Erina choked up in the warm embrace she didn’t dare to covet.

It felt as if he was firmly holding and hugging her fragile self that was shaken by the harsh truth.

She regretted the time she had foolishly kept him at a distance with unnecessary worries.

For the first time, Erina regretted not acknowledging her feelings for him sooner.

“I’m here.”

“Yes, Erina. I’ve waited a lot, really a lot.”

Erina’s heart fluttered at his wet voice.

While the two were lost in their own world, the people around them were surprised and left with their mouths agape.

“Oh my.”

Heila had to cover her mouth, which wouldn’t close.

Until just before departing for the temple, the two had been awkward with each other.

Heila had felt truly sorry for the two who clearly had deep feelings for each other but couldn’t approach one another.

She had noticed that Erina, who had returned from the temple and tower, was somehow different.

But to think she would rush into his arms like that as soon as she arrived, where everyone’s eyes were on her!

Unaware of Heila’s exclamation, the two were embracing, oblivious to the world.

It was only when Enzo, who later came looking for Erina, cleared his throat that distance was created between the two.

“Ahem.”

Startled by Enzo’s cough, Erina finally came to her senses.

“Ah.”

Although unofficial, many in the imperial palace knew about Erina’s personal visit to the temple and tower, so many were waiting for her return.

They had all been waiting as she hadn’t returned even after palace duties were over.

Since most of the important figures were waiting with Sandeth, Erina had ended up openly revealing her feelings to everyone.

“W-What should we do?”

Erina’s face turned bright red in surprise.

Surprised, she stepped out of Sandeth’s embrace and asked him.

Sandeth couldn’t help but laugh at her cute, flustered appearance, a stark contrast to her bold rush earlier.

As much as he wanted to, he couldn’t shoo away all those present, especially with Enzo watching.

“My, it seems there will be a celebration soon.”

Enzo’s expression was truly mischievous as he approached the two.

“Your Majesty…”

Realizing she was being teased, Erina shrank back.

“Count Medelia, did you have a good visit to the temple and tower?”

Erina, catching on to Enzo’s intention to deliberately change the subject, straightened her clothes and replied.

“Yes, Your Majesty. Thanks to the convenience you provided.”

Enzo keenly observed her slightly changed atmosphere.

Erina had always seemed detached from every situation.

It felt as if she was observing everything, even her own circumstances.

She had seemed like someone trying hard not to leave anything behind, even if she were to leave.

Erina, who had returned from the temple and tower, looked unwell but appeared unburdened, as if she had shed her shackles.

“It seems you’ve found a good answer, Count.”

Erina replied with a bright smile to Enzo’s words.

“Yes, I’ve obtained an answer I couldn’t get before.”

“That’s good. You look tired, so return to the mansion to rest and we’ll talk next time.”

Enzo hurriedly left to allow them to return quickly.

Thanks to his consideration, Sandeth and Erina were able to return to the Kerenik mansion not too late.

Upon arriving at the mansion, Shimelden greeted the people.

“Welcome back.”

Shimelden, who raised his head after greeting, was surprised by the changed appearance of the two.

The distance between the two, who had always tried to keep apart, was now excessively close.

The awkward atmosphere that had been there before now seemed as sweet as if honey was dripping.

The surprised Shimelden asked Heila, who was standing behind, with his eyes, but Heila just giggled and shrugged.

“I heard you haven’t eaten yet. Shall I prepare dinner right away?”

Erina was about to say she would rest due to the fatigue that hit her as soon as she arrived at the mansion, but Sandeth, who had already heard the story, led her to the dining area.

“Erina, I heard you fainted and skipped lunch. How about having a little meal before resting?”

When Erina nodded at Sandeth’s suggestion, he happily took her hand.

Behind the two heading to the dining room, holding hands very affectionately, Shimelden quietly asked Heila.

“What happened?”

“Many things happened.”

“No, I mean those two! They seemed to be fighting just yesterday.”

“That’s right.”

“No, Heila, don’t be like that.”

“Oh my, butler. Don’t be so interested in the love affairs of grown adults.”

Shimelden still had many questions, but he couldn’t ask more as they had arrived at the dining room.

Erina was surprised to see the person waiting in the dining room.

“Rebil?”

“Madam Count!”

Rebil, with a truly happy face, ran up in one breath and stood in front of Erina with sparkling eyes.

Although it was a face she had seen just yesterday, Erina felt as if she was seeing the child after a long time.

Erina gently stroked Rebil’s soft hair.

Unlike before, with pleasantly filled cheeks and a face full of smiles, he was a happy child for anyone to see.

Erina recalled Rose’s memories, which she had believed to be the original until now.

Because it was solely from Rose’s perspective, Rebil had disappeared early on.

It meant that not even a single hair of Rebil existed within Rose’s interest.

But then her heart felt cold.

If Erina hadn’t taken Rebil out, Rebil would still have been suffering from Mirea’s unceasing violence.

“Rebil, did you wait? I’m too late.”

Rebil, surprised by Erina who was subtly different from yesterday, looked up with wide eyes.

She had always been a kind person, but she was someone who always kept a distance from everything, as if surrounded by a solid fence.

But now all the solid fences were gone.

It felt like if Rebil took one step closer, he could be embraced.

“No. You’re not late at all!”

Erina burst into laughter at Rebil’s cute appearance as he answered with clenched fists.

At Shimelden’s words that he would bring out the meal, the three sat down.

Sandeth sat at the head of the table, with Erina and Rebil on either side.

It felt like a happy family.

Heila and Shimelden watched fondly from afar at the feeling that only the three involved didn’t realize.

Rebil, pleased with Erina whose boundaries had crumbled, readily engaged in conversation he had always hesitated to start.

“The head maid recommended it, so I started studying.”

Erina felt strange about the child’s casual conversation.

Just because she knew the truth, her heart had changed a little, but her daily life felt different as it approached her.

It was a little more enjoyable than before, a little happier.

She was grateful for everything just for that one feeling.

It seemed she had been obsessed with the idea that she couldn’t be happy, consumed by revenge.

She just loved this peaceful atmosphere immensely.

It was the sweetest dinner ever.

The silence that fell in Sandeth’s office was ominous, unlike the happy dinner time.

“Ranta, say it again.”

“When we discovered Prince Leorvil’s corpse, we caught the person who had switched the body.”

“What…?”

“We investigated the village where the prince was staying when he died in the fire. Strangely, we found it odd that there were no people in the village despite such a big fire, so we inquired about long-time residents of the village.”

The gears in Sandeth’s head creaked like a broken clock.

The death of his nephew, who had been the last thread of his life, had been too clean.

Sandeth still vividly remembered the time when he bid farewell to his nephew.

He had struggled to raise his nephew, the only one left by his sister, but he was able to live on because of the fact that he had family to be with.

Even though he had lost his mother and then his sister right before his eyes, it was okay because there was a child to protect.

Knowing that they would certainly be chased if the child’s existence was known, they had fled from the village they were staying in and wandered aimlessly.

Fortunately, it was a time when they had settled in a village with kind people and were starting to establish themselves.

After saving and saving, they had managed to secure the cheapest house in a corner of the village, and even hired someone to look after his nephew.

Just as they were settling in, less than a year after establishing themselves, on a summer day while he was working, a neighbor came running with news.

It was the terrible news that the mansion had been engulfed by fire.

When Sandeth ran in one breath to see the mansion, it had already burned down completely, with only black ashes fluttering about.

Suspiciously, the fire had only occurred in Sandeth’s house, and as soon as Sandeth’s house had burned down completely, it was extinguished.

Sandeth frantically broke into the blackened house to find his nephew.

In his nephew’s room, which he had painstakingly decorated, he found a blackened corpse lying alone.

Everything had burned, and only the charred necklace hanging above the neck was recognizable.

The familiar body type, the familiar height, the last remnant of his sister.

Everything was saying that the corpse in front of him was his nephew.

Sandeth, who couldn’t believe it at all, looked for the person who had been taking care of the child, but even that person was found dead in the kitchen.

Sandeth didn’t believe that the child was the corpse.

The fire was too coincidental, and it seems he just didn’t want to believe it.

The village concluded that the caretaker had started a fire while cooking in the kitchen and everything had burned down.

But Sandeth scoured the entire village to find out the truth.

However, strangely enough, there were no people in the village when the fire broke out, and the fire was only extinguished after Sandeth’s house had completely burned down.

No matter how he thought about it, it didn’t add up.

His instincts, which had never been wrong, told him there was something, but there wasn’t even a speck of evidence to dig deeper.

There were no children in the village, and even his sister’s keepsake that he had given to his nephew as a gift was hanging there.