But she didn’t want to get entangled like that anymore. She felt pathetic for continuously giving her heart to a man who couldn’t even trust her, who now even treated her like a thief.

‘I can’t do this anymore.’

She wanted to stop everything. She didn’t want to be angry at herself for constantly becoming pathetic in front of the Duke, nor at the Duke himself. Everything just felt too hard.

‘So…….’

I don’t want to remember you with the worst experience, so……

“Please leave, Duke.”

Her sincere voice flowed calmly for a moment. Tears finally poured from her round eyes.

Elroy swallowed the curse he couldn’t speak.

Even while making such unpleasant requests to leave with those reddened, wet eyes……

Annelie Heich looked damn beautiful.

The anger that surged madly melted away to the point of dejection the moment he saw those tears. To the point where wiping her tears seemed more important than getting angry. Even while knowing this behavior didn’t suit him at all.

Elroy closed his eyes. He used all his strength to resist the urge to devour the lips of this woman speaking such irritating words.

* * *

“When on earth will he leave?”

Nelie sighed deeply at the whispered words. Though Tina whispered with disapproval, she couldn’t take her eyes off the Duke’s appearance.

“He’s a really excellent eye candy though.”

“……Tina. You’ll get reported if he hears such words.”

“He wouldn’t do that.”

No, that man would do exactly that and more. Nelie could only smile bitterly, unable to say those words.

“Are you moving more comfortably?”

“……Yes, my lord.”

“No need for such grand titles.”

The Duke himself, who became the subject of gossip, watched Nelie’s father walk with a cane. The cane the Duke suddenly brought looked extremely expensive at a glance.

While Nelie’s father glanced around and subtly sent distress signals, she also found it equally awkward to deal with the Duke.

‘Really……”

When would he leave?

In truth, it had already been ten days.

Duke Elroy Tevant remained settled in this small rural village. While villagers who showed curiosity toward the striking man wondered about his identity and how long he would stay, Nelie also genuinely wondered when he would leave.

That day, when she told him to leave after making what she thought was a big decision, the Duke smiled so brilliantly. To Nelie, who momentarily lost herself in that smile, the Duke quietly whispered.

“I agreed to compensate.”

“What do you mean by that……”

“If I check and there’s nothing, what compensation should I give Miss Heich?”

He never seemed submissive or yielding even while discussing compensation. The words felt more insulting because he spoke them without any emotion.

“I don’t need it, Duke. I already have the prize money you gave me. I’ll consider that compensation.”

“How could that be compensation? You earned that with your ability, it should be separate from the compensation I want to give.”

By that point, Nelie gave up continuing the argument with the Duke. She didn’t want to exchange many more words either. So she simply started begging.

“Just…… please leave.”

“……”

“If I think that would be good for me, then couldn’t you?”

She meant it sincerely. Because even seeing the Duke’s face was too hard.

However, the Duke remained stubborn too. He never backed down, like someone who didn’t know defeat.

“I’m sorry, Miss Heich, but I can’t live with debts.”

“What do you……”

“Someone of Duke of Tevant’s status can’t leave while only owing debts.”

“……”

“I can’t leave until proper compensation is given to you.”

“Leaving would be the best compensation, Duke.”

Even when Nelie emphasized it once more, the Duke pretended not to hear. Rather, he settled in saying he would compensate with anything except that, arguing with nonsensical logic that what kind of compensation had no material value.

The reason she couldn’t actively chase him away was…….

“The physician said he’ll come again next week, so make sure to get the examination then.”

Because her father’s condition actually improved greatly thanks to him.

The Duke, who had been discussing compensation, saw that Nelie couldn’t touch the prize money she received and only kept it stored away, so he used it to summon a physician. She heard it was an expensive physician from the capital whose price reached the sky. He must have added his personal funds on top of the prize money to summon him.

Her father’s stagnant condition improved instantly after receiving proper treatment from the expensive physician. Seeing her father, who had always been bedridden, walk around with a cane after so long made one corner of her heart ache. It just felt strange that it was thanks to none other than the Duke.

“Well…… thank you very much for providing the convenience……”

“I’m just settling my debt to your daughter, so it would be better not to mind.”

“Debt? How did you come to owe my daughter……”

“Just know that such a thing exists.”

His tone continued ambiguously authoritative, unclear whether he spoke formally or casually. Those words were also the culprit making Nelie anxious.

‘You said it was compensation before.’

If anything, she owed debts to the Duke, while the Duke hardly owed her any debts. They weren’t even in a relationship where such calculations applied in the first place.

While Nelie’s father didn’t know exactly who the Duke was, he fussed over and tried his best to be mindful of the Duke who barged in one morning and occupied their cramped guest room. Though she wondered if her father would still treat the Duke this way if he knew what Nelie had been through, she deliberately stopped herself from speaking. She didn’t want to add to her father’s emotional burden. If he knew what had happened, her father, whose health was already poor, might really collapse this time.

Nelie’s gaze floated around the Duke.

‘I can’t figure him out.’

Thanks to the Duke settling in, Nelie spent less and less time at home. Though she had never found this small house uncomfortable or unpleasant before, this cramped place had too many occasions to run into the Duke.

She had to face the Duke even when trying to leave the living room, and when lying in her room, she could clearly feel the Duke’s presence from the guest room right next to hers. Sometimes she could even hear the rustling sound of bedding when he tossed and turned, unable to sleep. If it was this clear to her, the sounds she made must be equally clear to the Duke.

For the first time, Nelie resented her happy home. It wasn’t comfortable to be there anymore.

She greeted Tina who came to help with housework, then sighed and packed charcoal and paper before leaving the house. She had to make excuses about drawing pictures to catch her breath.

The village, which had entered construction here and there by now, bustled quite busily. Meanwhile, some small huts and houses were quickly demolished, while larger buildings like churches and mills were full of debris and dirt piles from partial demolition. Materials like marble and bricks for building new structures in the demolished spaces, along with construction tools, lay scattered everywhere.

The overall scene looked messy and unsettling. Just like her heart.

While Nelie walked along the road scattered with such dangers, the Duke also followed her out, keeping his distance. His elegant footsteps could be heard even amid the ongoing construction noise.

“……”

Nelie considered telling him not to follow but gave up. Leaving her father and the Duke in the same space made her feel more uncomfortable than being alone with the Duke. To calm her incredibly unsettled heart, Nelie turned her head toward the last remaining wheat field.

Whoosh.

The wheat field that would soon disappear, far from the village under construction, swayed in the wind. The last wheat was left for the birds. Because the surroundings were so desolate, that one patch of color couldn’t look more beautiful.

Following the swaying wheat with her gaze, she caught the Duke at the edge. The golden wheat grains fluttered together with his blonde hair. The reflected light made everything brilliant.

‘Not pretty.’

Nelie blankly opened her mouth then quickly pushed down the thought that rose in her mind. No. Not pretty. Not at all.

Meanwhile, Elroy also watched Nelie’s flyaway hair in the breeze.

Though it was his first time walking behind a woman, it wasn’t a bad experience. The fluttering old dress seemed slightly thin for the season, so when sunlight shone through, it faintly revealed the woman’s silhouette.

Her delicate body seemed to move with a rustling sound. Every time the wind blew, she would shrink slightly and brush back her side hair. Each time, her rich brunette hair rippled like waves along with the ripening autumn light.

She still looked…… unbearably pretty.

Annelie Heich had the talent to shine alone no matter how messy the surroundings. He felt certain she would catch his eye even if she stood among garbage.

After thinking that far, Elroy realized.

There was no meaning in resenting her and denying it anymore. To Elroy, everything about Annelie Heich was generally pretty and lovely.