Meanwhile, Clayton was sitting in the study before dinner, reviewing documents to finish the work he hadn't completed earlier.
Remembering Dalia's joy at the idea of building a village, he felt the need to expedite the timeline.
As he sifted through the documents, thinking of ways to speed up the relocation of residents to this area.
"Your Grace!"
Someone barged in, throwing the door open.
It was Caddison, whom Clayton thought had left the villa. Clayton cast a glance at his subordinate and spoke.
"Haven't you left yet? Hurry to the capital and take care of what I ordered…"
"I just received word that someone has infiltrated Hudson."
At Caddison's urgent tone, Clayton's quill froze mid-air.
"What?"
"It wasn't the marks of someone lost or wandering by accident. The traces indicated a deliberate breach to enter this area."
"Who would come here?"
"That, I'm not sure of either…"
Clayton tilted his head, perplexed.
After all, there was no reason to breach the heavy security and come all the way here.
All Hudson had was this villa on the cliff, and it didn't house anything particularly valuable—unless someone had a specific purpose.
And as for a purpose worth targeting here…
In that instant, Dalia's image flashed through his mind.
"Don't tell me…"
Just then, a maid working at the villa entered the room.
"Your Grace, the Madam isn't in the villa. Did she mention where she was going?"
Before the maid could finish speaking, Clayton sprang to his feet.
He had a bad feeling.
* * *
Meanwhile, Dalia, who was alone on the beach, was startled when her wrist was suddenly grabbed and was about to scream.
The man hurriedly covered Dalia's mouth and spoke.
"Wait! It's me!"
Recognizing the familiar voice, Dalia stopped herself from screaming.
'This voice is….'
When Dalia quieted down, the man pulled back the hood of his robe, and the first thing that caught her eye was his hair.
Fiery red hair fluttering in the wind—the color belonged to someone Dalia knew well.
"Lloyd…?"
It was Lloyd.
For a moment, she felt relieved that the mysterious man was someone she knew, but the appearance of Lloyd, who was supposed to be in the capital, left her confused.
"Why are you here…?"
She looked Lloyd up and down as he approached her.
He wasn't dressed in his usual disguise, and his appearance was unusually disheveled, as if something had happened on the way.
Moreover, his breathing was rough, like someone being chased.
Glancing around warily, as if someone might be nearby, he whispered.
"The villa is too visible from here. Please, follow me for now."
With a nervous glance around, Lloyd led Dalia to a spot out of sight of the villa.
"W-wait a second…!"
At first startled, Dalia eventually followed him, thinking someone might indeed be watching them.
Moments later, Lloyd, hiding beneath the cliff where the villa stood, grabbed Dalia by the shoulders.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere? Did the Duke exert pressure or harm you in any way…?"
At his assumption that she was hurt, Dalia swatted his hand away.
"...What on earth are you talking about?"
Barging in out of nowhere and expressing concern for her safety? Dalia frowned, unable to comprehend the situation she was in.
Confirming with his own eyes that Dalia seemed unharmed, Lloyd let out a sigh of relief.
Muttering to himself, "That's a relief," he met Dalia's gaze.
"This place is dangerous. Let's leave here together."
"What? Dangerous, you say?"
At first, she thought he was joking, but seeing the seriousness in his expression, her own face grew grave.
"There's no time for lengthy explanations. I'll explain in detail once we've left Hudson…"
Lloyd lowered his hands from her shoulders and grabbed her wrist instead.
As he attempted to pull her away, as if there was no time to waste, Dalia once again knocked his hand aside.
"Explain it to me clearly right now. How am I supposed to follow you when you suddenly tell me this place is dangerous and we need to run?"
Seeing that she wouldn't move an inch without an explanation, Lloyd let out a short sigh and began to speak.
"Fine. I'll get straight to the point since we don't have time. The Duke didn't bring you here just for a vacation."
"What?"
"You don't know, do you? What this place used to be."
Lloyd's expression turned solemn, as though he were about to tell a ghost story.
"Haven't you found it strange? Why such a beautiful, livable place is completely deserted?"
"I heard Hudson has been private property of the Seayer family for a long time."
"That's right. This is Seayer family property, so no one can enter without permission. But do you know why they've kept it closed off for so long?"
"Isn't it because it's such a beautiful place… so they wanted to keep it to themselves…?"
Lloyd let out a derisive laugh at her half-hearted reasoning.
"Is that what he told you? That it's so beautiful they kept it hidden for themselves?"
"..."
Dalia didn't know how to respond to his barbed words. She was just confused.
"Do you know what my family calls Hudson?"
"..."
"The Beautiful Tomb. The Splendid Prison. Do you know why?"
Lloyd continued speaking without pause.
"Because every woman who offered her blood to the Seayer family was trapped here and eventually died."
Dalia, silently listening to his story, murmured in disbelief.
"I… I've never heard of such a place."
This was never mentioned in the original story.
That's why Lloyd's words were utterly confusing to her. A tomb, no less.
If Lloyd's words were true, then Clayton had brought her here to imprison her.
Then suddenly, the things she'd heard before coming here came to mind.
Leaving Samantha behind at the estate and the unclear return schedule for the steward—these trivial matters lent weight to Lloyd's claims.
'No. That can't be.'
But Dalia shook her head firmly.
Since arriving here, she had never felt restricted. Moreover, Clayton had mentioned plans to build a village in Hudson.
'We're supposed to return to the capital next week.'
They had even discussed their schedule to return to the capital over breakfast that morning.
Although she liked the peace and quiet here, she knew it would become dull if they stayed too long.
So, they had agreed to leave as early as four days later, or by the beginning of the next week at the latest.
'Above all, the Duke has no reason to imprison me.'
Unless he intended to demand a divorce, she would remain the Duchess and spend her life with him. He had no reason to confine her here.
As her thoughts reached that conclusion, Dalia, convinced Lloyd must be mistaken, opened her mouth to speak.
"Lloyd, I think you're mistaken. The Duke has no reason to imprison me here, and he's not the kind of person who would. I trust him. Do you have any grounds for thinking that?"
As if he had expected her not to believe him, Lloyd added.
"The Duke knows everything."
"Knows what?"
"That I…"
Just as Lloyd was about to reveal the truth, a familiar figure came into Dalia's view.
"…Your Grace?"
It was Clayton. He seemed to have run to the beach, as he was out of breath.
Startled by the name coming from Dalia's lips, Lloyd turned around to see Clayton watching them closely from a short distance away.
"Dalia."
The man's voice was cold as he called her name.
Only then did Dalia fully realize who she was with, and she let out a short sigh.
At the same time, a cold sweat ran down her back.
'Lloyd right now is…!'
He wasn't wearing his disguise.
Though his face had become gaunt in the time they'd been apart, his resemblance to Rose, differing only by gender, would not escape Clayton's notice.
Startled by Clayton's sudden appearance, Dalia quickly stepped in front of Lloyd, blocking him from Clayton's view.
Just as she was about to hurriedly come up with an explanation about Lloyd.
"It's been a while."
Clayton shifted his gaze to the man standing behind Dalia.
"Lloyd Hertz."
His voice was colder than midwinter seawater.