, I’ll act in your stead. I’ll gather the scattered high priests under your name and prepare for public exposure. Once the Pope and Grosset realize we’re moving, they’ll be too busy defending to come after you. But in the end, it’s only you—Sherita’s last bloodline—who can step forward. Please shed your pain and come back. I’ll be waiting. I believe in you.”

Like a true member of the Sherita royal line, Gloria had suppressed her emotions—but parts of the handwriting were shaky.  

Gloria was clearly angry and heartbroken.

Asla read the final line—“I’ll be waiting. I believe in you.”—over and over.  

She was not alone.

She wiped her tears away and carefully folded the letter, tucking it into her bag.  

Knowing her mother and the high priests would handle the Pope and Lisette’s schemes eased her anxiety.

‘Sigh…’

But the thought of living in an unfamiliar place brought fear rushing back.

She was headed for the faraway Kingdom of Astra, where she would live as though she were dead.  

She didn’t plan to accept any help from Enoch.

She would stay hidden until the scandal completely faded.

She didn’t know how long that would take, but she was determined to cut herself off from Enoch, Lisette, and all the chains that bound her.

She didn’t know exactly how to do it—but she had to try.

‘I am worried, though…’

Fingering the old pouch containing a few gold coins she had received as Sherita’s heir, she sighed.

She was hopeless when it came to survival skills.

Still, she reminded herself of her one asset: perseverance.  

She recalled the words of the painting studio’s owner—“Patience is passion, and passion is talent.”

She could do it.

Clutching her hands tightly, she thought of Enoch’s eyes—filled with hurt and anger—as he last looked at her.

‘And… Enoch will be okay.’

He was strong.  

He would stand again, rebuild his business, and go on with life.