ONE NIGHT STAND WITH HOT DUKE-Chapter 196: I haven’t found you yet

Ivanka’s death closed the Kosler case.

But it also closed Demian’s chance to demand anything from her.

What remained now was only emptiness and regret that had come too late.

For the first time since the funeral, his expression cracked.

Not because of grief for Ivanka.

But because he realized something far more painful He had been too consumed with planning revenge... to notice that the person he wanted to protect had already left first.

And Morvex Castle, which had long felt like a fortress of power that night felt like nothing more than an empty chamber echoing with his own name.

Day after day passed.

Month after month slipped by.

Winter thawed into the first rains of spring yet not a single word of Valerie returned to Castle Morvex.

No letters.

No trace.

No witness who truly knew where she had gone.

In a study where the fireplace was lit less and less often, Demian stood before the tall window. Reports lay scattered across his desk, most of them detailing the search.

He no longer called it "searching."

He called it "taking her back."

A knock sounded at the door.

"Enter."

A tall figure in dark robes stepped inside without a sound. Vedseel inclined his head briefly, then straightened.

"I bring news."

Demian did not turn. "Not good news, judging by your face."

Vedseel paused, as if weighing how best to deliver it.

"We found remnants of magic along the eastern border. Extremely faint. Nearly impossible to detect."

Demian finally looked over his shoulder.

"And?"

"It was not the work of a single witch."

The room seemed to grow colder.

Vedseel continued, "It appears Lady Valerie did not leave alone. There were many witches accompanying her."

"How many?"

"Enough to mask her scent."

The term made Demian’s jaw tighten.

He knew what it meant.

High-level concealment magic could sever aura trails erase the residual energy normally used to track someone. And layered repeatedly, even the finest trackers would lose their way.

"Ancient witches?" Demian asked quietly.

Vedseel nodded.

"Several signs indicate techniques that are very old. Not court magic. Not any modern discipline. This is... deeper."

"How deep?"

"Deep enough to make them vanish from the world you command."

Silence settled over the room.

Demian walked slowly back to his desk.

"So you’re telling me," he said without emotion, "that she is under the protection of an ancient circle of witches?"

"I cannot confirm it. But the pattern of magic... it’s structured. Deliberate. As though they prepared the escape long before she ever stepped out of the castle."

Those words struck harder than any accusation.

Long before she left.

Which meant Valerie had not fled in panic.

She had left with resolve.

With help.

With a plan.

Demian closed his eyes briefly.

"How long do you need to break through it?"

Vedseel met his gaze seriously. "If they truly are an ancient circle... it could take years."

"No."

Demian’s voice was low, but unquestionable.

"I am not giving them years."

Vedseel exhaled softly. "Your Grace... ancient witches do not hide like common criminals. They live in the seams of the world. In places even imperial maps refuse to acknowledge."

"Then find the seam."

"Demian."

For the first time, Vedseel spoke his name without title.

"You are confronting something that cannot be conquered with armies or threats."

Demian’s eyes sharpened.

"I have never relied on armies alone."

Their gazes locked.

Vedseel saw something in the man’s eyes not merely obsession.

Not merely anger.

But fear he had never allowed himself to admit.

"I will continue searching," Vedseel said at last. "But you must prepare for the possibility that Valerie does not wish to be found." 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

The sentence hung in the air like a curse.

Demian stood still.

He did not deny it.

He did not agree.

But his fingers slowly curled into a fist.

Outside, rain began to fall lightly over the castle towers.

And far away, in a place no tracker could reach a circle of ancient witches might have been smiling faintly, because for the first time in his life, the Duke of Morvex did not know where to step next.

Far from the imperial mainland separated by seas rarely charted there stood a small village perched upon white cliffs and gray, restless waves.

The salty wind cut sharply through the air.

Snow still fell in thin veils, though spring had already touched other regions.

There, Valerie stood watching fishermen casting their lines over a frozen lake, its surface beginning to crack along the edges. Her body was different now.

Her belly curved gently beneath a thick woolen coat.

Her face, however, seemed brighter softer, more alive as if an old weight had crumbled along with the distance that separated her from the past.

Not far from her, a dark-haired man knelt beside an opening in the ice, pulling up his line with patient movements.

Ethan.

He glanced up when he felt her gaze.

"Why are you here?" he asked, rising with the rod still in hand. "It’s very cold."

He walked toward her without waiting for an answer and, in a natural gesture, brushed away the thin layer of snow resting on top of her knitted hat.

"Go inside," he continued gently. "Help Lena prepare the meal. I’ll come back with plenty of fish."

His tone was light not a command, only simple concern.

Valerie gave a small smile.

"I was bored," she replied softly. "Besides, Lena has already prepared most of it."

Ethan let out a sigh of exaggerated annoyance.

"Being bored isn’t a reason to freeze yourself."

"And you?" Valerie raised a brow. "Aren’t you out here too?"

"I’m not carrying two lives at once."

The words made her fall silent.

Her hand instinctively moved to her belly.

The wind swept across them again, catching the edge of Ethan’s coat. He removed one glove and took her cold hand in his.

"You know," he said more quietly, "this place is safe. But that doesn’t mean we can be careless."

Safe.

The word felt unfamiliar and precious.

Here, there was no palace.

No titles.

No shadow of a cold-eyed man standing by a tall window, planning the shape of the world.

Demian’s name was rarely spoken. And when it was, it was only as something distant like a storm that had once passed but could no longer be heard.

Valerie looked out at the vast sea that separated this world from her past.

"I just wanted to see," she said at last. "To see something simple."