Edric buried his face in the diary.

He seemed to smell the scent of Melly’s small, soft hands. He thought he could hear the scratching sound of the pen nib.

He closed his eyes, savoring the traces she left behind, and desperately whispered.

“Melly, come back. Please……”

Lisa, a servant who had spent a busy morning, moved towards the pantry with her colleagues to catch her breath for a moment.

Just as they were about to turn the corner, they all stopped in surprise at the large figure that brushed past them.

The one who passed by them was none other than Edric.

He was slowly walking down the corridor, leaning against the wall.

Since breaking his glasses, he had become almost blind.

He had poor eyesight to begin with, but it wasn’t this bad before…….

A few days ago, he had tripped on the stairs and fallen badly.

At the clattering sound of something falling, everyone stopped what they were doing and rushed over. They could see Edric lying on the landing carpet, quietly staring at the ceiling as if taking a rest. Blood was coming from his head.

Mistakes at work also became frequent. Critical notifications were missed, or confidential information was not properly classified, allowing everyone to know. Fatal mistakes that would have been unimaginable for his former self occurred not infrequently.

He was gradually excluded from important tasks. Not only from external events within the imperial court, but even the water development rights on the outskirts, which should have fallen to him, were passed to Marquis Bailey.

But he neither despaired nor became angry.

Because such things were now nothing to him.

The only pleasure in his life was visiting one by one the places Melly had written in her diary that she wanted to go with him.

He would go and sit for hours before returning. That was the only support sustaining his precarious state.

“Your Excellency, I will accompany you today as well.”

The butler said to Edric, who had barely made it down to the lower floor, leaning on the railing. Judging by his attire, he guessed that Edric was about to go out again in search of traces of his wife.

The butler worried about Edric. Even when everyone in the household outwardly worried but inwardly felt a sense of poetic justice and satisfaction at his suffering, only he sincerely cared for Edric and asked to stay by his side.

“It’s fine. I’ll go alone.”

But Edric needed no one’s help.

He wished to be left alone in this foggy, blurry world. He intended to stay trapped there until Melly came to take him out.

He commanded.

“Prepare the car.”

There was strength beneath his calm voice. Though his spirit had weakened greatly, his innate dignity was still intact.

The servants quickly erased the worry from their eyes and lowered themselves obediently before him.

The roads had become much busier.

It was evidence that the automobile industry, which had started from his hands, was flourishing in a short period. But despite the parade of sleek, angular cars running in order on the road, Edric felt nothing.

He was just annoyed that the journey to Melly’s traces was delayed by as much as the increased number of cars.

Edric tried to calm his mind by appreciating the scenery outside the window.

Bare trees lined both sides of the road, stretching their vein-like branches into the air. The gray sky visible between them seemed even more desolate, holding a chill.

While he spent his days in a daze, the seasons had changed twice.

It was still summer when Melly left, but now it was already winter.

He worried if she might have caught a cold. Melly used to catch colds even when it was just a little cold,

Suddenly, a childhood memory came to mind.

Melly’s face, which he encountered in the hallway, looked particularly flushed that day, so he asked.

‘Melly, are you feeling unwell?’

‘Ah… no. I’m not…’

She smiled awkwardly and slowly backed away. Her shoulders heaved intermittently as if suppressing a cough.

Edric reached out and grabbed her wrist.

‘Hold still.’

He pulled her towards him as she tried to twist her wrist free. Then he felt her forehead and his own with the other hand, comparing their temperatures.

‘Oh no. You have a fever.’

‘It’s… it’s just because I’m hot.’

‘It’s winter now?’

Edric eventually brought Melly, who was trying to escape with clumsy excuses to avoid passing her cold to him, to his room.

Then he laid the small, embarrassed girl on his bed and personally placed a wet cloth on her forehead.

Honestly, it wasn’t like him.

He was a man who considered meticulous body management as his mission. Important meetings and banquets were always scheduled, and to effortlessly draw out the knowledge honed there and use accurate vocabulary and coherent sentences, a clear and sharp mind was essential.

To survive in an environment where he would be mercilessly ignored if he showed even a slightly naive side, he had been particularly careful not to compromise his health under any circumstances.

But even so, he didn’t turn away from Melly who had caught a cold that day.

At the time, he thought it was just pure concern for a sick friend, but thinking about it now, it wasn’t.

Even when reason distorted his true feelings, his body instinctively knew.

That it didn’t matter at all if he caught a cold from her.

That what he wanted wasn’t an unstable reputation that could be greatly shaken by a single mistake, but her consistent comfort.

He loved Melly. Perhaps even before she loved him…

He could still do that now.

He could nurse her without worrying about catching a cold. No, he could even transfer the cold virus from her body to his by kissing her deeply.

Where did Melly go? Where on earth.

He sighed deeply and turned his eyes back to the car window. That’s when it happened.

“…!”

His eyes widened, clearly revealing the round rims of his bright blue eyes. He spoke in a heavily suppressed voice.

“Stop.”

“…Pardon? Your Excellency, what did you say…”

“I said stop!”

Edric shouted urgently and flung open the car door even though the car hadn’t stopped yet.

The driver had no time to stop him as he crossed the road.

Cars that were suddenly obstructed blared their horns. Some opened their windows and cursed.

But Edric paid no heed to the vulgar curses he had never heard before. He was desperately chasing after a woman in a teal dress walking on the sidewalk.

Finally catching up to the woman, Edric grabbed her shoulder and turned her around.

“Melly!”

“…Who are you?”

Edric’s eyes, which had been shining brightly for a while, slowly lost their light.

It wasn’t Melly. It wasn’t Melly’s round hazel eyes, delicate nose bridge, and plump, lovely baby bird-like lips. It was an unknown woman.

“Are you… Duke Pelton?”

The woman, who had been staring at Edric, recognized him. But Edric still didn’t know who she was. And he didn’t need to know.

“I apologize, madam.”

Edric left a polite apology and turned away.

“Um… Duke? Duke−!”

The woman called out to him, wanting to prolong this chance encounter, but Edric did not respond.

He scanned the road with a dejected face. And he found his car parked on the opposite side of the road.

The driver was fidgeting anxiously in front of the car door with a worried expression.

There was a time when he thought this driver, who kept getting lost, was stupid.

But now he had become someone even more dull than that driver, making him worry.

Huh−.

Edric let out a bitter laugh.

It was a laugh in which the self-loathing that had started from mistaking a strange woman for Melly had become even more concentrated.

Edric stepped onto the road as if returning to his parents.

The traffic jam had just started, so it seemed he could quietly return without causing trouble to other cars.

He leisurely passed between the cars. The driver watched him intently, not blinking once, with a tense face as if watching a child taking its first steps. When he reached the center line, he seemed to smile faintly in relief.

Edric burst into another bitter laugh and stopped on the center line. It was because cars were zooming by on the opposite lane that wasn’t congested.

Edric intended to wait for a moment… until he spotted a car speeding fiercely towards him.

A sudden thought sparked a strange impulse.

‘If I get hurt, will Melly appear?’

She probably would.

Even if she left because she hated him, she would come back if she heard news of her husband’s accident. No matter how broken their relationship was, wasn’t it at least that much?

No, perhaps she was regretting it too. She might be regretting leaving rashly but unable to muster the courage to return.

At that thought, Edric’s mood improved.

Suddenly, his heart swelled at the thought of Melly running over with a pale face, shedding tears by his side and blaming herself.

The possibility that he might die did nothing to deter him.

Without Melly, it was a life no different from being dead anyway.

Horror was seeping into the eyes of the driver who sensed something ominous from Edric.

He inhaled to shout something. But before a single syllable could come out of his mouth, Edric took action. He stepped towards the road.

Screeeeech−.

The sound of brakes screeching tore through people’s eardrums, sharp and long.

As his rock-hard body was mercilessly hit by the cold metal and flung away, a smile spread across his face.

He closed his eyes with a happy feeling.

It felt like if he fell asleep for a moment and opened his eyes, Melly would be there…