Leah was on her way back from visiting an apothecary in the Duchy of Belarus. As she was about to enter the mansion with the purchased medicinal herbs, she saw a tall figure standing at the entrance.

‘Duke?’

It was Akkia.

And her eyes caught sight of a carriage moving away from the mansion. The carriage adorned with the distinctive pattern of the imperial palace immediately brought to mind Emperor Ilei.

‘Did someone from the imperial palace visit?’

With a puzzled look on her face, Leah approached Akkia.

“Your Grace, who was here?”

“Someone from the imperial palace. I gave them a report, and His Majesty sent a reply.”

“Already?”

Surely, it hadn’t even been a week since he sent the letter to the emperor.

Considering the distance from the capital to the northern region, it was an extremely urgent reply.

“Seeing how quickly the letter arrived, I have a bad feeling about this.”

After Leah showed interest in the hot springs during a previous meal, the hot spring development plan had progressed smoothly.

The Duke of Belarus, who had seemed indifferent to business, began to show more interest. In particular, he was very interested in the business items Leah had developed so far.

[Lady Leah’s business items are quite interesting. I’ll leave Bialitzcal to the two of you then.]

Leah never dreamed she would be included in the hot spring development project.

As a result, Akkia’s worries seemed to have increased a bit. But everything was progressing smoothly, with only Ilei’s permission remaining.

Seeing Leah’s worried gaze, Akkia read the letter.

“Is it a letter of rejection, as expected?”

Leah asked cautiously as she watched him. Judging by Akkia’s unrelenting expression, it seemed so.

‘It can’t be helped. Even though the hot spring business is interesting, I also need to develop new medicinal treatments.’

She was about to resign herself to the fact that it might be for the best, as she could focus on her main job as an apothecary.

“No. He says to proceed gladly.”

“Really?!”

Leah raised her head in surprise at the low voice that rang in her ears. Her face, which had darkened thinking it was a letter of rejection, immediately brightened.

‘She’s excited.’

Leah’s two green eyes sparkled in the sunlight. How could she be so happy about a project that wasn’t even hers?

Akkia’s gaze, watching her, softened very briefly before lowering again.

[I approve the hot spring development project in Bialitzcal. Akkia Haidern de Croatia, as a member of the imperial family, shall devote himself to reviving the barren Bialitzcal.]

‘Akkia Haidern de Croatia.’

In the empire, those who inherited the surname ‘Croatia’ were of imperial blood. Akkia closed his eyes as memories of the past slowly crept in.

Memories of his childhood, running through the vast imperial palace.

[Your Highness! You mustn’t run like that. If someone were to see…!] [Let him be. Who would dare look into the Empress’s garden?]

It was always the nanny who scolded him, saying that nobles don’t run frivolously. His mother would always watch Akkia with a gentle smile.

Born as the empire’s only prince, Akkia’s life was smooth. His father, the previous Emperor Philip III, was strict, but there was deep affection for him beneath that strictness.

The desire for his young son to grow up properly. Knowing this, Akkia appreciated even the strict discipline.

He had vowed that if he ever ascended to the throne, he would make the empire his father had built even more brilliant. But the world did not allow Akkia to keep that vow.

[Your Highness! Prince!] [Nanny… I…!]

The nanny’s voice ringing in his ears like tinnitus and the smell of blood permeating his nostrils. Akkia’s eyes, which had been closed, opened as the nightmarish memories tried to surface naturally.

In fact, Akkia knew why Ilei had sent a reply so quickly. He wanted to use this opportunity to widely inform the empire of the incompetence of the duke who had been the only heir to the throne.

Therefore, the emperor would undoubtedly try to interfere with what he was trying to do. As his thoughts reached this point, a bitter smile formed on Akkia’s lips.

‘It won’t be easy.’

For that young duke who was driven out to the Haidern territory no longer existed.

Akkia opened another envelope he had been holding along with the letter from the emperor.

“What’s that letter?”

“It’s from Rikel. He says the Magnolia Guild will arrive within a few days.”

“So quickly?”

Leah’s face was full of surprise. It was understandable, as it hadn’t been long since the outline of the hot spring business plan was formed.

She had heard that Magnolia would be involved, but she didn’t expect them to have already set out for Bialitzcal.

“We should get started now.”

However, unlike the surprised Leah, Akkia’s eyes were deeply sunken. As if swallowed by a calm lake.

The once deathly quiet Belarus ducal residence was now filled with laughter day after day. Just like now.

“Haha. It’s alright. People make mistakes sometimes. You may go.”

A maid had accidentally spilled a cup while serving it to Dmitri.

Expecting the usual harsh rebuke, she prostrated herself on the floor, but what she heard was Dmitri’s laughter.
Not only did he not scold her, but he even comforted her, saying it was fine.

“What? Yes, Your Grace. I will never make such a mistake again.”

With an incredulous face, the maid bowed deeply and left the office. Since Haidern Duke’s visit, the servants were surprised by Dmitri’s brightened demeanor.

He who had been sensitive to even the slightest noise was now infinitely kind even to his subordinates.

Barton, glancing at such a duke, gently spoke to him.

“It must have cooled. Would you like me to have them bring fresh tea?”

“It’s fine. It’s more drinkable than I expected.”

Dmitri nodded with a pleasant smile. The maid who had just spilled the tea was about Leah’s age.

Seeing her trembling as if the world had ended over spilling a single cup of tea made him feel sympathetic.

Leah must have lived her life feeling this anxious too, he thought.

As Dmitri embraced such a broad-minded attitude, the mansion’s servants also brightened up. And such changes in the mansion were not unpleasant to him.

“You seem to be in a good mood, Your Grace.”

Dmitri, who had lost Ariel, had lost his smile. The life of a parent who had lost a child was no different from living hell.

He was alive but not living.

The sumptuous meals he used to eat with Ariel now felt like chewing sand, and the laughter that once echoed throughout the mansion suddenly ceased.

As if someone had muted it, Dmitri’s daily life in the Belarus duchy after she left was in a state of silence.

That’s why he thought he would never feel such happiness again. Dmitri savored the peace that had finally returned and nodded towards Barton.

“Indeed. I wonder how long it’s been since I’ve felt such joy…”

For Dmitri, every moment now was incredibly precious.

As he was leaning back in his chair, thinking about what to do with Leah today, there was a knock at the door.

“Your Grace, it’s Anthony.”

“Oh. Come in.”

No sooner had the duke given permission than a man with neatly combed blue hair entered the office.
He was a subordinate who had been sent to the south to search for the whereabouts of the child Ariel had given birth to.

“What I asked you to look into?”

Dmitri urged Anthony’s answer with a face full of expectation.
The more he saw Leah, who looked just like his daughter, the more he was convinced she was his granddaughter.

Therefore, the content of Anthony’s report was as clear as day.

‘The child thought to be dead was actually alive, right?’

Yes. If he could just hear those words, even the small anxiety lurking in the corner of his heart would disappear.
But unlike the duke’s excited face, Anthony’s expression was dark.

“Your Grace, about that…”

He barely moved his heavily closed lips and continued speaking.

“It’s certain that Lady Ariel’s child is dead.”

“…What?”

At first, the Duke of Belarus thought he had misheard. That’s why the duke, who had only blinked his eyes, slowly asked Anthony again.

“What did you just say?”

“I met the midwife who delivered Lady Ariel’s child. She said it was a girl, but the child died immediately after birth.”

Anthony continued speaking with difficulty, and held out an old handkerchief from his chest.

“This is…”

“It’s said to be a handkerchief that Lady Ariel personally embroidered for the child to be born.”

The handkerchief, which would have originally been white, had already faded in color and had unknown wildflowers embroidered on it.

“According to the midwife, Lady Ariel made this handkerchief along with a baby’s first clothes for the child to be born. But during the funeral process, they couldn’t bury this handkerchief, so they kept it separately.”

Dmitri received the handkerchief with trembling hands.
Although much time had passed, he could immediately tell. That the embroidery on this handkerchief was Ariel’s.

Ariel had a habit of finishing her embroidery in a certain way.
No matter what picture she embroidered, she would pull up the final end. It was one of the small habits she had learned from her mother, the duchess.

‘Ah.’

He let out a low sigh.

[Father, everyone says I resemble a rose. But sometimes I prefer nameless wildflowers to glamorous roses.]

‘Yes. You used to say that.’

It was actually Dmitri himself who liked roses, not Ariel.
He had merely forced Ariel to be like a rose. That child had always longed for an ordinary life.

‘You wanted to raise your child as an ordinary child, didn’t you?’

Dmitri’s hands were shaking so much that he could no longer bear to hear Anthony’s report. It felt as if even the depths of his heart were freezing.

He had thought that Ariel, whom he had missed so much, had sent Leah out of pity for her lonely father.

Seeing Leah, who had grown up more beautifully than anyone, he saw Ariel’s image.

Anthony carefully spoke to the Duke of Belarus, who was staring blankly into space.

“If you want something more certain, I can investigate the child’s grave…”

“No.”

Dmitri, who had been holding the handkerchief with his head bowed for a long time, raised his face. His eyes, which always shone fiercely, were now filled with sorrow.

“That’s enough now.”

Dmitri’s sunken voice echoed through the office.

Befitting the head of a family, he didn’t show it outwardly, but his hand hidden under the handkerchief was still trembling.

Barton’s eyes reddened as he watched his master’s wavering appearance.

The image of his master collapsing on the day when the ducal princess returned as a cold corpse overlapped with Dmitri.

‘He liked her so much…’

Barton’s heart ached as he fully understood his master’s feelings.

“It would be best if you leave now.”

Barton took Anthony, who was standing still, and left the office. As the two left and silence fell over the office, the handkerchief became wet.

Dmitri sobbed, clutching his daughter’s only keepsake. Now he had no choice but to accept it.
That his beloved daughter Ariel, and her child, were no longer in this world.