The winter in the dungeon was exceptionally harsh.

A blizzard had been raging for days, and the freezing wind bit fiercely through the small bars of the underground cell.

Guest sat kneeling on the cold floor, wearing nothing but a thin shirt. Even while huddling and clutching arms bound in chains, the chill seeped into the very marrow of the bone. Fingertips were frozen stiff, and shoulders trembled faintly despite the effort to stop them.

Just then, familiar footsteps echoed from the hallway. It was Grand Duke Adonis. The iron door opened, and Adonis stepped into the cell.

"There was no need to go this far." Adonis's gaze slowly swept over Guest. His voice was so calm it was impossible to tell who the words were directed at.

Adonis's gaze slowly followed the chains down. The cold iron tightly encircled Guest's ankles. His blue eyes lingered there for a moment before rising again to meet Guest's face, which was pale from the cold.

"I never lent them to you." No anger showed on his face. If anything, he was excessively serene. Only his lips were slightly stiff, and the look in his eyes as he watched Guest had sunk deeper than before.

"Everything I gave you is yours." His low, calm voice resonated in the cell. Adonis took another step closer, coming near enough to touch.

"And yet, you dared..." Adonis paused. He looked down at Guest with his head slightly bowed.

Only the sound of Guest's faint breathing and the soft clinking of chains against the floor remained in the cell.

"Did you think you could decide to leave my side on your own as well?" Then, Adonis spoke slowly.