The sound of birdsong drew her eyes open, slowly.

She didn’t even know when she had fallen asleep.

She had spent the small hours of the night unable to stop thinking about what Leod and Serina might have been saying to each other in that room.

“Your Grace, you’re awake?”

Her eyes fell shut once more, then opened again.

Olga forced her heavy eyelids up and eased herself upright.

The one responsible for her sleepless night was standing right in front of her.

‘The two of them were that close — and it was before he’d even turned cold toward me.’

She hadn’t realized it before. She had taken it for granted that Leod loved her — as though it were simply the natural order of things.

‘Right. What is there such a thing as, eternal love.’

Everyone praised him for sacrificing himself for the empire and his family — but she alone knew the truth.

Leod was not a man who had any business being spoken of in the same breath as a word as noble as “sacrifice.”

“Yes. And Serina?”

“Pardon? Me?”

Serina set down the wash basin and blinked, caught off guard.

“It seemed like you were up quite late last night.”

“Ah, that…….”

She trailed off, inwardly searching for something to say.

But to Olga, the sight of her only looked like someone scrambling to conceal what had passed between her and Leod.

“You must be tired — go and rest. I can manage getting ready on my own today.”

“Pardon? I’m not particularly tired…….”

Olga looked coldly at Serina’s still-flustered face and turned the question of breakfast over in her mind.

‘Being cold to Leod like this won’t do me any good right now.’

The day she needed to conceive Liet was drawing closer.

If she kept needling at Leod and his feelings for her slipped away entirely before she could have Liet——

‘That can’t happen.’

The color drained from Olga’s face.

“My lady, are you alright?”

Serina, hovering uncertainly and unsure whether to go or stay, asked with concern.

Olga looked at her with something close to contempt — then smoothed her expression.

If a man like Leod turned his charm on someone, what woman could resist? A maid in this very household least of all.

“Is breakfast ready?”

“Oh, yes — all prepared.”

Something still seemed off about her. Serina studied Olga with that same look and asked again, her voice laced with worry.

“Today…… would it be alright if you didn’t eat in your room?”

“Yes, that’s fine. Let’s have breakfast in the dining room today. Has Mother come down?”

“Yes. She was the first one ready.”

“I’ll be out shortly. Go and rest, Serina.”

“But…….”

As a personal lady’s maid, she couldn’t simply leave her mistress to dress alone.

She hovered, at a loss, watching Olga’s face for any sign of what to do.

“I want to be alone for a little while. I’m not angry with you, Serina — go and rest. It’s not as though there’s anything particular on the schedule today.”

“Oh — yes, of course…….”

Serina left the room at last, her expression subdued.

Once she was gone, a long, heavy sigh filled the empty room.

“Haah…….”

Olga sat down at the vanity, rubbed her face with dry hands, and let out a slow, deep breath.

No matter how thoroughly she had told herself she was over it — facing someone who might be her husband’s mistress was not a simple thing.

‘The least he could have done was keep it from me.’

Serina had gone into Leod’s study and not come out until well past midnight.

What had been said in that room, what had gone on between them — only those two would ever know.

‘No — I never knew, did I. I was such a fool…….’

Then again, had she ever had the space to doubt him? She had been too busy loving Leod to think of anything else.

With a heavy heart, she dabbed on her makeup and looked at her own reflection in the mirror, her eyes trembling.

What was it about her that Leod had loved?

Or had he ever truly loved her at all?

She despised herself for still lingering over him like this — and at the same time, she wanted nothing more than to go to him this very moment and demand answers.

Just then, the front page of a newspaper caught her eye — left there, it seemed, by Serina.

[The Lovers of the Century — A Glimpse Into Their Daily Lives?]

Now that she thought about it, a few days before today, she had sat down for a brief interview with a journalist.

The idea had been to run a piece on the contented daily life of the ducal couple — celebrated as the great love story of the age — and leave a favorable impression on the people of the territory.

“The lovers of the century…….”

Olga lifted the newspaper slowly.

“Laughable.”

She let out a quiet, derisive scoff and began reading through the article.

“Oh…….”

She had been reading along, her mind drifting back through old memories, when her brow suddenly drew together.

She narrowed her eyes and went over the article again.

“This isn’t what I said in the interview.”

The piece contained a response to the question of whether the arrival of spring in the Duchy of Morvant might be attributed to the Duchess.

But in the past she had lived through, spring had never come — which meant neither the question nor any answer to it could have existed.

“Spring in the Duchy of Morvant…….”

It seemed the arrival of spring had brought the duchy an unprecedented period of prosperity.

“Well. At least that’s one thing that went right.”

For all that it bore the name of a duchy, the Duchy of Morvant — situated at the empire’s northernmost point — had always been a place of bitter, unrelenting cold. Farming had been entirely out of the question. If the hardiest of crops managed to take root, that alone was cause to thank the goddess who watched over the empire.

And so, perpetually short on food, the Duchy of Morvant had been forced to sell the fine gemstones mined from its deposits at a fraction of their worth, just to keep itself fed.

“At the very least, they no longer have to sell the Morvant mines’ gems for nothing…….”

Olga leaned in and read more closely.

With spring having come to the duchy, the miners could work longer hours — and those who couldn’t work in the mines were now able to farm and put at least something on the table.

The article went on to say that this virtuous cycle had continued to the point where the Duchy of Morvant was now counted among the wealthiest territories in the empire.

“The wealthiest territory.”

It had always been what Leod dreamed of.

She realized she had been smiling faintly without meaning to — and tossed the finished newspaper onto the table with an irritated flick of her wrist.

‘Why should I be happy about it. I’ll be leaving this place soon enough.’

Olga gave her head a sharp shake, found a simple dress, and changed into it.

Then she made her way to the dining room, where Leod and Meriline would be waiting.

Hans, the head butler, stood watch outside the door.

“Good morning, Your Grace. I hope you slept well.”

“Yes.”

She swallowed against the inexplicable nervousness rising in her throat.

Hans opened the door, and there were the two of them — neither having eaten yet.

“You’re here.”

“How are you feeling.”

Leod rose immediately from his seat and pulled out the chair beside him.

Olga let out a small, quiet breath so they wouldn’t notice, then smiled warmly.

“Much better now. I was too sensitive yesterday, I think.”

“Anyone would be, feeling unwell.”

Leod smiled back, visibly relieved to see her returned to her usual self.

Meriline, too, looked at Olga with concern and spoke.

“I’ve had them prepare something easy on the stomach for today’s meal.”

“Thank you, Mother.”

“Your health is what matters most, my dear. Do take care of yourself.”

“I will.”

Before long, their places were set — a finely blended vegetable soup, scrambled eggs made soft and rich with cream, a bright fresh salad with baby greens.

“Oh.”

Meriline paused mid-meal, as though something had come to mind, and drew a small rolled scroll of parchment from within her robe.

“It may feel presumptuous for the head of the household to meddle in such things…… but on this particular night, you must make sure to spend it together. I’m told it is a most auspicious day — one on which a child might be conceived.”

Olga took the scroll from her without hesitation. She unrolled it, feigning ignorance — and found written there: New Year’s Day.

‘Finally…….’

The day she would hold Liet in her arms again was almost here.

The rush of elation came — and with it, the thought of how Leod would change from that moment on. Her heart grew just the smallest bit complicated.