Lord Thomson faced Veronica.

Just like when they first greeted each other, he spoke politely and gently, matching the eye level of the woman younger than him.

“Thanks to you, I was able to clear up a misunderstanding with my wife. Thank you. I won’t forget this kindness.”

“I’ve already received many thanks from your wife.”

“I wanted to thank you separately.”

The couple is alike in this way. Veronica forced a smile. Inwardly, she thought they were grateful for trivial things.

Honestly, it was she who had meddled in the couple’s affairs on her own.

She would have nothing to say even if they got angry. Yet both of them were thanking her.

They’re good people. Unnecessarily so.

“I knew that Aria had to give up her family’s inheritance rights to marry me. I wasn’t unaware of what that meant. But I pretended not to know. I comforted myself thinking I had done everything I could to push her away, cowardly making excuses that it was her choice.”

“…”

“It’s not that I didn’t have regrets. But I truly loved her that much too. Even if it was selfish, I wanted to be with her even like that. Will you tell my wife about this?”

“Of course not.”

It was a private matter between the couple, and she had no reason to tell. No intention either.

“Thank you, Miss Hardness.”

“More thanks. That’s enough gratitude already.”

“I want to thank you for something else too. Actually, I was planning to investigate that place alone. Even when you came to find me, I was going to put you off and come back alone later.”

“I knew that.”

“Haha, so you knew.”

Lord Thomson laughed sheepishly. She also smiled lightly in response.

“So will you tell me? What happened during the brief time we were separated?”

At that moment, the smile disappeared from Veronica’s face. Lord Thomson, facing her again, was no longer smiling either.

His hardened face was the same as in his office earlier. A face prepared to accept anything.

As expected, he noticed.

“Didn’t you ask Lord Lining?”

“He didn’t tell me anything. I figured it out on my own. What happened during that brief separation, why Miss Hardness injured her leg and has handprints on her neck. If there were bloodstains too.”

“You have quite an eye for detail.”

“It’s something I’ve developed doing this work.”

“So you deliberately told me about the marriage. A secret for a secret?”

“It’s a big secret of my own.”

“Don’t worry. I tend to keep my mouth shut, I’ll keep your secret.”

“I trust you, Miss Hardness.”

A smile spread across Lord Thomson’s face. A smiling face suited him better than a serious one.

“Will you really keep it secret no matter what happened inside? What do you think happened? What if I had killed someone?”

“I wasn’t there and didn’t see anything. So I have no right to speak. I won’t say anything anywhere. Since I insisted on going there in the first place, if anything went wrong, it could be considered my fault.”

“…”

So he’s not just a purely kind personality. I’m seeing various sides of him today. Veronica smirked.

“What did you do with the map?”

“I have it here.”

Lord Thomson took the map out of his pants pocket.

Veronica received it, opened the lamp cover and lit it on fire. The paper quickly burned up.

“Lord Thomson. I don’t think it’s necessary to know everything. Sometimes there are issues better left unknown. This map would be such a case.”

“Did you perhaps figure out what this map means?”

Veronica did not answer. There are questions one cannot answer.

“Don’t go to that underground waterway anymore. Today, nothing happened there. That’s all I can tell you. I believe you’ll understand what I mean.”

“I understand.”

“Who else knows about the map?”

“Only myself, Miss Hardness, and Lord Lining who accompanied us this time know.”

“That’s fortunate.”

So there’s no need to bother silencing anyone.

“Bury the map in your heart. I’ll do the same.”

Lord Thomson nodded. The business was now finished. Veronica relaxed her body. She was about to lie back down on the bed when.

“May I ask one more question?”

“Go ahead.”

“Why did you come along to the underground waterway? It must have been troublesome.”

It seemed like a trivial question, but this time the answer was easy. From his perspective, he might have been curious.

“Lately I’ve been feeling like I’m living a new life.”

“Pardon?”

Lord Thomson’s eyes widened. Veronica smiled brightly.

“I’ve been in a good mood lately, Lord Thomson. For the first time in a while, my head feels clear, and even familiar things feel new, so life is quite enjoyable. I can’t remember the last time I felt this way. The old me would never have gotten involved in such troublesome affairs. In that sense, you should know you’re really lucky.”

This life was somewhat special for her. It was a new start to a life repeated to the point of boredom, a slightly different process.

Enough to voluntarily take on such troublesome matters.

Mustering up generosity she thought had evaporated long ago, Veronica intervened in the Thomsons’ affairs.

Though she had occasionally conversed with Lord Thomson before, she had never been this close to him.

It was also the first time she learned of another side to the man she only knew as Lady Arin’s dutiful husband.

She only learned what kind of beliefs he held this time as well.

But in truth, Veronica wouldn’t have cared if the man before her was a bad person.

Even if he had been rude and threatening, pretending to be a devoted husband while cheating and accumulating gambling debts behind the scenes, she would have comforted Lady Arin and accompanied him to the underground waterway.

“Lord Thomson should know his situation.”

Lady Arin became widowed in the 5th year of marriage. This was that 5th year now.

Veronica had watched Lady Arin fall into grief each time, losing her husband overnight. She had observed the helpless woman.

She always regretted not spending the last moments with him when he got busy.

She said tearfully that if she could turn back time, she would do anything.

“What’s important for Lord Thomson now isn’t pursuing your beliefs, but staying by your beloved wife’s side as much as possible. As much as you can. So you won’t regret it later.”

Veronica had merely watched such a wife calmly. She did nothing.

So Lord Thomson should know how special this moment is.

“It seems even in your eyes I’m quite an inadequate husband.”

“That’s not what I meant. It’s just that I’ve experienced it.”

“…”

“I know.”

Everyone leaves regrets in the time that has passed.

She knew well that the moments carelessly passed by, not knowing they would be the last, remain as the deepest regrets.

Returning endlessly to age 16, those values never returned.

“That’s what I mean.”

Reminiscence, anguish, regret that everyone experiences at least once. Such an unremarkable story.

“Your wife is always worrying about you, Lord Thomson.”

Because Lady Arin seems strong on the outside but is actually quite weak-minded. Lord Thomson fell deep in thought as he listened to her words.

“This incident and other things are making me reflect a lot on my shortcomings. I’ll take your advice to heart. For the time being, I’ll put work aside and be more devoted to my wife.”

“Yes, do that.”

Though that wasn’t her intention, it seemed the meaning got across more or less, so it was fine. Veronica answered halfheartedly and lay down on the bed.

She felt like she would fall asleep now from exhaustion.

In her hazy consciousness, Lord Thomson who had left the room came back with ice.

Though she said it wasn’t necessary, the cold sensation felt good when placed on her swollen ankle.

“You worked hard today.”

“Yes, Lord Thomson too…”

A soft chuckling sound tickled her ears.

Only after fully seeing his lean figure disappear out the door did Veronica finally close her eyes.

Lake’s prediction was accurate. As time passed, her physical condition worsened.

The leg pain intensified, and her throat swelled to the point where she couldn’t speak.

Her stomach and wrists were in a similar state. The medicine he gave had little effect when applied.

On top of that, her body was exhausted and wouldn’t move, so it was late at night before Veronica could return to the Hardness residence.

Fortunately, Harry was away from the mansion.

Relieved that she wouldn’t have to hear any nagging for now, Veronica limped towards her room.

The servants asked why her leg was in that state, but finding everything bothersome, she waved them away.

As soon as she entered her bedroom, she collapsed face-down on the bed. While her eyes were closed, she heard a maid’s voice.

“Miss. Are these clothes? May I take them away?”

The maid rummaged through the luggage she had brought.

When clothes came out, the maid pinched her nose. The dirty clothes smelled quite bad.

The maid was about to ask where such a smell came from when she discovered bruises on Veronica’s neck, wrists, and stomach as she undressed, and was startled.

“I’ll call a doctor right away!”

“No need.”

She frowned even as she spoke. Her voice was too hoarse.

While the maid was flustered, Veronica calmly sat on the bed.

When she ordered water to be brought, the maid hurriedly poured water into a glass and handed it over. Veronica eyed the maid as she tilted the water glass.