She had to admit that she couldn’t be happy without him.

Strangely, he opened his eyes just then, as if he could hear the sound of her blinking.

Realizing Ellin was awake, Dominic sprang up from the chair as if he hadn’t been sleeping and approached the bed.

“Ellin.”

He lowered himself to examine her and took her hand.

“The doctor said you’ve probably had symptoms for days. Why did you endure it?”

He pulled the blanket up firmly to cover her up to her neck.

The doctor must have examined her and left.

Hearing this, she now understood why her body had felt so heavy, as if sinking, from time to time recently.

“Don’t push yourself.”

Dominic gently brushed aside Ellin’s disheveled hair.

Her eyes, which had been slowly blinking without saying a word, seemed to look at him like a child focusing only on him.

“I’ll bring you some water.”

Dominic was about to stand up when he slowly turned his head toward his arm. 

Ellin’s thin hand was still gripping it.

He sat back down.

While silently holding her hand, he carefully examined the inside of Ellin’s wrist.

He noticed a red wound he hadn’t seen before.

“What’s this wound?”

He examined her wrist more closely with a serious expression.

“I burned myself while making soup.”

Ellin tried to pull her hand away as if it were nothing, but this time Dominic wouldn’t let go of her arm.

“……”

When he suddenly pressed his lips gently against the wound, Ellin unconsciously closed her eyes.

The sensation her body remembered was transmitted strangely through her delicate skin.

The hand that had been holding her wrist now held her cheek, and he lowered his head to kiss her.

His tongue entered her mouth, opening her lips as if he had been holding back for a long time, desperately exploring her hot mouth.

Ellin didn’t resist.

She wrapped her other hand around the Duke’s neck, accepting his kiss more deeply.

Dominic, who had been sitting on the edge of the bed, moved up and lay beside Ellin, looking at her.

They kissed while lying down, then looked at each other’s faces with affectionate eyes before Dominic pulled Ellin tightly against his chest.

Ellin, missing and loving his familiar deep forest scent, gently rubbed her nose against his neck.

The deep night in the small attic room flowed quietly once more.

* * *

Early the next morning, Bianca went upstairs with a water kettle.

When there was no response to her soft knock, she slightly opened the door and saw a broad back lying sideways on the bed.

“Oh-ho-ho.”

She quickly covered her mouth when an exclamation escaped her.

She closed the door and left the place as if she had never been there.

The meaningless smile that spread across her face as she came down the stairs didn’t last long.

“Now I’ll be lonely again by myself.”

A regretful sigh escaped her.

By afternoon, Ellin, feeling much lighter, took a walk along the seaside path in front of the village with Dominic.

The sea breeze blowing in the midday seemed to carry the full scent of spring, with winter already retreating.

“The capital is still far from spring, so staying at the Castia villa might be nice. What do you think?”

Ellin slowly nodded at his considerate suggestion.

“When we return, I’m thinking of calling Edward too. Castia will soon be warm. Since there are plenty of things for Edward to do there, he doesn’t necessarily have to be far from you.”

To be in Castia with Eddie.

How long she had wished for this in her heart.

Just thinking about it made Ellin’s heart flutter with excitement.

She wanted to quickly show Eddie, who had been curious all this time, the beautiful Sorel River and Castia in full bloom with all kinds of flowers.

How happy Tania, who had become close with Eddie during their time in the capital, would be.

Dominic felt relieved when Ellin’s face softened with a gentle glow.

“I think I could use a break too, after working so much all this time. I want to stay with you at the Castia villa. Well, let’s just call it a sabbatical.”

Ellin stopped walking at his words.

The Duke saying he would stop working sounded almost like saying he would stop breathing.

That’s how much of a workaholic he had been.

His desire to spend leisurely time with her in Castia seemed even more unbelievable because of this.

“I promised to teach Edward how to hunt. We’ll ride horses together, go boating, and hunting. It sounds good, doesn’t it?”

His words sounded so surreal that Ellin was dumbfounded.

Seeing her face, Dominic grinned.

He gently interlaced his fingers with Ellin’s and continued walking slowly as he spoke.

“Just one thing that bothers me……”

Tension flashed across Ellin’s face at that moment.

“There are many people waiting for you at the Duke’s residence. If we say we’re staying in Castia, they’ll all be disappointed.”

A faint smile escaped Ellin’s lips at his words, which sounded like a light joke.

“Higgins has been nagging me so much to bring the Duchess back. And Jeffrey has been acting like he’s missing a screw.”

Hearing his story, Ellin suddenly felt so nostalgic for the people at the Duke’s residence that she became emotional.

Then she thought of Melissa, and her smile faded.

Thinking of her always made her heart heavy.

“The old duchess must still be very angry. I don’t know how to ask for her forgiveness.”

She still wasn’t sure if she would understand their fake marriage.

“Don’t worry too much. She was angry because she liked you so much.”

Dominic reassuringly put his arm around Ellin’s shoulders.

* * *

Some time after the ducal couple returned to the capital together.

Despite being the tail end of winter, snow fell heavily from the gray sky since morning.

The area in front of the courthouse was bustling with reporters who had come to cover the story and spectators who had come to watch.

Unlike the noisy exterior, the inside of the courtroom was solemn.

Ellin and Dominic sat in the gallery, watching Rosana and her adulterous accomplice stand trial.

Ellin felt breathless seeing Rosana being led in with her arms held by two guards.

Her eyes full of venom and her haggard appearance looked so different from the stepmother she had known.

“You must be Ellin. And this cute little one must be Edward? I’ll be a good mother to you from now on.”

The stepmother who had overwhelmed the siblings with her glamorous appearance and strong perfume when they first met now seemed like a completely different person.

“Let go of me! Do you know who I am? I am the Duke’s mother-in-law! I am innocent!”

Her screaming made her appear mentally unstable.

People pointed fingers, calling her a villainess and a murderer, but Ellin found watching this scene horrific.

Sensing Ellin’s tension, Dominic firmly held her hand.

“Are you alright?”

Ellin nodded briefly, giving him a reassuring look in response to his gentle question.

The judges on the bench shook their heads at the woman who was causing a commotion as if possessed by an evil spirit.

Unlike her, Anderson Grant, her accomplice standing on the other side, remained calm.

Having already confessed to his crimes, perhaps having made peace with himself, he appeared detached, as if ready to accept whatever punishment came his way.

While Ellin watched their trial process with anxious eyes, there was a moment when Rosana’s gaze stopped on her.

“You, you damned girl! I should have killed you first!”

Her shrill voice hurling curses echoed through the courtroom once more.

Despite the verbal *buse directed at her, Ellin didn’t avoid her and watched the trial to the end.

Witnesses came forward, and the trial was temporarily adjourned due to Rosana’s disruptions.

Her father, Baron Nilson, who had sold their house in the capital and moved to a distant province, also attended the trial as a reference witness.

He briefly nodded to Ellin in greeting but sat far away from the ducal couple, seemingly uncomfortable facing them.

Ellin no longer pretended to have a close father-daughter relationship with him. She didn’t want to either.

Bang bang.

The unsettling trial finally ended.

The stern-looking judge read the verdict and struck the gavel.

Ellin didn’t properly hear the verdict as she was lost in memories of her difficult childhood after her mother died and her stepmother arrived.

Only when she heard the loud noise of people jeering in unison did she realize the verdict had been delivered.

“Execute her!”

“The punishment is too light!”

People continued to point fingers and jeer at Rosana as she left the courtroom, struggling to the end.

“She’ll rot in prison for the rest of her life. No wonder she’s going crazy.”

Only after hearing the Duke’s words did Ellin realize that her stepmother had received a fairly severe sentence.

The man who had confessed to everything willingly and asked for leniency received a relatively lighter punishment.

Amid the confusion, Ellin looked back at where Baron Nilson had been sitting.

He had already left, leaving the seat empty.

Ellin gave a bitter smile at her father who had departed without even saying goodbye.

Baron Nilson still seemed to blame Ellin for how the situation had escalated to this catastrophe.

He failed to realize that if her stepmother’s evil deeds hadn’t been exposed, she might have been the next victim.

“Let’s go home now.”

Dominic carefully supported Ellin, who looked unwell, as they left together.

Outside, snow was still falling heavily.

The entire capital was a world of white snow.

“Sister.”

Eddie, who had said he wouldn’t enter the courtroom, jumped down from his horse and approached Ellin.

“Are you okay?”

Seeing Eddie smile gently at her as if everything was over now, Ellin felt her tense heart melt.

Looking at Eddie’s bright smile, she truly felt that everything would be alright now.

* * *

On a bright spring day, another peaceful day was beginning at the Linderto villa in Castia.

Ellin, who planned to go horseback riding to the Sorel River with the Duke, Tania, and Eddie, was busy preparing for the outing while looking in the mirror.

Just then, a maid knocked on the door and entered.

“A letter has arrived for you, my lady.”

“A letter?”

Ellin looked curious.

She immediately recognized it was a letter for Charlotte.

She didn’t open it right there but headed somewhere else.

Wanting to savor the precious letter and read it word by word without interruption, she looked for a place to read it undisturbed.