“Odeli, as of today, our contract is terminated.”
A cold voice pierced like a knife.
Ludvil Exception.
It was a chilling declaration of severance, befitting the ruler of the North.
Odeli gazed at the marriage contract lying on the desk.
Untouched all this time, it remained pristine, unyellowed.
“Here is the promised compensation. Take it.”
He handed her the documents.
A certificate declaring that Odeli Kardel and the Kardel family were severed from all familial and legal ties.
Alongside it were land deeds, mansion titles, and alimony.
Odeli paused briefly at the amount.
“There’s no need to give me this much. As you know, I…”
Trailing off, she took a breath and spoke again.
“…I don’t think I’ll live that long.”
But Ludvil cut her off firmly.
“You’ll need it.”
“…”
Odeli raised her eyes to look at him.
An expressionless face, impeccably tailored clothes, not a single detail out of place.
As always, he was flawlessly perfect.
Even if she collapsed before him now, he’d calmly summon a physician and proceed with his schedule without disruption.
Her husband on paper, bound by a contractual marriage, was that kind of man.
He never wasted time or emotions.
So Odeli didn’t ask.
Why he was so generous to someone about to die.
‘After all, this must be part of your meticulous calculations.’
Ludvil scanned the contract briefly with his characteristic warmthless gaze.
Maintain the marriage for five years.
No private conversations, no physical contact, reside separately in the annex …
All rules were strictly followed.
Confirming the compensation was paid in full, he burned the stack of papers over a candle without hesitation.
As if they were now meaningless scraps.
The contract turned to ash in moments, leaving nothing behind.
Five years rendered colorless.
“…”
The end.
So, this was the end.
“You’ve worked hard.”
At the Grand Duke’s words, Odeli wore a blank expression for a moment.
Of course, given the clear employer-employee dynamic of their contract, no farewell could be more succinct.
He was the master, she the servant.
He was the employer, she the employee.
Yet, having been tied as husband and wife for so long, couldn’t there have been a more fitting goodbye?
The thought crossed her mind, but she knew it was greed.
“Is there anything else you need?”
When Ludvil asked, as if he’d grant any request,
“…I’ve already received enough.”
Odeli replied, suppressing her emotions as much as possible.
She wanted to leave a good impression until the end with the man who valued clean relationships.
But,
‘The end…’
Realizing her life’s true ‘end’ wasn’t far,
She wanted to leave a will.
Something raw and unrefined …
Odeli couldn’t swallow the surging emotions rising to her throat.
“I loved you.”
She blurted it out.
“Taking your hand that day wasn’t to survive—it was because it was you.”
“…”
“Looking back… that’s how it was.”
It wasn’t a confession expecting anything from a dying person.
Just , for a fleeting moment ,
She wanted to be an unpredictable variable in his perfectly calculated mind.
To throw out that she’d harbored feelings absent from his plans …
Hoping, perhaps, he’d be startled, even briefly.
Though she knew he wouldn’t.
“It didn’t matter who it was.”
“…”
“You just happened to meet the conditions best.”
She hadn’t expected him to brush off such a confession so calmly, as if he’d heard it a hundred times.
Of course. That’s how it was.
‘You knew.’
Even the feelings she believed she’d hidden perfectly were within his calculations.
“Is that all you have to say?”
Odeli lowered her head, letting out a small laugh.
Somehow, everything felt absurd.
As expected, this man was perfect from start to finish.
Cold and utterly flawless.
“Yes, nothing more. Now.”
The emotion lodged in her heart like a wedge stung.
But Odeli soon concluded it was nothing.
First love, puppy love, something like that.
Just something everyone experiences once, arriving later for her than most.
No big deal.
“Thank you for everything.”
“…”
To Odeli’s words, the man who’d been watching her expressionlessly replied slowly.
“We won’t meet again.”
A businesslike response, leaving no room for misunderstanding.
So Odeli felt relieved to shed pointless lingering attachments before dying.
That was the end.
Of the five-year contract with him.
* * *
Odeli set out to find a place to die.
She sensed her time was running out.
Settling in a rural village, she lived a new life as a healer.
Quietly waiting for the approaching day of her death.
But…
‘…Why am I still alive?’
The days of vomiting dark blood in heart-wrenching pain were still vivid.
Yet her fading body began to recover slowly.
And that wasn’t all.
‘I feel healthier than ever …’
It wasn’t just a feeling.
Her body seemed to be reconstructing itself into an ideal state of health.
‘How is this possible?’
It was a miracle.
Though she couldn’t fathom why, she was alive, so she lived as life flowed.
Ordinary days followed.
Treating patients, tending herbs , strolling the village outskirts , occasionally visiting the market—she lived quietly.
Peace, happiness, stability.
She felt these emotions, perhaps for the first time since leaving her family.
‘Living like this wouldn’t be bad.’
At times, piercing loneliness would surface.
In those moments, the smoldering embers of a heart that had burned quietly for five years would flicker.
Lingering attachments, useless emotions.
But now she had a ‘tomorrow,’ so she didn’t drown in those feelings.
A year passed in the blink of an eye.
As Odeli grew accustomed to being alive ,
Without warning, the Grand Duke’s aide, dressed in black mourning clothes, appeared.
“His Grace has passed away.”
Delivering news of her ex-husband’s death.
“…What?”
“…”
“That can’t be…”
The Grand Duke, dead out of nowhere?
“Just a year ago…”
Wasn’t he perfectly fine?
He wasn’t terminally ill like her, nor did he have any chronic conditions.
How could she believe such sudden news…
She hoped for more explanation, but the aide stood silently, his face strained with restrained emotion.
He handed her a scroll.
With trembling hands, Odeli broke the seal and unrolled it.
It was an inheritance notice.
And …
A will containing the Grand Duke’s final words.
[Upon my death, I bequeath all lands, titles, authority, and assets of the Exception family to Odeli Kardel.]
“Why …”
Thoughts and emotions tangled chaotically.
All Odeli could muster was a single question: “Why?”
