She couldn’t help feeling strange that nothing had changed since the first day she left this estate.

How could nothing be different between the day she left to get married and now?

‘No, some things have changed.’

She’d gotten older, established herself well as the lady of a household, and learned how to get angry and how to cry.

Considering those points, she was quite different from back then. Yet her heart seemed unchanged, so she bit her lip hard, and the coachman cracked his whip against the horse’s back.

When the rough sound of hoofbeats echoed through the grounds, the Yut family estate grew more distant, and coniferous trees swayed in the wind.

Judging by how they weren’t ancient trees soaring toward the sky, they seemed to be trees planted not long ago.

Finding that not so bad, she settled into the plush seat and opened the book resting on her lap.

She wanted to finish reading the book she hadn’t completed in the library.

‘Love, That Mysterious Thing.’

Why did the book’s title grate on her nerves so much today?

It was just a title.

Unable to understand why, she gently traced the book’s title with her fingertips, then turned her head to gaze at the rugged mountains—they’d already passed through the coniferous trees.

Dizzyingly high mountains and an endless road shimmered before her eyes. They still had a long way to go before reaching the estate.

When would they arrive?

Coming here had been difficult, but going back wouldn’t be easy either.

“Finally going back. To that wretched place.”

She’d sworn never to return, yet that vow had become like the light paper she felt beneath her fingertips.

* * *

When Acel returned to the estate, a fierce downpour began.

The unexpected rain sent the Winter household staff running this way and that in chaos.

Rain rarely fell during this season, but it just had to pour on the day Thea was coming home.

Watching the scene of untimely rain cleanup, Acel ran his fingers through his slightly damp hair and looked around the lobby.

Pure white statues, water stains on floors not yet wiped, miscellaneous tools scattered on a long wooden tray.

Looking closer, they seemed to be cleaning supplies.

Apparently, they’d been about to take them to Thea’s room when everyone lost their heads in the sudden downpour.

The butler had finished organizing everything, but the rain made them rush to clean more.

The situation was painfully obvious. His eyes felt gritty, so he raised one hand to rub them when a large gust of wind blew from behind.

Bang—

He hadn’t closed the door properly. The sound of it slamming shut made him flinch and hold his breath, and the staff who’d been tidying up rushed to his side in groups.

“Master!”

“Are you all right?”

They quickly surrounded him, making a fuss. He raised one hand to show he was fine.

“Everyone, back to your positions.”

“Still, just to be safe, shouldn’t you go to the infirmary?”

At one servant’s suggestion, he nodded. His heart was still pounding hard. He should get some medicine from the infirmary to calm his nerves.

Everyone seemed capable of doing their jobs well without him. He moved toward the infirmary through a gap that opened up.

The whole way there, he massaged the back of his neck. He hadn’t noticed until now, but various parts of his body felt sore.

His eyes were getting gritty again. The fatigue from not sleeping properly seemed to be hitting him all at once.

“Come to think of it, when did I last sleep?”

Thinking back carefully, the last time he’d properly gone to bed was a week ago. Lately he’d been catching brief naps because of the curse. Closing his eyes for a bit in the infirmary wouldn’t be so bad.

Resting just until she arrived seemed acceptable.

That resolve shattered quickly, though.

The moment he opened the infirmary door, he let out a bitter laugh at the scene before him. What on earth was this situation?

Why was Dr. Brown here when he wasn’t scheduled to visit today, and why was his biological father gasping for breath in front of him?

‘And of all places, why here, why?’

His confusion made his thoughts come out jumbled. He would’ve been better off not seeing this—then he wouldn’t have to feel this way.

Faced with this messy reality, he quietly closed the door and stepped back into the corridor. Resting in the infirmary was ruined.

“Where should I go?”

The lobby seemed too much, so he needed to find another place.

After pondering for a while, he walked until he arrived at the bedroom where Thea would stay.

He didn’t know why he came here. But he had a feeling he needed to be here.

He threw open the bedroom door and stepped inside. Though quite some time had passed since she’d stayed here, the room was still filled with her scent, and he could see curtains swaying occasionally.

Normally he wouldn’t pay close attention to this place, but today it caught his eye because of what the butler had said.

“She likes… watching the stars, he said.”

She liked standing alone by the window, counting countless stars.

Since it wasn’t late night yet, not a single star hung in the sky.

The scene felt somewhat disappointing. He carefully walked to the window and placed his hand on the closed glass.

Cold air without a trace of warmth passed between his fingers, and the feeling wasn’t so bad, so he stood there watching when—

Beyond the window, thick rain began falling again.

The raindrops drumming against the window were striking.

Imagining her standing here watching this scene brought a strange feeling.

‘Always alone…’

He tapped lightly with his finger, then turned to survey the room.

Simply shaped furniture and a vanity decorated with minimal ornaments. Bedding that wasn’t fancy…

Nowhere could he see anything that looked extravagant. Despite all the money he’d given her, she hadn’t spent a single penny on herself.

Even the clothes she usually wore around the estate were always the same. No wonder people told him to buy her some clothes.

Putting various things together, this place really didn’t seem suitable for a countess to stay in.

He could see how thoughtless he’d been.

He should have come in here at least once to check, but he never had.

When that thought came, disappointment followed.

No matter how poor their relationship, she could have mentioned needing more money for maintaining appearances.

Was he that untrustworthy?

“…There must have been many other things besides this.”

She must have let everything pass without saying a word each time.

Now that the veil over his eyes had cleared, reality was truly wretched. No wonder Thea had fled from this place.

If only he’d done a little better, none of this would have happened.

Just when he was chewing over his belated regrets, noisy sounds rose from below.

Listening carefully, he could hear the staff’s voices filled with joy.

—Madam, welcome back!

—Have you… been well?

—Of course. You must be tired, right? Please come this way. We’ve prepared a place for you to rest.

She’d finally returned. Just as he’d expected, she was extremely exhausted and tired.

He hurried out of the room and headed for the lobby. When he roughly arrived, a voice giving orders to tidy up tickled his ears.

“But why is… the household in such chaos?”

She sounded quite flustered by the scene before she’d even set down her luggage.

She had every reason to be. In the short time she’d been away, the estate had become a complete mess.

The rain made it worse, too.

The reality was obvious without even looking. He slowed his steps to watch how Thea would handle the situation.

That way, he could see how she’d lived in the estate.

He knew she was tired, but he felt there was no better time to confirm this than now.

* * *

While tidying up the estate that was disheveled here and there, Thea’s eyes happened to meet his from where he stood in the distance.

Unable to tell how long he’d been standing there, Thea just bit her lip hard.

If he’d been watching, he could have at least greeted her warmly.

Seeing him for the first time in so long yet feeling no welcome in his attitude brought disappointment washing over her like a tide, but she didn’t show it. She just lowered her head and raised it again.

“…Have you been well?”

When she extended her hand first, he straightened his body from its crooked stance.

“You must have had a hard journey. You arrived quite early despite all the rain outside.”

“I left early because I thought this might happen. You know how it is—when dark clouds gather thick, you move ahead of time.”

“True, the clouds did look ominous.”

After replying, he continued with a somewhat troubled expression.

“But seeing the situation, the rain came suddenly and your room isn’t fully prepared yet. Let’s go to the drawing room first.”

“Why isn’t the room ready? This amount of rain shouldn’t cause problems there.”

Looking puzzled, she mulled over his words several times before speaking firmly.

“I need to go see for myself.”

She needed to check with her own eyes what the problem was. Seeing her grip her dress hem like she’d run there immediately, he found it distasteful but decided to agree.

“…If you insist.”

“Yes, I must.”

Not caring about his curt response, she hurried to the bedroom, and only a hollow laugh rose to her lips.

She felt absurd at the room’s appearance, which hadn’t changed much at all.

‘What exactly is supposed to be wrong?’

Nothing was different from before she left. She could just dust it off a bit and move right in. 

Thinking this was just pointless nitpicking, Thea turned around and looked at him with a cold expression.

“You must have really hated that I came here.”

“What do you mean by that?”

At his tone showing complete ignorance, Thea wasn’t even angry. She couldn’t understand why he was playing dumb when this was a situation he’d created.

Her face showing she was thoroughly fed up, she turned and straightened her back stiffly.

“Because you made up this ridiculous excuse.”

What was wrong with the room?

“If you have two eyes, you can clearly see.”

The room’s condition was perfectly fine.

Thea didn’t hide her displeasure as she stepped inside and spread both arms wide.

She needed to show him she had no intention of listening to his absurd story.

She never imagined it would vanish like smoke dissipating suddenly.

“I’m sorry. I’ve been… too indifferent to you. I didn’t realize you’d been living in this condition.”

“…You don’t need to apologize. I’ve never once been uncomfortable.”

Apologies didn’t suit him. And she especially didn’t recognize that face looking so lost. She wanted him to act like usual.