The servants who had been attending to Werner quietly withdrew. He made a sound that was indistinguishable between a sigh and a groan, then dismissed even the guards stationed outside his office.

He let Christine in and closed the door.

“Isn’t the role of mother already overwhelming enough?”

“What do you mean by that… Are you actually accusing me of not being devoted enough?”

Christine asked with a flushed face, but Werner didn’t answer. His silence was confirmation.

Christine seemed dizzy as she placed a hand on her head and collapsed onto the sofa. In the past, he would have rushed to support her and even called for a doctor, but now Werner merely watched with a somber expression.

“Darling, why are you really acting like this? I married you looking only at you. I came all the way to another country and have lived depending only on you…”

Werner let out a long sigh.

To others, they appeared to be a perfectly loving couple, but where can absolute perfection exist between people?

Christine had subtly pressured Werner with such words whenever things got difficult.

“That’s enough.”

“Pardon?”

When her usual lamentations proved ineffective, Christine froze.

Her violet eyes fixed on him.

Her eye color was the only physical trait Daphne had inherited from her parents. Werner’s guilt, which had somewhat diminished while insisting on breaking the engagement, stirred again.

“We’ve been married for over twenty years. Haven’t you passed the stage of depending solely on me?”

“So your love was only good for twenty years.”

This had never happened before. Him blaming her and treating her coldly. She simply couldn’t accept this situation.

Christine had been uncomfortable for some time.

A series of events too difficult for her to handle had occurred while her husband was away. She thought she could finally relax when he returned early, but never expected him to behave this way.

Then even more shocking words tumbled from Werner’s mouth.

“I’m only human too.”

Christine doubted her ears.

“No well can remain full if you only take and never replenish.”

“How can you say such things? Do you know how hard I’ve tried!”

“Yes, I know. I understand. You’ve been a perfect wife. But I’m also a husband, a marquis, and a father. And you are the mistress of this household and a mother.”

Mistress of the household.

Christine knew perfectly well that she was inadequate in that role. But to be criticized as a mother—that was unbearable.

“Ha! This is truly absurd. How can you say such things when you know how hard I’ve tried? My own children always came last. I devoted myself to Ludwig and Zenos!”

Christine finally burst into tears, but Werner showed no sign of comforting her. Instead, he drove the point home.

“We have four children.”

Christine abruptly stopped crying at his words. Werner spoke with an utterly exhausted voice.

“If crying solved anything, I’d cry too.”

“Is this because of Daphne?”

“I received Daphne’s letter for the first time while I was at sea. But as it turns out, that child wrote countless letters, and Ludwig intercepted them.”

“What? But why would he…”

“He said he was afraid of losing my love? Of course, I’m not a fool. What he fears losing isn’t love, but the family fortune and status.”

Werner knew Ludwig’s nature well. That’s why he had never confirmed the succession until now.

It wasn’t so much that he wanted to leave it to another child, but rather that he hoped Ludwig would mature. He waited for him to develop the capacity to lead the family.

“But through this incident, I’ve realized something. I think we’ve raised our children wrong.”

“Are you blaming me now?”

“No, my fault is greater for leaving everything to you and paying no attention. To make amends, I need to collect my thoughts first.”

He was asking for some time alone.

Werner strode to the door and opened it. At this clear dismissal, Christine rose weakly.

As she passed by him, Werner whispered softly:

“I’m sorry.”

Every moment since his return had been one shock after another. He had nearly lost his life to an enemy plot and discovered that Daphne had been treated miserably by her siblings and fiancé.

It was the first time he felt so incompetent and powerless. That’s why he had subtly expressed that he didn’t have the capacity to look after his wife as well.

For Christine, unaware of what Werner had been through, it felt like she was being scolded for failing as a mother.

It seemed to her that he was blaming her in anger and then trying to gloss over it.

Christine left without a word. She repeated to herself:

‘After all my efforts… How could he treat me like this!’

Any thought that Werner was an exceptionally affectionate husband had completely vanished. Having never experienced this before, her resentment grew even stronger.

⁕⁕⁕

Anaïs kept trying to contact Leonhardt. After being repeatedly ignored, she had even sent messengers more than ten times in a day. But Leonhardt’s side consistently refused.

As a last resort, Anaïs mentioned the cost of the dress.

The effect was remarkable. Leonhardt sent word that he would come personally and visited that night.

After they began dating, they had met every single day without fail. But now, they were seeing each other for the first time in two weeks since the ball.

Anaïs quickly put on gloves to hide her bitten nails and welcomed him.

“Leon!”

She smiled brightly and wrapped her arms around his neck. But Leonhardt remained stiff, not returning her embrace.

‘This won’t be easy.’

She swallowed dryly, removed her arms from his neck, and instead linked her arm with his. She deliberately pressed herself against his forearm, but Leonhardt frowned and pulled away.

“I’d like to speak with you alone.”

Leonhardt said this while looking at the attending maid.

‘Just as I expected.’

Anaïs blushed shyly and gave him a sidelong glance as if she couldn’t help herself. Then the two headed to her bedroom.

Anaïs entered first, and Leonhardt closed the door.

She subtly pressed her body against his and tried to kiss him, but Leonhardt pushed her away. He strode across the room and entered the powder room.

Located between the dressing room and bathroom, this was a private space where women washed and groomed themselves. No noblewoman, whether unmarried or a wife, would allow her husband into this space.

But for a mistress, it was different. Unlike formal couples who had to maintain decorum, there was a custom of showing intimacy by revealing everything to a secret lover.

Leonhardt gritted his teeth as he recalled his excitement when first entering this place.

He had never once set foot in Daphne’s bedroom. Not even when they were children.

That’s how much married couples were bound by fate yet also distant, with strict customs to maintain.

Perhaps that’s why.

Through Anaïs, he had discovered the joy of being a man for the first time. And when he was allowed to enter this place, he felt like a true man.

‘What a fool.’

Wasn’t he like someone who had discarded a rose to take a weed instead? Leonhardt steadied his quickening breath and asked Anaïs:

“What did you want to talk about?”

“Leon, it’s been so long since we’ve seen each other. But…”

“You know better than anyone why it’s been so long.”

Leonhardt held out a box. Anaïs recognized it immediately and bit her lip. She couldn’t possibly fail to recognize it.

It was the box in which she had given him cufflinks made of magic stone as a gift. However, she had no choice but to feign ignorance.

“You’re so sweet as always. Is this for me?”

She reached for the box with a face glowing with the joy of receiving a gift from her lover.

Leonhardt quickly pulled the box back to his chest, his face as cold as a winter wind.

“You haven’t changed.”

“What do you mean?”

“The way you’re treating me like a clueless idiot.”

“That goes both ways. We’re infatuated with each other.”

Anaïs spoke imploringly, but Leonhardt didn’t give her the response she wanted.

“Why did you approach me in the first place?”

Leonhardt glared at her fiercely as if telling her to stop the useless act. But Anaïs couldn’t. For her, it was a matter of life and death.

“What do you mean why? Because I love you… Ack!”

Having lost his patience, Leonhardt opened the jewelry box carefully placed next to the vanity and grabbed something noticeable.

A bracelet with three strands of the finest pearls finished with a diamond choker was something Anaïs particularly cherished.

When Leonhardt roughly pulled it, the pearls scattered in all directions.

“No! What are you doing? Do you know how much that costs…”

As Anaïs got down on all fours to pick up the rolling pearls, a shoe firmly stepped on her hand.