The butler escorted Edwin to the Count’s chambers.

The entire way there, Edwin struggled violently and caused such a disturbance that several bruises had formed along the jaws and cheeks of the guards restraining him.

Even after entering the Countess’s chambers, his behavior did not improve in the slightest. He shouted and wept, insisting that he needed to see Richel.

Unable to bear it any longer, the butler called for Hans.

Hans was both the captain of the private soldiers and the head of security responsible for guarding the estate.

“Hans, hurry and come over! The Count has returned, but he refuses to calm down. Please help for a moment.”

The moment Hans arrived, the butler dismissed the guards. They could not allow the Count’s half-mad appearance to remain exposed any longer.

Grabbing hold of Edwin, Hans spoke firmly.

“Count, you need to calm yourself—”

“Let go! I said let go, how many times do I have to tell you?!”

Edwin shouted with a flushed face, utterly overwhelmed by emotion.

Hans deeply furrowed his brows and tightened his grip.

“Let go of me right now! I need to see Richel. She needs to know I’m alive. Hngh… hic…”

Even while screaming, Edwin suddenly broke down into tears.

Hans clicked his tongue inwardly.

‘Looks like he’s finally lost his mind… though if he has, it’s in the most shameless way possible.’

Edwin was not someone who had the right to act this desperately over his wife.

He had abandoned Richel within the estate, treated her coldly, and spent his days constantly wandering outside.

And yet now, simply because he could not see her, he was causing this kind of scene.

No sane person would behave this way.

Standing beside them, the butler tried to soothe Edwin.

“My lady will most likely still be in the study. It’s not as though she would leave the estate. Please calm yourself first—”

“Let, let me go. I need to see Richel. I need to go to her and make sure she’s alive…”

“Please, Count, you mustn’t act like this. My lady is perfectly safe. You’ve already seen her, haven’t you?”

Edwin broke into sobs once more.

“Richel… Richel, Richel….”

He continued muttering her name under his breath.

Praying desperately that this behavior was only temporary, the butler spoke carefully.

“Count, perhaps you should wash up first. Your clothes are filthy as well, so why don’t you bathe and change into something clean?”

Edwin looked as though he had rolled across bare dirt. Dust and grime clung to him from head to toe.

Even so, he continued stubbornly crying and resisting.

In the end, the butler had no choice but to use Richel to persuade him.

“My lady would not like seeing you in this condition. If you wash and change your clothes, I will escort you to her again afterward.”

Only then did Edwin finally stop struggling.

“Richel wouldn’t like it….”

He kept murmuring the words to himself.

As though trying desperately to suppress his anxiety, he bit down hard on his lip.

“Then… help me wash quickly.”

The butler let out a quiet sigh of relief.

He guided Edwin toward the bath.

The large bathtub was soon filled with steaming hot water. Hans stationed himself at the entrance to the bathroom while the butler personally attended to Edwin.

Someone needed to be there in case Edwin suddenly lashed out again. If he suddenly ran outside n*ked, it would become a complete disaster.

Fortunately, Edwin obediently removed his clothes and stepped into the bath.

His movements were slow and unsteady.

Without realizing it, the butler let out a soft sigh.

“Your body is in terrible condition. Just where have you been living all this time…? What exactly happened to you while you were missing?”

“Missing….”

Edwin repeated the word blankly.

The butler watched him with growing concern.

Edwin truly did not seem sane.

“Could it be that you lost your memory or something like that? Is that why you couldn’t come back…?”

Even after the question, Edwin said nothing more.

He sank deeper into the hot water and leaned back against the tub.

Suddenly, exhaustion crashed over him so heavily that dizziness blurred his senses, and overwhelming sleepiness threatened to drag him under.

‘If all of this is a dream…a dream….’

Edwin bit his lip tightly, his entire body tense.

“Butler… say something. I think I’m going to fall asleep.”

“Pardon? Ah….”

It was a difficult request.

The only thing the butler truly wanted to ask about was Edwin’s disappearance.

While he hesitated, Edwin slumped limply like someone completely drained.

His blinking eyes were clouded heavily with drowsiness.

The butler finally spoke.

“What I wish to know is where exactly you’ve been all this time, Count.”

“…I was in Haverln.”

Edwin answered slowly.

Haverln was an imperial territory located in the southern region of the empire. The climate was mild, and the ocean scenery was beautiful, so many nobles owned villas there.

The Isle family also possessed an estate in that region. The previous Count and Countess had often visited it to enjoy their vacations.

Leaning back in the bath, Edwin stared blankly up at the ceiling.

The patterns decorating the bathroom felt both familiar and strangely unfamiliar at the same time.

Quietly, he muttered.

“I stayed there for about half a year. I just… couldn’t bear staying in the mansion anymore….”

His voice gradually faded.

It seemed he had finally succumbed to exhaustion and fallen asleep.

His damp face looked terribly worn and exhausted.

The butler stared down at him before letting out another sigh.

Half a year in Haverln?

That was completely impossible.

Ever since Edwin had disappeared, the butler had regularly inspected every estate owned by the Isle family. The Haverln villa had been no exception.

Just two months ago, he had even sent servants there to check its condition.

The Haverln estate had long been empty, maintained with only the bare minimum upkeep.

‘If he truly has developed some kind of mental illness….’

Thinking that he would need to consult a physician, the butler stepped out of the bathroom.

Several servants accustomed to attending baths entered in his place.

Hans followed closely beside him and lowered his voice slightly.

“The Count’s condition looks seriously strange. Is he really alright?”

“I intend to call a physician and ask. In the meantime, make sure the soldiers keep their mouths shut so no unnecessary rumors spread.”

“Rumors? Ah, you mean so people won’t start saying he’s gone mad?”

At Hans’s blunt words, the butler furrowed his brows deeply.

“Watch your tongue.”

Even under the reprimand, Hans merely shrugged.

“I’ll make sure the men keep quiet, but if the Count keeps acting like that, rumors will spread sooner or later.”

“Then we must find a way to ensure he doesn’t continue behaving that way. There’s a reason I’m calling for a physician.”

“…Still, isn’t this actually fortunate? If things are this serious, the Countess probably won’t be able to divorce him right away.”

“To call this fortunate after seeing his condition! Honestly, mind your words!”

Despite the scolding, Hans remained completely unfazed.

“Don’t pretend otherwise. If the Countess leaves immediately, it’s obvious the territory will fall into chaos again.”

“Hans!”

“Alright, alright. I’ll be careful. And when the Countess has time, tell her to stop by the soldiers’ quarters. The owner of that sow from the last trial sent over a fine bottle of liquor as thanks.”

With that, Hans returned to his post.

His duties included training the Count’s private soldiers and overseeing the security of the estate. Had the troublemaker been anyone other than Edwin, Hans would never have stepped in personally for something that required brute force.

‘This is going to become troublesome in every possible way.’

Letting out a sigh, the butler headed toward Richel.

***

After discussing the matter with the butler, Richel decided to keep Edwin’s return hidden for the time being.

His condition simply did not appear normal.

After all, he had returned after being missing for three entire years. There was nothing to gain from letting the outside world know how unstable he currently was.

The butler spoke carefully.

“The doctor said that this kind of thing can happen temporarily in circumstances like these. He said that sometimes people make a full recovery after getting proper rest, so he suggested we keep an eye on him for the time being.”

The butler relayed the physician’s explanation as positively as he could.

More than anything, he desperately hoped it was nothing serious.

And Richel wished for the same.

Letting out a long sigh, she said.

“At least there’s a chance he’ll recover. Once Edwin wakes up, have the physician examine him immediately. And once there’s a diagnosis, inform me right away.”

“Yes, my lady.”

After the butler left, Richel remained seated in the study for a long while.

Before she could even fully process the reality of Edwin’s return, she now had to discuss the possibility that he had lost his mind.

It felt even more absurd and unbelievable than the day she had first heard news of his disappearance.

‘I thought the moment Edwin returned, I’d finally be able to hand him the divorce papers….’

She pulled the divorce documents out once more and reviewed the settlement amount.

Because she had revised it repeatedly over the past three years, the compensation had grown to nearly ten times the original amount.

Staring at it, Richel let out another heavy sigh.

‘The settlement isn’t a small sum either…. If I divorce him now, people will say I’m a wicked woman who abandoned her insane husband after squeezing him for every coin possible.’

Those endless, suffocating rumors of high society.

Ever since becoming involved with Edwin, Richel had already become a favorite source of gossip among the nobility.

People had wondered whether she would truly succeed in marrying him at all, and after the wedding, they wondered whether the marriage would last happily.

Then Edwin’s relationship with her steadily worsened, and only three years into their marriage, the former Count and Countess died in an accident.

From that point onward, the rumors grew increasingly vicious.

And then Edwin disappeared as well.

“The misfortune of House Isle.”

That was what people whispered behind her back.

Because ever since she entered the family, tragedy seemed to follow House Isle one after another.

Those whispers had become so unbearable that for the past three years, Richel had practically locked herself inside the estate.

She did not want to invite further gossip, so she had not even visited her own parents.

At most, she had exchanged only a few letters with them.

‘If Edwin truly has gone mad, then the divorce….’

It would only spark another storm of vicious rumors.

A surge of emotion rose painfully in her chest.

People would never care about the kind of marriage she had endured or how miserable she had been.

They would judge only the outcome, deciding for themselves who was the victim and who was at fault.

The insane husband and the woman who abandoned him.

‘…I should stop thinking about it. Dwelling on this won’t solve anything. The physician did say his condition could be temporary.’

He was someone who had returned after being missing for three years.

Perhaps he had simply been overwhelmed with emotion after finally coming back to the estate he had once known so well.

Even so, she still could not understand why he kept clinging to her.

‘I can’t even remember the last time our relationship was ever truly good….’

Of course, there had once been a time when they loved each other desperately, a time when missing one another had felt natural.

‘But what meaning does any of that have now?’

Those days belonged to a past they could never return to.

Richel slowly rose from her seat.

It was finally time to sleep.