Alena had always believed in the afterlife, but never would she have thought that she would become a ghost. It was a strange feeling, being weightless and translucent, yet still conscious and aware.

She gazed down at her spirit form, the pale ivory of her skin contrasting against the floating strands of her long golden hair. She couldn't help but revel in the astonishing ease with which she could move—every motion felt effortless, every step almost like a dance.

However, she couldn't help but feel a sense of frustration at being stuck in this cursed wedding dress. She would have preferred to be wearing something else. But then again, she supposed, being stuck in a gown was better than being naked.

As she moved forward, she watched the hem of the dress brush against the grass. The image of her translucent dress passing through the living plants gave her a bittersweet feeling, and she couldn't help but wonder what might have been if she...

She quickly shook her head. There was no use thinking about that now. The only thing that should matter to her now was her mission—the mission she was determined to carry through to the end at all costs.

With a deep breath, she set off, the weightless and translucent wedding dress trailing behind her like a wisp of smoke.

…

Alena had spent hours roaming around the Duke's grand palace. It was truly massive. Even in her ghost form, where she could pass through any walls and barricades, it still took her quite a while to check every room.

She had tried to look for the assassin, but it seemed that the man had already shredded his outfit. Since she had only seen his pair of black eyes, Alena knew it wouldn’t be easy for her to find him. But she didn’t have any plans to give up so easily.

When she overheard that the Duke was not yet back, she decided to look for his room.

And contrary to the bright and sparkling exterior of the Duke’s grand palace, the interior was not what Alena was expecting. As she moved through the dark and empty halls, she couldn't help but crease her brows. The soldiers were scattered only on the training grounds, the corridors, and the courtyard, but most of the inside of the palace was deserted and lifeless.

Alena couldn't shake the feeling that something was not right. She felt that there was something mysterious about all this emptiness and darkness.

The Duke of Donovia was known to be the wealthiest in the Kingdom, just second to the royal family, so she had been expecting a palace that was lavish. But instead, she found that almost everything inside the palace was considered old, and it looked as though it had not been used for decades.

What Alena was seeing was simply hard to believe, especially since the Duke's wealth had always been a big issue in the royal palace. Even the royal family had speculated that this massive palace contained lavish luxury and treasures that the Donovians had obtained both legally and illegally over the years.

But now that she was here, Alena saw nothing of the supposed treasures anywhere. The palace was just like an old, abandoned luxury palace, where everything within had not been improved for maybe a hundred years already.

However, despite the lack of evidence, Alena concluded that the Duke must have hidden his treasures somewhere.

Finally, Alena found the Duke's bedchambers. It was another surprise to her because his bedroom wasn't the palace's master bedroom. The master bedroom was empty and unused, and Alena wondered why the Duke had chosen a smaller room that seemed more fitting for an heir or firstborn.

And just like the rest of the empty spaces in the entire palace, the Duke's room was not anything special from the rest. It was dark and dull, with just the very basic things inside. Alena couldn't even find anything that was unusual or worth investigating.

Mystified, Alena left the room and decided to roam around while waiting for the Duke's return. She wanted to investigate the entire estate more because this palace had been closed to everyone, even the royal family, for so many years. In fact, according to what she had heard, it had probably been a hundred years since the last time an event was held in this place.

But the night came, and Alena still found nothing.

Disappointed, Alena emerged in the corridor, where she passed a maid and a butler who were engaged in conversation. The moment they spoke of the Duke's presence in his chambers, Alena wasted no time in rushing past them, making her way to the massive double doors that guarded the Duke's inner sanctum.

With a fierce look in her eyes and her fists clenched at her sides, Alena stood before the closed doors, her spirit form crackling with energy.

"I hope you're ready," she growled through gritted teeth, her hatred and anger brimming to the surface as she moved towards the door. "You bloody, evil, ugly piece of Duke -"

But as she passed through the doors, she froze.

Mouth agape, Alena stared in shock and disbelief at the completely naked man standing before her. He was so perfect, so incredibly gorgeous, that he almost seemed too good to be real. His body was like the finest work of art, glistening like a bronze sculpture in the flickering candlelight.

Alena couldn't help but take in the sight of him, her eyes tracing every inch of his sculpted muscles and chiseled features.

This body, that face… who is he?!

She had never before laid eyes on a man as stunning as him.

Wh-what is a man this beautiful doing inside the chamber of the Duke?! Wait… could it be that… is he the Duke’s lover?!!!

One thing that Alena could confirm about the Duke of Donovia was that he had refused any marriage proposals except hers. He had never been seen with a lover or even rumored to have one. According to rumors, the Duke was never by himself with a woman and was always with his male knights.

In fact, the topic of the Duke's lack of interest in women was so popular that it had become a source of speculation among many officials. Some even went so far as to express their opinion that the Duke might not be interested in females at all, but rather in males.

"Good lord..." Alena couldn't help but gasp in shock as the realization hit her. "It seems the rumors were true all along. Of course, who wouldn't want a man like this as a lover? If I were the Duke, I don't think I could keep my hands off someone this drop-dead gorgeous!"

As Alena exclaimed those words, the man's body seemed to stiffen, his muscles tensing as if he had just heard something ridiculous. But Alena was too focused on trying to piece together the puzzle to notice.

"Oh lord..." Alena's voice trailed off once again as a thought occurred to her. Her eyes stretched even wider in shock as she considered the possibility. "Could this be the reason why the Duke ordered my assassination? Because he already had this unreal beauty of a perfect man...?"

As Alena continued to voice her conclusions with increasing anger, the man lifted his gaze, meeting hers. She immediately froze as she locked eyes with him, and it wasn't just because of the fact that he was looking straight into her eyes. It was because his eyes were a shade of fiery gold!

These were eyes that belonged to only one person in the entire Kingdom.

They belonged to none other than the Duke of Donovia!

Her lips parted. This is… Duke Kaztiel Donovian?!!

Alena could hardly believe her eyes. Because the knowledge she and the entire Kingdom had about the Duke's appearance appeared to be completely… utterly wrong!

Duke Kaztiel Donovian was known as a ruthless and mysterious man, feared by many in the Kingdom. His reputation was so fearsome that he even managed to strike serious fear in the heart of the King himself. In fact, the King was unable to even summon him to attend significant social gatherings; instead, he had to send invitations, all of which the Duke declined.

It had even become widely known that the Duke only responded to the King's summons if he was being sent to war.

This was why Alena had never met the Duke until now.

Everybody also knew that for countless years, the Duke’s face remained shrouded in mystery, and no one had caught even a glimpse of it. People were saying that one of the legendary battles he had led in the past had left his face scarred. It was rumored that the lower half of his face bore the horrific scars of that tragic day, causing him to hide his appearance until today.

It was also rumored that the Duke never allowed himself to be seen without a mask, further fueling speculation about his disfigurement.

But despite all the mystery shrouding the Duke's face, there was one feature that made him unmistakable to everyone: his distinctive golden eyes. No one else in the entire Kingdom of Claveria possessed irises of that color, making it the only surefire way to recognize the Duke of Donovia.

Staring at him, Alena couldn’t help but shake her head in disbelief. Who would have thought that the Duke actually looked like this? Why did he hide his face? What could be the reason for him to conceal such a handsome face all these years?

"And for the love of... why does this man have to look like this..." she trailed off, suddenly aware of what she was saying and thinking.

Shaking her head once again, she forced herself to focus. "Focus! Don't you dare forget," she scolded herself firmly. "Don't forget that this man is the reason you're here—a ghost stuck in her cursed wedding dress. This is the man you promised to drag down to hell with you!"

Her eyes blazed with a renewed fire of vengeance as she spoke, her voice cold and determined. “I don't care if you're the most beautiful man I've ever seen. You're still going to die by my hands."

As soon as she declared those words, the Duke suddenly took a step towards her. Alena's heart skipped a beat as his gaze remained fixed on her while he approached.

Wait… why is he…

Disbelief started to grip her heart as their distance shrank.

Don’t tell me… he could see me?!

Alena instinctively stepped back.

This man could see me?! A ghost?!