Chapter 25

As soon as the carriage stopped in front of the house, she staggered up the stairs. Her legs kept giving way, almost causing her to fall.

Entering the house without changing clothes, she lay on the bed and sobbed. From the basket placed on the bed, a kitten emerged and meowed.

She missed Floyd. She wanted to love each other without hurting one another, surrounded by everyone’s congratulations.

And that night, she felt as if she saw Floyd’s face in her sleep.

– I can only say I’m sorry. Elina… I’m truly sorry.

– Instead of saying sorry, just say something nice… I really missed you.

– I like you. I like you a lot, but I’ve made things difficult… No, I missed you too.

Was this a dream or reality?

In truth, it felt more like reality. His fingertips brushing her cheek were genuinely warm. Knowing this, she acted as if it were a dream.

Seeing his gentle face again, it could indeed be a dream.

Between dream and reality, Floyd held her tightly and whispered sweet words, just like when they first met.

He fulfilled what she had longed for during difficult times.

Afterward, Floyd changed her sweat-soaked dress and placed a cold wet towel on her forehead, promising to return soon.

When she opened her eyes, Floyd was nowhere in the house, but the grandmother from the first floor and Bianca were there.

“Miss Elina, what is this… you had just recovered.”

Seeing Bianca, who should have been at the Grand Ducal residence, confirmed that what she saw in her sleep wasn’t an illusion.

Floyd had come here.

***

“Did His Grace… really come? Oh… is my baby alright?”

Though she hadn’t looked in the mirror, her eyes must have been swollen. If what happened overnight wasn’t a dream, she had been crying continuously.

Bianca, who was in front of her, also seemed to have cried briefly, as her eyes were red and swollen.

“Oh… what did you do wrong? You can marry His Grace officially. Though high-ranking nobles rarely marry under such circumstances, hearing these absurd words….”

“If it’s His Grace’s will… it can be done, but I’m not confident… No, I know this isn’t right….”

“What do you mean not right? Rest a bit more, His Grace is somewhat better, but you need more rest.”

“Rest…?”

“Emotionally. Whatever you hear now will be hard to process as usual. And don’t worry, the baby is healthy.”

The grandmother from the first floor seemed to remember something and went downstairs, returning with the familiar food basket. She took out a tart from it.

Even before the tart came out of the basket, Elina knew what kind of tart it was. She stared blankly at the orange tart cut into bite-sized pieces.

“Here, eat it, Miss. You like this, right?”

“How did you….”

“There are ways to know. Hehe.”

Was the short letter in the food basket written and sent by the grandmother herself? 

Peeking into the empty basket, there was no letter today.

As she poked the tart with a fork and put it in her mouth, her mood seemed to improve instantly. Looking closely under the cut tart, there was even a thin layer of chocolate.

“Under the tart… there’s chocolate. It makes it taste better.”

“Well, this time I made it myself… no, with my special recipe. It’s exclusively for you, Miss.”

No wonder it tasted different from what she ate at the Grand Ducal residence. She couldn’t compare since she first tried all desserts and unique dishes there.

Come to think of it, Lady Rasiche never gave such delicious desserts… perhaps to save on food expenses. Salads were cheaper and more plentiful.

Since the recipe for the orange tart seemed precious, she didn’t intend to pry further. Unexpectedly, the grandmother handed the recipe paper to Bianca.

And she reminded Elina to eat whatever she wanted during pregnancy.

“Did the grandmother from the first floor tell His Grace about my condition…?”

“Well… yes. She visited the Grand Ducal residence at dawn, saying you were sick, and it was quite a shock. Fortunately, you’re fine now.”

“I remember… but it’s not clear. His Grace came to see me… and even took care of me…?”

“Yes… he did.”

She really met Floyd. This thought made something rise in her heart and then deflate with a hiss.

Even if we married officially, as Floyd suggested, and Bianca said it was okay… would it really be alright? No, could it be alright?

She doubted whether those who cared for her were only doing good things and saying good words. Ultimately, she still lacked confidence.

Would everything go smoothly after marrying officially? If not, could I endure well? 

This conflict seemed to harm someone, but she wanted to be cautious about this.

“Did you use chocolate from the shop at the far end of the commercial district…?”

“Why? Does it taste familiar? You seem to be enjoying it!”

The orange tart given by the grandmother from the first floor was truly delicious. She moved the remaining tart from the small plate to a large one and was eating it when Bianca, for some reason, smiled widely and offered her own tart.

“This is too much… Bianca. You eat it.”

“If you want even one more bite, please eat it. As a physician, I’m thrilled to see you gradually improving.”

“Floyd also… has he improved like this?”

“Oh… His Grace.”

She couldn’t help but feel that Bianca’s words sounded like Floyd’s past actions. She wanted to hear about Floyd.

But Bianca didn’t easily open her mouth. While it was true Floyd had visited yesterday, perhaps she couldn’t say more?

Realizing this, she pressed Bianca, who seemed busy thinking and kept her mouth shut as if she had made a mistake.

“He missed you a lot. That’s why he went there that day. Although His Grace is the Grand Duke and seems very strong, he’s not actually that tough.”

“I thought so….”

She didn’t want to make him struggle more. If Floyd were truly strong, he wouldn’t have been drinking heavily when they first met.

He wasn’t liked because he was the only one who loved her. He was liked because he understood and empathized with feelings of sadness and injustice, which drew her to him, leading to impulsive choices….

“You must know better. He’s somewhat impulsive… oh, and this is just my opinion as a physician.”

“Is Floyd okay now…?”

“Of course, he’s fine. Even if he had some issues before… he’s quick to recover.”

“It’s not because I left the Grand Ducal residence… no, it’s not.”

There was no need to dig deeper. She decided to recover quickly, like Floyd.

Although it was autumn, the warm afternoon sunlight streamed into the house through a small window. A kitten was jumping around and playing in the square sunlight on the floor.

“Of course not. His Grace missed you so much. Oh my, there’s a kitten?”

“But what did Floyd mean by something happened before…?”

Elina added quietly, but Bianca seemed not to hear, as she was following the kitten around. Despite being on the same bed, it seemed she had just noticed it.

Being so small, it was understandable not to see. The kitten changed its interest and started playing with the yarn bought during an outing.

And just as Bianca tried to catch the kitten, knock, knock. There was a sound at the front door.

“Is this the kitten His Grace mentioned… oh, is someone expected?”

“Floyd mentioned the kitten before…? Bianca, why do you keep stopping mid-sentence… what’s outside is the clothes bought from the store yesterday.”

Listening to the voice accompanying the knock, it was the store owner. Perhaps Bianca couldn’t speak because Floyd asked her not to?

With the latch on, she slightly opened the front door. The familiar-faced store owner greeted Elina and handed over the clothes wrapped in a large envelope.

Though not heavy, Bianca took them and bowed to the store owner she saw for the first time before closing the front door with a bang.

“Um, I’ll tell you slowly. You said it’s the clothes you purchased?”

“Bianca, you always seems like you’re not just a physician. You do so many other things….”

After finishing the entire orange tart, Elina cleared the remnants and sat on the living room chair, looking at Bianca.

When she saw Floyd, she couldn’t shake the feeling of liking him and the discomfort in a corner of her heart, but with Bianca, she felt truly comfortable.

“Well, it all depends on who serves whom. Actually, there is a top doctor at the Rennes Grand Ducal residence, but everyone finds me more convenient, so here I am.”

“But… are you going to stay with me?”

“His Grace asked me to, and… at least until you’re okay. Is that alright?”

“Until I officially marry Floyd…?”

“If you don’t want that, I’ll leave immediately. But as a physician, I recommend staying.”

“How can you say that….”