To ease his mind, Izajel took a sip of wine and spoke.

“It seems that Elizabeth has a child.”

“What?”

Surprised by the unexpected news, Edit involuntarily questioned.

“Wasn’t there a child in the Portrion Mansion?”

Edit, who had never encountered children at the mansion due to delayed salaries and frequent overtime drinking by the family employees, asked.

“No, there wasn’t a child in the mansion.”

“But Elizabeth has never left the territory since her marriage, right?”

“I think she might have left the child with someone in the capital and lived in the Portrion Mansion.”

Izajel explained to the astonished Edit why he thought so.

“I can’t provide evidence, but it’s probably true. Elizabeth never behaved properly in front of me, treating me like an annoying child. There were many times when she showed a sloppy appearance, even drinking one or two glasses during the day because she liked alcohol.”

Therefore, Izajel liked Elizabeth and thought they could be good friends. While Sophia emphasized her aristocratic distinctiveness and asserted her tax privileges, Elizabeth treated herself, who came to the territory at a young age, with kindness.

As much as he felt disappointed in her, he also wished for her to receive punishment and reflect on her actions. That’s why he decided to talk to Edit about it.

“Do you know about Kanix Tea, Edit? It’s a type of tea that shouldn’t be consumed when you have a child.”

Recently, due to a mistake made by the Duke, Edit couldn’t remain oblivious to the incident involving that tea.

“If you’re a lady, you should know about it. Some people enjoy it because it tastes good.”

“That’s true. I also drank that tea with Elizabeth in the past, and she suddenly talked about strange things.”

“Elizabeth, is this tea so delicious?”

“Yeah. Even if it’s not that delicious, when you hear that you shouldn’t drink it for about a year, it drives you crazy.”

Izajel shared Elizabeth’s remarks that he remembered with Edit.

“She seemed to have detailed anecdotes, making it feel more like an experience than just talking nonsense about drinking wine. You know? The only case where you can’t drink Kanix Tea for about a year is…”

“When you have a child.”

“That’s right. After pondering about it after tea time, I realized there was another thing. Elizabeth once suggested having tea time on her room balcony and forgot about it.”

“Was there something in the room?”

“Yes. While writing a letter or something, Elizabeth seemed to have left for a moment, and on the desk, there was a previously unseen portrait of a child.”

“Oh, this… it’s a photo of my niece. Isn’t she cute?”

“Wow, she’s adorable. How old is she?”

At that time, Izajel passed it without much thought.
However, after recalling the incident when she made a slip of the tongue while drinking Kanix Tea, Elizabeth’s expression seemed anxious, as if she were someone who shouldn’t be caught doing something, like having a secret. It was a feeling of finally connecting the information about the girl in the portrait, who resembled Elizabeth a lot, to the incident where she mentioned having a niece.

“Of course, I don’t think having a child is wrong. If my lady… if she likes it, even a woman with a child or a woman with a lover wouldn’t hesitate to buy one with money.”

Edit almost burst into laughter.

“Your evaluation of Nicholas Portrion is very objective.”

“Well, he wasn’t a good person. What he did to you and Walter was like that. I have received something, so let’s overlook it.”

“Thank you for understanding my position.”

“But if the child is the reason for Elizabeth’s actions, investigating won’t hurt.”

Edit nodded slightly.

‘Benjamin said that. Many people saw Elizabeth sticking close to the youngest son of Count Gotturk at the social club.’

If there is a child between them, and if Elizabeth is helping Gotturk’s business with the condition of taking care of the child’s upbringing and education…

‘It wouldn’t hurt to investigate about the child, as Izajel suggested.’

While Edit was planning, Izajel smiled with a melancholic expression and took another sip of wine.

It was not a pleasant task to press on someone he had once been friendly with but could no longer like, even if it was for justice.

If he had known earlier, he wouldn’t have given his heart.

“Why didn’t I know? That Elizabeth is hiding something from me.”

“Izajel…”

“Sometimes, I wish I were a bit more ignorant and cold. If I were, I wouldn’t be feeling like this now.”

A faint shadow fell on her face, which always had a radiant smile.

Edit gently stroked Izajel’s back, filled with self-blame.

“Izajel, when you got married at a young age and entered the mansion for the first time, you must have been lonely. It’s natural to open your heart to someone who came to you first in such a situation.”

“…”

“Your kindness helped me and Walter, right?”

“That…”

“If you hadn’t accepted my proposal back then, I might have been receiving even harsher attacks by now. Maybe I could have been somewhere captured.”

Izajel’s eyes became warm with Edit’s comforting words.