A noblewoman bumped Melissa’s shoulder while passing by.

“Oh my, there are still newspapers here?”

The maid who followed asked.

“Are there none elsewhere?”

“In the capital, it’s chaos trying to get newspapers as soon as they come out. Young ladies are going crazy collecting pictures of the handsome commander.”

“He might as well be a movie star.”

“Don’t even get me started. Last week when he was giving a speech in Ropshire, girls swarmed like a pack of dogs…”

Taking each person’s hand preciously while appealing for support? He seemed to be doing very well. Looking at the photos, he might even be enjoying the popularity.

Ha, a cold sneer crossed Melissa’s lips.

Though she understood it was a promotional tool to bring the public to the revolutionary army’s side, Melissa now felt uncomfortable with everything he did.

Moreover, strict procedures were required for the press to directly photograph royal family members. Since Reizen completely ignored this, Melissa felt she needed to be careful too.

‘I need to hurry.’

The area in front of the train station was packed with people.

The fairly large plaza was so crowded it looked suffocating. In the human wave, small children could get swept away and lost if they let go of their mother’s hand.

The station attendant’s announcement through the speaker crackled with a sharp screech.

The acrid coal smoke billowing like factory emissions from above the station mixed with the dozens of cigar smokes people were lighting in the plaza, making it so pungent and harsh that it numbed the nose.

Trying to pass through the crowd, she could barely open her eyes as coughs came with every step.

Whooo—

The train blew a loud whistle, seemingly about to depart. Black exhaust covered the blue autumn sky like dark clouds.

Melissa covered her mouth with a handkerchief while passing through the hazy cigar smoke people were lighting. Worried about bumping into anyone wrong, she walked quickly while protectively cradling her belly with one hand.

Through smoke thick like dawn fog by the river, people’s voices could be heard.

“The revolutionary army numbers over a hundred thousand, right?”

“Enough to build a country and then some. That Reizen fellow is something else.”

Perhaps due to heightened sensitivity, just the bustling crowd was enough to soak her back with sweat. Added to that, her heart was pounding from the plaza’s atmosphere that was clearly different from before.

In the past, commoners would leave the plaza center empty or walk along the curb to avoid nobles. But now they moved freely and had whatever conversations they wanted.

“The Commander must be making plans?”

“Of course. We just need to trust and wait!”

Though nobles wore disgruntled expressions hearing such talk, they didn’t harass or yell at the commoners.

At most they just clicked their tongues, lamenting the end times. The atmosphere was cautious after a baron recently got into trouble fighting with a commoner in the street.

All these changes had happened in just 3 months.

“Commander Reizen…”

“That blonde man. Isn’t he so sexy? I wonder what he’s like in bed?”

“I’d love to date someone like him.”

“That person who’s been in the papers lately…”

“The royal family’s downfall must be near!”

Hearing Reizen’s name everywhere made Melissa’s head spin. Truly not wanting to hear anymore, she covered her ears and headed for the clock tower.

Huff, huff.

The more out of breath she became, the further the path seemed to stretch. For a moment, she recalled what the man had said 3 months ago.

“It was bound to happen someday, one way or another.”

She knew. Society would have changed eventually.

“Even if it wasn’t me, someone would have done it.”

Right. Everything he said was correct. But…

“I don’t regret it. Even if I went back in time, I’d do exactly the same. I’d ruin your family and prove myself right by fixing this country!”

He should have regretted it.

If he loved me, he should have at least said sorry for hurting me.

Even if he didn’t mean it, couldn’t he have conceded just those few words?

But that was just Melissa’s thinking – Reizen was so full of anger and fighting spirit that he wouldn’t listen to her words.

For him, revenge took priority over love.

To be honest, Reizen’s attitude seemed like nothing but an excuse to justify his revenge. If Melissa had been in his situation, she would have apologized.

Just as he hadn’t wished to be born incomplete, she hadn’t wished to be born noble, and she tried to understand it as heaven’s will since their fates had been twisted so miserably.

This part was beyond their control. Things they couldn’t control, they either accepted or rejected.

Yes… She had known that fact.

Though she wasn’t sure if she could forgive him for causing the deaths of her grandfather, teacher, knights and servants, she had tried to make an effort since she loved him and he was the father of the child in her womb.

But he disappeared the day after their fight without a word.

A whole 3 months had passed like that.

For those 3 months, Melissa’s last memory of Reizen was him shouting with veins bulging in his neck.

Honestly, he was probably fine not seeing her for 3 months after their fight because he was busy, but Melissa had been left in one place the whole time.

Because of her pregnancy, she couldn’t even take the stigma suppressants properly and spent every day confined to bed like a living corpse, endlessly guarding that space where she had fought with Reizen like a sentinel.

Some days were so painful she sobbed every night, and other days she lived like a walking corpse, throwing up everything she ate.

For an entire season.

Letters? She was too consumed by the stigma’s pain to read them.

She couldn’t even properly swallow porridge, let alone fruit.

How little must he have cared about her condition to try appeasing her with such gifts?

Thinking about it made heat rush to her eyes again. Her heart pounded painfully with heavy beats.

“Hng…”

It was hard to breathe properly, feeling like rubber wrapped around her throat and chest. She slid down against the clock tower’s structure, coughing.

After 3 months, it felt like her insides had rotted away. She had wanted to stay by Reizen’s side because of the stability he provided, but all she felt then was isolation.

If he had been there, they could have at least talked, but having no one to confide in when her heart was troubled felt cruel.

Miellin castle belonged to Reizen.

The employees were all Reizen’s people too, and they were excitedly caught up in the revolution’s aftermath like it was a festival. Though they felt sorry when she struggled with her pregnancy, she sensed a distance suggesting they would mourn for just a day even if she died in childbirth.

Nine out of ten of their conversation topics were about revolutionary army activities. They would thoroughly examine newspapers for Reizen’s achievements and rejoice greatly.

Then when Melissa appeared, they would close their mouths and fall silent for a moment. Though they didn’t antagonize her, there was an inevitable line that existed.

The more this happened, the more Melissa wondered.

‘Why did I want to stay here?’

Living each day in pain in this place without love or stability wasn’t the life she wanted. But she couldn’t escape through death either.

Because a child was growing in her womb.

‘Then what do I want?’

The answer to that question had actually been there from the start. The very thing she had felt in court.

‘Freedom.’

Melissa opened her eyes straight and lifted her head. The irritating noise around her faded into the distance as the speaker’s feedback rang out with a thin screech.

Though her eyes were open, she couldn’t see ahead and her vision was black. Her hand gripping the cold structure tensed.

She probably had anemia from moving after so long.

It would get better after resting a bit.

Thinking this, she leaned her shoulder against the rusty clock tower structure.

She wore a maid’s outfit and had covered her face with Mrs. Hover’s worn headscarf, worried about being noticed while fleeing.

Perhaps because of this, no one paid her any attention as they passed by. With no one rushing over even when she staggered slightly, she finally felt truly alone, and that feeling was surprisingly…

Not bad at all.

Rather, it felt refreshing, like escaping after being trapped in a box for a long time.

Among all these crowds, she was just one insignificant person.

Just ‘Melissa Grey’ – not someone’s granddaughter or someone’s wife.

My name as a living individual, not a living corpse confined to staring at the ceiling in a bedroom for 3 months.

Melissa Grey.

“Hah.”

Her vision gradually recovered and breathing became easier.

Melissa carefully took deep breaths while cradling her belly with both hands. Soon the man she had arranged to meet in front of the clock tower came running up in a fluster.

“Oh my, my lady! Are you alright?”

“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

Clara put her hand on Melissa’s shoulder while copying Arthur’s words. The child’s small hand patted Melissa’s shoulder in comfort.

“Clara, learning. Speaking Sys.”

She had felt abandoned in this chaotic space like a lost orphan.

“Melissa, am I good?”

When Clara acted cute by poking her cheek with her finger, Melissa Grey couldn’t help but smile.