Her hands and feet trembled, yet she felt a strange thrill.

The pent-up resentment she had been holding back seemed to wash away with those words.

For a moment, Melly felt a sense of relief in her heart. However…

“……”

Edric said nothing. He merely gazed at her with calm eyes. As if it were just an ordinary encounter in everyday life.

His attitude, which did not suit the situation, gradually made Melly anxious.

“Why did I marry you, you ask?”

Finally, Edric closed the book he was holding with a snap and answered.

“Because of love.”

“……”

“Because back then, I thought that was love.”

In that brief moment, Melly’s heart went back and forth between heaven and hell.

It felt as if time had stopped.

It was as if her time had stopped, and only Edric’s time was slowly flowing, sending a huge wave towards her.

The words were so blatant, so thin, like a needle that penetrated the skin without even feeling the pain in that moment.

Barely grasping her numb consciousness, Melly asked.

“Then… what about now……”

“Now, I’m not sure myself.”

Edric shrugged his shoulders and continued.

“It depends on you.”

“……”

“If you perform the role of a wise wife instead of whining like an immature child as you are now, I may be able to believe that the emotions I felt back then were not an illusion.”

He spoke his mind with an undaunted face, as if only speaking the truth.

Melly could not say a word. Her thoughts, which had stopped long ago, showed no sign of moving at all.

A heavy silence fell between the two. Just as the accumulated silence was about to harden like a rock, he issued an order to leave.

“Is that all? If you have nothing more to say, I’d appreciate it if you left now.”

Like when he drove away those who came to make a deal with him but were of little benefit, Edric drove Melly away in such a manner.

Melly got up as if hypnotized and walked out of the room, plodding along.

And she walked down the corridor with a blank look, finally coming to a stop.

‘Because of love……’

The needle he had thrust finally awakened the pain in Melly’s heart.

‘Because back then, I thought that was love.’

Suddenly, a chuckle burst out.

‘But at least he did think it was love.’

Melly traced back her memories. When did he have such thoughts?

When he took me to the hotel room? When we first made love?

When passion ignited and we indulged in our own play every day, setting up a canopy?

Was it then?

And then, when the passion subsided and a period came when he could think calmly and rationally, did he realize that the magnitude of his emotions was much smaller than he had thought?

Did he find it amusing to realize that what he thought was a huge, bleeding wound turned out to be just a tiny scratch once the blood was wiped away?

To realize that the reality had been ridiculously exaggerated in his imagination?

Suddenly, Francis’s words came to mind.

‘Is there anything I can do to help? If there is, just tell me anything.’

At a glance, it seemed like an ordinary and generic remark, but Melly knew.

Francis was implying that there was no better stimulant than jealousy to awaken a man’s emotions.

But she flatly refused.

If the cooling of this relationship was its predestined end, then she intended to leave it as it was.

She didn’t want to stir it up and have the remaining flames be covered in ashes and disappear.

She had intended to cherish even the last flickering point and protect their love that way.

But fate was constantly testing her, making her realize how different her thoughts were from reality……

“Ah…!”

For a moment, Melly felt as if everything went dark before her eyes.

She couldn’t even tell where her arms and legs were attached, or if they were properly attached at all.

It felt as if she had fallen into a world of nothingness, as if she would vanish just like this.

What’s happening to me?

“Madam!”

Oz quickly ran over and supported her. The silver-gray ceiling wallpaper entered Melly’s blurry vision. It was because her head was bent back.

Oz tapped Melly’s cheeks with his firm hands, trying to wake her up. Melly’s vision also became clear around then.

“Oz!”

If she had been a little later in coming to her senses, the mansion would have been in an uproar.

Melly barely stopped Oz from shouting.

“Take me to my room, please.”

“……”

“Please, don’t tell anyone.”

“……”

Edric stared at the teacup Melly had left behind for a long time.

His gaze was not fixed on anything, but was vacant. A faint sneer also appeared on the corner of his mouth.

It was a self-mocking smile.

He reached out his hand to grab the teacup, then clenched his fist as it was. The force put into his clenched fist was so strong that his knuckles bulged.

He withdrew his hand.

The events of the day flashed through his mind.

‘Your Grace, please take a look at this.’

Wilson, whom he had sent on an errand, returned with an extra edition of the newspaper.

‘What is this for?’

‘Please take a look at the last page.’

Why was he telling him to look at this when he was already so busy? Moreover, the last page was usually devoted to gossip.

Having to waste time on such a pathetic matter.

Edric flipped the newspaper over with the intention of skimming through it and turned a page.

Edric’s eyes hardened upon seeing the article title written in bold letters in the middle.

The gist of the content was that it would not be long before Melly was driven from her position as duchess, and that active discussions were currently taking place among the elders. It did not contain any particularly sensational content. But one particular word was the problem.

‘Infertility’

The most surefire word that could hurt her. The word that could completely disarm her no matter what mask she armed herself with. The word infertility was that powerful.

Although Edric had always wanted to strip away her mask of pretense that didn’t suit her, this was not the way.

‘How long has it been out?’

‘It’s been half an hour.’

‘Collect them all.’

Edric tore the newspaper to shreds as he continued.

‘Arrest the one who wrote the article, those who assisted in editing it, and all the people who encouraged writing such trashy articles.’

‘Yes, Your Grace.’

In fact, he could have easily brushed it off with a magnanimous attitude. After all, time would solve everything.

No matter how much time passed, Melly would not be kicked out of the ducal house. And she would become pregnant. What clearer evidence could there be that the article’s content was absurdly false?

Until now, he had always responded to all scandals with such an elegant attitude.

But… infertility.

He could not let that word, sharper than a blade, more piercing than an awl, and as painful as a red-hot iron, enter her ears.

He blocked the article and ordered punishment for those involved.

It was quite a headache-inducing process.

Of all things, the newspaper company was under the jurisdiction of His Majesty’s cousin, Marquis Chris Astello.

He sent a letter to him politely explaining the reason why he had to respond in such a way.

He also added that if he still could not accept it and had to hold him accountable, then he should do so. He had only done the right thing.

He responded with the resolve to lose what was his, all for her sake. But she flared up and talked back at his request to briefly summarize the main points because he was too exhausted.

‘Then why did you marry me?’

Edric was flabbergasted.

What have I done? I didn’t hesitate to clash with the powerful, all for her sake.

Why do I have to hear these words?

Then the thorn that he had barely suppressed reared its head stiffly again.

‘Why did I marry you, you ask?’

‘……’

‘Because back then, I thought that was love.’

By the time he realized he shouldn’t have said that, it was too late.

Edric could not forget her expression at that moment when he said those words.

Something inside her fell away. And through that void, all sorts of things poured out, gradually emptying her. A sense of emptiness deepened in her expression.

She got up from her seat with a dazed face and left his quarters.

Click-.

The moment the door closed, Edric’s eyelids also closed together.

This time, he had a strong feeling that even Melly would not forgive him.

If he wanted to receive her forgiveness, he would have to explain the reason.

‘It was because of the article about you in the extra edition. It said that you were infertile and would soon be kicked out of the ducal house. I collected all the extra editions, even risking a clash with the royal family. All because of you. So I was in an exhausted state, and I misspoke because you provoked me.’

Could his mistake be offset by those words?

Edric silently weighed it.

Between the pain she suffered because of it and the new pain she would suffer from his explanation, which one was lighter.

“How are you feeling? Are you all right?”

When Melly did not leave her bed all evening, Oz was restless.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry and go take care of your work.”

“How can I take care of work when you’re like this, Madam?”

Oz thought for a moment, then bit her lower lip as if she had made up her mind.

“I don’t think this will do. I will inform His Grace about your condition……”

“Don’t do that.”

Melly urgently grabbed Oz, who was trying to get up from her seat.

“I just want to be quiet. I don’t want to make a fuss.”

Oz let out a long sigh and finally vented her anger.

“His Grace has upset you again, hasn’t he?”

“It’s not like that.”

“It can’t be anything else. The fact that you’re unwell must be because His Grace has upset you.”

“……”

Melly just listened quietly.

That was the truth, and she couldn’t defend Edric, if only because she felt sorry for Oz, who was getting angry and worked up on her behalf.

Oz let out a long sigh as if exhaling steam, then worried about Melly again.

“You should eat something, at least. You look terrible.”

She immediately left the bedchamber and returned with a light snack.

“Please try it. It’s the soufflé you like, Madam.”

While Melly sat up, Oz unfolded a portable table and placed the food on it. Then, putting a spoon in Melly’s hand, she said.

“You are the mistress of this house, Madam. If you have no energy, you cannot govern your subordinates. You must eat something and gather your strength……”

“Ugh!”

Suddenly, Melly covered her mouth as a surge of nausea welled up.