The domain of spring. Two weeks had passed since the incident in the Forest of Discovery came to an end.

Many rejoiced and expressed gratitude upon regaining their memories. Each time, Raymond credited Yerpi for it.

“It is the Duchess’s grace. Be thankful to Her.”

Whenever this happened, people felt deeply moved by the Duchess’s kindness, yet they remained curious about what exactly had occurred in the Forest of Discovery.

How, exactly, had the Duchess managed to eliminate the Noise in such a short time? But since the Duchess remained silent, no one could know the truth.

An additional week had passed since their return to the castle.

If there was one thing that had changed since the people regained their memories, it was Yerpi’s behavior toward Raymond.

When invited to meals, she declined. If they happened to meet by chance, she would bow deeply and quickly leave the scene.

Yet even as she pretended not to avoid him, there was one thing she absolutely could not evade.

That was the sacred communion with the dragon blood.

Once every fortnight. The sacred communion, as stated in the contract, was something she could not escape as a wife.

It was late evening.

Yerpi was walking toward Raymond’s bedroom to visit him.

The dim light of magical lamps illuminated the corridor. As if mirroring her inner turmoil, the night sky visible through the open window was entirely covered in thick clouds, obscuring both stars and moon.

‘Why did he have to summon me to his bedroom?’

The door to the bedroom, so close yet so distant, stood wide open—so much so that it seemed deliberately left ajar. Yerpi swallowed hard.

‘No. It’ll be fine.’

After steadying her heart at the invisible threshold between the open doors, Yerpi finally stepped forward.

Standing directly before her, leaning against the sofa in the center of the room, was Raymond’s slouched figure.

He appeared to have just finished showering, dressed only in a robe. He dropped the towel he had used to dry himself onto the carpet.

“You came. I thought you wouldn’t.”

“That would never happen.”

A voice tinged with discontent greeted her. Yerpi approached, pretending otherwise. Raymond unfolded his arms and looked down at her.

She had to act calm. After all, it was true that she had been avoiding him these past few days.

“Then, may I have your hand?”

“No. First, answer this question.”

Raymond refused the hand she offered. As he raised his chin, suddenly she felt trapped within this space.

She had managed to avoid him well until now, but all escape routes had now been cut off.

Was this why he had asked to meet in his bedroom?

“Why have you been avoiding me?”

“I haven’t been avoiding you. You must be mistaken.”

Denial was the only defense she had.

Acting indifferent, speaking with calm composure as if her avoidance had merely been coincidence.

‘That you look exactly like my lover from my past life… I can never tell you that.’

To be precise, it wasn’t accurate to say the problem arose simply because he resembled her past lover.

The joy, sorrow, and love she had felt in her previous life.

Every time she saw Raymond, those emotions surged up uncontrollably, tormenting her.

It was more than just seeing her past lover in him. She wanted to reach out to Raymond. But such a mistake must never happen.

‘What are you trying to do?’

She knew all too well that these feelings would be a grave disrespect to Raymond.

But unaware of her inner conflict, Raymond assumed she was finally exploding from the emotions she had suppressed until now.

He had made a mistake from the very beginning by ignoring and treating Yerpi coldly. No, it was a grave error.

But realizing this truth now felt like trying to gather spilled water—far too late.

Raymond ran a hand through his hair and sighed deeply. Seeing this, Yerpi lowered her eyes.

So he was angry after all. Anyone would feel hurt if someone avoided them without reason. And if that someone were his wife, his anger would be even greater.

But the words that followed were completely beyond her expectations.

“Do you really dislike me that much, to go this far to avoid me?”

“What?”

Yerpi’s eyes widened in surprise as she instinctively echoed his words. Wasn’t it Raymond who should dislike her?

‘But why is he asking me if I dislike him this much?’

She couldn’t guess the reason. So first, she had to deny the question.

“No. Not at all.”

Yet her “no” seemed unconvincing. Raymond’s eyes darkened as he tilted his head slightly.

Yerpi now had even less idea how to handle the situation. Just then, something flew in through the open window.

“!”

Raymond reacted first to the presence. He pulled Yerpi behind him and prepared to activate the dragon blood’s power.

But the intruder was too clumsy to be a real threat. Unable to control its speed, whatever it was crashed into the wall several times before slipping into the gap beside the bed.

Raymond turned his gaze in bewilderment.

“What is it?”

“Well, it seems inexperienced at flying.”

Yerpi, standing behind him, also watched its movements.

‘A bat? Or perhaps a young specimen?’

At first, she thought the dark, winged creature flapping toward them was a bat. But the creature that emerged from beside the bed was neither a bat nor a summoned beast—it was a young dragon.

[Yerpi!]

“Dante?”

She was certain she had left him asleep. Why was he here?

If there was one change in Dante’s daily life lately, it was that he was receiving formal education.

The child was being taught by renowned scholars within Growen, famed for their intellect.

Perhaps because of this, the child had seemed increasingly tired lately. That was why she had felt relieved when he sneaked out of his room unnoticed.

Unlike the flustered Yerpi, Dante leapt off the bed, shaking his head dizzily.

“Dante, are you alright?”

He must have been in pain from all the collisions with walls and floor, yet Dante showed no sign of it. Expecting him to immediately come whining to her, she was instead startled by the resolute expression on the young dragon’s face.

[Yerpi, did Raymond secretly torment you?]

“What?”

Yerpi wasn’t the only one shocked. When Raymond echoed the question, Dante, apparently offended, jumped from the bed and lunged at his head.

“You fool! You should cherish your wife! Yerpi has been so depressed because of you!”

With that scolding, Dante hovered in the air and began wildly slapping Raymond’s head.

Raymond blocked the first strike, but at those words, he seemed to lose his strength. He stopped defending, accepting the blind blows without resistance.

‘What on earth is happening?’

The Duke, utterly helpless under the sudden assault of a flying child.

The bizarre commotion in the middle of the night was incomprehensible. Yerpi reached out toward Dante, who was still floating in the air, deciding she had to intervene first.

She had to stop this.

“That’s not it.”

[Liar!]

Breaking free from Yerpi’s grasp, Dante perched on a light fixture, puffing his cheeks angrily.

[Ever since you came back from the investigation team, you’ve been depressed! Look—the night sky above the castle is completely overcast! For days now, neither the moon nor the stars have been visible. Even the sun during daytime has been the same!]

Dante well knew that the weather around Growen Castle was influenced by the Duchess’s emotions.

A place where everyone could see into her heart.

Only today had she begun to feel the weight of that. But first, she needed to calm the child.

“Dante, come down and listen to me…”

“Right. It’s my fault.”

Wait—what did he just say?

Yerpi, lowering the hand she had extended, stared at Raymond in surprise.

He admitted full responsibility—to Yerpi, whose eyes were wide with shock, and to Dante, who was still growling at him.

“As a husband, I behaved rudely toward my wife from the very beginning.”

Raymond’s eyes were serious, filled with genuine remorse.

“I apologize for my disrespectful behavior, even if it comes late.”

She hadn’t expected Raymond to still care about their first meeting. More than anything, she had believed the treatment she received was justified.

‘This is the first time I’ve ever received such an apology.’

At least, in this life, living as Yerpi, it was something entirely new.

She felt deeply touched that he remembered something she hadn’t expected him to. The lateness didn’t matter at all.

A simple apology made her heart warm. For the first time since returning from the investigation, Yerpi smiled sincerely.

“Don’t worry. I wasn’t bothered by it.”

And this, at least, was the truth. But another question quickly arose in his mind.

“Then why have you been avoiding me? Is there some other issue I’m unaware of?”

Raymond wanted to know the reason she had avoided him these past few days.

“If it’s not that… is it something so unpleasant, so painful to remember, that you’d rather bury it?”

“It really isn’t.”

Denial wouldn’t convince him, she could tell. But she couldn’t reveal the truth about him. Instead of her staying silent, it was Dante—now clinging tightly to her chest—who answered.

The young dragon pointed at both Yerpi and Raymond with his small arms and declared:

[I figured it out. It’s because you two aren’t sharing a bed!]

Wait—what did he just say?