“Then, I will take my leave.”

“Alright. Go carefully.”

Despite the farewell, Ember hesitated for a moment. Then, she turned around and said to me,

“To you, madam, this marriage may be nothing more than a contract. However, after meeting you and seeing His Grace’s expression soften, I shamelessly began to wish for you to stay in this duchy for a long time.”

“But I…”

“I know. I didn’t mean to burden you. It was just a selfish desire for you to stay here a little longer. Then, have a peaceful rest, madam.”

Click. The door closed, and I plopped down on the bed. It felt as if a storm had swept through.

‘What do I do now?’

Holding the letter Bertisha had sent, I pondered over the parts that felt strange. Clearly, in the novel, Yezar did not attend the royal wedding. Regardless of how close they were in the past, it seemed awkward to consider them as intimate enough to exchange letters now.

To Yezar, who was suffering from the failure of his one-sided love, the current Bertisha was nothing more than someone who made his heart ache. Moreover, no matter how close they were, for her, the empress, to personally send a letter to Yezar like this… She could have sent it through the male lead, Camileo. Something was definitely odd.

I tried to recall the distant contents of the novel. In the story, Bertisha considered Yezar a cherished friend and was unaware of his feelings for her.

Despite being as close as childhood friends, she thought the affection he showed her was just the goodwill exchanged between friends.

While reading the novel, I had simply accepted it. But now, having interacted with Yezar like this, a question arose within me.

‘Is it truly possible to be unaware that those feelings are love?’

The Yezar I had experienced was someone whose emotions were clearly visible on his face. His face would quickly redden, and when happy, he would brightly smile. At times, even when he tried to hide his sadness, one could tell by looking at his face.

I fiddled with the letter I had received from Ember.

“If Bertisha knew of Yezar’s feelings but pretended not to and kept him by her side…”

What should I do?

Tick-tock. Listening to the sound of the clock’s second hand, Yezar was focusing on his work.

The observing aide sighed deeply and said,

“Your Grace, you signed that document upside down.”

Belatedly realizing this fact, Yezar came to his senses.

“Ah. So I did.”

And he was signing upside down again. Unable to watch any longer, another aide cautiously suggested to him,

“Wouldn’t it be better to head to your bedchamber now? You already diligently processed a large number of documents during the day, and there’s no need for you to remain in the office this late, is there?”

It wasn’t wrong. Thanks to thoroughly handling the documents before leaving to meet Julieta, there was no need for him to stay in the office any longer.

To begin with, saying he had more work to do was just an excuse.

“Still, if I take care of the work now, the next day will be easier.”

“Sigh. What next day? Her Ladyship must be waiting. Please finish up and go.”

However, Yezar stubbornly held onto the pen, hesitating. In the end, the aides drove him out of the office. By then, Yezar could no longer resist, so after thoroughly washing up, he stood docilely in front of the bedchamber.

Why was it? He felt shy to face her.

‘Then, may I also give you a gift?’

‘Next time, if you let me know in advance, I will wait. For Yezar to come and get me.’

The clearly audible voice tickled his ears. He hadn’t waited expecting any reciprocation, nor had he given the gift for that reason.

She was someone who always smiled brightly. Suddenly, he thought she might be happy if he visited her. He felt it would be delightful if she welcomed him with a wide smile.

When she mentioned in passing that she liked flowers, he had secretly prepared a bouquet of roses, and now he felt he had the courage to give them to her.

But when the time came, Julieta was happier than he had imagined. She said it had been a long time since she received such a gift, and her voice trembled.

He could see moisture gathering and wavering in the corners of her eyes. He had heard that her family was too busy to take good care of her.

But still, she was from a wealthy viscount family. He thought she would receive many precious gifts. Enough to scoff at a mere bouquet of roses.

She had the innocence typical of someone who had grown up without any worries. Usually, she was naive and lively, as if she had no loneliness. The occasional glimpses of her lonely and desolate appearance felt like something seen in a dream.

He wanted to know her a little more. He felt it would be nice if she relied on him a little more. He liked how she tried to reciprocate his feelings in any way possible. This was a kindness he had never thought he would receive.

So he naturally became shy. Because Julieta also found out that he had been flustered and clumsy. Her words promising to kindly wait for next time were pleasant, but he became embarrassed to the point that his ears turned red.

Of course, if it were his wife that he knew, she would have responded vibrantly, saying what was there to be embarrassed about. Yezar, who had been standing still without opening the door, calmed his heart and entered.

He didn’t want to be a husband who kept his wife waiting for long. And he really liked the sound of her chattering voice as she came running out when he opened the door.

When he opened the door, he saw Julieta’s back as she sat on the bed, looking out the window. She seemed lost in thought, feeling the breeze blowing in through the open window.

He couldn’t take his eyes off the sight of her red hair fluttering in the rustling wind. He realized anew that it was a truly beautiful color. Enough to make him want to touch it secretly without her knowing.

Soon, Julieta, sensing his presence, turned her head.

“Ah. Yezar, you’re here?”

Although her face was smiling as usual, there was no energy in Julieta’s voice. Yezar, naturally concerned, approached her.

“Yes, were you looking out the window?”

“The breeze felt refreshing. Oh right, I untied the bouquet of roses you gave me and put them in this vase here. Look. Mei prepared a pretty vase.”

Indeed, there was an unfamiliar vase placed next to the bed. The roses he had given were arranged in the vase.

“Yes. It’s a very beautiful vase.”

Sitting next to her, Yezar conversed with Julieta about this and that as usual. She giggled and chattered, but it was different from usual after all.

‘I wish you would tell me what’s troubling you. I want to be someone you can lean on when you’re having a hard time.’

Yezar quietly listened to her and agreed, then asked,

“By the way, Julieta.”

“Yes?”

“Is something the matter? You seem to have less energy now compared to when I saw you in the afternoon.”

At that, Julieta looked at him with surprised eyes. It certainly seemed like something was going on. Yezar anxiously waited for Julieta’s answer.

‘Will she just say it’s nothing? If she changes the subject instead of confiding in me… To her, I’m still just a contractual husband, not someone she can rely on.’

Thinking that way made him feel bitter. Even though he knew how long it took to open someone’s heart. Even though he had experienced that his feelings might never reach her, he felt impatient.

He knew it was greed, but her demeanor today and the returned feelings had greatly touched him.

“You know, Yezar. Can I ask you something?”

Swallowing dryly, Yezar nodded.

“Yes, go ahead.”

“…Today, someone who cherishes you very much earnestly asked me a favor.”

“A favor?”

“Yes. It’s a secret who it was, but they asked me to help you move on from your past love. I refused.”

Yezar could naturally understand the situation. He guessed that someone had made such a request to Julieta after seeing him struggle with Bertisha’s letter.

He also had a rough idea of who had made that request. The servants in the manor now believed he had met the perfect person he loved and was living happily. They thought Bertisha was just someone he had been close with. So the only ones who knew he was having a hard time with his past love were the butler, the head maid who had watched over him for a long time in this manor, and the resident physician.

However, it was the head maid who had carefully delivered the letter from Bertisha. He thought she must have relayed the message. Ah. In the end, the reason Julieta lacked energy was not due to any other reason but his foolish self.

“There’s no need to keep it a secret. Hearing it, I understand. It must have been Ember’s request. I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have made you worry about my problems.”

This was a matter for which Julieta would not be unreasonable to end the contract marriage. He had thought they were moving forward while being together. But in reality, he wasn’t moving forward at all.

“I will be careful from now on so that Ember doesn’t say such things and you don’t have to be concerned…”

With his head deeply bowed, Yezar uttered those words. He was so disappointed in himself that he couldn’t bear it. Then, at that moment, Julieta called out to him.

“Yezar, can you look at me for a moment?”

Her voice was calm yet warm. Yezar raised his head and looked at Julieta’s face. She was smiling at him.