This invitation definitely seemed to have some purpose, but the situation appeared different from what she had imagined.

Ellin followed her inside with a suspicious expression.

That question was answered immediately upon entering the house.

“Ellin.”

In the neat interior of the pastor’s residence she had seen before, she spotted a familiar face.

The Duke stood among neatly dressed gentlemen.

They must have been conversing with him until just now, as their gazes followed his to converge on Ellin.

She felt they already knew who she was.

Indeed, there was a noticeable temperature difference in how they looked at her compared to her previous visit.

The smiles beneath their well-groomed beards, though formal, felt respectful and kind.

“My lady.”

“Welcome.”

They also greeted Bianca kindly, further bewildering her.

“What’s going on?”

While people headed toward the large table set with food, Ellin quietly asked the Duke.

Dominic slightly shrugged his shoulders as if he didn’t know either.

“I didn’t realize people would recognize me even in such a remote place. It was difficult to refuse their kind invitation.”

His answer was simple.

“Do these people perhaps know that I… that…”

She struggled to ask if they knew she had been his wife.

Even without Ellin finishing her question, he understood and raised one eyebrow slightly.

“If they read the newspapers diligently, they might know who you are?”

What kind of articles could have been published in the newspapers?

She couldn’t even guess what might have been written about her.

“If we stay together like this so amicably, they’ll misunderstand even more, won’t they?”

At his words, Ellin walked ahead to the table with a serious expression, faster than him.

She heard light laughter from behind.

When Ellin glanced back, he quickly erased the smile lingering at the corners of his mouth, pretending it wasn’t there.

‘That’s more like it.’

They wouldn’t show such kindness to Bianca, who wasn’t even a noble, without reason.

Whether their purpose was to invite the Duke to dinner or something else, she felt foolish for falling into such a shallow scheme.

Bianca, unaware of anything, looked happy and pleased with their hospitality.

Though she had felt cold earlier, now Ellin felt heat rising from her neck to her face.

‘Well, I suppose it’s fine.’

Seeing Bianca’s happiness, Ellin sat down without showing her feelings.

The dining table appeared harmonious at first glance.

The pastor’s residence staff skillfully served the prepared food, and fine wine was poured whenever glasses emptied.

“Thanks to you, Miss, I get to experience a place like this.”

The perceptive Bianca, perhaps realizing she had been invited to an unexpected gathering, winked at Ellin with a smile.

That cute smile contained the satisfaction of helping improve the relationship between the two.

A small commotion occurred during the process of clearing empty plates and bringing out new dishes.

One maid dropped her tray when she saw Ellin seated at the table.

Fortunately, she had already placed the plates on the table, so only the empty tray made a loud noise when it fell to the floor.

“I-I’m sorry.”

Even while apologizing, she couldn’t take her eyes off Ellin.

No wonder, since the young woman she had dismissed recently was now sitting at the table with the pastor and his wife.

The maid’s bewilderment grew as their meal progressed.

It was clearly visible how their strict master fretted and watched his behavior in front of that young woman.

‘Who on earth is she…?’

That curiosity was resolved as the dinner was nearly over and she brought out dessert.

“My goodness, I truly had no idea. To think the Duchess was staying here. And even personally bringing clothes to help Bianca.”

The woman, who had been watching Ellin throughout the meal, seemed to be looking for the right moment to apologize for her previous rudeness.

And she judged now, when the meal was almost over, to be that moment.

“I told her such tasks weren’t necessary, but it was useless. She was the same in Castia. Always helping the servants and treating them like family. None of the neighbors here would ever guess our Miss is actually a noble lady.”

When Bianca spoke as if embarrassed, the pastor’s wife’s voice grew even higher.

“Bianca, you thought so too, right? See? I was completely fooled. Anyone would see a young, beautiful lady, not a married woman.”

Their conversation continued back and forth, but Ellin had shown little reaction for some time.

Bianca and the Duke, who had been observing Ellin closely, noticed something strange first.

Dominic thought Ellin had remained silent throughout the meal because of him. It must be an uncomfortable situation for her.

But there was a reason she had been sitting quietly without much conversation since the beginning of the meal.

“You look terribly unwell. Could it be from getting caught in the cold rain yesterday? You were already pale when we arrived.”

At Bianca’s words, the others also began to examine her complexion with concern.

“I’m fine. I think I have a slight fever. If I go home and rest……”

Before Ellin could finish, Dominic rose from his seat and came to her.

He placed his hand on her forehead before she could say anything.

He could feel through his hand that she was burning with fever.

The relaxed expression Dominic had maintained until now darkened, and the others at the table sensed the seriousness.

“My personal physician lives nearby. I’ll bring him myself.”

Someone at the table stood up and hurriedly left.

“What should we do? You should lie down until the doctor arrives.”

When the hostess rose to have a maid prepare a place, Ellin quickly said,

“No. I’m fine. I want to go home.”

She didn’t want to lie down in an uncomfortable place when she wasn’t feeling well.

Ellin tried to stand by gripping the chair, but her physical condition was worse than she thought.

Despite her burning head, her body felt weak, and she could barely stand.

“Then I’ll have a carriage prepared. Please use my carriage.”

Sir Hamilton readily offered his carriage.

“Let’s wait until the doctor arrives first.”

Dominic spoke without hesitation and lifted Ellin in his arms.

Though surprised at being suddenly lifted, Ellin lacked the energy to protest.

Dominic carried her to a large sofa near the fireplace.

After seating her comfortably in the warm spot, Bianca brought a warm blanket and covered her.

Being near the heat made Ellin feel like her body had fallen into a fireball.

Her consciousness, which she had barely maintained throughout the meal, grew increasingly hazy, and her eyelids felt unbearably heavy, as if sleepy.

After that, the sounds of people talking and walking gradually faded.

She regained consciousness briefly at times.

When a thick, dry hand like an elderly person’s touched her forehead, when an ice-cold stethoscope touched her burning skin.

She hazily saw people standing where she could see them, talking with serious expressions.

Her eyes, which opened momentarily, soon closed again repeatedly.

There were moments when she wondered if this was all a dream.

Her body burning with fever, lying in an unfamiliar place—it all seemed unreal.

She felt that soon it would be dawn, and she would wake up in her room like any other day.

The face she had longed to see was looking at her with concern from nearby.

Seeing that face, she truly thought everything might be a dream.

She even considered where the dream might have begun.

That miraculous night when he entered the greenhouse where she had been hiding alone?

The day he asked her to marry him?

Perhaps that blissful night in Castia?

Or the day she decided to give up everything and leave the capital?

Ellin wished all of this could be a long dream she was having.

She wanted to wake up and return to the moment just before reuniting with the Duke in the greenhouse.

If only that were possible, she felt she could start over.

She wouldn’t cowardly hide the fact that she had liked the Duke for a long time.

Their pretend marriage wouldn’t have ruined them like this—hiding behind it, deceiving her own heart, concealing things for fear her secret would be exposed.

Her physical illness must have weakened her resolve.

In truth, her determination might have already crumbled the moment she met the Duke again in this place.

The thought that meeting him again might have been just a dream made her heart ache so much she didn’t want to open her eyes.

She hated herself for not being able to easily and decisively cut off her feelings.

She had come here to sort out her feelings, yet she longed for him more than ever.

She hated herself for this. She felt foolish.

That must be why she felt sick. Her body, mind, and heart were all pulling in different directions.

Though she pretended to be bright, fine, and strong, in reality, she was completely exhausted inside.

How long had she slept in this state of physical and emotional suffering?

When she opened her eyes, the room was dark.

Her mind, which had felt like endlessly floating in a dark, vast ocean while asleep, returned all at once the moment she opened her eyes.

Her eyes adjusted to the darkness, and looking at the ceiling, she realized she was in her bed in the attic room of Bianca’s house.

‘How did I get here?’

She recalled going to the pastor’s residence with Bianca and suddenly feeling terribly ill.

She remembered someone going to call a doctor, and the Duke carrying her to a sofa near the fireplace.

The air had been so hot then that she could still feel the heat on her skin.

“Ah.”

When she turned her head, she saw someone sitting in the rocking chair by the window.

Though it was dark because the bedside lamp didn’t reach that far, Ellin clearly knew who it was.

He was leaning back loosely in the chair with one top button of his shirt undone, fast asleep.

Ellin slowly closed and opened her eyes, silently staring at his sleeping figure.

It was a strange feeling.

Why did her heart feel like it was filling with water, making her chest heavy?

Yet at the same time, why did she feel relieved that this wasn’t a dream?

In that moment, she realized.

Her honest feelings that she had tried so hard to ignore.

No matter how far she went, no matter who she was with, everything would be meaningless without him by her side.