W-what did you say?

I was so shocked that I couldn’t utter a single word.

“……Hoa.”

Only Angie’s babbling, which sounded like an exclamation, echoed through the silent drawing room.

“It would also be good to install a magical greenhouse here. Regardless of the season, you could harvest the cherry tomatoes you love so much.”

Throughout his speech, the Grand Duke’s golden eyes never left me. As if he wanted to catch even the slightest hint of approval from my expression…

I kept my face as emotionless as possible and mechanically patted Angie.

‘No, but why is the scale so massive…?’

The Grand Duchess’s garden must have been a place of great historical significance. And he wanted to turn it into a vegetable garden…

Ancestors of Norhart, are you listening?

Shouldn’t you be giving your descendant a stern talking-to about now?

With a deliberately cold expression, I finally spoke.

“What I love is the vegetable garden at the Blue Roof Manor, where I plowed the field myself, sowed the seeds, and planted the seedlings. If it’s not that garden, then it’s meaningless to me.”

Of course, the ‘myself’ part actually meant that I gave instructions, and Mathias did the work.

But then, the Grand Duke’s well-shaped lips curved into a handsome arc.

“So, it really is because of the vegetable garden.”

Wait, did I just confirm something for him?

Flustered, I responded even more firmly.

“It’s ‘also’ because of the vegetable garden.”

The vegetable garden was just one of the many reasons I was refusing the Grand Duke’s proposal.

The biggest reason was that I wanted to spend the remainder of my short life peacefully in this small village. Ironically, that was the one thing I couldn’t reveal.

‘He’s willing to uproot a centuries-old garden just because of a vegetable patch. If I told him I was terminally ill, who knows what kind of chaos he’d cause…’

Unaware of my thoughts, the Grand Duke’s confidence only grew.

“If you want that vegetable garden, then we can simply move it.”

“…What?”

“You.”

“Y-yes!”

At the Grand Duke’s calm command, the gardener immediately responded with enthusiasm as if he had been waiting for this moment.

“If His Grace lifts the vegetable garden’s soil evenly with magic, we can transplant it directly to the Grand Duke’s estate. The crops may suffer a little shock for a few days, but I will procure nutrient-rich cultivation soil perfect for replanting.”

Whether this had been rehearsed beforehand, the gardener spoke without hesitation.

Using magic for something like this?

I rolled my eyes in silent astonishment.

Viscount Nielsen looked as if he was already used to this absurdity, while the gardener, brought here for this one conversation, looked positively thrilled.

“A rustic yet charming garden right in the middle of the Grand Duke’s grand and majestic estate—it’s beautiful just imagining it!”

Ah, right. He was the one who had been deeply moved by my ‘villainous extravagance.’

“And if needed, we could even…”

Suddenly, in the Grand Duke’s estate projection, an entire section of the backyard wall disappeared. Startled, I blinked in shock.

“…Move the entire Blue Roof Manor there.”

“…Excuse me?”

Dumbfounded, I looked to Viscount Nielsen, who took the opportunity to provide additional explanation.

“There are many risks involved in moving an entire building, but we could construct an identical house and transfer the interior furnishings. Alternatively, we could dismantle the materials and reconstruct the house at the new location.”

The Grand Duke, who had been watching me with a gentle expression the entire time, wasted no time asking once Viscount Nielsen had finished speaking.

“How about it? Wouldn’t this allow you to enjoy the comforts of Meldorf while staying with me?”

“……”

I had no words to respond to the Grand Duke’s proposition. My arms instinctively tightened around Angie.

“Hya! Eo!”

For some reason, Angie, nestled in my arms, started wriggling in excitement.

Why is she acting like this?

Just as her sudden movements nearly made me lose my grip on her—

With a silent, fluid motion, the Grand Duke approached and seamlessly transferred Angie into his arms.

Gone were his clumsy movements from before; he now held her with a practiced ease.

“I would have preferred to invite you to my estate and plan the relocation together, but…”

Still holding Angie, he knelt on one knee before me. Then, extending an empty hand, he slowly tucked a stray strand of my hair behind my ear.

A deep, rich scent seemed to linger just beyond his expression.

“As you are unmarried, I feared that inviting you to my residence might tarnish your honor.”

Ugh, his grudge runs deep.

“And traveling all the way to Norhart would be burdensome for you.”

His voice was endlessly gentle.

Was that why? The gardener gazed at us with such awe that I half-expected him to start scattering flower petals in celebration.

‘It may look picturesque on the surface…’

But we weren’t that kind of relationship.

Unaware of my bewilderment, the Grand Duke continued.

“With all this, will you seriously consider my proposal to be with you?”

“Y-your Grace…”

“Cedrion.”

“……”

“When you feel comfortable, you can call me by a nickname. But you already called my name earlier.”

His sleek face, watching me as he spoke, was impossibly serene, making me question whether this playful courtship was actually sincere.

Not long ago, his expression had been stiff and mechanical.

“…Odelia.”

It was the first time he had spoken my name.

Each syllable was uttered slowly, as if he were savoring it, carrying a weight of sincerity and nostalgia.

‘…What exactly was our relationship?’

Lightly biting the inside of my lip, I hesitated for a moment before glancing around the drawing room.

“…Cedrion.”

His golden eyes flickered with a subtle emotion as he looked at me.

“Can we talk alone?”

With just a slight nod from him, Viscount Nielsen and the gardener exited the drawing room without hesitation.

Now, only the Grand Duke, Angie, and I remained.

“Angie seems quite comfortable with Your Grace now.”

“Huh, huaaah…!”

At my casual remark, Angie suddenly started whimpering.

“Even though your mother is right here?”

And just like that—

At the Grand Duke’s soft murmur, with her golden eyes shimmering like tiny bells, Angie instantly stopped crying, tears still clinging to her lashes.

Could it be that they get along so well because he really is her biological father?

“The Grand Duke may find Angie important because she’s his biological daughter. Of course, I, too, have grown deeply attached to her, and she is precious to me. But that doesn’t mean I have any reason to accept your proposal.”

“A reason, you say.”

“I don’t want to make such a significant decision about my life in a rushed and careless manner.”

“But wasn’t I considered the perfect groom?”

Nielsen, did he really—?

It seemed he had gone and tattled about everything we talked about.

Well, that was probably his purpose for coming here in the first place, but couldn’t he have filtered his words a little?

“If you’ve heard that, then surely you’ve also heard why I’m hesitant about your proposal.”

“…Regarding Angie’s birth mother.”

At those words, the Grand Duke’s gaze shifted to Angie. Though they had grown closer, his eyes still didn’t carry the look of a father toward his child.

“As Franz said, it’s Norhart’s secret. No matter who you are, I can’t tell you unless you become Angie’s mother.”

It was the same thing Viscount Nielsen had said.

Just how great of a secret could it be…?

The Grand Duke studied my face for a long moment before speaking slowly.

“You said love was necessary.”

“…What?”

“Then so be it.”

What… What does he mean?

His tone was as casual as a store manager granting a request for a day off, simply saying, Sure, take the day off tomorrow instead.

It was purely businesslike, but his marble-like face was completely serious. His low voice carried on.

“If you marry me for Angie’s sake, I swear I will never let another person into my heart for the rest of my life.”

My heart pounded violently.

It wasn’t enough to make me faint, but the weight of his words felt so heavy that I thought I might pass out for a different reason.

‘F-For the rest of his life…’

The sound of my own heartbeat echoed in my head, making me dizzy. I had to force myself to think of something ridiculous.

‘Well… my life doesn’t even have ten months left.’

But even though I could barely string that thought together in my mind, I couldn’t bring myself to say anything in response to the Grand Duke’s serious expression.

I swallowed dryly.

The Grand Duke’s golden eyes and Angie’s soft, golden gaze—both fixed solely on me.

Their stares seemed to be pressing me for an answer.

‘…Just saying it doesn’t make it true. And according to Viscount Nielsen, he’s never loved anyone before.’

If that were the case, then he must not have loved Angie’s birth mother either…

That thought alone seemed to calm my racing heart.

“Then, what about a paternity test? I’m treating Your Grace as Angie’s father right now because you have the right conditions to be one. But if you’re insisting without actually being her father, then I see no reason to go to Norhart just to help you.”

“So, you do have some willingness to come to Norhart?”

The Grand Duke, clearly pleased by my response, curved one corner of his lips in a refined smile.

“If a paternity test is what you want, then as long as you come to Norhart, we can conduct it at the Grand Temple without any magical artifacts.”

“The Grand Temple? In Norhart?”

“Norhart carries Arcadia’s first bloodline, so it needs a place to receive divine revelations.”

“Ah… that makes sense.”

Now that I think about it, this world’s setting included royal families receiving divine messages.

Like how Michael once confessed to Flora, saying that the divine revelation he received during his baptism commanded him to obey women, so it must be fate.

In other words, the Grand Duke was systematically refuting every reason I had for rejecting his proposal.

Perhaps because my heart had already raced too much earlier, my thoughts were beginning to drift in a different direction than I had intended.

‘Would it be better if I went… for Angie’s sake?’

I shifted my gaze toward Angie.

The baby still had tiny teardrops clinging to the tips of her eyelashes as she looked up at me, as if she wanted to know what decision I would make.

She had been with me for a whole month now.

While the nanny fed her milk and changed her diapers, I spent most of the time by her side.

‘When she first arrived, she couldn’t even hold her head up properly, but now she can. She even babbles.’

She continued growing like that… Soon, she would start walking and then running, becoming even more adorable.

The thought of not being able to see Angie starting tomorrow made my chest ache.

‘Maybe… just a little longer.’