Thanks to Herald’s consideration, Lily, who returned comfortably to the Benjamin Viscount’s residence, stood in front of the stairs and glared at the mansion.

When would I be able to cross that door with a happy heart?

No, such a day will never come. Crossing that door with a happy heart would mean improving the relationship with Fredrick. The chances of that were slimmer than the empire collapsing tomorrow.

She didn’t want to go in, but she had no choice. Because there was nowhere else to go. Lily swallowed a deep sigh and forcibly climbed the stairs. The hem of her dress dragged on the stairs and got dusty, but she didn’t care.

It’s already dirty anyway, it won’t make a difference if it gets a little dirtier.

The mansion, imbued with the red sunset, was quiet. There was no sign of people, making the atmosphere somewhat eerie. It was strange that not even the servants were visible, let alone Fredrick and his family, but Lily didn’t care. She didn’t want to care either.

Eager to take off her dirty clothes and shoes and wash up, she was about to climb the central staircase when footsteps were heard from the left corridor. Due to the quietness of the mansion, the footsteps sounded very loud.

Lily inadvertently turned her head and spotted Brian walking towards her, then looked straight ahead again.

Let’s hurry up before Brian notices me.

“Oh, it’s my sister-in-law.”

But her wish didn’t come true. Brian, who quickly closed the distance with his longer legs than Lily’s, frowned at her dirty dress.

“What’s this? Did you roll around in a mud pit or something? What happened to your clothes?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Lily replied coldly, but Brian ignored her and grabbed her skirt. As he was about to lift it up, Lily gasped and swatted his hand away.

“What are you doing?”

“What do you mean? I’m trying to see how dirty it got.”

Brian rubbed his fingertips together, dusting off the dirt that had stuck to them.

“Whew, there’s a lot of dirt. I heard you went out with my elder brother, why did you end up like this? Did you have a mud fight with him or something? No, that can’t be. He came back looking perfectly fine.”

So Fredrick has returned. Though she didn’t particularly want to know, Lily looked towards where Fredrick’s bedroom was, having obtained this useful information. At the west end of the second floor corridor was Fredrick’s bedroom, and at the east end was Lily’s bedroom.

And in the center of the second floor corridor was the couple’s shared bedroom, but Lily had only entered the shared bedroom on their wedding night, for the first and last time.

On the other hand, Fredrick occasionally went in there, though she didn’t know who he went in with. Nor did she want to know. To Lily, Fredrick was a stranger with the title of husband.

No, even worse than a stranger. If he were a complete stranger, he wouldn’t make her the subject of insults too.

Recalling the countless infamies attached to her because of Fredrick, Lily clenched her fists and glared at his bedroom.

When she first married him, she had hoped for a kind and domestic husband, but not anymore. She fervently wished and wished again that he would just leave her alone. He could do whatever he wanted outside, as long as he didn’t tarnish her name and that of the Benjamin Viscount family.

“It’s the same.”

Lily’s green eyes turned to look at Brian as he casually threw out those words.

“My elder brother was also glaring at your bedroom from here before he left. Exactly the same. They say couples grow alike, do they even grow alike in things like this?”

At those words, Lily’s expression crumpled. Seeing her fierce gaze that looked like it could stab someone if looks could kill, Brian shrugged, raising his hands up to his shoulders.

“I don’t know what happened between you and my elder brother, but try to work it out. They say married couples’ fights are like cutting water with a knife.”

“I’ll say it again, don’t concern yourself with my affairs.”

Lily replied coldly before climbing the stairs. Brian just watched her silently, not trying to stop her.

The small body that had been walking steadily, feeling the slightly piercing gaze on her back, collapsed as soon as the bedroom door closed.

It was partly due to anger at Brian’s insulting remarks, but more so because the moment she heard his words, the face of a man with jet-black hair and golden eyes flashed before her. As the events of holding his hand, walking through the forest, and kissing him unfolded like a panorama, Lily squeezed her eyes shut.

Spending the night with that man in a hotel while drunk could be dismissed as a mistake, but what happened in the forest wasn’t a mistake. It was all a reflection of her own will.

This was clearly an affair, adultery, and an immoral act.

It was also something she had despised so much.

Lily, who had been ignoring these facts because the time spent with that man was so happy, now faced them again due to Brian’s words and fell into deep self-loathing. When she had glared at Brian as if she wanted to kill him, it was actually herself reflected in his eyes that she was glaring at.

Even while thinking that it’s not too late to stop now, that she should never meet that man again.

“Take care on your way back, Lily.”

Because the sweet voice calling her name still echoed in her ears. Because the soft and hot sensation that had touched her lips and the back of her hand was still vivid, Lily couldn’t make up her mind and buried her face between her knees.

The good mood that had improved thanks to Herald plummeted back to the ground because of him.

“I heard a rumor that you left your delicate sister-in-law alone on the street, is it true?”

As Herald was returning to his room after dinner, his elder brother Hamilton playfully asked while placing a hand on his shoulder. Herald chuckled and replied.

“It’s true that I left her, but she wasn’t alone. There was a coachman, a maid, and a knight to protect my sister-in-law.”

“So you did leave Olivia. You just left your sister-in-law who was happy to go out with you after a long time.”

“If you have something to say, say it straight instead of beating around the bush.”

Herald asked somewhat coldly as he removed the hand from his shoulder. To this, Hamilton Maximilian shrugged and answered.

“Well. Olivia said she had a lady she wanted to introduce to you, but she was disappointed because you suddenly left and couldn’t do so. I wanted to pass on that message.”

He had thought it was a bit strange when Olivia kept asking if he was interested in any women, and sure enough, there was a reason.

“She’s doing unnecessary things.”

As Herald muttered as if talking to himself, Hamilton frowned.

“What do you mean unnecessary things for your sister-in-law?”

“Then should I say futile? Or useless?”

“Herald.”

Although Hamilton called his name in warning, Herald didn’t back down.

“If you don’t want to hear it, tell sister-in-law clearly. Tell her not to do this again.”

Herald patted Hamilton’s arm as if asking a favor and then walked away. Hamilton, who had been watching the back of his brother who had now grown bigger than himself, quickly closed the distance and asked.

“Are you really not going to get married? Do you know how worried our parents are?”

Herald continued walking as he answered.

“I know. That’s why I’m thinking about how to make our parents give up.”

“So you’re not going to do it. Why? Is there no woman you like?”

A woman I like. For a moment, Lily’s image flashed in Herald’s mind and he stopped. Hamilton, who had stopped along with him, asked with sparkling eyes.

“There is a woman you like? Who is it?”

“Elder brother.”

“Yes. Go on. Tell your elder brother quickly.”

“They say couples grow alike, but stop asking the same questions as sister-in-law. It’s getting annoying.”

The sparkling eyes filled with expectation quickly dimmed and twisted. Hamilton nagged that he must get married, but Herald didn’t respond and walked down the long corridor again.

Returning to his room, Herald took out a bundle of papers he had kept deep in a drawer. It was the data on the Benjamin Viscount family investigated by Austin and the Information Guild. His hand, which had been flipping through the papers while sitting on the sofa, stopped at the page with Lily’s portrait.

When he first saw her portrait, he thought she was ordinary. Dillon said she had a pretty face, but to Herald, who had seen many more beautiful women than her, she looked ordinary.

Then, when he accidentally saw Lily in person, he changed his evaluation to say that the real person was better than the portrait. Still, it was just a face that was passable, but as the number of times he met her increased, his evaluation changed.

Her crying face was ugly, her surprised face was like a rabbit’s, and her smiling face was quite pretty. Especially when she smiled brightly, showing her even teeth, she was pretty.

What he liked most was when Lily slightly parted her lips, glistening with saliva of unknown origin, and exhaled hot breaths.

“……”

Herald’s eyes sank deeper than the darkness that had fallen outside the window as he recalled kissing Lily.

He hadn’t intended to kiss her. He just wanted to warn her for following him without any fear, just because he said he would take her to a nice place, and even offering to repay him by saying she would do anything he asked.

Yes. He had simply intended to warn her, but the moment he met those fresh green eyes, his reason was paralyzed. He could only think about wanting to explore those moist red lips.

Even then, he barely held onto the faint thread of reason remaining and gave her one last chance, but it was Lily who kicked it away.

Herald had simply not missed the opportunity Lily gave him.

It was clearly something they had both agreed to, but strangely, Herald frowned, feeling uneasy. As he pondered deeply why he felt this way, he looked down at Lily’s portrait again. The real person was definitely better than the portrait.

“Liliana Benjamin.”

His brow furrowed as if he didn’t like the name he had suddenly muttered.

“Lily.”

This time, as if he liked it, his furrowed brow smoothed out. Herald muttered her name over and over again, as if ruminating.