In response to Terian’s question, Yui could only manage a short laugh. Pick. The desperation in Terian’s voice was all too familiar to Yuis, as was his desperate fixation on every little detail. It mirrored her own past self.

“Is that really so important to you?”

At Yuis’s question, Terian shut her eyes tightly and parted her lips.

“Yes. It’s very important to me. So would you please answer, madam?”

At her words, Yuis shook her head.

“No, I didn’t know. I wasn’t curious, either.”

“…You didn’t know?”

“Wasn’t that what you were hoping for?” I didn’t know. Even if I had, though, I wouldn’t have cared. I would just have thought it was a suitable match for a woman. ‘Wasn’t marriage just a means to an end for you?”

Terian was rendered speechless, as though she had heard something completely unexpected. She clenched her fists so tightly that creases formed in her dress. A voice filled with humiliation escaped from between her lips.

“I was certain you knew. But clearly, that just means you still hadn’t been recognized as the Duchess at the time.”

Even in this state, Terian continued to spew reckless insults at her, and Yuis finally began to laugh. She even thought that, perhaps, this situation was a little amusing.

Terian’s contempt and jealousy no longer hurt her in the slightest. This final act of desperation—if it could even be called that—meant nothing to Yuis.

“No, I’ve been the Duchess of Descartes from the very beginning. It is not the duchess’s duty to investigate whom her husband’s aide is marrying, nor whether any hidden intentions lie behind that marriage. Don’t you agree?”

Terian had no response. Her reddened, tear-filled eyes merely stared at Yuis in silence.

And Yuis drove the final nail in.

“I have no interest in your life. Unlike you, who seem to be so deeply invested in mine. So if you would—please leave now.”

The moment Yuis’s words fell, a teardrop slid down onto Terian’s hand. But Yuis didn’t spare her even a glance.

Terian struggled to hold back her sobs and, without so much as a parting bow, left the room.

Once she was gone, Yuis calmly slipped off her shoes again, leaned her head back, and closed her eyes.

She didn’t want to think about what Terian had hoped to confirm with that question, nor what she might be feeling now. She only hoped Terian would stay out of her life from this point on. And she was fairly certain she would.

If she had come all this way just to say those things, then yes, she probably wanted to see for herself whether Yuis was truly happy. Whether Yui was truly happy.

Yuis still couldn’t understand why her happiness would feel like such a humiliation to Terian.

Her thoughts soon drifted away from Terian and toward Edric. She imagined him busy at work by now, and the more she did, the more Terian’s presence faded into the background.

Tonight, she would have to fall asleep without Edric by her side and she missed him terribly.

‘Should I just go back right away?’

Suppressing the sudden impulse that rose in her chest, Yuis straightened her attire and stepped out of the room.

Terian’s visit had already delayed her far too much. She couldn’t keep the ladies at the tea party waiting any longer.

***

Upon arriving at the townhouse in the capital and being greeted by the butler, Yuis’s violet eyes widened in surprise.

“My lady, the master is here.”

“Edric? Truly?”

“Yes, he’s in the study. He’s been waiting for you.”

A radiant smile spread across Yuis’s face. Without hiding her joy, she made her way toward the study.

Edric sat waiting in a relaxed posture, and the moment he spotted her entering, the corners of his lips lifted in a broad smile.

Without hesitation, Yuis approached him, her voice brimming with happiness as it spilled from her lips.

“How did you come?”

“You said you wished I’d be here when you got back.”

It was a comment she had made like a sleepy murmur, just before leaving the Haneder estate, a wistful request she’d given him as he kissed her cheek.

That when she returned to the townhouse after the tea party, she hoped he would be there. That she wanted him to be the one to welcome her home.

It wasn’t something she had truly expected to happen. She’d said it only out of the sadness of having to spend the night apart.

And yet…

Edric had not let a single word of Yuis’s slip by. He had come all the way to the capital just for her. Yuis didn’t bother hiding the joy swelling inside her—she flew into his arms.

And Edric, as though it were the most natural thing in the world, caught her effortlessly. As he inhaled, her scent washed over him, the scent that brought him peace and happiness, that always felt like her.

“I missed you. I missed you so much I wanted to rush straight to Haneder.”

At her words, Edric gave a soft nod, unhesitatingly.

“You came because you were thinking of me?”

“My wife hates sleeping alone.”

Yuis suddenly remembered the question Edric had asked out of the blue.

“Why are you afraid of sleeping alone?”

His tone had felt like that of someone gently pressing a child for an answer, making her hesitate for a moment. Before she could respond, Edric continued.

“I’m just curious.”

“It’s just… I keep remembering bad things when I’m alone.”

On nights when she fell asleep alone, painful memories rather than peace visited Yui. Over time, the house felt smaller and smaller. She could hear her mother sobbing through the door, and the sounds of her father with another woman.

When the nights became unbearable, she clamped her hands over her ears and endured them. Those moments from the past still came back to her from time to time.

Edric listened quietly to her story. From that day on, no matter how late it was, he made sure to sleep beside her. He held her in his arms and stroked her hair gently as they fell asleep and woke up together.

With him beside her, Yuis’s painful memories no longer held power over her. Her nights were no longer lonely.

Because if she waited, he would come. Then she could fall asleep in his arms.

Yuis no longer had nights filled with fear or solitude. And tonight, thanks to Edric once again, she would find peace in his embrace.

“Edric, would you like some tea?”

“Sure.”

“But it’s a tea you don’t like.”

Edric let out a low laugh. Even though he had told her time and again that he didn’t dislike apricots,
Yuis always teased him the same way.

She had probably brought back some apricot vanilla tea after meeting with Hailey today.

“All right, then. I’ll take coffee instead.”

“Alright. Shall we have dessert too?”

Hearing his wife’s slightly excited voice, Edric’s smile showed no sign of fading.

“Yes, let’s do that.”

At the sound of the bell, Laura entered the room.

“Yes, my lady.”

“Laura, please bring out the dessert Her Majesty the Empress gifted us. I’ll be having it with Edric.”

“Yes! I’ll have it ready right away.”

Once Laura had left, Yuis sat down beside him and began to talk about Hailey and Olivia.

“Do you happen to know how the Marquess and Marchioness of Alfred got back together?”

Of course, Edric wasn’t really interested in such matters. However, seeing Yui’s violet eyes sparkle as they focused solely on him and hearing her speak so animatedly brought him joy.

“No, I don’t know.”

“Well, I happened to hear about it today.”

As Yuis continued speaking, the dessert, tea, and coffee were brought in.

Edric occasionally placed a kiss on her lips while listening to her soft voice. He responded at just the right moments, sometimes asking questions so she could keep talking.

Yuis, who had been delighting his ears for quite some time, suddenly widened her eyes as a thought came to her.

“Oh, right! The yellow roses in the estate garden are in full bloom. Let’s take a walk together when we return.”

Back in Hetar, she had enjoyed a long picnic in a park filled with blooming yellow roses. Now, she wanted to fill their garden with the same golden colour. After all, tending the garden was the mistress’s responsibility.

As Edric imagined Yuis beaming in the middle of a yellow rose garden, a gentle warmth spread through his blue eyes.

“I want to go back soon. I really want to show you the garden.”

If they returned tomorrow, Dr. Hans was scheduled to visit the following day. And if it was confirmed, she wanted to tell him, in that very garden, that a child was on the way.

It was a small dream of Yuis’s.

As she relived the dream, she could once again feel Edric’s lips brushing lightly against hers. All memory of what had happened at the tea party had now disappeared.