“All of these are mine.”

“But they’re so large.”

When Edward held up a pair of trousers that seemed to fit him, Yelodia’s cheeks turned faintly pink.

“They’re all part of my collection.”

“…”

“Well, you can change here. I have some clothes left in the bedroom.”

With that, Yelodia hurriedly left the dressing room. Edward stood still, watching her retreating figure before glancing down again at the trousers and shirt in his hands.

Once he changed into a dry set of clothes, he finally felt like himself again.

The soaked white frilled dress he had been wearing was carefully hung on a hanger.

After slipping into a pale yellow dress and adding a thin camisole over it, Yelodia realized there wasn’t much else she could do.

“Will I ever be able to wear this again?”

A small sigh escaped her lips.

Looking at the drenched engagement dress before her brought her thoughts back to how her engagement ceremony had been utterly ruined.

Boom!

A powerful clap of thunder roared, shaking the windows violently. Yelodia froze at the deafening sound.

“Why does the weather have to be like this?”

She cast a resentful glance at the sky, which had sabotaged her engagement ceremony.

Knock, knock.

“Are you not ready yet?”

It was Edward. Yelodia quickly placed the towel she was holding on a nearby shelf and headed toward the bedroom door.

Edward’s voice came again, urging her.

“Yelodia, the tea is getting cold.”

“I’m coming out now.”

As Yelodia stepped into the sitting room, she involuntarily paused.

Edward, now dressed in her favorite shirt and trousers, had just turned to face her.

His neatly combed dark hair, now tousled, fell across his forehead, and his blue eyes looked at her calmly.

“…It suits you much better than I imagined.”

“Thank you for the compliment, but first, have this.”

Yelodia glanced down at the teacup Edward handed her and carefully took it.

She sipped the tea, and a soft smile appeared on her lips. It had cooled just enough for her to drink comfortably.

“It’s warm and nice.”

“There are cookies as well. Would you like some with your tea?”

“Yes, I’d like that.”

At Edward’s lead, Yelodia quietly walked to the sofa and sat down. Having skipped both breakfast and lunch, she suddenly felt the pangs of hunger.

The two sat for a while, sipping tea and nibbling on cookies from a plate.

Outside, the storm continued to rage fiercely. The wind slammed against the windows, causing the flames of the candles to flicker uneasily.

Suddenly, Yelodia spoke.

“The rain is pouring so hard.”

“It certainly is,” Edward replied. Yelodia unconsciously bit her lower lip before turning to look at him.

“What do we do now?”

“We’ll have to set another date.”

“I suppose so,” she answered gloomily.

At that moment, Yelodia felt as if she were the most unfortunate noble in all of Freia.

She had always prided herself on living a life full of twists and turns, but she never imagined she’d face a storm that seemed to engulf all of Freia on her engagement day.

“Now that I think about it, doesn’t it seem a bit suspicious that the archbishop suddenly fell ill?”

“…”

Edward didn’t respond, as if to suggest her speculation was absurd.

Yelodia narrowed her eyes at him and voiced the doubt she had been harboring.

“Could this be a sign that it will happen again next time?”

Now that she said it aloud, it seemed all the more plausible. If the archbishop had deliberately caused trouble, there was no guarantee something similar wouldn’t happen again.

Yelodia’s heart began to pound anxiously.

“My engagement ceremony is being overseen by His Majesty the Emperor. Who would dare interfere with it?”

“We can’t be certain of anything yet, Yelodia.”

“But what if we let our guard down and the bishop falls ill next time? Or maybe the senior priest or the deputy priest after that? Who’s to say it won’t happen?”

“Even so, it’s unlikely that every priest in the Feorn Empire will fall ill at once.”

“But they could always come up with excuses.”

Yelodia unintentionally raised her voice in frustration.

‘How can this man remain so calm?’

Her once-in-a-lifetime engagement ceremony had been ruined. Surely anyone would feel upset in her place!

Even if the raging storm and the archbishop’s sudden seizure were purely coincidental, Yelodia’s fiancé’s unshakably calm demeanor unsettled her deeply in such a chaotic situation.

Edward cautiously studied Yelodia and spoke gently.

“I’m sorry. Did my words upset you?”

“There’s no need for you to apologize, Baron. None of this is your fault. I just…”

Yelodia pressed her lips together firmly.

The tumult of emotions swelling in her chest couldn’t be put into words, as even she couldn’t fully understand them.

Feeling upset at her fiancé’s composed demeanor even after their engagement ceremony had been ruined made her realize she was still young enough to let her emotions take the lead.

‘It feels like I’m the only one in a rush.’

Before she knew it, her vision blurred with unshed tears.

“Please don’t cry.”

Edward inhaled sharply, startled by her reaction.

Yelodia’s lips quivered, and soon, tears streamed down her emerald-green eyes.

“Please, don’t cry. If you do, I won’t know what to do,” Edward pleaded.

“Hic…”

As always, Edward’s tenderness only made Yelodia feel even more sorrowful.

She tried to pull herself together, but her tears continued to fall like shards of emotion she couldn’t contain.

She didn’t know why she suddenly felt so heartbroken and resentful. No—she did know.

It was because of the man standing before her.

Edward Kieri Adrian. He was the one making her feel so unfairly sad and despondent.

As she sniffled helplessly, Edward gently wiped the tears from beneath her eyes with his fingertips.

“Were you greatly offended? I was wrong. Please don’t be upset.”

“There’s no need for you to apologize, hic, Baron. It’s not your fault, after all.”

Yelodia hiccupped as she spoke, her voice trembling. Feeling like the only one whose emotions were running high made her ears flush red with embarrassment.

Knock, knock.

A sudden knock startled Yelodia, and she turned toward the sound.

“My Lady, are you in here? Is Baron Adrian with you by any chance?”

“Yes, we’re together,” Yelodia answered.

At her response, Martha slowly opened the door and peeked inside.

“The Duke is looking for the Baron. He seems to be in a hurry. You should go quickly…”

Martha trailed off, sensing the tense atmosphere between the two.

“I should go,” Edward said, rising from his seat as Martha swallowed nervously.

He turned to Yelodia and asked, “Would you like to come with me?”

Yelodia shook her head sadly.

She didn’t want to show her tear-streaked face to her father or brothers. They already felt guilty about the ruined engagement ceremony; she didn’t want to make them feel worse.

“Go ahead. Father must be waiting for you.”

“…I’ll come see you again,” Edward said, bowing slightly.

Yelodia nodded gloomily.

＊ ＊ ＊

“Come, sit here.”

Duke Xavier greeted Edward with a sigh. On the sofa, Kias and Fabian were already seated.

Edward looked around the silent study before sitting where the butler directed him.

“How is Yelodia doing?” the Duke asked.

“She’s deeply disappointed and heartbroken.”

“Of course she is. Her once-in-a-lifetime engagement ceremony was ruined…”

The Duke clicked his tongue, then fished out a cigar from a box, biting down on it without even bothering with a pipe.

Most of the guests who had stayed at the mansion had already returned to their estates, leaving the atmosphere heavy with unease.

“I heard the archbishop had a seizure. Is he all right?”

“Do you really think it was a genuine seizure? The man who’s always been perfectly healthy, and on the very day of the engagement?”

The Duke’s sharp retort was uncharacteristically harsh, and Edward couldn’t help but let out a wry smile.

“Yelodia seems to have seen through the situation keenly, just as any noble should.”

Duke Xavier’s commanding voice broke Edward’s train of thought.

“We’ll hold the engagement ceremony again next weekend. Be prepared.”

Kias’s eyes widened in surprise.

“There’s not enough time to prepare everything again, Father.”

“And we can’t even be sure the archbishop will attend,” Fabian added. Despite his sons’ protests, the Duke didn’t flinch.

“The archbishop won’t be attending. From now on, no priest will bless any wedding in my family. That’s my decision.”

Kias and Fabian froze at their father’s astounding declaration.