However, there was something that remained. Something to cherish forever and protect so that it would never break.

Yuis decided not to think about the broken teacup anymore. From now on, she would only think about the things she must protect.

Spring had come. After the cold and harsh winter, the flowers were preparing to bloom once again.

As she looked out the window at the budding landscape turning green, a gentle warmth filled Yuis’s violet eyes.

Knock, knock

A soft knock was heard just then.

The eyes, now warmed with gentle light, turned toward the door with a sense of delight and anticipation.

“Edric.”

It was Edric.

As Yuis smiled brightly and reached out to ring the call bell, he shook his head and stepped closer. He must have already had tea with Noah.

Yuis nodded and offered him a warm greeting.

“Good morning.”
“Mm.”

Edric walked straight toward Yuis, placing a hand on the armrest of her chair and leaning in to kiss her red lips.

The sweet scent of apricot lingered in the air.

As he gently took in the taste, Yuis flinched in surprise.

Only after stealing every bit of the apricot fragrance clinging to her did Edric finally let her go, a low chuckle slipping past his lips with her still between them.

The sunlight poured in, tinting the edge of Yuis’s ear with a faint flush. Noticing the subtle change, Edric laughed quietly.

Lately, Yuis had become more honest. She had begun expressing—little by little—what she liked and what she disliked.

Every night, as they fell asleep together, she revealed her raw desires to him.

Delighted by it, Edric would pounce again.

He opened her, filled her, embraced her over and over until satisfied. Then, he basked in the lingering pleasure that followed.

He kissed her face and body as she lay in his arms, ran his fingers through her hair. Sometimes, he would wipe her down himself—or they would bathe together—before lying down again, wrapped in each other’s warmth.

And that was how they fell asleep. Every single day.

In this mansion, the servants would never knock on the door of the master couple’s bedroom until the call bell was rung.

“I think it’s time we head back.”
“Mm, I’ll get ready too.”

After kissing Yuis again as he held her by the waist, Edric stepped out.

Yuis rang the call bell and left the sitting room.

It was time to leave this place.

***

Jerome Remy was still living at rock bottom.

Abandoned by his family, he had crossed the continent, only to lose the house and wealth the Countess—his mother—had prepared for him.

Now, it was said, he lived addicted to drugs.

Edric closed the report Noah had brought him.

Jerome Remy no longer needed to be on his mind. There was nothing left in this world that could threaten Yuis.

And if anything ever tried to again, he would simply eliminate it.

“What about Terian Johannes?”

“He left for Darec first, as far as I know. According to Sir Eccles, it seems he has decided to accept that life after all.”

A satisfied smile touched Edric’s lips.

The Everetts had crossed the continent. They would never appear before Yuis again.

Terian Johannes would live the rest of her life in the shadow of Aron Johannes and Rina L’Edden.

As for Jerome Remy… he would likely die soon.

Darec, having lost the war, was now obligated to pay reparations to Kalang.

When the King of Darec sent a letter pleading for help—asking, for the sake of the Duchess of Descartes, to spare them, and urging Edric to persuade Richard—Edric had laughed aloud, loud enough to ring through his office.

He was the same king who had sent Yuis away, without restoring her status, tossing her aside like baggage. And now? It wasn’t even laughable anymore.

While Edric was away, Yuis’s restoration had already been completed.

Now that she was the Duchess of Descartes, perhaps the name “Everett” no longer held any importance to her.

Still, he had wanted to do it for her. He had wanted to protect that name.

He now understood why. Why he had wanted so badly to do that for her.

It wasn’t simply because Yuis was the duchess.

It was because he love her.

Love—just that one word. He had scoffed at everyone who gave up everything for such a fleeting thing, ridiculed them, looked down on them.

Because he had believed it was something that would never happen to him.

But the belief that it didn’t matter who sat in the duchess’s seat shattered completely after meeting Yuis.

It had to be Yuis Descartes.
Only she could fill that place.
Only Yuis could sit there.

So, he wanted to do everything for her. Whatever it was—if it could be done through Edric’s power, he would do it.

And if it couldn’t be done—he would find a way to make it possible.

As he listened to Yuis say it was okay, that she could bear it, that working as a maid had been fine because she wanted to hold on to the name “Everett” and live a good life in his arms—his resolve only deepened.

Edric, perfectly dressed with every hair in place, stepped out into the hall of the mansion.

He had thought it wouldn’t matter if he died. And it would’ve been true—if not for the woman before his eyes.

Yuis, who had been speaking with the butler at the center of the hall, turned around.

Her lovely cheeks were tinged with a rosy hue, and her violet eyes were filled entirely with him.

As he drew closer, her fresh scent gently drifted to him.

Gazing at Edric with eyes full of warmth, Yuis opened her lips.

“Let’s go home now.”

And Edric gladly nodded.

“Yes, let’s. Let’s go home.”

And then, she held out her hand. As Edric looked at the small, slender, white hand resting atop his own, he grasped it firmly. It was a hand he never wanted to let go of again.

With that hand in his, Edric began to walk forward with his wife. Whenever Yuis said something, Edric would lower his head to listen, bringing his ear close to hers.

At times, the two would stop walking, laugh together, and share a few quiet words.

Because of that, the walk to the carriage took a little longer than usual, but no one considered it a problem.

At the end of the path, the warm spring sunlight wrapped around the two as they climbed into the carriage.

***

Spring in Haneder was beautiful.

More so than any place Yuis had ever seen.

Among all the spaces in the mansion, Yuis loved the glass conservatory the most.

Today, she had gone for a walk alone—a rare occasion.

Edric had to leave the mansion for a few days to attend to matters at the royal palace.

When he said he might be busy for a while, Yuis simply nodded.

They would be together for the rest of their lives now, so waiting for her busy husband didn’t seem so hard.

In fact, it made her a little happy.

To wait for a beloved family member who would return once work was done.

Yuis sat at the tea table set up in the conservatory and lifted her teacup.

It was a gift from him—the teapot and cup.

Yuis drank from that cup almost every day.

Without realizing it, her gaze kept drifting to the seat across from her.

She remembered the night before Edric left—how they had walked together and sat here… and how he had kissed her.

She still couldn’t quite believe how fiercely desire had flared up in her in a place like this. She felt the warmth of his hand sliding along her waist and the strength of his arms pulling her close.

As soon as she pressed her hand to his chest, as if to make sure it was real, the kiss deepened and she was swept away by the tide of longing surging between them.

She was caught in the heat of the moment — by him.

And by herself.