Richard had apparently been missing An terribly.

He picked up An with an overjoyed expression. Watching him bury his face against the puppy and kiss the top of his head stirred something in her heart.

She had never seen Richard make such an expression before. An responded with equal enthusiasm, wagging his tail and licking Richard’s face.

She had always worried that An might be lonely when left with Richard, but it seemed they had grown quite attached to each other.

Kian entrusted An to Richard, saying he had something important to show her.

* * *

Vivianne walked down a long corridor with her eyes covered by Kian’s hands.

“What is it?”

“Well, I wonder.”

“You already know while I don’t.”

Despite stumbling constantly without her sight, Vivianne chattered endlessly. Kian pressed his upper body firmly against her back to prevent her from falling.

“Are you that curious?”

“Just tell me already. Please? The more you hide it, the more curious I become.”

“I already told you. I like it when you’re curious.”

What a mischievous man. He clearly had no intention of telling her, no matter how much she whined and pleaded.

They continued walking until they reached a certain point where Kian suddenly stopped. Vivianne, who had been completely dependent on him for guidance, also halted.

“Are we here?”

The sound of a doorknob turning was followed by a door swinging open.

“A gift.”

As he whispered gently in her ear, his hands moved away from her eyes. Her vision suddenly brightened.

The room was filled with toys and baby items.

“Is this the twins’ room?”

“Yes, I made it to score points with them. I’d like the twins’ mother to inspect it first to see if they’ll like it.”

Vivianne looked around the interior with a dazed expression.

The room was truly a wonderland. Though they had prepared a baby room at Baldwin Manor as well, it wasn’t nearly as large or luxurious as this one.

The first thing that caught her eye was a large baby bed. Befitting twins, two beds had been placed side by side.

Vivianne gently touched the butterfly mobile hanging above them. The mobile, densely studded with brilliant jewels, spun around. The way it scattered light and sparkled was enough to elicit spontaneous exclamations of wonder.

“Do you like it?”

“Yes, it’s amazing. It feels just like magic.”

Vivianne was so fascinated that she lost herself in admiration for a moment. On the baby beds lay rabbit-shaped stuffed toys side by side. One wore a pink ribbon, while the other had a sky-blue ribbon.

“How adorable. They’re so cute.”

Vivianne seemed to like them so much that she hugged one in each arm and nuzzled them with her cheeks.

“Those belong to the twins. Let’s put them back in their place.”

Though disappointed, they weren’t hers. It would be even cuter if the children could sleep while hugging them.

Wanting to keep toys meant for babies. She was already a mother of two. How silly of her. Vivianne obediently laid the rabbit dolls back in the cradle.

After carefully tucking them under the blanket and looking up again, she found another rabbit doll right in front of her nose.

“Here. This one’s for you.”

“For me?”

Vivianne accepted what Kian offered with an excited face. It was a rabbit doll with a white ribbon.

“Thank you for thinking of me too, Kian.”

“You’re welcome. I bought yours first, then the twins’.”

“There’s one for the twins, and one for me… Do you have one too?”

“Yes. Mine is much cuter.”

“I’m curious. Does yours have a ribbon too? What color is it?”

“The way you ask with those wide eyes is unbearably adorable. It’s warm and feels good to sleep with.”

“…What?”

Kian briefly kissed her lips and played with the ribbon in her hair.

“It has lots of pearls on its ribbon.”

After pondering his words for a moment, she realized he was talking about her and smiled brightly.

“But Kian, why did you create a baby room?”

“Because I want us to live here together.”

“Here?”

“Yes. I’ve prepared a separate room for you upstairs too. Staying here will make it easier for you to travel back and forth to Baldwin.”

“Is it okay not to go to Larson?”

“I’m thinking of tearing down the main building there and rebuilding it.”

This was something he had been planning continuously since Vivianne gave birth at Baldwin. It would be a major construction project for such a large mansion, but he was willing to endure it all.

Just in case, someday, she might return. He wanted to gift her a new home without any bad memories.

“I want to become close with Mari quickly. And I’d like you to hold me more than Anthony. We can go back and forth to the estate only when necessary.”

“But won’t that be too inconvenient for you?”

“Family comes first for me. I want to live with my family.”

Family. Despite having children with Kian, perhaps because they had been living apart…

It was a word she hadn’t properly considered before.

“We’re family, aren’t we?”

That unfamiliar word from Kian’s lips wasn’t unpleasant.

No, hearing it just once made it linger in her mind, and the corners of her mouth turned up involuntarily. So it would be more accurate to say she quite liked it.

“With the twins, An, Matilda… and though I’m not thrilled about it, we can include Theo too.”

Kian met her gaze reassuringly.

“I don’t care where we are. Wherever you are is our home.”

She recalled Kian’s promise that no matter where her compass pointed, he would stand there.

“So live with me, Vivi.”

Vivianne blinked slowly.

“Please.”

After being lost in thought for a moment at his pleading, she nodded calmly.

“Alright. I want to live with my family too.”

However, what followed was somewhat unexpected.

“But if I can choose, I’d prefer Larson. Let’s go to Larson after the mansion is rebuilt.”

“Are you sure that’s okay?”

“Yes.”

He had thought it would be after the twins had grown up; he never dreamed she would want to go so soon.

“I want the twins to know how beautiful the coral beach of Larson is.”

A ticklish smile like sunshine bloomed on Vivianne’s face.

* * *

It was a full moon. Under the brilliantly bright moon, waves surged forward and broke into white foam. Unable to fall asleep, they had come out for a walk along the beach together.

With moonlight this bright, it was no wonder sleep wouldn’t come.

“It’s beautiful.”

Vivianne let out a short exclamation of admiration.

“Kian, look at that moon. Isn’t it more beautiful the more you look at it?”

Sensing that he was looking at her alone, she kept tugging at his arm, urging him to look.

In truth, he had no interest in the moon at all.

Despite the moon rising every day, he was only interested in Vivianne, who chattered excitedly about how amazing it was each time she saw it. If anything grew more beautiful with each glance, it was Vivianne, not the moon.

It had been that way before, was still that way now, and would likely remain so in the future. She claimed she fell in love at first sight while out watching the moon.

Now it seems she prefers the moon over him. He felt a twinge of jealousy at Vivianne being completely absorbed in moon-gazing.

“Vivi, I have something for you.”

“What is it?”

“Open it.”

He placed a small box in Vivianne’s palm.

When she opened the box, she saw a pearl ring set with diamonds. The pearl was white and luscious like the full moon. Even at a glance, it was clearly precious.

Surprised, Vivianne’s eyes widened, and she momentarily held her breath.

“You asked me before why I didn’t give you a ring. I felt I was inadequately prepared last time, so I wanted to try again.”

Kian knelt on one knee before Vivianne.

“Will you marry me?”

Though he tried to maintain his composure on the outside, his fingertips holding her hand were stiff. Vivianne carefully examined the man proposing to her.

His jet-black eyelashes trembled slightly. Seeing how he kept moistening his lips, he was definitely nervous.

“Marry me, Vivi.”

When she didn’t answer, he quickly changed his approach. He seemed anxious. Vivianne deliberately didn’t answer and just stared at him intently.

Seeing him tremble so uncharacteristically made her feel sympathetic, but her desire to tease him was stronger.

“I’ll do well by you. So please marry…”

“What about the compass?”

“Compass?”

“Yes. The one I gave you before. You always wear it around your neck, don’t you?”

She knew he kept it tucked inside his clothes, closest to his heart.

“Kian has committed many sins, so one isn’t enough. If you want to marry me, give me both the ring and the compass.”

“Of course. Let’s put on the ring first.”

Kian smiled faintly and slipped the ring onto her left ring finger. The ring fit perfectly, seeming tailored for Vivianne’s hand.

He also hung the compass around her neck. Finally having obtained everything she wanted, Vivianne smiled triumphantly.

“I’ll prepare a grand wedding ceremony too. You can look forward to it.”

“How does a wedding ceremony work?”

“It’s where we promise to love each other forever. We need to get wedding attire made, invite people, prepare a party… If we start preparing now, at the earliest, it would take about a month…”

A month? That wasn’t what she wanted. Vivianne shook her head.

“Let’s just do it now.”

“Now?”

“Yes. You said it’s about promising to love each other forever, right?”

Vivianne’s blue eyes sparkled brightly.

It had to be now.

Just like Marchioness Baldwin had said, each day is precious, and ‘later’ is something you can’t promise.

“Making a promise doesn’t require beautiful clothes or other people. All I need is Kian.”

“Are you sure you’re okay without a wedding dress?”

“I’m fine. I’m pretty even without wearing a dress, aren’t I?”

This was a first. Vivianne calling herself pretty.

“Am I not pretty?”

“No, you’re the most beautiful in the world.”

Her primly asked question was so endearing that he couldn’t help but smile.

On the night of the full moon, Kian and Vivianne promised each other eternity. They needed neither beautiful clothes nor other people. All they needed was each other.

Whether she was Vivianne or Vivianne von Larson didn’t matter.

What mattered was that she was his, and he was hers.

That they were each other’s scars and medals. That was all that mattered.

End of side stories.