Hello, Readers! I am celebrating my birthday with extra chapter updates, so please enjoy this special chapter release of 4 bonus chapters! 🥳

(Lurelia’s Birthday Bonus – Update 1/4 🎉)

♡ To all readers who purchased these chapters before my Birthday: I can’t express this enough – Thank you for your support. (*ˊᗜˋ*)/ᵗᑋᵃᐢᵏ ᵞᵒᵘ*

“What is this, Kyron?”

“Hm?”

“Why are we at a dessert café?”

The place Kyron had brought me to was a café that served sweet desserts. This was the kind of place I liked, not something that would ever suit his tastes.

“Why did you bring me to a place like this?”

It was a situation I couldn’t comprehend. Was he trying to adapt to my preferences during this break period?

No, that couldn’t be it.

“Why, don’t you like it?”

Without a shred of expression, Kyron replied bluntly. He was an inscrutable man.

“I know you’re not the type to come to a place like this. I know this isn’t your kind of place.”

“I heard there isn’t a single woman who dislikes dessert cafés.”

As if he didn’t want to continue the conversation at the entrance, Kyron walked inside.

Without even asking me, he strode confidently to a seat by the window and sat down. Then, as if to say, “What are you waiting for?” he gestured for me to come over.

Should I be happy about this situation?

I slowly approached, looking at my husband, who was urging me to hurry up with his eyes.

Was this perhaps a sign of reconciliation between us? Or did he just suddenly crave something sweet?

It wasn’t a question I could easily answer.

I sat down a bit awkwardly across from Kyron, who was leaning back comfortably. Even as I searched through my memories of our marriage, I couldn’t recall a time when we had sat face-to-face in a place like this.

“Are you saying we came here because of me? Could it be… for my sake?”

Unable to hold back, I asked. But he ignored me.

“What should we order first?”

Kyron glanced around at what others were eating.

Just then, the waiter arrived.

The waiter skillfully recommended some menu items.

“Our most popular menu item is the ‘Strawberry and Chocolate Couple Set.’”

“What else?”

“Our Cheesecake Delight series is also very popular.”

“Then bring those two.”

“Yes, sir.”

Before I could even get a word in, Kyron had already finished ordering.

He was such a unilateral man.

“So, how’s your condition?”

“I’m fine.”

After my short reply, silence fell between us.

The soft afternoon light streaming through the window fell on Kyron’s face. Perhaps because of that, I found myself observing his face more closely.

It was undeniably a handsome face.

That’s why Ekette had felt a slight thrill when they got married. To think that such a dashing man was her husband.

Even after receiving his proposal and holding the wedding, it had felt unreal.

Kyron had been so attractive that she had wanted to secretly admire him little by little. That was, until Ekette slowly, quietly began to feel miserable.

Perhaps it had been foolish to want to admire him. In reality, she rarely got to see her husband’s face.

But what was even more miserable than that was the fact that her husband never looked at her.

Even on the rare occasions he came to the estate, Kyron never spared her a glance. It was clear she received less than half of the attention he gave to his aides.

Ekette was always watching Kyron, but Kyron never included her in his gaze.

Even now, it was the same.

I was staring intently at his face as sunlight touched it, but Kyron’s eyes were fixed outside the window.

Would there ever come a time when we’d meet each other’s gaze?

I realized my reality.

For a moment, I had suspected that this outing might be a gesture of reconciliation, but it wasn’t.

I needed to stop entertaining foolish thoughts.

Fortunately, the desserts we had ordered arrived before the silence stretched on too long.

On a three-tiered tray, small pieces of cake, cookies, and pudding were neatly arranged.

They were adorable desserts.

Well, at least I could enjoy the food. Good food is all that matters.

I picked up a fork and pondered which one to start with before deciding on the chocolate mousse cake.

The taste was quite good. The sweetness pleasantly filled my mouth.

Before I knew it, I had finished the entire chocolate mousse cake. Meanwhile, Kyron barely took a bite of one cheesecake before putting his fork down. It didn’t seem to suit his taste.

Without looking at him, I asked mechanically.

“Don’t you like it?”

“No.”

“Then why aren’t you eating?”

He had ordered it himself, after all.

“I’ve had enough after tasting it.”

The conversation was as barren as ever.

I considered snapping at him, saying that his attitude was ruining my appetite, but I held back. Kyron was someone I couldn’t understand, so it was best not to bother.

I ignored him as if no one were sitting across from me and continued eating the rest of the cakes.

I stopped mid-bite when Kyron asked an unexpected question.

“Why haven’t you come to places like this more often?”

I had to take a moment to process what he meant.

Was he asking why I hadn’t frequented dessert cafés despite enjoying the food so much?

I lifted my gaze from the desserts and looked at my husband’s handsome face. This time, he was looking at me, waiting for an answer.

There was nothing in his eyes. The emptiness was brutal in its indifference.

“Do you think someone like me, who gets whispered about every time I step outside, can comfortably go out?”

The Duchess of the Empire’s only ducal house. A foolish, lucky woman. A pitiful woman who doesn’t even receive her husband’s care.

Someone like Ekette couldn’t casually visit dessert cafés after getting married. Wherever she went, subtle disdain and gossip from the nobles followed her. And Ekette was a sensitive person.

“Did you even know what kind of things the capital’s nobles say about me?”

To my own surprise, I laid out my situation calmly, without anger. Perhaps it was because I knew that my complaints wouldn’t reach him as an attack anyway.

I waited for my husband to say something—anything.
But the answer I finally received after waiting was so simple that it felt hollow.

“So that’s the reason.”

As I thought, my words had no impact on him. Kyron was always the same, his expression unchanged.

And then it happened.

At the most ridiculous timing, the coughing started again.

“Cough, cough!”

I quickly put down my fork and covered my mouth.

“Cough, cough, cough!”

Kyron immediately rose from his seat across from me and came to my side. He bent down, grabbed a tissue, and wiped my face.

“…Is it a nosebleed?”

“Yes.”

Kyron no longer panicked in situations like this. Calmly, he wiped away my nosebleed and stepped aside to let the doctor, who had been on standby for this outing, provide emergency care.

Thanks to the doctor waiting nearby, it was possible to handle this so quickly.

The doctor skillfully administered a sedative to stop the coughing, so thankfully, I didn’t end up coughing up blood. But the nosebleed persisted.

The doctor rolled up some cotton to stop the bleeding in my nose.

The brief commotion subsided. Unfortunately, we were in a crowded place, so the other patrons and café staff were all staring at me.

“People will start talking again about the Duchess being unwell. Just like they did after the last banquet.”

I glanced at the many pairs of eyes looking at me and sighed.