I had anticipated it. But hearing it directly felt like the sky was falling.

Edward called Daniel with a deathly pale face.

“……Lord Averitt.”

“If you have even a shred of conscience, you should leave, Allen.”

Daniel’s cheeks and eyes trembled. He spoke with a visible effort to suppress his anger.

“You are the very embodiment of Louisa’s trauma.”

Edward bit his lip, overwhelmed by a surge of sadness.

Trauma.

It meant that his very existence was a source of psychological shock to Louisa.

He wanted to shout that this wasn’t what he had intended, that he had only done his best in his own way.

But that was the reality.

He had done wrong, and his wife was broken.

If he could turn back time by sacrificing his life, he would gladly tear out his heart to do so.

However, he was far too realistic a person to hope for such a fairy tale miracle.

Daniel spoke, enunciating each word as if grinding them between his teeth.

“Let me warn you in advance. If you try to meet her, I will consider it a declaration of all-out war against me, and I will mobilize everything I have to confront you.”

“How could I dare… to raise a blade against Averitt.”

Edward stood like a corpse. His lifeless and listless appearance, as if death had descended upon him, revealed his despair.

It would be a lie to say that one felt not even a shred of sympathy for him.

However, his sister’s well-being was far more important to Daniel.

In the end, anger welled up against the Allen family, who had broken his sister after their mother. That anger swallowed all his sympathy and kept Daniel’s mind cold.

Daniel spoke again.

“If you understand, then leave my study now.”

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry, Lord Averitt.”

Edward’s voice choked with emotion.

But Daniel was not swayed by such a pitiful sight. He spoke in a voice broken by anger.

“I’m not the one who needs to hear apologies, and it’s already too late, Edward Allen.”

Those words, that it was too late, pierced Edward’s heart.

He closed the door of Daniel’s study, his back a pitiful sight as he bore the weight of his sins.

Edward trudged out of the College of Engineering.

As the well-dressed but notably dispirited man walked away, the gazes of passing students followed him.

The path that had seemed so short on the way there felt interminably long and distant on the way back.

Even on his return journey, he hesitated endlessly.

If he paused for a moment, would he encounter Louisa?

But if he really did meet her, could he handle the consequences of such an encounter?

As he walked like this, he found himself at the path leading to the affiliated hospital.

The sign he had seen earlier caught his eye. Louisa would probably use this road to commute to the hospital.

He knew rationally that Louisa would surely take care of herself and manage her life well.

But his heart kept urging him on.

A lingering attachment held his feet in place, unable to leave without confirming that the places she frequented were safe, that there was nothing that might threaten her.

Eventually, Edward turned his steps towards the direction of the hospital. Once he started walking, his heart began to race uncontrollably, the sound of its beating echoing in his ears.

Maybe. Just maybe.

His eyes ceaselessly scanned his surroundings. The pebbles on the roadside, the benches placed between the grass and trees, the birds and insects flying between them.

And against this backdrop, people, people, people passing by.

Every time he saw a blonde woman who looked just like Louisa, Edward’s heart leapt and stopped repeatedly.

Is that you? No, it’s not.

As he walked like this, he found himself in front of a large building with “Tanasuvanian College Affiliated Hospital” written on it.

Now he had no more excuses to linger here.

In the end, he hadn’t met her.

Edward let out a hollow laugh.

He hadn’t noticed any major problems as he walked, perhaps because Daniel had already taken care of everything so well.

No, those were all just excuses.

Edward struggled to suppress the emotion welling up inside him. He swallowed hard, as if trying to swallow his emotions along with his deep breath.

In truth, he had simply wanted to see his wife.

Edward decided to return to the station. He had to go back to Lindblum, where he had to live as if dead, letting go of even the slightest hope.

But just as he had resigned himself and was about to reach the main gate, that’s when it happened.

In the distance, on the opposite side, he saw a familiar silhouette walking towards him.

A woman wearing a dress made of thick fabric, adorned with a fox fur coat, and a hat smaller than those of other women atop her light blonde hair.

Even though her face wasn’t visible from this distance, he could tell immediately from her gait and silhouette.

“……Louisa?”

Edward murmured unconsciously.

He watched his wife’s figure, lost in a daze.

Louisa. My beloved.

Tears welled up in his eyes, which had been dry with dejection until just moments ago.

He wiped the rising tears with the back of his hand.

Louisa was walking slowly towards him. Just the sight of his wife in view made his eyes burn with emotion.

Edward, who had been staring at her endlessly, suddenly realized that his wife shouldn’t see him and hid himself among the nearby students.

His wife, who had come closer, seemed to be smiling. Seeing her walk alone among the people made her seem so fragile that he wanted to kneel before her and grasp her hands right then and there.

But that’s when it happened. Suddenly, a man from the direction of the main gate where he was standing approached her. Then he naturally began to escort her.

Edward confirmed the man’s face.

“Evan Winston?”

His heart sank.

Wondering if he had seen wrong, Edward checked the man’s face again. But undeniably, it was Evan Winston.

‘So this is what he meant when he said he had no plans to come to the capital for the time being.’

Instead of the capital, he had sent such a reply because he was here in Tanasen, sticking close to his wife.

As the tension and shock subsided, what remained was anger. That damned bastard was brazenly doing this right under his nose.

The two walked together quite intimately. Although he couldn’t hear their conversation, his wife was smiling. She wore such a bright smile that he couldn’t even remember when he had last seen it.

What he had feared had become reality.

Edward bowed his head and wept silently, clutching his breaking heart.

Louisa had been invited to Daniel’s house for tea time today.

She showed the afternoon tea set she had bought to Laura, the servant sent by Daniel, and asked,

“What do you think of this tea set?”

“It’s casual. Men find such things easy to manage and convenient to use.”

Laura was a veteran maid who had been working as a visiting maid for ten years.

She would sometimes work at small parties held in nearby mansions, and if she had regular clients like Louisa, she would work there as well.

“Indeed, right? It would be nice to get one.”

Louisa decided on the gift after hearing her opinion, as Laura’s judgment seemed as good as her experience.

Laura skillfully wrapped the tea set beautifully.

It would have been nice to have a dedicated trunk, but there wasn’t enough time as the tea time invitation had only come up the day before. Moreover, Daniel didn’t particularly like unnecessary luxury.

“Laura, I’m sorry, but could you come with me when you finish work? I think my brother would feel more at ease if you’re there.”

“Don’t worry. Daniel already told me that this is the most important task.”

“Oh my.”

Louisa put her hand to her forehead. The two women’s eyes met, and they chuckled. Together, they packed their things and left the room marked 477A.

Daniel’s house wasn’t far. It was just straight ahead, crossing two side streets without having to cross the main road on the opposite side.

Louisa knocked on the front door.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

At the sound of the rhythmic knocking, there was a rustling inside as someone came to answer.

There was a click, and the large iron door swung open.

Daniel greeted her with a welcoming smile.

“You’re here. Thanks for coming.”

“It’s nothing. By the way, your house looks amazing from the outside.”

Louisa took a couple of steps back to look up at his house.

The slightly faded red stone walls had large windows on both the first and second floors, fitted with white frames. The windows also had white lattice patterns, giving the overall impression of a bright and clean house.

“Isn’t it? The inside is even prettier. Especially the fireplace, it’s really the best. It’s cold, so come on in.”

He stepped aside and took the package from Louisa’s hands. Laura bowed slightly and took a few steps back, and Daniel nodded a brief greeting to her before closing the door.

The interior was decorated in tones that reflected his personality.

The entrance and reception room were filled with light olive wallpaper and heavy granadillo wood furniture, giving a refined and dignified impression. And the books filling one wall, along with two wooden velvet chairs placed in front of the fireplace, harmonized with the carpet underneath to create a very warm atmosphere.

“It’s really beautiful.”

“Thank you. Let’s sit down and warm up first.”

Daniel seated Louisa in a comfortable chair in front of the fireplace.

He had been pondering since Edward’s visit the day before.

What words should accompany this invitation when he handed it over?

It was all too obvious that if his sister went, she would be embroiled in all sorts of gossip, so he didn’t want to send her if possible.

But even he thought that this party was not something that could be easily ignored.

Yet he couldn’t ask her to go with someone who would soon be her ex-husband, and sending her alone would be unthinkable for his sister’s reputation.

After much deliberation, he decided.

He would give her the invitation, but if his sister insisted on going, he would attend as her partner.

It had been a long time since he had attended a party, and there would surely be complications, but he could just laugh off such things.

Rather, the challenge was this: how to persuade his strait-laced sister to go with him.

“Louisa, I’ll brew some warm coffee. Let’s talk while we drink.”

Daniel’s goal was to finish the conversation without bringing up Edward.