Was Sophia truly sad about losing Whitman? Or was she in pain because of the difficulties caused by losing her righthand man, Whitman?

If taking advantage of an unknown woman’s life to satisfy material desires was Sophia’s true nature, then it must be the latter.

“The fact that Sophia can’t pay attention to me is comfortable. I want to go for a walk.”

“The wind is getting chilly; I’ll get your cape.”

Edith wore the cape that Vivian had prepared and started walking. She had taken many walks in the mansion’s garden and was now quite familiar with it, even at night.

‘When I first opened my eyes here, there was not a glimmer of hope.’

Now, it felt novel to think that she was even having secret conversations with the Ijazel mother and daughter, avoiding Sophia’s eyes. Edith knew well who to thank for getting this far.

Walter.

Had it not been for him, who was equivalent to a hidden power in the mansion, it would have been difficult to even hope for escape.

Fooling others by pretending to spend the night with someone would also have been impossible.

‘Would my heart have pounded as much if I had done that with a man other than Walter to deceive Sophia’s people?’

Walter was solid, like a sack filled with sand. Looking at the prominent veins on him made her heart feel squeezed, and she couldn’t help but steal glances.

‘The way he lazily opens his eyes…’

When she was close to him, pretending to deceive Whitman, her heart thumped as if it would jump out. It was surely abnormal.

When their eyes met at a distance where their breaths could touch, stern fantasies that she couldn’t say out loud unfolded in her mind.

When Jane suddenly rushed in and she sat on his lower abdomen, the hardness and heat she felt…

“Cough.”

At the recollection of the stern scene, Edith inadvertently tightened her clothing.

“What are you thinking, making that face?”

“!”

Walter suddenly appeared in her sight. How he found out where she was remained a mystery.

Edith protested as if a thief had stubbed her toe.

“I’m not always thinking about you. Right now, I’m just―”

“Thinking about me?”

Walter grinned slyly, like he had found a fun toy.

“I didn’t know you had such a secret hobby, Madam.”

“I misspoke. I just remembered the time I was deceiving Jane in the storage room.”

“If it comes to mind that naturally, it must not have been bad.”

“It wasn’t that it wasn’t bad…”
Edith decided to keep her mouth shut. She knew well that the moment she would try to stop him, her face would become hot. Instead, it seemed better to naturally change the subject.

“Because of you, I’ve been able to uncover the embezzlement, so I was thinking I should thank you.”

As she smiled with her eyes and expressed her gratitude, Walter felt a tingling sensation in his heart.

Seeing her slightly flushed pretty cheeks, the joyful hymn that Isagel used to sing sometime played in his head.

Walter, for some reason, could not meet her eyes.

“Did you come out at this hour to tell me that?”

“Not exactly, but since I met you.”

Edith smiled mischievously and headed somewhere. There was definitely a plant she had seen while walking with Walter in the garden before.

Since there were many forests near the Lowell Baron’s residence where she spent her childhood, she was good at remembering the appearance and location of the plants.

Soon she stopped in front of a bush with red berries.

“I came to pick this.”

Walter didn’t know what kind of berries they were, so he couldn’t understand Edith’s intention.

With an elegant motion, she reached out and picked a handful of berries. The last time he had seen them, the berries were unripe and green, but in the meantime, they had ripened quite well, and each one turned plump and reddish.

“I think using these berries can expedite our escape from the mansion.”

Walter momentarily felt ominous. It was because Edith’s gaze, looking at the white handful of berries, trembled somewhat uneasily.

“I trust you’re not reckless enough to pick poisoned berries to feed to Sophia.”

Edith slightly nodded her head and explained.

“This is called Elic Berry, a type of berry that grows throughout the Portrion territory. I noticed it growing often even inside the mansion when we went for a walk last time.”

However, she had no intention of explaining to Walter what effects these berries had. She felt that if she told him their efficacy, Walter would prevent her from eating the berries.

‘Right now, eating this is the only way to expedite the escape.’

As she packed the fresh berries into the bag she brought, Edith continued her words.

“Shall we walk a bit? It will be a little difficult to engage in outdoor activities for a while after eating the Elic Berry.”