“…?”

Finding it strange, Khalid looked at Alice and saw her nodding off.

“…”

Though slightly disappointed, Khalid lifted Alice into his arms and stood up. Water dripped from their bodies onto the floor. They encountered no one on their way through the corridor to the bedroom.

He opened the door and gently laid Alice on the bed. She seemed to be sleeping so deeply she barely breathed.

Khalid placed his ear against Alice’s peaceful-looking heart. He closed his eyes while listening to the steady thumping.

Four years ago, after Alice disappeared, Khalid appeared fine for a while. Of course, that was only on the surface. At night, he couldn’t sleep without drinking alcohol. And the pain that felt like death continued.

[If you try to forget, you can do it, Khalid! It’s because you’re not trying hard enough.]

His mother blamed him. The physician said it was lovesickness, and Khalid thought so too. However, no matter how much his heart ached to the point of death, that was Khalid’s pain alone; his parents didn’t understand. They weren’t the ones suffering.

Count Walsh frowned at his son, who looked unkempt with his unshaven beard and drank alcohol every day. During a family dinner, the Count spoke.

[I think Khalid is too weak to be the heir of the Count family. I should make Leah’s child my successor.]

[…How can you say that!]

The Countess became angry. Leah, sitting next to his father, smiled pleasantly. The Count, who had previously left Leah’s punishment to the Countess, seemed to have changed his mind and wouldn’t let anyone touch even the tip of Leah’s foot.

She was heavily pregnant, caressing her belly. Despite being a slave, she received the Count’s love and trust.

[Are you out of your mind? You’re going to pass your title to a slave’s child?]

[I’ll legally adopt the child. …Still better than a cripple who can’t control himself because one slave left.]

Count Walsh glanced at Khalid. Khalid didn’t particularly care. After Alice left, he didn’t want to do anything anyway. But he needed his father’s title to get her back.

A few days later, without Khalid having to do anything, his mother killed his father and Leah, disguising it as a carriage accident. That evening, she came to Khalid’s room, trembling severely.

[Khalid. I killed your father and Leah for you… You know that, right?]

[…What are you saying, Mother.]

[Khalid?]

Khalid pointed to his heart.

[My heart is broken because of you, Mother. And you say it’s for me?]

[…Khalid.]

[Just leave after attending Father’s funeral. I could report you, but I’ll bury this incident.]

[…You’d report me?]

The Countess’s face turned pale. She looked shocked that her son would say such a thing.

[There are witnesses. I also know the name of the guild you hired.]

Khalid didn’t get involved in dirty business. He knew his mother would eventually do something to his father and Leah. And he had gathered evidence in preparation for that moment.

[A trip would be good. Tuboka, Botarin, Slecopat, or Giserus… Take this opportunity to visit them all.]

[Khalid! I did it for you…!]

[…I still feel like I’m dying, Mother. Since Noel left, do I look alive to you?]

A look of dismay settled on Vanessa’s face. Khalid picked up a hidden dagger.

[Every day I wonder if stabbing my heart with this would stop the pain. But… Noel is still alive, right? That’s why I’m still living.]

[…Khalid.]

[Only Noel can pull me out of this h*ll.]

After that, Vanessa never returned from the villa in Slecopat. Occasionally, when letters came from his mother, Khalid would reply. But he never asked her to come back. He didn’t want to lose Alice to his mother again.

What Khalid easily discovered, others could find out too. After the funeral, his mother left for another country. To silence the investigator who found this suspicious, he asked Blake for help.

Blake of the Hill family stepped in, and the investigator was replaced. The new investigator was from the Hill family, and he buried the case. Blake made a request of him.

[I’d like one of your children to serve as an attendant to my child.]

[…Alright.]

He already knew that Alice had a child in the capital. A child with another man. Khalid accepted this. He thought it didn’t matter since it wasn’t his child.

Khalid wasn’t curious about why Blake attached such a condition. His mind was solely focused on bringing Alice back once everything was settled.

“Then I’ll go play with Alfred!”

Dorothy waved to Alice and Khalid as she boarded the carriage with her nanny.

Though she was told she would be an attendant, the Hill family seemed to treat Dorothy very well. Despite being the daughter of a commoner and a slave. So Dorothy went to the Hill family in high spirits, treating it like playtime.

“Dorothy. If you don’t want to go and are being forced…”

“No! Alfred and I get along well, Mom. He’s smarter than me, so I have a lot to ask him.”

“…Really?”

“Yes. I want to be as smart as Alfred too.”

Dorothy was already smart, but her educational environment wasn’t ideal. Khalid smiled at Dorothy.

“I’ll make one room into a library for you, Dorothy.”

“…Really? Then… um. Can I bring Alfred over? …He’s curious about our house.”

Though Dorothy called Khalid father, she knew her position as a commoner. Seeing her hesitation, Khalid nodded.

“Of course.”

“Thank you! Father!”

Alice watched the two embrace with a warm smile.

After sending off the carriage carrying Dorothy, Alice also prepared to go out. She had arranged to meet Mariam at a small cafe.

Khalid looked at Alice with displeasure, and when she finished changing her clothes, he blocked her path.

“…Lord Khalid?”

“This won’t do after all.”

“What do you… You said you’d let me meet Mariam?”

Khalid lowered his head and kissed Alice’s lips.

He always felt anxious when she wasn’t in his sight. That’s why Alice always accompanied him to parties he had to attend. Though he knew she disliked noble parties, Khalid felt most secure with her by his side.

“Invite Mariam here.”

“…What?”

“Why are you so surprised? This is your home too.”

“…”

Alice studied his expression. Home, for a slave like her?

‘When you won’t even free me.’

As Alice glared at him, Khalid scratched the area where her n*pple was with his finger.

“Ahh…!”

“…Shall we do it once?”

“…No.”

“Since when does a slave talk back to me?”

Despite his words, Khalid’s hand gently caressed Alice’s face. Alice pressed her face against his hand. She felt his warm touch.

“I can’t keep Mariam waiting too long…”

“…Is your friend more important than me?”

“…”

Khalid sometimes left her speechless. Alice looked at him with incredulous eyes. She couldn’t understand how he could compare himself, who was by her side every day, with a friend she might see once a year. But since Khalid got upset very often, she had to humor him.

“Of course you’re more important, Lord Khalid. …But Mariam is also coming by squeezing time out of her work schedule.”

“…And I don’t work, so it’s fine?”

“Well, that’s not what I meant…”

Alice wasn’t good with words. She had never won an argument with Khalid.

Khalid embraced Alice and firmly grabbed her b*ttocks.

“Mmm.”

“I’ll come along too.”

“…If you insist.”

“Yes.”

Alice felt a bit uneasy. Khalid’s social circle was very small; fortunately, he at least had Blake and Bianca. Many people wanted to befriend him, but he ignored them all. Khalid seemed satisfied with just having Alice by his side.

‘Well, it should be fine.’

It wasn’t bad for Alice. He was an exemplary husband who neither gambled nor drank. Though his excessive desire for intimacy was sometimes overwhelming, it wasn’t bad for newlyweds.