Alex took a step toward the source of the voice. A sigh emerged from the darkness.

“Why are you acting like this now? When you made the contract with me, you said you’d give me anything.”

“I never said that ‘anything’ included a human. Let alone my daughter.”

“And if I had told you? Would you not have turned back time?”

At those words, Alex’s steps halted for a moment. In truth, he had desperately wanted the contract, and at the time, he had been willing to agree to any conditions.

As the knight, who had seemed ready to pounce, suddenly fell silent, the boy grew more confident.

Like a tamer soothing a wild beast, he coaxed Alex.

“Don’t worry, Duke. I can say with certainty that I can make your daughter happier than anyone else. Besides, this contract is bound by magic. If you don’t offer the price, the contract will be nullified.”

“……Then ask for something else. My daughter is absolutely out of the question.”

This time, a slightly irritated voice came from the boy.

“What are you, a child throwing a tantrum? And I don’t want anything else. I only want Bella.”

In the end, Alex could no longer hold back. Though he didn’t raise his voice for fear of waking his wife and daughter, he growled with deadly sharpness.

“Don’t be ridiculous. I won’t hand my daughter over to a devil like you. I turned back time precisely so she wouldn’t have to live an unhappy life again. And you think I would send her to you?”

“A devil, huh.”

“Am I wrong? I know your kind better than anyone. There’s no way you could ever make my daughter happy.”

At his mocking tone, the atmosphere instantly turned heavy with silence.

Whether or not the boy was hurt by his words was unclear. Alex had never spoken with the intent of understanding him in the first place.

Because it was the truth.

The owner of that voice was undeniably the kind of being the entire continent feared as a devil, and no one in their right mind would ever send their loved one to him.

The boy didn’t particularly deny it.

“Well, I suppose everyone does call me that.”

“……”

“But whether I’m a demon or something else, one thing is certain—there is no one else in this world who can make Isabella happier than I can.”

Alex clenched his jaw tightly.

“……Stop with the nonsense. Or do you truly want to fight me?”

“That’s not my intention. But, Duke, you have to uphold the terms of the contract. Unless, of course, you want to go back to where you started.”

Regrettably, the boy’s words were true, and Alex was well aware that he was simply being obstinate.

A contract must be fulfilled.

Sensing that the tension in the air was gradually easing, the voice no longer spoke.

Moonlight seeped through the cracks of the window.

In the silent bedroom, Alex, standing motionless, had already reverted to his youthful self.

***

When Elicity woke up in the morning, she was surprised not once, but twice—first at seeing her daughter sleeping beside her, and second at what Olivia told her.

—The master personally carried you to the bedroom and stayed by your side until you fell asleep.

My goodness. So being carried to the bedroom in Alex’s arms last night wasn’t a dream after all.

‘But I distinctly remember mumbling about my past life while in Alex’s embrace. And he responded as if it were completely natural. If that wasn’t a dream, then how is that possible…?’

As Elicity pondered over the previous night with a puzzled expression, Bella’s laughter rang out.

“Bella? What’s so funny?”

“It’s just… I’m so happy that you and Daddy have become closer! Daddy kept coming over to check on us last night, didn’t he?”

Elicity, caught off guard, let out an awkward laugh.

“Bella, Mommy and Daddy have always been close.”

“Really? Then only when I’m not looking?”

“……”

At a loss for words, Elicity fell silent. Bella, now looking sullen, fidgeted with the hem of her dress.

“Mom! That reminds me… I have a question.”

“Yes?”

“Why don’t you and Daddy share a bedroom? I learned that married couples are supposed to sleep in the same room.”

Elicity was momentarily flustered but quickly put on a practiced smile.

“Isabella, while it’s true that married couples usually share a room, sometimes they sleep separately to respect each other’s sleeping habits.”

“So, do you both have such terrible sleeping habits that you can’t stand sleeping together?”

Of course not.

Alex had always slept like a gentle lamb, and according to Olivia, she herself was a rather calm sleeper as well.

“Huh! You’re hesitating! That means it’s not true!”

Bella grinned and climbed onto Elicity’s lap.

As Elicity broke into a nervous sweat, Bella let out a small sigh and murmured in a soft voice.

“So you two are just pretending to get along in front of me, huh?”

“Bella.”

“I mean, I guess that makes sense. Parents putting on a façade for their child’s emotional stability… What was it again? So… Soindi? No, that’s not it! Show-window! Yeah, that’s it. I read that the number of ‘show-window couples’ is increasing these days. And that, um… what was it? Something about the whole nation…? Mourning? No, lamenting? Ah, whatever! Anyway, they say it’s something that can’t be hidden.”

“Bella, do you even know what ‘show-window couple’ means?”

Judging from how she was stumbling over her words, she probably didn’t.

Sure enough, Bella averted her gaze sheepishly. Elicity glanced at the nursemaid with a half-exasperated, half-amused expression.

“Nemilla, where did my daughter hear such things?”

“I—I have committed a grave sin, my lady! Yesterday, during Lady Bella’s morning reading session, I gave her a children’s newspaper… but she said she wanted to read something more grown-up, so I handed her a weekly magazine. And unfortunately…”

“Oh dear. But that’s hardly a grave sin. Get up.”

Elicity waved a hand dismissively.

“And Bella, you should only use words you understand. You mustn’t just say anything carelessly.”

“So, what does that mean? Are you saying you and Dad are a show-window couple, Mom?”

Indeed, thinking back, her daughter had always been full of curiosity.

As Bella’s ruby-like eyes sparkled with curiosity, Elicity’s lips twitched.

“Of—of course not. There’s no way we’re a show-window couple. Alex and I get along very well as a married couple.”

“Then why do you use separate bedrooms…? I don’t like that.”

Bella drooped her head, looking dejected.

Elicity felt her vision spinning. And in that spinning vision, she caught sight of her daughter’s round little head. In the end, she blurted out,

“We were planning to combine our bedrooms anyway.”

***

Following chamberlain Celon’s advice to start having lunch together since breakfast was difficult to share, Elicity headed to the dining hall today to join Alex for lunch.

However, the closer she got, the heavier her legs felt. The “homework” her daughter had given her was proving to be quite difficult.

“…I’m going to bore a hole through his face at this rate.”

Alex, who had been spreading butter on his bread, set it down.

Only then did Elicity realize she had been staring at her husband’s face intently.

His distinct and well-defined features were almost too handsome. She was baffled at herself for never fully appreciating his looks before their regression.

Her face flushed red for a moment, but soon Alex placed a perfectly cooked soft-boiled egg onto her plate.

As she watched his masculine hand move across her plate, Elicity felt the urge to cry.

He was her husband. The man she had married, the father of her child. And yet, he looked so young.

And handsome. And well-built.

If they shared a bed, she was sure she’d feel guilty every morning, as if she had committed a sin.

“Do you have something to say?”

“…Well, Alex, what if you tried dressing in a more mature way?”

“What do you mean?”

Alex frowned slightly and asked again.

“I mean, is there any way to make yourself look around fifty?”

“You’re saying that while being a young woman of twenty-eight, I should become a fifty-year-old man walking beside you? Why?”

“Fifty isn’t old! It’s still a prime age!!”

Elicity shouted in protest, startling even herself. It felt like she was directing those words at herself.

Alex, whose eyes widened in surprise, soon let out a low chuckle.

“True. Fifty is a fitting age to begin a second life.”

“Exactly… And besides, aren’t there plenty of fifty-year-old men married to younger women?”

Of course, such a significant age gap often made it difficult to receive blessings, and Elicity herself didn’t particularly like the idea. But she had no choice but to bring up the example.

The difference between her inner self and Alex’s was about that vast.

However, Alex, unsurprisingly, frowned.

“I have no desire to be some kind of pedophile. People should fall in love and marry those within their own age range.”

‘…Oh my God. Is he taking a shot at me right now?’

Elicity pursed her lips, swallowing back the words she couldn’t bring herself to say.

“…Yes, of course.”

“You’re acting strange today. Did something happen?”

“No, nothing at all.”

But Alex didn’t seem convinced.

“That can’t be. Your face says otherwise.”

Smiling, Alex lifted his coffee cup.

However, just as he was about to take a sip, something seemed to dawn on him, and he abruptly set the cup down as if he had dropped it.

“Wait a moment… No way.”

“What’s wrong?”

Her husband had an utterly bewildered expression.

As Elicity swallowed dryly, Alex stood up and grabbed his coat.

“Apologies, something urgent has come up. I must leave first.”

“Dear?”

Before she could stop him, Alex had already left the dining hall.

***

Alex was, for once, flustered. His legs wavered slightly as he ascended the stairs, unable to pinpoint his exact goal.

It was all because of the words his beloved wife had uttered just minutes ago.

—What if you tried dressing in a more mature way?

His wife often made absurd remarks. He usually found them endearing and let them slide, but today was different.

Her words directly denied his very existence.

Moving swiftly down the hallway, Alex entered his bedroom.

As a knight, his appearance had never been a priority, so the only mirror was in the dressing room beyond the bedroom.

Without hesitation, Alex strode into the dressing room and planted himself in front of the full-length mirror.

The duke, who normally paid no attention to his appearance, suddenly standing so close to the mirror, made the attendants widen their eyes in shock.

But ignoring their reactions entirely, Alex turned his face from side to side, scrutinizing it intently.

And soon, he muttered,

“…I do look young.”

Note: ‘show-window couple’ refers to a married couple that doesn’t get along with each other.