Caesar stared at the door to the study, his patience wearing thin. He had called for Marianne nearly an hour ago. He had expected her to arrive, as she always had, with that quiet grace she exuded so effortlessly. But as the minutes passed, a creeping anxiety began to worm its way into his chest. Something was wrong. He could feel it in the pit of his stomach, that gnawing discomfort, the kind that had been with him ever since she started slipping away from him—slowly, deliberately, and, it seemed, now finally completely.

It wasn’t like Marianne to be late. Not for him. Not for this. Their relationship—whatever it had been—had always been grounded in familiarity, in a silent understanding. She had always been there, ready to help, ready to listen, ready to be the one constant in the whirlwind of his life. But not today.

He glanced once more at the door and then turned to the window, his fingers tightening around the leather-bound book on his desk, an idle object he had picked up earlier to distract himself. The late afternoon sun cast a golden glow over the courtyard, the shadows of the castle stretching long against the stone walls. He should be attending to the affairs of the Duchy, meeting with his advisors, making decisions about alliances and taxes—but today, his mind wasn’t there. His thoughts were consumed by the woman who had always been by his side, the one person who could make him feel understood, who knew him in a way no one else did.

He stood abruptly, his chair scraping loudly across the stone floor, and made his way toward the door. His hand hesitated on the handle. Perhaps she is just caught up in something, he thought, trying to calm himself, but the more he thought of her absence, the more the doubt settled in. Maybe she just needed a moment.

But as he passed through the long hallways, his heart beat faster, a sickening anticipation building in his chest. She wasn’t in the servant’s quarters. She wasn’t in the kitchens, or in the laundry rooms, or any of the places where he had come to find her over the years.

She was gone.

The emptiness that seemed to swallow the castle was suffocating. As he moved through the halls, passing the portraits of ancestors long dead, the weight of his lineage pressing down on him, Caesar felt a strange, hollow sensation. The sound of his boots echoed unnervingly in the otherwise quiet corridor. The castle felt colder now. Larger. Unwelcoming.

He found himself standing in the courtyard, staring at the empty space where he had last seen Marianne. Her absence seemed to stretch out before him, an abyss. Panic began to rise in his throat. Where is she? What happened to her?

It was the head servant, an older man named Alistair, who finally confirmed his worst fears. Caesar found him in the main hall, instructing a group of servants on the day’s tasks. The moment Alistair saw the Duke’s face, his expression shifted, something unreadable flashing in his eyes.

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“Alistair,” Caesar said, his voice tight. “Where is Marianne?”

The older man hesitated, his brow furrowing in a way Caesar didn’t like. “Marianne… she’s no longer here, Your Grace.”

Caesar felt the blood drain from his face. “What do you mean she’s no longer here?” His voice rose, more sharply than he intended.

“She left this noon, my lord,” Alistair said, his voice low, careful. “She informed me she was resigning her position. Said it was time for her to move on.”

The words felt like a blow to Caesar’s chest. He staggered back slightly, his mind struggling to make sense of what he was hearing. She left? Marianne had… left?

For a moment, the world seemed to tilt on its axis. His childhood companion, the one constant in his life, had left without a word. No goodbye, no explanation. She had just… gone. His thoughts were a whirl of confusion and anger. How could she do this?

“Did she say why?” Caesar asked, his voice shaking with a mixture of disbelief and frustration.

Alistair hesitated, glancing away for a brief moment, as if unsure how to respond. “She didn’t give specifics, Your Grace. But…” His eyes flickered, almost apologetically. “It was clear she had made up her mind. She packed her things, and when I asked if she was certain, she simply said it was time for a change.”

A sickening feeling spread through Caesar’s stomach. Time for a change. He knew those words. He had heard them before, from nobles who had grown tired of their responsibilities, from people who were ready to leave behind something they had once cared for. But this—this was different. Marianne wasn’t a servant who simply tired of her duties. No, it was something deeper. It was personal.

He could feel it—the quiet sting of betrayal, sharper than he had expected. For all the years they had spent together, for all the shared moments, for the bond they had once shared, she had chosen to walk away from him. From everything they had built.

He clenched his jaw, his mind racing with questions he couldn’t answer. Why hadn’t she told him? Why hadn’t she confided in him? He was her Duke now—her Duke. Why had she hidden her feelings? Why had she chosen to leave without a trace?

Caesar felt a flare of anger rise within him. How dare she leave without a word? He wanted to scream, to demand answers from her, but he knew that was impossible. She had made her choice. She was gone.

The weight of his responsibilities, the heavy mantle of his title, seemed to press down on him even harder now. He felt trapped in the life he had never fully wanted, a life where people walked in and out of it, using him for what he represented, not for who he was.

But Marianne had been different. She had been the only one who truly saw him. The only one who had ever known him in a way that no one else could. And now, she was gone.

He had never felt more alone.

Without a word, Caesar turned on his heel and strode out of the castle, ignoring the stares of the courtiers and servants who watched him go. He didn’t know where he was going. He didn’t care. He just needed to be away. Away from the place that had once been his home, away from the title that had been his burden.

He needed answers. He needed to find her.