Once Horen was out of his office, the Duke finally allowed himself to breathe.
There was a reason why he didn't want Ilya and Horen to meet, even for a fraction of a second.
Horen Hamlin Gertrude had always been insecure of Ilya for being the genuine heir to the Dukedom. Granted that Ilya was only known to be alive within the estate, there were some speculations that she was murdered by the new Duchess.
There were even a few of the Emperor's people surmising that they didn't kill her. They just took away her freedom. That's the reason why Horen was always on edge whenever Ilya was the topic. He was afraid that someone might discover the secret that they had been keeping.
And because of that, he desired for nothing but Ilya's death in every single day that passed.
Though he had already abandoned Ilya, Brahm Gertrude didn't want her dead.
