Edwin woke up feeling completely exhausted.

His arms and legs felt unbearably heavy, as though they were tied to stones, and his head was pounding relentlessly.

Even opening his eyes and forcing himself to wake up was excruciatingly difficult.

The hand shaking him awake held out a cup.

Without hesitation, Edwin grabbed the cup of ice water and drank it all at once.

“My lord. Are you alright?”

After drinking the water, he realized just how thirsty he was.

It was only after he had drunk several cups in quick succession that his mind finally cleared enough for him to properly take in his surroundings.

The butler was watching him, looking worried.

“It seems you drank far too much last night.”

It was only then that fragments of the previous evening returned to him.

Each time a new dish was served, he offered some to Richel, who refused it every time. In response, he drank more alcohol.

He managed to hold himself together until the end of the banquet, but his memory became hazy when he climbed the stairs.

Once the tension had disappeared, the effects of the alcohol must have hit him all at once.

‘After leaving the dining room, my memory is…’

Suddenly, nausea twisted through his stomach while the headache hammered violently against his skull.

Edwin grimaced.

His condition felt terrible.

“What’s the schedule for this afternoon? If there’s nothing planned, I’d like to rest a bit longer…”

“There is no schedule, my lord, but you do have visitors.”

“Visitors? Someone came?”

“Lady Cornelia, Lord James’s eldest daughter, has arrived.”

Edwin frowned deeply.

The hangover was beginning to burn unpleasantly in his stomach as well.

His head still spun.

“Cornelia? She was still in the Empire? I remember Uncle sending her abroad.”

“…Pardon? This is the first I’ve heard of that.”

The butler looked utterly confused as he questioned Edwin.

It was then that Edwin suddenly stopped.

This was a reality that differed from his memories.

This was the world in which Richel was alive.

He cleared his throat awkwardly.

“So… Cornelia came?”

“Yes, my lord. She arrived with her fiancé, saying she had something she wished to request.”

“…Cornelia got engaged?”

Edwin frowned deeply.

The Cornelia standing before him was a far cry from the woman he had once known.

She had once been a dazzling beauty, closely resembling James.

She was once known as the flower of high society and was constantly surrounded by admirers.

‘There was so much gossip because she never got engaged to anyone.’

Cornelia had been the center of attention in noble society for years, moving from one man to another.

It was not unusual for two or three men to fight over her simultaneously.

Eventually, however, James sent her abroad.

This was because the Isle family’s scandals had become too numerous.

‘I think that happened more than a year ago…’

At the time, the rumors about Cornelia were just one small part of the scandals engulfing the Isle family.

The true focus of society’s gossip was Edwin and Richel.

This was because Richel had become pregnant around that time.

Rumors spread endlessly: speculation about the father of the child; whispers about the relationship between the three of them; and even bets on how it would all end.

James sent Cornelia abroad in an attempt to stop the gossip from getting worse.

However, by then, the endless scandals had already begun to irreparably stain the Isle family’s reputation.

‘Back then, I wasn’t in my right mind either…’

His relationship with Richel had driven him to the brink of madness, leaving him with only a vague memory of Cornelia.

The only thing he could remember was that she had been sent to live in another country.

However, none of that mattered right now.

Cornelia had arrived unexpectedly, so someone needed to greet her.

As Edwin pushed himself upright, he spoke.

“I’ll wash up and get ready first, then head downstairs. Don’t tell Richel. I’ll handle the guests myself.”

“My lord, the Countess is already in the drawing room.”

“Richel’s awake? Already?”

He stared at the butler in disbelief.

Last night, Richel had drunk at least twice as much as he had.

Clearing his throat awkwardly, the butler answered.

“My lady woke quite some time ago. She was having breakfast when Lady Cornelia arrived, so she has already gone to the drawing room.”

“You should’ve woken me immediately!”

Edwin snapped angrily as he forced himself out of bed.

His headache worsened instantly, making him feel nauseous, but there was no time to lie around helplessly.

While Richel had risen early to welcome guests, Edwin had simply slept through it all.

It was hard to imagine anything more pathetic.

“I’ll wash and come out, so bring me some clothes. I’m going downstairs immediately.”

Out of habit, he glanced toward the mirror beside the bed.

Perhaps because he had fallen asleep drunk, his face looked rough and swollen.

Furrowing his brows, he muttered,

“Bring the juice for reducing swelling too.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Edwin washed quickly and emerged soon after.

By that time, the special juice said to help with swelling and hangovers had already been brought in.

It was a murky green color, almost grey.

He grimaced the whole time he forced it down.

It still tasted absolutely terrible.

“Can’t they put a little more effort into the flavor? No matter how effective it is, it’s pointless if it tastes this awful.”

“I’ll relay the message, my lord.”

The butler answered obediently, though he doubted the doctor would care about the flavor.

Then again, perhaps Edwin hadn’t mentioned it because he genuinely expected the flavor to improve.

He was simply irritated.

Just as the butler had anticipated, Edwin quickly lost interest in the juice and turned his attention to inspecting himself in the mirror instead.

His hair looked acceptable, and his clothes were decent enough. He was wearing a loose shirt blouse paired with dark navy trousers.

The outfit had been carefully chosen by the butler.

‘This is far too plain…’

Edwin had always favored bold accessories and flamboyant, vividly colored clothing with elaborate embroidery.

Despite his skin growing dull and him losing weight, his features remained sharply defined.

Faces like his stood out all the more in extravagant clothing.

As he debated whether to change his blouse, the butler spoke.

“The Countess likely wouldn’t like anything too flashy.”

“Richel dislikes flashy things?”

That made no sense to him.

When they were courting, she would sometimes gaze at him admiringly.

In fact, she liked extravagant clothing.

Edwin looked back at the butler.

“Her tastes must’ve changed over the past three years. She used to think flashy clothes looked nice.”

At those words, the butler hesitated briefly.

Then, letting out something close to a sigh, he answered.

“Well… every time Your Lordship left the estate, you were dressed that way…”

The butler trailed off unusually vaguely, but Edwin understood the meaning immediately.

“…I see. Then I’ll wear this.”

The butler bowed his head respectfully.

Edwin turned back toward the mirror once more.

His desire to dress up vanished entirely, but that did not change the fact that he still disliked how he looked.

“Go bring more of the juice. I don’t care about the taste anymore, just make sure it works well.”

That was all the effort he had left.

The butler quietly withdrew to fetch another glass of juice.

Trying to suppress his sinking mood, Edwin straightened his clothes once more.

After forcing down three full glasses, he finally headed upstairs.

Anxiety made his steps quicken without him realizing.

The butler, who was following behind to guide him, had to jog to keep pace.

Hurrying down the corridor, Edwin desperately tried to gather his thoughts and organize them.

‘I need to make sure nothing contradicts what I said in front of Uncle yesterday.’

Whether before James or Cornelia, he needed to behave consistently.

If his words slipped even slightly, it would only create more problems later.

The butler opened the drawing room door for him.

“Please go inside. Once you’re seated, I’ll have the kitchen send up fresh refreshments.”

The moment Edwin stepped inside, he heard Richel’s voice.

It was warm, friendly, and impossibly gentle.

“That’s right, something like that did happen. Back then, I really thought I was already fully grown.”

Laughter followed her final words.

Without realizing it, Edwin stopped abruptly.

Richel and Cornelia weren’t close enough to speak to each other so intimately.

They were merely acquaintances who had crossed paths on official occasions.

‘What is this…?’

As he stepped farther inside, a small sitting area arranged around a single table came into view.

Richel was sitting there, smiling brightly.

“Edwin, you’re here?”

The moment she noticed him, she stood up.

At the same time, the person sitting opposite her also stood up.

It was a face that Edwin knew very well.

Young.

Noble.

David Nathan.

Edwin slowly closed his eyes, then opened them again.

He could not understand why David was there.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

He repeatedly shut and opened his eyes.

But the man before him remained unchanged.

It truly was David Nathan.

Edwin sucked in a sharp breath.

‘So in the end… this is how it happens again…’

He remembered the smile Richel had given him just moments before.

It had appeared because she was with David.

According to Edwin, Richel had met David Nathan after demanding a divorce from him.

Eventually, she had fallen in love with him.

Now, the same thing was happening again.

Richel had asked for a divorce.

He refused.

Then she met David.

“Haah… ngh… kh—”

At some point, he could no longer breathe properly.

A crushing pain gripped his heart and solar plexus as though they were being squeezed mercilessly by an invisible hand.

It was a familiar sensation.

His body gave way beneath him and he collapsed to the ground.

He couldn’t breathe.

It felt as though his airways had been completely severed.

The pain was so overwhelming that he felt as though he was dying.

Dizziness washed over him, draining all the strength from his limbs and leaving them limp and powerless.

“Edwin? Edwin, get a hold of yourself! What’s wrong?! Edwin!”

Richel rushed towards him, pulling him into her arms.

Her voice echoed in his ears like a distant ringing sound.

Gripping the hem of her skirt tightly, Edwin covered his mouth with one hand, desperately trying to get air back into his lungs.

‘I need to calm down…’

But the suffocating pressure closed in far faster than he could regain control.

His body twisted in agony as he gasped for air.

Fear and terror crashed over him in relentless waves.

The humiliation he felt in that moment was even more unbearable than the pain itself.

Because David was there.

Seeing himself collapsed on the floor, trembling and choking for breath, felt unbearably pathetic.

Then Richel shouted.

“David, go call someone! Hurry—!”

Only then did David bolt out of the room.

Even in that moment, Edwin continued choking helplessly, unable to breathe.

Thrashing weakly, he clung desperately to Richel’s clothes.

‘I don’t want to let go, please…’

Edwin opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

He felt even more helpless than he did in pain.

All he wanted was to cling to Richel and sob.

He wanted to beg her to choose him over David.

To plead for just one more chance.

But, as always, his body refused to obey him.