The following day, James’s family prepared to depart.

Two carriages had been brought out.

One belonged to James, while the other had been used by Cornelia and David.

Using that as an excuse, the two groups stood noticeably far apart from one another.

Richel clicked her tongue inwardly.

‘So they agreed to hold the engagement announcement here, but still haven’t reconciled?’

Cornelia and David had officially decided to hold their engagement announcement gathering here next spring.

Even James had ultimately agreed to it.

And yet, father and daughter still refused to so much as look at each other.

‘Does that stubbornness run in the bloodline too?’

Just as Richel clicked her tongue again, Cornelia approached her to express her gratitude.

Just like when they had first met, her manners were impeccably polite.

“Thanks to your consideration, we’ll be able to hold our engagement announcement next year. Thank you, Countess.”

“More than me, Edwin was the one who put thought into it.”

“Then I suppose I should thank the Count as well.”

Cornelia replied with a faint smile.

Of course Edwin would have stepped forward.

From his perspective, this was the perfect chance to remove David from the picture entirely.

It was obvious he must have enthusiastically persuaded James to agree.

‘Though it’s strange how gloomy he looks.’

She glanced toward Edwin, who was currently speaking with her father.

His expression looked almost depressed.

‘Not my problem.’

Cornelia dismissed the thought and turned her attention back to Richel.

The woman standing before her was nothing like the Countess described in all those scandals and rumors.

Those stories always painted her as someone caught helplessly between men.

‘I thought she was some incompetent woman who let herself get pushed around by men…’

In reality, she had been someone who clearly claimed what she wanted and faithfully carried out the responsibilities placed upon her.

The gap between rumor and truth was staggering.

‘It’s probably similar to how Cornelia Isle was portrayed in gossip as some pathetic woman.’

Women always became shallow caricatures in rumors like that.

The more Cornelia realized what a good person Richel Isle truly was, the heavier and more bitter one corner of her heart became.

After all, she too had judged Richel based only on rumors.

Thinking about how Richel must have suffered beneath all those stories made her chest ache.

Grasping Richel’s hands tightly, she said.

“If there’s ever anything you need, please contact me anytime. I’ll do my best to help. And if things become suffocating here, you should come visit the south. I know a lot of wonderful places, so if you come—”

The words poured out endlessly.

She wanted to take Richel away and show her nothing but good things.

Meanwhile, Richel looked completely bewildered by her attitude.

“Cornelia, is this because I agreed to lend you the estate for the engagement announcement? You really don’t have to feel this burdened…”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I got ahead of myself…”

Only then did Cornelia regain her senses and hurriedly release Richel’s hands.

She had become emotional all by herself over things the other woman had never even experienced.

Her face flushed with embarrassment.

‘What do I do? She’s going to think I’m strange…’

Cornelia looked so visibly flustered that Richel ended up laughing.

Perhaps because the girl was six years younger than her, she had an unexpectedly adorable side.

“It’s alright. I’ll just take it as your way of saying thank you.”

“Ah, yes!”

Cornelia nodded immediately, visibly relieved.

Then she once again insisted that there were many wonderful places in the south.

In other words, she truly wanted Richel to visit.

Just as Richel laughed again, David approached the two women.

“Cornelia, I think it’s about time we got into the carriage.”

Since earlier, he had been going back and forth between the carriage and the luggage wagon, checking whether anything had been forgotten.

It seemed all preparations for departure were finally complete.

David helped Cornelia into the carriage first before turning to Richel with a polite farewell.

“Thank you for welcoming us so warmly. We’ll contact you again regarding the engagement announcement gathering. Then… we’ll be on our way.”

David lightly kissed the back of her hand.

It was excessively formal etiquette, the sort one would only normally see at a ballroom.

Richel let out a small laugh without meaning to.

“Are you acting like this because I helped with the wedding?”

“Cornelia gave me very strict instructions. She said that since you accepted such a potentially rude request, we should do everything we can to show our gratitude.”

“That just makes it feel even more burdensome.”

“Then we’d only be more thankful.”

He answered playfully.

After spending only a few days together, the atmosphere between them had already become much more comfortable.

Just as the two exchanged light laughter, Edwin abruptly stepped between them.

“If you already helped Cornelia into the carriage, then you shouldn’t leave her alone.”

His tone made it sound as though David had been neglecting Cornelia.

Startled, David quickly tried to explain himself.

“Ah, I was only saying goodbye to my lady for a moment…”

“That farewell seemed a little excessive.”

His tone was sharp and strangely sensitive for no reason.

Richel immediately grabbed Edwin’s arm.

“It was just a farewell.”

She noticed at once that something was wrong with him.

‘He seemed willing to accept it yesterday, so why is he acting like this again today?’

All kinds of thoughts crossed her mind, but separating the two men came first.

She pushed lightly against Edwin’s back.

“You should go see your uncle off. I’ll handle this side, so go on.”

Fortunately, Edwin did not continue to argue.

He turned away and headed toward where Uncle James was standing.

Letting out a small sigh, Richel spoke to David.

“Sorry about that. Edwin’s been sensitive in a lot of ways since coming back.”

“It’s alright.”

David recalled the sight of Edwin collapsing from hyperventilation. The scene was still vivid in his mind, stirring a faint sense of sympathy.

Even if it was not life-threatening, pain itself was enough to wear a person down and leave them exhausted.

Anyone would become sensitive if they had to endure something like that over and over again.

“Well then, my lady, we should be going now. I’ll contact you again.”

“Alright. Travel safely.”

Once David climbed into the carriage, the coachmen adjusted the reins.

Soon, the carriages and baggage wagons began departing one after another.

The once-busy front of the estate quickly fell quiet.

‘It’s finally over.’

Feeling the tension leave her body, Richel turned around.

There had been all sorts of incidents, but considering everything, it had ended peacefully enough.

‘I should just stay in my room and rest all day today.’

As she stepped back into the mansion with that thought in mind, Edwin followed after her.

“Why were you suddenly acting like that toward David?”

“It just seemed excessive… kissing the back of your hand and all that.”

“That’s because he received help from us. He was simply being overly polite to show his gratitude.”

Even after hearing her explanation, Edwin could not easily accept it.

Lowering his gaze, he found himself once again thinking about everything that had consumed him the entire previous night.

The possibility of David growing closer to Richel in the future.

The possibility of David marrying Cornelia.

The possibility that, after divorcing Edwin, Richel might someday end up with David.

Richel stopped walking and turned toward him.

She did not even need to ask what he was thinking. It was obvious.

“Edwin.”

Her voice halted him completely.

“If you can’t stop yourself from thinking… then how about filling your head with something else instead?”

“…What?”

“These thoughts. These delusions. It’s difficult to consciously force yourself not to think about them, isn’t it?”

“……”

“Did you even sleep properly last night?”

There was unmistakable concern in her voice.

At that question, emotion suddenly surged inside Edwin.

He had not slept at all because of the endless stream of thoughts.

He was used to it by now, but being used to it did not make it any less painful.

Swallowing back the tears rising in his throat, he answered quietly,

“I couldn’t sleep… so I stayed awake.”

Richel thought of her past self.

There had been a time when she, too, could not control her thoughts or emotions.

It had taken a very long time before things finally became bearable.

Perhaps Edwin needed that kind of time as well.

She had spent three years enduring hers, but Edwin had never been given that chance.

Using her own experience as advice, she spoke calmly.

“Working on estate matters will probably help. Ask the butler to bring you the documents. There are a lot of new systems and changes, so just reading through them will keep your mind occupied.”

“Estate matters…”

“You know, the things a lord is supposed to handle. The work I’ve been managing in your place.”

At those words, Edwin hesitated.

Richel suddenly remembered something she had momentarily forgotten.

Edwin had never cared about the estate before.

“Don’t tell me you just don’t want to do it?”

“No, that’s not it. It’s not that I don’t want to… I’m just afraid I’ll ruin everything you worked so hard to build.”

“Then that’s actually a good mindset to have. If you’re worried, it just means you’ll study harder. Read through the documents explaining the new systems and go over the reports from the past three years.”

Edwin’s expression darkened further.

The thought of suddenly taking over what Richel had managed so well terrified him.

It felt as though he would destroy everything she had built.

“Wouldn’t it be better to ease into the estate work more slowly?”

“Why would we? You’ve already been back for quite a while, and you’re not sick anymore.”

“That’s true, but still…”

“If you focus on work, those pointless thoughts will start to fade too. You said yourself that your mind keeps spiraling. It’s better to concentrate on something than just sit there drowning in it.”

Doing anything was better than endlessly repeating negative thoughts.

Besides, these were responsibilities Edwin would eventually have to face anyway.

This estate belonged to him.

If he was going to take it on someday regardless, then it was better to start sooner and gradually grow accustomed to it.

“Rest properly today and start tomorrow. I’ll let the butler know.”

Edwin hesitated for a long while, but in the end, he could not argue against her.

“…Alright.”

The reply that left his lips sounded utterly deflated.