Even if he really was the one who appeared in Diez’s nightmare, nothing would be resolved unless he faced that fact squarely.

“Diez.”

When Jürgen, who had made up his mind, called her, Diez raised her head and met his eyes. She was holding a silver dessert spoon in her right hand.

Her clear blue eyes, like the bright sky, strangely stirred him.

If that color were to become even slightly clouded, I…

“Actually, there’s something I’ve wanted to ask since morning.”

“To me?”

“I’ve been concerned about you waking up from a nightmare in the early dawn…… May I ask what kind of dream you had?”

“Ah……”

Diez let out an exclamation as if she finally understood and quietly put down her spoon. Her face darkened momentarily, but soon she smiled again and answered.

“It was just… nothing important. It wasn’t something to worry about much, so please don’t concern yourself too much.”

“If it made you wake up crying, it wasn’t just an ordinary nightmare, was it?”

“I’m fine now. I’ve forgotten all about it. It was just a dream.”

“Still, I don’t want to ignore it. You are my fiancée.”

At this, Diez hesitated again. The two of them would soon be married and become husband and wife. So wanting to look after every little thing, no matter how trivial it might seem, was natural behavior for a fiancé.

“……Actually, I dreamed about my parents.”

She confessed in a slightly subdued voice. At the mention of the Schleicher couple, Jürgen was rather surprised. Her parents who had tried to use their only daughter until the end, finally abandoned Diez and fled abroad.

Even Jürgen had completely forgotten about them. But it seemed that trauma about her parents still remained deep in Diez’s heart even after several months had passed.

It wasn’t strange. Diez had been so shocked at the time that she had attempted suicide.

“I was with my parents at the harbor, and they were holding trunks. I begged them not to go, to stay with me even for a moment…… but in the end, they shook me off and boarded the ship.”

“……I see.”

“Looking back, it wasn’t something I should have woken up crying about.”

She said with a bitter smile.

“I just… briefly returned to that time when I was utterly miserable. Dreams are like that, you know. In reality, I wouldn’t even think of clinging to my parents anymore.”

The young lady who once loved her family more than anyone and wanted to protect them no longer existed. After accepting the painful truth with effort, Diez became detached surprisingly quickly, even to her own amazement.

Being able to shake off the memory of being betrayed and abandoned by the family she trusted was surely thanks to the man who didn’t leave her alone.

Now Diez would have a new family. This time, not someone she had to take responsibility for and protect, but a reliable husband she could lean on with peace of mind.

That was why she could be all right despite going through such an experience. Because she wasn’t alone.

In fact, Diez was equally perplexed. Why did she suddenly dream about her parents? She didn’t normally think about them, and any lingering attachment to them had been blown away by the wind long ago.

While she appreciated Jürgen’s concern, she didn’t want to appear as if she still longed for the parents who had abandoned her.

They held no meaning for Diez.

Not anymore.

“I was just overwhelmed by emotions because of the dream. I’m really fine. I’m living such happy days, what could I possibly worry about?”

“Are you sure you’re all right?”

“Jürgen, I have you.”

There wasn’t a single lie in her naturally spoken words.

“I know you’re a kind person. And that you love me sincerely. There was a time when you felt distant and frightening, but now I’m happy that I can lean on you freely. So, this life I’m enjoying now is like……”

What should she say? Diez, who was choosing the most appropriate expression in her mind, soon continued.

“It’s like I’ve returned to the happiest time of my life.”

“……I’m truly glad you feel that way.”

“So I’m completely fine. I just had a silly nightmare for a moment, so please stop worrying.”

As if that was really all there was to it, Diez picked up her spoon again and began to eat the sherbet that had somehow not melted. Watching her quietly, Jürgen suddenly felt an intense impulse consuming him.

It was good, of course, that his status and wealth made Diez’s life rich.

But he felt that wasn’t enough.

He wanted to give Diez an even greater happiness than this.

She was once called the young lady of Lehart and was the object of everyone’s admiration and envy. A woman everyone believed without doubt would live the happiest life in the Empire.

Jürgen intended to return the radiance that the previous Duke had tried to take away, doubled.

The relationship between them, once creditor and debtor, had completely flipped. Now it was Jürgen who owed an enormous debt to Diez.

Some might ask if this wasn’t enough already. She was going to be the mistress of the Klaus ducal household, what more could she want?

But Jürgen thought differently.

This wasn’t enough.

Because there was still one thing missing from her life.

The one thing that Diez, born with all the luck in the world, was expected to have.

Jürgen had to become the most perfect husband for her.

The wind blowing through the window had now taken on a cool feeling. The forest stretching behind the Duke’s mansion had also begun to turn red.

It was evidence that autumn had arrived.

It wasn’t just the lush wild forest that had changed its color. As if the time when the garden was full of beautifully blooming summer flowers had never existed, autumn-appropriate flowers had been newly planted in the garden.

But they were clearly different from the flowers planted last year. Though no one specifically pointed this out, all the servants who had worked here could notice.

The fact that all the flowers had been selected to match the taste of the young lady who would become Jürgen’s wife.

Now it was as if no trace of the previous Duke could be found anywhere in the Klaus mansion. Though it was certainly the same place, the mansion that had completely transformed into a different appearance now had a lovely color that had never been felt before.

The change Jürgen had started was completed by Diez.

Being loved to the fullest, Diez’s dog, Puppy, who was deeply devoted to her, also seemed to enjoy the newly blossomed garden. Puppy, who managed not to damage the flower beds while frolicking freely, and Diez, who watched him and burst into happy laughter.

Jürgen looked down at the scene through the large window of his office. The thought crossed his mind that it seemed like a perfect moment he shouldn’t dare interrupt.

Diez’s golden hair shone brilliantly in the autumn sunlight.

She had been a young lady who shone as brightly as that radiance.

Diez, who had almost lost her light, had barely regained her former self.

While he felt relieved that he could make her happy again, the realization that it must have been truly difficult years suddenly pricked deep within his soul.

The days she must have suffered and cried under the previous Duke amounted to a full five years. How had the young lady, who should have been raised like a precious rose in a greenhouse, endured such abuse?

What overcame him next was intense regret.

Even though he had been away from the mansion, if he had paid even a little attention to what was happening around his father…… Could he have rescued her a bit sooner?

Revisiting the past that had already gone by was a completely useless act. What mattered was that Diez was still by his side, and that it wasn’t too late to make everything right.

Once his thoughts reached that point, he found it impossible to remain still. It was time to stop just watching Diez from a distance. Such pitiful behavior wouldn’t help her at all.

Leaving his office, Jürgen headed straight for the garden. Diez was still there playing with Puppy. His heart raced for no reason. Why? Without realizing it, Jürgen straightened his already perfectly arranged tie.

Sensing his approach, Diez shifted her gaze toward Jürgen, her face still smiling. In that moment, he caught sight of Puppy rolling freely on the dirt ground.

“Puppy, are you that happy to be outside?”

“……We’ll have to give him a bath when we go back inside.”

The first thing he said upon approaching her was just this. Jürgen regretted his words as soon as they left his mouth. He could have started with a better topic.

He suddenly felt resentful of his past self who had avoided social activities because being alone was more comfortable.