“Louisa.”

Louisa stared at her approaching husband.

His hair was slightly disheveled, unlike usual. She approached Edward and asked.

“Did you run into anyone on your way here?”

“…No. Nobody.”

“That’s good. Come here for a moment.”

Louisa reached out her hand towards his head.

Edward bent his waist to make it easier for her to touch and said.

“I’m sorry for being late.”

“It’s alright.”

“Really… Really. I’m sorry.”

“I said it’s really alright.”

Louisa repeatedly reassured him that it was fine in response to his continuous apologies.

His wife was now saying everything he did was fine. That fact bothered him. Edward remained silent for a moment before asking about her dress.

“What happened to your skirt?”

“I spilled some wine.”

“You did?”

“…No. But I don’t know who did it.”

Someone had brazenly spilled wine in the crowded party venue without being caught.

They couldn’t have avoided all the hundreds of eyes, meaning no one had stood up for his wife.

Edward’s teeth clenched as he grasped the general situation.

Louisa lowered her arms after finishing adjusting her husband’s appearance. Edward straightened his posture, looked down at her, and said.

“Come here. Let’s go to my car for a moment.”

“Your car?”

“Yes.”

“Why there all of a sudden…”

“Just come for now, there’s a reason.”

He grabbed Louisa’s hand firmly.

Louisa stepped outside Glory Palace, led by her husband’s hand without knowing why.

As they went outside the building, a cold wind swept between them.

Louisa breathed in that chill deeply. The wind that had been biting earlier now felt refreshing once outside.

As she was walking pleasantly like that, she noticed something strange. Louisa asked in disbelief.

“Ed. What on earth is that?”

“My car.”

There stood a black car with its front almost completely wrecked.

The car that had been fine when he left home during the day was now a wreck. Louisa was flabbergasted and questioned him.

“My goodness. What in the world happened to you?”

“It’s nothing. I was just curious and crashed it once.”

It was an absurd excuse. Louisa looked at her husband with an incredulous face.

“Don’t look at me like that and try this on.”

Edward said as he pulled out a large box that was messily placed on the back seat of his car.

“What is this?”

“Something you need right now.”

He unlocked it and opened the lid of the box to show her.

“It’s a dress…”

Louisa stared blankly at the dress inside the box.

It was clearly a glamorous evening dress that was in fashion recently. It was a design decorated with layers of ribbons and frills, and with delicate lace added to the underskirt to make it more luxurious.

“Why is something like this in your car?”

“It’s my hobby.”

“…Pardon?”

Louisa asked back in bewilderment.

She looked at her husband who was calmly telling lies.

Somehow, today was full of absurdities from beginning to end. But even knowing that, she didn’t feel particularly bad. No, rather she was quite pleased.

Edward, who had glanced at Louisa’s expression, seemed quite excited as her reaction appeared to be quite good. He said in a slightly elated voice.

“There’s one more thing. Want to see?”

Edward crammed his body back into the car and started searching somewhere. Then he found a palm-sized box and handed it to her.

“Here.”

“Don’t tell me…”

It was just the right size to contain accessories. Louisa opened the box she had received.

Click.

Inside was a necklace studded with soft and lustrous pearls, and earrings made with the same pearls set in platinum to create an elegant atmosphere.

“Oh my.”

Louisa looked from the box she was holding to her husband. Edward turned his gaze to the side, seemingly embarrassed.

“When did you buy these?”

“…A while ago.”

“Then why did you just leave them in the car?”

“You said you didn’t like flashy things.”

Edward said, becoming a bit sulky.

“You said you would stick to that modest attire no matter what. Making excuses about His Majesty and all.”

It seemed to have been quite upsetting to him. Louisa ended up smiling as she watched her husband complaining like a child about past events.

“What? Why are you laughing?”

“It’s nothing.”

Louisa cleared her throat, trying to stop the laughter from escaping. But when her lips wouldn’t stop curling up, she just smiled brightly and said.

“Thank you.”

“Do you… like it?”

“Of course.”

Louisa said as she picked up the dress from the box and gathered it.

“You brought it out for me to change into, right?”

“Yes.”

“Wait just a moment. I’ll change in the car and come out.”

“The car? It’ll be cramped.”

“It might be a bit uncomfortable, but it’s fine.”

She gripped the dress hem firmly with both hands and looked into Edward’s eyes as she spoke.

“Thank you so much. I really love it, it’s so beautiful.”

Edward felt something welling up from deep inside his chest at his wife’s words.

Click, his wife closed the car door and went in, inserting appropriate fabric into both car windows to cover them.

Soon, rustling sounds began to come from inside. It seemed she was diligently changing clothes in there.

‘If she was going to like it this much.’

Edward smiled lightly as Louisa’s smile came to mind.

He wondered why she had insisted she disliked such things before.

He gently touched the corners of his mouth that kept twitching upwards.

His wife shouldn’t see this foolish face. He quickly returned his eyes and mouth to their original positions before Louisa came out.

Louisa opened the door and came out. She held the hem of her skirt and twirled left and right to check the state of the dress.

“It’s really beautiful. Fortunately, there were gloves made of the same material included inside.”

The sight of his wife smiling with a clear face reminded him of the fresh days of old memories.

“If you like it, try wearing things like this more often from now on.”

“Hmm… I’ll think about that.”

Louisa held out the box containing the pearl necklace set to him instead of giving a definite answer. Edward took it and put the necklace around her neck while asking.

“Why? Do you actually not like any of it?”

“No, that’s not it. I really like both the dress and accessories.”

“Then what on earth is the problem?”

Edward’s questioning continued. Louisa, who was about to say something, closed her mouth.

Should she tell him?

She pondered for a moment.

‘It would only weigh on his mind if I told him…’

But continuing to hide the truth also felt like she was doing something wrong to her husband.

Given his reactions today, and the fact that he had been carrying the gifts in his car all this time, it seemed her husband had put a lot of thought into this gift.

It was unlike him to ask multiple times if she liked it, and while it was cute, it was also somewhat pitiful.

‘But we’ve come this far today. Maybe it’s okay now.’

And above all, she didn’t want to part ways with her husband leaving misunderstandings unresolved until the end.

Louisa came to a conclusion after much deliberation.

“…I was told that I was dressing up and coming to parties to find another partner. That’s why.”

Edward’s hands, which were putting the necklace around his wife’s neck, stopped at her words.

“So after that, I always dressed modestly. Because I had no such intentions.”

Louisa exhaled deeply after finishing her words.

She had said it. Finally.

She had spoken aloud the thoughts she had been keeping to herself. It felt incredibly relieving.

But the smile disappeared completely from Edward’s face.

“…Who, which bastard spouted such nonsense.”

“I don’t remember. I try to forget about such things.”

In truth, words that cut so deeply into one’s heart were impossible to forget.

The dress she had worn that day, the back of the man who had hurled curses as he passed by, the pattern of the carpet on the floor, and even the scent of the man’s cologne – all the memories were too vivid.

But there was no need to bring up such stories.

“Why… didn’t you tell me?”

Edward asked. The answer to that question was obvious.

“How could I tell such things to someone who said he was too busy to come? I thought I just needed to conduct myself well.”

Louisa said with a sorrowful smile.

Seeing his wife like this, Edward felt his chest tighten.

Louisa who had asked several times to go to parties together.

Himself, who had thoughtlessly refused without even trying to understand the circumstances.

He regretted it. He regretted it so much.

He should not have done that. He should have asked at least once why she wanted to go together.

He clutched his chest tightly.

He should have asked a little sooner how she was doing, if she was really okay.

He strained to lift his chin and held his head high. His whole face tensed up, making for a slightly strange expression, but he held out his arm to his wife and said.

“Let’s go.”

Louisa looked up at him.

“Let’s go, to the party. Go and advertise to everyone that I’m living well with this man.”

But Louisa shook her head.

“No. What if that affects your remarriage later?”

“What the hell are you talking about remar-”

Edward blurted out harsh words at her nerve-wracking statement. When Louisa looked at him in surprise, he remembered that his wife was standing in front of him and suppressed his temper to speak calmly.

“Showing that our relationship is strong will stabilize my company too. I told you before.”

Edward promptly brought up the lie he had told. But Louisa didn’t let it slide.

“To be precise, you said it would be bad for the company if divorce rumors were highlighted. Just maintaining the status quo should be enough-”

“No. It’s my company. I know best. So come with me.”

He cut off his wife’s words and took her hand. Then he placed that delicate hand on his forearm and started walking.

As he moved without giving her time to object, Louisa seemed to think she had no choice and began to follow him without saying anything.

He could see his wife’s steps becoming hurried as she tried to match his brisk pace. He soon slowed down his walking speed.

Today’s goal was to make a round of Glory Palace.